There is No Such Thing as Strangers - Only Friends We've Yet to Meet!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the 5 cruises I've done with Pam over the past couple of years . . . and look forward to the next 5 booked between now and next spring.  There is so much to enjoy on the ships and in port, but I really think the best things are around spending time with family and friends.  And we've been fortunate to meet and make friends with several people along the way.

Back when we cruised on Enchantment in February 2024, we met 2 families from different parts of the country.  We've maintained ongoing communications and now continued friendships with them.

When we sailed to New England and Canada last fall, our friend Griff offered to meet us at the airport and play tour guide and chauffeur for our day in Boston.    We had the best seafood lunch, and then got to spend time in the downtown Commons area. The only regret was that his lovely wife Kathleen was busy with other family activities so we'll have to wait for another time to see her again.

The other family we met on that cruise have become cruise buddies.  We just returned earlier this year from another cruise with them.  While during the day, we mostly did our own things on the ship and in port, at night we enjoyed dinner together in the Main Dining Room (MDR) as well as casino time in the evening.  Being bingo people, we of course took over our own little area of the lounge where they play.  So much fun with these folks . . . we can't wait to see them again soon!  

It is really a good thing that both Pam & I are pretty open and friendly with people when we first meet them.  She would say she doesn't consider herself an extrovert, and yet I have seen her meet folks and quickly become friends.  This group here we met on my very first cruise.  With our comfort level dining with others, we wanted to be seated in the MDR with others, so we were lucky to be with this family for all 5 nights at dinner . . . plus breakfast on the morning we disembarked in Tampa.  Pam & I have kept in touch with them and hope to be on another cruise together in the future.

I'll say, all 5 cruises we've done, we've had wonderful dining companions in the MDR.  But you can also meet and make new friends in the Windjammer Buffet too.  Often when going there for a meal, there are few tables open for just a couple of people.  And many of the larger tables that seat 6 only have a couple of people eating there.  I'm very comfortable asking to sit with others, assuming nobody else is coming in their group.  I'm also comfortable welcoming others to join me as well, when they are wandering around looking for a place to sit.  Some people will take a pass on the offer, but at least I tried to help them out.

On one of our trips I was dining alone.  I sat at a table for 6 with another couple.  When they left, another solo cruiser stopped by and asked if she could join me.  I said "of course" . . . only to find out she too was from Milwaukee!  We got to talking about casino play and how to maximize your play for offers.  That evening she joined me at my favorite bank of Dancing Drums slot machines where I showed her how to play her $75 free play (which she had no idea she even had!).  After about 20 or 30 minutes, she was cashing in for over $200!  I was so very happy for her!  Back home in Wisconsin, we're staying in touch but haven't gotten together since we've both been very busy this year.

But the absolute BEST THING about cruising . . . the time spent with my sister Pam!  We've had some good experiences and I'm glad I was bold enough to invite myself on those first couple of cruises with her . . . and that she said YES.  The biggest and perhaps best adventure is coming up next month when we fly into Lisbon, Portugal for a few days there before embarking on a 13 night transatlantic cruise.  Besides Portugal, we will have port days in Seville, Spain and 3 of the Canary Islands.  This is a part of the world neither of us have visited, so we're both really looking forward to it.

 

 

 

 

Our ship Explorer of the Seas and my oceanview cabin
Photo Attribution: Royal Caribbean

Until then . . . that's a wrap on this blog.  I will be writing all about our time in Portugal as well as the transatlantic cruise from Lisbon to Cape Canaveral (Florida) when we return in November.

Staterooms aka Cabins

Since I've only had limited experiences thus far, it's going to be a challenge to fairly represent the full spectrum of options available to guests on Royal Caribbean.  For the most part, I've only had interior cabins because I'm vacationing on the cheap and would rather spend the money on great experiences thank where I'm going to sleep.

This particular cabin was on Jewel back in October 2024, and wasn't even ours.  The door was open as the steward was take care of the cabin, so I snapped this photo as I walked down the hall.  Frankly, the image is just so relaxing I think I could just lounge around there if I wanted to get away from people.

Grandeur (Sept 2023)

My very first cruise with Pam was in an oceanview stateroom.  The layout and window set up were quite nice.  It was wonderful to open the curtains and enjoy the views outside, especially when there were storms out at sea one night.  As you can see in the photos, they can set up the beds as a queen or 2 twins.  We had the beds split so we'd be more comfortable.  Also, this set up has become my preferred as it makes a nice walkway through the middle of the room rather than on either side of the beds.  On this class of ship, the bathroom is adequate, but the shower area with the curtain is a bit tight.  One of the ships we've cruised on (Jewel, I think) had a 2 piece surround type shower door.  While the space was about the same, it was nice to not be fighting the clingy shower curtain.

