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I've only been on a handful of cruises and am only Platinum with Royal. I did two cruises with Holland America when I was a really small child. I knew I wanted to book an Alaska cruise this summer and while I was looking at other lines I ended up back at Royal. Honestly, I simple answer is just because it's the cruise line I know and thus am comfortable with. I don't need to do a ton of research on the ships because I at least knew a little about them, while I know very little about other lines. There is something comforting about knowing what to expect ahead of time, and already having some loyalty points is nice, I don't need to start from scratch again (which is also why I try to stick to the same airlines when I travel).

Not sure what other line I would pick in a hypothetical "RCI is out of business" scenario. I did HA with my grandparents and I still kind of associate it with being a cruise line for older people. I've followed some stuff about the Disney cruise line, and I don't think I would like being surrounded by that much Disney stuff all the time, especially the dinner shows. Although as a point to them, their private island looks fantastic. I always associate Carnival with being kind of cheap and a party scene, especially their older boats that do weekend trips to the Caribbean. I heard Celebrity also has an older demographic but is nice. I really know nothing about Princess or Norwegian but I was looking at them for Alaska and would give them a consideration one day. Personally, I don't need the biggest, newest ship. If I'm going some place like the Caribbean I just want to lie back and relax, so all I need is a pool, a nice deck chair, a good view of the water, and a good book. Some ships like the Oasis class almost seem overstimulating, with just too much to do and usually not enough time to do it. I just booked Quantum for Alaska, so I'm looking forward to a mix of some activities like the iFly and North Star along with the quieter spaces like the Solarium and 270 during the day.   

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/8/2022 at 9:55 AM, Eddy said:

The stock was a good buy at $75. It will go higher until  another media reported disaster, or more Covid variants. Its still a gamble. Do you know the perks of owning 100 Stocks?  

with 100 shares, they give you OBC for each sailing.  

  • $250 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 14 or more nights
  • $100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 6 to 13 nights
  • $50 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 5 nights or less
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  • 4 months later...
On 2/5/2022 at 8:05 AM, Eddy said:

I am on board with your comments.  Once free drinks for all in introduced, prices will go up.  Whether you are single, married, have kids, old or young, Royal has worked out something for all.  Ya,  you can call it mainstream generic cruising...but it works.  As I posted, I particularly enjoy the Casino Royale loyalty points program. Its the best of all cruise lines. But it was complicated at first. Took me 2 years to digest and go deep to figure it all out and gamble strategically to optimize all the perks., without going broke.  They recently made some great changes to the program that very few people know about.  You have to stay on top of it.

As a fellow casino royale player I’m interested in what great changes to the program you found out. Yes I have found out also you have to stay on top of it…Thank you 

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18 hours ago, Candi said:

As a fellow casino royale player I’m interested in what great changes to the program you found out. Yes I have found out also you have to stay on top of it…Thank you 

I play along with my wife. One is signature status and one is Prime.  I feel no need for both to strive for signature status.  Signature get you free internet the whole week for the whole year.  So many times we gamble only using one card to boost that rating in points.  The major changes are internal that you dont know about. the bonus state rooms upon reaching so many points on each cruise. Once we hit junior suite status, we play the other card or both., or until we hit 25,000 points required to qualify for signature status the following year. once you have attained your complimentary certificate from the host, you should go up immediately to "next cruise" and study the new extensive list of cruises available. They are usually far more than what is presented you on the certificate.  Plus you get free play and on board credit applied if you book with Next Cruise.( get $500-1000) If you need more time to book that cruise , you need to ask for a form that will extend your time to book., up to 30 days I believe.  Then you need to call Club Royale to confirm your bookings and add to it if you wish for back to back cruises on your weekly/monthy offerings.   I only bring a  defined amount of bank roll to play. Once its gone, its gone. No more gambling. I just paid for my future cruise regardless. I have cruised dozens of times with Royal. Yes they are all free except port charges and taxes. We both know, nothing is free, but in the long run, I feel I am far ahead of the cruising game doing it this way. I get better suites Junior to star class upgrades., better perks, great service through club royale and can cancel my cruise to the day of embarkation without loss.  We did have a designated host a year ago, but they stopped that program. Hope they bring it back. I do not need a travel agent to do all this, as I have figured out the logistics of how the whole process works. This system is obviously not for everybody, but if you are cruising and you know you are going to gamble, then it makes no sense, but to do it the way I have explained. Start with a bank roll of $3-5000 dollars stick your cruise pass card in the machine and get rated. You will indeed hit some sort of jackpots along the way and then use the casinos money to play. You are now on your way to your next free cruise and more.   

