marymunro

On 8/10/2022 at 3:13 AM, lonig said:

The Freeplay is based on your points from the cruise you are on, I had over 8000 points on my last cruise and was offered a Junior Suite and $1,000 freeplay if I booked on board with Next Cruise or completed a Next Cruise form and was charged $200 for a Reservation Number.  I completed the form and was provided a reservation number in an email within 2 days and had to call the royal Club number within 7 days to receive the free play offer as well as the cruise. I called the Royal Club line on the bottom of the certificate within

7 days.  Provided the reservation number and booked a cruise to the Greek Isles and received $1000 freeplay.  You have to follow the rules to get the comped cruise and the freeplay, but it does work.

How does using the freeplay work? I will be on Odyssey greek isle in May with $700 freeplay but I have no idea how it works  - how does it appear in a machine? Can you cash out before it’s used? Etc

Aww, you’re bursting my bubble and taking all the fun out of it!

The food on Celebrity is so much better quality, taste, presentation and variety than Royal.

I think the best way to rack up points is to play games that pay back enough to keep you playing without making frequent deposits in the machine. If it’s cold, move along… if it keeps you sitting there for hours - invest the time. Higher the bets - the more points, but also higher risk that your bankroll can vanish too soon. If you’re on a hot machine that is giving you back money to play with on higher bets, the more points per spin and the less time it will take  to reach your goal. But if machine is keeping you playing -and gives you wins on lower bets - tap the button more times to gain the points.  Good luck!

Check your Cruise planer for onboard activities “stay awhile” in case you want fo delay disembarkation and hang out at the pool (if you are on Symphony of the Seas)

We were on Oasis in Jan 2023, and the Labadee excursuions were not published until Oct-Nov. I would recommend to wait until Black Friday sale. 

36 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

It's being added to all of the O-class ships, removing the Jazz on Four lounge.

It’s not reflected in the Symphony deck plan

1 hour ago, Denversail said:

It was under construction in March. Not sure if it has opened yet. 

It would have made it a whole different experience for me, for sure 😊

Wasn’t on Oasis in January, but was much needed. Many slot machines were out of service, and the casino was bursting at the seams with so many smokers, it was really nasty smelling with no reprieve. The casino bar had 30 min wait time for a drink, packed with non-gambling chain smokers.

I’m was on Symphony last March, and again April 30th from Barcelona. Here are the shows, from the app.

I was on Oasis in January… much prefer Symphony.

On 3/22/2023 at 12:27 PM, teags said:

I read the last 20 pages and couldn’t find an answer. I’m Choice Tier with zero points yet have a couple of free cruise offers with itineraries ranging from 3 to 9 nights. I’m Australian so these are all useless to me. HOWEVER there was one option for cruises departing from Australian so obviously I snapped that up. Does anyone know why I’m getting offers despite not having any points?! I’ve probably spent $100 max in the casinos on board. 
Is it just the Australian market trying to get people on board after Covid. I’m C&A platinum but I doubt that makes any difference. 
 

Oh and I didn’t have to pay port fees or gratuities (Gratuities are always included in fares prices if you buy them in Australia) but the no port fees was weird. 
 

I’ve only come across one other person who’s had this happen to them. 
 

Sounds like you’re very lucky 🍀 Congratulations!!

In response to Def9715 - quote feature not working…
 

I think it is that you can use your award for either a free interior on select cruises, or you can use it for a $250 discount towards any cruise you book before the award expires. Booking at “next cruise” is important when you get an offer that includes OBC IF you book/ create a booking at next cruise. 

I don’t think you will find it below $100 anymore. I bought it for our party of six (ages 20-76) with Black Friday discount, still around $160 pp, and it was so worth it to me. Our Oasis cruise in Jan was very crowded, a lot of children and a ton of preteens unsupervised and raising havoc, pressing all the elevator buttons and running away, etc. The solarium hotubs were often jammed to capacity, so it was a great reprieve to spend the day at the Beach Club, where it wasn’t overly crowded and we enjoyed all the nice luxuries that others have mentioned. We had no issues with lines or drink service, and the food was amazing - especially the fillet mignon. I love the infinity edge pool, the water is so soft and relaxing.  It really depends on what you enjoy. 

