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Freedom to be a Diamond Plus Queen!!!! FR 4/17/23-4/21/23


Ampurp85

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35 Days............

I didn't think I was going to cruising so soon but lots of changes and developments. I was hoping that eventually, just maybe a casino comp would come my way and I might be able to meet some of the blog members. I kept getting nothing but $100 off offers and I was like I won't be at sea until hurricane season. I had originally only one cruise schedule for this year with my family in Oct on Allure. But at least I/we had a bunch of land-based vacations on the docket. All but one has been scrapped. Lots of cost increases with minimal offerings. I was scheduled to go to Vegas Easter Sunday, but everyone who was going cancelled. One of the vintages lost her niece in February, that she raised since a baby, and then had issues with a tenant; she is scheduled for court on April 10th. Two of the other people just got new contracts and no longer have the vacation time. Then the owner of the RV we wanted to rent tried to pull a fast one and almost double the rental cost. I was like ........shakes fist at universe...........you don't want me to live my best life in 2023.

On the day this all happened, I checked my Prime offers and couldn't believe I had a free offer. I actually have not had one since last year around April. The offer was for mostly Alaskan sailings starting in May, but I saw a sweet 4N on Freedom that worked with my schedule and jumped on it. The rep said they only had two rooms left and I took a midship interior. As it happened, I booked this sailing right when check-in opened and was able to snag an 11am, which was the first check-in time. I also should note that before I called I had to do a bunch of research..........while actually working. I started a new schedule in February. It is a bit of a mess. I am primarily remote, with the exceptions of 2 days a month at a hybrid office for meetings but I work Saturday to Wednesday now. I needed to check flights and see what was feasible, thankfully April's office hours were the Tues after Easter, so I could get my regular work done on the ship.

I decided to try a bunch of different things on this sailing that I wouldn't normally do. First, I was supposed to be D+ after my Grandeur sailing in Jan. But my brother joined me, so I was short 4 points. It did burn me a little, I wanted to start my Oct family sailing with all those sweet D+ perks........even though nobody else will have any🤣. That being said I will make D+ after this cruise as I am sailing solo. Rare for me, given my experience on Grandeur in the MDR with the new menu, I have decided not to get any dining packages. I vacillated, hard. Compounded by the fact that I have 8pm traditional dining, which means I will be sat with strangers each night. I have also decided against any sort of drink package. I always get the soda package but it's $11.80/day with grats and I can't justify almost $50 in soda for 4 days when I will mostly be in the casino. Plus, I have yet to use my 4 diamond drinks to the fullest. Lastly, I will not be purchasing internet ahead of time, I will use my free day and then my 30% off prime for the remainder of the cruise. It comes out way cheaper as now its 25% off with the "sale." I also had purchased a Premier Pass for this cruise and received the $100 OBC for the confusion. So the plan is to use that at Playmakers, JR and possibly room service. 

I will update more .........Also yaaaaaaaaaaay for the Premier Pass fiasco OBC. 

 

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i was reading too fast 😅 and got swept up in the premiere pass drama. this is going to be our tale for the ages, i feel it in my bones. so much (many?) shenanigans. 

i am sorry to hear about the vintage that lost her niece 😔 but i am glad you get to make it to diamond + sooner rather than later!!

we have two more to go before i am D+ and J will be diamond. then she can get her own drinks 😂

hopefully your table mates are not too weird… time will tell. 😅💚

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Day 34..........

Yesterday I had $100OBC for my Premier Pass troubles.............well I had it for about a good hour🤣. Today I have $50 OBC and that is still good. I won't be drinking delicious champagne or lunching with officers but that's enough for a lunch at JR and dinner/snacks at Playmakers.

Any how current plans

Freedom of the Seas sails from Miami and goes to:

  1. PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY
  2. NASSAU, BAHAMAS

Room #3555, Midship

Incoming Flight SWA from MDW to FLL 5am on day of embarkation.

Departing Flight UA from MIA to FLL 12:58 on day of disembarkation.

