rt1092

55 minutes ago, racenut said:

I need educating, please! I've received good booking rates thru Next Cruise but I have received $1000 casino credit offer. Which is best way to book? Any advice is greatly appreciated! 

You can book onboard if you want then call Casino Royale and add the certificate when you get back. 

I would call as soon as possible. I had one jerk on the phone telling me they would have to reprice the cruise, because it wasn't within 24 hours of booking it, then she refused to connect me with a supervisor and hung up. I called back 2 days later and straightened it out. They added the certificate, no problem.

But remember you only have 30 days from the date on the certificate to book the cruise if not the certificate is worthless.

5 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I never play with the dealers cards. I usually miss out on full houses

I have found in my limited experience that playing the ante drains your money faster. I hope they never require it The pairs plus and the 6 card is where the money is. If you are a little lucky (just like a slot machine)

15 hours ago, Aodhan said:

 

I'm in healthcare (chiropractic (whatever folks think of that 🙂 )), but some of what is dealt with in liability is the concept of respondeat superior, and responsible parties can't sign assign their ultimate responsibility to another party.   While we had a contract with the tour operator, we also had one with RCC.    It may completely be as you say - the understanding of which is the purpose of all these posts! 

 

Thanks for your thoughts and best wishes!

It seems you are leaning towards a lawyer. That is your decision.

The best advise someone can give you is to make sure nothing comes out of your pocket. Have them take it on a contingent only basis. Don't let them use your money even if they promise huge rewards in the end.

12 minutes ago, ExpressoMama said:

Hello,

Looking for some help from those of you who are casino goers and Blackjack players. My husband has a few specific questions about the Blackjack tables(specifically on the Indy as that is the ship we’ll be sailing on 3/23, if possible)that he is hoping that someone might be able to answer.

1. Payouts at tables if the player hits a Blackjack? 3-2, 6-5?

2. Number of decks used?

2. Doubling after splitting allowed? 

3. Does the dealer need to hit on a soft 17

 

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

Diane

BJ payouts on all tables $15 minimum or less 6-5 High minimum 2-3

8 decks some ships use a constant shuffling machine. The deal puts the card back in the machine every hand.

Doubling down after split not allowed on the single deck table allowed on the 8 deck table.

Dealer hits soft 17.

I used to play blackjack a lot on the ships, but it hard to win with all their advantages. I do very well in land casinos (Biloxi etc.). But can't seem to stay or even get ahead on the ships. I've changed my gambling plan on the cruises. Play to get enough points to maintain Prime status and enjoy the free cruise once a year, and the free drinks in the casino every cruise.

3 minutes ago, Aodhan said:

Hi All,

I know this has to be a topic, but I'm not sure what search words to use to get the right posts.  🙂 My mother fell on an Excursion in Jamaica and severely fractured her left shoulder.  I won't post the details because I'm not sure of guidelines, etc, but it's been about 5 months and it's becoming clear from the PT that she will likely not regain her full use of her  arm.   We are going through all the steps with AON the RCC Travel Insurance company, though it's taken, because of many factors,  until recently to get all the paperwork together.  We traveled as a party of six, my brother and wife, my wife and I, and my parents.  My dad is 84 and in fragile health (COPD)and my mom is his care giver.  She is 80, but in great health and still works 25 hours a week (not now - she is on disability).   Ok - the key is, it's looking like my mom will not be able to return to work, or that work, either in the near future or possibly at all and is also impacted with my dad's care.  None of this would bring me to the point of this question except that the accident occurred because we believe a tour operator actively contributed to her fall.   Now that we are concerned that she will not make a full recovery we think we need to hire some kind of counsel to address the issue.   The Royal Caribbean "adjuster" told me that the Tour Operator was the liable party (I've heard this before), but we believe because the Operator actively interfered with my mothers safety, which led to her fall, that RCC is liable for the quality and training of the Operators.   How do I proceed?  I understand that we have six months to make a claim - that will be April 3rd or so.   Thank you.  I hope this is an appropriate post and question.

You will be fighting an uphill battle. The form that almost everyone flashes through to get your set sail pass. Basically says you give up your right to sue Royal. Plus add the fact that it happened in a foreign country. You would have to go there to fight it. Your travel insurance should pay most of the medical bills (out of the country) her medicare should pick up the rest.  If you are looking to "go after" Royal you need an admiralty law firm not an average TV commercial ambulance chaser. 

