We didn't bother to go to the Past Guest parties last time we cruised. For one thing, it was from 4 PM until 4:45 PM, a little early for us (cocktail hour starts at 5PM

).
Also, we'd rather pay for a drink that we
want instead of whatever is on the "freebie" tray.
We found that there were many cutback's. Besides the lack of a cherry, there was a lack of a spoon in the napkin roll at the buffet and the grill. Apparently, some bean counter decided that spoon's were not necessary

.
We also noticed that there were fewer bar waiter's working. We had to go to the bar to order a drink (I know, no big deal, but it
was a cutback.).