canuckcruiselover

You were lucky. The certificates are supposed to be used within 30 days for a cruise within the next year.

I've never booked within 30 days and rarely on one of the ships listed on the certificate. Never had a problem.

Just booked with Dollar - $25 for 24-hours. Pick up at FLL and return the next day to Port Everglades with shuttle to the ship.

On Liberty of the Seas in October. I was able to transfer free play earned directly from the machine to my credits. I did this many times during the cruise. It continues to build as long as you play. So yes, you can transfer funds directly to the slot machine. If you notice on your reservation, at the top left, it says "Instant Rewards". This is what the phrase means. :-)

I don't see "Instant Rewards" on my reservation.

So, do you have to tap your card again when you stop playing on a machine? And if you don't and the next person doesn't tap their card, are the points added to my card?

No.

 

This is a separate benefit you get from your points.

 

 

That's good to know. Thanks.

There's a lot of discussion about cruise certificates so I want to share my recent experience.

I posted this on the Casino forum but as it doesn't get a lot of traffic, I'm re-posting here.

On our Anthem cruise in the summer, I received a certificate for a complimentary balcony room and my husband had a certificate for an indoor stateroom. None of the sailings on the certificates appealed to us and we wanted to sail on Harmony which was not included on the list.

I phoned Club Royale last week to see if we could get a room on Harmony for the January 6 sailing. As expected, there were very few rooms available at such short notice. However, the agent found us a Central Park room (window only) and said it would cost $500. I insisted that the room should be complimentary and asked him to check. He put me on hold for a few minutes and when he came back, said it was OK, the room would be complimentary - just have to pay the usual port fees and taxes. So, there you have it. Don't accept the agent's first response.

There's a lot of discussion about cruise certificates so I want to share my recent experience. On our Anthem cruise in the summer, I received a certificate for a complimentary balcony room and my husband had a certificate for an indoor stateroom. None of the sailings on the certificates appealed to us and we wanted to sail on the Harmony which was not included on the list.

I phoned Club Royale last week to see if we could get a room on the Harmony for the January 6 sailing. As expected, there were very few rooms available at such short notice. However, the agent found us a Central Park room (window only) and said it would cost $500. I insisted that the room should be complimentary and asked him to check. He put me on hold for a few minutes and when he came back, said it was OK, the room would be complimentary - just have to pay the usual port fees and taxes. So, there you have it. Don't accept the agent's first response.

I think they might have just been talking about FreePlay that you can transfer. For every so many points, you get like $5 in FreePlay that you can use in the casino, but you need a pin number to transfer it to your "bank." Usually the pin is the month/day of your birthday but YMMV.

If you transfer your points to free play does that mean you would no longer qualify for a complimentary or discounted cruise, assuming you have enough points?

Another vote for Columbus Cove. No rocks and the water is as warm as a bath tub.

Great - thank you!

I read "somewhere" that the slot machines on Harmony only require the sea pass to be tapped and not inserted in a card reader? Does anyone know if this is correct? As the cards can't be punched for a lanyard, tapping would be most helpful especially as I often forget to take the card out of the machine!

I would rather get to the warm weather immediately, than to fly to the northeast and waste two days of the cruise in the cooler part of the Atlantic..

I wouldn't want to waste two days in cold weather either. I've been on Oasis in the winter and Anthem in the summer. While the entertainment on the Anthem was excellent, the ship's layout is very confusing -- chopped up and difficult to navigate. I much prefer the Oasis class. Leaving on Friday on Harmony to escape the frigid temperatures here!

Hi there I was wondering if you can tell me a little about the Promenade interior cabins, overlooking the promenade. Are they worth the extra money I can get one for 37 per person extra. I am currently booked on an interior Which deck would be the best to get, I have a choice of 6, 7, or 8. which area would be the best the middle front or back of the promenade cabins this is on the Independence of the Seas. Please tell me your experiences on these types of cabins. Thank you

I had a promenade room on IOS midship on deck 6. I loved it. The addition of the window seat is very nice and made the room more spacious and it was so easy to just walk down one flight of stairs to the promenade. Highly recommend it.

Also you can use the certificate towards any cruise not on the list for a value of $1000.

