marti314

2 hours ago, RatedPG said:

Looks like we're in the same class...

Where does the sushi class show up in the cruise planner?  is it under activities?  

So long as you choose all 5 people when buying the package it will show up on each of their seapass cards as having the package so the kids can go to any specialty restaurant and it does not have to be the same one you and your husband dine at.  

From what i have seen (and this is common in land based bars too) ordering a shot costs the same amount as the shot + mixer.  For example a Kraken n Diet is the same price as ordering a shot of kraken.  With that being said a Shot of Kraken and a Cup of Diet coke ordered separate would be more than the drink.  So in the example of having the refreshment package it wont necessarily save any money buying the shot and getting the "included" soda in the package.

There is cold filtered water in most every venue on the ship, even at the bars on the pool deck have cold water (self serve) that is always available..  it is safe, clean and tastes very good.

Its your basic brands, Bacardi for Rum, Smirnoff for Vodka, no name tequilas.  

Basically you wont find any top shelf until approx 8 pm that first day.  

I do recommend the TEXAS TEA to get you going that first day.  Yes they might make it with these less expensive liquors but it is super tasty and strong.

In no way do i want to start a bash the MDR food thread, I really find it to be quite enjoyable.  We can all say it could use more spices, more heat etc but i found this MDR site on the RCCL.com website to be quite interesting.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-dining/main-dining-room

Has ANYONE ever had any MDR dishes that are reflected here in the pictures?  I know when we see perfect burgers on fast food commercials vs what actually is served we expect it.  But i see dishes listed on the RCCL site that i have never ever seen presented on an MDR menu.  They looks amazing!

31 minutes ago, RatedPG said:

Show of hands ... who want this?

Since it says VIEW 49 dates and its a 3 night cruise i'm PRETTY sure they don't all leave on Mondays so this might be very confusing.

 

31 minutes ago, RatedPG said:

 

 

I think its worth talking about this Breaking Even.  We all try to say "If each drink is 12.00 then all i need is 5 - 6 a day to break even".  In reality those 12.00 drinks are between 30% and 150% marked up over land based bars, especially during happy hours etc.  I wonder how many people who do not get the drink package really come close to having a bar bill of 1000 for a week long cruise for two people (maybe a few).  I think its a mentality that "if i paid for all i can eat/drink  then i will prove that i can get my monies worth".  I believe people look very  closely at the drink prices when they do not have the package before they buy one (or 5).

I think Matt made a good point yesterday, Will spending 1000 more dollars on top of my cruise fare /specialty restaurants make this cruise more fun?

I would anticipate over 30% of the guests put down some sort of Birthday / Anniversary when they are booking their cruises.  Based on my previous experience just putting this down in your reservation means nothing and there is a very good likelihood nothing at all will happen.  I would recommend if you get a specialty restaurant reservation to have the host note it in your reservation so that the wait staff is aware and they will bring it up to make your SO feel special.  

you can take a piece of paper folded up enough to make it semi firm and jam that in the slot, works fine to keep the switch inside there depressed.  

Nothing like coming back to a nice warm room on vacation after being in the sun all day.

The real question is where is the line before this all backfires on the cruise lines?   1000 bucks to force myself (and girlfriend) to drink enough to make it worth it now seems like a challenge I dont want to wake up with each morning.

My Allure sailing in March 2019 has an "Onboard price" of 68.00 a day for the deluxe package.  15% off is showing 59.  Even still this is 980.00 dollars for two people for a week after the gratuities.  At 59.00 a day thats about 11.00 a day in gratuities which if you were to typically tip a buck a drink on land this is 11 drinks a day in gratuities.  

Seems like 1000 dollars in alcohol becomes a harder pill to swallow and as many people know you are drinking just to drink your money worth by day 4-7).

For those of us who travel we see this at the airports all the time.  I hear people calling me over "Hey, are you earning miles today, would you like this XXX Amex Card"?  For those who do not like to ignore them a very polite no thank you and a smile does wonders.    

Waiting patiently to see if they do a B1G1  1/2 off sale like last year.  

For those who have cruised during spring break (Not college but the March grade school spring break time) do you find that there are MORE or LESS diamond and above cruisers?  

