time11130

We just returned from  Alaska on Serenade of the Seas and we originally booked a balcony room.  We received the Royal Up offer and bid the minimum on 2 different cabins.  Our offer for the 1 Bedroom Owners Suite was accepted a little over a week before we set sail.  We were very happy with the upgrade @ $900 more per person.  We used room service a lot as they packed guests into the main dining room like sardines and it was very uncomfortable.  The other benefits like the behind the scenes tours were not available they said because of Covid. 

Going on Symphony of the Seas Oct 2nd and also tried the Royal Up offers.   Hopefully we will get lucky again although we probably won't be in our cabin as much as we were for Alaska.

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

You don't get reserved seating for shows, but odds are the concierge can get you in.

 

No need for special seating in WJ with occupancy so low right now. 

It is disappointing if the concierge was never in the lounge.   That's part of their job.

 

You're "supposed" to be dressed up to be in the lounge just the same as you're supposed to be dressed up in the MDR. But no one says otherwise if you're not.

It wasn't really an issue not getting into the shows anyhow.  Guest Services told us that normally the Suite Guests would have reserve seating on the balcony but currently the balcony is for non vaccinated guests.  Finding a seat was not a problem anywhere though. 

We just thought it would of been nice to pop into concierge lounge and pick up a drink and go but guess that's not how it works.   This was our first time in an Owners Suite   

We are just off Serenade and we were in an Owners Suite. Sadly a lot of the Suite benefits are no longer available due to Covid and staffing we were told.  No Suite Reserved seats at the pool nor in the theater.  No special seating in Windjammer. (really not a big deal)

Junior the concierge was never in the concierge lounge but they do still have free drinks and appetizers although it is required to be dressed up a bit before going in there.  Not very convenient to just pop in and grab a drink. 

The only benefit we really had beside the bigger room was free room service which we used quite a bit.  

They won't tell you the bids, we just received a winning Owners Suite bid and we were outbid on the other cabins we put offers in on.

Our Royal Up offer says "pending" and the other one we put a bid in says "expired"  Our ship sails in 20 days so I am hoping we hear something here soon to give me even more reasons to be excited 🙂   

Hopefully to be on the Odyssey next year as well!

We are on Symphony in Oct as well and so far nothing is available for us to book as far as shows goes.

Sadly over the weekend we requested a cash refund for our cruise.  Just hope Royal will survive all of these missed cruises. 

19 hours ago, oldplayer532 said:

We booked  a family cruise for Ovation out of Seattle June 5-12 with nonrefundable $500 deposit from Costco. Already paid in full and also purchased travel guard  for this trip. Any suggestions from  super smart CC people?  Is anyone in the same situation?

We are in the same "boat" 

We also are in this same ship and also booked thru Costco, we also have our round trip airfare purchased.  All I am told is will not be able to go to Alaska so I don't know if that means our trip will be fully refunded or what.  

Thanks everyone for your advice.  We finally decided to just pay an arm and a leg and get a better flight.  The only seats that were available were in First Class and although we really didn't want to spend the extra money for First Class I would rather do that then to worry about not making a flight at the end of our cruise.   Now off to look for a Hotel.... :)  

Hello fellow Cruisers - 

Looking into Flights for our June Cruise to Alaska and can only find return flights that leave the airport at 10am.  Is this calling it too close?  Generally we book flights departing after 12:00 but we cannot find one anywhere near us on any airline :(

Yes

We had the Refreshment Package on Anthem in September and we were able to get milkshakes from JR without any other purchase   

We were just on Freedom and the milkshakes we included with our drink package no additional purchase necessary! 

We were in a group of 12 and the room really isn't that big so 12 people were plenty! Ours was on a sea day and we immediately signed up for this when we boarded by some of the crew staffed in the theater. We lucked into the last 2 spots so book this as soon as you can. It was fun and our team got out within the last few minutes.

Thanks! I will do this!

Print this page and take it with you. There is absolutely no * beside where it says they are included! I would fully expect them to honor this since it is on their website!

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/beverage-packages

 

• Cocktails / Spirits / Liqueurs / Beer
  
• Bottled still and sparkling water
  
• Wines by the glass
  
• Fresh squeezed juices / Non-alcoholic cocktails
  
• Premium coffees and teas
  
• Milkshakes at Johnny Rockets
  
• Fountain sodas / Coca-Cola Freestyle® beverages
  
• Coca-Cola® souvenir cup included
  

I called Royal because it doesn't list that Johnny Rockets milkshakes were included on my cruise planner on our 2019 cruise on Freedom of the Seas. I was told that the milk shakes are NOT included on Freedom of the Seas or that class of ships (which makes no since to me) She had no explanation as to why not but said it was included in the DELUXE Drink package only on other ships. Hopefully they will get this all straight before our cruise next spring!

Looking forward to read about your cruise. We just booked a cruise and have never been out of San Juan before but we have been on Freedom in 2012 out of Florida.

Have a GREAT time!

We too was told to stay away from Deck 13 from our travel agent who was just off of Anthem. She said it was extremely noisy but she didn't say what cabin she was in. We were looking for a D1 on the hump.

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing, we are looking forward to being on Anthem in April.

So, I have never done MTD before and we have signed up for it on our Anthem cruise. I know folks have said you have pre-book your dining times. Here's my question...I know most evenings there is a show or event happening in the theater.

 

Does someone recall the times the shows are usually scheduled for? I want to be able to book our MTD and specialty dining BEFORE the shows and not be rushed to get there.

 

Thanks in advance....

Just go to the "Cruise Planner" on Royal's website and it will pop up and tell you as you are scheduling your dine times and shows if you have a scheduling conflict. On our upcoming April cruise a lot of the MTD slots that we wanted were all booked up so we have ended up with various dining times. One night @ 6:30pm, the next night 7:45pm, next night 6:15pm. We will have to constantly check our schedules I guess.

Our cruise isn't until April so I don't know about noise levels yet but I will be posting a detailed review when we return.

We booked Anthem thru an on-line travel agency and they had purchased a "block" of cabins over a year ago so we had several cabin's to choose from at last years price. Our travel agent, who has been on Anthem several times; suggested Deck 12. We booked a D1 stateroom which is one on the bump out with a much larger balcony. She thought it was at least 85 sq ft and the D1 price was just $108 for the 2 of us vs a lower cabin.

I am glad its not just me. I have been on my desktop computer at work, desktop at home, laptop, it doesn't matter.... Royal is always on vacation! :)

I just booked a cruise, park and stay at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island. They offer shuttle service from EWR airport as well as roundtrip shuttle to the port. We picked this one because they have a complimentary shuttle to the Staten Island ferry so we can go to the Statue of Liberty the day before our cruise.

Can you tell us where you found this package deal? We cannot find a package from this Hilton that offers shuttle to cruise. I have tried to call and the man that answered I couldn't understand.