I hate MIA airport: its filthy, weird, and old. Flights to MIA were double the cost of flying into FLL, so even with the added Lyft cost, I am still saving. I only paid taxes, fees, and gratuity for this sailing which was a whopping $182.30. There was no way I was going to spending $536 for plane tickets. I originally said I wasn't going to fly SWA again because I hate how they board. But I had a hard time finding direct flight for Sunday the 16th after 7pm, when my workday ends, but was able to score a "business select" ticket for $113 on the first flight out on the 17th. The return ticket for a Friday departure was high all around but I was able to book United for $192.50 with priority boarding. Bringing the total cost for this cruise to $487.80, for reference the cost of an interior room is...........

 image.png.f547ba8e65245a409bcd0b89da2c83ee.png

 

I am booked in Interior room 3555, which is walking distance from all my plans for this cruise vacation. Most of my cruising adventures and vacations in general have been solo. My brother has committed to 3 cruises a year with me, I am sure the annual family cruise is included in this total, but I am grateful for this. That being said I have decided to be smart about this. I love to gamble but not enough to make it to signature. That basically means that anything over the initial 2500pts.........is just gambling. I thought it would be great to get another seapass card for my brother and gamble under him so he could be prime and then I can combine our offers. That being said I plan to only be in the casino for this cruise making prime for 2024, so that I can only be in the casino on Allure in Oct and make prime for my brother. I had seen a lady do this when I was on Navigator so she and her husband could consistently cruise in free/discounted rooms. I also plan to earn another free room certificate because my Sept has opened up. 

Seth Meyers GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers

I am only taking a carry-on, which will be packed fairly quickly as my cruise clothes are mostly wrinkle free, and a backpack. I have no plans to give my small carry-on to the porters because bags can now be delivered as late as 7pm. I also have read that rooms are now being advised to be open after 2pm and cabin service is once a day. Since I am an ice girl, I will opt for evening service. All the suites are sold out for this sailing, and I have not gotten the option to RoyalUp. Doesn't matter though I am happy to be on a ship and look forward to the amazing time I will have. 

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i so badly wish i could be carryon only. alas, the life is not for me. 

HOWEVER!!  if you should fall ill, need a snack, change of clothes (or several), or other various and sundry things — i am your girl 😂

i hear you on the miami airport; you know my feelings on this as they are well documented. 😅

ironically it’s cheaper for us to fly into FLL in december and back out even with the cost of an uber. haven’t booked yet but will continue to compare. we fly in/out of MIA for harmony and i’m already dreading it. 

LIVING for the smart budgeting on this cruise. you are going to have a blast!! 

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2 hours ago, Gilley said:

Will a carry on work for a 7 day cruise or are you referring to cruises that are shorter?  I like the idea of just taking a carryon and not having it delivered to my stateroom.  I’m just not sure I can fit a 7 day cruise in it.

That will depend. I am not a 'girly" woman. No makeup, heels, extra fancy stuff, etc. I was able to do 8N with a carry-on and personal-size bag thanks to packing cubes. I also have seen people with 6 bags for shorter cruises, it really depends on how you dress and what you need. 

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19 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

That will depend. I am not a 'girly" woman. No makeup, heels, extra fancy stuff, etc. I was able to do 8N with a carry-on and personal-size bag thanks to packing cubes. I also have seen people with 6 bags for shorter cruises, it really depends on how you dress and what you need. 

Me...you've seen me 🤣

I hate the idea of being without something I may need, so I always end up packing a variety just in case. Especially with cruising where I may actually change my clothes 3 times in one day! I need all the things!

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28 days to go........

On St. Patrick day I got a special offer for 50% of the DX, not that I need it, it was still $72.99/d. Current price is $83.99 with 20% off. That Royal math is crazy as hell!!! I had a moment of weakness and was going to get the UDP during the cruise planner "sale" for $142+grats. Funny enough the cruise planner glitched and said they had sold out of UDP. No biggie, I took it as a sign I should stick to my plan and try traditional dining at a shared table so I can blog about shenanigans. I check CP once a day and it's back up. 

The Premier Pass fiasco is still ongoing. I have the $50 OBC but nothing has been cancelled. I would have thought they would have cancelled the packages and then the refunds would take two weeks. But Royal hasn't cancelled any of them. Since two out of three are in Oct or later, I am not too worried. But for the April sailing, I probably will have to cancel it myself to ensure I get a refund. 

