jaygee77

Couple questions in this same regard:

Any truth to the report that you can buy the drink package on board, for only one of the two adults in a cabin? Seems like that might be cheaper than even doing the call-up thing to get one Ultimate and one Refresh package (especially since we'd barely use the Refresh). 

Does the Ultimate package ever get offered 1 or more days into shorter (3-5) day cruises? 

Thanks! 

My oldest was 6 1/2 when we sailed Independence of the Seas last year, and between the new kiddie water park area and the kids club, he had a blast! He also enjoyed laser tag although got a little bit frustrated with playing against teens and adults. There were plenty of other activities and things he enjoyed, so much that we're sailing on the same ship again this year. 

Hi Chris. I'm a long time reader of your posts, but I finally have a question. 

Do the casino staff have discretion to offer free drinks to players? If so, is there a preferred way to ask? 

For context, I'm a small-stakes, table game player, but I'm usually in the casino 2-3 hours a day when I sail. In other words, I'm not looking for a free drink just to scurry off to the Schooner Bar. I'm sure I'd be more apt to gamble later into the night if the drinks were comped, but for some reason, I have an aversion to paying by the drink in the casino. I guess I'm just used to Vegas where the drinks are always comped. 

Thanks! 

My sister, who's a lifeguard, educated me on why you should never go down a waterslide with a kid in your lap. When the kid hits the water in front of you, they effectively stop for a split second. The adult is still moving behind them, and the impact from behind, combined with the surface tension of the water, can break the child's femur(s). Almost seems safer to let the child go down the slide on their own in "violation" of the height requirement, vs trying to go down the slide with them. 

Thanks - I took your advice and emailed El Cid. They got back to me really quickly with the following. I confirmed afterwards that they do not have a pass for just beach access alone. 

-------

This is the day pass, that our beautiful hotel has:

$49 USD Per Person (11:OO AM - 5:00 PM)

CHILDS: 0 - 6 YEARS OLD FREE

CHILDS: 7 - 11 YEARS OLD $28 USD

CHILDS: 12- 17 YEARS OLD $49 USD

INCLUDES:

Meals & beverages unlimited

All our facilities

Towels

Wi-Fi &                                                                                                

Snorkel Equipment (90 minutes)

The payment for the day pass is in the front desk at your arrival, no need reservation.

13 hours ago, CaspianDrago said:

They do sell duty free alcohol bottles in the shop, but they will keep them until usually the morning of debarkation, the same as if you bought alcohol in a port and brought it back.

Morning of, or night before? 

I have an upcoming sailing on RCI's Independence of the Seas. We're taking our 1 year old, who will need a pack and play to sleep in. Is there any risk of these being unavailable? We will have one with us anyway to use the night before we set sail, but not sure if we should go through the hassle of bringing it on board or just leave it in the car. 

Thanks! 

I'm trying to find out if there's any beach access within walking distance of the International Terminal in Cozumel, that doesn't require an expensive day pass. We have little ones and no car seats, so we're only considering stuff within a mile or so. Last time, we went to Park Royal (?) and paid $50/person for the all-inclusive. But since we won't be staying more than a couple of hours this time, we don't think we'll get our money's worth this time. Do any of the resorts or restaurants offer beach access passes without springing for the food/drink? Or is there anything open to the public that I've somehow missed?

Thanks in advance! 

Considering doing this on our next cruise. Silly questions but can you bring your own opener? And do you just ask any bar for a pair of wine glasses to take back to your room? 

As a backup plan, you can also make reservations in Cruise Planner for the earliest available My Time dining. This is available months in advance, but one of the more experienced members of this board can probably narrow down that timeframe better than I can. This needs to be done for each night of your cruise, but I've found that nearly every time outside of 6-7pm has been available for my upcoming cruise. 

Does it ever show up on 3-5 day cruises, or is this isolated to week-long+ voyages? 

7 minutes ago, aring75 said:

Not sure how you feel about it, but they had a rotating selection of dairy-free sorbets every night on Anthem. I have to watch the dairy too so I asked.

 

You should mention it to the head chef/maitre 'd when you board (if you don't want to contact the special needs department ahead of time). They may be able to arrange a few extra things for you, or point you in the direction of the items that would best suit your child's preferences.

Excellent ideas. I wouldn't have thought to do either of those. 

Does anyone know what kind of Dairy-free desserts Royal has to offer, at either the Windjammer or MDR? It's for a one year old, though I don't know that his age really rules anything out. Trying to figure out if we need to load up on Oreos ahead of time for him... 

Thanks in advance! 

1 hour ago, mrkfla1 said:

It showed on our trip as well in Dec and it was not served on the night it showed.

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks! 

I have an upcoming 4-night cruise on Independence of the Seas. I was looking around in Royal's app, and saw that the MDR menus are posted. It lists lobster tail on the menu for Night 4, though it also lists 5 nights of menus for this 4 night cruise. 

Can anyone confirm if lobster tail is actually served in the MDR on a 4-night Indy itinerary (out of FL, not the UK)? Or is this just another case of RCI not having accurate info on their online tools? 

Thanks in advance! 

No worries - thanks again! 

