critterchick Posted January 8, 2014 #26 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Well that's even better. I was a top cruiser on a cruise where there was only 1 JS available until the day before sailing. No other suites were available. No upgrade for me - it went to Bingo. Gina That happens fairly often, in my experience. Can't blame them for wanting the extra revenue, but I still pout.:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetocruise75 Posted January 8, 2014 #27 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Why do some of you fault RCCL for making a profit? I'd say that $36 for a chance to win an upgrade to a JS is a nice opportunity, especially for folks that might be in an inside or even oceanview. Take it for what it is. Yes, they make money, but it's also supposed to be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabean Posted January 8, 2014 #28 Share Posted January 8, 2014 That happens fairly often, in my experience. Can't blame them for wanting the extra revenue, but I still pout.:p I know what you mean. I thought they could look ahead at my future bookings which were all JS and GS and be a little bit giving. But I realize those bingo players and casino players partially subsidize the great prices I grab from time to time. :) Still an occasional bone would be nice. Or how about a filet? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lionesss Posted January 8, 2014 #29 Share Posted January 8, 2014 On our 7 day Allure sailing this past July they had a bingo and the prize was the Crown Loft next to ours. The lucky winners moved in on Wednesday..........half way thru the cruise. Sea Ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenfromjersey Posted January 8, 2014 #30 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I think it was a Royal Family Suite on my last sailing, or maybe it was THE Royal Suite, I can't remember. We saw the couple who won at Guest Services ready to make the move to their new cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debde Posted January 8, 2014 #31 Share Posted January 8, 2014 When I was on the allure it cost $100 to play bingo for a chance at a suite. There was a line from one end of the ship to the other. It was totally insane and not worth it. To stay with the thread theme-BINGO!!! Royal loves this-plenty of money made, no one had to twist anyone's arm to spend the money, Bingo can be a lot of fun so I'm sure all those folks had fun playing. No harm no foul!! What a way to generate income. Hundreds on line for an unsold cabin. Can not fault them on this one. Genius business move, don't ya think!;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaO Posted January 8, 2014 #32 Share Posted January 8, 2014 They don't hide the fact that BINGO is gambling.... So... you either take the gamble or not.... We often take the gamble... and I've won the suite once... upgrade to the Owner's Suite... I've been on many cruises where there was not a win a suite bingo... because there were no suites to win. My mother won final bingo once.... well over $4000... not a bad return on the investment... I think she paid $67 for the machine. I've won some of the 'lesser' prizes in BINGO over the years... I don't play Bingo on land.. only on cruise ships... But then I don't go to the Casino at home... only on the cruise ships or when we go to Vegas... It is just fun... and a gamble... and yes... I know the ship makes big $$ from the entry fees... but they don't hide that either... Am I ahead with my bingo winnings vs bingo costs... I doubt it... Am I ahead with my casino winnings vs spending... I'm about even Am I ahead with my FL lotto ticket winnings... yea... that will be the day!~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted January 9, 2014 #33 Share Posted January 9, 2014 RCI doesn't hold back a suite for bingo - they will only offer it if there is an unsold one, so it really doesn't cost them anything to offer it, other than an extra bottle of water if it's a full suite and the coffee/tea setup that comes along with JS and above. And maybe the extra gratuities if it's a full suite. What they will do is hold a suite back from C&A upgrades, since upgrades don't generate any revenue for them. They will offer a JS if that's the only "suite" category they have available. I don't really pay attention, but I would hope that they disclose that it's a JS before people purchase a ticket. I doubt that they offer up all of the perks of a full suite as an incentive to play, but if they do, then they need to program a gold Seapass for the winner or they are indeed committing fraud. We were on Radiance in 2010 in a cabin next door to the vacant RS, which was offered up in bingo. They had an open house so people could take a look, and I really had to fight through a crowd to get to my cabin. They held bingo in the theater, which I heard was jam-packed. Our new neighbors were a mother and her 2 kids, who were over the moon. Brings back memories, we were on Brilliance in 2010, chose GS next door to RS. when we checked in our cabin steward said RS was vacant and we could tour it if we liked. very nice. found out it was scheduled to be bingo prize that night. Anyway, bingo game must have been around 11PM and the new "owners" moved in around midnight. they spent next hour running around carrying on. I don't mind someone getting lucky and upgrading, but it kept me up much later than I expected. Royal should have moved them in the next day and respected those that paid full fare for their cabin. just my opinion. on a side bar, the GS next to the RS has these fabulous double opening sliders that most of the other GS's do not:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csk Posted January 9, 2014 #34 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I was playing for the "free cruise" bingo many years ago on one of the ships, and there were two winners, they had to draw numbers from the left over ones and the highest one won, and the other person got nothing, have not played since, really made me mad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonTehGreat Posted January 9, 2014 #35 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Royal Caribbean is a BUSINESS and businesses operate to make money and this is a way they do it. They never said "Win a Grand Suite or Higher Bingo" they said "Win a Suite Bingo". When you go to book a Junior Suite on their website you go to the "suite" tab to select it. Heck even the name "Junior Suite" makes it painfully obvious that it is a suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabean Posted January 9, 2014 #36 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I don't think OP has an issue with RCI making a profit. She just wondered if the word suite might have been misleading to some since no true suite amenities come with it. I said no, because most people playing have no idea what comes with a true suite in the first place. Certainly the players know Bingo is a for profit game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalton5 Posted January 9, 2014 #37 Share Posted January 9, 2014 We set sail on Sunday on our "Win a Cruise" Bingo prize! We were on the Explorer last Feb. and won on the second day. Since the cruise only cost us the price of our bingo package, we decided to splurge on the airfare and take Adventure from Puerto Rico. We were also able to upgrade our OV cabin to an Aft balcony:D I think we may skip bingo this time because I don't think lightening will strike twice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted January 9, 2014 Author #38 Share Posted January 9, 2014 There is profit, and there is profit. On my first cruise, Explorer in 2002, the snowball jackpot was $10,000. You read that correctly. Not a typo. Big jackpot now? $500. