KsucAts

1 minute ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

I love that! Do you have any other big projects that need to be done??

Gonna need the outside of the house painted soon.  

3 minutes ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

They know based on her birth date (required when we booked the cruise) that she'll be 21 when we sail. If I go through the motions of adding the DBP to the cart, selecting any one of the 3 of us results in all 3 being selected. 😢 I'll call when the times comes.

 

Yup.  I just booked the drink package for us and my son doesn't turn 21 until next week and it made me buy it for him, which he wanted.  (I am making him pay half and I only paid the other half because he stained my deck for me.)  

The pricing for my cruise next month just dropped to the cheapest I have seen (76.99) so I went ahead and booked it.  It was $88 earlier today.  

2 hours ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

Of course, I know of families who have been discreet and returned to their stateroom with a drink, and then who's to know who drank it, unless you do something silly like go out onto a balcony in view of crew or cameras.

 

I know rules are rules and they are there for a reason, but there is a difference between a stranger trying to get someone drunk and a family just trying to have a nice time. 

 

I would strongly advise against trying to give him/her alcohol whilst on board anywhere else as getting caught could mean being kicked off at the next port.

BTW, depending on where your ship is sailing, some of the ports of call along the way may have bars that serve 18 year olds. Nassau has such bars, so if you are going somewhere like there, then he/she can legally purchase a drink, just make sure to bring ID. You could check ahead of bars at your ports of call to see if this is an option.

 

Mick.

 

 

Agreed.  Not worth the risk.  That is why we are waiting to sail until my son turns 21 in a couple months.  We are letting him bring a friend and the reason we denied his first request of friend to bring along.  That friend doesn't turn 21 until a month after we sail.  I know they would have tried to sneak him something and probably would not get caught, but I am not taking any chances.  

I noticed the $71 price on my cruise this morning as well.  I have been checking daily, but need to wait until at least March to pay for it (start of new loyalty point year for AA), so hoping it is that price again. 

31 minutes ago, TravisP said:

Depends on the price. If the drink price is over the limit, you pay the difference, is at or under the limit, it is covered. As others have said, I am pretty sure the per-drink limit is $14. 

And another poster mentioned that call brands were now $15+.  I am just wanting confirmation that is the case for all bourbons or if it is possible that there will be some to be under.  

6 minutes ago, Gasmanctsv said:

Yes, that is correct.

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Just off of Adventure, so prices may not apply to larger ships, but  (including mandatory 18% tip) beer was~$10/bottle; simple well brand mixed drinks (i.e. gin&tonic) were~$13; call brands ranged from $15/oz to upwards of $60/oz for a few of the single malts), mixed fancy cocktails (i.e. Mai Tai) were ~$15-$16, well brand wines were ~$12-$15, and call brand wines could run double or triple that.

2 hours ago, Colorado Buffalo said:

Doesn't the Drink Package only cover drinks up to $14.00 ?

If so then if I order a Mai Tai and it's $15 or $16, does that extra cost get changed to my account ?

 

So does that mean I can no longer get good bourbon without a slight upcharge if I buy the package?  It has been since 2018 since I cruised and I remember there being a very good selection of bourbons that were included in the package with no upcharge.  

2 hours ago, kirtihk said:

It's not the same.  If a price with cabin selection is a base then a guaranteed lesser price (it used to be a standard way of pricing) is an actual discount.  A lot of times, by the way, the price is actually the same (between guaranteed and with selection cabins) by many cruise lines.  However, if a base is a guaranteed cabin with a lesser price then you are correct and "allowed" to complain (ha-ha!!!) if the price with a cabin selection is much higher.

If you buy something at a store and it costs $100 if you pay cash or $103 if you pay on your credit card, is it a $3 credit card fee or a $3 cash discount?  (call it what you want, but it is the same thing)

8 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Maybe.  But it's kind of hard to go anywhere else for meals when your hundreds of miles from land.  I guess they could say "Buffet is included, MDR is an upcharge of $x/meal, and specialty restaurants are $y/meal".  

 

We're not dedicated cruisers, so I think if we had to pay extra for meals, we'd go elsewhere for our vacation dollars. 

I agree.  I am not going to pay a bunch extra for food.  As long as the buffet is included, we will continue to cruise & may even pay for one or two MDR meals if they do go to that model.  I don't mind paying extra for alcohol, but as soon as they start to nickel and dime me on food I will be looking at only going to all inclusives instead of alternating like we do now.  (just got back from a very nice stay in Cozumel yesterday and cruising in May on Royal.)

