The Scurvy Pirate

I about choked when I saw it was $30/day for my Octboer 15, 2023 cruise out of Miami.  Now, its gone up another $5.00/day.  Crazy.  It is at the point where you have to start considering port parking when choosing a cruise.  Rather than driving in the day of and parking, it may get to the point where it will be cheaper to stay one night in a hotel with extended stay parking and a free shuttle to/from the port....

I used mine towards a free casino cruise that I booked after the OBC expired (wasn't paying attention and missed it by a few days).  Basically, they applied the $200 towards the amount due, so it paid all but $6.45 in the taxes/port charges.

11 hours ago, George C said:

We took a picture of a pot store in New York earlier this year and there was a large no smoking sign in the store 😁😁

In Montana you cannot partake while in the store either.  A big no no and the store owner can lose their business license, which are rather hard to come by.

On our last cruise we focused on my wife getting to prime.  She got to 2,700 points while I have 11 points (basically I used my free play in the slots until it ran out).  She now frequently gets offers for interior/ocean view cabins for 3-5 day cruises.  We have another cruise coming up in February and there is no way she will get to the Signature tier at 12,500 points.  I could probably make it to prime, but since we are D+ free drinks in the casino for both of us is not that important.  My question is, if we again focus on her points, and she gets to 5K - 6K points, do her offers get better, for example more free balcony or longer cruise offers/discounts?

As to the credit card, I always claim mine after final payment and it usually posts within a day or two.  I have read on here that if you request it before final payment that it may not be processed by BOA for a while longer.

3 minutes ago, sailaway2joy said:

The spa price says from $103 advertised as 30% off  No BOGO mentioned.    That’s 30% from $148. But it wouldn’t give me that price when I tried to reserve a time.  So I’m wondering if different time slots have the discount where others don’t?  Or does it show up as on board credit.  Princess does that.  I’ll book an excursion, pay full price but they apply 10% to OBC. 

I have found different time slots have different prices and there may only be one time that actually is that discounted price.  It has happened to me and I checked every single time slot and never found one at the offered discount.  Kind of like the lottery scratch off where it says they can still sell tickets even if the main prize has already been won....

There is a whole other discussion on corkage fee.  The "rules" say there is one but apparently no one, including me, has ever been actually charged (o'k, I think there was this one person but that may have been waiter related...).  It used to be two bottles per stateroom, but they changed it one bottle per adult limited to two per stateroom.  I guess maybe some solo cruisers were bringing two bottles.  You can put the wine in your checked backage (where you give it to the porter at the cruise terminal that later gets delivered to your room) or you can put it in a carry on bag that you lug around the cruise ship until your room is ready.  Because there is no coordination between those two luggage systems, some people have been rumored to put two bottles in the checked baggae and then take two more that they put in a carry on/roller bag.

You can also bring one bottle of wine each (up to two per stateroom).  Some have said they were able to put 2 bottles in their checked luggage and 2 bottles in a carry on.  You can also get small bottles of liquor and beer/truly through Royal Gifts.  Choices are limited and aren't necessarily the best "value" as opposed to pay as you go.  But, these are additional options.

I have frequently seen people openly using a "cheat sheet" on when to hit/stay, etc.  Do they really care about card counting?  The advantage has to be miniscule based upon the available hours of play on a normal cruise and that assumes "perfect" play.

Just now, js said:

Hi. I am planning on getting the DBP and my dh would be fine with the Diamond Vouchers. I am the drinker. We both get the 4 vouchers per day as Diamond but is my name linked to "my" voucher so I have to always order the drink or can my dh just take the 8 vouchers and drink during the day even if I'm not with him.

Thank you so much.

My experience was I needed to take my wife's sea pass card to use her vouchers.  I never had any trouble handing the bartender her card when she was not around.  You just need to make sure that when you are drinking together that you use your voucher's first.  That way, if he is away from you, he still has vouchers on his own card to use.

47 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Mike mentioned booking ahead. Allure would not use pre booked lower price. They charged the full price for night 1. 2nd night is free. 

I would think that with the pre-booked reservation you could at least keep your original time, even if they charged you full price once you got there.  This could be helpful especially if now all the D+ have to use only the 1st and 2nd nights.  Seems like Royal may be trying to limit its use as it would be more likely for nights 1 and 2 to then be sold out, so late boarding D+ would have no availability.

Not sure how the girlfriend using the FREE diamond plus drinks would be "cheating".  I have read on here where a person got the coffee card for the other person and didn't even need to get the soda/refreshment package.  A possible worst case scenario if you cancel the refreshment and they "catch" it before you board, you could use your 30% off Deluxe Package once you board.  I have never used that D+ benefit so don't know if they would somehow check what package, if any, other roommates may have when they were looking up your information....  Would be interesting to hear your result or how others have dealt with this situation.

