taglovestocruise

35 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I am not sure I understand your question. On every Oasis class ship you can go to either the Starboard or Port side from the aft elevators.

I don't believe there is access on any Oasis class ship on deck 7 to cross from one side to the other. The huge Boardwalk sign  blocks crossing from one side to the other, only deck 7 is blocked. 

2 hours ago, PMHNPCruiser said:

Thank you! All the other nights we want the 645/7pm dining time. Unfortunately nights 1 and 2 we have 8pm shows reserved. We will have to try our luck with the standby line 😄

Windjammer has dinner at 5:30 and Solarium Bistro opens at 6. Both have very good dinner offerings.  WJ just walk in any time and the Bistro sometimes needs reservations.  We always miss at least one MDR dinner and hit the Windjammer or Bistro.  Or do a early specialty. 

6 hours ago, js said:

Thank you. So does this hack work that I would go ahead and book with my credit card when ressies open. Then what do I do once onboard? Do I go to a restaurant or wherever and 

tell them what I have, ask them to cancel and rebook me same date/time and then use my seapass card for my OBC?
Thank you.

My statement was about how to not stand in line to book, paying full price and getting it taken care of before boarding.  However if you are looking for a hack to the system then do this. 

 Go into the cruise planner pick your three restaurants , pick your days and times and pay full price.  Go back into the cruise planner and purchase the three night package and pay the discount price.  Once onboard go to guest services and let them know you purchased the three night package and would like to use that for your reservation keeping the same time and days. They will issue you a fully refundable OBC for the full price you paid. Many on cruise critic have done this in the past and we also have done it several times.  We usually just pick one for a full price if there is a specific time and day we want. You can book cruise planner dinner reservations a year or more in advance. 

6 hours ago, gfargo53 said:

thanks all for your quick answers,we have just changed to deck 11

Magic 8 Ball agrees, happy cruising

5 hours ago, rg123 said:

Can anyone confirm dining times on the Liberty of the Seas (New England/Canada)? I believe late dining is at 7:45, but does anyone know when early dining and anytime start? Thanks

Two weeks ago Early fixed was 5:15, Late fixed was 7:45, MTD was set at 6:45 - 9pm deck 3

3 minutes ago, SeaMee said:

What happens when you book a room for 2 and then only 1 person shows up to check in?

That person wil be refunded port fees and taxes plus any purchases through cruise planner. . 

2 hours ago, gfargo53 said:

we have a cruise booked on symphony of the seas out of bayone,n.j. later this year we booked an owners suite on deck 14 but now realize there is the pool deck on deck 15.would we be better off changing to deck 11 owners suite for less noise from above????

Magic 8 Ball says.... without a doubt... 

FYI, the waiters only get a couple of dollars per meal. Most of the 18% goes into the overall ship pool.  We always leave $10 extra for the two of us. 

2 hours ago, js said:

This is great and a start. Were you in a suite or regular cabin?

I cannot believe that Royal still has us getting on the ship and then booking.

What a waste of everyone's time.

If you don't want to waste your time just book full price and make your reservations. 

We have done one Eastbound TA and the weather was cold, windy or rainy and rough seas.   We have done five Westbound TA'S and all have been shorts and t shirts everyday after leaving the Med. All have been Barcelona or Rome to FLL.

These parties start at around $ 30/40 per guest per hour. Base party has limited types of alcohol drinks and usually pizza and wings. Something in 270 for 100+ would start at $4000 per hour. 

Four or more nice sit down restaurants in the hotel and at least 3 or four in the village there are one or two that are only for resort guests.  Just Google Atlantis Resort Bahamas and there is a very large list of places in the resort and in the village on the resorts website. 

13 hours ago, shippmates said:

I was not able to answer the health questionnaire for my cruise boarding today.  I tried on the app and it would just spin and spin and not let me know.  Guess I will need to do it at the port today.

 

No one at the port cares, no one there to ask questions. Health questionnaire is dead in the water. 

1 hour ago, Teeara said:

We did the westbound TA on Wonder in October/November of 2022.  We had a fantastic time and we only had a few days that were a little "rough".  I made a video showing what the conditions were like during the crossing.  I hope this gives you an idea as to what to expect.

 

 

Great video, we have done 5 Westbound TA'S and all have been just like your video. After leaving the Med it has always been shorts and T Shirts every day. Oasis Class TA'S are fantastic, super bonus when 1500 kids are not there. , 

37 minutes ago, pepele said:

If anyone has any suggestions, tips or links to helpful articles and packing list for a European land/cruise vacation I would be super appreciative. We will be spending a week in Italy and then a week on a cruise to Italy and Greece. I will be traveling with a 12 and 14 year old and my husband. We would love it if we can fit everything in a carry on suitcase because we are switching cities/hotels 3 times during our week in Italy. It will be in August so I’m sure it will be super hot. We do have access to a washer and dryer at the end of our land portion. I want to start buying what we need but I am super overwhelmed and I don’t know what that is. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!!

