roxievegas

On 8/27/2023 at 1:38 PM, LizzGo said:

We aren't big gamblers but enjoy blackjack playing every night either before and/or after dinner. Recently on a HAL cruise a lady we often met at the table told us that she deposited a certain amount of money (maybe $1500?) in a casino account before the cruise. So when she went to play they drew from that account. In return, HAL gave her a comped drinks package. Ever hear of such a thing with Celebrity?

We have not been on Celebrity in years, but when we were they would come by and offer a free dinner in the speciality restaurant or free drinks

17 hours ago, Jahbulosiris said:

You can pick the freeplay chips or slot credit for your casino credit comps.

I heard that VIP and Ultimate VIP cruises have their casinos full all the time. Was that also your experience roxievegas and pootsien2?

I would hate to wait for BlackJack tables to get empty as there are not many of them anyway.

May I also ask that those "points" (7000, 5000 etc.) you talk about, are they redeemable to anything tangible or they are just to measure your play level?

We have done cruises that were slot tournament cruises with money prize of $10,000 for the winner - that cruise was totally full of gamblers for the whole trip.  another cruise was $75,000 for the winner and that full of gamblers also. 

any of the VIP cruises have been busy, but not as bad as the tournament cruises. this past cruise we were able to get machines whenever we went to the casino.

we do not play the tables so I don't pay attention to how busy they are.

the points are how they measure your play and that is how you get your future offers.

On 8/23/2023 at 11:24 AM, scluvsrain said:

Do you have to pay for the food in the IC? 

no

On 8/21/2023 at 11:44 AM, Petersonfcu said:

Another question in advance of our boarding the Ruby this coming Friday.

 

My medallion app says I can buy internet coverage for $150 for the ten day cruise.   Being a platinum cruiser, I am supposed to get the internet for 50% off.  Is the normal price for the internet on the Ruby Alaska cruise $300 or $150?  If its $150, I guess I will wait until I am onboard to buy so I can actually get my 50% discount.

We were platinum on our cruise last month (it was our 15th cruise, so now elite).  I purchased the internet for one at cost of $105 prior to boarding - once on board I went to guest services to make sure that the correct credit card was being used and asked about my discount and was told that the $52.50 credit was already on my account.

9 hours ago, Kabuki12 said:

That really stinks.  They do not combine points on a B2B and the offers don't come until the end of the 2nd leg.   Some people on fb reported that the first leg wasn't even counted.   

 

Hosts seem pretty unaware of what is going on. They have no control over the offers.  There seems to be so much inconsistency to the offers and absolutely no transparency. 

 

Did you get offers after the cruise?   They are usually better than what you get on the ship but not always.  Again, no consistency.     Hopefully, you will receive some offers for a balcony and 600 FP.

we took B2B cruise in Dec 2021.  It was 7 day and 4 day.  Did not get offer after the 7 day, only at the end of the cruise.

it was a good offer of balcony and $600 free play, but we already had 5 cruises booked for 2022 and did not use the offer

11 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We never buy plus or any drink package because we never, or rarely drink.  Coffee, tea, water, juice at breakfast, usually some kinds of juices at lunch and on the lido deck are all included with your standard fare.  Many people don't care much for the included coffee, but I'm fine with it. 

 

Pop is always extra, as is specialty (or better) coffee, orange juice outside of breakfast, and things like lemonade at lunch or dinner.  I've never ordered ice tea at dinner but I *think* it's included.  Bottled water is extra, but a reasonable price to buy a 12 pack.

you can also get lemonade (very strong and lemony) - my husband will get it with dinner in the MDR

On 5/18/2023 at 6:20 PM, Analog187 said:

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.  We don't have a lot of free time with all the ports but I'll do the best I can and see what happens.   

have you taken your cruise with Holland yet.  Did you get any offers 

14 hours ago, vivian02 said:

As MTNSESTERZ stated "the live tv on the Emerald Princess" was lost when leaving Kona our substituted stop since Maui burned. Note that the ships personnel (Captain) did not immediately notify the people on the ship of the situation at Lahana. I had been to the enrichment talk in the theater that morning and went to the Lido deck where my wife was waiting for me to join her for lunch. It was my wife who informed me that Maui was burning. I immediately asked her where she got her information form. The information was sent to a lady on the cruise from the mainland because she was worried about her daughter on this cruise. I immediately told my wife there will be a change in the itinerary which will probably be "Kona" instead of Lahana. At that time the live TV was working but it was the British Channel that broad cast what was going on in Maui. This was day five into the cruise. Funny... I heard one lady state that she paid for going to Maui and this was unacceptable! Things did go smooth at the ports other than the passenger who jumped ship before arriving in Hilo. Things now were starting to get crazy. When leaving port in Kona the Satellite had lost signal but I told my wife once we get back out to sea it should come back. Well, I was wrong about the satellite TV and told my wife to go up to the customer service desk and find out what the problem was. In the meantime I had met a retired Engineer from Michigan who also was wondering what the heck with the live TV. We kind of put it together thinking several scenarios for no Satellite TV. One, Princess did not pay their bill for live TV and was cut off. Two, Princess did not carry a back up TV receiver on the Emerald. Three, the crew technician did not know how to reboot the system. Four, maybe the ship got an urgent call from the board of directors to kill the live TV out of Kona so the Casino could bring in more revenue.

     Note...Everything on this cruise was not going in the best interest to the customer. There were complaints from everyone. This is not like Princess so it looks like the new changes for the customer will take a beating going forward. On the good side I did not hear of any cabins getting flooded on this cruise. As a seasoned cruiser I really think the board of directors are trying to bring in much more revenue at the expense of customers. Time will tell. Tim 

We were on the cruise prior to yours - to mexico.  We lost live tv in Cabo.

we are east part of Orange County - it has been raining for 12 hours on and off, but only 1"

7 hours ago, WoolworthAdventures said:

Can someone tell me if they offer free cruise slips when you cruise on a short three nighter 

we currently have an offer for free inside cabin.

I went to Princess website and picked a 3 day cruise and it was giving it to us for zero

only have to pay port taxes.

15 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Anticipating really heavy rains. Up to 2" over 4 days. BRING IT ON! 🥳 Ground is a little parched and ready to absorb

 

 

yes yes yes

53 minutes ago, hobo1937 said:

Bad idea. We live in Vegas and no way would I want to be on I 15 going thru the desert areas with the potential for heavy rains. Flash flooding can happen in minutes and be deadly.

We have made the drive in a downpour before and I would not do it again.  Stay off the roads if it is going to be as bad as they say.

On 8/15/2023 at 5:53 PM, drwbrt said:

This is how we looked at it. If you plan to use WiFi it is worth it.  It includes your daily gratuities and WiFi.  That is worth $31 per day.  Let's just pause there.  That means you need $29 of value per day to break even.  That's two coffees, two sodas, and a mocktail a day (or two coffees and six waters).  You don't even have to drink alcohol to get your monies worth.  If you do drink alcohol, it's three drinks/day to break even. 

 

In addition to the above, you will also get your Medallion shipped to you for free (otherwise $10), this lets you board smoother.  Plus also allows you to use OceanNow (now this costs $14.99 per cruise).  You will be able to visit the casual dining two times (valued at $14.99 per visit).  You also get desserts (2/day), the juice bar (unlimited), and fitness classes (2/cruise), but these didn't rank as high for us. 

wifi for one device is $7.50 - don't need four devices, no soda, water delivered to room $.60 each bottle before the cruise, no mocktails, no juice bar, no desserts, no fitness classes, Oceannow, delivery of room service, no medallion delivered, no casual dining.   I don't get any of this at home, don't need to blow my budget getting it on the ship - especially when it is overpriced and unwanted.

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Honestly, I just can’t take all the calculations and spread sheets and group meetings and debates and seventeen different opinions.  If I’m paying over $10,000 for a cruise, why would I be so overly concerned about spending a few hundred more for something that really enhances my experience.  You either 'twant it or you don’t.