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So far, we've been loyal to royal because of C&A. We could only afford to cruise on average every 18mos so it was important to us to stick with royal because it wasn't a gamble, helped us climb the points ladder and would reward us as we climbed. Funny enough, now that we've reached Diamond on Royal, we're officially looking elsewhere - at Celebrity mainly since they will match loyalty. I am also personally interested in trying Disney and NCL and maybe even Brand Whaletail just so I can have a well-rounded view.

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When I was a child my parents cruised a lot and we as kids went with them a few times (Never RC).  About 20 years ago we had kids and we looked at a lot of different cruise lines to us then and even now RC has the best kids program!  We even when they were super small had some of the people from the kids program watch them at night so we could go out.

We have like a lot of people on this blog seen some small to major changes and to us dollar to dollar RC has about the best deals and most choices with rooms.  With Star Class starting a few years ago, this is close to being on par with more luxury lines, almost no lines, beverage packages, early on and off.  We rarely do Star Class, however, when we sometimes get the bonus we go big or go home.

Over the years we have had a few issues with RC and 99% of the time any issue has been taken care of onboard, it has been a great ride and we are looking forward to the next cruise.

Lastly, we have taken a few Celebrity cruises, same umbrella - we however usually do RC.  The kids are young adults now we still find plenty to do onboard.  No kids program until they have kids and NO RUSH on that!

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20 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

So far, we've been loyal to royal because of C&A. We could only afford to cruise on average every 18mos so it was important to us to stick with royal because it wasn't a gamble, helped us climb the points ladder and would reward us as we climbed. Funny enough, now that we've reached Diamond on Royal, we're officially looking elsewhere - at Celebrity mainly since they will match loyalty. I am also personally interested in trying Disney and NCL and maybe even Brand Whaletail just so I can have a well-rounded view.

Have you tried Celebrity yet?  Disney is overrated and overpriced. I would avoid that.  NCL...similar to Royal  meh.  

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The #1 reason I stay with Royal Caribbean is the safety of having a chief meteorologist devoted just to RC ships, their possible routes, and the weather they could encounter. Pretty much unless a whirlpool arises out of nowhere exactly where the ship is or very close nearby (which could happen but would be very rare), they're always going to be right on top of the weather and navigate smartly. That's something no other cruise line has. They all use third parties that don't know their ships, officers, and routes as well. 

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First sailed in 1979 on NCL. Sailed first on Royal in '94. We've also sailed Carnival a couple times and a few more times on NCL and our first Celebrity (X) in 2013.  We liked Royal with the kids but liked X more with just the two us.  The Oasis class ships opened up Royal again and as we got close to Diamond in points we stuck with them.

After getting Diamond we pretty much went back to X. Except we've done a few more Royals with our grown up kids which was fun.

We did three X cruises this year primarily because Royal didn't do those itineraries,  but X has become so expensive and the food and service on each of those X cruises were so bad that we've booked two cheap Royal cruises in the next 6 months.  I doubt if we'll get D+ anytime soon but maybe if we stick with Royal we'll make it someday.

And.... Royal stock prices were down this summer so it was a good time to buy  stock to get that benefit on both RCI and X.

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I am loyal to cruising, not any particular line.  For me, the itinerary is always most important, and then sometimes, what other people I may be cruising with, or if it is just my husband and me. Yes, I agree RC is chock-full of super-fun activities and really great for families. Husband always attempts the rock-climbing wall.

I have been cruising for almost five decades now, have been on ten different cruise lines, and several cruise lines I went on no longer exist (For example, American Hawaii Cruises--very historic and connected with Princess Grace of Monaco).

I do not care about my status levels too much as the perks never outweigh the destination and the exploration.  (Also, I am not a big alcohol drinker, I do not gamble,  I do not wear those little status pins, and I never do laundry on the ships.) I do think other similar big cruise lines like Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and Cunard are a bit more sophisticated and elegant than RC.  They also offer a bit more complex itineraries.  I find NCL and Carnival more budget-oriented but still fun, especially if I just want a quick and cheap getaway.  

I do not want to go on adults-only cruises because I went on my first cruise as a child, and it is a wonderful lasting memory (Chandris Cruises Venice to Odessa with many, many great stops (Greece, Turkey, etc.!). I was probably too young to fully appreciate the cruising experience, but now I go every chance I get!

