Tljcruiser

If she has cruised with Royal before and is entitled to crown and anchor benefits the card must be activated with charging in order to use the coupons.  On our last cruise I thought I had added my daughter's sea pass card to my credit card but realized it was not on there when the buy one get one free ice cream didn't work at Ben and Jerrys!  Have had similar issues as other posters when trying to get the arcade discount as well.  I have had no issues with her overcharging but she is most always with me.  Enjoy your cruise!

We had the same experience as Dan.  The first time it was offered we went around the time they opened.  We waited for 1 group to go in ahead of us.  Later in the week we went about an hour after the posted time and it was crazy busy.  We didn't realize how busy at first.  The line was not too long at the door and was moving quickly which was deceiving because once we got inside Studio B they were taking groups in and seating them in the seating area.  We waited over an hour to play that time.  I probably would not have committed to waiting had I realized that up front but at least we were in a comfy seat as opposed to standing!  I would recommend going early both early in the cruise and early for the posted time.  It was fun and my daughter really enjoyed it.  It was something different that she hadn't experienced "at sea" before but it probably wasn't worth that long of a wait. 

Was onboard for same sailing could not agree more!  Cruise was great, entertainment was great, we loved it!  I was chatting with another mom at my daughter's after school pick up.  Her family went on a cruise last week as well but with another popular cruise line. She said the one thing she noticed the most was that the cruise line staff seemed unhappy.  She said very few smiles and just a general sense of feeling like they really did not want to be there.  I immediately thought about washy washy fellow in the windjammer and most all staff we had any type of extended conversation with.  Most all were well into multiple contracts with RCCL and seemed to be happy to be there.  The only downside I could see with the trip was the inconsistency of the blaster waterslide.  It seems to have issues that need to be corrected.  One time we were in line over an hour because the mechanism that carries the floats up malfunctioned.  Another day we were in line over an hour because people kept getting stuck and had to be manually removed!  One would think we might have had enough sense to get out of line when the second one got stuck but no we waited and rode anyway 🤣 We did not have any problems, slowed down in a couple of spots but didn't get stuck! Glad you enjoyed your trip and I am envious of those of you that are going in the future!!  

Took my 9 year old while on Harmony last Oct. She was brought (and ate) all the courses we ate with exception of the main entree.  She wasn't crazy about the choices on the kids menu so our server asked what she liked and she said the spaghetti from the kids menu in the main dining room.  The server said no problem at all I can get you spaghetti from the kitchen!   We were only charged $10 for her.  She loved it and has requested we go again whenever we are on a ship that has a Wonderland. 

Another vote for yes! We thought it was super fun and the food was great!  We never got around to going on Anthem but made sure to go while on Harmony. On both ships they were selling on board at lower prices than available prior to the cruise. Wonderland waiters were walking around public areas drumming up business, I believe we ended up paying $30 each for my mother and me and $10 for my daughter who is 9. They brought her everything we had except for the main entree. We all loved everything with the exception of the tomato juice test tube thing. Our server was great, explained everything was very personable,  not at all stuffy.   My daughter still talks about it and wants to go back on every cruise that has a Wonderland.  I would not prebook though except maybe with a bogo or first night done right.  I would wait and see if they are discounting once on board.  I do think it is worth it, but getting a discount makes it that much better.  We occasionally do speciality dining but for the most part stick to the main dining room.  I would totally go back.  

I too received the email for a cruise that is listed as sold out for cabins that accommodate 3 passengers  Navigator 3/15/19 9 night sailing. We are a party of 3 the email stated GS $500pp  Jr Suite $250pp minimum. I have 3 other bookings currently May 2019 October 2019 and March 2020 nothing received for any of those.  Final payment for the March sailing is next week so maybe there will be openings at that point?  

We cruised on the Empress in July 2017 to Key West and Cuba with my daughter who loved it.  She had just turned 8 at the time.  We did a RCCL guided bus tour of the city with several spots at historical places of interest in the morning and a horse and buggy tour downtown in the afternoon.  We also strolled along the malecon admiring the old cars.  She had a great time and stills likes to talk about going to Cuba.  True, the ship is small with not a lot of bells and whistles but she found plenty of things to entertain herself.  Granted she is not a lay on the couch and play video games kind of kid.  It just depends on the child.  I work in a middle school, I know many of my kids would be very interested in the history and culture of a place like Cuba while others would think it was torture to be on a small ship in a "weird" place. I think you just need to know your kids and do your research on what there is to do both on and off the ship to know if it is right for you.  I think you would spend more time together as a family on a ship when there isn't as much going on on board.  Enjoy whatever choice you make!    

I could not get a ring off due to my finger being swollen. They gave me a glove. It was no problem.

