Candleonwater

DD received her rejection email about 30 days before her cruise. It all depends on how full the ship is. Her email arrived the same day her ship showed as sold out.

18 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

So it is a US birth certificate then? I don’t believe that was ever confirmed earlier. 

Sorry, yes, it's a US BC. She was born here, but has US/Canada citizenship.

6 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

I've heard of the Tutti, but have never seen it, even many years ago.  How is it different from the large array of salad ingredients available in WJ and Park Cafe every day?

I found many more salad topping options, and it was mixed/chopped up to my liking. Just brought me to my happy place.

On 5/7/2024 at 11:00 AM, Charles4515 said:

They could have used their valid passport because it had not expired or a Birth Certificate but many people get panicked  by the cruise lines unhelpful wording. The only problem with using a birth certificate like your family is if there is an emergency and someone in your family has to fly back. Can’t fly back with a birth certificate. If you have done 5 cruises and plan more it really is time for family to get a passport. There is a whole world of cruising beyond closed loop cruises. 

Exactly. DD could have traveled on her BC/ID and used her soon to expire (but not expired yet) passport if she had an emergency. Or she could have even attempted to board if the passport and used BC as backup.  Either way, she needed to renew her passport because we travel internationally often enough. Renewing at this point made the most sense. Now she has the peace of mind of having a new passport AND a new certified BC.

2 minutes ago, OBX-Cruisers said:

I read on one post that the Tutti Salad bar is no longer available on their cruise.  Has this been eliminated on all ships or just the big ones?  Wife loves this and we chose trips with many sea days just to take advantage of this healthy alternative that was very unique and enjoyable.

 

I searched RCI CC site but no hits answered my question

Can't answer on the other ships, but it wasn't available on our sailing last year on Freedom. Made me very sad.

8 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Sorry, didn't explain myself well.  The government logged it as "received" on 4/10.  She mailed it 4/6.  This was a renewal/name change (due to marriage), and no expedite.

Gotcha. So, not expedited it's taken a month so far. Hope she wasn't in a hurry!

On 5/3/2024 at 2:28 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

FWIW, DD mailed her passport and was received 4/10.  Still "In Process".  NOT expedited. 

Without a starting point for reference, not sure if that's a good thing? If she mailed it in February, not great turn around. If she mailed it 4/1, I'd be super impressed. 😬

Since I'm sure your point is that the Dept of State isn't good at finalizing the status, I agree, but at least my daughters shows "Approved".

Final result? Might not have needed to expedite, but it provided a peace of mind we wouldn't have had otherwise. New passport is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Two weeks and one day after dropping it off at the post office. Now she has a new passport AND a fresh BC.

I'm not a fan of GTY cabins, but when I helped my daughter book her cruise, she was able to get a balcony GTY for $100 less than a PR cabin, and $1k less than balconies were going for at the time.

She put in 3 different royal up bids, but not only hasn't heard anything, she's still in GTY status (she sails in 30 days). I know she could still be in for a long wait - I think on my last GTY booking, I found out the day before I sailed.

Her sailing now appears to be sold out, what are the odds of any Royal Up bids being accepted?

On 4/18/2024 at 2:42 PM, Biker19 said:

Most reports indicate that official GTY assignments usually come fairly late (the barcode trick to find the assignment 45 days out doesn’t count) and by that time there are few if any cabins to move to. 

37 days out, and my daughters barcode is still showing GTY. IIRC, the last time I did GTY I found out cabin assignment only days before sailing.

Just checked to see what's still available to book - Interior, Spacious Balcony, and 1 Bedroom. That's all that shows up. Put bids in on GS, JS, and Spacious Balc.

She paid a stupid low rate for Balcony GTY, do you think that gets factored into acceptance (or denial) of bids?

In the big picture I know it doesn't really matter, just curious at this point.

8 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

Unless she has another trip planned that make this a better time to renew the passport, I’d wait to renew.  I’d plan to board with the passport (given Bermuda’s rules).  I’d have BC plus DL available as a backup in the unlikely event the passport is challenged.  I’d renew the passport upon return.

She has enough international travel booked for the next nine months that this is probably the best time.Dropped it at the post office today, Philly receives the expedited application Friday, and we paid for 1-2 day return. Fingers crossed.

Other than the stress, I think the process has become much easier in the last 10 years? I remember struggling to get an appointment at the post office to submit my application.

5 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Sometime after midnight. 

Perfect example of RCL talking out of their a$$... She told me noon 🙄 I even asked to confirm that it wasn't midnight.

