DoomSlayer

Just the Southern Caribbean sailings, from what I have seen, have had Falmouth added to replace Labadee. Our 6 night Eastern Caribbean sailing, right after yours, already had Falmouth and we had Perfect Day added to replace Labadee.

This is based on some observations as there have been so many itinerary changes because of the Labadee situation. My cruise, Symphony March 31, is now scheduled to be in Coco Cay on April 2. Oasis received an itinerary change as well, but is scheduled to be there as well on April 2 based on their updated itinerary. Freedom has not seen any itinerary changes that I know of and is also still scheduled to be at Coco Cay on April 2. Can Coco Cay support 2 Oasis class ships and a Freedom class ship at their port at the same time? It will be interesting to see how this works out if there are no further changes to the port schedules.

Not to mention less than desired odds on table games like 6-to-5 blackjack payouts and single line odds on craps unless you bet big. Table games are the slowest way to earn points on board. I usually save my table play for land-based casinos and just play slots with my wife onboard. After all -- happy wife, happy life.

That's great, glad they were able to help.

I don't think I have waited more than 5 minutes or so either using the casino number.

This was the first time in a long time I was happy I had travel insurance that included trip interruption because of the situation in Haiti. Granted, it is through my credit card, but it gave me peace of mind when I received the new itinerary this morning for an upcoming trip. Our ports of call were all reshuffled and I spent the morning working with 3rd party tour operators to get things moved or cancelled. Because I had used my travel card to purchase everything, I knew if I was unable to get refunds, they would take care of me. The only catch in this case is everything must have been purchased with that card, which it was in my case. I already have the charges reversed and pending in my credit card account now.

I would be good with the 5-night sailing adding the extra port. Why not since everything is close and they don't have to spend the time traveling to Labadee now. I actually have some comps for the Indy 5 nights, I might look into them now knowing this.

Well, unfortunately I had to cancel this tour because of itinerary changes because of the Labadee / Haiti situation, which changed all of the port dates for our cruise. I called Pirate Jeep Tours and tried to change dates based on my new schedule, but unfortunately I will be in Nassau on April 1, which is the Easter Monday holiday in the Bahamas and they are not operating tours that day. The owner called me and refunded my money since I could not reschedule with them because they were closed. They were super nice to me on the phone and I definitely will be trying them out on another cruise.

You beat me too it, just came to share the same. Thanks @twangster!

Waiting on the Labadee replacement. Any guess as to what it will be? I asked Royal on Twitter a little earlier and they said they are still working on our itinerary.

The offer I highlighted is the type I think @WAAAYTOOO is referring to.

I bet the kids are excited, this is a great way to spend a vacation as a family! This is a good example where it is better to call to make the reservation or use a TA instead of booking online. If you had called in or used a TA, they would have been able to book the rooms with 2 adults in one room and the 2 kids in the other. You may be able to call in and have them sort this out if you want, as long as you are in adjacent rooms, you should not have a problem. But other than that, you also need to ask about the balcony partition. Not all partitions can be removed as you described. Also, to get to the main point of your question, Royal does not have bed police. You should be able to sleep however you want, in whatever rooms you want, and they really won't care, regardless of if you call and get your rooms re-arranged ahead of time or not. The only reason I can think of as to why you may want to keep the reservations as they are, is if only one adult wanted to buy the Deluxe Beverage Package and the other did not.

It will be refundable OBC. They may give you discounts onboard at the excursion desk for Falmouth if you let them cancel it. That has been my experience in the past whenever Royal canceled the excursion instead of me.

Thanks for sharing @tonyfsu21. It is interesting because we are supposed to visit Labadee on 4/2 via the March 31 Symphony sailing and we have not had any e-mails yet. Based on your sailing dates, I can only assume Royal still trying to solidify an alternative plan for our sailing before they commit to sending an email.

I am on Symphony on the 6 night sailing leaving March 31. Our schedule still shows Labadee. We already had Falmouth on our itinerary, just after Labadee as well as Nassau towards the end. I don't know that we will get a replacement port, but I am kind of hoping they swap the first sea day with the original Labadee day and go to Coco cay instead (only one ship in Coco Cay that day). The last 6 night Symphony turned into another sea day it looks like.

This has been my experience too unless you want seats close and upfront center stage. Those seats go quick and having reservations helps if that is where you want to sit. I have terrible eyesight, so the closer the better for me.

Blades replaces Ice Games. Saw it in January on Allure and enjoyed it.

I am on the trip on Symphony right after yours (March 31). Royal has said we should expect an update early this week on the Labadee/Haiti status on trips leaving through the rest of this month. I would keep looking in your email and check for the latest updates on Royal's travel-updates page. Cruise Travel Updates | Royal Caribbean Cruises

They defiantly have issues with displaying accurate points. Also, I have noticed that on some games, during a long bonus play, the slot you put your sea pass will turn red and if you keep playing while it is red, you will not get points. You have to re-insert your card to make it green again. I am assuming there is a "time out" during the replay because you are not pushing the spin button. You don't lose any points when this happens during the replay, but you won't get any new points until you re-insert your card after it happens.

Did you call in and ask what a GTY ocean view costs and if they could help you book it? I've only done this over the phone and never online.

This has not been my experience. I have booked GTY Ocean View balconies which are guaranteed not to be boardwalk or central park balconies. I usually book these by calling into the casino desk to book and not booking online. I am pretty sure you can do the same by calling into the regular reservation line too.

I am with you. We like the promenade view. I like people watching on the couch area by the window while I wait for my wife to get ready for the evening.

Not sure about Explorer specifically, but in general I see craps with only 1x odds and blackjack only pays 6 to 5 on RC ships. I have not noticed a triple zero roulette wheel, but it would not surprise me if that's what they offer (I am not a roulette fan and have not looked at it specifically). For these reasons, I generally avoid serious play on their table games and usually spend time in poker tournaments when they are available, or just casually and socially playing slots with my wife. Slots get you the best chance for comps on the ship if that's what you are after. They have invite only high roller areas with better odds on some ships primarily for Asian markets, but they usually are not open for sailings in Western markets.

You just give the pit boss your card if your are playing a table game, or put it in a slot machine. You are signed up automatically after that first bet or spin. Just avoid the coin pushers and money claw games, they don't count towards casino points.

There is a lot more to their system beyond points and their official status tiers. They share information with their casino partners, and if they see you as a potential "sucker", err I mean "spender", they will open up to you with great offers. I say this because I am only a lonely prime member, but I often get offers from Royal for balconies and suites usually with $300 to $500 of freeplay if I use their GTY bookings for these rooms. I have been given specialty dining and wine a few times as a welcome gift onboard.