Enchantment (Feb 2024)

For comparison, this was the interior cabin we had for my second ever cruise. It is also very similar to what we had earlier this year for our back-to-back cruise on the same ship.  When you only have around 190 sq ft of living space, there's not a lot of room for chairs or couches.  Again, I don't plan on spending a lot of time in the room, so having a larger cabin isn't a priority for me.

That said, I will say that the cabin we had on Jewel back in October 2024 was really nice because it was set up with a nice sitting area, which I did take advantage of to watching some TV on one of the sea days.  

A lot of people personalize their cabin doors.  At first I thought this was just to be cute or perhaps in celebration of a special event like a birthday or anniversary.  After a couple of cruises, however, I realized that decorating your cabin door makes it easier to find yours when wandering down the hallway after a few adult beverages in the casino or lounge.

For Halloween Pam & I did decorate our door . . . and we are looking forward to doing so again on our upcoming transatlantic cruise this October.

Other than our back-to-back Annual Prime cruises scheduled for early next year in interior rooms on Independence, I have been fortunate to earn "instant certificates" for casino comped cruises in oceanview cabins.  It will be nice experiencing some different ships, including some that are significantly larger than those I've done thus far.  I am also sailing solo on a couple of them, which will be a new experience for me as well.  Pam will be on both cruises, but we've booked in separate cabins.

M/V Columbia (July 2019)

I'll wrap up this post with a bit of comparison to what the cabins (called berths) on the Alaska Marine Ferry look like.    With bunkbeds and just a single folding type chair, they are clearly set up for sleeping, the bathroom and showering. I think we paid around $100/night (on average) for the comfort of having a place to sleep on 3 legs of our 3-week do-it-ourselves "UN"cruise back in the summer of 2019.  It was a nice "luxury" to splurge on.

Gambling For My Retirement Vacations?

Reaching full retirement age in 2024 and starting to collect Social Security has been liberating.  So now that I'm fully retired and more or less living on a fixed income, I have had to find new and more creative ways to afford vacationing.  This is especially true since discovering "cruising" in the fall of 2023.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, that first 5-night cruise vacation cost roughly $2,600, all totaled including transportation to/from the port in Tampa, hotel and meals the night prior plus added activities like excursions and gambling.  At over $500/night that's actually a pretty expensive vacation.

Thankfully, the little bit of casino play I did on that and my next cruise, afforded me a low-end casino offer essentially what is referred to as a "BOGO cruise for one" with Royal Caribbean.  The gist of the offer is that I could cruise for free (well not "really" free but rather just for the cost of port fees & taxes) in a double occupancy interior cabin with the second person paying full price.  The value of the offer varies, but generally for a double occupancy interior cabin, we're talking about roughly $500-$800 per person for a 5 to 7-night sailing.

The nice thing about this sorta of "single" offer is that 2 people can combine their offers and share a free cabin . . . again just paying their port fees & taxes.  So Pam & I combined our offers for the October 2024 NE & Canadian cruise.  For that 7-night cruise, we paid just $227 for the port fees & taxes.  Not bad at all!  But more importantly, prior to that cruise, I studied up and figured out how to maximize my casino play so that I could earn larger comps in terms of "free" cruises . . . namely cruise offers for 2 people (not the "BOGO") and often in upgraded cabins including oceanview or balcony.

This is where this might get a bit wonky . . . but I want to share the rationale for making the Prime reward level with Royal Caribbean's Casino Royale program.  Prime is the lowest reward tier, when a player earns a minimum of 2,500 points in the program year (which runs April 1st through March 31st).  As with land based casinos, players are rated on their table and slot play, with slots rewarding at a seemingly disproportionately higher rate.

On my first couple of cruises, I was mostly just playing roulette or 3-card poker.  And for the amount of play I did (roughly 12-15 hours each cruise) I only earned a small number of points (something around 500).  Through researching how R/C rates play, I quickly found that as much as I prefer table games, if earning points (and free cruises) is important to me . . . I needed to suck it up and start playing the slot machines.

The night I made Prime!

So on the fateful October cruise, I set my goal to achieve the 2,500 points necessary to become a Prime level player. (NOTE:  Guests can accumulate points towards Prime over the course of the year, so you don't have to do it in a single cruise.)  So why does this matter, beyond receiving better cruise offers for discounts or comps?  Perhaps first and foremost . . . FREE cocktails (or soft drinks) in the casino whenever it is open, for the remaining part of the current casino program year PLUS the entire next year.  This is a great benefit given the unlimited daily beverage package runs $80-$100/day/person . . . and cocktails individually are $14 (beer/wine are around $10).  SIGN ME UP TODAY for free drinks in the casino through March 31, 2026!