I don't spend that much for a cruise so your logic doesn't work for me.

If any of you have attended a sales pitch in Mexico at the resorts for time share - all of this math reminds me of those meetings.  You can run the numbers and give all the reasons you want.  Bottom line - run your own numbers and see what sticks.

We just got off the Emerald for a 7 night cruise.  We had no package.

over the 7 days,

$35 in charges from the international cafe for coffee

$214 in charges for gratuities

$105 paid in advance for internet for one - reimbursed $52.50 once on board

$14 paid in advance for two cases of water delivered to cabin

$315.50

We do not have drinks, food delivered to us.  Emerald does not have Alfreds's/Gigi's and we don't eat at the places that cost extra.  We do not carry our phones around with us - they are locked in the safe.

If you are not a drinker, it does not make sense to get the package.  

Consider what you are going to be doing, where you are going to eat, how much you are going to drink and then do the math.

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Before the recent changes, one could do the math and make a good argument either way. After the recent changes, I would say definitely yes, it is worth it. Can one come out “cheaper” by going with the Standard fare? Yes. But now, for the first time ever, in order to come out ahead, one must actively avoid features and offerings on the ship which, to me, is no way to spend a vacation, emotionally. You see other people dining in Casual restaurants and you think to yourself, “Gee, that looks like a good time.”  But if the goal is to “win” financially, you have to refrain from partaking. You see other people using Ocean Now and room service to get what they order and you think to yourself: “That seems like a neat feature.”  But if the goal is to “win” financially, you must forego that convenience. In order to come out ahead financially, you spend your vacation cutting out things that might make you feel more relaxed and luxuriated. Whereas for a few bucks more per day (on top of a vacation measured in the thousands) you can stop worrying about employing deprivation strategies. Maybe Plus comes out better financially and maybe it loses. But if it loses, it is going to be by a few bucks east day. Are those few bucks worth cutting yourself off from many of the features on the ship?  That is the question. 

few bucks ?

$120 X 7 is $840 for two people for one week

or $160 X 7 is $1,020

that is not a few bucks

thank you showing the list

We got our certificate from Rincon Harrah's Casino.  The certificate was for a free inside Holland America cruise up to 10 days in length, 

9 hours ago, bemis12 said:

Does anyone know how good Princess is at sending the email whether or not they accepted your bid?

 

We are sailing in 2 days, and our bid is still showing as "pending".  I'm starting to think we will not get the "declined" email.

we got our email "sorry" two day before sailing, so it should be coming any minute

Just off the Emerald - we were able to use the TV to order our room service - but order not correct when delivered.

Our TV "live" channels were not available for two days, during our stay in La Paz, overnight to Cabo and during our stay in Cabo.  Felt we were cut off from the world with no live news.

Update.

Had our final dinner tonight.  One of the other diners shared that they had over 7,000 points and their come back and play offer was a free balcony and $600 free play

between my husband and I we had over 8,000 points, but that doesn't increase our offer

7 minutes ago, antsp said:

Read the title of the thread, thought it was something else Princess was selling as a add on, almost as tacky as Princess prizes

I did that on purpose.  Everything is going to cost $$$ in the future

16 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Someone had this on their door on our Crown cruise in June. Their cabin was right by the entrance to the stairs/elevators portside. We always book starboard cabins but this was a guarantee and we were portside. I was so glad it was there as we kept wanting to go the wrong way when we got to the top of the stairs. We just said “head to the sign!”. (Yes I know about the coloured dots on the carpets 😉)

this one is also on the port side and you can see it immediately as you get off the elevator.

Nice to have a road sign back to the room

4 minutes ago, ldtr said:

🤪The next signs will be. 

 

Our Cabin is a Suite

 

or maybe

 

We are Elite we can get on a tender before you😁

this cruise made us Elite - need to make me a sign

on Emerald Princess and found this door decorated with this sign.

Either they are bragging about their plus package, or they are warning us about their behavior to come.

I got a drink package - 24 bottles of water for $14.00  yeah

sorry if it is on it's side - must have had too much to drink.