Wow... when is a sale not a sale?  When RCI increases the prices two weeks ago and then puts them "on sale" for more than they were on sale in the previous month.  Only things actually "on sale" were the ultimate dining, specialty lunches and refreshment package.  The "up to 55% off internet" was actually higher today than it was three weeks ago with normal sale.  Not too terribly surprised but still disappointed.  I am sure some others will be able to find better deals, but few for my cruises....

Yes. Just redeem them on-line.  My OBC always appears within a few days.  Some have said that they may delay posting until after final payment, but that has not been my experience.  Can use the OBC for anything in the planner or even for on-board expenses.

Last fall I won a royal up for a JS to owners and they billed the additional gratuity on my credit card as part of the entire upgrade price.  Although it appears no experience is similar (typical for RCI) I doubt they will cancel and then re-bill the gratuities.  Also, in my case, I had pre-paid my gratuites and before the cruise the base gratuity price was increased.  My royal up gratuties were calculated at the original lower rate and not the "new" higher price that were in effect at the time of the royal up.

Mailed ours mid-June this summer and it took 42 days (6 weeks) for non-expedited to our doorstep.  Had read horror stories earlier this year about it taking almost 3 months, so it seems it has worked itself out.

Not so sure its "a lot cheaper" depending on your drinking habits.  I have a cruise upcoming where the refreshment package is $34/day.  The Deluxe is $75/day.  At $14/liquor drink it only takes 3 liquor drinks a day to make up that difference....

2 hours ago, steveru621 said:

I'm guessing you want them to refund your money if RCI resells your cabin?  Maybe they should allow you to resell the cabin?

I would think depending on your original booking you could.  If you booked a room for say 4 people, as long as the main person remained on the reservation, you could sell/change the name for guests 2, 3 and 4.  On boarding day, the main person would just no show and the "new" guests could still board.  This would allow you to effectively "sell" your reservation, assuming you could find someone will to buy it, past the payment in full date.

You didn't mention when your cruise is, but if you can wait about 10 days you will catch the black friday sales, which may be even cheaper.

I have been tracking my cruises for several years.  You have a very good shot at getting internet discounts, soda/refreshment, photo and sometimes the key.  Non-Coco-Cay excursions have been hit and miss, but Coco Cay usually has the lowest prices of the year (last year got Coco Cay Club for $89).  Individual restaraunts are sometimes 5%-10% lower.  The actual 3 day and UDP and Deluxe Beverage had no sale difference than any of the other "sales" throughout the year.  Obvioualy, your experience may be different, especially this year.

1 hour ago, surgie said:

I am trying to keep on top of the ever-changing pricing on beverage packages so I can cancel and rebook mine if there is a price drop. Right now our sailing has 20% off making the sale price $79.99 per day. Do I add 18% for gratuities to this making the cost approximately $94 per day x 7 days = $658? I am not able to do a mock purchase and add it to my cart since I have already purchased it several months ago. 

Yes.  The 18% is added to the "sales" price.  They tend to fluctuate between the 20% off and BOGO50 (effectively 25% off) off the "on board" price.  Black Friday sales (starting around 11/18/23) may offer your best chance for a lower rate.  Although I did recently sale on the Harmony and about 5 weeks out they started offering a 30% off sale.  Finally, someone had posted a "spreadsheet" where you could input the sailing information for any ship/date and it would pull the information and see what sales were going on, even for ships you did not have a reservation.  Really a pretty cool little program.

Was there a few day ago.  Harmony and Freedom were both there.  no issues with finding open loungers, chairs, or even the big sofa's.  If you have never been, remember there is a little flag on the beach lounger you can put "up" so the attendant can come and get you drinks.  Yes, you can use your diamond drinks on coco cay.  Had someone next to us complaining that they weren't getting service.  They didn't know that they had to put the flag up to get service...

As you noticed, Grand Suites and above have a higher gratuity than Junior Suites and below.  As to any additional tip, tip what you feel comfortable with, if any.

Let the chaos begin....

Wait a day for the 30% off plus up to $650 off.... in a week it will change for a day or so for the 30% off and then a couple of days later switch back to the 30% + $650 and so forth.  Also, if you book "now" and you see a cheaper price later, you can usually get a re-price at the lower price...  same holds true with the cruise planner purchases.  So, usually no harm in booking sooner as sometimes prices go up and stay up....

Not to hijack the thread, but can you get the OBC for 1) free casino cruise (where you only pay taxes/grats); 2) free cruise that you pay to upgrade your room (say from interior to balcony); or 3) free cruise where you get a free balcony, but upgrade to a JS which was actually cheaper than the balcony so you still only paid taxes/grats?