Ambiverol

Thanks for this! Exactly what I was looking for...

18 hours ago, fligster said:

Small World. Strangely earlier this week someone from vegasmessageboard had DIrect messaged me to say they had just bought an rdx found my videos and realized they had been reading my trip reports there.

Hello from central NJ, Fligster.  Count me in this group too.

I read VMB often (just back from Mirage).  Royal Carib Cruises and Las Vegas are my most frequent getaways.  I enjoyed your recent LV trip report.

Then, I'm watching a youtuber that hosts a regular poker game on Thursdays.  Who do I see at the table? I think you know.  And today I see this!  It seems we find the same corners of the internet.

Enjoy your cruise.  I'm thinking about taking the family on Harmony in the fall (have some Club Royale offers that may prove irresistible), and am considering a solo trip (any ship) in early June.  Any casino stories appreciated! Take care.

It's an insulated mug. Fill it with your favorite drink, insert straw and enjoy.

No straws

Answered your table max question, may as well take a stab at this one too!

I bet you are correct, RCCL casinos do not receive much front money wired to them. Here's likely why (their program is constantly changing, but this is the gist of how it's historically been):

If you gamble decent during a cruise, you get "VIP" type status for future cruises. This eliminates any fees for taking money from your sea pass (room charge) and/or credit card purchases at the cage. So, you can fully max your credit cards for no fee. Great, right?

Because of this, there is no real advantage to front money. If you lose, at least you're getting points/cash back on your cc and have some time to pay it off. If you win, you can always pay your room account in cash (essentially paying off markers) and walk off the ship with your winnings. Or just walk off with all the money, and pay your cc later.

Most people who play big enough to consider (or even know about) wiring money ahead of time are likely not paying the fee (5% I think), so it's of limited usefulness to them.

That amount is not an issue. $500 and $1000 max bet BJ tables are common on RCCL. You can also play multiple hands at max bet.

I tell my wife, "I love the cruise ship. Shampoo, conditioner, and soap...all in one dispenser!" She thinks I'm nuts. She's probably right!

Just google copyright laws for photographs. I spent 43 years in intellectual property law so I think I know of what I speak. The photograph is the property of the artist (photographer) and you are not free to use it. When I have professional photos done of one of my cats and want to use one in an ad or awards booklet, I must pay the photographer a release fee in addition to what I originally paid for the photo session and CD. I can't just use them at will. Occasionally a commercial photographer will use my cats for greeting cards, calendars, magazine ads and the like. I get paid and often they are kind enough to send me copies of some of the photos BUT, I am not free to use them (even though some would make wonderful Christmas cards).

You can't send your friends a copy of the DVD.

 

You are confusing display with reproduction and distribution.

 

You probably won't get sued for the Christmas card, but that doesn't make it right.

Jersey representing!

I've lived all over, much of which has been in NJ. If you told me, "There is a thread on the internet where people are discussing a photo that was provided by a cruise line, to a passenger, for free, as a perk. And, two people are arguing the legality of including this photo in the passenger's Christmas card. Lawsuit has come up in the conversation. What State are these people from?"

I'd get it 1st guess, haha.

You have to play a lot or play near or at the slot machine max to get enough points for a free cruise. We played all week, but generally play the min bet which is 30-80 cents per pull and it took all week to get enough points to get $100 off a future cruise certificate (400 points) . Over the week, we lost just under $200. We would have played slots anyway so even though we lost nearly $200, the certificate was somewhat of a bonus.

 

good luck

m

This is a very good, real number example of what earning a "free cruise" could look like. I'll multiply your experience by 6, and we'll assume identical results:

Played "all week", $1.80-4.80 per pull, earned 2400 points (free inside cabin offer), lost nearly $1200.

I'm not saying this is good or bad, just showing what $12,000 coin-in CAN look like. Your trip had about a 90% payout rate on the slot machines, for the time you played, which falls within the standard range. Solid example.

Great information, thanks so much. I still want to know how they track it at the tables ?

Like land based casinos, except your sea pass card acts as your players club card.

Sit down. Pass over cash and your sea pass card to dealer. Dealer gives you chips. Pit boss enters your sea pass info into a computer, how much $$ you bought, and periodically types in your bet amounts. Computer tracks. Average bet multiplied by time there determines your comps, win or lose.

Was she wearing ripped jeans?

We just got back from the 11/11 sailing. 3 out of 4 of us got suspected Norovirus. I posted a long reply in a similar thread, fyi.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2565126&page=2

Just got home from the 11/11 sailing. My wife and 2 small children got bit by the bug Thursday night into Friday. It came on sudden, was ferocious for about 10-12 hours, and then the kids bounced back pretty quick last night. Wife/kids self-quarantined Friday and only left the cabin this morning to depart. Our housekeeper and the medical center were notified. Vomit linens and our trash were removed in biohazard bags.

My wife is still recovering, and I'm hoping I'm not next! At least, being home, we are in a much better position to handle it. The situation was more miserable than I could imagine (exacerbated by 4 in the cabin, 2 of which are toddlers). Thank goodness for the balcony.

Some notes:

-I've been on many cruises, and this had the most cleaning/precautions I've seen. They're trying.

-Purell everywhere, forced upon you, over the top, but PURELL DOESN'T KILL NOROVIRUS. I suspect this disconnect gives a false sense of security to many.

-People blatently do gross things. I don't get it. We often ate at the windjammer buffet and couldn't believe some of the nastiness we saw.

