Jzx1103

Just booked my Prime annual cruise, March 8th 2020 on the Harmony (Kids spring break). Looks like they're still stacking the kids sail free promo like the Alaska cruise I booked last week from a Casino offer. I always thought they don't stack but guess I'm wrong. This helps me tremendously with two kids.

If your free stateroom is inside then it takes $500 off, $1000 off for Balcony. 

I've never played this game, but played plenty of Dancing Drums and Tree of Wealth which is similar type of game made by the same company. To get the bonus, you have to get the symbol in consecutive columns from left to right in at least the first 3 colums. As you can see in your pic, you did not get a bonus symbol in column #2. Theres nothing wrong with the machine. 

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

It's usually Shanghai in the winter and Tianjin in the summer.

Thanks, I'm planning on sailing in March so I'm guessing its Shanghai then.

13 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

The 11/2020 sailings are out of Hong Kong.  Sailings in mainland China go through a very complicated process with the Chinese Government and until they approve it, it will not be published.  In addition, the cruises are released first the Chinese Whole sellers first, before it is opened up to general booking.  I'm thinking around June you might see it.

Thanks, guess I'll check again in a few months, Do you know if Spectrum will be sailing out of Shanghai or Tianjin. I'm hoping Shanghai since my extended family is all there and I'm overdue for a visit.

Anyone know besides Holidays if they black out Spring Break days for these free Prime (or above)  cruises? I figured it'll be kinda hard unless they blacked out the entire month of March since different States have different weeks for spring break. 

Anyone know how come there's no scheduled sailings for Spectrum of the Seas after Jan 2020 until Nov 2020? Is it just not out yet or did someone charter the ship for 9 Months.

Try RCL, based on what you wrote, I definitely don't come close to gambling the amount you do but havnt paid anything but taxes and port charged our last 4 cruises. Thing with Royal is, not only do you accumulate points over an entire year. But outside of that guaranteed free cruise you get for being a Prime member or higher. We also got free cruise offers by mail from club royale that's separate. 

OK I think Casino Royale actually gave me the wrong price in my favor this time. So I got an offer by mail yesterday from Club Royale with a list of complimentary cruises and saw 9/13 Alaska sailing on the Ovation on the list (inside cabin). Quickly called Casino Royale and they told me unfortunately all inside and OV cabins are gone. So at that point I was ready to pick another sailing from the list but asked how much extra it would be to upgrade to Balcony including adding my 4 yr old to the sailingas well. It took him awhile but he got back to me at first quoting $1157 for all three including tax in which I was like ok not bad. But a few minutes later while booking it for me he said "oops my mistake, I quoted you the wrong price, the actual price is $553 total for all three of us including taxes and port charges. I immediately said wow, he said yea it's currently kids sail free. I had always assumed you can't stack casino comps with other offers. Anyways I immediately booked it and paid in full. After reviewing the invoice breakdown. Apparently they only charged $4 a piece extra for each of us upgrading from the complimentary Inside to a Balcony (not sure if that was a mistake as well) and my son only paid taxes and port fees. Talk about a steal 😆😆😆. They won't cancel me citing price mistake will they???

41 minutes ago, shorti503 said:

 Since you've stayed in one of these rooms would you say there is enough room by the windows for a pack and play? 

Probably not, the room between the bed and windows can fit width of one adult.

We will be sailing out of an port that's not in the U.S. for the first time in a couple of weeks. It'll be on Royal Carribean Radiance of the Seas from Auckland NZ to Sydney Australia. For those thats been on an AUS/NZ cruise. Do they use Australia currency, New Zealand currency,  or U.S. dollar (or all three) in the casino? My question is for table games and slots. Also can you still get cash with sign and sail card (and what currency will you get)? I'm a PRIME member with RCLs club royale so the 5% fee is waived for me. (I assume this is still the case on international sailings)

We stayed in Cabin 7200 on Adventure two months ago and loved it. There was 5 of us (3 adults, 2 little kids) and still felt spacious. Our favorite was the windows that look out to the front of the ship.

Thanks for the info. Do you get the impression that slot play gains you more points than table games?

I played table games only a little bit and have no idea how they track you. Slots are easy to track. It even display how many points you've earned thus far right at the machine. Basically I quit once I hit my target.

What do you have to spend to get these comps? $10k? $20k?

I wagered about 12k on my last cruise. Lost about $800 but getting total of 3 free cruises. How much it'll cost you in the end really varies. I had a couple of big hits on slots between $300 to $900 but no handpays. Overall felt lucky to only lost $800 and getting the free cruises. But it can also be dead the entire cruise and you can drop a couple grand easy. However, if you're looking to cruise anyways and not forcing yourself to go just cause its comped. Its worth the gamble if you're comfortable with your limit..