I know I mentioned on my last live blog how several of my coworkers were also cruising around the same time I was. Well, it's de ja vu, one will be on Explorer starting the 15th and the other will sail on Brillance on the 17th like me. There was a really smart one amongst us and he was able to do Quantum Alaskan sailing for 9/11. I should have looked at the list a little better. No worries, when I earn my free cruise on this one, I plan to finally try an Alaskan itinerary. 

My one coworker who did the 11N Anthem in Jan was able to make Signature in the Casino, his partner played tables and was able to make prime. They have a ton of comped cruises and are booking them as B2B and S2S. It makes me even more determined to make my brother and mother prime, we might be able to get enough offers to combine our way up to Sky class. A girl can dream😍...

Last year for my B2B on Navigator I purchased a new carry-on; it was a Kono (https://www.amazon.com/Kono-Lightweight-Hardside-Approved-Suitcase1) brand on Amazon that had amazing reviews. I inspected it, the stitching seemed weird but I chalked it up to design, and it was fine for that trip. Since all my other cruises/vacations after that would require something bigger, I put it away. Today, I got it out to do a pre-packing, you know seeing what fits, and its broken!!! Somehow the seams have just shredded apart and there is a gaping hole. It was not an expandable luggage, so maybe I packed it too hard. But to say I am dissatisfied and disappointed would be an understatement. I have been on Amazon looking for a decent carry-on. I make it hard for myself because I only want purple luggage, so my choices are always limited 😅🤣.  I have settled on one https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Choice-Archer-Polycarbonate-Hardside my brother has the full set in green, so I can attest to the quality of this brand myself. I just hope that when it gets here it will be a light purple and not pink. Less than a month to and I cannot wait. 

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Oh, I also want to point out my cruise docs came at 31 days and they actually list the terminal. When I sailed out of Port Everglades, there was nothing in the eDocs saying which terminal.  But more importantly they have the verbiage saying it is now one bottle of wine per guest. 

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16 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Oh, I also want to point out my cruise docs came at 31 days and they actually list the terminal. When I sailed out of Port Everglades, there was nothing in the eDocs saying which terminal.  But more importantly they have the verbiage saying it is now one bottle of wine per guest. 

You mean someone finally dusted off those old, edoc templates?! It's a Royal miracle!

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My brother just got an offer for a free cruise which he will be using this Sept. It will be an Alaskan cruise.  He was just mentioning that the shore excursions were wicked expensive.  So he may be doing his own thing in the ports.  A helicopter ride to a glacier is on his bucket list but he can't afford the cost of over $500.  I asked if he wanted company on the cruise.  LOL!  

Have fun on your cruise.  I hope you make some great new friends in the MDR.   I will be following along. 

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19 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

28 days to go........

On St. Patrick day I got a special offer for 50% of the DX, not that I need it, it was still $72.99/d. Current price is $83.99 with 20% off. That Royal math is crazy as hell!!! I had a moment of weakness and was going to get the UDP during the cruise planner "sale" for $142+grats. Funny enough the cruise planner glitched and said they had sold out of UDP. No biggie, I took it as a sign I should stick to my plan and try traditional dining at a shared table so I can blog about shenanigans. I check CP once a day and it's back up. 

The Premier Pass fiasco is still ongoing. I have the $50 OBC but nothing has been cancelled. I would have thought they would have cancelled the packages and then the refunds would take two weeks. But Royal hasn't cancelled any of them. Since two out of three are in Oct or later, I am not too worried. But for the April sailing, I probably will have to cancel it myself to ensure I get a refund. 

I know I mentioned on my last live blog how several of my coworkers were also cruising around the same time I was. Well, it's de ja vu, one will be on Explorer starting the 15th and the other will sail on Brillance on the 17th like me. There was a really smart one amongst us and he was able to do Quantum Alaskan sailing for 9/11. I should have looked at the list a little better. No worries, when I earn my free cruise on this one, I plan to finally try an Alaskan itinerary. 

