Starry Eyes

DH got the notification. I didn’t. He’ll have to e-muster solo🤣

To see if kids sail free is saving money compare the price of 3 adults in a cabin vs the price with 2 adults and 1 child. Like it or not, you have to compare the same cabin category; sometimes the demand for triple/quad cabins drives up the prices of those cabins.

There is no particular reason to believe that people will be in their cabins when an emergency occurs, so nor are they supposed to return to their cabins if they are elsewhere. A daytime emergency is as likely as a nighttime emergency. Furthermore, in an actual emergency addition evacuation routes such as crew stairs would be available; these are often the fastest routes as marked on cabin doors, yet these cannot be explored during the drill. Thus I don’t see much point concentrating on cabins; concentrate on destination.

Yes, one should read the RoyalUp descriptions carefully. As I recall, the spacious balcony description on RoyalUp indicates that either the cabin interior Or the balcony might be larger. If I were in a balcony and happy with the location, I probably would not bid on the spacious balcony. On the other hand if I am in an inside or OV cabin, I might bid a bit more for a spacious balcony compared to a regular balcony.

Then perhaps it did get messed up when the drink package exception was granted for housemate. To avoid this in the future, if you wish to fund an adult guest perhaps you may want to prepay gratuities and any excursions & dining, plus add an appropriate amount of OBC to their account. They can enter their own credit card number and have a private on board account (they might want to spend their own money on something frivolous or embarrassing). You can enter your CC for your family.

We have had a similar experience on some cruises (but not all) with our 2 bottles while we have been in the 340-524 range. Sometimes the system is set to deliver one bottle on each formal nights and we have no say I’ve which bottle on which formal night. Needless to say we think that is a controlling way to go a a gift. We like to have the wine in the stateroom on day one so we can have a glass on the balcony whenever we please. By the evening of the second formal night, most of that balcony time is behind us. Like you, when we discover such plans we ask that the LA have the wine delivered sooner. Perhaps a few managers (F&B?) think this is a nice way to handle the C&A wine

People pre purchase to get discounts. If you wait to purchase you will pay ship rates and combo may not be offered.

My missing towel story: On another cruiseline, they left pool towels in our cabin at the start of the cruise, stating we would be charged if they were missing at the end. Those towels sat unused for days. We returned one evening and were upset when we noticed one of the pool towel was missing from counter. We were about to ask our steward about the missing pool towel when we noticed that evening’s towel animal had stripes. It was made from the striped pool towel🤣

Yes, on Oasis class ships nearly always the least expensive balcony guarantee will be category XN, a Neighborhood Balcony gty. That means you could get a Central Park balcony or a boardwalk balcony. One sees a bit of ocean from some of the Boardwalk balconies. All neighborhood balconies have natural light and fresh air. There is no way to request adjoining cabins when you book any type of gty cabin. You booked two XN cabins you might be assigned one CP plus one BW or 2 BW or 2 CP…they might be on same deck or different decks…no way to predict. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Years ago when all deposits were refundable I remember a fair number of cancellations close to final payment date. As non-refundable deposits have become the less expensive and popular option, I perceive fewer cancellations close to final payment date. I believe sometimes Travel Agencies may hold blocks of cabins for group reservations. If I recall correctly, if not booked those are typically recalled by 120 days out. If it is TA holding blocks, the OP might be able to find that agency and might decide to book as part of that group rate.

I am aware that prices are up and cruises seem to be selling well, though I have not seen the pattern sold out interior cabins you describe. It may be down to details. What embarkation port(s)? Cruise length? Are you looking at specific ship(s) or class(es) of ships? Will you be flexible on these points or are they vital to your vacation?

I’ll be sorry to see the Jazz club go. I missed it in Wonder compared to her sisters. At least for the US market, perhaps RCI has it backwards. Less than 13% of adults smoke and the percentage is falling. I won’t render an opinion on ships in the Asian or European markets, as I do not know them as well. For RCI for the US market, the company might be better off making the big casino nonsmoking; they would please the majority of the guests who are nonsmokers, and they might draw gamblers who now avoid the casino due to too much smoke even on the nonsmoking side. (IDK, but perhaps allow vaping on one side on one side of the main casino?) Give the small casino to the small percentage of the population that smokes. Proportionate spaces. A 2008 study in NV casinos showed the % of gamblers who smoked in major casinos was similar % smokers in US population. There may be extra smokers hanging around casinos on board because it is one of the few smoking venues, not because they are all big gamblers…meanwhile the current smoking drives away other potential gamblers.

I agree. As the old saw goes, you can lead a horse to water but can’t make him drink. I am s ask so comfortable with the life jackets and the instructions. I experienced 79 traditional muster drills on different ships and lines before the shut shutdown. So perhaps I saw even more problem “children” than you. Some were more disruptive than you describe; crew would correct their behavior, they resumed bad behavior as soon as cree member walked away to attend to other guests. Also, when guests are tightly assembled at muster stations those of us in the shorter half of the population often cannot see the demonstration. It is difficult to hear due to disruptive behavior (worse if the person has a hearing impairment with or without a hearing aid). So, in my experience substantial number of people at a traditional drill did not see or hear the information well for one of the above reasons. I’ve done plenty of both drill and I’m willing to to do any future drill.