4 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

I think a vastly underrated benefit of drink package is the fact that you don't have to keep track of the amount spent during the cruise.  I usually select it, if I think it's going to be relatively close break-even wise.  We may not come out ahead on a dollar basis, but I don't have to think about the amount I've spent and can more easily relax on vacation.  Additionally it gives you the freedom to try different drinks that you wouldn't if you didn't have the plan.  If you don't like it, don't drink it.

Agreed.  My wife and I discussed that the other night and agreed we will buy it.  Just going to keep watching the prices for a drop, but ultimately will end up buying it.  

11 hours ago, bgoff60 said:

I do not know what level of C&A you are but...We are Diamond currently and bought the DBP for our January sailing.  AFTER that sailing we will be Diamond Plus.  At that point, we will no longer buy the DBP and just use our 5 freed drinks per person per day and pay as we go for the rest.  Seems like a no-brainer....or did I miss something.

Thanks.  We have only done 3 cruises on Royal, so no status.  That would be a nice perk and 5 per day would definitely make it so we wouldn't need the package.

This price is making it tough.  I like to drink on a cruise and drink more than most.  I miss the days when I could get it for around $50.  I just checked and it is $88.  I will keep checking daily & if it drops to $70 I will go ahead and buy it.  

Just now, Tree_skier said:

So you did the work twice and still had to pay the $25 twice?

Not exactly.  I only did one reservation twice.  I hadn't given them the info for the second one.  And also I was much more confident in the info being entered by me rather than taken by somebody else over the phone.  Not only was I certain it was accurate, it was so much quicker.

And yes, I had to pay the $25 twice, but the savings were over $200 per person and I don't have to pay the deposit for a year and is refundable other than the $25 (twice) until 3 months before the cruise.  So, not the end of the world to have to pay the $25 twice.

I just wanted to follow up with my results.  

First, I noticed that I was going to get charged a $25 booking fee for each reservation online, so I decided to go ahead and call and book them together to save $25 (or so I thought).  After about 20 minutes on the phone giving all info (the reason I wanted to do it online) for the first room, they were going to charge me $25 and then go through it all again for the second room and charge me again.  So I thanked her for her time and said I would just do it online if I had to pay that booking fee twice either way.

In less than 5 minutes, I had both rooms booked online.  Nowhere did it ask for our Royal #'s.  Then I log into my Royal account online & it had my reservation there already (assuming it matched name & birthdate).  Then I searched and found my kids' reservation on my computer.  Right after that, I opened my app on my phone and it had both reservations there.  Much easier than I expected.

Just now, brillohead said:

You might have to go to the MDR upon boarding to try to get seated at the same table.  

Nothing else really matters.  You can book excursions and drink packages and make reservations for shows on board individually by room, instead of doing all four at the same time.

Thanks.  That is what I was thinking as well.  

3 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 That is your choice but just be aware that you may run into issues linking the cruises through the 3rd party if you do it any way other than how they say to do it.  Not saying it cannot be done, just saying they may have that rule in place for a reason. 

 

I guess that is what my question was.  What are the concerns if I am not able to link the cruises to each other?  Does it really matter?

Just now, brillohead said:

I would book through an actual human travel agent rather than an website-only agency. 

They have a phone # to talk to a human and I am forced to do that if I want to book two at the same time.  I prefer to do everything online rather than talk to somebody.  

I have always booked through Royal's website directly, but am likely going to book through another website the next time (mainly to earn bonus airline miles, but also is a little cheaper).  Unfortunately, this website doesn't let me book two rooms at once and says I need to call.  The second room is for my adult (21 & 23) children.  I really don't want to call and would prefer to book it all online.  

My question is, what are the disadvantages if I book them as two separate reservations instead of them being linked together?  

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You need to go through the booking all the way to the payment page to see that option. 

Thanks.  Getting ready to check that out now to see if it changes the price.

Just tried and don't see it.