I think it is fine to be loyal, but do not limit yourself to not "testing the waters" of other cruise lines, either.  Enjoy your next cruise, which ever line it may be!

 

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On 9/10/2022 at 6:42 AM, Eddy said:

Have you tried Celebrity yet?  Disney is overrated and overpriced. I would avoid that.  NCL...similar to Royal  meh.  

Not yet. We only just got Diamond status officially last week😅

I do know Disney tends to be more expensive but as a Disney, Marvel and Star Wars fan there is quite a bit that attracts my attention.

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25 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Not yet. We only just got Diamond status officially last week😅

I do know Disney tends to be more expensive but as a Disney, Marvel and Star Wars fan there is quite a bit that attracts my attention.

Disney is more expensive, but if you are a Disney fan (Marvel, Star Wars, ETC) I would say it does offer value for money in that case. I was lucky to do Disney twice , both Wonder and Magic. I would definitely not hesitate to sail them again if I can afford it.

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On 9/12/2022 at 2:59 AM, PhillyLady said:

 

I am loyal to cruising, not any particular line.  For me, the itinerary is always most important, and then sometimes, what other people I may be cruising with, or if it is just my husband and me. Yes, I agree RC is chock-full of super-fun activities and really great for families. Husband always attempts the rock-climbing wall.

I have been cruising for almost five decades now, have been on ten different cruise lines, and several cruise lines I went on no longer exist (For example, American Hawaii Cruises--very historic and connected with Princess Grace of Monaco).

I do not care about my status levels too much as the perks never outweigh the destination and the exploration.  (Also, I am not a big alcohol drinker, I do not gamble,  I do not wear those little status pins, and I never do laundry on the ships.) I do think other similar big cruise lines like Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and Cunard are a bit more sophisticated and elegant than RC.  They also offer a bit more complex itineraries.  I find NCL and Carnival more budget-oriented but still fun, especially if I just want a quick and cheap getaway.  

I do not want to go on adults-only cruises because I went on my first cruise as a child, and it is a wonderful lasting memory (Chandris Cruises Venice to Odessa with many, many great stops (Greece, Turkey, etc.!). I was probably too young to fully appreciate the cruising experience, but now I go every chance I get!

I think it is fine to be loyal, but do not limit yourself to not "testing the waters" of other cruise lines, either.  Enjoy your next cruise, which ever line it may be!

 

But if you had to pick one., which would it be? Celebrity Edge class?  

 

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On 4/23/2022 at 3:50 PM, RorySC said:

with 100 shares, they give you OBC for each sailing.  

  • $250 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 14 or more nights
  • $100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 6 to 13 nights
  • $50 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 5 nights or less

How do you provide them with this proof to get your OBC? Do you have to purchase direct thru their investment program or is it something an investment broker can manage? 

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18 minutes ago, Eyeonhevn said:

How do you provide them with this proof to get your OBC? Do you have to purchase direct thru their investment program or is it something an investment broker can manage? 

  • Shareholder Onboard Credit will need the following 3 items highlighted on the attachment for proper processing:
    • Current Brokerage statement less than 90 days old.
    • Your name matching the name on the reservation.
    • 100 RCL Shares.

 

https://www.rclinvestor.com/contact-us/faqs/shareholder-benefit/

 

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14 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:
  • Shareholder Onboard Credit will need the following 3 items highlighted on the attachment for proper processing:
    • Current Brokerage statement less than 90 days old.
    • Your name matching the name on the reservation.
    • 100 RCL Shares.

 

https://www.rclinvestor.com/contact-us/faqs/shareholder-benefit/

 

Thank you! Very helpful!

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On 9/12/2022 at 9:04 AM, CrimsonCruiser said:

Not yet. We only just got Diamond status officially last week😅

I do know Disney tends to be more expensive but as a Disney, Marvel and Star Wars fan there is quite a bit that attracts my attention.

 

13 hours ago, Eyeonhevn said:

Thank you! Very helpful!

Ya, if you got kids that will love that and yourself.  Thats quite a premium to pay just for that. If you gamble, there are no casinos.  Check out La Lido Loca     Tony's review on Disney,  He loved the characters, but would not go back. 

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13 hours ago, Pattycruise said:
  • Shareholder Onboard Credit will need the following 3 items highlighted on the attachment for proper processing:
    • Current Brokerage statement less than 90 days old.
    • Your name matching the name on the reservation.
    • 100 RCL Shares.