That is SO not the norm! :o :o :o

Which part the repeated flying or the allowance of camara's? Curios for future visits. I don't really care about the camera that much but it was good to be allowed to book again! I had read prior to sailing that no camera's were allowed so I was surprised to see them. The first time we went I didn't take one with me but the ship's photographer was there so we got some photos. Repeated visits I took my phone :) We were on 9 nighter not sure if that matters or not.

I got the idea that the IFLY guys were kind of doing their own thing, but they were GREAT! They seem way more engaged than the RCCL employees. Everytime they took a group up they did tons of tricks and demos and really just seemed to be having a great time.

Hope to get back on the Anthem at some point, we really enjoyed it.

That is the norm, but some have reported being able to bring a camera.

We were onboard in June and were fortunate to be able to book a few times. We were told that after day 6 if any slots remained open they were up for grabs. I flew twice, my 9 year old daughter 3 times. That being said we were there more than average and observed more than once couples bringing their camera/video/cell phone while participating together. They just asked whoever was holding the device to stay outside the tube which you would do for pictures anyway. One would fly while the other was outside filming and then they would switch out. There were 2 guys (who were awesome by the way) from IFLY as opposed to RCCL employees onboard conducting trainings and all of our sessions were with them. I don't know if that makes any difference or not but they didn't seem to mind at all that they were switching in and out. The person operating the fan speed just indicated when to go in and out he would send one in while another passenger in that group was flying. The ship's photographer was only there taking pictures on our first flight so I would at least attempt to take a camera or you may not have any photos at all.

Our call in March came from my travel agent who was on the line with Royal when she called me. It was the Friday afternoon prior to a Monday departure. Free upgrade from ov to balcony. We usually book balcony staterooms but picked this particular ocean view because it was a larger cabin. Ship was oversold and they needed the larger cabin as it accommodated more and we were a party of 3. I originally turned down the upgrade as I wanted the larger cabin that I intentionally choose. I asked if we could be upgraded to a suite. After going back and forth multiple times with me and Royal my travel agent negotiated the balcony upgrade which we really didn't want but got them to comp the cruise which we really were happy with!! After reading stories of people losing their assigned cabins and being reassigned without their consent I feel very fortunate that it worked out the way that it did!

We had the divider opened on both Oasis and Allure. Just asked the stateroom attendant and it was done shortly after the muster drill. Each time we have been in far aft boardwalk balconies.

A 7 day Harmony vs a 7 day on Disney Fantasy is not as big of a price difference as you would think. Check it out, you'll be shocked like I was. I guess the old saying, you get what you pay for. Even with food, Disney will offer you Filet Mignon as an option for dinner, RCI will charge you $16.95, or give you 3 thin slices for free one night with their Roasted Beef Tenderloin entree.

Would you mind to share what date you found comparable pricing on Harmony and Fantasy? I can never seem to find a Disney cruise for anywhere remotely close to Royal. I would love to do more Disney cruising but like the other poster stated I can usually do 2 RCCL for the price of 1 Disney. I just checked Harmony and Fantasy for spring break 2019. Harmony was $3882 for balcony cabin for 3 while Fantasy was $7436. What's your secret in finding these deals?? Enquiring minds want to know! :D

Only you will be able to choose what is best for your family but my daughter would campaign for a longer park stay and shorter cruise....well really she would WANT to do 10 days at Disney and a 7 day cruise on the Fantasy but unless Tink sprinkles some fairy dust our way that wouldn't be happening.

We have only been on 2 Disney cruises and enjoyed both immensely but we have been going to the park for at least a week at a time once or twice a year since the summer she turned 2 (she just turned 9 this month) We are headed back a week from today! Most often we will pair a week or a little longer at the parks with a 7 night cruise out of Port Canaveral or FLL on another cruise line (which lowers the amount invested by a bunch!!) She loves the parks, all 4 of them and the water parks, and Disney Springs, and Disney Putt putt, and character meals....you get the picture. Anyhoo I would strongly consider spending as many days at Disney as the budget and time restrictions will allow. Magic Kingdom is probably her favorite but she really enjoys the other 3 as well. Her new favorite ride is Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom it is not to be missed. With the new Toy Story land opening last week at Hollywood studios that has added additional things to do there and a 5 year old girl would I am sure love the Frozen attractions at Epcot. There is just so much to do it is hard to know what to pick and choose from if you are only there a few days.

Whatever you decide she will love it and you will have a great time I'm sure!!

Whatever time you end up spending at the parks make sure you utilize the app and make fast pass reservations as soon as you can for early in the day so that you can continue to get other passes throughout the day. With limited time you want to spend as least time as possible standing in lines!!

