TwoMisfits

I contacted RCCL b/c I have multiple severe allergies (dairy, tree nut, mango) and like PPs said, they wanted me on traditional dining. They actually preferred I was on the 1st seating, but either would be okay.

With dynamic pricing, don't buy unless you can live with the price permanently...by you buying, you've permanently increased the lowest price it will ever be offered (ala airplane seats)... So, even when sales come, they arrive with a higher price level to start... I decided to buy nothing for my cruise yesterday. I'll look again on "real" Black Friday and Cyber Monday...and then if still the same, I'll wait til Christmas/New Years. If I don't see a price I want for something, I'll keep passing. If nothing else, it may end up discounted on ship if no one buys...

That's my waterpark price...it makes things so easy to pass...

Symphony May 24 would dream of $98 - right now, that's $253.99 for beach club on my cruise. Either I've got a swarm of rich, spendy folks on my cruise...or RCCL is overvaluing what Mem Day cruisers will want to spend b/c it's a sorta holiday.

All in all, it's another "not really a sale" sale...oh well, maybe there will be a holiday sale with better prices when they don't sell as much as they want in this sale... Or if not, well, there's no need to spend - just leaves more in the travel fund for the ports...

Nothing great on my cruise - best deals are the lunches and the alcohol free beverage packages. Funny enough, the alcohol package was higher than it's been all fall. Guess they've sold enough of those - makes my decision to tell the spouse to buy 1 drink a day OOP much easier. I am undecided if I will spring for food I've already bought (leaning against, as you can tell) or soda for the kids (but again, do I want them to earn their money's worth b/c they all drink water happily at restaurants now and we don't have soda in the house except for holidays) - especially when both only save $1 or a $1/day over the best price I've seen.

Alcohol beverage packages went up from $100 to $105/day reg price for my cruise, so I suspect a lot of that is going on this last week.

So, Wonderland does NOT have a dedicated allergy fryer? Is that true for all specialty restaurants on all ships? How about the Main Dining room? If so, it makes eating a healthy diet on the cruise WAY easier and cheaper for me...

Agreed. In theory, you've supplemented 3 full meals plus snacks in your cruise fare. So, additional food should be incredibly work-intensive, severely supply-limited, and/or gourmet quality to be charged for. None of those apply to BBQ in any form.

For the Op, probably a non-Diamond member, it might be useful to actually document what drinks are free and where/when. Tap water is always free, but what might be included better than that? Is milk always available and if so, what type (to include non-dairy ones)?

Nah, parents HATE charged ice cream, just like they hate charged popcorn and hate charged pizza (which did not happen). Parents want kids to eat free on a cruise b/c they paid for them and kids like cheap foods anyway. Charging for the cheap kid foods is like sticking it completely to the parent who already paid for 3 square meals a day for the kid, but all they end up eating is the extra charge pizza, popcorn, and ice cream (which is the hallmark of almost all kid birthday parties, if you add cake, too)...

I have noticed the language...and I am a fan. I don't want singular set activity times for my kids. I want them to go anytime, but not wait much in line. It seems the Key price increase is to accommodate this new model b/c it will be more popular, if theme park fast passes are any indication..

I went to check my Mem week cruise on Symphony - it's sold out for Interior and Oceanview, so you can imagine what current pricing is for that cruise... I went ahead and paid my balance in full a few weeks ago b/c I knew it would never get cheaper. Now, I guess I'll have my room if they oversold the cruise... Edit to Add: I think this is one time that my Key purchase will pay off. It's gonna be a mob scene cruise if they are already this sold out this far out...

I agree. I'm not sure why folks ever paid for this, when food is part of their cruise fare. This is not expensive food for Royal to provide. Edit to Add: I mean, why would anyone pay $4 for a side? Those sides are cheap and provided on the boat elsewhere gratis. I forsee another Johnny Rocket's ghost town coming - or one where the only folks there are those not paying directly, like UDP and free offers.

And that concern ever mattered - why? It's not fine dining at JR's. You'd think they'd rather kids congregate there than at Chops... And if you hate congregation, you remove the chairs and tables and make it takeout. Problem solved.