On 1/16/2019 at 8:52 AM, h20skibum said:

Day 4

 

 

 

 

 

@h20skibum Did you happen to notice if they served lobster tail in the MDR (possibly night 4) on the 4 night cruise? The app for a four night cruise on Indy lists five nights of MDR menus.

Thanks for these compasses! 

I wasn't aware until reading this thread that OBC was awarded in the casino. I play exclusively table games, and almost always at the lowest minimums offered, but I'm in there for 2-3 hours a day. Might that warrant me a small bit of OBC? If so, who should I be talking to once on board? 

1 minute ago, patlasch said:

On my last cruise, $5 gambled in the slot machines was a point, not sure about table games. So by cycling through $12,500 in the slot machines, you get the Prime status. The casino host was great about allowing me to check my progress towards it.

I wonder if it carries over from past cruises. I'll have to ask. Otherwise, even at a 90% payback machine (which seems generous), that's a $1,250 theoretical loss. I severely doubt I play that much at the tables to hit that kind of theoretical loss. Thank you for the insight! 

2 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

Follow the cruise compass for 'events'...things like the art auction, showings, conferences/demonstrations always have free champagne.  Last cruise I was on I noticed quite a few elderly ladies basically always seemed to just drop into someplace that was doing something and come out a short time later with a free champagne glass in hand.

 

Prime members in Casino get drinks free in the casino....you won't have that for your first sailing...but if you gamble enough you will have it for 2nd sailing 😉

What constitutes "prime"? I'll typically spend a couple of hours at the tables each day, but playing the lowest minimums. I'm not frugal with just alcohol! 

Well, after a few years away from cruising, I'm finally back in the fold. I've tried to catch up on a lot of the updates and changes, but to an extent the amount of material to cover is overwhelming. 

There are so many avid cruisers on this board, and you all are so knowledgeable about the details of cruising. What I'm trying to do is figure out how best to get cheap(ish) drinks on board Royal Caribbean. Here's what I've come up with so far:

I'm not going to sneak anything on board. I'm reformed. Besides, I know where those threads are. This isn't one of them. 

I'm also not going to purchase the unlimited drink package. I'm sailing with my wife and two kids. It's not THAT kind of cruise for me. 

It looks like I can get a 375 mL bottle of rum delivered to my room, in the Cruise Planner. But it also says my ship (Independence) is not eligible. I'm confused. Is this a case of RCI's website being incorrect? It looks like this may only apply to Texas-based sailings. 

Do RCI bars ever do BOGO drinks? I saw a thread somewhere that indicated as much, but it was one of the more secluded bars, only at a certain time. Do these BOGOs get advertised in the cruise compass? Or do you just have to know? 

I'm a pretty consistent table games gambler in the casino, albeit at very low stakes. I get that they don't want to give free drinks away to hit-and-run gamblers. But has anyone ever had success getting drinks comped in the casino? I'm a Platinum level on Crown and Anchor, if that matters. I know Diamond has this as a perk. 

Are there any other tips or tricks that I'm missing? Thanks in advance, especially if you have read this far. I really appreciate you! 

Well, after a few years away from cruising, I'm finally back in the fold. I've tried to catch up on a lot of the updates and changes, but to an extent the amount of material to cover is overwhelming. 

There are so many avid cruisers on this board, and you all are so knowledgeable about the details of cruising. What I'm trying to do is figure out how best to get cheap(ish) drinks on board Royal Caribbean. Here's what I've come up with so far:

I'm not going to sneak anything on board. I'm reformed. Besides, I know where those threads are. This isn't one of them. 

I'm also not going to purchase the unlimited drink package. I'm sailing with my wife and two kids. It's not THAT kind of cruise for me. 

It looks like I can get a 375 mL bottle of rum delivered to my room, in the Cruise Planner. But it also says my ship (Independence) is not eligible. I'm confused. Is this a case of RCI's website being incorrect? It looks like this may only apply to Texas-based sailings. 

Do RCI bars ever do BOGO drinks? I saw a thread somewhere that indicated as much, but it was one of the more secluded bars, only at a certain time. Do these BOGOs get advertised in the cruise compass? Or do you just have to know? 

I'm a pretty consistent table games gambler in the casino, albeit at very low stakes. I get that they don't want to give free drinks away to hit-and-run gamblers. But has anyone ever had success getting drinks comped in the casino? I'm a Platinum level on Crown and Anchor, if that matters. I know Diamond has this as a perk. 

Are there any other tips or tricks that I'm missing? Thanks in advance, especially if you have read this far. I really appreciate you! 

I suppose it'd be possible to register a protest for the higher drink prices by purchasing a drink package in advance, and then canceling it once on board, giving the stated reason of the drink prices. This would only work if you had no intention of getting the package in the first place, of course. And you'd be spending at least a few minutes of your vacation at Guest Services unnecessarily. Just a thought...

Depends on the age of the kids. How old are yours?

I was just on Independence of the Seas a week ago, and this exact question came up. While no denomination was specified, the dealer indicated that they accepted chips from other RCI ships. You can also redeem chips by taking them to guest services, or even mailing them in.

With it being 6-7 years old, it may warrant a call first just to ensure that they didn't replace all their chips in between then and now (e.g. as an anti counterfeiting measure). But I'd bet you one black chip of my own that they'd accept it on any RCI ship.