-The staff is very vigilant about enforcing the rules, but it's often misplaced effort, imho. For example; I can't get my own napkins or sugar packets in certain areas, but all kinds of unsanitary things go unnoticed with windjammer tongs and drink dispensers.

-I didn't get sick. I washed my hands VERY often, didn't use purell unless required, and avoided putting my hands near my face. It worked for me, so far.

-Room attendant said they are doing a deep cleaning today with foggers and such. They said that before our cruise too.

-My kids often "share" what my wife is eating. They'll have a sip of her drink, lick of an ice cream cone, bite of sandwich, etc. I don't really do that much, and I think that may explain why all 3 of them got it, and not me.

-Chatting with other people/parents made me realize that the CDC reported numbers do not necessarily reflect all of the sick passengers. I believe it is under-reported.

Overall: This noro outbreak is real. Royal seems to be doing their best, but I would not be surprised to see continued issues on the 11/18 cruise. It was frightening to see how sudden and violent the onset was. I have a new empathy for anyone who goes through this awful illness while confined to a tiny cabin, with one toilet on a rocking ship at sea.

Last time I cruised it was 5K, per person, per day, ON THE SEA PASS. So, a cabin with two people, could withdraw 10K per day (split between the 2 cards).

However, this is all irrelevant. You can purchase chips directly from the cashier with your credit card. The limit is only applicable to your sea pass card. And, it is coded as a purchase on the ship, so the credit card company does not treat it as a cash advance. You are not subject to your lower cash advance limits, and can withdraw up to your credit limit.

You do get hit with the 5% fee from Royal, but that is waived for club royale members. They also offer casino credit (like land based casinos) that can be set-up prior to sailing.

Note: I think the typical limit is 3K/pp/pd. For certain club royale organized group sailings, they increase the limits to the 5k/pp/pd for the participants.

they ARE NOT murderers, they ARE NOT child molesters, they Are NOT felons!

You don't know that. Making that generalization, without knowing any of the participants, is prejudiced. I find it very offensive and in bad taste.

Just as a note, Royal Caribbean doesn't issue any W-2Gs. I guess they trust us to self-report our winnings. :D

X2

I can confirm Royal does not issue W2-G's for slot wins of any amount. Also, they will not issue checks, even for very large sums of money. You will carry it off.

And, yes, I realize it is upon everyone to report all income to the IRS, regardless of if it's documented or not. But, Royal does not notify the IRS or US Customs of any slot or table wins. It's up to you.

Quantum of the Seas has the usual kids area plus a splash zone for kids in diapers. My son loved it.

We do NOT want to lug around 2 car seats with everything else we will have, and I'm wondering what the laws are in florida regarding this age and taxis or shuttles? Can we get around not having car seats?

The laws of physics are the same in FL as elsewhere. Your small children will be at a severe disadvantage if you are involved in an accident without car seats, regardless of what State you are in.

I was noticing the story on the big screen by the pool. Very sad.....:(

I agree. It's always sad when troops are sent overseas.

First, I must admit, I have strong opinions on this subject. I've seen some awful things that would have been non-events with a properly secured child. Since having my own child, I do everything I can to make sure he is as safe as possible in these situations. I go as far as buying him his own airplane ticket and securing him in an FAA approved child seat, although he qualifies as a lap baby. This will obviously make no difference in a catastrophic air crash, but it will be a big help in an accident which involves skidding off the runway, clear air turbulence, etc.

So, if it was me, I'd bring it. Otherwise, if something happened that would have been ok had he been in a car seat, I would feel lousy.

Some thoughts...

-It is possible a "transfer" vehicle does not have seat belts or a latch system, but it should

-A large, full-size bus does not have a car seat requirement. Anything smaller does (although many people seem to ignore this on vacation)

-It is also likely that a transfer company has car seats on hand for this very situation. That may solve all of your problems.

-MIA to Port Everglades is a decent ride and the drivers in So. Fla are pretty nutty

Whatever you decide, have a safe trip and enjoy.

I had an egg crate and duvet to sleep on and it's still not enough. Need about a 6" memory foam to make a difference. And I'm not a large person.

With back issues, if the mattress doesn't give it puts pressure on other nerves, etc. A real pain - literally and figuratively. We've sailed on several cruise lines - find Holland the best for beds with NCL and Princess before the back issues so don't remember the beds. Guess we'll spend our cruise $ seeing more of America using the car.

Sounds good...enjoy!

Nice Find!

I had asked about a "baby splash zone" the other day. Not only did this link show the area, I was able to read the sign and all the rules. Nice.

Make that 2 votes for annoying guy.

Thanks for the info about the baby pool. That picture was a huge help. I had looked all over and couldn't find anything definitive.

I knew I could count on you guys!

The smoke in this casino is the worst I've ever experienced in a casino. No exaggeration. I have not been around smoke like this, in any venue, in the past 10 years. One could see the cloud upon approaching.

Full Disclosure: It was a 2 night sampler cruise, so it may have been more of a party atmosphere on this sailing. Also, there were a fair amount of Club Royale guests and a large junket group. This may have contributed.

Also, without exaggeration, the line was often 30-40 people deep to cash a ticket/chips. It was nuts. Hopefully things have been ironed out since November.

There were many non-players using the casino as a smoking lounge. I don't blame them, Royal has set up that situation.

It is nothing like the split smoking/non on Oasis class. That works out fine. I would think, with a new ship, they would have a state of the art ventilation system in a shared area that allows smoking. The smokiness is baffling.

There are a few of us last minute on this cruise! I just booked Friday. I haven't even checked the reservations yet, just happy to be warm...will figure out the rest later.