cdixon22

@SummerRoseI apologize if i offended you.  I had no intention of doing that and was not tryign to  imply your situation had anything to do with price.  I have edited my original response for better clarity.  I was trying to add a section of "How we cruise" and left off the qualifier.  Since my wife and i are one of the rare cruisers that have no real interest in anything other than an inside cabin, I've received some "blow back" from some messages with people saying i didn't have enough experience to comment.  By adding the "how we cruise" section, i was hoping to explain what our personal cruise strategy is. 
I'm all for people traveling and doing things however they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.
 
Thanks.

I saw this happen in Vegas, I went solo for my 30th. Met a lady on the airplane celebrating her divorce, both staying at the Luxor and we hit it off. We decide to hang out, since we had similar plans. After dinner we hit the slots and I hit a $2300 mini jackpot and claimed my winnings. When I came back she had hit jackpot, a little over 100k. She told me she was going to cash out and meet me at the show, so I left for cirque du soleil Zumanity. She never showed, I assumed she was maybe shopping or met someone. Came back because it was my birthday and I felt lucky, she was still there and down to her last hundred dollars. She did hit another mini jackpot but I think it was less than $4k. I always pocket my wins and just play what I was comfortable losing....if I feel like playing more.

For background, after I separated from the military, I worked at two Atlantic City casinos on the overnight shift as I worked through college.  Here is my biggest tip, and I cannot stress this enough.  If you are fortunate enough to hit a big jackpot, CLAIM YOUR WINNINGS AND WALK AWAY IMMEDIATELY. I have witnessed more self-destructive decision making after hitting big than I could possibly begin to explain.  Probably most egregious, I saw a 23 year old kid hit the progressive jackpot at a Caribbean Stud Poker table.  Just under $300K.  Immediately they comped the kid a suite, treated him and his friends as huge high rollers, offered him a private table with his own personal cocktail server, top shelf liquor, etc., etc.  Long story short, what started out as, "What the heck, I'm playing with house money, let's go ahead and enjoy this" ended up with him a few grand in the hole by the time the sun came up.  Casinos can be fun and entertaining as long as you play with what you plan to lose, but they're not built on winners.

We enjoy a little time in the casino but please only spend what you can afford and do not play when you are really drunk. I have seen it too many times where people end up at guest services calling family or their bank. 
We are Prime level and so the perks are free drinks at the casino and free inside cabin sailing per year (need to pay fees and taxes and there are block out days like Presidents Day) 
My tips:
The slot machines accrue the most points, but can cost you more? When playing the tables, hand over cash, not chips. So if you win and go back the next day, cash out and start again. They seem to make a differance. Get to know the casino manager. If playing the tables, and have nice wins, small tips always go a long way. The dealers get to know you and if you are nice and interacting with them, there have been times when I ask them to bet or not bet, they may indicate what they would do. Even after a good run, it has been mentioned that I should call it a night, as perhaps the cards may not be favourable. 
So interact and have fun. We never go in with the intention of winning money, we set ourselves a budget and have fun for a few hours and more of a social event with others playing. 
 

I cruise solo most of the time. I think the best thing is you do what you want, when you want and with whoever you want. You’re not tied in to someone else where you have to be flexible and considerate of each other’s choices. You get to meet lots of different people and can come and go as you please. It’s surprising how many people are open and welcoming to fellow passengers on a cruise ship. It’s different than it is on land. It’s sort of like we’re all in the same boat (pun intended)! Even if you don’t want to join with others, the crew is fantastic! They are always great to talk with…about them; their families; their lives at sea. I have learned so many amazing things about different places from crew members. As I always say…I cruise solo, but never alone! Enjoy your cruise!😎

