Starry Eyes

I found this. I’ve never needed to use it, so no personal experience Emergency Travel Team 24*7 (365 days a year) (800) 256-6649 (305) 539-4107 select option “2” EmergencyTeam@rccl.com

That must be another recent, step toward normalcy😃. There were no beverages or snacks in T5 Suite/Pin area when we boarded Nov 19. If OP get T6, though…?

Check the linked schedule carefully as I don’t know your exact dates. Indy has been at T1. Mariner has been at T5 but will transition to T1. Be sure you check where your Mariner cruise will return. No, we did not use the transfer. We returned the transfer tags and optioned regular tags. Our plan mirrored yours (with a stop on turnaround day in Cape Canaveral). Wonder’s return was delayed a day due to a medical emergency, so we drove to the hotel provided by Royal, then back to returned to board Wonder the next day. I hope that does not happen to you. Do you want to hit the road early after your second cruise? If so, you probably want to move the car to the correct garage. If not, leaving it in T1 garage might save some $. One prepays for parking in garage 1, so you will only pay for your Indy cruise; not the extra days you are on Mariner.

Don’t count on the coffee and snacks. The amenities depend upon the Terminal. I saw a mention of Jewel of the Seas sailing Jan 6 in your threads. Is that correct? If so, we disembark that day so I know your is scheduled to be an unusual day as there will be three Royal Caribbean ships boarding in PC. Therefore Jewel is scheduled at Terminal 6 (usually a Carnival terminal). Nobody can tell you what amenities they might give Royal’s suite guests in this usual circumstance. I believe you will return to terminal 5. The two terminals appear close together. Here is the schedule so you can see for yourself https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Nov22-Mar23.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

Last month we sailed Jewel (T5) followed by Wonder (T1) at Port Canaveral. During our Jewel cruise we received a voice mail message that they recognized that we were sailing Wonder and would provide special tags and a transfer. It was basically the last tag number. It was nice, though I wish they asked if we wanted the service rather than assume we did. We drove to port, parked the car in the T5 garage, and wanted to make the transfer ourselves instead so we could make a stop in Cape Canaveral and park the car in garage 1. The port map you saw sounds questionable if it has Jewel at T1. I do’t know if this schedule goes far enough for your cruise, but maybe it will help https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Nov22-Mar23.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

If all four people are sharing one cabin, I’d say having all four fit well together is very important. I think you wise to replace only with great care or sail with three. Have a wonderful cruise.

The other point of this email: Some people would consider an upgrade more trouble than it is worth after checking in at the pier (or the night before or whenever their personal cut off for more trouble than it is worth). This email reminds them to cancel their bids when they personally reach that point. Other people want the upgrade, even if they have already unpacked. They can let their bids stand, though the odds of a late acceptance seem quite low.

Your cabin will have a thermostat, though it seems easier to make some cabins comfortable than other cabins. And some people experience the ship temperature differently than others. On our last cruise young, athletic newbie cruisers from the Midwest told us (Florida retirees) that the ship was too cold all week; a rather funny reversal. They regretted not bringing warmer clothes as they felt the ship was over air conditioned; you may want to consider that possibility as you pack

If another guest on your reservation has a different last name, you might try the other name. There are a few travel agents (including a big box agency starting with C…I won’t name them due to CC rules)that do not participate in RoyalUp (or any other cruise bidding program). If you booked with such an agent, you cannot participate. There are reports of guests who do not receive bid offers for unknown reasons on some sailings though the same guest does on other sailings. That has not happened to me, knock on wood.

Her schedule was altered for the holiday. No ships are scheduled in PC tomorrow https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Nov22-Mar23.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

OP said PC this am. Posting this on Royal Caribbean boards, suggests it might be the only Royal Caribbean ship disembarking at Port Canaveral today, Independence OTS (4N cruise). There were multiple ships from other lines in PC today.

We have been impressed with quality of food at our Cheers with Officer lunches on recent cruises on both Jewel and Wonder.

Now that we cannot see our options and make selection online, I suspect awareness of the welcome beverages (for D and above) and the D+/PC amenities has decreased…in addition to the inconvenience

I remember the single serving wine bottles; that was our choice then. I remember when they were discontinued. (Of course, Boucher are way better than little wine bottles) I double checked the list. Diamonds are not able select beer as a welcome beverage. Diamonds can select water, soda or juice. D+/PC have those options plus beer.

I thought water or soda were D welcome amenities while beer was added to that list for D+.

