TN Vol Fan

The grill on Eqinox is just hamburgers and hot dogs- an outdoor supplement to the buffet, no additional fee. The Lawn Club Grill is a specialty restaurant with an additional price-a full 3 course dinner/sometimes lunch that requires reservations. It also has a larger selection of foods, and allows you the experience of grilling your own food under the expertise of a chef.

These are two very different venues.

Do you have to stay & use the kit at that time to get the free kit? While I'd love the kit, I don't want to miss out on the sunshine during my only seaday!

It's pretty much up to the Activities staff doing the class. One time they insisted you stay for the class and another time (another ship) they just gave me the kit to take home, while others worked the kit there.

I do think they still do it on different ships, but maybe not every itinerary. And last I remember it's always on a sea day as others have reported.

I'm not a dedicated scrapbooker, but my DDIL is and we had a lot of fun doing the class.

The kits themselves are the standard ones you can get at any craft store. I think they include a few stock photos, but you have to decide if the price is worth it. IMHO, they're overpriced. And, sorry, but no, I don't remember how much they were. I just looked at them and went yikes!

 

Kathy

You have to distinguish between the scrapbooking kits given out for free during the classes and the kits sold thru the Photo Dept. The free ones are really creative - the bought ones are the stock not so nice ones. I think they're still doing the craft classes with the free ones.

We bought the package on board on the Solstice back in Aug. (Alaska) and got all the prints we cared to take, plus the CD of all of them for $300. That was $50 discount from full price of $350. It was a great deal and a wonderful way of not having to pick and choose from our pix. They were also offering 5 sheets for $100 (saving $25). Lots of fun going from venue to venue for different looks. I think we ended up with at least 50 sheets of all kinds of shots, including those crazy ones with the staff in costumes.

We found the photo staff to be very knowledgeable and friendly. We got great service and had no trouble getting our pix on the last night, although there was a line and others seemed to have some questions/trouble with what they thought they were buying.

Our price did not include the DVD.

I think if you have traveling companions or family members along, this is a great way to take home some memories. You might want to wait and see if they have any kind of a sale when you get on board.

My question was whether we can now get OBC for our stock since we are not getting any other "perk" such as 123. Thanks

You're still getting the Thanksgiving 15% off promo so I'm thinking you could not get your OBC from your stock. With all the promos in & out, we haven't been able to get our stock OBC in several years. But I would certainly call and ask- maybe you'll be lucky!

Maybe if they add Elite levels to the Captain's Club, using that stock OBC may be a perk that wouldn't cost them too much- but that's a different topic.

I'm happy to see I'm not the only one sticking with the better perks instead of the current % off the fare.

Good luck to everyone trying to get a better price.

Just checked out the lowered prices for our Mar. 2014 Silhouette cruise to the Caribbean. Yes, they did go down BUT after checking with X, we would loose our OBC as well as a drink package perk. Decided to pass on the lower prices and keep our extra perks.

I'm not complaining, just warning newer CC folks to check before getting excited about a "lower" cruise price. If you have no X perks, go for the new prices, but do the math and see if it's worth it to change and loose benefits.

This is the system in place- book when you are comfortable with the price. If you get in on a promotion, all the better. But don't cry about how you can't get the lower prices and keep all your perks!

See you on the waves.

Concerning the artwork: not only is there a book, if you go to Guest Relations, they should have an IPAD with a self guided art tour of all the art on board. You can go at your leisure and return the IPAD in 3 hours. A lot of fun and information if you are into art.

Enjoy your cruise.

When we stopped in Le Harve several years ago on the Constellation, my husband did not want to go to Paris. He found an ex-pat Brit doing a military history tour of Normandy and surrounds. I took the regular train for a lovely 2 hour ride into Paris; it dropped me right at a Metro stop and all I did was go to the Louvre for the day. You just have to watch the train schedule for returning trips to Le Havre to be on time for your ship leaving. Very easy and the train was great, better than a bus ride.

If you want to do other touristy things, it will make for a very busy day, but with a little advance planning it's doable. Take the train!

I told my wife any time she needs a touch up, just let me know. I've got about a gallon of shellac and some spar varnish out in the shop and a 3" brush.

Cecil

I was wondering how travels are marking their bags for easy identification off carousels, etc.? I know some people buy colored/pattern luggage, but for those that have plain old black luggage, what are some ways to mark them for easy identification without doing much damage or anything permanent to the bag?

What we've done is to use colored tape around the handles. Look in your local hardware store for colored electrical tape. Works well and makes your black bag stand out from the other black bags.

If you received a W2-G form when you won then you'll probably have to pay. Most winnings over $1200 on slots is considered taxable as 'other income' on your filings. Even though you weren't on american soil, the IRS still looks at is as taxable income (i.e. same as if you were working in japan, you'd still pay partial taxes to the US). If they don't have your info or players card, you're probably cool.

When we were on a Celebrity cruise down to the Caribbean last year, my DH hit the Let IT Ride table for $8,000 and they just handed him the cash in an envelope- no paper work of any kind. No record or taxes. Sweet enough.

I'm a slots player and the best I've ever done on a cruise ship is about $1200 on one machine but that was built up over an evening and it was only a .05 machine. I have had a few $500 bonus payouts over all the time I've spent in ships' casinos.

Good luck to everybody! R.L.