huskerc

We saw mostly $10 tables but did play at a $5 one afternoon on our recent Reflection cruise.

http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/strategy/4-decks/

 

Can you show the revised charts for what to do when the player at 3rd base ruins the shoe?

Not many savvy cruisers are going to pay these prices without the perks being attached. When is the next, next promo?

It's interesting that many of the same people who say this is the wrong play according to the odds (correct) also say that they would leave the table over their belief that how one player plays (or mis-plays) affects their own odds (incorrect).

Be aware that Qsine has some specialty drinks that are not covered by any package.

FWIW recently on the Reflection we were told the following by an officer during the cruise critic gathering. The bar isn't changing much, the drinks will stay the same, and the name molecular bar may even stick around. It's "Liquid Chef" that has to go. Take that as you will.

 

We were also told by a bartender that the bar itself will be expanded in size (remember it's already bigger on the Reflection).

There have been people who reported being able to downgrade to the premium non-alcoholic package onboard. And many others who have said they could not.

If it's refundable, you would get it back. If non-refundable you can pay 5% to withdraw as cash from the casino.

I don't think it's possible without canceling the existing reservation. The open passage isn't something that is applied--it is the actual reservation (the number doesn't change when you book).

I don't think your biggest problem will be the logistics of travel from Victoria. Your problem will be convincing X to let you book this in the first place. There have been reports that X grooms these passenger list and cancels reservations if someone does slip through.

We've gotten pagers recently, but before that, in blu or MDR select we would just let the host know which bar we would be waiting in and they would come get us.

I have a serious question for the people who ended up with undesirable flights. Did you understand that you could go to choiceair.com and choose exact flights/times versus just calling someone and asking for whatever air arrangements they chose for you?

Walking yourself off I think you will be fine. We had an almost identical departure time after Thanksgiving and had no issue. Even with a bit of a delay disembarking due to an inconsiderate passenger, we were past the security line at FLL by 8AM.

 

Things could go wrong and you might not make it. It's unlikely, but as long as you are prepared to deal with that possibility, I think you're in good shape.

If you have had problems getting consistent answers from X in the past, wait until you ask them a question like this!

 

The short answer is that many, many people have had success upgrading, both before and after final payment, and getting various perks including 1-2-3. I have done this more than once after final payment. You do have to pay the full fare to qualify for most promotions.

 

There are also people who report being turned down, but this is more common after final payment--X is not obligated to allow any changes at that point.

 

If you get turned down, call back and ask someone else.

No guarantee, but some have had success "downgrading" to the premium non-alcoholic package at guest relations onboard.

They come out even price wise? Typically that means the Celebrity cruise is a steal. In almost any case I would take the Celebrity ship over NCL in that case, but for Alaska, I would not miss Glacier Bay if you haven't done it before.

 

We have, so we're back to X for our upcoming trip.

Celebrity is frustrating to deal with, no question. It is worth trying again because many people have been able to upgrade to a different cabin or pay the difference between a discounted fare and the full fare, in order to get 1-2-3 perks. I did it for my upcoming cruise and I've done it in the past.

Celebrity is not obligated to let you make any changes after final payment, but I have never been refused. I do think that travel agents are able to speak to a better-trained class of representative when they call Celebrity. Either that or else I've just been extremely lucky.

Any non-refundable amounts of OBC included in "the rest" which are drawn in the casino may be billed to your Credit Card or other means by which your account is settled.

 

 

I'm not sure what you mean. Either it's OBC or it's charged to my card. Not both.

Your cruise might be excluded, or your rate might be. Certainly there were 1-2-3 offers available in January. You just have to add up the cost and figure out if the price difference is worth it--it's easy to put a number on all of this.

 

For us, we would buy the drink package anyway. So that perk is worth the full cost. For many, they would never buy the drink package on their own, and won't have more than a few drinks a day, so its obviously worth quite a bit less to them.

 

For a 7 night sailing, it's $49 x 7 = 343 pp plus gratuity, plus the gratuities which we would have paid anyway. Typically we will also spend enough on board to get the full value of the OBC as well, but in May for example we have OBC from onboard booking + OBC from the "10% rebate" program they were running (we booked shore excursions in advance, it's Alaska) + OBC from 1-2-3 + OBC from our TA. We're up over a thousand dollars. We won't spend that much, but some of it is refundable and the rest can be drawn in the casino for a 5% charge. We'll just have to resist the temptation to go to the spa and spend it "just because it's there."

Princess can do glacier bay and IMO this is not to be missed--I say this as someone who is doing the Solstice Alaska cruise later this year.

You printed out your guest ticket booklet and you feel like X is behind the times?

Blu does not have formal nights. You will find typically a few tuxedos, a few suits, and many observing casual attire on the MDR formal nights.

1. Onboard booking will probably still have the 1-2-3 evergreen promotion.

 

2. At current prices X cannot possibly sell these cruises without 1-2-3. Just a prediction, but look for it to be extended.

 

Personally, I would wait. We will be onboard 3/14 and will do the same.

I've seen some notable discounts through choice air, but usually it's nothing better than what you can book for yourself.

There are none listed for the Thanksgiving Reflection cruise online either.