RFerrington

I recently sailed with a friend who has only sailed with Royal Caribbean a few times and has no status with the cruise line or in the casino. His issue was not with a wire transfer (honestly, I have never even heard of anything relating to a wire transfer involving the casino) but he had pre-arranged a line of credit with which to gamble (or so he thought) to avoid the "convenience" fees but it never went through properly DESPITE the fact that he had an email confirming that it had been successful and all was "good-to-go". To say that he was unhappy is a gross understatement. I'm certain that he will never sail with Royal Caribbean again, unfortunately. It was a hot mess. So I don't think these "credit work-arounds" are particularly reliable. I think they are infrequently used and therefore the process is imperfect. Based on my friend's experience I would never recommend it. Maybe they will get their act together at some point but right now, it doesn't appear that they have.

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When you say, "cancelled" do you think they mean CANCELLED cancelled or just cancelled for one (or 2) cruises ?

There is often a kiosk set up near the entrance to the MDR on the deck where you embark....but that isn't always the case and sometimes they only handle MDR reservations and not specialty dining. That's usually where we go and then deviate from that if it fails to produce.

I’ve had mixed results on this one. On one ship (I think it was Allure, but I’m not certain), we were only permitted to use our BOGO on night #1 but that is the only time we have had that kind of limitation. I wasn’t happy, but I didn’t argue. In my mind, they were saving me money so I just went with it !

We have never been denied the use of BOGO BUT sometimes there are limitations on when you can use them. On a cruise last year (sorry, I cannot recall which ship it was) they were only honoring BOGO on night #1. That's the only such limitation we have encountered. Technically, you are supposed to use the BOGO only on nights #1 and/or #2 but the enforcement of this rule varies wildly. In most cases the ships will honor a BOGO on nights other than 1 or 2 but there are some ships that are strict on sticking to the "rule". How and when you actually pay for the BOGO is also very inconsistent. We are currently on Enchantment and we were charged for both of our BOGO's on night #1 and then allowed to use them whenever we chose BUT I highly suspect that this ship has such a rule b/c there is only 1 specialty restaurant on this ship and so there is no variation in pricing for the specialty restaurant(s). This was actually the easiest use of the BOGO that we have experienced. No ambiguity, confusion or misunderstand (which definitely HAS happened with other ships in the past regarding BOGO)...pay up front and enjoy it whenever you choose. We always stop by the kiosk or one of the specialty restaurants on day #1 and ask about the BOGO policy. We have never purchased a specialty meal before boarding and expected/anticipated it to be converted to a BOGO after-the-fact and/or receive any kind of credit or refund. Too much of a hassle there.

On Wonder the Grand Suites are located on the same level as the Coastal Kitchen so it's very convenient to pop in there and get a drink if you are in your room. As @wdwkings mentioned, if one person in the suite gets the DBP then all of the adults in that room must get a drink package as well (although it does not have to be the alcohol package). Unless you have some very heavy drinkers in your group I would say that the DPB would be a waste of money but only you can make that determination. Water, sodas, beer and wine are complimentary to full suite guests in the Coastal Kitchen from 11AM-11PM....and cocktails are available during the evening happy hour.

We use the W&F laundry on every cruise where it is applicable (5+ nights) and have never, ever had anything damaged or ruined. I send nearly everything out to be laundered. The tales of damage from the ship’s laundry are very overblown, in my experience.

Roger. Thanks !

Thank you for getting this direct information. So just to be clear, you, as a cross-over P/Z are being allowed in the Retreat on your current cruise ? Thank you !

NVM Answered my own question

As an aside (having nothing to do with this particular conversation 🤪) they are offering 3 night packages on our upcoming Enchantment 4 and 5 night cruises....the only exception (of which I am aware) to the "7 nights or longer" rule that I expressed earlier. I assume (but don't know) that this is somehow a function of the fact that EN only has 1 specialty restaurant. It's somewhat counterintuitive as one would think that a ship with only 1 specialty restaurant would want to minimize the availability of its discounted specialty dining options but I guess perhaps the demand for specialty dining when one only has a choice of -1-, is lower. Who knows. But to my knowledge, this is the only exception of which I am aware where a 3 night package is being offered on a cruise of less than 7 days in duration.

On the rare occasions that we book a PVR we always choose one on deck 8 near the rear elevators. These rooms are VERY quiet even during parades and/or Promenade events. While not our first option, these rooms are a good value for what they are, and a very good option for an alternative to a true inside cabin. Just be careful of your location. Not much you can do about your location if you RU but my advice is never ever RU within the same category that you are already booked in. IOW, if you’re booked in an interior, only bid on higher categories (OV or above). That’s the only way to ensure that you actually do get a real upgrade…and I would never bid on a RU if I were in a GTY….which is never…

Our experience has been that the 3 night pkg is only available on 7+ night sailings. For our upcoming EX 10 night sailing they are offering a 5 night pkg which I haven’t seen in a long time. No discount at all on that one though. I haven’t seen a 3 night pkg on a cruise of less than 7 nights in a while. The 3 night pkg + BOGO works great for us when they offer it.

My CP has been glitchy since yesterday. I have to refresh it every time I want to go to a new CP page or else it just take forEVER for the page to load.

This pretty much sums up our feelings on the CK as well. CK isn’t horrible but it is far from “special”. We rarely purchase the UDP anymore b/c it is just too much food for us but we generally purchase a 3 night package and use our BOGO. We will use the CK for boarding day lunch and an occasional lunch here and there (although we generally skip lunch) and for breakfast, as you mentioned, which is the best meal served in the CK, IMO. It’s nice to have the CK as a fall-back position (we avoid the MDR/WJ almost entirely) but I will never use the CK as my go-to dinner venue.

I have heard this time and time again, regarding MSC. I have never sailed on MSC so I cannot comment personally, but from what I have read, unless you are in the YC the experience is subpar. Maybe I will try it one day to see for myself.

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Nothing available on the Cruise Planner yet....at least, not on our September sailings.

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I found the most savings to be for specialty lunches. A few dining packages resulted in some savings but nearly all of my boarding day lunches dropped in price today. It’s nice to see a REAL “sale” occasionally.

Wow, that trip around Africa was quick...and quiet.

You betcha !

Currently, the only Royal Caribbean private destination that has an exclusive (although not entirely exclusive anymore since non-suites can now book the suites cabanas at Barefoot Beach) suites area is Labadee….and Royal Caribbean is not currently calling at Labadee so I’m not sure this particular perk is relevant at the moment.

So agree with you re: Voices. I thought it was horrible. Effectors II is ok....once....but no need to see it again.