tonyfsu21

On 2/16/2024 at 3:34 PM, smokeybandit said:

The same advice can be used in just about any city.

On 2/16/2024 at 2:29 PM, FOB said:

Think if you check that just means Jamaica is the same level as the UK. And we are safe in 99.9% of areas. 
don’t flash cash, don’t buy drugs and stay in the main areas and you should get fine

It’s actually sad that you have to state the obvious but clearly this world is filled with plenty of stupid people buying drugs in Jamaica and venturing off to unsafe areas w/o an organized tour. I would venture to guess if they knew what a Jamaican jail looked like, the decisions would be different! 

Open air bus to Megan’s Bay is the way to go. This is a great ride and very scenic. I understand Megan’s Bay has been rated up there with the nicest beaches in the Caribbean. 

We always book early dinner because the majority of people (especially on the Miami based sailings) eat late. The casino is quieter, the bars and most other venues are not as busy and it’s overall more peaceful. The thought of eating a full meal at any point after 6pm makes me sick to the stomach. 

On 4/14/2023 at 5:35 PM, CanHardlyWait said:

Wow. That bad huh. Was gonna try first time on Wonder next month, but will stick to the jammer.

Not bad at all considering they are free. IMHO the Doghouse is an excellent option for a quick and satisfying bite to eat (especially on boarding day). The location on the boardwalk is great! The Red Stripe is just icing on the cake. As for the chili dogs, head over to Johnny rockets. 

22 hours ago, Michael Vitale said:

I'd love to hear what y'all recommend for parking at Port Everglades.   Cruise terminal ?   Offsite parking ??  

Right here:

17 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

Just got off Anthem.  Waitstaff in the casino-non smoking area was practically nonexistent. (Was able to get one drink all week-and yes I do tip)  Additionally the bar ran out of Belvedere, grey goose, Tito’s-in that order and that started midweek. They also ran out of other things.    Perhaps this is the new way to not give out “free” drinks. 

Certainly the casino bar could have restocked something as simple and plentiful as Grey Goose, Tito’s or Belvedere from another bar? 

Ocean facing is best IMHO. Enjoy deck 17!

(pictured ocean facing CLS, Harmony)

@Matt I think a sub forum on complaints/price increase and the long awaited (and anticipated) casino royale sub forum would be excellent about now! 

9 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

I've noticed the exact same thing in general for every single cruise i've sailed on. Day 1-2 in the casino for me im always on a heater on the tables AND slots then towards the half of the sailing I win nothing and lose the most insane hands.

From what i've done moving forward is gamble bigger on early sailing and slow down more towards the half to end.

I am going to pay more attention to this next month on Icon because I’ve never really noticed a trend. I do tend to go full force on night one which I’m sure most people do and then level off a bit towards the middle & end. Regardless, I always fast spin every machine I play, every single spin so things happen very quickly! 

1 hour ago, ChessE4 said:

The next 2 cruises we have booked are Vision and Brillance with Serenade likely to follow. We still find affordable cruises.  That said, you may be on to something--a migration of cruisers (by demographic) to different lines with preferred class of ship.

IMHO, enjoy it while you can because the cruise experience of the past will be phased out. 

It sounds like you enjoyed the smaller ship but I don’t think the company agrees with you re: first time cruiser/smaller ship. Based on the marketing and the deployment of Oasis Class ships for weekend sailings it appears the next generation cruiser is hooked on the biggest ships. The days of bargain cruising are pretty much over and the “free” options are being cut to make room for the millennials who will pay the price for an elevated experience. The cruiser of the past will be phased out and replaced with a generation of family cruisers who will be the new cash cow for Royal Caribbean. 

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

This only furthers my assumptions of them making the payouts higher than usual for the inaugural month to entice more gamblers then do the bait switch! I watched so many youtubers all winning net positive! My inner degenerate mind screams at me to go hard at the casino in march but my rational logical self says it's too late don't do it!

I follow the Casino Royale Facebook group and there were nothing but complaints about how “tight” the machines were during the inaugural. Obviously it only represented a few complainers (and probably not devoted gamblers) out of thousands but still didn’t read much about how “loose” the machines were. 

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

If I’m not mistaken, it was a post on this board but I’m not certain of that.  It was definitely an online post somewhere. 

I’m sure there is a math wizard on here that could take this photo and get the %. Photo taken on Wonder of the seas while the casino was closed (3/2023). 

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

It could be my tinfoil hat coming on but i heard win rate is adjustable with the cruise line and "apparently" it's set to payout more often than usual for marketing purposes. I watched nearly every icon of the seas casino vlogs and video and most of them are all winning net positive, It gets you wondering about the bait and switch. With a gambler mentality tricking most consumer after the inaugural month to gamble.

