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I just checked and my October 10th Breakaway to Bermuda is still showing in my account and open to book dining and everything else.  I hope that this is not cancelled as it is our first cruise back since Covid!!

18 minutes ago, CasinoCruzGirl said:

I had given up hope to and to our surprise it was accepted 

I am now 6 days out so we shall see soon!  That is the downside to the Royal Up process, all you can do is wait!!!

2 hours ago, CasinoCruzGirl said:

Yes our cruise was sold out our ATS 2 bedroom bid was accepted 4 or 5 days before our cruise 

This is great to hear as I have a one bedroom ATS and bid the max on a 2 bedroom but was giving up hope since it shows sold-out for all Star Class suites.  When I called to ask about just paying for the 2 bedroom they told me that the Royal Upgrade department would have pulled them from inventory since they accepted bids on them already and it was only 60 or so days out from the cruise.  I wasn't so sure about this explanation but my fingers are crossed that somehow they still give us the upgrade.  

I am not sure of the ship you're on but if you booked a Haven suite you will very much enjoy it.  As far as the amenities, it really depends upon you.  The internet on NCL is generally very slow in my opinion but if you intend to use it a lot, I would buy the unlimited package and not take the fee internet as it cannot be upgraded (at least on my last cruise I could not upgrade it) so it kind of is a waste of money.  As far as the other options, if you take the beverage package just understand that you need to pay the taxes on both packages even if your friend won't use it.  Depending upon how much you are going to drink, it still might be worth taking the drink package but you need to do the math and see if it is worth the expense.  Finally, the $50 per port credit is also useful but only if you intend to book excursions through NCL.  IF you are booking excursions through private companies outside of NCL then obviously this benefit would be wasted.  Not sure how much this helps but without knowing more it is tough to know which benefits to choose.

I think NCL and RC are more similar than different.  If you do the Haven on NCL it is nicer than a suite on RC but if in a non-suite I think the newer ships on RC are a little nicer than the newer ships of NCL.  I think you will enjoy NCL very much too though.

It is my understanding that the cabanas are staggered so even the ones in the back row have an ocean view.  However, one of the other posters who had rented on did state that the cabanas in the front row , particularly the ones located closer to the main island are the best ones to rent.

Is this tour free for suites or is it an additional cost?  If I remember correctly, I saw a tour of the ship for over $100 per person before but the suite guests have a free tour???  If I am correct, do you need to do anything to go on the free tour when I get on the ship?  Thanks!

I know my situation was very different but I am not shocked by OP's story.  I was in an Owner's Suite on the Allure and on the second night of the cruise I found out my wife and I had to leave the cruise as our special needs son was having an issue at home.  We told the Concierge about the emergency and asked if we could get off at the next port.  The staff did absolutely nothing to help us in any way shape or form other than to tell us to go to the dining room with our bags the next morning.  We tried to get help with arranging flights, make calls etc., and literally no one person offered any assistance or even asked if there was anything they could do.  My wife and I dragged our bags off the ship in San Juan and had to figure out where to go to get a cab, go to the airport and find a flight home.  We had never been to San Juan and could have used some basic assistance to help get us home.  I decided to try Royal one more time and booked a cruise on the Harmony of the Seas for June with my fingers crossed that this will be a better experience as we are taking our children with us. I talked to the cruise representative about my concerns and was assured that my experience was an anomaly last time and if my son has issues there are  people on board that can assist us.  I was not looking for anything for free, just some help during a very difficult emergency.  I felt the Allure was a sensational ship that my kids would love and I am keeping my fingers crossed that id we had a problem they would be more responsive this time.  When I read the OP story, it made me think again that Royal really needs to up their game when passengers have special needs.  Any way, I am optimistic that there is no emergency and if there is Royal truly does a better job with assistance in the future.  

Do you go to shore excursion desk immediately upon getting on the ship?  I have reserved a chill island cabana for my upcoming cruise but have not ever done a Royal excursion before. Thanks

My June 9 cruise has the thrill park cabana with tickets at $829.  I'm booked in a suite so room selection clearly doesn't lower the price!

I'm on the June 9th Harmony and the prices have not dropped at all for my cruise.  In fact they are higher than the typical amounts I'm seeing posted by others.  So I don't think that it what is driving any price drop  On my cruise tickets for the waterpark at $70.99 for adults and the waterpark/cabana combo is $829.99

I am new to the Royal Up process and have a question.  I booked an Aquasuite for the June 9 Harmony sailing.  Two days later I got the email offering to bod to move to a two bedroom Aquasuite for a range of $200 to $600 per person.  I decided that I wanted to move to the 2 bedroom so I bid the maximum of $600.  My question is, when I made my bid, I called reservations to see if I could just book the bigger room but was told that they could not do that because once they send out the Royal Up email they pull the remaining 2 bedroom suite from inventory.  That seems unlikely that they would not sell it to me or other customers for full price.  Is this true?  If so, does bidding the maximum make it very likely that I would be granted the upgrade?  Thanks for the input.

