cruisejess

Thanks for the info.

Does that mean those machines get quadruple points during double point hours then:confused: easy way to rack up Mickey Mouse points if they do:D

I have no idea. When I asked my "real" point balance I was told that "the system runs behind". I gave up after earning the $500 certificate but for all I know I was only a few points away from the $750 certificate.

Very interesting and good to know

Maybe something they are trying out as part of the NEW program to confuse everyone about how many real points they have:D

 

In our experience Double points are for the whole casino on slots, typically 9am-11am on sea days and another time slot in the late evening.

 

With no consistency from ship to ship, and no transparency from CR on the New program I guess we will continue to see variables outside the normality for some time to come;)

 

Happy Days!

I agree about the lack of transparency with the program and the points. I am going on the Anthem in a couple of weeks and will play lightly. Also it seems that the new certificates reward lots of casino players and have no correlation to Club Royal.

On our March Granduer cruise there were machines that always gave double points. They had signs on them. So, there were morning double points, late night double point and on some machines always double points.

I understand what the free double points are for, but the casino hosts had a difficult time telling me how many real points I had. I am a member of Club Royal and know how much cash I had to spend to be invited. On our cruise the promotion was run in the morning, late at night and at all times on certain machines.

On our March Grandeur cruise double slot points did not count towards cruise certificates. It made the program difficult to calculate. I wish that they hadn't offered double points because I never knew how many "real" points I had and even the host had a hard time telling me. The new system is frustrating and confusing.

We were upgraded to one a couple of years ago (just two of us). The master bedroom has a TV and there is one in the living room, but the second bedroom (that sleeps 4 people) has none!

First time on Grandeur & RCCL. What are the best balcony cabins and junior suites to book? We are looking at the cruise to Canada and back to Balitmore for September 2016.

 

We have only cruise with Celebrity and Disney Cruise Lines.

 

We are Elite members with Celebrity Cruise Lines and we have a Crown & Anchor #.

 

Thanks for any information in advance.

We love the two corner aft Jr. Suites on deck 7. They have fantastic wrap around balconies and walk in closets.

We loved DD on the Anthem in January. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner mostly in American Icon. We had not one complaint. Sadly the poor waiter seemed on edge. They asked us repeatedly if everything was okay. We took the Grandeur last month and found the dining room menus much less exciting and bland. We ate most nights in the specialty restaurants or ordered the filet from Chops. We were looking forward to going on Anthem in May and enjoying the offerings again, but are now worried that they will be gone. We prepurchased the 5 night specialty package. Maybe that's what they wanted.

As for the moaners and groaners, they are on every cruise. Mostly in the Diamond Lounge, sitting for hours and tipping a dollar a night. If this is the crowd they want to please good luck. They often talk proudly about their "zero balance" on board account. They badger the concierge and give their "very important" opinion to any one in a uniform wearing stripes. On the Grandeur they felt so at home I watched one of them take out a pair of nail clippers and cut his nails.

I wish that their opinions didn't matter so much.

They should really announce the change and make it outside of the penalty period. We are sailing in May and I don't think we would have booked it without DD. We had wonderful service and food on our January Anthem trip and were looking forward to having the same choices in May. We just returned from the Grandeur and I found the 10 night dining room menus boring. The service was outstanding, but we spent four nights in the specialty restaurants and ordered the Chops steaks in the dining room on many others. We are not foodies and I don't think we are particularly picky. The regular dining room menus have been around a while now and I think it's time for a change.

On another cruise line (that gets bashed here) they have regular broadcast TV. The major networks from Miami stations. I love to watch the morning shows while getting ready to start my day. I don't understand why RCI can't do the same.

We have had to cancel a couple of cruises for work reasons and have used RCI policies. You receive your money back for port and taxes and for whatever portion of the cruise is not in penalty. For the cruise cost that is in penalty you get 75% back as future cruise credit. For instance, your cruise cost $2300.00, $300 was port and taxes, you're in 75% penalty. You would get $800 back to the credit card you used to purchase the trip. The other $1500 would be multiplied by 75% and you would get $1125 in a future cruise voucher to be used within 2 years (I think, we never take that long to reschedule). Hope this was a good explenation and my math is correct. I hope you get the vacation time!

