DoomSlayer

I do get them more quickly than my wife, but I get bored quickly too, so I have a lot less play time than my wife. I really don't lose too much to be honest and I find value in the casino comps that exceeds my losses, so for me it is a win.

Great info and thanks! That is our plan, flying in the day before and staying in hotel near the port. Looks like Uber is a good choice and is competitive to the shuttle pricing for 2 people based on what you said -- and without a wait.

Piggy backing on the question, but for just two people, would Uber be a good choice? That is my plan in January. This will be my first time out of Port Canaveral.

I don't know their secret sauce, but I suspect they monitor not just the points, bet also the average bet size. My typical bet is between $5 to $10 per spin depending on the game and I get awesome offers with good rooms monthly. I have 4 active offers right now for balconies. My wife on the other hand usually plays the minimum and does not get great offers, usually just dollars off or maybe an interior once in a while. I also get a lot of offers from Vegas casinos and even Winstar in Oklahoma (just say no to that one) for free rooms and suites. Perhaps they cross share information through lead generators. Adding a data point: I also usually upgrade my offers when I do use them, maybe they see that as additional income potential from the offer.

The more you bet, the better the perks. 2500 points gets you to prime which means a free annual cruise and free drinks in the casino. Points are easiest to get on the slots at 1 point per $5 bet. Table games are the slowest and the rate you earn points is complicated and up to the pit boss who is working that night. Also, the casino seems to value slot players the most. I play slots, average about 1500 points per trip, and maintain prime each year; they send me multiple vouchers for free cruises at a rate of at least one or two a month -- many with offers for free balconies. Unfortunately, I get more free cruise offers than I have vacation time. I usually cruise about 4 times a year on casino comps.

If it is a normal cruise booking that I am paying for, I always use my Travel Agent and appreciate their effort in making it a magical trip. I also get OBC and other special vouchers from the Travel Agent most of the time making it worth my while. For casino comp cruises, I started booking them myself when I learned my Travel Agent does not get a real commission from them. Also, casino comp cruises are usually low risk to me since they are typically free minus port fees and taxes, so I am ok taking the risk of booking it myself/

Hello Fellow Cruisers! I just booked this tonight using my annual cruise certificate for me and my wife. See you all on board!

Take your passport and I would recommend taking your birth certificate and id as well. You don't want to stand a chance of getting denied at port. Each country has requirements for how long a passport must be valid for when entering a country your cruise is going to. Mexico for example, does not have a 6 month rule, but other countries do. Worst case scenario, if you take both is you may have to show your birth certificate to board the boat, but you can still use your passport to fly back home in case of an emergency. I usually take my birth certificate and my passport even though my passport does not expire for years. It gives me peace of mind knowing I have another document showing citizenship just in case my passport gets lost or stolen while traveling.

I have long suspected and theorized this was a big reason behind the separation of gratuities from the base fare.

Awesome! We all love good steak dinners!

Thanks for the feedback everyone, going to give CK a try!

So, I finally did it -- As proud grandparents we are bringing my daughter, son-in-law, and 2-year-old granddaughter along for the ride. We are in a 2-bedroom grand suite which gives us access to the Costal Kitchen. However, I am a little hesitant to get too excited about eating at the Costal Kitchen because of the little one. Has anyone taken young toddlers to Costal Kitchen and had a good experience? Has anyone seen another family with a young toddler in Costal Kitchen and had a bad experience from them being there? Just trying to get some thoughts and opinions from others. How accommodating is the wait staff for younger kids in the Costal Kitchen? Plan B is always the MDR or Room Service from the MDR.

The biggest perks in my opinion is the streamlined boarding, a more relaxed lunch on day one, and internet. Unless you plan on taking advantage of the special times for things like the Flowrider or other activities, it does not have much value beyond that. It is a personal choice for the JS, assuming it is priced close to just the internet and you were going to buy the internet anyway, because the welcome lunch on day one is really the only added benefit. And it is defiantly not worth it for the grand suite as you already have most of the perks, including internet, already.

That's interesting. On Voyager, my wife and I were assigned seats at a large table for the 5pm dining (we like eating with others). Another couple that ate with us told us their reservation had been changed from the 5pm dining to My Time dining too. They were able to get it worked out with the dining room to get switched back to 5pm dining. I thought it was a fluke, but it sounds like there may be more to it as you experienced the unexpected change in dining too.

I am sorry this happened to you. I would be upset too. This is exactly why I use a travel credit card, which provides cancelation insurance automatically, and protects me from situations like this. The issuing bank has a lot more pull with the service providers than I do as an individual and will not hesitate to go after them for refunds and damage relief on behalf of their customers.

We appreciated your observations on this, and everything else you experienced on the trip. Please do not let a few negative comments discourage you from continuing to share you adventures. I am looking forward to the next one!

I remember docking in Costa Maya while on the Allure. Wonder was there and a 3rd ship too (can't remember which one), but the port terminal was packed with the 2 full Oasis class ships.

Just bought a few Flowrider lessons for a few adventurous souls in our group. Will see if my daughter and son-in-law can learn to out surf their old man!

They will refund your OBC purchase as OBC, but it may take a while for the system to catch up and show in your account again. See ScottD and OCSC Mike below!

This ^^^, if your girlfriend is still going and staying in the room by herself, you probably won't be able to get a refund beside your taxes, fees, and cruise planner items. Does your girlfriend have another friend to bring? They could possibly swap you out if it isn't within the 48 hour window.

You can use that $1.50 to buy an extra noodle for everyone,

This is a great thread with a lot of info on Galveston.

LOL. I would say you need to give Galveston another go (without all the vintages). Your trip experience from there was anything but normal, but it made for a great story for your blog.

Allure was sailing out of Galveston earlier this year and is Oasis class, I have been on her sailing out of the new terminal. The new terminal is nice in my opinion (a lot better than the old one), and I have had no problems. I have been in it for about 5 cruises. Just be mindful of your check-in time as you arrive as they have started monitoring it more. They do have lines outside for general boarding, but if you have a suite or the Key, you can bypass all of it quickly and easily by showing your boarding pass. Just like everywhere else, have your travel documents and boarding pass ready, and have everything else out of your pockets and in your carry on, and you can quickly go through security. Coming back is easy too, especially if you have a passport as it is modernized and you just walk up to the facial recognition system and go on through. It is a two story terminal with an escalator, so just be mindful of that and have a free hand to hold on to the rail. I have seen people fall on the escalator because they were not paying attention and holding on.

It has been this way as long as I can remember. I just use cards with big credit limits, so I never personally see the impact. I don't carry credit card debt and pay my bill in full each month, so money management is not an issue for me. But by using my card instead of cash, I get a lot of consumer protections by having an avenue to dispute charges I don't agree with (bank will dispute them on my behalf), added insurance on purchases, and I get 3% cash back for everything I buy while on board.