jinx73

I'm not an expert, but a couple things I would look at, is there any further penalty for cancelling later?  What I mean is, if you cancel now before a week before the cruise, do you lose the same amount? If so, I'd put off on cancelling it, as we could see these shutdowns going that long, especially for cruise ships, which should change your refund.

In regards to what way to cancel, depending on when you do as the above has, I'd still try and cancel by phone unless the online cancellation is crystal clear on what is happening to your deposits.

Daughter and I found on our last cruise, a small magnetic whiteboard came in handy, as we could update messages to each other on where we were, schedules etc.  We typically don't get wifi, and I know now in many cases you can msg through the app, but this let us not have to worry about our phones as much.

It was a nice choice to go with the drink pkg last cruise, as we were stuck on the ship due to Hurricane Dorian and the drink pkg was extended at no additional charge.  I have a cruise coming up in December, where I think I'm going to just use the casino prime drinks instead of purchasing a pkg.  and pay for an occasional drink if I want one.  We'll see how it goes this time.

I hit Prime on a 5 day cruise, as the previous poster said, much is going to depend on how much you are willing to bet and what your average bet is, if you are playing smaller amounts, 4 days may not be enough, if you are betting higher amounts and willing to risk more you can make it in a day.

In my 2 experiences so far on Royal ships in the last year, their 'catalog' is lacking in a lot of ways, even when they have a ton of songs, there seem to be gaps in completely missing popular artists or popular artists missing their popular songs.  It's still a good time, but I would just advise anyone that sings at their local spot, that the experience on the ship is vastly different.

On my trip with my daughter in April on the Brilliance, we tried MDR dining one night and found it to be rather lacking, so we decided to eat at the WJ for the rest of the trip, we enjoyed the themed nights and the dessert spreads at least on the Brilliance were a lot of fun, cake night, cheesecake night, donut night, etc.  It's something I had always heard about on other ships or from people's experiences but had never run into it, so it was nice to see.  I was traveling solo on the Harmony in September and decided to just eat dinners in the WJ by myself, the themes were still there but there wasn't any dessert spread that was anywhere near as impressive. 

So I'd say depending on the ship, it might be worth checking out the WJ if you haven't before for dinner.  I used to love MDR dining, but it's changed so much over the years, I don't enjoy it as much, in my opinion the food has gone downhill and the service at times that I have eaten in there on cruises has seemed rush, add in that with so many dinner options now even large tables can be empty during a cruise and it just doesn't feel the same.

I don't order doubles, and I've typically seen people ask and be turned down.  Having said that, I get the max out of my pkg, stick to same bars over course of a trip and your pours are likley to get a little heavier within reason, if you are polite and engaging with the bar staff. 

I decided to stick with the pkg, the cruise was comped through the casino, and luckily I'm by myself so only have to pay for one. The good thing is, I drink a fair amount so I don't have to worry about value's worth and for the convenience as I want to try a lot of spots on this cruise rather then all the time in the casino i think it makes sense.

Thanks for the responses though.

Hello I'm debating whether to keep the drinks package I have or to just pay as I go and utilize the free drinks in the casino for the trip.  Anyone struggled with this choice, and what decision did you make.  I don't want to be bound by the casino for drinking, I'm on the Harmony, but I won't mind buying my own drinks as needed to go along with the casino drinks and I think I can come out ahead doing so. 

very nice review, I'm sailing on the ship in about 4 weeks, so very much apprecitaed.