PQI

My experience with this same package was different on Anthem. They booked two restaurants for me, Chops in the date and time I had selected (I don't know if it was just a coincidence or by design) and another one the day after in another restaurant (if I recall it was Jamie's). When I got to my cabin there was a paper in there showing reserved times and restaurants. I didn't want Jamie's, so I just went straight to one of the specialty restaurants (any one will do) and changed the reservation to Wonderland. One thing to keep in mind is that this was right after boarding, as soon as I saw which reservations had been made, so there were still some slots available. The next day, however, I wanted to change the time I had booked in Wonderlands so I could watch a show that had been rescheduled and it was all booked up already. I just showed up at Wonderland by the time I wanted that day and asked the hostess if there was any seat available. She replied there wasn't, but that I could wait fifteen minutes and if anyone didn't show up she could seat me. I stayed at the Bionic Bar right in front of Wonderland and alas, someone didn't show up and I got the time I wanted. Turns out, from my experience in that cruise, that several people book slots in specialty restaurants and never show up, because all the time I was both there and at Chops they were far from being full despite being all booked up all the time.

By the way, taking the opportunity to ask a question to those with more expertise in this forum: I have a cruise departing on November 26. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Cruise Planner sales usually go live on Wednesdays or Thursdays, right? Considering the sail date is on a Saturday the day after Black Friday and that purchases must be made 48h before sailing, how likely am I to be able to score a possible Black Friday deal on this cruise?

+1 I believe waiting to buy once onboard is the worst possible scenario, considering you can always cancel and repurchase before the cruise. First, you'd have to try your luck at sale happening onboard or not. Second, it is way more likely for them to jack up the prices during the cruise, and maybe present it with a fake "sale" tag, than it is for you to find a better price at anytime prior to cruise. I'd say to only wait to buy onboard if you really don't want/need the DBP, so if by any chance a real sale happens to be going on you can take advantage of it. If it is a must-have, your chances of scoring a good price are way higher by purchasing in advance and cancelling and repurchasing if it goes lower anytime before the cruise.

There isn't a best time, you need to keep looking at prices and buy it when it reaches the price you want. There was recently a Labor Day sale where the DBP for my cruise dropped from 77.99 USD pppd to 72.99 USD pppd with a BOGO 50% offer. Now it is back at 77.99 USD pppd with a 20% off "sale". Just keep track of the price and purchase it when you see one you think matches what you are willing to pay. And after that, keep tracking the price and if it ever goes down cancel and repurchase. And don't look at the "sale" tag but rather the final price you're paying, Royal can get quite creative with their math. Next big sale should be for Black Friday, but since you're cruising in November depending on the sail date you may not get that one in time.

I found Silk to be awesome. The one I found most underwhelming was American Icon Grill, the only thing worth returning there for in my opinion was the cookie skillet.

They used to have the WOW bands, which are wristbands that you could wear that would replace the SeaPass cards. I used them on Anthem a few years ago and found them to be extremely handy instead of carrying around the SeaPass cards. I think, however, that it went away during COVID and hasn't returned yet. Some people that had it from past cruises said they were able to reprogram it for their current cruise, though, so maybe if you find a used one on eBay or something that could be a solution if the ship you'll be sailing on supports it.

Menus seem to have changed so that Izumi is now fixed price instead of a la carte, allowing you to order one small plate, two large, and one dessert.

Saw this happening myself on Anthem. Itinerary had a late departure from one port, and several people on Early TD missed their dining time and decided to enter the MTD No Reservation line. There was a HUGE line that day, and as most people on MTD scheduled a later dinner due to departure time the MDR was packed and they were turning away anyone that was on TD. People on MTD without reservations or with earlier reservations were allowed to wait for a table, but there were plenty of people in that situation that night.

That's true that games are either downloaded or played through a disc, but most kids and teens nowadays play games that are meant to be played fully and exclusively online as they are massive multiplayer experiences. If your kids or grandchildren scream that they can't pause the game when you call them over for dinner, this is probably the kind of game they are playing. That said, as was said before the Internet on the ship won't provide a good online gaming experience, even if you purchase Surf and Stream, because it is a satellite connection. Games require small packets of data to be sent back and forth very quickly to update what's going on in the game. Satellite connections, however, are built to sent huge packets of data but less frequently due to the time it takes for the signal to go back and forth. It is the exact opposite of what you'd like for online gaming because it generates extreme amounts of lag. And then there's the issue of connecting to the TV. I used to travel a lot for work and bring my PS4 with me to plug to the hotel's TV, but in each hotel I had a different problem: - the way the TV was wall mounted blocked access to the HDMI ports; - the remote control in the room lacked controls to change the input source and the TV had no buttons on it; - the TV was a special type called Hospitality TV made for hotels where every port, if there's any, is disabled; - no power outlet close enough to the TV; List goes on. If they are cool playing offline, perhaps gaming solutions for which a TV is optional would be better, such as an iPad, the Nintendo Switch, a Steam Deck, a PS Vita or anything of that sort.