Honestly, they should consider changing Johnny Rocket's to a free location with only a cover for milkshakes/beverages. If the board's experience is to be believed, it tends to be a ghost town after breakfast, and I'd assume the only folks who eat there for lunch and dinner are the ones not paying directly (either with free meals or AYCE plans), and it's a location that could easily be a 24-7 meal server, along with Sorrento's.

Hopefully, this brings about a larger conversation about the need for RCCL to improve the availability and content of its free food offerings, especially post-dinner. If you lose the food battle on a cruise, you're gonna lose the war for customers, no matter how much entertainment you bring on board, especially for families with kids.

I'm amazed there is no sweet and salts area for snacking around til midnight near multiple bars. It's CHEAP, it's easy, and it would make people wildly happy.

I'll start with it depends on the child. That said, for a 10 year old, I'd let them walk from place to place on the ship with check ins when they arrive (or if not possible, returns to me every hour) during the daytime, like 7am-7pm. After dark, I'd be accompanying the child. Passenger alcohol levels tend to increase throughout the day, peaking at night, and it's that risk that would make me accompany one that young then. You don't want the child to unknowingly set someone off or walk into a situation they aren't prepared for and don't know how to leave. No one goes on the cruise ship to make scenes or commit crimes, but intoxication can ruin the best intentions for a few. And while your child would likely still be fine, it's not something I'd want them to remember. As an adult, we all know how to spot something going south and find another way - the younger kid, less so.

I actually disagree. Don't buy if you don't like the price. If folks all book at the high price, it will never be further discounted, so you'll never get to cancel and rebook. However, if RCCL has no one buying the package, then it will be forced into a further discount. Get the crowd into a "no buy" stance and you win the pricing game. Give in and have the crowd do the same, and you lose.

There are a lot of ways to save on those types of vacations, especially with a party of 6, like my crew is, that are not available as savings for cruises. For a similar driving vacation (which my future cruise in 2024 and my land based vacation in 2023 was), I can price all the different components for land based and get best value. For a cruise based, I'm getting all the pricing from one company for all the components, so it's harder to get best value. For the record, my 2024 cruise vacation will be my most expensive vacation of the past few years (aka - post Covid), and that includes a themepark vacation (Universal) to Orlando (with air) in 2021, a trip to Las Vegas (with air) in 2021 (with 2020's vacation money), a trip to Colonial Williamsburg/Busch Gardens in 2022, and a Myrtle Beach vacation in 2023. But the cruise was at least close, and being close, I find a lot of value b/c I wanted to give my kids the experience b/c they like going international and they like being on a boat as a change of pace vacation where the fun is brought to them vs going to the fun. It's our 1st cruise since 2018 (where we had cruised 5 of the previous 7 years then) just b/c we waited for pricing to match value and convenience. PS - Since the price of the cruise has more than doubled since I booked it, it would no longer be close, and thus in 2025, at this pricing, I would not book another. I know I can find a better value land based vacation that will make my kids and my wallet just as happy.

I also got my cruise for next year at a wildly low price compared to its current booking price. And this cruise (a holiday week) I'd never book at its current prices, so I'm not planning on cruising in 2025 or beyond til the value (pricing meets benefits) links up to what I have for my 2024 cruise. I went through a few dry spells in cruising and have switched between 3 lines, so I have no loyalty and no real loyalty benefits to lose, so it's very easy for me to find equivalent value or better land based fun.

Yeah, add me to the never paying group. Of course, that's b/c with my allergies, I can't eat pizza. But even if I could, I'm not paying for crappy food court pizza on a cruise ship. Next, they'll want me to pay for the crappy hot dog, too. My kids will adapt and find other food - or wait for the next day's breakfast and go to town. Royal's choice, although some of those breakfast proteins can get pricey, especially compared to pizza slices.

So, the fast lane...does that mean for all open previous Key activities, my kids will get to never wait in line more than 5 minutes? That would actually be a much bigger perk for them than the dedicated single hour per activity that doesn't tend to be when they might want...

Does anyone know what the currently included Symphony of the Seas Key-only activities and times are? I'm sure it will change before my cruise, but I've tried google searching to get an idea, and everything is a Covid-era cruise, so I'm not sure it's on point. Thanks if anyone has info!