My one coworker who did the 11N Anthem in Jan was able to make Signature in the Casino, his partner played tables and was able to make prime. They have a ton of comped cruises and are booking them as B2B and S2S. It makes me even more determined to make my brother and mother prime, we might be able to get enough offers to combine our way up to Sky class. A girl can dream😍...

Last year for my B2B on Navigator I purchased a new carry-on; it was a Kono (https://www.amazon.com/Kono-Lightweight-Hardside-Approved-Suitcase1) brand on Amazon that had amazing reviews. I inspected it, the stitching seemed weird but I chalked it up to design, and it was fine for that trip. Since all my other cruises/vacations after that would require something bigger, I put it away. Today, I got it out to do a pre-packing, you know seeing what fits, and its broken!!! Somehow the seams have just shredded apart and there is a gaping hole. It was not an expandable luggage, so maybe I packed it too hard. But to say I am dissatisfied and disappointed would be an understatement. I have been on Amazon looking for a decent carry-on. I make it hard for myself because I only want purple luggage, so my choices are always limited 😅🤣.  I have settled on one https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Choice-Archer-Polycarbonate-Hardside my brother has the full set in green, so I can attest to the quality of this brand myself. I just hope that when it gets here it will be a light purple and not pink. Less than a month to and I cannot wait. 

My carryon is the Travelpro maxlite 5 International size. It’s soft side but has great internal support.  I think they come in a light purple (violet) and have an awesome warranty

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3 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

My carryon is the Travelpro maxlite 5 International size. It’s soft side but has great internal support.  I think they come in a light purple (violet) and have an awesome warranty

I have had bad luck with soft side luggage, my trip to Egypt ruined my last Samsonite one.

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3 hours ago, FireFishII said:

My brother just got an offer for a free cruise which he will be using this Sept. It will be an Alaskan cruise.  He was just mentioning that the shore excursions were wicked expensive.  So he may be doing his own thing in the ports.  A helicopter ride to a glacier is on his bucket list but he can't afford the cost of over $500.  I asked if he wanted company on the cruise.  LOL!  

Have fun on your cruise.  I hope you make some great new friends in the MDR.   I will be following along. 

My coworker said the same thing, he has spent $1200 already on excursions. He makes good money, so he claims it's no big deal, 🤷🏽‍♀️. Alaska is a bucket list cruise; I might hold out in hopes I can make it our family vacation for 2024.

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20 days to go........

I love that there are so many blogs about people cruising in April.

I've received my refund for the Premier pass and the OBC is still there. I'm really debating if I want to get Giovanni's Italian kitchen for embarkation lunch. The garlic knots and meatball Gigante are really calling my name.

I ordered the new carry-on and I love it. It's a lilac/lavender color. I normally get eggplant colored luggage but I really loved my brother's carry-on so I am happy. It also holds a lot. I have a really hectic two weeks so I'm sort of pre-packed.

20230322_132705.jpg

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1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

i love an early packing job 🥰 new bag looks great!!!

i’d never considered an embarkation day lunch tbh. that sounds like a dream, honestly. you may be onto something here… (as you often are!)

I did it for my Grandeur sailing and I was so relaxed. You eat at a leisurely pace and then the rooms are open. 

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Embarkation lunch is how I got completely hooked on the UDP many years ago.  It felt so decadent to eat a steak in Chops while everyone else was dodging elbows and slinging food at each other in the WJ.

It is probably the only thing I miss about NOT doing the UDP anymore.  I guess we could use one of our D+ BOGO....

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14 Days to go...........

I had a busy work week trying to get as much if my work done, just in case the internet is bad on Freedom.

I did book an embarkation lunch at Giovanni's Italian kitchen. I don't know if it is me, but I could have sworn that it used to be 20% off specialty lunch and dinners if you prepurchase them in CP. The current deal is 15% so it was $22.40 with the gratuity. I really went back and forth because Freedom has El Loco Fresh (ELF), but I am sure since the ships are selling at capacity, ELF will be a madhouse on embarkation day. I know lots of people love Park Cafe, but ELF is my favorite complimentary option on Royal Ships.

