Starry Eyes

By EoS do you mean Enchantment or Explorer?

I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m just reporting that select suite bidding invitations are still going out to lower categories. Royal’s other norm is inconsistency😀 We booked this week’s cruise well after final payment. By that time that 2 BR window suite was booked. Unless that person canceled, our RoyalUp suite bid could not succeed, so I knew my odds were very low. Balconies were also sold out when I booked, but there are lots of balconies. Thus the odds of a balcony cancellation are much, much higher. The airline fiasco is probably responsible for our RoyalUp win. Much as I am enjoying the balcony, I am sorry that somebody else lost out.

Yeah, yet the inconsistencies continue. It did seem odd that I couldn’t bid on a JS but I could bid on 2BR window suite🤔 I won a balcony, not the suite. Actually I can imagine a justification. Window suites are a niche; many people in balcony and JS may not bid on a window suite as they are unwilling to part with their balconies. OTOH, people in OV cabins are currently sailing without balconies and thus may be more amenable. That’s just a guess.

It varies. From an OV gty this week on Jewel of the Seas, I was invited to bid on one full suite (the 2 BR window suite) as well as balconies and upgraded OV cabin. RCI.

Starting in a balcony, you will probably be invited to bid on a junior suite and some full suites (you may or may not be invited to bid on all the full suites on the particular ship from a balcony). I suspect the more category you bid on and the stronger those bids, the higher your odds of winning something. You’ll have to decide what you want. I suggest you not bid on any upgrade on which you are just lukewarm; if you win that bid, none of your other bids can win, so you probably won’t be particularly happy. For example, sometimes we have a nicely located balcony and we do not want to give it up for a random JS (we don’t want to risk our good location to get a poor location), so we don’t bid for a JS. OTOH, we decided the we’d rather be in full suite, regardless of location, than our balcony, so we bid on the suites. On a different cruise if I did not love my balcony location, I might bid on that JS. Weigh the decision each time. Bid what feels right for you.

There is not a current sale. They appear to be taking a hiatus for the holidays. When there is a new sale, it will appear in that link. Just keep checking the link like the rest of us😀

Several years ago when going through security for a cruise during the broad spring break timeframe, they did crackdown. Everone with bottles of any type detected by X-ray in carry on luggage was directed to tables. Bottles were inspected, and logged by passenger name and cabin number, verified by cruise documents. Quite an effort was expended and I think the real concern was young/underage drinkers. It was too much work just to catch a few frugal old farts with an extra wine bottle or two.

I use the link. I consistently and promptly receive the credit. I am notified with a new copy of my invoice showing the OBC via email.

Oh, the coolers were around before Oasis of the Seas was even a concept.

That FAQ says the booking must have been solo from the time it was created. There’s nothing about 30 days out. If you cancel the second guest yet do not receive the extra points, I don’t think you have any recourse.

So, according to this FAQ, the OP should not expect extra C&A points whether the second person on a booking is a no-show or a cancellation. I guess that means the OP should only cancel the second guest when sure a friend won’t be coming, if at all.

Our upcoming cruise was sold out, with only an occasional inside gty popping up over the couple weeks, so I did not expect my RoyalUp bids to succeed. Eight days out my RoyalUp bid for a previously sold out category was granted😀. In the closing days a few cabin are for sale, probably due the flight cancellations. Neither you nor Royal Caribbean know if or when cancellations might occur. While you should not get your hopes up, go ahead a place your bid if you are interested in the upgrade.

Probably not, but check your credit card for a charge. That is the first sign of a RoyalUp win.

Doubtful. Among the female agent’s questions to me was the pronunciation of the last name on my passport. My response caused her face to tense until it became clear I was pronouncing my last name as she looked at my middle name. I pronounced it and explained that when I married I elected to use my maiden name as a middle name. The tension eased. She said she was currently engaged and deciding whether to change her name.

Once we left the ship separately. My husband did early walk off and went to fetch the car. I disembarked a bit later, collected the checked bag and then approached immigration alone. I was surprised how many more questions were asked when I was a solo, younger female vs part of a couple.

Why? Managers on the ship are not CBP agents.🤔

People who are not invited to bid they to bid report the standard error message. As Skiiergirl says it just “swirls” for her, she is currently in a different situation.

I’m using the old link without difficulty. I just checked it with a cruise with bids (my bids appeared after I entered name and res #) as well as one outside the bidding timeframe (got 30 day error etc, as expected). Have you tried using a different device, a different browser, clearing cache, etc?

Sigh…I tried to send this to FL departures but you’re pulling me back😉. I have never used them, but cruisetime parking is $10/day (min $50) including shuttle for up to 4. Several years ago there was a lot we found inexpensive, convenient and reliable. Their prices have risen, and both their terms and their location changed. Since the restart we have parked at the port. We have an upcoming cruise that will embark at one terminal and disembark at another per the PC schedule. We are considering parking off site in that case.

Since they are not exclusive to Royal Caribbean, you may find more information on off site parking on the Florida Departures Boards. I personally have not seen prices below $10 per day recently, and I cannot tell you about reliability. People from other cruiselines use the off site lots, so the Departure board is a place to discuss those lots.

Theoretically, but it rarely happens

😀 How old is Ryan?

Are you pouncing again?

Right now (as we do not know what may soon change), as a D you are eligible for a welcome beverage amenity. For diamonds the choices include can of soda or can/bottle of water or bottle of juice. Those choices expand when you hit D+. There are also other gifts for D+ and Pin

Your initial statement posited that most D+’s take 6-8 cruises per year minimum. That’s not the same as saying how many cruises the D+’s who converse with you (a retiree who takes almost entirely longer cruises) seem to brag about. You do not cruise with a representative cross section of D+ cruisers, as you do not take representative cruises, just longer ones. It is unlikely a representative cross section of D+ cruises talk to you as you likely interact most with those doing the same things at the same time. Even on that cruise you may never encounter: talk with a lot of D+’s. Furthermore when you are talking about your own high number of cruisers per year, some people exaggerate their own cruising in response. So, all in all, I have no confidence in your conversation based guess of how many cruises most D+ cruisers take per year.