3 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I also was told April a new set of dates will come out.

 

My sister/brother in law had their points on their sail and sign card but due to an issue in their stateroom they were changed, were told points will carry over to their new cards, never happened even after her mentioning a few times to the guest services and casino host, she lost those points.

 

If next year is the same as this year. No specific dates the specific date cruises are for the free cruises given to you via certificate onboard.

For Prime members. Inside cabin. They allow you to upgrade (can't use balcony discount for upgrade) You can take any cruise up to 8 nights as long as it's not over a holiday (Casino Royale's holidays are more than Royal's) . I was given a free cruise from Club Royale because we were on the noro-virus cruise. And they said any 7 night cruise not on a holiday and not on the Harmony or Symphony

5 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Quick question for the Veterans;

 

The free cruises are issued April 1st for Prime members.  Do they send you a letter with a certificate, an email, or do you just call Casino Royale and book?  Thanks very much!!  Dan

You can wait till they contact you which in some cases is never. Or you can call and check.

But they are telling me it will probably be mid April till they have everything finalized.  So that might mean May something.

7 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

3 card poker was her game of choice. Almost $40  per hand. Never got any points that way. Now she plays WoF at $5 or $7 a spin. Earns around 400 points a cruise.

 

Points really have nothing to do with how much you win, just how much you risk.

Yes I know but you can play blackjack a $10 a hand for hours and accumulate almost no points play the 3 card poker without the ante bet at $10 a hand and earn a lot more points. I don't understand it but that's the way it seems to work. You lose most of the hands but when you win it can be big. Both my wife and I wound up with 4 of a kind the last cruise One time the deal had 3 of a kind my wife had the fourth the other I had 3 of a kind and the dealer had the fourth. Big money for a $5 bet.

I would say sit down for half an hour with a full table and see how many points you get. 

5 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

He only cruises once a year. 

 

BTW

How many points does your $500 net?

We should have had Laura use my card last year to get me up to Prime. She earned her level early last year, I rarely gamble anymore

It depends. You've got to get a machine that keeps you going.  We earn anywhere from 200 to 2000 ( the later last trip my wife hit one machine for $2700 and another for $1800 the same night) If you play the 3 card poker you build up points fast, but it's like a slot machine but  using cards. You must get lucky.

On 3/4/2019 at 8:28 PM, InvKevin said:

Haven't cruised since April 2018 of last year.  Just got off a cruise last week and I was Prime and no one explained the new program while on board during the 2018 or 2019 cruise.  I just found out today the way the new program works by calling them.

 

Now I am going on a cruise in April 1, 2019 and will have no points and not enough from the previous year to be a prime member.  They can take this new program and shove it where the sun don't shine and I will no longer even try to make an attempt in the casino to gain any points.   Good bye Royal Casino's - It's not worth it.  Time to go on another cruise line I guess.

As far as I know. If you make prime during the year you will get the perks (free drinks in the casino etc.) for the rest of the year but no free cruise till the following year. Royal's program is quite user friendly especially if you cruise a lot. My wife and I never spend more than $500 total gambling per trip and make prime easily. The free cruise is worth at least $1600 (We used it last year on the Harmony and that was $3000) Plus I like to have a Pina Colada when going back to the room at night If I gamble 5 nights that's a $70 saving per cruise.

We were on the Symphony just after Thanksgiving last year. It took 3 minutes from the time we got out of the shuttle, till we were standing on the ship. Amazing

3 minutes ago, later said:

Thanks for the info

I would call Casino Royale and make sure though. Royal has a way of making changes.

8 minutes ago, 39august said:

Just completed and printed seapass check in for LB May 5. There was nowhere in the procedure to indicate "consecutive cruiser" for departure info nor for the following week arrival info as there used to be on the check in pages. How does the ship determine who is traveling as a consecutive cruiser? 

They have it in their records. But I always print out the set sail pass as a backup.

1 minute ago, later said:

Do you get cruise points for a free inside cabin casino award if you upgrade to a ocenview balcony?

From the Casino. You get points even if you don't upgrade. For the free Pinnacle cruises they only give you points if you upgrade.

We have decided to do a rental car when we get to SeaTac precruise My theory is with a car we can probably get a decent hotel for a lot less than we would staying by the airport or downtown. Plus our flight arrives at 8:30pm so we will need to find an open restaurant. We will pick the car up at SeaTac and drop it off at the 3rd street garage downtown. They supply shuttles from their garage to the pier.

