The Scurvy Pirate

Also, keep checking the planner. The DBP was always the 20%/BOGO50 sale since the planner opened (even Black Friday), then about 5 weeks before the cruise they had a 30% off sale. So, keep checking...

Must be an IT thing. Mine is not showing either. Earlier this morning it was there. Maybe try the App...

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are your best hope for a price drop, but my experience is that those prices stayed the same as "sales" throughout the year, barring an RCI IT glitch...

Starting in early 2013 they started the "classic" (beer/wine/soda) and "premium" (liquor/beer/wine/soda), neither had coffee. Later in 2013 they switched to the replenish (soda/coffee); select (beer/wine/soda (no coffee)), premium (liquor, beer/wine and soda (no coffee)) and ultimate (everything similar to the Deluxe now). In 2016 they switched again, this time to the plans that are currently in place (soda, refreshment, and deluxe). Not sure what they had before 2013.

I cruise on Harmony on 10/15/23. Four of the shows just opened up today 9/12/23 (Grease,water show, ice show and Columbus the musical)(obviously your shows are different). No comedy shows.

My 10/15 cruise opened last night at 12:05 a.m. On the app I skipped to the check in time (which was 11:30) then went back and scanned the passport, picked country of origin, typed in emergency contact and credit card info for on-board expenses (my previous card had expired so had to put in the new info), next section still showed the earliest check-in time was 11:30. By 12:10 a.m. I was completely checked in. I will keep checking the app as I am hopeful that they will release/open the 10:30 and 11:00 check-in times as we get closer to the sail date.

Apparently they don't use/have the yum yum white sauce, at least the couple of times I have done it. Both the food and the "show" were good.

It's the same sale they have every couple of weeks. The only pseudo sale is the week of Black Friday, where you "may" see a variance in prices from other sales throughout the year. Of course, you may not see a greater discount.... I will add that some years there may be a small sale in early October, but that is hit and miss as well.

My now over 18 child renewed their previous "minor" passport so they had to appear in person for an appointment at the post office. It was received on 6/26/23 by the Department of State. I received notification that it was shipped today 8/23/23. Non-expedited. So, right around 2 months for a first time adult passport.

My momma always said you never discuss religion, politics or BBQ.... She didn't know about cruise ship tipping.

I have been looking at the Harmony ongoing cruises for a couple of months and they have been missing as well. There may be one show a week in the "big" theater, but nothing in the "club".

Usually, the PI firms say "no fee unless we collect". Most PI attorneys will still charge clients for costs, which in a normal PI case involve copies of medical records, police reports, etc (very nominal type stuff) even if they lose. But, in this case, they have to hire/pay "expert witnesses", scene re-creators, sometimes a mock jury/trial beforehand, probably had to hire an appellate attorney/firm for the first appeal. At this point the law firm is probably pretty deep into the costs (which are probably tens if not a hundred thousand dollars). The law firm may "advance" these costs, but will not eat them if they lose. The parents know that they have to keep going to hopefully get some monetary settlement/award just to pay these costs.

On the App you can quickly skip to the "pick your check in time" and then come back later to fill in the rest of the inforamtion. On-line, you have to go through almost the entire process before it gets to the check-in time. Lots of people use the app shortly after midnight of the first day for check in and go in and pick the earliest available check in time. Later that day or days later they go back in and complete the check in process while keeping that early check in time.

I have a Harmony cruise in October. I have been checking the app regularly for the current cruise activities. I haven't seen any comedy shows in a while. This week and next week the "headliner" is Jennifer Singer, who only appears one night each cruise. Lots of Grease, but no comedy shows in the Attic at all.

Dang, there I thought it was a special BOGO offer. 😄 Of course, when I went to pay off the 1st cruise on-line through that link it didn't recognize my deposit and said I owed more than I should. I called in and they had the correct amount in the system. Made sure I had a $0.00 confirmation e-mail before hanging up.

Some items rotate between two price points. Others don't change at all (or go up). The only time the price really changes is around black friday/cyber monday. You might luck out every now and then with a slightly lower price, or a technical error (when they ran the deluxe beverage for $17/day or Izumi Hibachi at $28/pp). What people will say is if you like the price, buy it. If it goes down (or you get a black friday or other sale) you can always repurcahse and then cancel your old order. I will say there were at least 3 times where I was waiting to purchase and then the prices jumped up and never went back down. For example the unlimited dining package was between $180-$200 every other week. I decided to buy it on the next drop to $180 and the price jumped to $320 and has never come back down. I don't know that we have ever heard someone complain about buying too soon (but I am sure I will now...). Until such time as RCI makes a cruise planner purchase non-refundable, you should buy now and look for lower prices later if you really want the product.

On the bright side, maybe at $179 there will be fewer people buying it so you can get through the shorter lines quicker...

In 2018 the Black Friday sale started 11/21/18 (Wednesday). Since then, they generally have started the Monday of Thanksgiving. Interestingly, there was a Veteran's Day Sale on November 11, 2020 (Wednesday) that had the same prices as the Black Friday Sale's that year. I hadn't really paid attention in subsequent years to see if it was still a decent sale. I have found that the refreshment package ($10/day off), internet ($7/day off) and some excursions (especially Coco Cay where the Coco Cay club was 50% off) offered the best discount. For example there was no change to any of the specialty dinner prices/packages. Last year the Deluxe Beverage was the same BOGO50 you get all the time but the year before (during Covid) it was 30% off. Photo packages also had a decent discount. Obviously, these may be ship dependent. You need to double check your planner cut off day, which is usually 3 days before the cruise leaves. Again, if you like the price now you can always buy it and if it goes down you can canel and reorder, as long as you are outside the 3 day cutoff.

Is there another friend or relative who wants to go on a free cruise? You could simply change the name on the reservation. As others said, the no show option may also work, with your cousin arriving "later" after you are already on board....

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator

I wonder how gambling on cruises out of Australia, where the casinos are non-smoking by law, compare (proportionally). It has been banned there for 30 years or so. I assume that if Royal wasn't making money on those cruises, they would have pulled out of Australia by now...

My cruise from Miami is in 130 days. My planner "sale" is the same as all the other "sales" at 20% one week, 25% the other week, saving all of $5.00. Hopefully (although doubtful) I will see a decent price drop closer in....

Unless you have kept track of the initial "full price" or any subsequent changes, its really hard to know, which is probably RCI's intent. I would venture most people don't check/follow pricing on a regular basis. The people on CC are the exception. As everyone says, if you like the price, buy it. I am of the opinion, if you konw you want it, but aren't sure of the price, still buy it. You can always re-price if it goes down. If you change your mind, you can always cancel and get your money back. The problem with not buying "now", there is a reasonable chance the base price tomorrow may be even higher. I can't tell you how many times I was waiting for a lower price or the next "sale" and then there was a jump in the base price, so I coudn't even get it at the previous price I was debating. For example, the UDP was fluctuating between $226 and $261. It was at $261 when I decided to purchase (after much procrastination), so I was waiting for the next "sale" for it to go back to $226, when it jumped to $288 and $327, never to see $226. again...

But, interestingly, if they "inherited" your Diamond status on Royal (or had their own D+ status), they would be considered "Elite" on Celebrity, even without ever sailing on Celebrity. So, it would seem if you want your child to get/retain status on Celebrity, you should only cruise Royal until they turn 18 to maximize their Royal status (at least to Diamond). There is no benefit to your under 18 child (staus wise) on Celebrity, because they don't earn any points. I assume this is what Celebrity intended.

He was 7 years old. His parents are travel agents/bloggers and have toted him around on all of the cruises. The pinning ceremony was posted on you tube that occurred earlier this year.