Woody14

But do you eat in the buffet? as those staff are included and many of the dining room staff work there in mornings and lunch

also try this one. https://www.cruzely.com/royal-caribbean-gratuities-tips-full-guide-to-cost-how-they-work/

try this link it may help (or generate more questions) https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/royal-caribbean-gratuities/

this is an often discussed question. from previous threads here is a breakdown from before the last increase. it is probably still roughly the same

Been on the Voyager and Seranade in the past and did not need reservations for any shows. Which ships need show reservations now?

Was on 2 weeks ago and they had them in the ocean view everyday.

Yes they are the same. the luggage tag print out look identical except for the logo

I was on the eclipse 2 weeks ago and at Cafe al Bacio there was chocolate something pretty much every afternoon. A couple of days it was all chocolate in the case.

We were in San Diego on our cruise from 10:00 am - 10:00 pm being in was our first US port after Mexico we had to clear customs. Being we did not book a ship excursion we had to wait for our group to be called to get to customs so we were not able to be off the ship till about 12:30. We did a hop on hop off bus tour which was great but being it ended around 5 pm our time was limited. Must say I was disappointed with the gas light district. The old town was way better. The park where the zoo is was quite fabulous.

Transferring to a different sailing and cancelling completely have different rules. While technically they cancel you and move you to a different sailing they don't treat that like a total cancelation. This might be part of the confusion with your agency.

If you are getting ones on the ship that are 60% or more off it is a good deal. really the only time you can get better is sometimes the invicta shop (actual stores and online) does some crazy deals like buy several (2 or 3 and get up to 5 free). The only thing I would check is what the discount actually is on the watch you are interested in. The sign on my last sailing said 75% off (the upto was very small) and many of the watches when they punched in the prices were only 25-50% off. While it is true the Invicta is not a true collector watch some of them are great fashion and practical pieces for someone. I have several in my watch collection as I felt they gave me great bang for the buck as I build my collection of watches (mostly mickey mouse) I am now at over 50 and am looking at getting some of the higher end ones. But the invicta and citizen (slight step up) with good sales on the ship is always a nice way to expand the collection.

It has been 18 years since I did this but it was very easy when we did it. The ship did supply a pack and play - one of the portable cribs that all packs up - mattress is thin but since we owned our own and our baby had slept in it when we visited freinds etcetra it was no issues. They were really helpful on board especially with heating stuff up and things. Unfortunately I don't remember how we did with food, hopefully someone else will chime in with more recent experience.

Was onboard the Eclipse last week and there were lots of products that had the orange new brand colour. the folks in the shops think it is just a new option and the old colour(s), white, silver, black et all will still be available.

Got off on the 17th we had immigration in San Diego so getting off in LA was super simple and easy. saw people walking off at 7:15 am within minutes of them announcing that people carrying off their own luggage could disembark.

From a cruise line perspective where there is the most possibility of price fluctuations is anytime after final payment date. Once the final payment date is reached most cruiselines new rules no longer do pricematching or price drops so if you are looking for deals then it can happen. However is the cruise sold well it can go the other way as well and prices could be very high. All that said my most last minute was 5 days before (I have to fly to the port so 48hrs is not practical).

you still have a chance when it is pending all the way up to 48 hours before departure. if it is expired, or rejected usually it is because you would have no chance so they are being fair and telling you, probably hoping you will do upgraded bids if offered.

it sounds like on that sailing date they are all currently booked in that specific category, as if there is availability you should have the option to choose

Just a note: All said above is assuming you are American. There are lots of people from other countries on here and the rules are different for different countries.

the difference is location. the middle of the ship is considered better so they charge more for that.

The times are meant for crowd control. Actual boarding is really done as fast as they can handle the crowds. The shore crew wants you out and on board ASAP, if they can process you early and get you on it is good for them. So if all is going the way it is supposed to they can get people on alot quicker. But as soon as something goes wrong the times become important as to who gets served first.

I saw some pictures and news story of a cruise ship in port the day after the storm, people were walking around some of the fallen debris but it was back open.

Carnival is very nice in this regard as if you are achieving a new status during a cruise they grant it to you right away so in your case if you are turning diamond during that cruise you will be issued your diamond card when you board.

generally yes, however since all slots are open and get booked on a first come first served basis it will depend on what people will want. There are people who will get check in right away looking for late times or specific time during the day but generally yes the people waiting till midnight for check in to open are looking for the earliest time they can so those tend to book up quickest.

And that can vary depending on winds, the specific ship and location on that ship. Personally I am a fan of the sunset veranda (only had them twice), once had a bit of soot but no big issue but I could see a couple cabins where they had a bit more once or twice. the other sailing had no soot at all and didn't see any on the other cabins balconies either.

I would disagree with the 'Celebrity will be OOOLLD'. yes there will be way less kids and families. but the average Celebrity guest is 35-60 and traveling without kids. the crowd that would be considered old is not large on Celebrity like it is on some other lines and often on Royal there are significantly more of the old crowd that on a typical Celebrity sailing as you get a lot of multi-generational family groups on Royal.