If you really want to dig deep into this conspiracy theory, I have been told that the slot machine payouts on Royal Caribbean ships are controlled by the aliens. Full government disclosure is being withheld until the aliens can recoup the money they have lost when their spacecraft crash landed in Roswell! If any of the above is true and the payout on a slot machine can arbitrarily be adjusted w/o regulation then the casino patrons are getting hosed. It’s one thing to gamble with the understanding that the house always has an advantage and another to gamble when the casino has absolute control and manipulation of the payout. I would imagine the alien scenario is more likely. 

As I mentioned before, the options in mid/late February are scarce even for 2025. The Embassy Suites and every Hilton property in East Fort Lauderdale has already sold out. Hopefully you are sailing early in February but if not, try the suburbs of Plantation or Sunrise and stay away from the beach. Don’t be too concerned about staying outside Fort Lauderdale proper because everything is still within a 15-30 min Uber ride on a weekend. Miami will be the situation above but amplified so try to look North or West of the city (Dania Point to the South will be sold out or pricy at best). Good luck. 

6 hours ago, RCIFanatic said:

I heard there will be a couple of changes this upcoming March. There might be a higher instant crusie certificate above the 25k grand suite offer. Cruises have increased in price dramatically which means these cruise offers are more valuable than ever before. So it's only a matter of time before they revamp the system and increase the tier thresholds which obviously sucks for all of us casino cruisers!

Yes, there will be plenty of newly minted Prime members that will be really angry with this change. I personally welcome any change regarding this program because it certainly needs some work. RC has arguably the best loyalty and suite program in the business but the absolute worst casino players program. I hate to reference the “C” word, however, Carnival has a superior Casino program that RC should model and potentially up their game a bit. 

36 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I'm also anticipating some changes to the system.  With talk of reciprocity between Celeb and Royal, I would expect any changes to occur at that time.  It's the perfect opportunity to rebaseline.  Yes, I fully expect the thresholds to tier levels to increase.

The bean counters are hard at work and they don’t like giving out free drinks. My guess is between 5000 - 7500 points gets you drinks in the casino. 

Anyone else notice an influx of Prime casino players? I can’t help but think RC will be adjusting the point scale at some point soon to level the field. IMHO it’s far too easy to reach Prime level. Perhaps they will keep the tiers but slide the scale to maybe a gap between Choice and Prime of 10,000 points? 

3 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

Typical fly by, never to be heard from again.

Btw on Symphony now as well as last week. Crew is marvelous and accommodating.  Ship is in great shape.  Wonderful and approachable Master, Capt Rick.

Things can happen, 2 cruises ago we had no cards on our door, grabbed the first officer I saw, he went to guest services for mehad my cards in under 15 minutes.

Agree, we sailed Symphony for New Years and the crew was incredible. Zero issues! 

So just to clarify, you allowed a misunderstanding regarding some sea pass cards and a “rude” crew member named Miguel ruin a vacation on Symphony? Something stinks of band-aids and burnt hair with this story. 

1 hour ago, Dimension said:

I wanted to see if there are any slots players out here that have recently been on Wonder? 

With the price of cruising going up my wife and I decided to try our luck at the casino to see if we can get some comps. We are looking for low volatility slot machines such as Red Hot Triple 7's, Triple Jackpot, Double Diamond, or any other one that is low volatility. 

I was on Wonder for Thanksgiving and recall seeing all three machines that you mentioned.  Good luck. The road to any significant comp is not cheap and if you are not a gambler/ enjoy gambling then this plan is not advised. 

5 hours ago, Ryansox said:

I've done some searching and haven't really found any reviews on hotels near Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port. Family of 5 adults are traveling in Feb 2025 and wanted to start looking at hotels so when bookings go up we can secure the room we want. We'd be flying into FLL the night before our cruise so hotel amenities aren't really important just somewhere nice-ish to stay that doesn't break the bank. Also maybe a hotel that has a shuttle to the cruise port.

Book ASAP. February (depending on how late in the month) will be tough due to Spring Break and it’s still our tourist season down here. Don’t bother with a shuttle, Uber is easier and you can dictate your own schedule. Check hotels in Dania Pointe area which may be reasonable but still close to the port w/ dining exc nearby. 

26 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Does anyone know how to book this table? Also, what kind of food is included? I understand its location inside Hooked seafood but I believe you do t necessarily have to have a menu from Hooked. Very interested in booking this table for Thanksgiving 2024 and 2025. 

Edit: found the information and someone obviously already had the brilliant idea for Thanksgiving 2024. 

Does anyone know how to book this table? Also, what kind of food is included? I understand its location inside Hooked seafood but I believe you do t necessarily have to have a menu from Hooked. Very interested in booking this table for Thanksgiving 2024 and 2025. 

7 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

...but the Bahamas also has Royal over a barrel b/c of PDCC.  PDCC is Royal's golden calf right now and The Bahamas knows it.  No way Royal stops going to PDCC

True. I think the Bahamians are in charge.