Steve L

Did not know that about the Chase credit cards.....just did it online....thanks for the tip!

Yeah I've seen that fine print. It kind of makes sense that this benefit would be for immediate family. That works for my family of 4 for all of our trips.

This is my go-to travel card as well. The travel benefits are hard to beat and save me from paying for travel insurance as I did the first time I went on a cruise. So after the $300 travel credit as you stated it brings the real cost down to $150. We eat at the Timberline Grill at DIA for free before every cruise ( and vacation for that matter) with the Priority Pass card that comes with the Reserve. Plus I dropped my AAA card roadside assistance coverage ( that I have not needed to tap for years $68) that I paid every year because this card covers a portion of that as well. Yeah the $450 up front cost is hard to swallow but with the generous point earning structure you get plus the 1.5 multiplier they give for using your points for travel makes this card a no-brainer for me. And I'm a frugal guy!

Yep I did just that and got on and just finished the check in. Only problem is my set sail pass does not print on one page so did landscape and it prints on two pages. Oh well...at least it's done. And read an old post from Matt that Mama Mia tickets are available 75-60 days before the cruise.

Woke up this morning to do the check in for my Allure of the Seas cruise that departs in 90 days only to see the dreaded message of" We are unable to update your information at this time. Please try again later. I really wanted to make sure I get tickets to the play "Mama Mia" as well as do my regular check in. On Liberty of the Seas you just had to show up but for this ship you need to reserve tickets. Does anyone know how you go about doing that through the Royal website? I hope it's back up and working at some point today......

Yep, we used this same company to get to IAH from the cruise terminal. I believe it was $30 per person which is very reasonable. We checked Uber for the heck of it and they wanted close to $300 for the "surge" price. We take an Uber to get to the port but Galveston Limo (bus actually) on the way back to the airport.

I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I looked over the benefits and it pretty much covers the needs for my family of four.

Yeah so I'm glad it's not just me and my computer...the old Crown and Anchor page was not flashy by any means but I could find all the info I needed and knew where to look. Now this page is an embarrassment and should never have been released until it was deemed "better" than the original which it is clearly not.

Went to visit my Crown and Anchor page after a three week hiatus and it seems Royal has changed the layout. I can't really get much info from it as I used to. Maybe another one of their glitches? I can't see the countdown to cruise date and all other bits of info that I'm used to seeing. Others have this same problem or is my computer playing games with me?

I find using a car service is much cheaper. I've used Uber and Lyft....but out of Galveston I've used Galveston Limousine but don't let the name fool you. They have a fleet of buses that get you to and fro at a good price. Where are you going to?

This is what my card has: https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/sapphirereserve/travel

Yup...agree with Gears. They must be covered reasons but as long as you charge it to your card you're good to go without the added expense of buying insurance. I bought travel insurance through Allianz the first time I went on a cruise until I did some digging and discovered that my cc benefits covered me for pretty much everything that the outside insurance did. So from that point never dropped a dime on this expense. Hope this helps....

Yep....I have one of the Chase premium credit cards (annual fee of $450 a year but worth it) and charge my cruise to it. I have looked over the trip insurance wording and feel it takes care of all my needs. No need to purchase additional coverage when I already get it with this card.

We are looking to fly from DEN to RSW ( Fort Myers Airport) because flights into/out of Fort Lauderdale are outrageous. I can't believe the prices you are quoting for EWR to FLL! That's crazy. Going to stay at a hotel in Fort Myers (free with IHG points) rent a one way car for $52 through Budget and make this happen.

Well it seems going through any of the major online travel agency sites is the less conventional way to book a cruise. With the increase in gratuities that Royal has implemented, the cashback (if Orbitz delivers on the 14%!) will go a long way in offsetting that for my family of four on a 7 night cruise. In addition, the on board credit from Royal should be enough to cover drinks...

I messaged Ebates and customer service gave me this reply for my transaction.... Thank you for your email. Upon review of your account, I do see that there was a shopping trip created and I can confirm that Orbitz was offering 14% Cash Back on cruises on 11/27/2017. Just have to wait about 3 months after the trip is completed to get the cashback. I will certainly report to this site what the end result is.....

Matt's topic today is the use of travel agents. Since 2014 I had been using a travel agent that I found from a cruise bidding site( they bid on your cruise by throwing in on board credit or perks such as spa or specialty dining) and that has worked well. This year I tried something different. I went through a cashback site (Ebates) that offered 14% cashback (on cyber Monday) for a cruise if you booked on one of the well known online travel sites. Will have to see how this turns out but as it stands for my $3k cruise that would be $420 cashback from Ebates on top of the on board credit kicked in from both Royal and the major online travel site. As a side note I listened to Matt's podcast from two weeks ago about "How to check for price drops" and the cruise specialist at this online travel site got my price down by $524 after I called. No shortcomings there as far as service goes.... Has anyone gone this route or am I the guinea pig here?

Smart advise here Matt. My wife did just that on a recent cruise with her high school friends on Vision of the Seas. Very easy to do.....

I tell my room attendant that he/she only needed to clean every other day. I don't really need more than that as we keep the place pretty tidy and I'm not very demanding. They get off a little easier when I'm on board!

Please people check your credit card benefits that you use to book your trip. Read through all the fine print regarding coverage. You may discover that if you have a premium card, it will cover lots of the insurance needs without having to buy any additional. I bought insurance the first time I took a cruise but nothing since I picked up this quality card.

Hmm...all these cruises and that never once crossed my mind. That is a very interesting point and now I am wondering if you can go to guest services at the end of a cruise and add extra gratuities for a specific crew member instead of giving them cash? I did this on one of my recent cruises...

Thanks for those who helped me out.....I would not have figured this out on my own.....

I see lots of people have a list of all the ships and sail dates of cruises they have taken or upcoming cruises they will take after they have posted a comment. I can't seem to find the field where I can add that to my comment. Can someone let me know how that is done? Probably not rocket science but it's early morning and I must be missing something :)

I can't tell you how many times I see people on the cruise ship (or anywhere else for that matter) cough into their hands and then touch utensils, the Windjammer chairs , railings etc. I was taught to cough into the crook (inside part) of your elbow. So simple but time after time I see the hand used instead. I bring hand sanitizer to every meal just for these reasons....

Glad to see the Group Cruise turned out to be a blast!