We have pretty simple palettes and enjoyed our dinners there immensely. I thought the desserts were the best we have had on a cruise in a long, long time. On a side note, we didn't want to have a full meal at Jamies so we went to Vintages and ordered one of each of all the small plates. It was lovely!

We had wonderful service in both American Icon and Silk. At dinnertime we were in and out of both restaurants in less then an hour. We also had breakfast and lunch in America Icon almost everyday and never had a wait or an issue with service. The food was quite good. We also had a great room steward and fabulous bar servers.

The only issue we had on the ship was our fellow passengers. They were the most self important people we have ever sailed with. The entire 11 days we contended with people that would try to get on an elevator before letting the other guests off. Also if there was a line for something like a show there would be people trying to cut into it. I saw an argument break out in 270 because a gentleman disregarded the line entirely because he just wanted "one thing".

At almost every bar someone would walk up and start tapping their card on the bar top to get service. Just plain rude.

I'm not sure why our experience was different with dining and staff, but I wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on the ship. I'm just going to pack a whistle and blow it when the rules of civility are violated.

We will also be on Anthem on Friday :) and I'll be sailing again on Anthem on March 7, so any cash rebate you & I earned on Friday's sailing, we will be able to pick up at the casino Cashier since these cruises sail before March 15 2016.

 

We had a great time on Anthem with no complaints.

 

Having a wonderful cruise and good luck in the casino!

Thank you and good luck!

We are leaving on the Anthem Friday, and I have a cash rebate. We are sailing again on March 12, so my question is what happens with my comps from the January sailing? Will I get anything for the March cruise? This program is very confusing :)

Thanks

Thanks for the information about embarkation day!

Does anyone know which restaurants are open for lunch on embarkation day? I don't enjoy the chaos of the Windjammer the first day. I was thinking about boarding a little later and having lunch first, but if Jamies or Chops are open I would happily pay to have lunch there.

Thanks!

This is a typical drink list:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47963885&postcount=12

 

Our experience is that no one much cares anymore if you take drinks out.

Thanks!

What beverages are served and at what time? Do you have to consume them in the club?

Thanks!

The same cooking show for 10 days because you know passengers enjoy seeing her make enough meals for a week over and over again. Sure would be nice to watch Good Morning America or the Today show.

I feel like my favorite TV show has been cancelled half way through the season. Please come back and finish your review!

We are looking at the Veendam in August. I wondered if the Vista Suites were considered suites for the promotion or if it was only for Neptune Suites. Thanks!

Last week on the Grandeur we were not really happy with your time dining on the Grandeur. We ended up eating in the specialty restaurants for the last eight nights. They gave us a 30% discount each night. It was worth it for us, but figure it cost about $500 with tips.

We had a very nice 10 days on the ship. We did however find a couple of things that would prevent us from sailing on her again. The "Your time Dining" option just didn't work. We had reservations, but were told we really should arrive a half an hour before our reserved time if we wanted a table for two. Then the service was slow and impersonal. We ended up just eating at the specialty restaurants for eight of the nights. The service in those venues was excellent and the food wonderful. With tips for the waitstaff each night we estimate that it cost us an additional $500. for the trip. At breakfast and lunch in the dining room it was a big hassle to get seated at a table for two. The staff was not rude, but disinterested. The soup bowls had more soup dripped down the outside of the bowls then in them and the ice cream arrived melted.

Our other issue revolved around entertainment. It seemed aimed at the over 70 crowd. One of the bands that played in the centrum looked like they came from the Lawrence Welk era. The shows also seemed outdated and like things that we would have seen when we started cruising 20 years ago.

I will say we met terrific fellow passengers onboard and had fun every night in the casino bar with them.

All and all it was a great vacation and we were glad to come home to somewhat spring like weather. Have a great vacation.

It looks like we may have to cancel our trip next month. Unfortunately, just last week I cashed in 50000 for $500 of OBC. Does anyone have experience with this situation? Will my points go back to my Carnival Mastercard?

Thanks!