Depending on who you speak to at Club Royale, you may also be able to book any cruise without having to pay extra even if it's not listed on your certificate.

I saw both shows in London. I loved Mamma Mia primarily because it was fun and I'm an Abba fan. I didn't like the CATS story-line and "Memory" is the only song I remember from the show.

I've been on Liberty 3 times and my experience was that the slots were tighter than on other RC ships. Can't speak for the tables.

Venues such as 270, Seaplex, the Music Hall and the indoor pool are amazing and unique.

I agree, those venues are truly amazing and we really enjoyed them but I missed the openness of the Oasis. I love the central park and boardwalk areas on Oasis. The Anthem seemed more like a Vegas-type resort, glitzy and closed-in.

One thing you did not mention was your cabin. We really like the design of the Quantum class cabins. I guess Royal Caribbean does too because the Harmony has a very similar design.

Yes, we liked the stateroom design. Nicely laid out, lots of storage and a much better bathroom than on other ships we have been on -- especially the shower doors which actually close. The balcony was small but fine. We were in stateroom 13716 right at the back of the ship. It was a long trek to the aft elevators and stairs so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with mobility issues.

Thank you for your review. We are going on the Anthem next month for the first time. We can drive there so is convenient. We went on the Oasis in March & enjoyed it. It was a long drive though. We bring DH's mobility scooter with us & have an accessible cabin. Were there a lot of scooters vying for space in the elevator's? I have learned to get on an elevator no matter where it is going so you don't have to wait through 3 or 4 trips before there is room.

 

Did you try the Escape Room? I'm dying to try that. Where is it?

There were a lot of scooters and strollers. Sometimes, we did get on an elevator, no matter where it was going, but many times there just wasn't room. We didn't go to the Escape Room and I don't know where it is.

We got off the 5 nighter to Bar Harbor and Halifax last Saturday. We chose the Anthem primarily because we didn’t want a long flight. We also hadn’t been to Halifax and were interested to see it.

The Very Good

Embarkation was a breeze. Well-organized and very quick. We were in the Windjammer at 11:30.We enjoyed the bumper cars and North Star while still in port, without reservations. Immediately after lunch, there were only very short lineups.

The Captain took us very close to the Statue of Liberty when we left Bayonne which was a nice treat.

We were in balcony stateroom 13716 right at the back of the ship which was a trek to the stairs/elevators but it was well laid out, lots of storage and we especially liked the new shower doors.

The pool deck is the nicest I have seen – 3 pools (2 indoor and a large outdoor) and enough loungers available.

Sailing on the North Atlantic, and having seen so many posters mention that they could feel the motion on the Anthem, even in calm seas, I was pleasantly surprised that most of the time I didn’t even feel that we were moving. Perhaps that’s because we were cruising at only around 9 or 10 knots until the last night which was close to 20. I could feel some motion on the last night but a lot less than I expected.

Spectra’s Cabaret is the most phenomenal show at sea. A mind-blowing multi-media,multi-dimensional extravaganza with incredibly talented performers,particularly the lead singer, Terry Lavell. We took other posters’advice and sat in the front centre of the balcony which had a spectacular view. We were told by one of the production crew that it cost $35 million to create the space with all the robotic arms, technology, screens, etc. We also enjoyed the virtual symphony show that played there one day.

We are big Queen fans and enjoyed We Will Rock You more than the London production. If you want to hear Bohemian Rhapsody stay until the encore.

We stopped eating in the MDR some years ago and have most meals in the Windjammer. The Anthem WJ had an even better selection of food than usual and amazing desserts – tasty and beautifully presented. DH loved the pistachio pie. We often ate in the outside area, which was usually empty. It’s right at the back of the WJ and difficult to find unless you know it’s there, which we did, thanks to other posters. We have been diamond members for a couple of years but, for some reason, never went to the diamond lounge before. They had some good appetizers in the evening and great lattes.

We also enjoyed the Solarium Bistro and Cafe Two Seventy for lighter meals. I found the pizza slices in Sorrento's very greasy.

