Engineroom Snipe

I did not answer the second part of the OP question. Sorry to add a second post. Every ship on Royal that I have been has had passenger routines interrupted by maintenance. Walks on the promenade outside decks have been short-circuited by signs indicating that the crew was doing maintenance which involved painting, sanding, lifeboat maintenance, etc. I have been detoured going to my cabin because they were replacing passageway rugs or possibly maintaining the plumbing by priming the drains with water to reduce any marine sanitation gas "toilet odors" to the landlubbers. This is a good thing and I appreciate it being done. Upgrades mean my next cruise is being cared for.

No objection here.

Absolutely understand now: it is like a run on the bank. One or two is no problem but a majority would be. As always, unintended circumstances the bean counters did not anticipate.

Do they allow you to transfer it to your Casino account and allow a cash-out of unused funds?

Do not worry, more comments are coming. Wait for it....Wait for it..... Four days later..... I guess I was wrong (no surprise). 🤣

I guess in Florida Dave n Busters refused to fill out the VAT forms.

Yeah, I tried to use my Medicare Card but it would not work. A little it of humor on a long thread! 😁

I think there is some confusion about where the Grandparents are when the youths are trying to board. Are they with the Grandparents as the Grandparents board with them? Are the Grandparents on-board but say, in their cabins as the youths board without an adult? I would think they are with an adult upon boarding due to their ages and needing an escort for safety. Maybe the OP @BLAMBKY can clarify.

Definitely a possible new hot-topic to add to the ultimate "Hot-topic List." Hopefully the OP is a new cruiser who has not seen the plethora of children's' life jackets on board and on Coco Cay. Let's leave it at that: otherwise, this thread will implode like so many others. "Let it be", Beatles, 1970. 😉

deleted post since OP has found resolution. Happiness for the OP.

That is understandable and I am starting to get the flow. Lots of moving parts as always on any cruise. Type of cruisers onboard, length of cruise, dining options (according to ship class) and so much more. I was concerned that Royal is starting to sell more UDP than can be handled. Royal keeps track of EVERYTHING that sells on every ship for decades. I am concerned that this might be happening while Royal knows from past experience that it is being limited before the sale even occurs. Upon point of sale, I would like a little "buyer be aware" that dining options might be severely limited instead of finding the limitations after I have boarded. I guess no salesperson want to say "no" to a sale but if the "unlimited" becomes "limited", something should be communicated up front to make me aware.

This thread has been eye opening as we were considering UDP on many cruises and did not understand the current demand factor.

Double WOW WOW!!

Trying to keep up with the postings. Did you purchase an Unlimited Dining Plan, pay for it, possibly found that the unlimited plan had severe reservation limitations and they refused to allow you a refund once you got onboard?

Wow!

I was tempted on that lunch special but my wife and I like to completely "wing-it" on vacation and not tie ourselves to any dining commitment. If we are comfortable in our location in the late morning or early afternoon, it is a shame to move (aka WALL-E, 2008, Pixar) when we are not hungry. A 7:45pm set MDR would agree with our normal cruise schedules if we are going to commit to MDR and in many instances, we save time over other venues (even Windjammer can cost time in lines and finding a table during peak hours).

Yes, Coco Cay is a port of call listed. I hope you enjoy your cruise.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports Plug in your port and cruise date. Find the ships that are in port that day.

Only in @Jimbo's wishful daydreams. Jimbo, time to wake up. You are scaring fellow cruisers. 😱

On the cruises that I have a balcony, I pick a location that makes it an easy run to the Windjammer and back. I provide custom room service to my fabulous wife. I work hard each morning and I am tipped VERY well. I can appreciate how hard the crew works to provide room service, I am one of them. 🤣

Now THAT is what you call true life-time financial planning! 😉

I booked a GTY interior on Cyber Monday through my TA in November, 2023, for a last minute decision to cruise the Vision out of Baltimore in April, 2024. I normally like to pick the cabin using their normal group rate pricing but the remaining cabins had no particular interest to me. The price was so good that I was willing to be in any of them. At the end of the day onboard, I sometimes worry that we could sleep through the alert signal so noise is never a factor. I expected to get a 4V interior double on Decks 2 through 4. I did my check-in on February 9, 2023, 45 days prior to embarkation. On February 11, my Set Sail Pass changed from GTY no other information to Deck 7 GTY with a muster drill station assigned. I used a barcode scanner and was delighted to find that I was given a 2V interior on Deck 7 at a location that I would have liked to have picked in the first place. I got a premium mid-ship cabin location for a GTY price. The cabin price about 120 days before sailing was going for 150% more than what I paid. The interior rooms were sold-out around the 90 day mark. I have only used GTY with interiors on two previous cruises because of price and lack of excitement over any available room at the time of booking. I must be lucky because I was very happy with all of the interiors that were assigned to me through GTY. I would readily pick those locations again. I have never used GTY for balconies. Way too many variables.

I now know you are a stockholder. You are in quite a conundrum. As a cruiser you want the prices to go down and as a stockholder you want the prices to go up. You win either way! What an awful dilemma to find yourself in. Do I get a cheaper cruise or more stock dividends? It is a no lose situation. Have a good night. 😁.

@livingonthebeach, This is kinda scary. I know you are an experienced cruiser. We have some people saying no access and you have access. I see that you are in standby mode. Some people have stated everything is ok in standby mode until they try to purchase and check-out. Very interesting.

But look at the big picture for many loyal cruisers. You get a $200 credit for each cruise plus dividends and 6.5% increases. This could appear to be quite nice. Three cruises a year and dividends on the minimum stock shares to qualify for a discount gets you about $1000. Invest the same money in other stocks, like the chip and AI stocks, get more than 20% increases (100% in some cases), higher dividends and have $1000+ towards each cruise. It all depends upon your goals and appetite for risk. If anyone bought the stocks at their lows, bravo, you have done well. Purchasing it now is only going to give you incremental gains since the lions share of growth after the pandemic is done.