Zephanor

That really bites. Thanks for the quick response!

Greetings!

I just got back from a cruise with my family which was split between two rooms. I was in an interior room with my two sons and my wife was in a balcony room with our daughter, as far as the reservation was made, my daughter and I switched while on the cruise. 😉 

However, today it looks like Royal only gave points for the interior room and not the balcony room. I made reservations for both and paid for both with the same credit card, the rooms were essentially linked together.

I just wanted to check here before wasting time on the phone, should I be entitled to points for the balcony room as well? Would it just be a matter of calling Royal or the travel agent to get it sorted out?

Thanks!

That’s correct, they have a limitation on the number of available UDP. If it’s not showing anymore then it is sold out.

That notice in the cruise planner is for folks who haven’t purchased the UDP. They can still get Chops+1 and some of the other items.

It still shows up for those of us that have purchased the UDP because we don’t have anything reserved for the nights past the first night which Royal schedules for us.

Remember, when you purchased your UDP you selected a time, which isn’t set in stone of course, but that allows them to plan for a certain number of diners at certain times that are on the UDP to occupy the restaurants.

The first thing you should do when you get on the ship is reserve the remaining nights at one of the specialty restaurants, you can even change your first night if you want,. You should be able to reserve most of the times you want but being flexible is recommended just in case. 😉 

Thanks for the answers folks! This is good.

Does anyone have an idea if this is 72 hours or three days regardless of hours?

For example we'll be traveling on a Friday to visit NYC before getting on the ship on Sunday. Would getting the test on Thursday before we leave be sufficient or will we need to find a test in NY? I know that's the safer route but not sure how difficult it will be to get a rapid test not being familiar with the area (about a two hour flight away.)

More than likely your experience will vary. They do cap the bandwidth but depending on where you are, how many are connected to the same AP how many are consuming the Internet at that time, etc, it’s likely that it won’t work or it won’t work well.

for VoIP and video conferencing, which is all best effort to begin with, I would recommend getting Surf + Stream to ensure you have access to better service. It’s not that much more per day. However, if you’re just going to use mostly chat applications and surf the web/email then Surf would be fine.

Thanks everyone!
 

Yeah, the plan has been to stay midtown Manhattan but not right on Times Square. I was last there for work and I was a few blocks away so not too loud but walking distance to a lot of things.

We’re not worried about fancy food as well get that on the ship with the unlimited dining plan, we just want to see a few sights and enjoy being in NYC together for the first time (I’ve been several times myself and she went as a high school graduation trip with her parents.)

We’ll be going in September this year providing all moves forward. My wife loves NYC and wants to see some of the sights.

Thanks for the good info!

Wife and I are traveling up to NYC a few days before our cruise to do the whole tourist thing. Any thought or concerns with staying in Manhattan instead of just outside the port?

44 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Your travel agent can make one phone call and get all the information about the refund. You should start there. 

That’s the plan! I will be calling tomorrow.

Oh well, if this is standard operating procedure then so be it. At least I understand now, thanks for the quick response!

The refund is 30% more than the port fees,  taxes and gratuities. Maybe they refund more to make sure they are covered? 
 

I would think it’d be easier to just refund the difference (we’re saving about $20) or change the difference of more.

Back story: I purchased a cruise back before the pandemic for September of 2020, this cruise was canceled of course. We had already paid in full (included tips) prior to cancellation so we opted to lift and shift for September of 2021 and since the cruise was fully paid for we didn’t have to pay anything more.

Today out of nowhere I get an invoice from my travel agent that showed Royal had refunded just under half the cost of the cruise. Has anyone experienced this? I haven’t had a chance to call the TA and will tomorrow but wanted to check here to see if anyone experienced this and why it might have happened.

Thanks!

This might be an interesting article for anyone that wants to know more:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2411711/whakaari-white-island-new-zealand-volcano-eruption-2019

Maybe needing a cruise soon! 😉

I can only share that on OotS for a Sept 2020 cruise there were no actual price reductions that haven't been in place for several weeks. I'm guessing it highly depends on the time of the sailing, the ship as well as who has purchased what for that sailing. Gonna keep an eye open through Monday to see if there's any change, otherwise I'll check each being sales period.

I've purchased this for the wife and I while we're there in September, looking forward to hearing if it's worth it. I like a little exclusivity as long as it's not major crowded. 😉

21 minutes ago, oxymoron11 said:

Right, only need to send one with a couple of blue towels. 😉

Par. For. The. Course.

I've read that folks would be sent back to their room if not in pants and closed toe shoes. 

I used to fly a lot for work, domestic and international... I always fly in the day before. I understand some can't do this for good reasons but man, it's a risk even if it's a low one. I've had flights canceled due to rain and had to fly out the next day, flights that missed connections due to congested air traffic and had to fly out the next day, etc, wouldn't be cool with a cruise.

Yes, it's extra cost for hotel, meals, etc. but I've enjoyed treating it like a date night. And honestly, it's always been a good time with the anticipation of the cruise that starts the next day, like a vacation Christmas Eve! 😉 

I recently had Chicago style deep dish pizza, oh man, that crispy crust was amazing. This doesn't add much to the conversation and I know that Sorrento's isn't this style but it raised my memory. 😉 

I've been on Liberty and Independence as recent as 2017 and the pizza was only a slight step above Chef Boyardee. I was not a fan but it was fine late at night as a snack I suppose after pounding some drinks. I hope it's much improved when I go on Oasis next September.

On 10/19/2019 at 2:17 AM, ReneeFLL said:

To make a great milkshake go get some soft serve ice cream and add Baileys or some other liquor.  😁

Can't they do that at JR's now? 😉

I thought I saw recently that milkshakes were included the deluxe package, as well adult milkshakes, you just had to consume them in JR's and not take them out. Maybe I mis-remember... or this is a classic Royal inconsistency...

I treat it like a date night, button down collar shirt and a nice pair of jeans.