I am super nervous about traditional dining. I am used to eating my dinner at my pace while reading my Kindle. I am trying to decide if it is rude to do that at a shared table 🤔. I mean I like to chat while dining but only if I am in the mood. Plus, I don't want to be judged for my eating habits. If the table is full of couples and people making smooches, all bets are off.

I would like to share that I am currently sitting at 77lbs of weight loss and managing my clinical depression without the use of meds. Now I am still fat, I prefer the term soft, but I have loss a considerable amount of weight and can fit a lot of the clothes I wore 10+ years ago. That means my favorite green flannel dress has made its way into the cruise clothes family. 

I am hoping these two weeks breeze by. 

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so i’m sitting at my desk with a stupidly proud happy grin on my face after catching up here. and just… i mean. you were always my hero/friend before this most recent post but now you are DEFINITELY stuck with me forever 🥰🥰🥰 

also a kindle reader at dinner WHY ARE WE NOT CRUISING TOGETHER ON THE REG!!!

[shakes fist at sky] 

Best Friends Bff GIF

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@asquared17 OMG funny story about Kindle reading in the MDR. Twice I had a crew member sneak up on me while something salacious was occurring in a book. A coworker's wife recommended a book series to me, The Fae Chronicles, I think I posted about it on one of my solo adventures. Anyhow I like books about mythical creatures and such, well this particular book series borders on "romantica," not my thing but if the world building and such is great, I will trek on.  My font isn't big enough to read faraway.......but up close you can get a good look at the text. What that means is that if a crew member comes up behind you, they can read what you are reading. Really explicit sexy time scene that goes on for pages and the crew member turned bright red........and so did I. We had a good laugh, but I wondered what he thought of me, enjoying a classy meal but reading that. Ever since then, I bring a myriad of enjoyable options and those can go left too. I have a lot of Rock and Roll biographies on my Kindle; the wrong story can make you seem like a pervert 🤣😅.

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56 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

@asquared17 OMG funny story about Kindle reading in the MDR. Twice I had a crew member sneak up on me while something salacious was occurring in a book. A coworker's wife recommended a book series to me, The Fae Chronicles, I think I posted about it on one of my solo adventures. Anyhow I like books about mythical creatures and such, well this particular book series borders on "romantica," not my thing but if the world building and such is great, I will trek on.  My font isn't big enough to read faraway.......but up close you can get a good look at the text. What that means is that if a crew member comes up behind you, they can read what you are reading. Really explicit sexy time scene that goes on for pages and the crew member turned bright red........and so did I. We had a good laugh, but I wondered what he thought of me, enjoying a classy meal but reading that. Ever since then, I bring a myriad of enjoyable options and those can go left too. I have a lot of Rock and Roll biographies on my Kindle; the wrong story can make you seem like a pervert 🤣😅.

IM CRYING THIS WOULD BE ME WITH THE SPICY STORIES 😂😂

my only saving grace is that i speed read and am largely paranoid about this happening so i’d probably just put the device face down but IM DEAD. this would happen to me. i just know it. 😂🤣😅😆

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I have been nursing my nook for several years now.  It will occasionally (ok, often) get hung up.  Sometimes plugging it into the charger will help.  Sometimes I just need to just wait for the S/W to timeout. I had a Sony e-reader prior to that and was disappointed when they shut down. I lost all my books.

Does the Kindle work with Android and Windows?  If it does, that may be my next e-reader. 

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35 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

I have been nursing my nook for several years now.  It will occasionally (ok, often) get hung up.  Sometimes plugging it into the charger will help.  Sometimes I just need to just wait for the S/W to timeout. I had a Sony e-reader prior to that and was disappointed when they shut down. I lost all my books.

Does the Kindle work with Android and Windows?  If it does, that may be my next e-reader. 

Yes, for a bunch of years I had Windows phones and I loved being able to read on the Kindle app for Windows. I think we also mirror in life, my first eReader was a Sony and then I got the Nook but Borders and Barnes and Noble went out of business in Chicago really early in the 2000s. I didn't know if their online presence would be prevalent, so I switched to Kindle. Plus, they are like $50 buck on black Friday and so small and lightweight.

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