Edward51

11 minutes ago, kpjb said:

This is disappointing to hear.  We just booked our first cruise on RCL for a trip to Alaska in June.  We've cruised many times on NCL and we're sort of used to just walking up to a restaurant and being seated.

The only set time dining available is 8pm.  We're from the east coast, so I prefer not to eat at what is essentially midnight for us.  We got the My Time dining, but the earliest reservations available are 7:15-7:30.  So what I'm understanding here is that either we eat late or it's the buffet every night?  Please let me know if I'm missing something here.

 

As I mentioned, RCL seemed to be very accommodating.  Phone them.  Get on a wait list.  Failing that see the maitr’d on the first day.  You should be fine.

See my original response #11.

Our Travel Agent (TA) first put our group of (4 adult 2 children) 6 on a waiting list and one day later we were moved to early dining on level 4 for 5 pm.  if you do not have a TA phone RCL directly.

  If you have not been able to change see the maître’d when you board.  You might have to wait until day two for the change.  We have been onboard for five days and have seen many changing their times or tables.  They seem to be very accommodating.
 

I can report that the food has been great.  All service, staff has been top notch.  Do not miss the diving show!  Book your entertainment before you go.  We usually travel Celebrity but with grandchildren opted for RCL.  All of the group have been very, very pleased.  What a beautiful ship.  Enjoy

7 minutes ago, BallFour4 said:

In agreement with everyone above on the port side. Remember Left and Port have the same number of letters, that makes port and starboard easier to remember.
 

For a bit of fun search on Zillow (or eq.) Fort Lauderdale real estate. Focus along the ship channel and Harbor Beach. Those condos at the entrance and homes along the water are in the stratosphere for prices...

 

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I was in the Navy and that is a great way to remember which is the port side.  Here is a bit more nautical fun.  Before "port," the left side of a ship was known as "larboard" (meaning "the loading side"), but repeated mix-ups with its right-hand counterpart led to the elimination of the word in favor of "port."

I also just read a Symphony of the Seas tip for viewing areas.  One is to walk down to the stage area of the aqua show.  Behind it is a good aft view.  Also the aft end of the running track has chairs.

Those would be a good “plan B” as I would think that the pool area, with music, would be more fun.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to pass on tips.

3 minutes ago, NoShoes2 said:

 

The rail on the top deck can fill up fast, but it's a great spot. I'd get there early to have a place for the children to see. If you are sailing this coming weekend it looks like great weather for the sail away. 

3 minutes ago, NoShoes2 said:

 

The rail on the top deck can fill up fast, but it's a great spot. I'd get there early to have a place for the children to see. If you are sailing this coming weekend it looks like great weather for the sail away. 

Thanks to all.  Any preference for port or starboard from Lauderdale?

What would be the best vantage point, with children, for a sail away at 4:30 from Fort Lauderdale?  If it is the main pool area, what time should we arrive to grab a good viewing spot.   It is looking like a full capacity voyage.  Thanks.

Thanks but too late for that, we leave in early Feb.  We thought with the extra width over a regular balcony and the occasional dinner at Coastal kitchen it would be ok.

Any other families out there that have cruised in an Oasis class Jr Suite?

Thanks you.  This has been very helpful.

I have tried to find in Google, YouTube and Cruise Critic the bed setup in a Jr Suite for a family and have had no luck.  We are not sure if it is bunk style, sofa pullout or something else..  We are two adults and children 12 and 9.  We will be staying in cabin 8232 on the Symphony of the Seas.  
 

Any video, pics, information or tips for staying in a Jr Suite with a family on an Oasis class ship would be very much appreciated.

1 hour ago, rjp50 said:

We just got a response back from our request to Royal.  They found a table with 3 elderly couples, all of whom were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and having their vows renewed onboard.  They were able to bump them in our favor.

 

Naah, I'm kidding.  However, like any large operation, they must keep some tables reserved for special circumstances such as this.  It never hurts to ask and Royal delivered.  They also volunteered to have a special refrigerator in the diabetic's room for her insulin.  I never would have thought of that.

I love happy endings…with a bit of humour😀

2 hours ago, rjp50 said:

There are no reservations available at the 5:15 seating.  While my original concern was just the shows, I realize now that one member of our party of 6 is severely diabetic and can't wait until 8 PM to eat.  We are trying to escalate the situation with Royal.

18 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I'm sorry, but escalate it for what?  It sounds like you want one of two things to happen...