On 2/18/2023 at 10:08 PM, Fla Mike said:

In addition to her regular grat, I gave her $25 up front and another $25 at the end.

She hugged me so tight I thought she cracked a rib.

So sweet ❤️

On 2/17/2023 at 3:57 PM, little britain said:

It was there and well stocked with good selection around €10 a bottle in late October!  And after security 😉 

 

It also had a much wider selection of useful items ( like toiletries etc) than I remember. 

Is there only one port, and is it the same port as RCL uses? I will be on Symphony of the Seas out of Barcelona, first time at this port for embarkation. Thanks.

31 minutes ago, nelblu said:

You can see the daily plan cost in your planner.  For instance, my upcoming August sail. the daily costs are $20.99 in the cruise planner and $26.99 for on board.

Are you sure the “regular” price shown on the cruise planner is the same as price on board? 

I’m looking into this 

On 1/29/2023 at 7:38 PM, surfjock27 said:

Hello there fellow cruisers, I have a quick question that I am hoping someone has some insight on.
 

I am Prime with Casino Royale and have a comp cruise booked for May. On the tier grid is shows "VOOM® Surf & Stream Internet Wi-Fi Packages DISCOUNT" for Prime. 
I called Casino Royale to ask if I need to utilize this discount through them, wait until I am onboard, or am I able to use the discount if I am booking on the cruise planner ahead of the cruise.

They told me they cannot do it on the phone, the discount is not available if booking on the planner ahead of the cruise, and that I would have to wait until I get on the ship. I usually book the internet ahead of time, as it's cheaper than waiting until you're on board, so I asked what the discount is on the internet, so I would know which route to go (cheaper ahead of time without the tier discount or cheaper on the ship with the tier discount) and they told me "there is no specific discount percentage, so I am unsure."

Does anyone know how to utilize the VOOM Casino discount and minimize the cost? 
Thanks in advance. 

I’m looking into this very same question. From the answers below, it’s 30% onboard price, so now I wonder How much is VOOM for 7 days on Symphony of the Seas? 

On 1/3/2023 at 10:26 PM, marymunro said:

Still have over $900 refund pending from Black Friday repurchase. Just made my weekly follow up call….9 minutes - then disconnected. Had to call back. 45 minutes later,  heard the same story; ‘resolutions team confirmed it was approved and processed, expect to receive in 5-7 days’. 

Happy to report I finally got my remaining credits.

On 1/4/2023 at 3:51 PM, nu_cruzer1 said:

Still waiting for remaining $630.  Was told that it was processed on Dec 29 and will take another 10 days.  However, the refund amount is short $45 and I will now need to track that down separately.  Ugh.

If you paid for someone in a linked booking,  they will only find it for ‘reprocessing’ if you tell them all of the booking numbers.

Still have over $900 refund pending from Black Friday repurchase. Just made my weekly follow up call….9 minutes - then disconnected. Had to call back. 45 minutes later,  heard the same story; ‘resolutions team confirmed it was approved and processed, expect to receive in 5-7 days’. 

I am still pending the remaining $900+ from Nov 18th. Every time I call, they have to ‘reprocess” (another 10 days). 

I’m waiting for over $4,000 refund since Nov. 18th. I was on the phone for an hour and 20 minutes, then disconnected with no call back. Called next day and heard “at least 30 business days”… not acceptable.  

I booked an upgraded category and paid the difference, then the  price dropped on the upgraded category and I was able to get a big part of my upgrade fee reduced and credited back to my credit card. It’s worth keeping an eye on the base fare.

On 12/19/2021 at 3:52 AM, cruisin'mama said:

We booked with Stormy Pirates but haven’t been out with them yet. ( we go in Feb. ) I read good reviews before I booked….

How did it go? 🙂

I would like to book zip line in Labadee, but it’s not in the cruise planner for our January cruise. Does it appear on the cruise planner eventually?