It is a closed loop cruise out of NJ. Called RCL and was told she absolutely has to have 6 months remaining on her passport or she will be denied boarding. I've sailed enough with them to know I can call 10 times and I will get 10 different answers.

That being said, I just ordered a new BC for her (the current one is in a plastic envelope but has been taped back together), just in case she needs it to board. Pushing her to go get passport photos and we will expedite everything we possibly can.

Now, tomorrow is 45 days - what time does check in begin?

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Not unless your itinerary includes a country with a longer validity requirement. 

Ah, didn't think about that. She's only going to Bermuda, which I believe only has to be valid for the duration of her stay?

My daughter is sailing on 6/1 and we just realized her passport expires towards the end of August. At face value, should this cause a problem? Should she check in with this passport? Should she bring her BC as backup? Any point in bringing her Canadian passport, it doesn't expire until 2026? I feel like I've read, as a US citizen, she has to exit/enter with her US passport? Is 45 days enough time to rush a passport?

I figure, if she travels on her BC and something goes wrong, she still has a valid passport to travel on.

On 4/2/2024 at 7:47 PM, OCSC Mike said:

Just be aware it’s not always about saving money.

100%! Ships excursions are like training wheels, we've enjoyed our excursions more since we started finding our own.

On 3/9/2024 at 10:30 AM, firefly333 said:

I waited until texas time as I'm used to and missed the earliest check in time. 

I've never paid attention to things like this, so what's the benefit of checking in at the earliest possible time?

9 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

If you are linked with another party, you can sometimes see the GTY room assignment if you (mock or real) book specialty dining on the app. I discovered my parents' room number this way, 5 months before our cruise. 

ooo interesting. Even though I'll stress about it, I figure even the worst balcony cabin is better than an interior, right? That's what I was going to book originally.

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Not sure why she can't just send you the guest copy of Royals invoice.  It literally takes less time than doing a screenshot.

That is where all of my confusion came from. I did get Royals invoice with the deposit, and even after asking for it (after balance payment), all I got was this screenshot. I came here because, over the years, people have offered great insight. 

And of course, as you all know, RCL is absolutely no help. I tried sweet talking them yesterday, and after being on hold forever, got word that they would give me a number I could call that would help… keep in mind this is after I had told me the TA wasn’t responding. The number they gave me? The TA.  Yeah, go RCL!

Attached is what I see when I log in, so definitely no information there. So, if the sailing disappears on March 18, I can assume it wasn’t paid for?

On 3/5/2024 at 8:49 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

No, not even thr deposit.

 

Since you see the charge it looks like it has been paid. 

TA responded and sent a screenshot from her system (cruising power.com) showing it's paid.  She had the same question I saw here, "don't you see $0 balance due" in your RCL account. So I do find it strange that I see no numbers when I'm logged in. Go figure. So, I guess it's on to watching for stateroom assignment 🙂

11 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have never heard of Royal sending a guest a copy of the invoice after payments have been made.  I am also a TA.  It is the TA's responsibility to send the guest the invoices

Interesting, not even for the deposit? Because I definitely got that. Since I did receive that, can you understand my confusion? I did receive a zero balance invoice from the TA, and the charge on my credit card reads "Royal Caribbean Cruises"

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

When we use a TA, they provide not only a copy of their agency invoice but a copy of the cruise line invoice as well.  This is updated from both real time with any transaction made and come as two attachments with the same email.  (There have been times when it wasn't necessary for my records to have the agency copy and, when requested as such, the agency would just send the cruise line copy as that is the only one that ultimately matters).

Yeah, we received the RCL copy for the deposit, but it came directly from RCL. That's why I was surprised that I haven't seen anything yet on the balance payment.

1 hour ago, pcur said:

I just checked my Cruise Planner a few minutes ago for a cruise I'm taking this Sunday.  It was booked with a TA, and Tlbecker1 is correct above.  Even with a TA, the "You don't have a balance due" statement still shows for my cruise.  That is verification the balance was paid.

 

However, even though you know you're paid in full, I would not use that TA again who is sloppy with the financial documentation.  

Not sure if this makes me feel better or worse. I definitely don't see any information about balance due.  The reservation is there, and I have dealt with C&A about our benefits.

Since the final payment isn't due until the 18th, I will give the agent another day before I go to RCL.

Just now, Tree_skier said:

Contact, travel agent and ask them to send you a copy of Royals invoice. Problem solved.

Did request a copy, so far haven't received. So, no, problem not solved, yet.

Nope. I think we all got spoiled by ridiculously low prices in the past.