Iamcruzin

Actually in the beginning when AT first started. The rules weren't clear and some in traditional thought that they could interchange. The only reason I know this is because the last time I booked traditional my table of 8 was empty most of the time. When they did show up on Formal nights they were all talking about their experience in AT. From that point on we have always booked AT.

I won't even book a cruise that calls on Nassau or Freeport. In those cases any lines Private Island is better including Princess Cay which I hate.

I just booked a 4 night cruise to Key West. They had several itineraries that included Key West such as Coco Cay Nassau and Bimini. We chose the one that was going to Bimini since we have never been there. For us Coco Cay isn't a destination port of call. I think it's great for Royal Caribbean passengers as more families travel on that line.

They did that years ago before booking reservations was a thing. We have been booking Anytime since 2006. Over the years as it became more popular and over crowded they would start seating people in the Traditional dining room which started to become empty as more and more passengers were eating at the buffet and specialty restaurants.

I am one and fine with it.

Gift cards are a P.I.A. If I receive any I only use them for gas or grocery purchases. Something I know that I won't return. I also don't pay down the full balance for a cruise until final payment just incase of a price drop.

Are these gift cards backed by visa or mastercard? Working in retail I know that any visa, mastercard or Amex gift cards aren't reloadable. Meaning anyone who used them to make a purchase would get a store credit. In the past if cashiers made the mistake of refunding to a gift card the credit never went back to the card.

Double points = double the price.

If it makes you all feel better Celebrity is getting ready for a big sale too. The Drink package is up to $73.99 a day just for the classic package discounted from $89.99. Last week it was on sale for $53.99. Luckily I booked the cruise AI and paid $50 a day for the drink package and WiFi. It's a hard lesson to learn if you are new to cruising.

Royal Caribbean advertises like that all of the time. I think Publix is the only one who gives the second item free but their original prices are double the price it should be to begin with.

Is that before or after their fake sale price? My mortgage isn't much more than that with interest, property tax and insurance.

So next week they can reduce it 30% for the 4th of July Red, White and Blue sale. They Make $15 more and you think you got a bargain. Win Win!

I flew out of JFK my entire cruise life. It was always cheaper for me to book direct with the airlines because of the many choices and never having to make a connection flight. Now that we live in Florida it's a different game. Perhaps EZ air will be the way to go here.

They don't have trouble filling the ships for holiday cruises. This promo is to fill ships during the shoulder season that usually has price cuts so this is a way to generate revenue without costing them money.

Just for giggles I would call a few times just to see how many different answers you will get. The general rule is to keep calling until you get the answer you want to hear.

This is also cutting down on waste both for the cruise line and my waist. I can't tell you how many times a server brought me something automatically just because I made a request for it the night before. I ate it anyway just because I didn't want it to go to waste.

It's a joke that causes the cruise lines to laugh all the way to the bank. All the lines do the same thing they aren't even original in their advertising. Probably the same advertising and web design departments just changing the banner to reflect the cruise line logo.

Thank you I was aware of that. I was referring to the pools and such. I also consider Manhattan a man made Island.

We opted for the Key West and Bimini itinerary because we have never been to either. We knew Coco Cay would be a frat party since the drink package can be used there. I'm not a fan of the man made islands unless they are part of a longer itinerary. I live in Florida and If I want to sit by the pool all day I could stay home. I won't even board a ship going to Nassau. When we lived in NY we wouldn't even consider a short cruise even 7 days turned into 9 or 10 when we earned more PTO. It's not worth the flight.

Im booked on Reflection for Sept 30. I think it has more to do with the time of year being shoulder season than the short itinerary. It's the end of the summer schools back in session. It's the time of year for Newly Weds and Nearly deads. These are the cruises Florida residents book. Quick get away, you can drive to port and they also come with a Florida resident/ Senior discount. Either way we qualified.

I was referring to the service, presentation and food quality 30 years ago. Not the loyalty programs. My first Princess cruise the line was owned by P&O. No rewards programs back then. I had to prove I sailed with them to have the credit added to the current CCL Princess.

They know most people don't monitor prices like Cruise Critic people do. They all run these smoke and mirror sales with an end date to create a sense of urgency so you will book for fear of missing out. When the sale ends they run it again, sometimes the original price is higher than the last sale so it seems like a better deal. There really needs to be price regulations for cruise lines. Their pricing is all over the place. I try to book excursions directly with the same people the cruise line uses. If you google the description of the excursion you can sometimes find it or I will search on the port of call pages here.

Yes the Crown and Anchor Society Diamond, Diamond plus and Pinnacle Club. They get 4, 5 and 6 drinks a day depending on your status that you can have throughout the course of the day any place on the ship. They also have separate lounges where they can go between certain hours if they don't want to drink at the bars. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean just started to match all levels between lines. The Celebrity board is all twisted about the Pinnacles from Royal crowding out the Celebrity Zenith in the Retreat lounge. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have a lot of hoops to jump through and it's a lot about nothing. If you buy the drink and Wifi Package there isn't really anything I consider of value. There are extra discounts that only encourage you to spend money. We are past buying pictures, trinkets and tee shirts.

I have been reading about the decline and watered down benefits in high tier categories every time something is added to enhance the experience of a first time or not so traveled passenger since I joined Cruise Critic in 2008. Princess isn't unique to this. It's the same on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and any other line that has a so called "Loyalty Program". It's always the same people who feel slighted. Why should the cruise line bend over backwards for a group of people who continue to book over and over again. They have you where they want you. You choose to put your eggs all in one basket and now you are stuck just to so you can get your knickers washed. If things are so great for newbies become one on another line. The only thing the cruise line owes you is the experience you paid for and if that's not up to par then stop hanging on until the next cut. The cruise lines love new cruisers. They have no clue how things used to be 30yrs ago. Everything is new to them and wonderful. After reading this thread I don't know why people would jump through hoops and spend extra money to reach the top for some free laundry and a bar set up.

I just signed up for the card and will have as advertised $300 OBC. My billing closing date isn't until mid July the same day as final payment. I already paid $1000 on the card towards the cruise so I qualify for this offer. My question is I have to pay for the cruise before my billing cycle ends and was wondering if it's an actual OBC to be used on the ship or a credit to the credit card. I am planing to list this card to my folio. We already have the drink package, WiFi and I pre paid gratuities. Any on board spending would be towards restaurants or the price difference between a classic drink and premium drink. If it's applied to the credit card balance I might consider pre booking other packages.