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We (family of 11) are booked in 4 cabins on a Radiance Alaska sailing in July. A question about the upcoming short dry dock of the ship in March on another travel blog brought out many opinions from recent cruisers on the condition of the ship and most were not at all favorable. Comments such as "dire need of an update", "horrible sewer smells", "worn carpets and furniture throughout the ship", "needs new AC", "Brilliance and Serenade so much better" and the list goes on and on.

It's too late for us to change at this point but prior to reserving I had read much more positive comments. Anyone sailed recently (I think she's in Florida now) and noticed the negatives I read about?  Or is it the people with the negative opinions that seem to speak up the most?

On 1/19/2024 at 4:27 PM, JHawk63 said:

Yes, if all reservations are linked you can select the arrival time for everyone in your party. I did this last March for us & our traveling companions.

Did you use the app or website to select everyone's arrival time? Or it doesn't matter? I'd rather not have to enter everyone's PP# etc.

2 hours ago, gosaints2006 said:

I originally booked a standard balcony then switched to a suite guarantee while prices were stable.  Now I am nervous about the guarantee and want to pick my own JR suite.  

 

Which ship? It might put your mind at ease if you looked at the JS options available. We booked 4 JS on Radiance and there are not very many on that ship so really any of them would have been fine (except that we needed connecting so I wouldn't have done guarantee). I think a balcony guarantee would be riskier in terms of location since more undesirable ones seem to pop up. 

1 hour ago, wrg said:

May I ask how you link multiple cabins?

I believe my TA linked them all in my account. I reserved in November of 2022 so I don't actually remember the exact sequence but she booked the 4 cabins for me and attached my email to each one. I was the only one with a RCI account. Fast forward 14 months and I want the adults to be able to create an account, use the app and manage their cabins. 

3 hours ago, retired dude said:

glad my mom made me eat vegetables galore..life is good to get a wellness check every year and have the dr. tell you that eating right has it's benefits...but then i have to understand that todays kids are our future.....can't wait. 

He eats fruits and vegetables too:) 

I have a cheeseburger-loving grandson (10 years old) going on Radiance in July. Are there options to order one at lunch or dinner in the MDR? Room service? We have a couple lunch reservations at Chops so I assume he could get one there. Thanks.

7 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

None of this is difficult -- I promise!   

 

1.  Download the Royal Caribbean app on your phone right now.  You'll be able to see a good bit of information now (and can make your dinner reservations now, if you have My Time Dining), and more details will show up as your sailing nears....

 

 

I'm keeping your post in my cruise file - thanks!

3 hours ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

The app to do the on-line check in opens at around 12:05 a.m.  So, if it says check-in starts March 3, 2024, you can log in just after midnight to select your arrival time (not boarding time).  Within the app you can select your arrival time and then come back later that morning/day (or any day later) to input the passport info (which is super easy as you just scan the barcode with your camera on your phone) and credit card/on board expense payment method.etc.  It took about 4 minutes to do me and my wife's stuff.  Super easy.

My check in starts May 28 and I have all 11 of us linked in my account (4 cabins). Since I'm the late owl, can I go in at 12:05 am on May 28 and select the arrival time for all 4 cabins and they can go back in later to add their own passport info etc.?

Does it matter that we have 4  junior suites? I seem to remember reading we would get some kind of priority check in but is that different than selecting my arrival time? 

5 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

All they need to do is go to the Royal website and create an account.  Once they are in, there will be an option to link a missing cruise, they will need the reservation number.  This should give them visibility and access to their booking.

Perfect - thanks you!

I booked 4 cabins for an Alaskan cruise for our family of 11 many months ago. I had all of the emails come to me and everyone is linked in my account. We purchased the drink package for the adult kids for Christmas so I wanted to wait until after that to have them access all the cruise info to keep it a surprise.

So...how do the other 5 adults set up an account to be able to see everything that is reserved and eventually use the app to check in, etc.? They will be putting their own cc on their accounts. 

We did a traditional balcony for husband and myself (Oasis) and a Central Park balcony right across the hall for our two teenagers (who were a bit older than yours). It worked out great! 

1 hour ago, home-mom said:

When we took the sushi class on Voyager this fall we said one doesn’t eat seafood and they said no problem and gave us more veggies instead. They have it all laid out in front of you on the table and you can basically put what you want in it. 

Good to know - she is 11 and knows her way around the kitchen pretty well so I think she'll like sushi vs cupcakes which she can do fairly well on her own. 