4 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

There is no way that getting 2 or 3 boosters a year is viable.  As you noted only 28% of the population has had the 3rd shot. I am getting these threads mixed up but I have posted I  had 3 and I am not running out and getting the 4th shot with the current data.  Someone in that thread implied my position was antivax. What the F !!!!   If there were an annual shot that was improved I believe an uptake would be higher.  That is if it is actually needed.  It seems that some want to measure by quantity of antibodies rather than quality of protection. If covid remains a lessor threat of serious illness than before then it won't be forever. On this thread the main point i am making  is that a date vaccination won't be required is unknown. It could be not required in 2023. It could be not required in two months. It could be not required in 2024, etc. Also I would happily cruise with the OP who asked the question. I don't care if OP is vaccinated or not. 

Thank you and why should you?  If the vaxes work, then it shouldn't matter to you what everybody else does.  And by the way, I have read all sorts of studies and the facts are that the vax poses a risk.  Saw something like 5x more likely for a heart attack for vaxed vs. unvaxed.  I have natural antibodies and have been tested for them multiple times since my wife and daughter had Covid in July 2020.  (I had it apparently, with very minor symptoms).  My last antibody test a couple months ago showed I still have very high levels.  I am not taking a shot that poses a risk to me for a virus that I have natural antibodies for and when I had the virus had virtually no symptoms.  

7 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

None can predict ( that includes drink prices LOL)  but it will never go back to the way it was in 2019.  If there is annual covid shot the may be required forever......

One can only hope that it isn't.  If it is, we will never cruise again & I am sure there are others that feel the same way.  I would think the cruise industry will not want to limit their customer base forever.  

My apologies, as I don't have time to do research right now & have been away from these boards since I had to cancel my 2020 cruise.  

We have a group of friends who want to take a cruise in Feb. or March of 2023.  We have agreed on Royal Caribbean out of Galveston on Allure.  But in order for me to go, I want all Covid related rules to be completely gone - no vax requirements, no testing, no masks, etc.  Back to the way it was in 2019.  What is the general feeling of when everything will go away?

Also, what are drink package prices currently going for?

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

I'm really sorry you lost your mother to this. I truly am. 

 

With that said, almost every time I hear about "common decency and moral obligation" on the internet, it is an emotional play to override logic. This is no different. It's almost like correlating that me cruising without a vaccine personally killing people like your mother because I am selfish. 

 

COVID is not a threat to everyone, period. In the nursing home incidents, what if the patients and staff were vaccinated? What does it matter at that point what someone on vacation is doing? Quit always trying to point the blame to someone. For anyone who just opened up Google to find a reason to argue that, just stop. We had tons of nursing home deaths because we "took action" but not the right action in most cases. Look at the disaster in New York. Just "doing stuff" is ineffective and always will be. 

 

And then we talk about selfish people who don't want to get vaccinated because other people might have their vacation inconvenienced. Talk about irony. You can't make this self-righteousness up. I don't take medicine I don't need. I have already had COVID. Not only was I just fine, but no one has yet to prove why I need a vaccine or that the vaccine is stronger than my natural immunity. There is no reason to stop a cruise if all of the scared and sick people have the vaccination. We never stopped a cruise for an illness matter how old and sickly some people were on board. Just put the internet down. 

 

 

This post screams of "I fully support the right of businesses to make the choices they feel are right for their business. As long as it is exactly the same view I have". 

This is how me and my wife (and 2 children) feel.  We all have had the virus.  There is no evidence that I have seen that any more than a tiny, tiny fraction of people have become reinfected.  So the logic tells me that the natural immunity is very strong.  I see articles every day about vaccinated people becoming infected.  So that reassures me that the natural immunity is stronger than the vaccine.  I also hear of a lot of people having (most of them minor) side affects to the vaccine.  So why on earth should I get a vaccine where I am likely to have some sort of side affects when I already have stronger immunity to the virus than the vaccine provides.

2 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Didn't misquote you at all.  You said that you never wore a mask for more than 60 minutes and you also said that you took 6 RT flights.  All I said was that those must have been really short hop type of flights if your mask wearing duration was only 60 minutes.

Here is the rest of what I said.

I suck it up for airplanes and wear a mask (with frequent drink breaks) and for my son's basketball games.  Other than those two things, I haven't worn a mask for more than a total of an hour in the past 12 months. 

13 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

 

 

They must be awfully short flights if you haven't worn a mask for more than 60 minutes.    Does your airport you're flying out of require masks? They must not, since that would lengthen the time that you're wearing a mask.

Way to misquote me.  You left out a few important words from my sentence.  And as far as the airport goes, I would have a few minutes for each flight (if you don't want to consider the airport time since I specifically said airplanes), but as soon as I get through security I belly up to the bar until it is time to board.