The only hurdle will be getting from the pier to the airport early enough to catch an 11:00 am flight. And barring any unforseen problems that should work out.

The next question is a decent restaurant that's open till 9:30 or 10:00pm 

2 hours ago, siempredescalzo said:

 

Where is this door located in Ft Lauderdale? Is it obvious when you walk in? 

It is to the right of the regular door. Well marked

I discussed this at length with a Hotel Director. He told me the only change they were making was Port Canaveral that it was the only port in Florida to have priority screening for diamond and up. 

At first I thought he was wrong but I didn't want to argue about it. Upon more thoughts he was correct in Ft Lauderdale there is a door to go in for Suites and Pinnacles only no diamond and up line. Same with Miami and Tampa. I was glad I didn't argue my point because I was wrong.

The problem seems to lie with the competence of the screeners (they are not TSA employees). 

In the first place the Royal agent should not have even discussed it with you. You booked it with a travel agent and I have never seen anyone at Royal discuss one iota about any cruise that was with a T/A. They always tell you to contact your T/A.

You have nothing to worry about. I wouldn't do anything.

They are combining the Presidents cruise and the 50th birthday cruise on the Symphony Nov 2, 2019.

This is direct from Michael Bayley not a rumor. He allowed those that had conflicting bookings to change them to this one at no charge.

There are a lot of things that are going to be brought back on this cruise (chocolate mints on the pillows etc.) They are going to make it a very special experience.

We are doing a B2B on her combining Halloween and the Presidents cruise.

I noticed the inside cabin have come down a little (still high).

We are on the Mariner May 6 and 10. Just checked the cruise planner and it still has us going to Coco Cay. It seems the May 17 cruise is the only one effected. So I wouldn't assume it had anything do do with the Island not being ready.

Seems like they only changed it for the one sailing March 17. Maybe they have some work to do on the ship in Freeport.

Please don't take this offensively. but by your findings one would have to spend $274,400 to get to Pinnacle booking an inside room (btw all insides have virtual balconies on the Quantum class). The average Pinnacle sails about 12 times per year. So by your estimates the Pinnacle spends $32,928 while you spend $30,420. Also bear in mind some people chasing a Pinnacle and Pinnacles themselves cruise a lot more than 12 times a year. As of today I have 18 booked (so far) from now till Feb 2020. And only a handful are inside cabins.

So who do you think Royal should cater to? In all fairness there is a place for both classes. I personally almost always go to the Diamond lounge. Because I like the company. We all have something in common. We Cruise A Lot.

3 hours ago, pcur said:

 

A cruise is not cheaper than living at home, but the cost of the cruise is reduced by the expenses you do not pay while cruising.  I actually got it down to an average daily cost so I can see the real impact the cost of the cruise has on our budget. 

 

I also discount the cost of the cruise by obc that we use to pay tips, and we get a cash card from our big box TA that reduces our living expenses AFTER the cruise.  It's after cruises we stock up on things with the cash cards. 

 

We have a higher membership level so we get a 2% cash card rebate on all travel expenses per year.  I use half of it to pay for as much of Thanksgiving dinner each year as I can (wine, turkey, crab, lobster).

 

If we go on a long cruise, we will also put our cable service on vacation hold.

 

Basic savings are food, gasoline, and utility bills (we turn the thermostat way down, or off in the warmer months).

 

And last, but certainly not least, I use a Chase Sapphire card to pay for all the travel expenses and get double points.  The points are used either to transfer to travel partners for airfare, or used as a cash credit to the balance on the credit card. 

 

So, the cost of a cruise can actually be a lot less out-of-pocket.

 

When Mr. Pcur wants to know the cost of a cruise, he knows he's getting the "reduced" amount using pcur's "fuzzy math".  😀

We also cruise the way you do, but not with big box stores, we use other ways, casino, popslots, turning the booking over for  OBC's and watching RCL's rates about 10 times a. I day wanted to let you know about the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It gives you 3% back on all restaurants and travel. But it gives you travel insurance at no charge. That gets to become a big saving for those that cruise a lot. For us it gives us about 2 cruises a year at no extra expense. 

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

1050 in May

Congrats.

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Never hurts to have points

True  Have 17 booked now till Feb 2020. It will be a while but the 1050 number is approaching