RestingBird

Just put a "bid" in, on Mariner, about a month out.  OV balcony now, bid on a GS.  There are at least 10 left...I'll take that as a good sign we'll get one, depending on how many people ahead of us bid on them.

8-26-19 just got off Mariner today, didn't "win" the bid.  But we were totally fine in our regular balcony cabin.

Currently...3 weeks, 7 option days (sick days), 6 "major holidays".  Next year I'll start getting 4 weeks.

We've always done 5:30/6 and never had an issue

I'd be willing to try once for my family of 4, or maybe 5 someday.  Or, like others have said, split between 6-8 paying adults.

On 5/29/2019 at 2:45 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  😪

I don't gamble...but I totally just took a screenshot of this reply...never know when it'll come in handy.  Thanks!

P.S.  I mean all that in a good way, it's good advice.

I booked a hotel for part of our honeymoon, but when we got there the nice lady at the desk told me no current booking for us.  Turns out I booked it for two months earlier 🤦.  There's money gone.  I was so mad that we left and booked a room at a different hotel.  More money gone, lol.  And my original was a wine free booking!  Looking back I wish I would've been drinking some wine so I could pass the blame.

2 hours ago, monctonguy said:

If you think that's bad...imagine leaving the sea pass card in your room and getting locked out and trekking down to guest services in your underwear at 2am.....

 

Only time  I 'lost" a seapass card.....

 

I'd take losing a seapass card fully clothed anytime over that again.....

I'm guessing...you had the drink pkg?...😜

On 5/31/2019 at 1:16 PM, mook1525 said:

Just curious. Is Flowrider THAT popular? I would think more people would prefer water slides over Flowrider so I am more than okay not having a Flowrider if it meant we can get water slide. 

Plus I think having retractable roof would be fantastic.

It's a good question.

Just throwing this out there, not trying to argue, lol.  But...I've heard more complaints about the slides, specifically how slow they are (I haven't experienced them myself...yet), than the flowriders.  I talked to a fellow cruiser on Freedom, and he won't book on a ship if it doesn't have a flowrider.  He brings his own wetsuit in case it's cooler outside.

It's definitely a nice thought.  1 yes vote from me.

I forgot my dress shirt for our first cruise.  Luckily we remembered before we boarded, so we ran to Ross to grab one.

On 5/30/2019 at 7:32 PM, Skid said:

Hey suite snob (he said respectfully), robes, although maybe not as luxurious, are provided to us lowly non-suite people that are Platinum C&A and above.😁

Glad you mentioned this...I'll make sure to request them on our next cruise.

We're sailing in August, and I don't see the escape room in my onboard activities in the cruise planner.  Will it be an on board sign up?  Or is it possibly already full, being so close to sail date?

I've booked, then had to cancel so my travel agent could rebook.  It was pretty simple   ...but that was over a year ago, not sure the current website is up for that, it might crash if you try...   

On 5/22/2019 at 7:32 PM, princevaliantus said:

Usually Fall ... around November.

Thanks!  That was my thought.  If I remember correctly they used to release in spring, but bumped it up to fall, which works out nice, more time to plan.

I haven't kept up the past year with scheduling, and I know in previous years RC kind of changed up when they released the next schedule.  Any word on when summer 2021 will be released?

Maybe this was already mentioned...I'm too lazy at the moment to read all the comments...but my guess is 4 O-Class in FL, and 1 in TX.

I've never been on an Oasis class, but I'm looking forward to trying out Oasis even more now.

Use a travel agent for sure in this case...so much easier.

We like to go mountain biking in Utah.

I went to Lake Tahoe as a kid, so I'd love to take the wife and kids someday.

I tuck mine in my socks for safe keeping.

My wife keeps track of them, she's the organized one.  She usually has them all in a manila folder.

We always pre-pay gratuity, in case the daily amount goes up by the time we actually reach the cruise date.

On 5/13/2019 at 3:06 PM, princevaliantus said:

Just got word that the Odyssey of the Seas will be sailing out of Florida and it seems Ft. Lauderdale will be the home port. But as we all know, things tend to change. As of now, the itineraries will be released by end of 2019, but once again, things tend to change. Like so many, I await with bated breath !!!!!

I've been away for a while...what is this Odyssey of the Seas you speak of?!?

Any RC out of Galveston would be a good fit I think.

People definitely decorate their doors.  Obviously nothing offensive or vulgar, and nothing damaging to the door.  I have a laminated piece of paper with my RCBlog screen name, with a magnet to secure it to the door.

Brilliance is a great ship, you'll love her!

My favorite place to relax is the schooner bar, for the great ocean view, and nautical theme.