I can not speak for cruising solo personally but I met two ladies on our cruise last week that were traveling solo.  One ate at chefs table with us and the other I met in the Solarium pool.  Linda, whom I met in the pool was cruising solo because her sister was unable to travel.  She said she was loving it, she could come and go when she wanted and not have to worry about her sister who preferred her quiet time.  She had the unlimited dining and beverage package and said she would probably not get it again because it was just too much for her.  We actually had lunch at Izumi one afternoon and she gave me one of her entree items because it was too much for her.  So we hung out in the pool, then had lunch at the taco place(yuck), then later in the week ate at Izumi then just sat around and chatted.  One was in her early twenties, Linda 62.  Then I met another woman at Coco Cay, she was widowed and decided to keep going with her life and was finding that she loved cruising so she was booking cruises around her work.  Her motto was you never know when it will all end, enjoy it while you can.  Then I made all of their trips better by telling them they were getting four points per room by traveling solo during the promo! 

I don't remember if I read it here or actually witnessed it a few years ago on Freedom, but it went something like this....
4 young adults were wearing the Burger King paper "crowns" on their heads at various times during the cruise.  Multiple people asked them where they went to BK and they said that there was a special BK in the top deck lounge.   According to them, it was a pop-up store and only open an hour each day and the hours of operation were top secret.  Pretty humorous watching multiple people on the top deck trying to find the hidden Burger King on Freedom of the Seas. 
 

Give her a jar of Guldens and tell her she needs to bring it to the "mustard" drill...

I almost always cruise solo and I've always requested for a solo table (both for breakfast and dinner) at the MDR.  On my last sailing on the Allure, due to the reduced capacity, I got to enjoy a VERY SOLO dinner. Believe it or not, this picture was taken at 7PM, one of the busiest times on My Time Dining before COVID.

Maybe missing the ship is why Super Mario spends so much time on Royal Caribbean ships.
His parents left in him in the Song of Norway kids club in 1971 to hit the bars in port. They missed the ship and ever since Mario has been traveling from ship to ship looking for them. 
 
Can anyone confirm or refute this theory?

What country of origin are most fish from?
 
Finland 🐟

I say go for it
. 

What country of origin are most fish from?
 
Finland 🐟

What country of origin are most fish from?
 
Finland 🐟

What country of origin are most fish from?
 
Finland 🐟

Why must you knock before opening the refrigerator door ?
 
Because you wouldn’t want to catch the salad, dressing.
 
ba-dump-bump

Not sure when you last cruised, but people have been wearing whatever they want to the main dining room for a long time now.  The official dress code recommendations are just that.  Recommendations, not enforced.  Swimsuits are pretty much the only thing that will get you turned away.

I picture a TV commercial featuring Bubba Gump...
 
There's, uh, almond butter, almond milk, Almond Joy, almond extract, Jordan almonds, almond flour, almond oil, almond paste, marzipan, almond cream..."

Almond butter for those with allergies. 
 
Disclosure: I profit from almond butter sales.

I used Walgreen's Rapid ID Now test for my Allure sailing.   I got the results after 15 minutes.   No problems encountered at embarkation at all.

CDC or not, Royal needs these test cruises for the crew to prepare for guests for ships as they come back into service.
When I was on Allure test cruise and it was revealed no CDC reps were actually onboard, Royal said it didn't matter since there's value for the line in preparing the crew before restarting operations.

You may have already asked Siri this on your phone, but I think it is hilarious:
 
Siri, what is 0 divided by 0?
Imagine that you have 0 cookies and you split them evenly among 0 friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends

If you are paying $5 for a bottle of smart water, it is not working.

I do not feel that it is the job of the TA to identify price drops.  Most of them have waaaytooo many bookings to do that on a regular basis.  Most of the Agents will do a price review when a new "sale" comes along but on a day-to-day basis ?  No way.
Has @michellecome up with price reductions for bookings for me ?  Yes...but I don't expect her to be doing price recons on any kind of regular basis the way I do. More often than not, I will identify what I BELIEVE is a price reduction and then it turns out that it's not b/c different discounts or price incentives are in place from the original booking.
That's just me. Everyone has differing expectations.

You people are obsessing too much on these loyalty points... I don't even pay attention to them (wink wink)