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted January 9, 2014 #39 Share Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) Merion_Mom, I realize this is off subject, but a question has been raised regarding the availability of the "Luggage Vallet" program on Indy. It was available last March when we were on her last, but there have been reports that - at least in November - it was not available. Can you confirm if the program is available now? There are some members of our March roll call asking. Thanks - much appreciated! Have a great rest of your cruise! Edited January 9, 2014 by leaveitallbehind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted January 9, 2014 Author #40 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Merion_Mom, I realize this is off subject, but a question has been raised regarding the availability of the "Luggage Vallet" program on Indy. It was available last March when we were on her last, but there have been reports that - at least in November - it was not available. Can you confirm if the program is available now? There are some members of our March roll call asking. Thanks - much appreciated! Have a great rest of your cruise! Yes, and it looks like all airlines are participating. The only restrictions are time. You can't use it with flights before, I think, 11:30 a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted January 9, 2014 #41 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yes, and it looks like all airlines are participating. The only restrictions are time. You can't use it with flights before, I think, 11:30 a.m. Thanks for the quick response. The times are consistent with last year and the FLL airlines included at the time were American, Continental, Air Tran / Southwest, USAir, Delta, Jet Blue, and United. I will pass that along to our roll call. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted January 9, 2014 Author #42 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yes, and it looks like all airlines are participating. The only restrictions are time. You can't use it with flights before, I think, 11:30 a.m. Back on board now and I can verify that time. On the Oasis, friends had an 11:25 flight and they were not permitted to use luggage valet. Then their flight was delayed. :rolleyes: :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted January 9, 2014 Author #43 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Thanks for the quick response. The times are consistent with last year and the FLL airlines included at the time were American, Continental, Air Tran / Southwest, USAir, Delta, Jet Blue, and United. I will pass that along to our roll call. Thanks again! Continental is not on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted January 9, 2014 #44 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Continental is not on the list. Continental is part of United now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted January 9, 2014 #45 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Thanks to both of you, Merion_Mom and clarea. BTW, MM, you are missing the balmy weather here at home - actually getting back up into the 30's today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifeboatcaptain Posted January 9, 2014 #46 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I won it once on Legends of the Seas! A junior suite + USD200 cash. It was a one game only, and I bingoed at the seventh number, hardly even 5 minutes into the game. Oh boy I'm sure I was not popular for the next half hour. After winning it, they told me to pack all my stuff, and head over to Guest services to change my blue seapass card to the silver one. Not sure if my interior stateroom attendant will then get my gratuities, I left him a reasonable amount of money as tip, left him a note saying I'm moving up. Ever since, whenever there's a win a suite bingo, I'll go for it. My previous cruise, I was standing up already when someone else bingoed.... It was for a royal suite, and the lady won two additional cash prize bingos in the same seating... :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetocruise75 Posted January 9, 2014 #47 Share Posted January 9, 2014 There is profit, and there is profit. On my first cruise, Explorer in 2002, the snowball jackpot was $10,000. You read that correctly. Not a typo. Big jackpot now? $500. :eek: Ok, let's use your date of 2002... Crude Oil averaged just $22.81 per barrel in 2002 Crude Oil averaged $87.67 per barrel in 2013 That's an increase of 284% Now, have cruise fares increased by 284% since 2002? No. Not even close. As a matter of fact, many cruise fares have DECREASED or at least remained the same. (We sailed aboard the Galaxy in 2003 and paid $3,900 for a balcony, 11 day cruise) This was in April. A 9 day aboard Explorer this coming April, which is a much larger ship with many more amenities, will run you $3,500 for 2 in a balcony stateroom. Now, to bring this full circle... How can you expect RCCL or any cruise line for that matter to continue to produce biggest and best without raising cruise fares on the average AND pay much more for fuel? That's right, you need to find profit elsewhere. I rest my case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady_cruiser Posted January 10, 2014 #48 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Sounds, great, right? Most of you have probably seen this on many or most of your cruises. Will it be the Royal Suite? Wow, maybe the Royal Family Suite? Owner's Suite? Think of all the perks!!!! Concierge Lounge access, Gold SeaPass card for access to special seating. If the ship is going to Labadee, access to Barefoot Beach. WOW. And at $36 a pop, and hundreds of passengers playing, just think about how much money RC is raking in! Well, this past Sunday, the Independence of the Seas held Win a Suite Bingo. The prize? A Junior Suite. What do you think? ;) I think that if you like to play Bingo than $36 is already if that is how you have fun. I have seen more money wasted in the casino than I have seen wasted at an hour long Bingo game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabean Posted January 10, 2014 #49 Share Posted January 10, 2014 When you think about it, if they are making that much money on win a suite bingo, why don't they hold one back every single cruise? At least on every single cheap cruise or cruise in the fall. Gina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critterchick Posted January 10, 2014 #50 Share Posted January 10, 2014 When you think about it, if they are making that much money on win a suite bingo, why don't they hold one back every single cruise? At least on every single cheap cruise or cruise in the fall. Gina Good question, but perhaps they fear a backlash from people who can't book a suite. More likely, however, they just haven't thought of it.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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