LACruiser5

That does include the cabin (but not gratuities) plus the wifi and 2 non-alcoholic beverage packages and the beach thing at CocoCay, but yeah, for a 4 night trip I still feel like that is a lot. It was $1500 without all those things 😞 I've always wanted to do CocoCay, but not thrilled with options in the Bahamas. No way I'm paying $500+ more to spend a day at Atlantis 😞 I didn't realize it would cost so much. By the time I'm done, I almost could have booked an all-inclusive for longer. These were Black Friday prices so...If the price goes down, will they give me back the difference? Hope I don't end up canceling.

I looked at NCL since they had the great Free at Sea offers but they only had a 7 night that would work for me. It was proportionately about the same as the 4 night I'm booked on with RC, even with the freebies. It might be because I'm just now booking for this February. Seems like you get better deals when you book further out.

Bummer, but who needs more food at midnight anyway? 😂😂 17 years ago they were just starting the freestyle dining with the different restaurants but we didn't pay extra for MOST of those either...Things change 🤷‍♀️ I'm just not sure that $2000+ for 4 nights is a great value (at 30% off no less) for a vacation. We've mostly been doing All-Inclusive resorts since my husband swore off cruising and we've gotten some amazing deals...we shall see! I'm just hoping we picked the right cruise to jump back in on cruising...

Now that had me curious! I'm glad to hear they've gotten bigger...maybe less seasickness?!? 17 years ago, we were on the brand new Norwegian Pearl that had the first ever bowling alley at sea. It was pretty big back then, but you are correct, Allure of the Seas is even bigger! Definitely a good thing. 👍🏻

We don't drink...I might have one, but I'm just as happy with virgin drinks so we didn't even consider the alcohol drink package, just the refreshment package (no alcohol). Not even sure we will both keep that, but maybe 🤷‍♀️

This was 40 years ago. There were no surcharges for food of ANY kind. You could pretty much order anything you wanted in the main dining rooms and if they had it, they served it to you. This was on Holland America and NCL which is what we cruised on mostly.

Yes, we were definitely able to get surf & turf outside of Lobster nights back in the day. We would just ask our regular waiter and he would bring it to us with a wink as long as they still had some (they usually did). I cruised a lot as a teen and young adult with my family. This was in the regular dining rooms when they still had formal nights.

Wow! How did you get it that cheap? I thought the black friday price was good, but not that good. Still not sure we will keep it but at least I have the option for $28.99 ea which is *supposedly* half price...

😂😂 Correct! There was a dial up internet room and you usually had to pay for larger packages but on NCL we got 4 or so hours free on our 10 day cruise, which was enough for checking on the kids with grandma back home 🙂 We DO need it on our 4 night cruise. We work and run a corporation so can't be out of touch even that long unfortunately.

The only reason I booked the Hideaway Beach for $58 total was that it is Adult only and we are 'resting' from kids/grandkids 😂😂. It was half off so I booked it before the sale ended thinking we would have the option to cancel. Are the other beaches overrun with kids? Hard to get a lounge chair?

Wow, times have changed since I last cruised! My husband and I took a 10 day cruise 17 years ago and it was his first (my 7th). He got Norovirus on day 3 and was deathly ill the rest of the trip. I got it on day 9. I've finally (kind of) convinced him to try again. We are booked on the Allure for a 4 night cruise. I booked during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales & it seemed like a decent deal at first. Once I booked, I looked at the add-on options because it was the last day of the cruise. WOW! They now nickel & dime you to death! Everything that was once included is now extra. By the time I finished with just "basic" upgrades (Wifi for 1 w/ 2 devices), 2 Refreshment packages (non-alcoholic), and Hideaway Beach passes ($58 total-1/2 price) for CocoCay and my "total" expenses are up to $2042 for a 4 night cruise (including gratuities). Then I noticed that there were 8 restaurants not included for dinner and I've read that things like sushi and lobster are no longer served in the "free" restaurants at all. Years ago, you could order surf & turf every night...on the menu or not. Is this accurate? On the refreshment package, would I be wise to cancel one of those? My husband normally only drinks plain black coffee, sweet tea, water or the occasional Ginger Beer (do they have that & is it included?). He might enjoy a milk shake a couple times. Any idea of the price of a milk shake? I, on the other hand, don't drink any soda, but love my coffee drinks and can drink virgin pina coladas and daiquiries all day long so I think it's worth the extra $120.00...maybe?

Very sad 😞 Literally just booked the central park overlook room this evening. I feel so bad for his parents.