edobkin

On 11/19/2023 at 11:58 PM, DoomSlayer said:

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.

About how much should I plan to spend if I want to be in a similar position to you? I feel like the wife and I have been missing out on ways to cruise more by not spending any time in the casinos. We like to gamble for fun, and would not be expecting to hit jackpots, we would just want to position ourselves to be offered comped or discounted cruises so that we can take more trips. Thanks!

UPDATE:

Due to the fact that one of our port stops was cancelled and replaced with a sea day, we were able to get lunch reservations at Izumi Hibachi for that day once on board the ship. It was excellent and the kids had a blast!

1 hour ago, DoomSlayer said:

I don't know the exact answer, but I think Royal pays Haiti $12 per person.  I would not expect too much back.

Anything above zero is excellent. Thank you brother.

I am hoping that they add more lunch for Hibachi that day since we will be stuck at sea...

We are on Symphony from March 17-22 and they just cancelled Labadee yesterday and replaced it with a sea day. Does anyone know if there are port fees associated with Labadee, and if so, how much of a refund should we expect?

Aaaaaaand they cancelled Labadee 

On 1/10/2024 at 8:54 AM, OCSC Mike said:

Congrats! That's the quickest successful RUB I've ever read about (from offer to win).

If that happened to me I'd be wondering if I accidentally moved the slider to max bid and RC wanted to grab the offer ASAP, lol.

My bet would be that they just have a minimum that they want  to earn and that if you reach that minimum, they will sell you the room, otherwise they will let the bids continue until the end and let the largest ones win.

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

It will definitely show up in the app. Use that in conjunction with the compass. Some things show up on one but not the other. I'm not long off Symphony and remember seeing multiple open skating sessions in the app but only a very few made it onto the paper compass. Your teens can go along to those sessions as well as the dedicated teen sessions.

As @barjpoe says, remember the long pants (or trousers as they're called in my part of the world ) and socks. You won't be allowed to participate without them.

Thank you so much!

On 3/3/2024 at 12:26 PM, ScottD said:

For some reason Ice Skating and Laser tag both show up once you board. Even if you look at the app of a current sailing, they won't show up unless you are physically on the ship. 

Ahhhhhh - ok then this actually makes sense! Thank you!

On 3/3/2024 at 12:31 PM, jbrinkm said:

Can you now book ice skating also through the app? Last year we had to go in person to sign up on Allure. 

I see - we will def be on the lookout for this, then. Thanks!

Hello Fam!
 

I have been looking through the activities for our upcoming sailing on Symphony (March 17-23) and I only see a Teen Skate mentioned on one of the nights. Is it possible that this has yet to be planned, or is somehow not available? I haven't sailed RCL in 10+ years and I am not sure what to expect, so I don't want to set my kids up for disappointment if we cannot go ice skating on this sailing. Any input would be most welcome and we hope to see you onboard if you are also on our sailing. Thanks!

My wife and I booked this sailing for our family and our boys have no idea what's coming. I hope this will be one of their fondest memories from childhood when Mommy and Daddy took them on a surprise cruise. Can't wait!

1 hour ago, Ryan79 said:

The prime slots get booked up VERY quickly. If you are able to board within the first hour the ship is taking on new passengers, you MIGHT be able to snag a better time slot but you will pay full price onboard. Personally I’d stick with the later spot and treat it as a dinner and a show!

11:30am boarding times. We shall see!

1 hour ago, USCG Teacher said:

 

They seemingly do hold back quite a few "prime time" slots.  The last two cruises I was on, I saw the same thing as @Leroyr55 in my Cruise Planner, and I was on it the day dining opened up (you might say I'm a *bit* compulsive about checking my Cruise Planner after I've booked!).  That said, on both trips the Suite Concierge was able to get us 7:00 reservations for 4 on our choice of days.  Whether these slots are held specifically for suite class guests or just held back until boarding, I don't know, but I can definitely confirm that not all of the available spots are on Cruise Planner.

Aha! Thank you for this info. I will be sure to come back and update this thread after we return for posterity.

Agreed - but there were no availabilities to accommodate lunch time for 4 for our sailing. If there will be an opening for lunch when we board, I will take it, but that gets to my original question - will there be times available that were not made available in the app/online before the sailing? Thanks!

Question about this - are the reservation times allotted for the planner limited? Do they hold back a certain number of tables for reserving once on board only? I was hoping to get Hibachi reservations but the times are too late for the kids. Thanks!