 

https://www.rclinvestor.com/contact-us/faqs/shareholder-benefit/

 

This does not apply to Casino Royale cruisers. 

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2 hours ago, Eddy said:

 

Ya, if you got kids that will love that and yourself.  Thats quite a premium to pay just for that. If you gamble, there are no casinos.  Check out La Lido Loca     Tony's review on Disney,  He loved the characters, but would not go back. 

haha. Lucky me I don't gamble. And the only kid I'm worried about is my inner kid. Lol. I did watch Tony's video and watching him interact with Spiderman and Iron Man was great. I wanted to be in his shoes very much.

I also still have ParoDeeJay's vlogs on my (very long) list - they were the ones who invited him to do Disney so they pop up a couple times in his videos.

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15 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

haha. Lucky me I don't gamble. And the only kid I'm worried about is my inner kid. Lol. I did watch Tony's video and watching him interact with Spiderman and Iron Man was great. I wanted to be in his shoes very much.

I also still have ParoDeeJay's vlogs on my (very long) list - they were the ones who invited him to do Disney so they pop up a couple times in his videos.

Sounds like you watch all these YouTubers . I started to and stopped. I come here to get new perspectives and  whats going on deeper with Royal. Much of what is online is repetitious are becomes a reality vlog show.  Cruise news today is my go to for instant newsworthy stories in a very few minutes.  I like that.

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9 hours ago, Eddy said:

Sounds like you watch all these YouTubers . I started to and stopped. I come here to get new perspectives and  whats going on deeper with Royal. Much of what is online is repetitious are becomes a reality vlog show.  Cruise news today is my go to for instant newsworthy stories in a very few minutes.  I like that.

Yeah after the restart, watching Matt's live on Adventure and seeing all these cruise vloggers together, I subscribed to 4 more channels. @.@ It's a hard job to keep up with them on top of my other 80+ subscriptions but I think they each offer a different take on cruising. LLL is really news focused now, Griff & Alyssa do great non-cruise excursions with a lot of adventure/energy, PDJ show really cool resorts and love the live music on board, AK Adventures feel most like me when I cruise, and JJ have fun story times after the cruises.Not to mention CruiseTipsTV and Matt keeping me armed to the teeth with hacks, packs and tricks!

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I will be loyal to a point.  I am a RCCL newbie and I have 2 cruises booked on RCCL ships.  Voyager OTS to NE/Canada this October and Quantum OTS next June to Alaska. 

We are going to see the Norway Fjords Aug 2023 with my sister and SIL.  We are taking the HAL Rotterdam out of Amsterdam.  Balcony cabin is ~$4K for the 7 nights. It includes, pre-paid gratuities, drinks package (15/day - alcoholic and non-alcoholic), $100 onboard credit, $100 excursion credit, free WiFi (for 2) and one night at a specialty restaurant.  RCCL does not touch this type of benefits. That is hard to beat. Those benefits would be over $1,500 in extra costs on RCCL.

We are all older so the stuff like the flow rider, laser tag, etc. are not a draw.  I'm not down on RCCL as we have booked 2 future cruises. Just wanted to point out that there are other lines that are really aggressive in attracting new customers.

The only added benefit is that we are getting with RCCL on the upcoming sailings are a $100 shareholder OBC.  I can get that with HAL too and the Carnival stock price is ~$11/share.  

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On 9/15/2022 at 11:19 AM, CrimsonCruiser said:

Yeah after the restart, watching Matt's live on Adventure and seeing all these cruise vloggers together, I subscribed to 4 more channels. @.@ It's a hard job to keep up with them on top of my other 80+ subscriptions but I think they each offer a different take on cruising. LLL is really news focused now, Griff & Alyssa do great non-cruise excursions with a lot of adventure/energy, PDJ show really cool resorts and love the live music on board, AK Adventures feel most like me when I cruise, and JJ have fun story times after the cruises.Not to mention CruiseTipsTV and Matt keeping me armed to the teeth with hacks, packs and tricks!

Matt keeps up to speed on Royal , no question. The monday night youtube thing becomes redundant and boring .( repeated questions over and over again.)  And I really question the same super chat donators . Have you noticed they are the same dudes every monday? Hmmmmm....

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11 hours ago, Eddy said:

Matt keeps up to speed on Royal , no question. The monday night youtube thing becomes redundant and boring .( repeated questions over and over again.)  And I really question the same super chat donators . Have you noticed they are the same dudes every monday? Hmmmmm....

