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jticarruthers

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Everything posted by jticarruthers

  1. My experience is that they are usually at the lowest but i would not characterise them as "rock bottom" prices they are usually not amazing deals, just the lowest price until you get to the other end of the spectrum and get into the "inside final payment window". However, what does seem to happen every year is that they screw up and load bad pricing for some number of cruises. Last year IIRC it was on Junior Suites for the Adventure of the Seas. They were priced below the Inside Cabins so for a couple of hours if you jumped on that deal you got incredible pricing, however, they quickly figured it out and took those cruise offline until they could correct the prices.
  2. I believe the issue is on RCI's end that they announce a C&A only booking day but then don't setup their system to require a C&A # so anyone can book ... given the well known issues with RCI and IT we are probably just lucky that having a C&A # doesn't exclude you from booking at all.
  3. They usually promise a day early for C&A members that never works right and the schedules usually leak a few days early so you can start thinking about what you want.
  4. Love the aft cabins on Voyager/Freedom class ships. Cabins are typically not any bigger although there are exceptions (most recent experience was basically a J Suite size cabin at a balcony price) ... balconies are generally much larger. I would say the typical corner aft balcony runs about 100 to 120 sqft (just guessing no math, but at 6 ft tall I can usually stretch out on the recliner on the balcony in every direction with room to spare so I think at least in the range of 10' by 10'.) Usually come with a couple of recliners, couple of chairs and a table vs the 2 chairs and a table squeezed onto a regular balcony. If you enjoy the balcony the extra walk is worth it :)
  5. Can Galveston handle an Oasis class ? I know the list of O class ports is small, not sure if Galveston is on the list or not ... Seems pretty clear that 3 O's are going to be in Florida close to full time since they have built three terminals (Lauderdale, Canaveral and Miami) specifically to handle them.
  6. If you don't have a high (Diamond or better) status level and know you want the drink package I don't think there is any way you can "win" by waiting until you get on board. If you have a status level there may/should be an onboard discount so you at least shouldn't lose. If you aren't sure you want the package or want to play game by skipping it the first night for example then it might also be ok to wait.
  7. I am sure they also use demand pricing to determine what to adjust the final price to, its all so much easier when there are no published price lists though ;)
  8. Its all part of the marketing strategy, if you hide the base prices you can promise all kinds of big discounts that no one can actually verify.
  9. Much as I disliked my experience aboard Adventure, I do think she is probably the better of the two options. My issues were related to the drydock incident and have largely been addressed now so I think for a "future" cruise would not be an issue. I would say that with the itineraries in question, there are a lot of port stops and if you plan to spend time in each port the amenities on the ship are less relevant since you wont be on the ship as much ;) Still for a similar price Adventure > Jewel
  10. Going to echo doc, I got in the habit of booking as soon as the schedule came out about 3-4 years ago (for the cruises that I have fixed windows on like Thanksgiving, Springbreak for example). Haven't seen a price drop on a cruise I booked opening week since the "sale" started in May of 2014 .... used to check them all daily, dropped to about weekly now but draw your own conclusion ;)
  11. Looks like you are in Florida so US rules apply and deposits are 100% refundable up until final payment. Assuming you aren't looking to book a cruise within 2-3 month of now (so you would already be within final payment) then there is no reason not to book now and lock in the current deal, then if you get onboard and the deal of the day is better you just rebook to the new deal and apply the onboard booking bonus. IIRC the onboard booking OBC IS combinable with any C&A balcony discount for example and with any OBC deal included in the deal of the day so it is a small benefit to rebooking onboard even if the deal itself hasn't improved any.
  12. Have not done Serenade but have done Jewel one of her sisters and did Grandeur a long time ago and Vision one of her sisters not long ago ;) From memory generally fairly similar ship classes ... on the smaller/older end of the fleet but that can be a good thing from an intimacy/service standpoint. I would give an edge to Serenade for the "walls of glass" ... Radiance class was designed to make it easy to see out. Amenity wise I think generally similar and fairly limited, no ziplines, iceskating rinks, etc. but still have stuff to do :) Again maybe an edge to Serenade for the pool tables if you would use them ? Perhaps look at is as two competing 9 day itineraries ... with one of them having an extended port stay on the beginning or end ....
  13. bc if I hadn't seen you on the cruise I would swear we were on different ships ... never saw a drinks person in the MDR once on the whole cruise ;)
  14. I used to check on a weekly basis, haven't seen a price drop in 3 years though now so I probably check every month or two instead. Once you figure out the best pricing is the week they release the schedule and book then you really don't get to see any price drops any more. Speaking of which we should be seeing the next schedule roll forward in 60 days or so ... time to start plotting my 2018/2019 plans !
  15. Crown & Anchor discount is generally not combinable with any OBC deals, just the way it works ;)
  16. True there are better bonuses but most of them involve making thousands of dollars of purchases, for a $1 purchase you can get $100 off on RCI or if you and your spouse sign up for separate cards for $2 you get $200. I also look at and take advantage of other cards as well, just saying if you aren't worried about the impact on your credit and plan to cruise RCI, investing a few minutes on applications and a buck or two in purchases to get the sign-up reward is worth it. Using it as your primary card on an ongoing basis for the rewards, not really .. there are better cards for that.
  17. RCI had basically been running a variation on the same sale consistently for almost 3 years, they constantly change the wording but the math remains almost identical. Every now and then the switch is of benefit to a particular group (IE they add Kids Sail Free so if you have an existing booking that includes kids that was made recently enough that the natural price increase over time hasn't gotten you of the range yet then you benefit, but if you were booking for 2 then things just got "worse" as they took away the 30% for all and made it 25% on first for example. Basically if you want to take an RCI cruise AND YOU ARE BOOKING UNDER THE US DEPOSIT RULES then book it now and wait to see if any future sale works to your advantage. The reduced deposit is one that catches peoples eye as being "less skin in the game" ... basically its all marketing games.
  18. If you have good credit and don't mind the hit, its worth signing up for, charging $1 to get the $100 worth of bonus points and then never using it again ;) But as stated by others as a primary use card, there are better options.
  19. Harmony is the only one on my wish list at the moment, haven't found a cruise on her yet that I can justify the price for ;)
  20. Did the train in St Kitts (something different, kind of interesting but wouldn't do it a bunch of times), didn't do the sail part of it though (ours was Rail'n'Bus). Have done a lot of Catamaran sails though ... usually there is a stairway that lowers in the bow for boarding ... judging by the physical condition you give I think it would be borderline for you. On a calm day if the boat pulls up and you are just walking out through the surf and then up the ladder you are probably ok .... if there is any wave action and you have to semi-swim at all to get onto the stairway I think you would be struggling.
  21. Generally I would vote against .... depends a little bit on what excursions you are considering (the 1 hour "trolley tour" of a town center for example could probably be combined with something else If you wanted). Although the excursions may "only" be 3-4 hours, by the time you get off the ship, get shuttled around, get back, etc. trying to squeeze in another one and then stagger back to the ship to shower, do dinner, catch a show, etc. are going to leave you wiped out pretty fast.
  22. To play devils advocate Matt, because they get to keep the money everywhere else if someone changes their plans ;)
  23. To be fair Royal IQ is barely available in the US as well but I do see your point in general. The excuse I always heard on the re-pricing comment in particular was that different contract laws in different areas of the world mean they have to operate differently but I don't really buy that.
  24. Or just a smooth way to continue to up the cost without being too obvious .. come on its only a buck or two a drink are you going to complain after a half dozen of them or just let it go ;)
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