We pack on the light side and take the same amount of clothes for a 5 night cruise  or a 15 night with a few days of pre cruise sightseeing.   On embarkation day we do the laundry bag supplied by the ship and give it the cabin steward. We make use of the dry cleaning offered by the ship, it is about the same as dry cleaning at home.  Most things come back the next day.  The bag in the cabin holds a lot of stuff. A few dollars for cleaning is far better than over packing.  If you have never used the fill to the brim laundry bag just be aware it seems as though they steam clean at 1000 degrees...

We are a fan of the big ships, Oasis Class. We have sailed on most Royal Ships and most have been great. Last year we did 17 nights on Quantum and Ovation.  The most boring 17 nights we have ever cruised.  Ship seems much smaller than it actually is. Shows were lack luster and not much to do. Food on Quantum was about the worst we have ever had on any Royal ship.  Had a balcony on deck 11 forward and it was very quiet and nice.  Try for the Grande Restaurant, it is the most elegant of the four. We are in our 70s and said never again on a Quantum class ship. I am sure there are plenty with the exact opposite experience.   

5 minutes ago, petuniaflower said:

Going with a group currently of 14, what is the likely we can all sit together for dinner in the MDR, and do we request this in advance?

10 is about as big as they get. Link your reservations and you would likely end up with 2 tables for eight. You can email Royal dinning two weeks before sail date and ask that your tables are next to each other.  If you are set up with MTD then see the host as soon as you board to be set up next to each other every night.

1 hour ago, DbPA said:

Considering a repositioning cruise. What is weather like?  Which region and which season will have better weather?  I am apprehensive about rocky seas?? I worry about Fall during Hurricane season.  Appreciate thoughts from frequent cruisers. 

We have done 4 transatlantic in the fall. Barcelona to FLL, Rome to FLL and Southampton to FLL.  Weather has been great for all of them.  A little cool until you leave the Med then shorts and t shirts every day.  Seas have always been calm even in a slight rain burst. We have done one Eastbound and it was cold and windy every day. Our favorite is on a Oasis Class.  Remember if you get a balcony that the sun never sees the Port side eastbound or the starboard side west bound. 

2 hours ago, tanderine said:

We were recently on Symphony and ate at all of the ones you mentioned.  For the best ambience we love to sit outside in Central Park at either Chops or Jamie’s. It is beautiful at night and you can listen to the music.  We love both, you can’t go wrong. We also loved Izumi Hibachi, a dinner and show!  Have a wonderful time!

Agree with sitting outside at Chops in the evening.  To the OP, Don't rule out Wonderland. Food and ambience very different. Symphony has a great Wonderland compared to Quantum Class. If I remember right if you sit by the window you get a view of the Aqua show. 

Only way would be to book and pay full price through the cruise planner. Once on board head straight to any specialty and switch out the reservations for BOGO. We have done this in the past with other family members, I have also seen a few posts recently that say it is becoming harder to do. Any difference in price is returned as a OBC. It does seem to be ship by ship. We have also been able to reserve and pay on day one but reserve for later in the week. 

And to add more stress, some have received the upgrade or the denial while waiting in the checkin line. 

2 hours ago, GSgolden11 said:

This is our 2nd time booking GTY, we like the idea of saving money and we are new to cruising so we're trying to figure out if we are picky or not about our cabins LOL last trip was last year on Freedom, we book GTY interior AND won our RoyalUp bid for an ocean view!!! Im starting to think that bid win was a fluke. 

No one has mentioned this but once your cabin has been assigned you can switch to any other cabin on the ship in the same category. Never mention GTY, just ask to switch cabins. Do a mock booking so you know what cabin is available and just ask to switch.  Side note, most royal up cabins come from no shows or last minute cancelations. Has nothing to do with cabin location. Also Royal has no part in the royal up offerings, they are all done by a third party company. 

7 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Brilliant,thanks Mike!👍👍

The sweet spot is 2-3 weeks before sail date.

19 hours ago, MelRandom said:

I’ll be on the Ovation of the Seas in July. Does anyone know what shows are currently on board? 

Be careful picking your seats in 270. As you walk in there are a group of sunken seats that seem perfect, they are not, you will not be able to see anything on bottom floor level.  In the main show room there are great balcony seats reserved for D+ and Pinnacle,  10 minutes before showtime the seats are opened to anyone. Just as a side note, the Dog House has the best dogs on any royal ship I have been on. 

1 hour ago, ck11140 said:

I have always booked my own international flights but I am using it for the first time this year to go RT Barcelona. They were the same price as booking direct with Delta. They did let me choose my seats already even through the payment is not due till June. We are flying in 2 days early and leaving 3 days post cruise. 

Just a little FYI to others. Many times it is a much better price booking two one way flights instead of a round trip to Europe on air2Sea.