I am not sure why but the Thrill Park Cabana for June 10 (I'm on the Harmony leaving June 9) is $829 for the day.  I read somewhere in the thread that the cost for suites was supposed to be lower but in my case it seems much higher than the prices everyone else is getting.  The only thing I can think of is that since its in June and schools are getting out they upped the prices??  

My wife and I had to depart a Royal Cruise in Puerto Rico on the 4th day of the cruise due to my son having a health issue at home.  We simply told guest services and they had us meet customs in the dining room (along with several other passengers who were leaving) and checked out with no problem.  This was not planned in advance and there was no issue with leaving in the middle of the cruise.  I don't know if the cruise line makes a difference.

I am sympathetic with he OP as I have had to cancel several cruises due to having a child with special needs and not knowing ever if I am actually going to be able to go on any cruise when booked.  As a result I always buy insurance and often lose 25% of my money as cancel for any reason only refunds 75%.  That being said, the one thing that the cruise lines should be required to do is attempt to resell the room and refund the money received for the resale up to the purchase price.  Just like in a situation where someone breaks a lease and the landlord has duty to attempt to mitigate its damages by re-renting the property, the cruise line should be required to try and re-sell that cabin and refund any money that it receives in order to minimize the loss for the customer.  If the cabin cannot be sold then the loss should be the customers but there is no harm to the cruise line if it resells it for the same price to refund the fare.The OP apparently gave notice of the cancellation at least a month prior to sailing, so NCL has time to try and resell it.  IF they can't then it is the customer that absorbs the loss, not them.  Just my thought on a equitable middle ground for both sides.

I have sailed in a suite on Royal Oasis of the Seas and the Haven on  several different NCL ships.  Unless you have the Genie on Royal, I find the NCL haven far superior to Royal's Suite perks.  First, I did not find the concierge on Royal to be available except for very limited times and they were far less friendly or helpful.  I had a family emergency come up in the middle of my cruise which caused my wife and I to leave the ship early and they offered zero assistance at all with making arrangements or even showing any concern for our situation.  It was incredibly disappointing.  While I have never had a similar situation on NCL, the crew on NCL, especially in the Haven, have gone above and beyond to make sure our cruise was as good as can be.  I cannot imagine any crew on NCL that I have dealt with responding with the absolute lack of concern as they did on Royal.  Also, I really like having the private pool on NCL that Royal did not offer.  I may be a little snobbish in saying this but when I vacation, I do not want to fight huge crowds to find a place to sit at the pool.  This is a big difference to me between the cruise lines.  Finally, I must say that I found the Oasis to be a more impressive ship than any of the NCL ships I went on  I was amazed with the ship as a whole.  My wife and I agree that if we take our kids with us the large Royal ships offer more for them but if the two of us travel alone we prefer the NCL ships.  I hope this helps!!

I just wish NCL (and other companies) would be honest about things. At a minimum, it is not right on course and if they made changes to the plan just tell everyone so people can plan and not feel misled. It really would benefit them to have passengers informed and not disappointed when they arrive at ports.

Wow, that is not good news but I appreciate the updates. At least I know how to plan for the day. Thanks for the information! I know they had a set back with the hurricanes but I must say I am surprised at how far behind they are at this point.

So does this mean that the Haven area is cancelled? I was hoping that it would be complete by Thanksgiving. Has anyone else heard any updates?

I must have got them mixed up. Thanks for the info as both islands are on this itinerary so it still helps!

I was wondering if anyone knew if Harvest Caye has opened the Haven area or not. I am thinking of booking a cruise for November 24 and would rent a cabana if its not open but would skip the cabana and save the money if the haven area is open. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the pictures. I think we are going to stay with the front facing and hope for seas that are 8 feet or less!! I am excited to try something new.

I have read that there is. I think it is called "under the big top" or something similar, if I remember correctly.

That is an interesting point. Do you have a view of anything from a front facing balcony?? I will be in the Caribbean as well and have been there several times so I hopefully won't miss too much.

What's not to get? If you purchase something without doing any research into other prices, that's not the fault of the travel agent, the website, the airline, the car rental counter staff or the cruise line.

While this did not effect me in any way since I did not bid on the upgrade, I disagree with you on your premises. I do not believe that just because you can screw over less educated customers that you should screw them over. The people who are getting these special offers are already customers paying thousands of dollars to travel with NCL. As a business owner myself, not taking advantage of the less educated people seems like the right thing to do to me. Just my take.