TwoMisfits

Normally, they make 10% off the throughput, and most gamblers will not stop and only gamble one cruise to get perks. They will gamble on their free cruises, thus ultimately paying for the cruise through the throughput on that cruise.

However, if you buy now, you will set the base level for dynamic pricing...aka, the more folks who buy, the less likely the price will ever drop...so only buy if it's a price you will definitely live with. Like, the drink package is the cheapest for my cruise (even more than Black Friday - albeit just $2 cheaper/day) - still too high, so I still won't buy...but we'll see if it comes down more as folks hold out. If everyone holds out, that's when prices drop with dynamic pricing.

My Symphony is still $73/day + tax/tip. My spouse has said he doesn't want it for more than $60/day b/c he doesn't want to get fat on the cruise - gotta love the reasoning, but I am saving a ton of money. This is its lowest price...so there's that. But it's still ridiculous. Guess we have a lot of drink voucher folks that need to be covered by the alcohol department on my week...

Did you have travel insurance? Some policies and companies will pay for tour bankruptcies...

Immersive Africa would also be my no brainer decision. I don't remember which one gets more OBC, but the sea days to stop days are just better spread...and why not see some African sites if you're gonna sail around it?

Okay, if that is lobster mac and cheese, it does look awful...and lacking lobster and thickness/creaminess.

You've hit the nail on the head. If the vouchers were removed, I'd expect alcohol would get just as much uproar as the milkshakes, b/c both are ridiculous...

The Key on most ships gives a reserved time for attractions 1-2 times during the cruise. Lines will be short during those times, especially since they aren't popular times (think early and meal times). I'm not sure they have ever put "short line" waits on most ships (although maybe that's coming to Icon). If that reserved time works for your son, you'll be set. If not, cruising on a megaship where activities are "seen" every day but need to be waited for a lot, may not be the best vacation for your family.

But still at kid dinner time. They go from 7-10pm with nothing. 3 hours of play and a kid is ravenous after...at least mine always were...like clockwork...

I can totally see parents with kids leaving kids program at 10pm and being shocked they can't pick up a treat and drink for their now-starving kid at the buffet. In fact, I am surprised WJ isn't open til 10:30pm, just for that...I mean, if it's a family line, 5pm kid dinner is pretty early and then they don't serve food in the kids' room, I don't think... I say this as one, who in days past Carnival, Disney and even Royal cruises, may have been the parent sitting at a buffet from 9:30-10:30pm with a kid and a brownie or soft serve ice cream and a glass of water or milk...

Hmmm, I see my joke about the ziplocs ridiculousness missed:)... Yes, you can't take food off anyway (at least not legally), so the previous poster's concern that it would be the "snack off board" is an obvious non-worry...

If you want to bring your own ziploc products on board to take a cookie or carrot for your airplane ride after spending probably $1K/person minimum for your trip on board - well, you can. And it's not like you can't do it with morning breakfast, when the stuff would be a lot fresher...

And who wants to order room service just for a PBJ or bag of chips or a piece of fruit? You'd cut down on so much waste (people taking things back to the cabin "just in case" and then not eating them) and personnel time (huge burden of room service vs just one extra snack area) if you'd just keep a single serve snack section open at Windjammer all night (or at least til shut down of all night activities)...

I would love a single size snack section open on Windjammer. Whole piece fruit, cookies, pretzels and potato chips, baby carrot or celery sticks, single package cheese, biscuits or bread or even crackers, single serve peanut butter and jelly packets, applesauce packs, jello cups, etc. Things that wouldn't go bad all night, but would be nice late for kids or adults. All of this could sit out hours with almost no issue (one employee would just need to be around to keep it up)...

It's funny - pre=Covid and before my allergies, I would ask for the vegan entree but with a fish filet on top (I'm a huge fan of veg and fish). Half the time, I got one plate exactly as requested...half the time, I got both entree plates in full delivered together (and then wasted the sides from the fish, b/c I didn't want them - thus why I ordered the vegan entree as the base)...

\Maybe that's when they are moving to senior living.

EXACTLY! In dynamic pricing, you NEVER buy early unless you can live with the price you got. If you buy early, you've guaranteed the price will never drop below a certain baseline for every purchase. RCCL items are now like airplane seats. They set a certain base price, and if they don't sell anything, they might drop the price, but if they do sell, the future price will never be below that base price. I gave in and bought one lunch this black Friday so my kids could try oysters for the 1st time ever...it was under $100 for 6 all in (5 adults/1 kid), so that was good enough for me. Everything else was a pass...and will continue to be at these prices...

Yeah, since my allergy combo is the dreaded "dessert" combo of dairy (kills regular desserts) and tree nuts (kills vegan desserts b/c tree nuts are almost always the dessert dairy replacement), I'm hoping that if I don't see any possible desserts, I can ask for a bag of plain potato chips or a scoop of (non-mango) sorbet. Not sure either will be possible, but it can't hurt to ask so I don't just always end up with jello.

I contacted RCCL b/c I have multiple severe allergies (dairy, tree nut, mango) and like PPs said, they wanted me on traditional dining. They actually preferred I was on the 1st seating, but either would be okay.

With dynamic pricing, don't buy unless you can live with the price permanently...by you buying, you've permanently increased the lowest price it will ever be offered (ala airplane seats)... So, even when sales come, they arrive with a higher price level to start... I decided to buy nothing for my cruise yesterday. I'll look again on "real" Black Friday and Cyber Monday...and then if still the same, I'll wait til Christmas/New Years. If I don't see a price I want for something, I'll keep passing. If nothing else, it may end up discounted on ship if no one buys...

That's my waterpark price...it makes things so easy to pass...

Symphony May 24 would dream of $98 - right now, that's $253.99 for beach club on my cruise. Either I've got a swarm of rich, spendy folks on my cruise...or RCCL is overvaluing what Mem Day cruisers will want to spend b/c it's a sorta holiday.

All in all, it's another "not really a sale" sale...oh well, maybe there will be a holiday sale with better prices when they don't sell as much as they want in this sale... Or if not, well, there's no need to spend - just leaves more in the travel fund for the ports...

Nothing great on my cruise - best deals are the lunches and the alcohol free beverage packages. Funny enough, the alcohol package was higher than it's been all fall. Guess they've sold enough of those - makes my decision to tell the spouse to buy 1 drink a day OOP much easier. I am undecided if I will spring for food I've already bought (leaning against, as you can tell) or soda for the kids (but again, do I want them to earn their money's worth b/c they all drink water happily at restaurants now and we don't have soda in the house except for holidays) - especially when both only save $1 or a $1/day over the best price I've seen.

Alcohol beverage packages went up from $100 to $105/day reg price for my cruise, so I suspect a lot of that is going on this last week.