In Halifax, we strolled along the boardwalk, went into the Maritime Museum, which we enjoyed and DH tried to find his name on the manifest at Pier 21 which he arrived at years ago as a young kid with his family from the UK. Unfortunately, due to privacy laws, the list won't be released until 2024! We enjoyed a long lunch at one of the many Irish Pubs due to the fact that the service was extremely slow. It took 45 minutes before our food arrived which seems to be the norm in small Canadian towns. Torontonians say that when you go out east, you have to set your watch back 100 years. Not true . . . maybe 50 ;) But we enjoyed the day.

The Not So Good

When entering the ship for the first time, there is not the wow factor that you get on other ships with wide promenade decks. I admit I don’t have the best sense of direction but even DH,who is good at navigating, found the layout extremely confusing. Decks 4 and 5 are like mini shopping malls with narrow winding hallways. Venues are on either side of the hallways and don’t have direct access from the centre making the ship appear a lot smaller than it is, cramped and very chopped up. Having the centre booths only makes for an even narrower, crowded walkway. DH had the impression that there were several different companies involved in the interior design. It’s a bit of a mish-mash. Not that it had any impact on our cruise experience, but we weren’t impressed with the artwork on the ship either.

All the seating on the ship, including in the casino, is very uncomfortable with low backs. Definitely a case of form over function!

Our stateroom was great for access to the WJ and pool decks but when we had to take the elevator, the wait time was awful and elevators often didn’t even stop on our deck. Only two banks of elevators on such a huge ship is very poor planning.

We usually enjoy snacks in the Promenade Café but on the Anthem, it was the same food every day . . . and none of those delicious cheesecake lollipops that we’ve enjoyed on other ships! Not that we went hungry but it was a pretty boring selection.

“The Gift” production was really weird and we left after about 15 minutes.

We picked up our tender ticket at 9:30 am for Bar Harbor but the tender wasn't called until close to 1:30 so we decided to stay on board and enjoy the empty pool deck. We gave our tender ticket #42 to a passenger who had #50. There were around 70 tenders. With only two tenders for so many passengers, you have to pick up your ticket early if you want to spend some meaningful time ashore.

The line-up to disembark was similar to our experience in Galveston a few years ago. I think it was more of a Customs problem than an RC issue. It was 10:30 before we finally made it through Customs. Fortunately, we had a late flight.

Bottom Line

I’m glad we tried the Anthem but I doubt whether we will go on it again. IMHO, the Oasis has a far superior layout, is easier to navigate, much more open, and has the wow factor in spades! The ship is great for kids and for winter cruises out of Bayonne.

The chairs sucked - I have become very chair conscious because I need lumbar support

I was on the same cruise and found the chairs everywhere on the Anthem were very low backed and uncomfortable, even in the casino. It seems the designers went for form rather than function.

We weren't crazy about the Anthem's layout - a really chopped-up shopping mall effect which lacked the usual WOW factor of the wider promenade decks on other ships.

Can you please tell me if your cruise certificate dates went past Oct of this year? I am wondering if they have refreshed them yet. Thank you

Yes, they go up to mid-March, 2018

They really don't have a clear policy . . . even when it comes to having tax withheld. On our last cruise on Explorer, I had to pay tax even though I'm Canadian and lottery and gaming winnings are not taxed here but on the Anthem, my husband didn't have to pay tax because he's Canadian. (He had a hand-pay, even with his small bets)!

Then you have been far luckier than us because both myself and my husband get free cruise certificates and have never been allowed to use for a free cruise on a sailing of our choice. We can use trade in value for any cruise we want but not the free cruise. The free cruises generally are not listed for peak times.

Phone a few times. The agents' responses vary considerably. I was told by one agent, whose offer was far better than others, that he had the authority to make changes, which others couldn't.

I think the OP is not questioning whether two people with certificates can combine their certificates but whether they can get a discounted cabin and apply an additional discount for the value of the certificates.

 

Whenever we book we get a casino rate for the cabin, which is quite heavily discounted, and then apply both mine and DH's coupons to that casino rate. It is rare for us to be able to sail on the cruises listed due to our daughter being in school and peak sailings are not normally offered.

 

The OP is saying that now if you have a low value certificate you do not get the discounted cabin as well.

My experience has been that you can book any cruise, and any date. It doesn't have to be those listed on the certificate. But a lot depends on the Club Royale agent you speak to. I have had different answers from different agents.