Towel animals are totally dependent on your cabin attendant. We were on the same Anthem sailing as MikeBTN and while they received 3 in 9 nights we received 9! He skipped one evening but the next evening we got two :) . He also made a super cute towel birthday cake that was huge because we had decorated our door for my daughter's birthday. She turned 9 shortly after the cruise. He also received a good tip above and beyond the prepaid gratuities at the end of the cruise!

if you have on at least one Disney cruise, you will be a member and they send out emails.

I have gotten the last two releases sent to me via email a week in advance. Hope this helps.

BTW I book directly on line for my DCL cruises.

Well apparently they do not like me lol we have been on two but I did not receive the email. Maybe I will have better luck next time if there is a next time. We typically can go to Disney for a week AND do a nom DCL cruise for the same price as a Disney cruise. It is hard to justify the cost :( But we do enjoy the experience of a Disney cruise!

Thanks for the info! I am pretty familiar with Royal Caribbean and have a lot of first hand experience with their completely inaccurate customer service reps but I thought Disney would be a little better on that front! I will just have to be more proactive next time. I should have been checking in May as opposed to June like the rep advised. If I had been on this board I would have seen moki's mommy post stating EXACTLY when we could book:( I am a middle school counselor though so during that time I was knee deep in end of year junk and any time I had for screen time I was on rccl board prepping for our anthem sailing. Oh well I guess it just wasn't meant for me to get a corner aft I'm sure they went fast!

Moki's mom with all your Disney sailings have you ever tried the fantasy/dream split style family ocean view staterooms? If yes, did you like it? I've been reading a lot about those the last few days I like the idea of a larger room but not sure I want to give up a verandah.

Again thanks to all who replied for the helpful info. I'm sure if I had told my travel agent she could have handled it......will know better next time.

As repeat cruises how do you find out the new sailing dates/itineraries and book prior to public release dates? I was interested in fall 2019, I called DCL in April inquiring about when those dates would be released. I spoke with an agent that told me she didn't know for sure but she suspected June. I asked how to be notified prior to the release date in order to have a better chance with cabin choice and best rate. She told me I would be placed on a list to be contacted prior to public release date and someone from Disney would contact me when they were open to Castaway Club members to book. I checked yesterday and found the dates were released and the cabins I was most interested are already booked :( What is the trick to getting in on this? I use a travel agent about 75% of the time and I guess I should have told her to be on the lookout, but based on what I was told by the Disney rep I did not think it was necessary. Any advice appreciated.!

We are also on the 5/31 sailing. Thanks so much for the compasses!

Yes we had 2 cabins side by side not connecting. I can't remember the deck but I think it was maybe 8.

My mom is the only one in our group prone to motion sickness. They were in the same cabin type right next door to me and she did not have any issues. We did not experience any bad weather though so I am sure that helped.

We were in a similar cabin on our first Oasis trip but on a lower deck. I think maybe deck 8, it has been a few years....the cabins are just like any other ocean view cabin but the window is in the front of the ship so it is slanted not flush on the side wall. We liked the rooms. They are larger than the other ov rooms as you have extra space where the window slants. If I remember correctly we had to keep the curtains closed at night to not interfere with the bridge. That trip we booked super last minute and just landed where they put us but we were happy with the room. I would book it again if I could not get a balcony for whatever reason. Enjoy your cruise.

We did Cuba on Empress last August. People still dress up. Some people go in jeans, but usually paired with a buttoned shirt. Most people wear slacks and polos, nom-formal dresses, blouses, etc. We even went suit and tie one evening for fun and didn't feel out of place (in fact we discussed this at dinner the night before, so the whole table was suit and tie on the same night).

 

I may have seen some shorts in the dining room, but it was usually children or so few of them that it didn't offend me. Dress how you want.

 

At any other time except dinner, it's only shorts.

It must be a week to week theme. I did not see any suits or ties on our trip. It was the most casually dressed group of people on any ship we have been on including a 4 night Disney. I have never worn shorts to the dining room on any cruise I have ever taken or allowed my daughter to wear them but we did on that trip and fit right in. OP, definitely wear whatever you will be comfortable in maybe take both casual and a little dressy so you can pick and choose depending on the crowd that week.

We'll be on the 7/2 sailing. Are shorts and t-shirts OK to wear on tours in Havana?

That is about all I saw on our tour as well. We were there in July also. It was too hot to wear anything besides shorts. :D

When we were on the Empress last summer to Cuba it was VERY casual. Shorts, capris causal sun dresses. I really didn't see anyone dressed the entire trip. Cotton dresses or maxi skirts for woman were about as dressy as it got. It was an easy trip to pack for!