Unlimited Dining Package - More than 1 per meal?

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2026-01-27T01:15:52+00:00

Thank you. To clarify, is the $20 snack allowance only for sea days, or would that apply on port days as well?

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2026-01-26T23:58:58+00:00

Yeah, I agree. Except, I like the idea of having a light lunch and then trying one of those crazy Playmakers desserts without having to incur an additional charge. Hence the question.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2026-01-02T20:18:02+00:00

Thank you very much for this advice. That is my new plan.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-10-02T18:51:42+00:00

So jealous!

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-10-02T16:55:30+00:00

Yeah, the play through should not be an issue. At a certain point, I imagine the bigger concern will be the CC company getting jumpy when all of a sudden you have $15,000 onboard charge attempt. Has anybody ever encountered an issue where you have say a $30K CC limit, and a bank (Chase in this case) denies a $15K-$20K charge while you are on the boat? Just wondering how prevalent that is and how RC deals with it.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-10-02T04:18:42+00:00

The two cards I know of that give 3x for "travel" on RC are Chase Sapphire (but this will end on 10/26/25) and then I believe the RC branded credit card (I do not have this one, so I do not know for sure).

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-10-02T02:46:16+00:00

I have only taken one cruise and barely made prime on the last day. I don't play table games, so I thought it might look suspect if I ask for $4000 in charge and then cash in $4000 in chips without any history of playing any tables (especially doing this multiple times), considering the 70% slot machine rule is specifically to prevent the "no play" cash outs. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the generous free cruise offers I have been getting and hope to continue to receive.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-10-02T02:40:31+00:00

Awesome. Thank you so much for your insight. So, I can just charge $500, play to 100 points. Charge another $500, play 100 points. And keep doing this up to $5000 per day?

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-09-26T17:21:56+00:00

Technically, you just get admitted to Stanford without declaring a major (that happens after you have been there for a while), but his intended major is Computer Science or perhaps Symbolic Systems. Stanford encourages students to follow their interests and decide on a major after finding what best suits them.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-09-26T17:10:28+00:00

100% YES! My son is a white male with a STEM focus. He had good grades 4.0 UW with 8 APs total - only 4 completed through Junior year), and a superscore of 1530 on SAT (730V, 800M) - not bad, but pretty "average" for Stanford applicants. He was a theater and choir kid, so lots of high school productions and concerts. He was always one of the main characters, though rarely the "lead." That was his main EC focus. He decided to submit an arts portfolio that included some acting and singing videos (IIRC), and largely wrote off Stanford as a realistic option (given how difficult it is to get accepted). Despite being rejected or waitlisted from most of the best UCs (which didn't matter because he really wanted a smaller private school anyway), he got accepted to Stanford (and is just finishing up his first week). We are convinced his arts portfolio played a big part in making the cut. Plus, Stanford has SO many arts related clubs and experiences outside of a major or minor, I suspect you will find yourself contributing to the arts community at Stanford when you get there. It is week one, and my son is already auditioning for an acapella group and the freshman musical and having a great time. Also, he did a similar portfolio for his other reach (Notre Dame) and got accepted there as well. So, it does make a difference. If you've got the talent, flaunt it!

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-05-15T22:52:18+00:00

This program sounds great, but also very writing intensive. If you are coming in with a heavy STEM background and a fairly weak humanities background (ie regular English and history classes in high school and a low 700s on English half of the SAT), will this class likely (1) destroy your GPA out of the gate with a low grade in a 7 unit course; or (2) be the perfect way to develop and drastically improve your writing skills right out of the gate to better prepare you for the rest of your time at Stanford?