I know there will be lots of kids and families pushing the boats to max capacity but was curious as to if people see just as many diamond/diamond+ passengers during these sailings?

So this past weekends "SALE" is now over and yet the beverage package on my sailing is showing the same price without the 15% banner hanging on it.  

I know Sales are a marketing ploy but it just looks silly when you put 15% off, 59.00 then 2 days later 59.00 with 0% off.

Looks like all the prices from this weekends sale stayed the same without the sale.

It wouldnt make much sense for them to give a refund when they are specifically giving larger and larger discounts based on the dining package nights package you select.  If they gave refunds people would just book the 5 night package, go for 1 or 2 nights and request a refund making those 2 nights at the discounted rate which wouldn't make any financial sense for RCCL.

I think they take into account the 9 night and put a lower base price on that sailing.  I did the 9 night ABC and drinking was harrrrd after day 5, tried to go hard the last night and it was just like blehhhhh.  

if i were to book a table for two at a busy restaurant on land and show up with 4 - 5 people needing seats, I would be looked at like i was nuts first then told they would do the best they can which could mean a substantial wait time.

Why the developers or contractors for the site cant add X adults Y (where Y =  $10.00) children is a bit embarrassing so they can plan better.  I have been to CHOPS with a 8 pm reservation only to be told (we had a lot more people show up than we expected so it will be awhile).

This is a multi billion dollar company working on a low dollar IT budget. 

For those who have 2019 cruises booked are you noticing odd pricing in the cruise planner for the Drink Package?  A few weeks back the cruise planner for my March 2019 Allure said 60.00 a Day for the drink package and it had a 10% off banner on the price. 

Today it says 63.00 / day and still has the 10% off banner.

First it seems 66 a day or 69+ a day (without the 10%) is yet another increase (same price as the actual cruise per day).  

Trying to make sense of this, looks like Kohls where they raise the prices just to give you a 30% discount.

6 hours ago, JamesGurner said:

I don’t know if it’s different in th US, I know the rules for 2 adults in the same state room rules man you both need to purchase the package. Although I’ve done 3 cruises in the past year and purchased the package for me only. They’ve tried to sell the refreshement package to us for my partner although wouldn’t make the most of it. When I explain the circumstance they quite happily although me to purchase it only.

Thanks for the info.  It seems like for DIamond members they would LOVE to collect 360 - 420 dollars from one guest instead of 0 from both. 

I booked Allure for March 2019 and it looks like the base price of the DELUXE package is up to 66 a day (showing 60 a day with 10% off).  With the Diamond perks (unless they change) it makes it even more difficult to justify.  

Seems like we are chasing the "value" vs "Do I really want to drink this much or Do i feel i have to after spending 450.00 per person"

I know this board has a lot more "Experienced" cruises who talk and analyze things like beverage packages pricing etc but i was wondering how many people have stopped buying the DELUXE package now that it requires both adults in the room to purchase it?  

I now look at 760 - 840+ dollars (for a couple) for a week-long cruise for drinking to be quite a commitment.  I always make sure to get my moneys worth when I have the package but I find myself doing just that, drinking just to drink and being Diamond it now seems even more difficult to justify. 

Anxious to hear if others have changed their thoughts on getting the package as well.

The Liberty of the Seas cruise I was on in March seemed to have a lot less people lining up at the bars (maybe a fluke week) so I am curious if RCCL is seeing more and more people opt out of such a large expense (More than than 1 persons cruise fare in some cases).  

It would appear that you have the SELECT beverage package which is no longer available but because they were given away with many sailings in the past i have seen where they are still honored.  This select beverage package includes beers (Except Chimay) and Wine up to 8.00 a glass.  No mixed drinks are part of this package.

I was warned by others that the ship's movement will make taking star pictures very difficult if not impossible, so keep that in mind. My personal hope is that a 30-second exposure will be enough, and have little enough movement, that at least one or two will come out.

a 30 second exposure on a ship, even with what feels like little to no movement would be a blur.  The ship is always moving in some direction even if you do not feel it.  Usually when people go with long exposures its because they are on something extremely steady.  Even if it is blurry, maybe it will turn out amazing like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Star_Rain_in_the_Desert.jpg