renee1222

26 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

If you both have the deluxe drink package, RCI staff is not going to care if you share drinks. Just an FYI, there is no drink limit on RCI. The only cruise lines I know that have a drink limit are several cruise lines owned by Carnival Corporation. 

I always forget which one has the limits! We don't drink enough to warrant the package so I never really pay attention.  🤷‍♀️

1 hour ago, grandgeezer said:

Do you apply the same logic if you have a drink package? I’m guessing yes.

If my dh and I have both purchased drink package,  yes. If I order a drink and decide I don't like it,  don't need another drink,  etc. I should be entitled to let him taste it, or drink the entire thing, instead of letting it go to waste. If he's reached his daily limit (if there's such a thing on Royal, I'm honestly not sure), but I still have 3 drinks left on mine, I should be able to share with him. I've shared my diamond drink vouchers with non-diamond cruisers,  just ordered 2 drinks on my tab and then handed one to someone else.  Bar tender knew I was doing it, no problem at all. We even had bar tenders ask if we wanted to share the vouchers when they noticed I had some unused.

Both parties have paid cruise fare that includes dining in the mdr. That fare includes 1 lobster tail when it is on the menu. It shouldn't matter who actually eats it. What if I eat 1/2 of it and become full, am I not allowed to let DH finish it? We often share bites from each plate to taste other dishes. Are they going to babysit every table and watch you eat??? If they want to limit the mdr to 1 entree to prevent sharing,  it should be clearly stated across all ships, not a different policy on each ship/sailing/waiter,  etc. 

I've seen a few posts or comments about Royal Up bids accepted for the minimum or barely above, maybe $5-10 above.  So now I'm curious about bids that weren't accepted.  How much did you bid above the minimum and not get it? I'm also kind of curious as to how often in general people receive the upgrade.  

And, has the Royal Up been established to profit on remaining cabins available instead of offering free upgrades to Pinnacle,  Diamond +, etc. Does anyone get offered free upgrades anymore or is this the only option?

I haven't cruised Royal since before covid, so this whole process is new to me,  and inquiring minds want to know...😂

What is the best way to go about reserving these activities? I am not interested in paying extra for "extended" or "premium"  experiences so I'm assuming reservations must be made onboard.  Are they open on embarkation day? What time usually? We have an early embarkation time so I was hoping to make reservations then. Also, can a 12 year old participate in I-fly if the parent signs the waiver but doesn't participate themselves?

*I've experienced both and could pass on repeating,  but I'm traveling with teens who want to participate. 

15 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

mumbled something semi coherent in response and then he reminded me to come tonight, which is our last sea day and 2nd formal night, so he can serve us all lobster. (None of us will be ordering lobster, but we are going anyway.)

Just curious if lobster was actually on the menu in the mdr as an included option. I am sailing the same itinerary/ship in a few weeks and there is no lobster on any of the mdr menus in the app, only the $16.99 extra fee. Also curious if the menu for night 6 was mostly Italian,  like lasagna, tiramisu, etc. That is what is showing for our cruise on the app right now. 

We almost always eat in the mdr but there is one menu listed that is not our favorite for night 5. We have other plans for that evening (Tracy's in juneau), but I'm just hoping the menus showing on the app are accurate for planning purposes. 

Will you be notified either way with the Royal up bid? I placed a bid a few weeks ago, and there was always the option to modify the bid until today. Now there is no mention of a Royal up offer for my next cruise and no email update. My room # has not changed,  and check-in begins tomorrow for a June departure. I guess I'm just wondering if I'll officially be notified if my bid wasn't accepted or if there's still a possibility. Also, is it possible for such a last minute decision that luggage tags printed 3 days before cruise could be invalid?

We will be docked in skagway 8am-8pm with a shore excursion from 12:30-5:30pm. It's been 6 years since I've been,  but I seem to remember a shuttle that would take you from the port into town. Would it be feasible to take the shuttle in the morning, eat an early lunch around 11 in town and return on the shuttle to the port area by 12:30 for the excursion? My concern is how often the shuttle runs and where the drop-off point in town would be.

My goal is to eat local seafood in each port. I also seem to remember a restaurant possibly right alongside the port, before getting into town. Is there a restaurant there and if so, what is the name of it?

55 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

That’s wonderful.  Still, for future knowledge, understand they really don’t take “requests” on gty cabins.  Sometimes it works out well.

I just meant we chose OV balcony GTY and that's exactly what we got.  I've heard sometimes you might get bumped up to a large balcony OV or even a JS (probably unlikely). We did not request connecting cabins but because we're traveling together it works out well.

Barcode scanner worked! It is deck 12, exactly what we requested, no bonus upgrade. We actually had 2 GTY rooms,  reservations linked, and we got connecting cabins! Was not expecting that. I was just hoping to not be several decks apart,  one forward and one aft!