My personal experiences run counter to all of your three hypotheses. As I do the the research and make the reservations, I routinely am guest #1. I also do the check in with my credit card. I get the email of the folio. 1. Alphabetical. Hubby is first alphabetically, yet I get the folio 2. Age. Hubby is older. 3. Sex. I’m the gal, and I’ still getting my folio. So, how about a new hypothesis. Maybe your housemate had a some normal contact or other with Royal Caribbean (through CSR or TA) about the reservation. During that contact the housemate’s email address was incorrectly entered as the contact address for your reservation. Completely accidental, I would think.

Good move. You will have a bigger balcony, too. Your initial choice was not awful IMHO, but your new one is substantially better.

Hmm, when that real emergency comes up, some people might say, “you made an exception to your penalty policy in the past to let me join friends, so you have set a precedent of waiving penalties. Surely you will now waive the penalty for this more important reason”

That you are not happy with the speed of an answer is not “vindictive.” Furthermore are you sure they did not send the answer to your Travel Agent, who is responsible for your reservation? If you book via a TA, you must communicate via that TA; you do not get to have it both ways. Nor should the TA fob you off on customer service when you asked for an exception; they could have asked for you or done a conference call with you. The answer may have been the same either way, but I think it is the TA’s job to handle this reservation (good, bad or ugly).

As you have sailed other lines, I will tell you IMHO MTD in its current form on Royal is pretty poor compared to anytime dining on other lines. Note that I like Royal Caribbean in general and sail the line frequently. Every line has weaker points. For Royal, I’d list IT and MTD as weak points…and maybe shoreside customer service if you get the wrong rep. They may adjust the times when the ship moves from Port Canaveral to San Juan. Different embarkation ports and different itineraries cause may cause them to make such adjustments. Check the app after the ship actually moves to SJ to get a better idea. It is your decision, but I also think the set dining with the same waiter is safer for a person with allergies, especially if the allergies are complex and/or severe.

You are not a newbie. You know you booked after final payment, during the penalty phase. That’s why you’d be asked to pay a penalty…not because they are being vindictive. I understand you might politely ask for consideration, but I’d the company declines , it is still policy not vindictiveness. For you to imply otherwise is entitlement. If it was important to sail together: Your friends could have told you their plans sooner. They did not. You could have contacted your friends before booking. You did not. The miscommunication is on you and your friends, not RCI. If you still want to sail with your friends, you could book the other cruise too, sailing a b2b. Or your friends could book another week, staying on for the b2b.

Just notice that MTD on Jewel currently opens at 6:45 pm. When we were on board lines for MTD were often long (both with and without reservations), but that may vary by cruise. Traditional dining times now are 5:15 and 8. Show times now typically are 7:15 and 9:15, which are fit traditional dining times well. People who select MTD can either go to the early show then go to dinner after the show. Or go to dinner and hit the late show. I do not know when the OP is cruising; it is possible times could change by then, especially if Jewel changes embarkation port by then

The way I see it some cruises are mostly about the ports and some cruises are mostly about the ship. I adore Oasis class ships, but their size means they can go to a limited number of ports. For regular cruises, O class itineraries tend to look bland even though the ship may still attract the cruiser. Thus smaller ships with fewer bells and whistles tend to be the ones sailing more interesting itineraries. With a Southern Caribbean cruise, you may be busy exploring different islands daily, with less wakeful ship time. For many people that is a worthwhile trade off for some or all of their cruises. A twelve year old can certainly understand such trade offs. Perhaps have a family discussion and see how the youngster feels about the trade off. Hopefully she will agree with you that more time on more new islands is worth giving up some ship features.

I agree with the answers the other poster provided. Have you downloaded the Royal Caribbean app? Is so, you can also use the app to see what is happening on the Jewel cruise this week ( or other weeks that have an itinerary like yours). Tap “browse our ships”, select Jewel, then select the sailing (the current sailing, for example). You will be able to see what time the dining rooms are open, their menus, the shows and showtimes, etc.

Personally, I find it easier to use the cruise planner on the website for precruise purchases (excursions, dining, drink packages, wifi, etc) rather than trying to make them on the app. If you selected MTD, you may want to make MTD reservations (again, I’d use the cruise planner)

Emailing works wonderfully. Time your email no more than 2-3 weeks before your cruise, as any earlier they will be working on other cruises. No point having an early email lost in the shuffle. My only follow up on board is a trip to the dining room early in the day to find my table(s), so far always with happy results. Plus we can walk straight to our table the first night without waiting for directions or an escort.

Going going gone sale There is a GGG sale many (not all) weeks. Check the link below. It will update when a new sale comes out. https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf even if a ship is in great cosmetic shape, the mechanicals need regular service. For Oasis class ships, that currently requires a trip to Europe for a large enough dry dock. Of course they will do other work while she is empty