1) You get put in TD at 5:15.  Assuming all the tables are full (hence the wait list), who should Royal bump out of their reservation to give you the table?

2) Moved "up" to earlier than 8p on the MTD dining list.  Again, who should be bumped off their reservation?

 

Take things into your own control...

1) Have a late lunch/snacks so you & diabetic party member CAN wait until 8p.

2) Eat in the WJ

3) Line up for MTD at 6 in the "non-reservation" line.  Heck, I'd even try 5:30, hoping some TD folks don't show up and they open those tables early. 

 

All of the above are free.  If you want to spend money (and I totally understand not), make reservations at a specialty restaurant or order room service. 

If you have a Travel Agent have them put you on a wait list.  Can’t hurt to try.  Worked for us.

14 hours ago, LeeW said:

When you first get onboard, go to the main dining room that is open for lunch seating.  The host can adjust or make dining reservations for you.

Our TA put us one the early wait list a few days ago.  She just confirmed our party of 6 has been moved to early from open on the SOS for Feb 4.  Perhaps having an 11 and 8 year old in the group helped.

21 minutes ago, LeeW said:

The 645 start (varies a bit by ship) has been around since before the restart.  Royal uses the Mytime dining room for early early seating at around 515 and this is the average time those folks get done eating.  Once a significant number leave they open the doors to Mytime.  Since we eat at the same time each night we get in the reservation line at around 630 and wait for doors to open.  After a few days they either wave us to the table we normally sit at or put us at another in the same server area.

 

Generally the reservation line moves faster than the no-reservation line.  Also if the lines are getting long one of the greeters will walk down both lines and ask if anyone wants to be seated immediately on another floor.  If so, they escort them there.  Lines can still be long on the first night and formal nights but with a 645 reservation we are normally being served by 7.  And some nights they ask us to show up earlier than normal to help adjust that surge when they open.

 

When you first get onboard, go to the main dining room that is open for lunch seating.  The host can adjust or make dining reservations for you.

Thank you so much.  That was very helpful.

 It is not ideal but sounds much better than I thought.  Like you said, seeing the maitre’d on the first day may help.  Again thanks.

3 minutes ago, rjp50 said:

For health reasons by several members of our party, late dining is not an option.  I was hoping that I was just missing something but based on the responses so far, we are very disappointed in Royal.  I've never been on any cruise line that doesn't open up the any time dining room until 6:45 and then is booked solid to 8 PM.  I just checked about switching to 5:15 traditional dining and that is booked.  I can't believe we will be paying that kind of money and have to eat in a cafeteria.

Our TA put us on an early sitting wait list.  Fingers crossed.

57 minutes ago, rjp50 said:

We recently booked a cruise on the Allure.  I am confused about the times available for My Time Dining and in particular how that works with show times.  It appears that the earliest you can get into MTD is 6:45.  Even if that were possible for us (it isn't since the first available reservation isn't until 8:00), how could we possibly eat and still see shows like the Abba show that starts at 8 PM?  All of the other early shows are also impossible to see with MTD.  Any other cruise line that we have sailed on allows open dining as early as 5:30 so that you can still see the early shows that start at 7 PM.  Am I missing some secret sauce to allow eating earlier without the constraint of fixed dining at 5:15 which seems too early for us?

Cannot wait to hear the responses.  I was about to post the same question.  We are a group of six with two younger children 11 and 8.  The earliest we can get my time on Symphony is 8:15.  As you say, other cruise lines allow “my time” to lineup when it opens.  Even their own sister line, Celebrity allows booking and lineups to begin at opening.

Why RCL has “our time dining” instead of “my time dining” is beyond me. Parents with small children do not want to wait until 8 pm.  Yes, the Windjammer is a choice but we are paying for a meal that comes with a wait staff.  Also I am sure that RCL has specialty restaurants but that can get expensive with children.  Just wondering if anyone knows why it is RCL time and not my time.

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

This. It's usually early in the month prior to your sail month.

We sail on the SOS on Feb 4.  Entertainment reservations were opened on January 3.  

16 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Just note that if you get "Grande" sized drinks with to shots of espresso they hit you for two stamps.  

Noted.   I think I will keep both cards for my son and DIL.  They both love coffee and would probably be getting two shots per coffee.  If there are extra stamps my spouse and I can try one of the other coffee sites instead of the free coffee at the Diamond lounge.  Thanks everyone for the  great info.