Here is the 1 I got on Aug 31, 2018: all balcony

Yea this was the list I got, we got it on 9/5 on the Adventure. We ended up booking the 10 night New Zealand sailing on the Radiance on 12/1. Guess that sailings not even available on the other list Garmy44 posted for some reason. Maybe there's a different list between Inside, Oceanview, Balcony etc...??? On the other hand, I also got a completely different list by mail 3 days ago with a list of complimentary sailings with an offer code. This list has certain sailings with free balcony, free Oceanview, and free Inside depending on the sailing you pick. Too bad I'm out of vacation days till next June after booking the New Zealand cruise in December. So it'll have to go to waste :(

We will be taking an Australian/New Zealand cruise in December. It'll be the first time we took a cruise that doesn't leave from the U.S. does anyone know if the menu in the MDR is the same as US sailings or is it a completely different menu?

I actually had the same question for Auckland NZ departure. Can we drop luggage off and tour the city and check-in later?

Jzx, I am sure you noted your date of departure from Houston to Auckland vs arrival dates. We flew from LAX to Sydney back in 2014 and had to book the flight 2 days before our arrival date in order to come in when we wanted. Example, booked on March 15th for a March 17 arrival.

Yes I'm aware that NZ is a full day ahead. We were planning to fly out Thurs night on a direct flight and arrive Sat morning (the day of sailing at 530am). Figured it should be safe enough but that's also why we're looking to book with air2sea.

Hmmm, I'm in the process of booking Houston to Auckland NZ imon Nov 29th with return fron Sydney Australia to Houston on Dec 12th. Price is showing $1413, not sure if thats close to normal price or if its also messed up.

Where is the list for the cruises? Is there a place online or do I need to call? I just found out I am prime, and want to book something in February (for my birthday).

 

Thanks

 

Barb

So from what I understand there are actually 3 different kinds of free cruise offers and one can potentially get all 3 within a single year even if you're just prime (and obviously if you're higher tier than that). First is the Free cruise they give you for making it to Prime or higher. 1) You get 1 free cruise of your choice to any sailing from April 1st to March 31st of your eligible year, must be 8 nights or less and can't be on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years week. 2) You can potentially get a free cruise voucher if you played enough and earned 2400 points or more in the casino during any specific sailing, they will give you a list of eligible cruises for this. 3)Prime members and above can be randomly chosen via Email offers for a free cruise from a list of eligible cruises. This list seems to be different from #2 I stated earlier.

That is odd. I was apparently on the same Adventure cruise. DH is Signature and it was printed on his sea pass card. He was told no twice by two different bartenders when he asked for a drink for me. :loudcry:

So there were two bar servers that served us in the Casino all week. One was a Euro looking dude with almost no hair, other was an Asian guy. We did tip them quite a bit. Also were you playing slots or table. They might not want to do it at Table games cause other people see it. Nobody's paying attention at slots.

https://thesmallworldfamily.com/2018/09/10/olis-trolleys-4-hour-acadia-national-park-review/

 

Review of our Acadia National park tour.

I loved the pics you took in Acadia, ended up showing my dad the pics you took instead of the ones we took. Heck we were on the same tour anyways. :D

Just got back from Adventure last week and they no longer use stickers. The word Prime was printed in my card. After the first night, the bartenders at the Casino pretty much remembered me and never had to check my card again. They also offered both me and my wife free drinks together even though only I'm Prime. Also racked up enough play to get another free cruise (balcony) certificate. Shockingly the list is much better than before, prior to this one, ive only seen 3 to 6 night western carribean sailings offered on these certificates. But this time the list includes all kinds of sailings, including up to 9 nights and 10 nights sailings. Even multiple Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania itineraries. Also saw multiple dates for 9 night Granduer out of Baltimore on the list. My wife and I immediately booked the 10 night New Zealand as this one was on our bucket list. Was pretty salty to lose about $800+ at first, but its worth it to get this cruise + Prime again for next cycle year. Now just crossing fingers my Visa application dont hit any snags since I'm not a US Passport holder, just applied this morning.

Hmm just realized how tough this is going to be since I can't really apply to both NZ and AUS Visas at the same time huh? Don't I need to send my passports to two different places?

In addition to Australian visa requirements (in #2) as a Chinese passport holder you will need a visa for NZ https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/visitor-visa Your wife as a US citizen qualifies for a visa on demand.

 

I wouldn't book flights (unless they're 100% refundable) before you both have your visas.

Do you think Flight prices will go up dramatically in a month or not really. I don't foresee an issue with my Visa, I hold a chinese passport but also a US green card. I also heard NZ and Aus been trying to attract tourists from China.