Starry Eyes

You do not get extra loyalty points if you win a RoyalUp from balcony to suite. Your loyalty points are awarded based on the booked category, not on the category you get by bidding.

Like the previous poster, I think you’d be better off in traditional dining, working with a specific head waiter to preplan your meals and the same waitstaff to deliver them. If you are not able to switch by calling, you can try emailing with an explanation of the circumstances. Either rcldining@rccl.com or mgutierrez@rccl.com

Do you personally really desire the beverage covered by the Refreshment package or are you mostly buying it so hubby can get his drink package? If it is the latter, DH would have to consume a substantial number of drinks each day to justify buying both packages at those prices. When thinking about how many drinks one might average per day, remember to think about port day plans. If hubby is off the ship touring, he won’t be using the drink package. Some people may alter their behavior before and/or after long or strenuous tours. When I was not drinking due to a medication, hubby just paid by the drink.

I have used the barcode trick multiple times and it has always accurately predicted my actual cabin. I did read a CC post within the last couple months from a poster who booked an inside gty thought the barcode trick predicted a balcony cabin and was assigned an inside. I did not recognize the poster from other threads, so I have no opinion on the poster’s veracity or whether they did the trick properly.

I do not like the new MTD system, but I disagree with your characterization of it. It is not really sandwiched between the two seatings. There is a dining room used for early traditional dining and as those early diners exit those tables are turned over to MTD for the rest of the night. There is no late traditional seating in the MTD dining room. MTD might run from 6:30 to 9:00. (That said, some MTD folks may be accommodated at empty tables in other dining rooms as time and space permits.). A few late tours? Why not just book specialty restaurants those nights and be done with it. Or eat in WJ. Or room service. Or if the tours will make you just little late, you can politely ask in the MDR…they may be able to seat you later those nights. You are trying to hide behind the technology issue. It is not technology; currently it is $. Right now if you want the best times, stop whining, get out your credit card and book your times. Easy Peasy. On the other hand, right now if you want the package price, you have to live with the current terms of sale. By the time you sail, they may or may not change the terms so you can pre-reserve. Even if they do, someone else may pre-reserve those slots you want before you can get them, leaving fewer to race for on day 1. Be careful what you wish for.

You shouldn’t buy the package if you cannot accept the terms offered by the seller. You know you could pre book your all your meals now; that option simply costs more.

One pays a set amount for the UDP; there is not “basically” a price for the lunches. After all, with the UDP someone could go to two restaurants and have two lunches plus a full dinner and a late meal at playmakers. If buying the meals separately with the current sale is a better deal (or close to the same price) then just cancel the UDP and book separately.

Yes, she can share her D drinks with you. Her vouchers could also be used for non-alcoholic drinks….there might be something your wife might enjoy (mocktails/virgin drinks, fresh squeezed OJ, soda, etc) if you are not using all eight vouchers on more expensive alcoholic drinks.

Yes and the people who flew in the morning of the cruise will also be standing outside the terminal waiting for things to kick off. Though CruiseCritic poster may not recommend flying in day of cruise, plenty of people do it. Add in all the people who drive and arrive early (they built in extra time in case of flat tire or traffic snarls) and there would be loads of people waiting for check in to start. How late would luggage delivery take if boarding starts later? If luggage starts coming too late, likely more people try to take their large luggage on board with them, further slowing security and congesting terminal and ship until cabins are ready. The ships would still pull into port early as many guests want to get off the ship early to catch early flights or get on the road for their drives. They have work or appointments the next day. The docking noise plus all the guests leaving probably wakes the people who’d like to sleep in on debarkation day, so guests will still be unhappy🤪. As embarkation starts later, it also ends later, so the ship is in homeport longer. That means higher port fees for everyone. Bad idea

Even then, some ships manage the self-debarkation line pretty well. We are early risers (especially DH), so we often can be found near the front of line. It is generally a breeze.

I wonder who is the “they”, LOL? The travel agency or RCI? Perhaps the travel agent does not enjoy spending time on price drops or other services on existing bookings…Or seeing their commission fall a bit with the price drop. Maybe that TA is trying to make you feel poorly so you won’t keep calling for service on your booking. I would not book with that agent again.