People are bound to sail other lines at some point for a variety of reasons. Curiosity, to join friends, a theme cruise, a change of pace for the frequent cruiser, an itinerary Royal doesn’t offer (or not at the right time, a bargain price, etc. So many cruise lines, so many reasons. It is not cost effective to design a loyalty program that will effectively sway most people from trying other lines. They are instead offering great ships that will attract new and returning cruisers. Look at the other ships; book Royal Caribbean if it is the best choice for you. Though you have not bothered to compare it, Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program is excellent compared to others. You simply don’t get much at the low levels of cruise loyalty programs. As all the cruiseline do that, they may be correct (or, your argument might be self-serving)

Maybe they should try CCL. We tried them once years ago. It did not suit us; it felt like we were on somebody’s else’s cruiseline. HAL felt way too old when we tried them, but we have aged. I’m still not sure we want to go back to HAL. OTOH, we have been happy on NCL, Celebrity and Princess. We’d happily sail with them again. Sometimes you need to sail a different line to know what suits.

No offense but the newbies are drawn to Royal Caribbean by the awesome ships. They design the ships to attract young families and it works really, really well. If a newbie family is only doing one big vacation a year, that family has many options to weigh and, frankly, should not be swayed by the relatively small benefits any cruiseline loyalty program might offer. Go pick the best once a year vacation for your family and make the best memories you can that week. If that vacation happens to be Royal Caribbean enough times, the points will gradually build up. Some infrequent cruisers book junior suites or full suites, thus moving up the loyalty program at twice the speed. Those of us who D, D+, or Pinnacle are not “locked in” to Royal Caribbean, LOL. We just love to cruise. Many of us have been cruising for many years and/or are retired. Plenty of us cruise other lines, too. There’s no risk of a shop with 6000 “one and done” passengers. On the mega ships I’ve been on lately over 50% of the passengers are returning guests. Of course some people only cruise once; cruising is not for everyone. Of course some people will switch (or switch back) to a different cruiseline.

The pizza is served in the Cafe Promenade. Perhaps you’ll have an extra slice as you won’t be having roast beef on weck. Or you will find another sandwich. We sailed Mariner to Bermuda this fall. It was a lovely trip. The service was good. We enjoy the food. Don’t fret over one sandwich when you have the pink sand of Bermuda calling your name😉

LOL, North Americans get letters in our cabins telling us we cannot even bring our friends and cabinmates into the Diamond lounge. If we go the LA asking the LA to make them Diamond for the cruise, the LA will look at us like we might have two heads!

In my experience Port Canaveral has not been checking the times on set sail passes as one enters the terminal building. Once you enter the building, there are two lines for security screening. One line for suites+pinnacle. All others go to the general line. When you show the screener a suite set sail pass, they likely will allow your whole party into the suite security line (if not, you can join the general line with your other family member). After security you will go upstairs. Again, a screener may well send your your entire group to the suite check in area (if not, you can join the general line with your other family member). Same deal with the boarding waiting area and suite boarding. My experience with the check in personnel at Port Canaveral has been positive. Politely explain and ask them (with an adorable, well behaved 4 year old in tow if possible😉)

IF you thought this was an Australia specific policy, you probably should have put that in the title and in the first sentence of the original post. The vast majority of people on these boards are not Australian. I’m unlikely to discover if C&A policies are managed differently for cabinmates on Australian cruises; even if we go, we will both be same C&A level

You may want to tell us what ship/port, as people can then share the most relevant experiences. There is variability among ports.

Though we now live close enough to drive to port, I well remember how much more difficult it could be to bring wine aboard when one flies. So, I understand why you are more apt to purchase your bottle through the cruise planner while others might be able tuck a bottle into a carry on bag. I agree the description is suboptimal. Perhaps the “no sharing” nonsense is there because they don’t want the blame for anyone foolishly sharing with minors. Other than that, I’d shrug it off. You asked about size of bottles. I can see 750 ml on the labels of the bottles in the pictures (though I don’t know which brand you will select). I believe you will receive a standard size bottle. If you have doubts, you could take a screen shot of the ad with the picture of the bottle of your choice. I think it will be delivered with a basic ice bucket and glasses, but if not you can contact room service. Your room steward can, of course, provide all the ice you need. I don’t think a formal stand will be provided.

I suspect it is another example of poor web design for Royal IT. Should you order, you will get a bottle in your room. Nobody will be in the cabin to supervise the number consuming the beverage, obviously. I suspect they will deliver a couple flutes (though you can call room service if you need more empty glasses). Checking more than name probably implies to their system that you want more than one bottle. Rather than order via cruise planner, I’d also bring a bottle in the carry on luggage if workable in your travel plans.