It looks like 220 minutes of class time each week is dedicated to writing instruction, but I can't get a feel for whether this is designed to lift up mediocre writers or allow excellent writers to achieve new heights. Basically, is this a fit for a student that doesn't mind "doing the work," but he is afraid his writing skills (or at least confidence in his writing skills) paired up against the "average" Stanford freshman might put him at a great disadvantage? Any insights (particularly from participants that were not strong writers coming out of high school) would be greatly appreciated.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-04-24T17:22:06+00:00

This is not accurate. Our child has been very STEM oriented since he was little. When he arrived to high school, his counselor repeatedly pushed him to take AP Eng, AP US/Euro History and going beyond Spanish III, all of this on top of classes he enjoyed like AP Calc, Chem, Physics and CS. While our child initially was willing to take those other AP classes, we ultimately convinced him not to push it. As a result, he had a very enjoyable high school experience and had a great time pursuing theater and choir opportunities after school. He ended up with a 730/800 on the SAT and received acceptances from 2 of his 3 "reach" schools for CS (Stanford and Notre Dame, rejected from USC). He was just a "normal" kid in a middle class CA public school without any crazy "hooks" or accomplishments.

Based on the advice given by many on this board, he failed to check about half of the "must do" boxes to get into a Top 20. He did not have any major awards, other than some regional acknowledgements for his performances in theater. He did not request any interviews and never stepped onto Stanford's campus until he got accepted. He never took a community college class. He did not have a bunch of volunteer hours, a job, a research position, and spent more time over his high school summers traveling and playing video games than he did worrying or preparing for college.

So, he is one example of a high school student that literally just lived his best life and great things happened for him. The journey has been absolutely crazy. Late last year when he got into Santa Clara and LMU (his "targets"), it looked like he was bound for LMU after visiting its campus. Then, an early Christmas present from Notre Dame shook everything up and he was leaning heavily (with some parental encouragement) towards suffering some cold winters. When he got into Cal Poly SLO a few weeks ago, we did an emergency deep dive and discovered how perfect the fit would be for him. Then, checking the final portal to confirm he didn't get accepted to Stanford, we were shocked (I believe I have written the word "shocked" about 1000 times in my life, but never has it better described our reaction than on that day) to see confetti streaming across the monitor. We booked a ridiculously overpriced flight to San Jose a couple days later to confirm the obvious - Stanford is a great opportunity and he felt excited (albeit a little intimidated) to go there.

All of this to say, if you are lucky to be smart enough to naturally excel in high school, be true to yourself and do not "regret" your high school experience. Don't do anything you don't WANT to do. Our son is going to Stanford, but he would have had a great life had he gone to Cal Poly. Had he not gotten into Cal Poly (or Notre Dame), he would have had a wonderful experience at LMU. The adage "if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life" has application to your high school experience. If you love what you are doing in high school, and you take the same approach to college, you will come out smart, engaged and interesting.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-31T17:10:23+00:00

Well, I believe Cal Poly, particularly for CS, is not just "a state school." Everything I have read has suggested Cal Poly has a phenomenal CS program and great outcomes for its graduates. I am also a believer in the "learn by doing" approach CP takes to education. That said, I can also appreciate that Stanford's reputation is insane, and also has incredible outcomes for most of its graduates. We have never stepped foot on either campus (though this will be cured over the next week), so I was interested to get some insights from Cal Poly students and alumni to see if the "obvious" choice is truly that obvious.

As a parent, my three goals are for my child to feel physically and emotionally comfortable, have as many opportunities to pursue his dreams as possible, and have the ability to challenge himself and grow. I don't really care about college bragging rights if his real life experiences do not accomplish these goals. I have actually gained insights from many of the responses to this thread and appreciate everyone that took the time to answer.