Another benefit of achieving Prime status is the annual free cruise certificate awarded in April.  So by earning Prime in October 2024, I received a free 7-night cruise for 2 guests in an interior cabin.  My April 2025 Prime certificate was booked for February 2026 on a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise . . . port fees & taxes were just $228/person (with Pam & me sharing the cabin).  BONUS . . . Pam also earned a free Prime certificate, and she booked the same ship & cabin as a "back to back" (AKA B2B).  The cruise is also 7-nights, but going to the Eastern Caribbean.  Those ports were a little higher in fees, so it cost us $271/person.  Bottom line . . . we're doing 2 cruises for 14 nights for a total of $499 each!  Not bad, right?

Of course, there are higher levels of player status with Casino Royale . . . 25,000 points is the Masters level and 100,000 is Signature.  At the higher levels, the annual cruise certificate is better (Masters = Balcony and Signature = Grand Suite), plus there are some other perks like free ship WiFi, exclusive dining options and onboard credits.  For me, playing enough to achieve such levels doesn't make a lot of financial sense (unless I were to be winning HUGE), so I'm happy with my goal being to keep my Prime status so long as I'm still planning to cruise.

So back to my October 2024 cruise when I first achieved Prime status . . . here's what that meant in terms of rewards:

* Free cruise certificate earned on that sailing, which I have used to book a 13-night transatlantic cruise in a oceanview cabin coming up in October 2025 from Portugal.  For this cruise, I will be solo in the cabin, which also earns me double Crown & Anchor loyalty points.  My port fees, taxes and prepaid tips were just $398!
* Free annual cruise certificate for an interior room February 2026, which I'll be sharing with Pam.
* Free cocktails in the casino from October 31, 2024 (when I reached 2,500 points and achieved Prime status) through March 31, 2026.

So you may be wondering how much "it really cost me" in terms of casino play/losses to make Prime on a single cruise.  At the point when I reached Prime (2,500 points) I had only lost $500 in the casino for those first several nights.  Since I knew at the 3,000 point level, I would receive a better "instant certificate" for my casino play on that cruise . . . so I pushed on wanting to get to the level necessary to get the 13-night transatlantic trip (a $2,000 value) plus the added perks of free play ($250) and onboard ship credit ($100).  The grand total casino losses for me was just $650!  For the extra $150 "lost" I received $350 in additional benefits.  I'd say, that was a GREAT INVESTMENT for my future vacationing with Royal Caribbean.

Of course, I also know it doesn't always work out this well.  But then again, sometimes you're just lucky!  Check this out from this past February's cruise.  Most nights in the casino they have different drawings or contests to encourage folks to play in the casino into the later hours (like 11pm).  I was lucky to be drawn as 1 of the 3 winners on that night.  The "Bags of Cash" winners could win $250, $150 or $100 in free play.  I picked the $150 "bag" and parlayed it into $500 over the course of an hour playing my favorite slot machine Dancing Drums.  SWEEEET! 

Need another reason to play in the casino . . . FREE WINE!  Known as the "bottle of shame" many of Royal Caribbean's loyal players hope to achieve the complimentary bottle of wine that is delivered to your cabin.  Typically it's after a particularly brutal session in  the casino, hence the shame name.  For me, my first bottle was received the morning after I achieved Prime status, so I think it was more of a congratulations gift!

As you can see in the photos below, on my next cruise the casino host gifted me a bottle of wine after just my second night on the ship.  She teased about it being a "Bottle of Love" rather than shame.  I think I prefer that!

I have yet to mention bingo on the ship.  Suffice to say, it is VERY expensive and you don't play many games.  Fortunately, they only do bingo on sea days in the middle of the afternoon.  On the last back-to-back cruises Pam & I did in February, we played 4 times.  Each session was just 3 bingo games, but we somehow lucked out and won 3 games of the total 12 played.  When we play on the ship, we play "halves" or "splits" so when one of us wins, we split the money 50/50.  Some of the games had multiple winners calling bingo, so that meant splitting the game winnings.  Each session cost us right at $65 per person (so $260 total for the 4 sessions) . . . but winnings were better than the costs, so we came out ahead for the trip!  That's a rarity though.

