colesc15

That's exactly how I view it as well, prepaying lol. I'd gamble regardless, so it's nice to get something in return compared to land based casinos. Sometimes, if luck is on your side, it's even better. Example, two weeks ago, I did a 4 night cruise. Earned enough for an instant reward certificate that had Icon on it and I booked that. When the 4 night cruise ended, I was actually slightly ahead with money, so I made a little, drank for free and got a cabin on icon for may that's selling for nearly $4,000 a person right now. Love the casino program and love it even more when you occasionally win. Just have to go into it expecting to lose though and if you beat the odds, even better!

The only item when a cost is the lobster. All the fish items, shrimp, and chicken are free. Small portions but can get as many as you wish

I'll have to give this drink another chance. I vaguely remember trying it a few months ago and wasn't crazy about it but I'll give it another go.

I miss when full rolls were included with the dining package.

I see from your signature you've done carnival and recently oasis.. What are your thoughts on the difference in product and ship?

Good point. Forgot it was a different port!

I swear Royal prides themself on stale breads. I can't think of a ship I've been on where the hot dog and hamburger buns in the windjammer aren't stale or hard as a rock lol. I've learned if I want a burger, grab a roll from the bread area and make your own bun.

Hopefully better luck tonight! I still haven't decided what our casino plans are for next week. My wife and I are both already prime for next year, and we just used our instant reward from two weeks ago to book Icon for may, so not sure if I want to go for any reward certificate next week.

Hi! My wife and I are starting to dabble in Carnival because of their casino status match program. We've both only sailed Royal and done about 20 cruises (both in our 30s). Right now, we already have Mardi Gras booked on an 8 nighter in August. I'm needing to pick one more cruise to has under my account, and I think I've narrowed it down but looking for opinions. Just a call out, any of the cruises, I'm only paying the port fees and taxes, the rest is comped. Option 1) Celebration 7 nighter to cozumel, mahogany bay and Costa Maya. Obviously thumbs up to the ship, down to the itinerary as we've been to them a million times. Also experiencing Mardi Gras a month or two before this. Option 2) Carnival legend 8 nighter to Limon, colon, and grand cayman. Limon and colon would be new ports to us. Biggest concern is the age of Legend as we like the newer Royal ships and the interior videos I've seen I'd legend remind me of stuff I'd see 30 years ago. Option 3) Carnival horizon 8 nighter to Aruba, bonaire, la Romana and amber cove. La Romana would be the only new port, but Aruba is one of my favorite ports. Horizon appears to be newer and more modern, just not to the extent of celebration/mardi gras. Option 4)?? Could do Jubilee but not crazy about going out of Galveston Thoughts? There's a ton I can choose from, but the older ships I've kind of ruled out since my best "bang for my buck" on this free cruise is the more expensive ship's.

Sure hope this game stays hot for next week!

That red velvet cake is my go to almost every time at Chops

Any idea how this happened? I don't imagine rough seas

Win big but also save me some money for next week in the casino 😊

Sorry the weather isn't cooperating! Looks pretty wet on the Webcam

So, we ended up going with the 7 nighter on Sun Princess instead of the 10 night. With as many cruises as we do, I'm all about optimizing pto and the 7 day over mlk day next year saves us 3 days of pto. Plus Sun Princess looks gorgeous from what I've seen. Officially booked it this morning.

Lol oddly enough, we got a free casino offer from carnival as well that we're trying out late this summer on Carnival Mardi Gras. Never been but have heard some good things on their new ships!

I'm willing to try it at least once with an open mind 😊 I don't expect to like it more than Royal, but tough to pass up a chance to try a new cruise like in a balcony for potentially 10 days for basically free 😊

So one of our concerns with princess is.. Is there stuff to do each night that isn't just trivia? My wife and I are both in our 30s so our only concern is being bored at night as we like having stuff to do late into the night? From what I've gathered, the age demographic seems to be older on princess. We love all the activities Royal has on their oasis class and Icon.

Price fluctuates depending on the night and luck 😂

Good point. Casino gets me every time

Amen to that! We have I think 8 upcoming Royal cruises through their casino program comped so figured might as well take advantage to see the differences in Princess. I'm sure we'll like some stuff and miss some stuff. Also trying a comped sailing on Carnival later this year on Mardi Gras to experience that as well

Thanks for the breakdown! Maybe a silly question, but what is "premium desserts"? Basically fancier desserts in the main dining room or? And what is meant by "2 casual dining meals"? Thanks! So much new terminology after only knowing Royal.

Excellent. One of the weird caveats of this casino booking is we pay the port fees and taxes which is normal, but then we pay a $200 per person deposit which we get refunded at obc once onboard, so use that to go towards the plus package because if I buy it before we board, the $400 obc will likely just sit since everything was prepaid.

We're used to 5 free drinks per person per day on Royal and unlimited alcohol in the casino, so I'm thinking the plus is almost a must. We get a bunch or onboard credit with this offer, so I'm almost leaning towards waiting to book the plus package until onboard to use the obc since from what it sounds like, it's the same price onboard as it is precruise

Following along! We actually get on Oasis the day you get off. Actually the same boat as you as well with the itinerary, wasn't crazy about it but wanted to use my wife's prime cruise on oasis class, so chose this one. I was actually lucky enough to book Wonder with my own prime cruise next month in March before they stopped allowing Wonder, which we have the dining package on Wonder so it'll be interesting to see how they handle lunches if anything was changed for port days! Enjoy your cruise and wave as we're getting on and you off!