I read that they will test the system on Wonder before rolling it out on other ships, including Icon. (Naturally they don’t want to deal with a reservation system failure on a wide scale, but certainly not on the brand new ship.) The tech for pre-cruise reservations is shoreside. If I want make a Chops precruise reservation today for my December Wonder cruise, I do not believe I will communicating with the ship.

Hey Ken, did you down your four drinks right before you typed that or did autocorrect go crazy?🤪🤣

Yes, we had that experience on Jewel. It was made worse because that dining room has a single entry/exit. By the time each side of that entry hallway is lined by queued MTD folks (reservations on one side, no reservations on the other) there is only a narrow middle aisle for those exiting the MDR, those returning from rest rooms and people trying joining their MTD friends already in line. It can get too crowded, increasing the grumpiness. If Royal would get it’s IT up to snuff, that issue would be solved with a virtual queue with MTD signaling for tables via the app and if there is a delay waiting comfortably in a bar on their balcony until being notified via app that their table was ready. Also traditional diners could have the option to RSVP, so when they have other plans the seats could immediately be released for MTD diners.

We had a “what's the point of picking your dining time...” experience today. We had confirmed early dining for our Wonder cruise (never waitlisted). We wanted to check our table location when we arrived on the ship, but we discovered we had somehow been magically moved to MTD. Ship personnel blame shoreside. I don’t care whether ship or shoreside or IT is to blame. We are inconvenienced as we do not currently have a table.

Of course, when one is willing to stay over 100 miles from the port, the number of pre-cruise hotel options is far greater and thus one is more apt to find a variety of price points.

The 1 billion was the profit for the 3rd quarter, not for the 12 months. Total revenue for 3rd quarter was 4.2 billion.

It sounds like your dd has earned lots of points, perhaps as many as her parents if she went on just as many cruises. This thread is not talking about kids like that. There are people who have only been on one or a few cruises as minors yet they are D+ (for example) because their parents made D+ before the child turned 18. They can pass that status to their significant other.

I’m not aware of such a tool, though some people track prices on their own cruises Prices can vary by ship and sail date (dynamic pricing), and generally prices have risen over the last couple years. If you really want the 3 day or UDP, you may have to buy it at the best price you see for your cruise and consider that the best deal you can get. Alternatively, do some math (adding up the value of the specialty meals you really want), decide what the package is worth to you, and only buy if it meets your threshold.

95 cruises all over and I have been asked for ID as well as seapass card….Most recently we were asked for photo ID to re-enter port area in Bermuda just weeks ago. There were passengers digging ID’s out of their beach bags as I sailed by with my ID ready, as I knew Bermuda checked ID. Each time the Bermuda authorities looked me in the eye and addressed me by name after checking my ID.

Well, by that same logic they could make everyone D+ after one cruise, because then they’d be inclined to book another Royal Caribbean cruise…Is that actually how loyalty programs are supposed to work?🤪

They opened it at about 9:40 for our late October cruise.

Newbies without a D (or higher) spouse book cruises. For a newbie with a D spouse, it is a better value. Other loyalty programs do not give spouses and GF or BF matching status, yet those businesses manage. If the couple is having marital problems, they should see a counselor not a TA.

I’ll go further. Linked accounts should not gain status, so de-linking would not matter as much. A new spouse or relationship can be gold while the partner is D, D+ or whatever. The latter could use their vouchers to buy a drink for the newbie. With the vouchers lounge access is not such a big deal. The minor children can earn their own status based on the number of cruises they actually sail rather than automatically gaining the parent’s status; many kids cruise enough to earn status anyway. Notify the current ones that their status will be grandfathered for specified length of time (a year or two, perhaps) then they will revert to their own status based on their own earned points.

I’d point out those cruise were released for sale some time ago. If certain cruises sell better than other, the prices of the remaining cabins on those high demand cruise will be higher than cruises experiencing lower demand. Sometimes the cruiseline anticipates higher demand before releasing the cruises, in which case the prices are higher from the start (holiday cruises, special itineraries, for example). This longer itinerary may have started with slightly higher prices, sold well and now have substantially higher prices. Also, google to see if there is a partial ship charter. Sometimes a big group willing to pay $$$ can influence the pricing and perhaps even the itinerary.