Looking ahead . . . I've begun conceptualizing my strategies for keeping Prime status for 2026-27, while earning the best cruises for the coming 18 months of vacation.  Pam & I will no doubt have more cruising in our future, especially as she plans for her retirement in the near future.  Wish us luck!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 

Dr. Seuss was certainly onto something!  Now that I've been on a few cruises and visited several of the Caribbean destinations I only dreamed of, I can better appreciate the value of experiences places and cultures I'd only seen on television.  I also recognize the experiences for what they are . . . snapshots of local culture and the people who live in these fascinating places.

Just as I'd said previously about Alaska, I still strongly believe to fully understand and appreciate these wonderful locations, you must have a more immersive and complete experience with the locals and their communities.  But for a sampling of what a place has to offer, excursions are a nice way to affordably get out and mingle.  Historical and culinary experiences are the two I really gravitate towards; with wildlife and scenery always on my radar.

The first off-ship experience Pam & I had that wasn't organized by Royal Caribbean was in Roatan, Honduras.  While there are pros and cons to using the ship's planned tours, sometimes doing something on a smaller and more personal scale is more to my liking. With much research, we discovered Sandri's Tours, a small family owned company.  Luis (right in this photo) and his team of guides were so easy to work with.  The 6-hour experience we had in Roatan was exceptional and significantly less expensive than the large motor coach tours offered by R/C.  Our guide Kris was exceptional . . . with a great personality and willingness to make sure we had the best time possible.  We enjoyed our time with them in February 2024, that we're booked another great adventure with them when we're back in Roatan this coming December.

A word of caution about one of the biggest cons (or risks) if you choose to go off script and book your tour or excursion on your own.  The ships, all cruise lines, discourage such because of course they won't be making money off the up-charge they collect for organizing and booking the tours.  They tactic they use is simple . . . we will make sure you get back to the ship on schedule or hold the departure for your return . . . IF and ONLY IF you are on our sponsored tours.  Go off on your own, and you miss the "all aboard" whistle . . . you'll be left behind to figure out how to get to the next port.

You can cruise YouTube to watch videos of people running down the pier as the ship pulls away.  I'm sure it is a lousy feeling.  But to be fair, most of them are people who either lost track of time in port or were on "ship time" when they had to return.  It is a very rare occurrence that a reputable tour operator with cruise guests, misses the ship's departure schedule.  Yes, it does happen and no doubt it sucks.  But at the end of the day, I'd like to think I won't go through life afraid to live and do the things I want to do on my own terms.  I hope I won't be blogging in the future, eating my words!

Nassau (The Bahamas)

On the other hand, there is something to be said for taking advantage of the cruiseline's buying and negotiation power, especially in countries where it may be difficult to find a reputable tour operator.  Pam and I are both pretty savvy travelers and sometimes we have found the best "packaged experience" is one that has been put together by R/C.  I think it largely comes down to playing an active role in planning your experience.

 

Wonderful Experiences in Mexico

There are some ports/countries where I wouldn't be comfortable going out on my own.  Haiti is one such place, especially with the current unrest there.  In Mexico, however, I'm comfortable doing our own thing.  In fact in Cozumel, we have done beach days off the ship at Mr. Sancho's . . . a well known beach club about 15-20 minutes by cab from the port.  At just $65/person for the full day all-inclusive experience, there's no reason to pay 50% more to do a beach day organized by R/C.

On some cruises we haven't done much in the way of organized tours.  When we did the October 2024 New England & Canada cruise, we had both been to some of the featured ports. In particular Portland (Maine) and Halifax (Nova Scotia) were ports where we planned nothing.  In fact in Portland, we didn't even leave the ship, instead opting to enjoy quiet time having the ship largely to ourselves.  In Halifax, we did get off the ship and wandered around the port area.  We found a nice little pizza shop a couple of blocks away before heading back to the ship.

We did enjoy the city tour of St. John, New Brunswick offered by R/C.  It was a narrated trolley bus trip, which was informative and interesting.  In Sydney, Nova Scotia Pam scheduled for the full day charter bus tour to the Cape Breton Highlands, while I had initially planned a day trip exploring by rental car.  Unfortunately the weather was crappy so I canceled my rental and booked the afternoon historical tour of the city.  We both had a great time doing our own thing that day.

When we cruised on Enchantment in February 2024, in addition to Roatan, we also visited Belize City (Belize) and did a R/C excursion there.  There are a lot of mixed reviews about this particular port and the perceived safety for tourists who opt to venture out on their own.  I really wanted to visit the famous Mayan ruins at Altun Ha. Located about an hour from port, the R/C tour was our best option. Adding to the adventure . . . we had to tender from the ship over to the shore on a smaller boat due to the shallow waters.  But no worries at all, we were back in plenty of time to get changed for our early dinner seating in the Main Dining Room.