It can get repetitive, but it is helpful for people wanting to arm themselves with knowledge initially.  Great place to get your Royal Caribbean 101 course for anyone.  Just wait until Wednesday and watch the edited down version that only runs about 10-15 minutes

I don't think there's any reason to be skeptical of the super chat donors.  People become fans of things and visit often.  Regulars like to be noticed and like to notice the offering that is providing them joy.

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4 hours ago, Xaa said:

It can get repetitive, but it is helpful for people wanting to arm themselves with knowledge initially.  Great place to get your Royal Caribbean 101 course for anyone.  Just wait until Wednesday and watch the edited down version that only runs about 10-15 minutes

I don't think there's any reason to be skeptical of the super chat donors.  People become fans of things and visit often.  Regulars like to be noticed and like to notice the offering that is providing them joy.

good point. But I do maintain a skepticism on super chats. Especially larger ones that are repeated by the same individuals weekly. $50 `$100 a week?  Thats like over $2,000 annually in donations!  Bloggers,vloggers, influencers, all make money from advertising . Youtube pays well once reached a certain number of subscribers and likes. Im sure Matt does very well financially even without these suspicious super chats . Personally , I think one or two are plants to help entice others to donate.  Paying money to people who know no more than you and has the same resources as you., makes no sense.  I could be wrong , but this is the business platform for many YouTubers., I sense. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
On 2/5/2022 at 8:05 AM, Censored said:

I am on board with your comments.  Once free drinks for all in introduced, prices will go up.  Whether you are single, married, have kids, old or young, Royal has worked out something for all.  Ya,  you can call it mainstream generic cruising...but it works.  As I posted, I particularly enjoy the Casino Royale loyalty points program. Its the best of all cruise lines. But it was complicated at first. Took me 2 years to digest and go deep to figure it all out and gamble strategically to optimize all the perks., without going broke.  They recently made some great changes to the program that very few people know about.  You have to stay on top of it.

Can you share any tips on gambling strategically to optimize all the perks without going broke? 
 

Going on my 2nd sailing in March (7 nights) and would like to reach prime level in that sailing without living at the casino or losing my behind. Based on what I read I think slots are the “quickest” way to get there but its also more likely to cost me allot more to get there. Thoughts? 

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Quote

Can you share any tips on gambling strategically to optimize all the perks without going broke?

I'm not the OP but I'll share what I've learned.  

The single best thing you can do for yourself is Google "risk of ruin" or "bankroll size". In a nutshell, this is a way of figuring out how large your bankroll needs to be to ensure you have a decent chance of not blowing through it in a single session.  My biggest mistake for my first several years of gambling was coming into a casino with a bankroll far too small for the bets I was making.  I thought bringing $300 for $15 Blackjack was a "smart and responsible" limit, but I was basically guaranteeing I'd lose it all (to clarify: lose it quickly - you WILL lose your entire bankroll over a long enough time period no matter how large it is).

For Blackjack, they suggest 100 times your bet size for a bankroll.  For slots, they suggest 250 times.  So if you're playing $15 hands, bring $1500.  If you're playing $2 slot pulls, bring $500.  Once you overcome the swings of probability and can avoid going broke, you can plan on losing about $50 an hour playing Blackjack (at 70 hands an hour), or about $30 per 100 spins of the slots.  This will earn you 40 points per 100 spins on slots, and who knows what for Blackjack (maybe 20-40 point an hour?).

My advice, assume slots have an 85% RTP rate.  This would make economic sense for Royal.  If someone put $12,500 through the machine, the casino would keep $1,875, and the player would earn 2,500 points.  If you just want to sprint to that level, play huge slot bets with a big bankroll. $50 spins with a $12,500 bankroll (enough to lose 250 times in a row) should give you a decent shot of hitting the free cruise level while avoiding the chance of going bankrupt.  Assuming you want to play quickly, you could do this in under an hour, and you *should* walk away having lost somewhere in the $1000-$3000 range.

That's obviously a huge bankroll.  But $1,875 is what what you're going to statistically be losing in order to earn your 2,500 points no matter how you slice it.  Some people will do better than that.  But by definition, others will do worse, because the house always wins.  The only way to "guarantee" your outcome (which is always going to be to lose some money) is to spread your play over a large number of bets.

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Our first cruise with Royal was on the Voyager this past October. The trip left a very bad impression due to a bunch of hassles and glitches (I posted about it, so I won't go into it again).  We have another cruise scheduled for Alaska on the Quantum this coming June.  I hope for a better experience, and I hope the "Covid Hangover" will be behind RCL and the cruise industry as a whole.

