island lady

Aww...thanks! 🤗 Funny....but no. I was posting my experience of simply hopping a flight to get to Sydney to board Venus for the circumnavigation of Australia in a few months. Then hop off for an overnight to connect to Orion to tour NZ. Flying back from Auckland after that. I have just returned from a World cruise doing the Chilean Fjords and Antarctica, circumnavigating all of South America. Wonderful trip. 🙂 Ushuaia, was one of my favorite ports.

I very often will cash the rest out to add to our additional cash tips, over the already prepaid tips.

From the Surety Company. Two different names, Hornblower and Argo.

LOL...I love that song! Thanks for the smiles! 😉

Agree. It really is terrible we have to go through all of this, when it should just be automatic that they refund our money. So sorry I ever booked this this company. They were a PITA from the very beginning. 😡

Indeed. The Viking Crown Lounge itself is our "go to" lounge for happy hour. Even though we had access to the separate Concierge Lounge on EX...we preferred to sit at the VCL bar. 😉

The points to upgrade...IMHO...was a total waste when I tried it. I am now keeping to just using them for OBC, which I happily love to use. 🙂

What? They didn't give you the bubbly??? Shame on them. We gave ours to our waiter. 😄 The stratum (once engraved), pins, tags, etc. kit will arrive much later. Took 6 months to get ours! Then the pins were wrong. 😏 Plus pretty banged up since they had been bouncing around in the box not being secured. LA on EX insisted she have them replaced, which they were quite quickly. Enjoy your new status and welcome to the club!! 🤗

We were shocked as well on the Radiance Alaska B2B some years ago. We had just over 350 points and were #2 cruisers! 😮 Really nice dinner in Chops with the solo Pinnacle (#1) and the couple with just under 350 points (#3) with the LA, the F&B, and the HD. Great time...sigh...though obviously ...sadly....that dinner set up is also a thing of the past. 😞

The same with us...but you were recognized then...like we were. Still have the photo from the Ceremony on my "cruise corner" cabinet along with the engraved stratum (now 2 and about to be 3). 😉

We were recognized at the Upper Tier on Harmony. Got the picture with Captain and LA, holding the "stratum to be" example, and the cheap bottle of bubbly! Was at the Aqua Theater on that ship. I think most of the Oasis class ships hold it there..if not all. The LA contacted us ahead of time to be sure we were going to be at the event

Agree...it's so much more relaxing to have that nice sit down breakfast in Chops. We have always received very good service. Though the menu is more limited than the MDR...it's just so much quieter! 🤗

Didn't they do an award ceremony for you at the Upper Tier event?

Wow...that's low! Will be curious to see how many on Allure on Monday. We don't usually do the short cruises, but have never been on Allure. Since she is still in PC, very convenient for us to finally meet her, and I really want to see Mamma Mia. 🙂

Eeeek! Watch Celebrity's cost go up...with all of us adult beverage lovers wandering over from Royal. 😄

Same with us...but we turned on the second leg. 😉 So was not until the next booked cruise later. Guess I timed that one wrong. 😄

Pinnacles are simply "recognized"....but do not receive the status until after the points have been posted to your account 5-8 days after the cruise...as with all levels.

Ahh...good for you. Though I am only posting my own experience. There is no where that I posted false information on my experience. Why would I? I thought this was about cruising on Cruise Critic. The flight is just something to get me there and back...and I like getting there and back in comfort. I have accomplished that goal each time. So please, just let it go.

Ahhh..congrats and welcome to the club soon! 🤗 My favorite being the unlimited free internet, and add in the 7 drinks per person a day....ahhh...nice! Oh...having breakfast in Chops is right up there too!! Agree...the Diamond events were sooo fun! On the little Radiance ladies the cigar bar on the VCL deck was the Diamond event (but still smelled of cigars 🤢). That is of course now strictly the concierge lounge. But our favorite was definitely the Freedom forward lounge. OMG...we met so many cool people and had so much fun! Beer, wine, jar of bar snacks...totally enjoyed and was all we needed.

LOL 😉 I don't care if it is called business or first class...as long as it is first class service. I like getting to my cruise and back comfortably, which I do with ease. The cruise being the main objective. Not my flight being over scrutinized. 😉 I just report what my experience is.

You are not alone. Have reached the "P" mark awhile ago, but am now booking with other lines. That level is just not what it used to be, with too many cut backs all across the board in all things Royal. 😞 We are now booking future cruises mostly with Viking.

And you have come a long way since then. 🙂 I actually skipped right over it, boarding as a Platinum earning points through Emerald, and into Diamond on one single longer cruise to the canal. Drats...never got the little green pin. 😉 The next cruise was something we looked forward to after that....and entry into the (at that time) "Diamond Event". 🥰

When you think about it...all of us turn during a cruise at some point...early, mid, or late. As always, the points have to be gathered and posted 5-8 days after completion of your current cruise. I always looked at it as being that much sweeter once you board the next cruise, giving you more to look forward to. Enjoy your cruise and congrats on turning Emerald. 🙂

Not sure why you are so concerned for me about this? We are in the very front of the plane in one of those "pods" with first class service. It is a one/two/one layout. If we want to be next to each other, we pick the center aisle versus the single windows on each side. Most of the duo pods are already taken. Since you are so concerned...I will let you know we are Orlando to Houston, then Houston non stop to Sydney. Once again, please rest assured I am very happy with my selection. Thank you for being so concerned with my flight itinerary and choices...it means a lot to me. 😉

Maybe things have changed. We haven't tried to access it for several years now. Previously our Home Depot had the discount just on Veterans Day, Fourth of July...etc. Will try again. Thanks!