Whether you choose to go exploring while in port . . . or simply get off the ship to go shopping or perhaps enjoy a more local experience at one of the touristy bars or cantinas . . . the opportunity is there to make it your own.  Sometimes just enjoying the warm cool breeze with a fruity frozen beverage is all I need in the middle of February!

Keeping Busy at Sea (or not)

 

I think when you mention going on a cruise, this is what many people envision.  And yes, the Royal Caribbean ships have beautiful swimming pools and activity decks for the young and old.  Because so far I've only cruised on smaller ships, the water activities are pretty tame.  It's easier for them to accommodate and entertain 2,000-3,000 people on these cruises . . . than the 7,500 that are now on R/C's largest Icon Class sailings.

I remember this scene as we passed through the pool deck heading to lunch at the Windjammer Buffet.  It was the popular belly flop contest, which seems to be featured on every cruise ship.  The crowd was loud and rowdy . . . the contestants bawdy and out to win!  All in a good day's fun, but not a scene I need to hang out for.

This is more my chill vibe when hanging out at the pool.  It's nice that Pam has been able to share her 5 (per day) free Diamond + beverages with me.  I am really looking forward to getting to the Crown & Anchor Diamond level in February, and earning my own free 4 cocktails per day.  They will be a nice complement to my unlimited free cocktails in the casino, thanks to my Casino Royale Prime status.

 

But hey . . . there's a lot more to do on the ship besides hanging out at the pool!  

Throughout the day, there are games and activities to keep folks entertained and meeting new people.  I've realized that after just a couple of days on the ship, we seem to run into the same folks based on common interests.  Trivia and "Name that Tune" are a couple of games played on all ships.  Some are set up for individuals, while many are for teams.  They generally feature some pretty paltry prizes . . . mainly Royal Caribbean logoed swag (like t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats and key chains) or maybe dinner for 2 in one of the specialty restaurants.

But you need to be careful if  you are the sorta of outgoing person, willing to get involved in an extroverted way.  You my friend, are the very people they seek out for many of their games because you become the entertainment show.  "Love & Marriage" is once such game where couples are pitted against one another to win really nice prizes, not just logoed swag!  It's played like a TV game show in the main theater.  The last time we went, the room was more than half full in the middle of the day.  The couples were hilarious, and the audience was involved, rooting for their favorites to win.

If you want something a little more low key, check out movie night poolside.  On our cruise to NE & Canada, Jewel even had a small 50 person movie theater.  With a couple of seas days on that itinerary, going to the movies in the afternoon was a nice break.

Royal Caribben is known for their nightly entertainment in the ships' main theatres.  The quality of the shows is said to get better as you go up in ship class.  Some even feature productions based on well known Broadway shows like Grease, Momma Mia, Cats and Hairspray.  I would love to see Saturday Night Fever or The Wizard of Oz on a cruise . . . maybe some day.

Most of the large production shows have two evening showings so people can do either an early or late dinner. Pam & I have enjoyed doing the early dinner in the Main Dining Room, followed by the early (7:30pm) show.  On the larger ships, reservations are highly recommended, but given the smaller ships I've been on, they weren't necessary.  That gets us to around 9:00pm for CASINO time . . . or perhaps a nightcap in a lounge and an early bedtime.  If you're up for some really bawdy humor or an adult themed game show, you can generally find that late at night (round 10:30 or 11:00pm).

Whatever the time of day, there is no shortage of music on the ship!  For those who enjoy dancing, I'm told they go well past midnight in the clubs.  I'm more of a people watcher, but I do enjoy good music!

Of course, if you wish to do nothing, there are plenty of quiet spots found throughout the ship.  Many of the venues that are busy in the late afternoon and evening, are empty in the morning and through the lunch hour.  And when the ship is in port, with many people enjoying time on a tour and shopping, the ship is extraordinarily quiet including the pool deck and dining areas. 

So the bottom line . . . Royal Caribbean does a very good job of providing a nice variety of activities and entertainment on the ship.  This is particularly important on sailings that feature multiple sea days.  On our upcoming transatlantic trip in October, it's a 13 night cruise with a whopping 7 sea days as we head to the coast of Florida from the Canary Islands.  I think I'm most excited about Halloween being on our last sea day . . . just before we arrive into Port Canaveral.

But for those who want to enjoy a relaxing day at the pool or on the ship's deck . . . or perhaps in a quiet corner reading a book while watching the world go by . . .  there may be no better way to disconnect and get away from it all, than on an extended vacation on a cruise ship.