TBone2K

I was just hoping to know in advance other's experience if somewhere will be open.

Generally yes there are reserved areas for all shows. For skating shows, it looked like they opened the reserved areas up about 10-15 minutes before show. The main theatre, they never released the seats. At least the times I asked.

That said, better to just find another spot rather than wait for the reserved area to open up. Sight lines are pretty good from everywhere.

From the opposite end, on big ships, the reserved areas fill up fast as well. So you still need to show up in good time.

The description of the Ultimate Dining Plan doesn't mention this, but down in an FAQ, I found mention of lunch on day 1 being included "dependant on specialty restaurant hours".

So, I'm looking at Symphony specifically, but interested if this usually happens in general. Are any of the specialty places open for lunch in day 1 and did your dining plan work?

Second question, and maybe this has changed over time, but was watching a video about the dining plans with DW and they said that in the a LA carte restaurants (e.g. Izumi) they used up their voucher, then checked out and started a new voucher. Is that possible?

Considering the unlimited dining package for our next cruise. Saw it was 35% off, but couldn't select it for some reason. Then it was 25% off.

Question is does it get any better than 35%?

Yikes!

Royal Caribbean cruise employee arrested after hidden camera found in guest bathroom on Symphony of the Seas

25 minutes ago, toxicfairy said:

Not sure when op said he wants to know what the cruise line did...what should they do? They aren't going to give you money because someone accidentally walked into your room...

I said it right at the beginning. To paraphrase, did security explain what happened and what did management do?

In the post over on Reddit, the pax were offered a different room. So that's one example.

1 hour ago, roupa said:

With the SeaPass cards now available at your cabin, it is very possible to pick one up, not check for your name, walk in and unpack!

So be SURE you’re in the correct stateroom by finding your name on the SeaPass card before settling in! 😲😴

I agree but they were already in the room and it was the second day.

What I'm really interested in is if RC responds and says what happened.

18 hours ago, steveru621 said:

You can't combine any cash offers with your C&A discount.

Exactly what my TA told me as well. The RC sale price we got was better than our CA discount.

Hi all. I was just reading an account over on Reddit from a passenger on Navigator who had a stranger walk into their room unexpectedly. Their account of it makes the stranger sound a bit suspicious. I know this happens in hotels sometimes (twice to me). I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else on a cruise, if security was able to explain why and what was the response from management?

I'd also point out that in some cases the "Guarantee" only gets you a certain type of room. I'm referring to what I found looking for balconies on Oasis. We wanted an oceanview balcony, which was fairly pricy, especially compared to the other balcony types. There was only one "balcony guarantee" class, meaning you could get any type of balcony, inside or outside views.

You'll find more answers in the Departure Ports section than here.

Florida Departures Discussion

I know how some people here react to complaints and this isn't intended to be one. Just a bit of advice from our experience on Independence of the Seas. You know how the minigolf is right at the front of the ship on deck 13? Don't minigolf during departure. 🫢Ship sounded the horn to leave port... I don't know what the DB level is, but wow! The golf is right in the line of fire of the horn. My ears were ringing for quite a while after that. On person actually ran. 6-year old DS refused to play mini golf again, but there were lots of other things to do, so we didn't miss it. First time on Indy since it was upgraded and he loved the splash pad and water slides.

Thanks for updating me, also.

Anyone had this problem with the royal app? Went all the way through the check in process, yet it won't put a check beside my name as having completed my information. Worked fine for DW and DS.

Will also add they don't check who is in what room. So never had any objection to each adult carrying two bottles.

Sorry for the basic question, but just trying to plan our order of things to look after on embarkation day. For the kid's club (6 yr. old), we are planning to go down and do whatever paperwork is required. Do we have to book times? Or is it first come first served on the days we want?

Thanks!

I shared this article on a family that has bought a permanent spot on a cruise ship:

I've never heard of residence ships before, so I was thinking this could be the whole Super Mario family. Although I think the rooms are a bit better compared to what RC offers and the whole point of the ship is staying there long term?

(The title of the article is a bit misleading as to the cost. Better details are in the article)

Family buying in on Storylines' MV Narrative.

We paid $4 million for a cabin on a cruise ship that will sail the world year-round. We want to travel in total comfort, without the 'bag drag' from place to place. (msn.com)

On 1/8/2023 at 1:59 PM, ValerieJo said:

Why is there Indian food on French Night, Mexican Night, Caribbean Night, Mediterranean Night, etc. taking up valuable menu space?

I know, right? And the French onion soup almost every day and New York steak, not to mention pasta on non-Italian nights. 🙄

It's called catering to your market and it's not like there aren't other choices. Given how many of the chefs are from India, I'll bet it's pretty good too.

If you push escalate customer service or push your TA to get after them more, you might a little something more, but otherwise that's just the way it is. I'm sure it's all covered in the legal mumbo jumbo in your contract.

Disappointing to lose a day though. We once had an entire itinerary changed so we did western Caribbean instead of eastern. It was due to a hurricane though, so I appreciate their concern for safety. Visited all the places I've already seen and don't care to go back. Only refunds we got were port taxes. Only had one or two days notice about the switch so people who made private arrangements were scrambling to cancel.

The channels tend to be the "international" versions of things like BBC and ESPN. So not the same as what you might see back home.

Very similar across all of the fleet. One side of the promenade deck, casino and one corner of the pool area.

Not the same class, but on Indy it really did vary from day to day. I'll second the suggestion about wiping down or cover the chairs. Our steward actually gave us extra towels just for that purpose.

We also had some Diesel smells and visible exhaust blow up from down below us somewhere.

On 9/6/2022 at 11:48 PM, constable145 said:

Hold on- I can use my diamond voucher to get a free milkshake from Ben and Jerry's?????

This changes things.

Johnny Rockets shakes, not Ben and Jerry.

Not that I would avoid JR shakes, they are very good as well.

Agree that booking the excursions ahead of time is best. Anything that could sell out. If prices drop for some reason, you can always rebook. On occasion I have seen promotions on board for things like specialty dining, but never seen excursion prices drop.