Tree_skier

Good stuff! I'm following along.

I do this all the time. I want to play Black Jack and not slots. I'll go to a slot machine, charge $500 to my onboard account, immediately cash it out and then find a seat at a table. The advantage to doing this is no premium is charge for cash and because I have my RC branded BOA visa on account, I receive double BOA points because the charge shows up as a Royal Caribbean purchase.

7 more cruises until I hit D+. They are all booked but that'll take a couple of years to knock out.

For me, going forward, It'll be Chops plus 1 and embarkation day lunch. That's it, I'm just to miserly to spend 325 on the UDP. Usually by the day 6 I'm fooded out anyways and I don't mind the MDR at all.

Definitely following along on this Live 😉 This one looks to be fun ride.

Mine is weirdly inconsistent. Everything available for all cruises through the end of 2023. Nothing available for cruise in Feb 2024. But the everything is bookable for the balance of 2024. Then when I look at 2025 bookings we're back to nothing available.

Did you book Hibachi for our upcoming Harmony cruise in Dec?

They have priced me out of the UDP now... I'll buy a couple individual dinners for specialty and stick with what is included for the rest. I have had and enjoyed the UDP but not at these new prices. The last time I had it was on Oasis March 2023 and I paid 225 pp plus grats. For cruise on Harmony in Dec they know want $327 pp plus grats. No way it is worth it any more. I'd be interested at $250 and below.

That is not the case. Your status with Royal doesn't play into it all. For some inexplicable reason Royal releases the ability to book dining at different time without any regard for consistency. I have a cruise in Sept 2024 on Liberty with all my dining already wrapped up. My Feb 2024 on adventure still has nothing available ("amazing experiences coming soon"). Just keep checking back eventually it will show up and you can book all your MTD reservations.

Very easy just got to a slot machine and charge $600 to your onboard account. The OBC will be used before there is a charge to your CC.

Her dry dock appears to be 6 weeks but I agree I doubt there will be much done beyond a superficial touchup. Navigator is already considered "Amped". There isn't much more they are going to do to a Voyager class ship.

This sounds like a GS person who doesn't understand the existing program. That makes no sense and would be the first loyalty program that I had ever heard of the disqualified minors from participating.

Lots of Ubers

I'd skip it at those prices. You can have a really great beach day without spending that kind of money. I don't have Cococay scheduled until I'm on Icon Nov 2024 where the price is $169.99. I'm still a long long way out. Unless it drops in price substantially I'm planning skipping it again.

Our Princess loyalist friends I mentioned previously noted that also. They usually get mini suites on Princess. They have been one Royal cruise and were amazed at the size of Spacious OV Balcony was. They felt it was the same as a Princess mini-suite.

The advice you have been given is the best way to approach it. Make out a list of where and when you would like to eat and once onboard head strait to the first specialty restaurant you can and, with your list in hand, set your dining for the week. You may need to be a little flexible with the exact times you want but I have always gotten more than my money's worth out of the UDP. Forget about hooking up to their network or Voom or internet or anything like that deal with that while you are sitting at lunch enjoying the UDP or up on deck with a drink in your hand. 🙂 Enjoy your cruise.

Great post. In life there are always trade offs. Every product has its unique attributes that work for some and others hate. For me, Royal works. It's a mix value and luxury that fits my budget perfectly. It's a mix of fun and relaxation that fits my lifestyle perfectly. I tried NCL once and while we enjoyed ourselves we determined it wasn't the best fit for us. I've looked at Princess ( I have several friends who are Princess loyalists ). I just can't see it working for us. I have one Princess booked for next year that I think I will likely cancel. I booked it solely to cruise with these friends. The friends have agreed to come on one I have booked for Royal next year and now they are hinting the Princess dates might not work for them anymore. I'm not excited about the ship or the ports and was only cruising to be with them. I'm 90% sure that one gone. If Royal had a bigger presence on the West coast I might bankrupt myself.

I'm loving this... It's been almost 10 years since I've been in Norway. I loved our cruise up the Gerainger Fjord. My Father's home town was Aalesund. I plan on doing one of these Norwegian cruises soon.

I have seen it on most of my cruises coming up within the next 12 months between $71 and $76 pppd when they have their little sales. Tack on internet and it is about the same. Also, if I understand the Princess Plus pkg. If you go over the allotted amount per drink ie. order a premium wine or cocktail, they don't just charge you the difference but in fact charge you the whole amount. If you exceed the $14 on Royal you only pay the difference.

I rarely have this problem as I don't have any interest in sitting close to the pool. Generally, I'm looking for a lounger on the deck of above the pool and off in a corner away from the crowds. However, I have seen that kind of hogging with the clam shells taken up even in remote locations by people who rarely use them. On Navigator I watched a clam shell near where I had sat on a lounger for over two hours. The occupant showed up about an hour into it exchanged some item for another (I couldn't tell what it was) and then left never to be seen again. I moved on after the two hours as I can't sit still much longer than that but to me that is just the height of rudeness.

It varies. I've got embarkation lunch available all the way out to Dec 2024 but for Spa stuff next Feb is the earliest. That being said, for some strange reason my specialty dining for a Feb 2024 cruise on Adventure still has no specialty dining.

Good to know. I haven't done one of those yet. Hopefully soon.

Yes, DW noticed that the lowest prices of the week are usually found on Embarkation day.

No none are tender ports

I have never found Air2Sea flights to be a particularly good deal. Almost always I save substantially by booking myself. We always book with enough time should something go wrong we have some flexibility and don't have to worry about missing the cruise.