Thanks.  I have been assuming that the coffee in the Windjammer is as bad as the equivalent Celebrity buffet restaurant (the Trough?).  We actually love the buffet on Celebrity but the coffee....🫣

41 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The coffee card has 15 punches- how many coffees you get with those depends on the kind of drink you get. 

  Thanks for pointing that out.  The card is even more reasonable than I thought.

Is there a particular coffee place that you like on Oasis Class ships?

Yes, I did make the mistake you pointed out.

Thanks everyone for perking up my day.  It has all been very helpful.

1 hour ago, Edward51 said:

We normally sail with Celebrity Cruises.  Celebrity has Cafe el Batio for great coffee, lattes.  It opens at 6 am and all coffee is free for Elite Plus.  We will be on Symphony of the Seas on February 4.  We figured a huge RCL ship would be more fun for our grandchildren.

 

On RCL our Elite Plus translates to Diamond.   We bought two (10 coffee) vouchers which we thought was reasonably priced.  The problem is that there does not seem to be anywhere on board that serves good coffee between 6 am to 8 am.  I am, of course, assuming that like Celebrity, the Windjammer does not offer quality coffee. 
 

My wife and I can have a latte in the Diamond Lounge at 8 am (free) but that leaves our son and DIL waiting until 11 am.  I even noticed that Starbuck’s (not included with vouchers) only opens at 11:00 am.  Maybe I am missing something. I thought checked all the opening times, on the RCL app, for all coffee venues. If anyone knows where there is good, early morning coffee, on the SOS I would appreciate the info.

 

Bottom line is, if good early coffee is not available, I might as well cancel the vouchers.  Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry.  Seems I did miss something.  I am new to the app and was not reading the opening hours correctly.  While I am here I might as well ask for opinions on favourite coffee venues on Symphony of the Seas  Thanks.

We normally sail with Celebrity Cruises.  Celebrity has Cafe el Batio for great coffee, lattes.  It opens at 6 am and all coffee is free for Elite Plus.  We will be on Symphony of the Seas on February 4.  We figured a huge RCL ship would be more fun for our grandchildren.

On RCL our Elite Plus translates to Diamond.   We bought two (10 coffee) vouchers which we thought was reasonably priced.  The problem is that there does not seem to be anywhere on board that serves good coffee between 6 am to 8 am.  I am, of course, assuming that like Celebrity, the Windjammer does not offer quality coffee. 
 

My wife and I can have a latte in the Diamond Lounge at 8 am (free) but that leaves our son and DIL waiting until 11 am.  I even noticed that Starbuck’s (not included with vouchers) only opens at 11:00 am.  Maybe I am missing something. I thought checked all the opening times, on the RCL app, for all coffee venues. If anyone knows where there is good, early morning coffee, on the SOS I would appreciate the info.

Bottom line is, if good early coffee is not available, I might as well cancel the vouchers.  Thanks.

9 minutes ago, hcat said:

Last photo.. one of our favorite spots for sailaway.  Drinks  from  EDEN bar and nice wake views..often a nice  little party develops!

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

We have plotted an avoidance route....we have a few parties to attend in EDEN, like the Cafe for lunch and just hanging out there...Glad we are in Luminae not BLU..fewer trips  needed.    I liked the creative art  passages on S ( ?)  Class ships...very nice murals, etc  with sound effects too!   But easy to pas through...

Edin cafe is also our favourite for the free breakfast and lunch.

On 10/28/2022 at 7:16 AM, Darspurs said:

Very strange obviously dependant on position but in 20+ cruises this is by far the quietest a cabin has ever been, I know the waters have so far been very calm but we have not heard the slightest creaking and we have never slept so well on a ship.

FYI we have an Infinite Veranda cabin on deck 7 right by the central elevators. One other thing we have kept the folding doors open all the time. No idea if they creak if you close them.

Ditto.  We are forward on deck 8 in the porthole balconies and love it.  Pretty quiet and yes the odd creaking noise but nothing that would keep you from sleeping.  That is not to say that some areas do not have issues.  Our area is fine.
 

 We are, after all,  in the Atlantic Ocean.    We have sailed on many ships over the years and all creak somewhat.   Some a little more than others and it depends on the weather.

6 hours ago, Phxazzcruisers said:

We no longer take Sport Coats with us on cruises.  Makes packing much easier.  we always wear nice dress pants and long sleeve shirts to dinner.  We are always in Luminae or Specialty restaurants. 

We are on the Edge now and yesterday was chic night.  The majority were not wearing suits or sports coats.