Starry Eyes

I don’t think that is true of deck 6 aft. I do think there may be a crew rec area on deck 5 aft. People who peek down from the edges of their corner aft balconies on 6 and 7 might see crew members relaxing below…I probably would give them their privacy. It would not be my choice for an aft cabin, but I’d be fine if that were my assignment. And if you always pick your balcony cabin on this series , you never have to worry about it.

I could be happy there, too. Since it has a larger balcony, I’d just pack my hammock, a positive attitude and plan to enjoy the serenity of an aft cabin.

I’ve stayed there, too, as did many people who need parking and shuttle. I’m not sure I can’t really bring myself to classify it as a “better hotel.” Our rooms have been adequate but rather worn. Depending on your assigned room location, you may find you are a long way from an elevator…especially if the nearest elevator is out of service (a seemly common occurrence).

Perhaps you will discover that certificate is always a mere 700 points away, LOL. Congrats on making Pinn

DH and I used to laugh when we received emails reminding us we only needed 490 or 380 or 275 points to reach the next level. As we have gradually gotten closer, the number finally does not seem as laughable; it now seems possible.

To the extent crew are on that deck, they presumably are busy working. Between their work and training, those should not be hanging out a lot and staring into your cabin. Crew access in that area is probably small issue if it happens at all on a given cruise. OTOH, the gates you suggest would mean another person with an aft cabin could invite a bunch of friends and family members to hang out all day, every day on “their huge aft party deck” and there goes your privacy for the entire cruise.

I don’t think so as the area behind your balcony would not be private if they did that. You’d have to keep your drapes closed or your neighbors (and any friends they invite) on that deck could look into your cabin.

Hmm, next you’ll tell us that because had to stand up for those sucky views, you had to suffer through daily foot massages from your cabinmate. Matching your sarcasm.

I’m not so sure about that. I admit I would be delighted to be Pinnacle. I think it’s pretty obvious…

Many people find the casino too smoky. There’s no way I could enjoy a drink or a game at the casino bar.

Chock it up to a lesson learned. On the bright side, it will be a large balcony and may have extra furniture. Some people with those large balconies pack a rope hammock. Though the ship is currently sold out, there is a chance people will have to cancel, potentially opening a balcony in your category. So if you are truly unhappy, stalk the web for availability for your cruise; maybe you will be lucky.

Someone who is considering showing up at the dining room at 5:15 might want to consider changing to early traditional dining. If that option is currently full, you could ask to be put on the waitlist.

Got it

I wish you had mentioned in the first post that this was a mid-cruise upgrade. Free pre-cruise upgrades are different from mid-cruise upgrades. RoyalUp now closes the day before sailing. There can be occasional empty cabins due to last minute issues. I presume the HD can decide how to manage these. Recently Royal Suite guests on Mariner were unable to sail on the day of departure; that Royal Suite became a bingo prize. Some other HD could decide fill an unexpectedly vacant CL with honeymoon couple who made a nice impression at the top tier event.

Neither DH nor I believe the Icon is the ship that best fits our cruising style. It seems built for others, and that’s fine. Neither curiosity or novelty will draw us aboard at the current prices. Maybe we will book to see the ship if prices fall in a few years, though not over a holiday.

A random person on the internet can say anything, good or bad…that prove it is true. I would guess a free upgrade from OV to CL would be as rare as hen’s teeth. I suspect it is far more likely a relative or friend anonymously paid to upgrade the lucky couple to make the honeymoon cruise special. For their own reasons, the donor does not want others to know the source of the largesse.

New e-doc with new luggage tags are generally available the next day. You have still have time to upgrade several times if you wish😀

Personally, I wouldn’t do it. While I enjoy the view from forward facing windows, some of the space in those cabins has a sloped ceiling. That space is probably most useful if you have little kids who will be playing on the floor and using a pack-n-play, but for bigger people the cabin may look a bit bigger than it lives. I’d be more likely to consider an ultra spacious OV cabin if it were close in price. As ultra spacious cabins typically are much larger, the extra space inside might be a worthy trade off for a balcony (especially as the balcony might be obstructed). Just because the balconies are currently sold out on your cruise does not indicate that you will or will not be assigned an obstructed balcony. Furthermore, not all balconies listed as obstructed are badly obstructed.

I don’t think noon/afternoon snacks are standard. Some ships put something out, others don’t, and ship policies might change over time.

How you handle the luggage is your choice. Assess your personal situation and preference. Most people drop off the luggage first and that will be the default direction by the attendants. Some people pack lighter and can easily manage their luggage, so they skip the drop off loop. No right or wrong choice. At T1 there are elevators at 2 the corners of the garage closest to the terminal building. The elevators serve each level of the garage. For T1 luggage drop off, restrooms, and passenger check in are on ground level. (Side note for others: At T5 there is one elevator bank at the corner of the garage closest to the terminal building. Passenger check in is on level two;there is a pedestrian bridge. Luggage drop off and restrooms are on ground level.)

On some cruises over the past couple years there have been minimum and maximum limits that seemed rather odd to me. On some cruises the minimum bids were reasonable low. On others, the minimum bids are substantial. Sometimes the maximum bid one can submit is not very high (why wouldn’t PlusGrade always allow a motivated person to bid a bundle to go from balcony to suite, for example?) I decide what the upgrade is worth to me. Then I look at the bid range. If my value is lower than the minimum, I don’t bid on that category. If my value is higher than the minimum bid, I bid my chosen amount.

LOL, I concur. DH is an early riser and he brings the coffees to our cabin

If you look more closely at the pamphlet Orville and I posted, you will see it is just not a simply copy of the online info. It has actually been modified for the specific cruise. For example, it states the day and location of the top tier event. It gives the location and hours for the Pin breakfast. Some cruises it tells Pins their lounge in the library; on other cruises it told them they may use the suite lounge. Granted, that LA did not change the generic exclusions for the BOGO, so it unnecessarily mentions that Hooked is excluded…NBD. If you have a BOGO question or want a variance from the standard BOGO conditions, I suggest you go to the restaurant on day 1 and ask… and for best availability you will want to go early before you even have access to letters in your cabin.

“As one of our top Pinnacle Club members, you and other guests in your stateroom will still have full SeaPass card access all cruise long” Do non-PC guests in the Stateroom with a PC have suite lounge, suite sun deck and CK access? If a PC couple books so each is booked in a cabin with a half a newbie couple, would all four have access while other PC’s are locked out? I hope not.

Me, too. CruiseCritic is an excellent place to find others who understand and/or share that affliction.