3 hours ago, Denversail said:

We will wake up on cruise day and head to Simply delicious for breakfast. We will plan to get there a little before they open. We will see how it goes. We will then head back to the hotel and checkout. I would like to be heading to the terminal by 10:30 at the latest. Our hotel is 6 miles away and we plan to park at the cruise port again for convenience. We obviously checked in late for this cruise and got the latest possible boarding time. We will be ignoring that *****. 

We also have a later than desired boarding time on Allure a week or so after your cruise that I would like to ignore 😆 so I will be very curious to hear your experience on what time you arrive and if you are allowed to drop off bags and/or board early or if there is a waiting area until assigned time.

3 minutes ago, DennysDad said:

Did you barcode trick?

There are no numbers under the barcode yet.  However I just noticed that the set sail says deck 12 with an assigned muster station but still GTY for cabin. Is that a clue or just a filler until the actual cabin is assigned? Like I said,  first ever GTY room,  and 1st RC cruise post pandemic so I haven't stayed up to date on the latest info.

First time I have booked a guarantee room and we are about 3 weeks from sailing without a room assignment yet.  We did online checkin today and the set sail pass still says GTY. Will the set sail update automatically when room is assigned? Will the luggage tags have the room number if I wait until after it's assigned to print? Luggage tags are blank right now.  I know I could write in the room number if needed,  just wondering if I should wait to print. 

Thank you so much!  Makes me feel a little better about that large purchase!  I basically told my husband that I couldn't imagine taking the kids on a cruise there and then saying, "sorry, no waterslides..."

I just purchased the Coco Cay waterpark tickets for our family of 7.  Kids range from 8-15 years and are all tall enough for slides, I am just curious about others' experiences with the waterpark.  Is it super crowded with long lines?  Are the slides fun?  Are there enough pool chairs?  Overall, would you do it again with kids?  I know it's more expensive than our local waterparks, but is it worth the extra cost for the slides and wave pool rather than the free beach?

We will be on Ovation from Vancouver to Hawaii with 4 or 5 days at sea.  Just a few questions about different activities on board...

Is there an extra charge for North Star or Ripcord?

What type of events go on in 270 during the day and evening?

Is there a dive shop offering rental equipment to snorkel,  or do we need to bring our own?  And is there a fee to snorkel (in addition to renting equipment)?

Is the water usually calm?  We've snorkeled several times, but just once was the water so choppy that I felt uncomfortable (in Aruba).

Is there a place to leave towels,  bags etc?

Considering a repositioning cruise for my husband and I on Ovation next year. I've read about dining options and additional menus in the MDR for longer sailings, but I'm curious about the entertainment and activities (other than Bingo) onboard during stretches of 5 days or longer at sea. Are there additional headliners onboard and/or extra production shows? Basically, is there "new" entertainment each evening or do some of the shows repeat throughout the cruise?

Hmm....I just made Chops reservations for 5:30 via the website. Interested to see how they handle that if muster is at 6. And this is for a southbound cruise...sorry, did not realize it was different for different routes.

Is it 13 and over or 18 and over allowed in the Diamond lounge in the evening? Sorry, can't remember and this will be first cruise sailing as Diamond.

Can someone share the CURRENT muster time on Radiance in Alaska? We're trying to plan specialty dining for the first night, and obviously don't want to be rushed or interrupted by muster. I think it was around 7pm four years ago, but I also heard it might be at 4pm (but I didnt think everyone had to be onboard by 4)

Thanks!

Packing for our next cruise in 3 days and my daughter asks if my small scissors that I keep with my toiletries will be allowed. They are 4-5 inches long with about a 1.5 inch blade. I've probably taken them in the past without realizing it (because they stay in my bag all the time), but now I'm second guessing myself...

Just need a quick response so I can finish packing! Thanks!

I've been to Costa Maya just once before and I noticed what looked like a beach area with chairs inside the port area. We had a booked excursion, so we didn't walk over there. I was just wondering if this beach area is reserved for a specific excursion or if anyone can use it without reservations. Also, is there a fee to use the beach or chairs.

I see that the pool in port is available and free to use, just wondering if the beach area was the same.

For our cruise, we were told it was a computer glitch and they were having to debark manually with the manifesto, but we have also heard that it depends on how many customs agents are assigned to handle debarkation. We started with 2 agents and then a 3rd came along. Of course, we ended up in the "slow" line with an agent who took his sweet time. :rolleyes: We debarked with the early self-carry luggage group, so I don't know how it went the rest of the morning.

Independence has had lots of delayed boarding recently. On Feb 8th they were still debarking passengers up until about 12:00. We began boarding around 12:45 and it was chaotic! Everyone was antsy to board, cutting in line, pushing & shoving. We were some of the first to board (in the Suite area), but there was very little regulation making sure that people just coming up the escalator didn't just hop into the boarding line. I heard from our table mates at dinner that it got even worse, with agents screaming at people to go back and sit down.

Good luck and prepare yourself!

Our recent experience (last week) booking onboard....

7 nights in a balcony - $100 deposit, $100 instant obc for current cruise, $200 obc for future booked cruise

10 nights in a balcony - $150 deposit, $150 instant obc, $200 obc for future booked cruise