birdofsong

I just booked a Greek Isle cruise out of Rome. There are some really cool options if you can find the needle that is not in the excluded haystack.

We started getting these offers in the mail almost every week after the first time we went into the casino. We still get them on a weekly basis. Question: Are both of your parents getting offers? If so, they can actually use one offer each, book one cabin for one of them and one of you, and then book a second cabin for the other one of them and the other one of you. We do this all the time. For clarification, we just booked a cruise through the casino. I booked a cabin with my offer for me and my mother (who is not a Casino Royale member), and my husband booked a separate cabin with his offer for him and my dad (again, not a Casino Royale member). You just get extra keys at Guest Services so you can swap cabins and everyone can get into theirs. We have done this four times.

Seriously? 30%. Of course they don't tell you that on the rewards website. I had no idea. Do you do that at Guest Services, or in the casino? Can you get that rate before sailing by calling the Casino Royale Prime number?

Definitely call. And I wouldn't wait too long. Everyone got their Prime certificates at the same time, so everyone is calling to book at the same time. We just booked a Greek Isle cruise with ours, and there were literally two interior cabins left when we called. That probably won't be the case with the larger ships or destinations that have several sailings, but if you're looking at something that might not have a lot of options, then I suggest you do it quickly. Also, I have never NOT gotten the cabins I wanted when I call on the phone. They always give me the cabins I ask for.

In August on the Allure, you could either pre-pay and get items from each category on the menu, or you could go ala carte and order whatever you wanted from the menu. We chose ala carte and it worked out fine. I tipped what I always tip for good service - 20%.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/norwegian-cruise-line-passengers-were-103151038.html This is why I always book excursions with the cruise line. I'd rather pay more than worry about not getting back on time. My sister took a train excursion in Alaska through Royal, the train broke down, they were two hours late, and the ship waited.

There was a ton of Jazz on the Allure last August when we did a B2B. GREAT Jazz.

We were just on the Ovation, and they had a classical pianist in the Schooner Bar in the afternoons. I haven't noticed that before on other cruises, but it could be because I wasn't walking by the bar during those times.

I'm booking two casino bookings (one under my husband's name and one under mine), so we're paying taxes and port charges, only. The question is -- we're having my parents come with us, and we will be getting the cruise insurance (through Royal). If my parents are unable to go (they are elderly, and you never know re: health issues), would we get the taxes and port charges back for them if they had to cancel? Also, if they could not go, could we transfer the cruise to another individual for the same booking? Thanks.

We're going on a New Zealand cruise on the Ovation out of Sydney on 3/12, courtesy of Casino Royale. We also made Prime, so we get our drinks for free in the casino. Does anyone know if they you can get a strawberry daiquiri and the like in the casino, or is the casino bar more just bar staples? Also, how much do you generally tip the bartender at the casino when the drinks are free? Thanks.

This is how we're doing the Australia/New Zealand cruise next week, only on Royal. Fortunately, we had enough credit card points for the flight. The funny thing is -- once we started getting the casino offers from Royal, we also started getting the same offers from Carnival. We have not taken Carnival up on it yet. I've been on three Carnival cruises and the rest Royal. Although I enjoyed all of them, I have always liked the Royal cruises more.

Same here. Allure is my favorite ship.

I sailed on the Allure twice this last summer. I saw absolutely no disrepair.

No. We have gotten our last four cruises for free (with the exception of taxes and port charges) through Casino Royale. We've spent way less in the casino than we would have on a cruise purchase, and we're about to go to Australia and cruise to New Zealand next week, with free drinks, on board credit and casino credit. Beyond that, we've really enjoyed Royal. If all of this goes away, I would certainly consider it, but not at this point.

Thank you! That was back in early January, and I totally forgot about it.

We're on the Ovation on 3/12. So excited!!!

I thought so, too, until I tried to do it on this app. It actually says, "This app does not allow screenshots," when you try. But I can use my husband's phone to take a pic, and vice versa. I'm hoping they can just look up my passport, which is the document I used in support of my visa, so it's in their system.

I tried. The app won't let you take screen shots. 😞

We're arriving in Sydney on March 10th. We have applied for and been approved for our Visa for Australia, but it lives on the app, and I'm concerned when we get to the airport in Sydney that I won't be able to access it without internet access. Can someone clue me in on how this is supposed to work? New Zealand was easier because we got an e-mail confirmation we can print. I'm sure I'm overthinking this, but those of you who have done this before, please put my mind at ease....Thanks!

Hi there! We're on the same cruise. We just had our bank convert USD to AUD. It's probably more than we need, but I'd rather have it that way than not enough. It's my understanding that everything on the cruise itself is in USD, despite leaving out of Sydney. We have excursions for all three NZ ports, so we're just planning on using our regular Visa card for anything we may purchase there. See you in Australia!

I've done it. We took the Vision on a Baltic cruise before it was going to drydock and it was my favorite of all the cruises I've taken.

Mama Mia was my favorite. Chicago was a close second.

To be honest, I really didn't love Bermuda, and the Liberty was just okay. I'd take a Oasis class in a heartbeat.

I never had insurance until my parents told me their friend had to be airlifted off of an Alaskan cruise. Now I get it every time. I think most of us don't think about having a medical event on a vacation. That being said, I'm sure that OP and her husband were upset, disoriented, felt alone, and a bit helpless in a place so far away from home. I don't think, regardless of insurance, any of us would feel any different. I hope you don't give upon cruising, OP. It really can be a marvelous experience. What happened to you was terrible, but not indicative of any particular cruise line or vacation experience. It was an unfortunate occurrence, and all of us have many of those in our lifetime.

I'm sailing on 3/12, and we already reserved our internet for $17.99 pp/pd.