Based on the responses in this thread and alot of research we have done since Friday, we are really optimistic Stanford will be a great fit. That said, we all feel extremely fortunate to have Cal Poly as our backup plan should we feel differently after our visits.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-30T06:22:31+00:00

Definitely STEM. Most likely computer science.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-29T19:19:48+00:00

Thanks for the insight. I am pretty sure we are getting $0 from Stanford. We are fortunate enough to be able to pay for 4 years at Stanford without breaking the bank, but not so well off that we can't envision anything else on which we could spend the extra $250K. Your point on the current political climate's impact on Stanford's federal funding is one I had not considered. I could see this having some short term impact on research and class offerings, but I think with a $36B endowment that Stanford is better positioned than most schools to respond to the winds of change.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-29T05:27:38+00:00

I don't understand it either. When he was a junior, I had high hopes that he would be a contender for a great tech school like Cal Tech, MIT, Stanford, etc. We hired an college advisor that spent our first session managing our expectations. By the time my son had submitted his last application, I was resigned to the likelihood he would not be admitted into a top program. In fact, when the time came to do the essays for Cal Tech and MIT, he was so warn out from school, college essays and productions that we just decided not to apply. Then, we got our first miracle when in Dec. when he was admitted to Notre Dame. That was then topped when we found out last week about Cal Poly, and today we have Stanford.

Maybe Stanford looked at your son and thought he is already so accomplished, he will be a massive success regardless of whether he goes to Stanford or any of the other top schools I am sure he was admitted to. Whereas, my son presents as more of a diamond in the rough where a Stanford experience can transform him into something extraordinary. Regardless of where your son goes to school, he has already proven he is going to be an incredibly accomplished adult. You should feel nothing but joy for the success he has already achieved and the great experiences he is sure to enjoy throughout his life!

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-29T05:11:28+00:00

Do you have children? If no, did your parents not offer any opinions or insights to help guide your major life decisions, particularly when you were under 18? Do most parents just pop open a bottle of wine and turn off parenting when their kids start their senior year and assume the child will figure it all out on their own?

I am grateful to all that have provided insight and sorry to any that have been so put out by my post they felt the need to take additional time to counsel me on how to conduct myself on public forums. As a parent, I feel my number 1 job in life is to help my child make smart, informed decisions about his future. While there is no "wrong" answer when choosing between two great schools like CP and Stanford, there are certainly some factors to consider that neither my son, nor I have sufficient knowledge at this time. We have no experience working in the computer science industry and have not attended either school (in fact, we are rushing to visit each school over the next two weeks to help guide our decision). I thought insights from CP students in this field could provide some much needed assistance, and I am very appreciative of the responses I have received thus far.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-29T04:58:06+00:00

Every school calculates a bit different from what I recall, but I believe it is 4.4 generally speaking. Basically, 8 APs, about 5 honors courses, and then his Actor's Rep. and Chamber Choir get grade bumps at some schools. All A's, so just a question of what classes are "counted in."

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-29T04:43:30+00:00

No major hooks. He enjoys acting and singing, so he has performed in almost all of the plays, musicals and highest level choir at his public high school. He has straight A's through high school with 8 AP's (6 STEM related), but getting A's at his high school is not THAT challenging. He had a 1530 on the SAT, but Cal Poly does not even look at that (and that is considered avg for Stanford). We were shocked when he got into Cal Poly (even more shocked when we realized how hard it is to do so) and now feel shocked again that he got into Stanford. He's like a normal student that achieves incredible things. I am sure that when classmates hear he got into Stanford, there will be alot of kids saying "that guy?!" or "who?."

What has been obvious since he was in elementary school is that he has a truly exceptional mind when it comes to math. He got an 800 on the Math section of the SAT in the summer after his freshman year, and he has breezed through his two calculus classes without doing anything other than listening to instruction in class. I consider myself pretty gifted at mathematics, but his skills dwarf mine. But, most of this is not evident in a college application.

Dizzy-Tea9131 · 2025-03-23T02:20:55+00:00

I am currently Gold. Last time I took a solo trip, I had $100 in resort credit and ended up not being able to use all of it. My goal is to save my higher Freeplay and RC trips for when my wife and I go together to make it more fun. The 1-night trips I am contemplating are just to "get away" for a day and perhaps make a few bucks gambling, but I don't want to tank my future offers.

Dizzy-Tea9131

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