We have another trip planned with HAL on the Rotterdam. On paper the HAL cruise is a much better value. Costs about the same as the Quantum balcony room but has built in Drinks package, WiFi, 1 night specialty dining, $100 OBC, $100 excursion credit, gratuities and more (about $1,500 of free perks that RCL does not offer). 

We both grew up and lived for years in Florida and jumping on a cruise ship was cheap and easy.  We have sailed Carnival, Norwegian and Princess and had a good time (and less problems than the Voyager). I'm done with the budget lines though.

At 65, I don't need rock walls and bumper cars. I have stated earlier that for families, RCL is probably a great choice with all of the activities.  I'm just not sure that RCL is the right fit for us at this point.

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On 12/17/2022 at 10:15 AM, bakingbad3 said:

I'm not the OP but I'll share what I've learned.  

The single best thing you can do for yourself is Google "risk of ruin" or "bankroll size". In a nutshell, this is a way of figuring out how large your bankroll needs to be to ensure you have a decent chance of not blowing through it in a single session.  My biggest mistake for my first several years of gambling was coming into a casino with a bankroll far too small for the bets I was making.  I thought bringing $300 for $15 Blackjack was a "smart and responsible" limit, but I was basically guaranteeing I'd lose it all (to clarify: lose it quickly - you WILL lose your entire bankroll over a long enough time period no matter how large it is).

For Blackjack, they suggest 100 times your bet size for a bankroll.  For slots, they suggest 250 times.  So if you're playing $15 hands, bring $1500.  If you're playing $2 slot pulls, bring $500.  Once you overcome the swings of probability and can avoid going broke, you can plan on losing about $50 an hour playing Blackjack (at 70 hands an hour), or about $30 per 100 spins of the slots.  This will earn you 40 points per 100 spins on slots, and who knows what for Blackjack (maybe 20-40 point an hour?).

My advice, assume slots have an 85% RTP rate.  This would make economic sense for Royal.  If someone put $12,500 through the machine, the casino would keep $1,875, and the player would earn 2,500 points.  If you just want to sprint to that level, play huge slot bets with a big bankroll. $50 spins with a $12,500 bankroll (enough to lose 250 times in a row) should give you a decent shot of hitting the free cruise level while avoiding the chance of going bankrupt.  Assuming you want to play quickly, you could do this in under an hour, and you *should* walk away having lost somewhere in the $1000-$3000 range.

That's obviously a huge bankroll.  But $1,875 is what what you're going to statistically be losing in order to earn your 2,500 points no matter how you slice it.  Some people will do better than that.  But by definition, others will do worse, because the house always wins.  The only way to "guarantee" your outcome (which is always going to be to lose some money) is to spread your play over a large number of bets.

I would agree with most of what you claim. My bankroll is about $5000.  I usually only bring an amount of what the cruise would cost me should I have to pay for it. A Junior suite normally goes for about that price depending on what port / country. Slots are usually the only way to earn a comped balcony quickly.  On $5,000 I can reach 8000 points and get a junior suite.  Sometimes I win...sometimes I lose. Many times I break even and that is a huge win .  There is always the chance of hitting a jackpot too. The strategy  is to use the casinos money to play (recycled) and get your points up.  I also get free play on all my cruises, Sometimes up to $1,000. This happens when you take your earned comped certificate and book it through NEXT CRUISE . You must book it that week or lose it....but there is a form you can fill out should you need extra time to figure out what cruise  you would like to go on.  I have much more to say on the topic... but that is it for now. THX

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On 12/17/2022 at 5:02 PM, mac66 said:

There is a reason why cruise lines give away cruises to gamblers. They ain't free.

This is true. One must pay the port charges and taxes too.  The way I look at it is this.... If I am going to cruise and I know I will gamble, then going through the Club Royal gambling system is the only way to go. What I am essentially doing is paying for my next cruise.  But I always stand the chance to win. And win I do. Sometimes I lose... and sometimes I break even. Its far more fun doing it this way if you are a cruiser and will gamble. The perks are great   (free internet for the week, amenities, free drinks, comps, annual free cruise anywhere Royal sails,  etc.)   Further , what I have learned recently from slot machine technicians is that cruise slots are the best an only way to go, over land base, and tribal casinos.  Further as a Canadian, I pay no taxes on my winnings.   One day I will live on the ships like Super Mario and play slots . Its inevitable .  

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