Any reviews of the sushi making class on Radiance? My granddaughter and her mom are considering it but they prefer vegetarian sushi - wondering if there are options? I was thinking of signing up the other grandkids for cupcake decorating at a similar time but it has consistently poor reviews. Thanks for input. 

10 minutes ago, mac66 said:

I would start any child out on a lesser than Oasis class ship. Otherwise what do they have to look forward to?  

 

Our kids first sailed on the Explorer in 2001 then later the Freedom. We also did a few Carnival cruises back in the day.   Always had a good time. It wasn't until they were grown up did they do an Oasis class. They still talk about the Explorer and Freedom.

I see your point but he will be on Radiance this summer and the 2025 cruise is the only one we are likely to do with him so I'm fine if it's the best we can afford. LOL if he is still interested in cruising there will be way more options in 10+ years when he's an adult.

43 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Allure did not receive the updates, so no slides on that one.   It would probably have less appeal than Oasis, Symphony, Wonder which have the longer itineraries, or Utopia which is doing shorter ones from Florida.

Good to know - he's trying to decide if he wants a shorter cruise with a little extra time in Orlando. I remember years ago avoiding the -3-4 day cruises so it wouldn't be such a party atmosphere but we are limited to summer months so it will be lots of kids which will be fun, hopefully!

12 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

We took the family, including kids and grandkids, on the Allure a few years ago. I'd have no hesitation taking them again, but in a couple of weeks we are taking them on the Symphony of the Seas for an 8-night Southern Caribbean cruise. Based on everything I've read, it will be a great success for the g-kids. One will be 10, one going on 9, one 12 and one 14.

I just saw that route for Symphony and thought it looks very interesting! 

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

My son (almost 12) has been on Radiance, Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class ships and equally enjoyed them all. Which is why I say any.

Thank you - that makes sense!

48 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Any ship.

Do you mean any Oasis class ship? I don't want just any ship so that's why I'm asking the experts here. We won't do another Radiance class since we are doing that in 2024 and I am not interested in Vision class so maybe I should have been more specific. Anything from Voyager class through Quantum class would probably be fine - just looking to narrow that down.

We (the grandparents) are hoping to take each of the grandchildren on a trip when they turn 10. Our grandson's trip will be 2025 and he has requested a cruise after seeing commercials for the Icon lol. I don't think we want a ship quite that big or expensive but looking for one (Caribbean only sailing from any FL port) that has lots to do for kids. We won't use the kids club unless he really wants to.

We will be on Radiance in July 2024 for a multi-gen trip which will be his first cruise but he'll be with his sibling and cousins so it will seem very exciting with the port activities we have planned. But I know the ship itself will seem low key so looking for something in 2025 to step up the ship fun factor. My husband and I sailed Allure when it was new and Oasis years ago but no kids with us so I don't know how exciting they would seem today. Thanks for advice. 

Thanks all - I do the math every time I see a price change and of course "35% off" is not really that much less than when I cancelled and rebooked awhile back but it does save some for the two of us who are over 65. 

I have the Deluxe Beverage Package reserved (by my TA) for my husband and myself and our adult children for our July 2024 cruise. When I logged into my account yesterday, I noticed that the package is 35% off for "senior savings sale". I assume that the senior sale is due to the age of my husband and myself and that the others in our family do not quality. My TA is on vacation this week but before I follow up with her, just wondered if the senior sale is common to other cruise offerings like dining or excursions. This is the first time I've seen it since I booked over a year ago and I check the site often. 

Our family members have 4 cabins reserved on Radiance in July 2024. I am interested in a very minimal photo package (10 photos) to capture all 11 of us before dinner one night. Does that mean I would need to purchase 4 packages in order to get a group photo? If that's the case I'll pass and hope we can get someone to take one with our phones. Thanks. 

21 hours ago, Go Noles62 said:

First time to Alaska, a little overwhelmed. Please share pros and cons of northbound and southbound. Thanks in advance. 

A friend advised us to go northbound for our first trip as the scenery gets more magnificent as you travel north. This worked for us as we were not adding many days on either end for land tours. Our ship left from Vancouver and returned to Seward where we traveled on to Anchorage for the flight home. 

23 minutes ago, Coral said:

Are you doing Ididaride with the kids?

Not sure - I have just finished planning each port, now looking at Seward since we aren't doing the Kenai Fjords tour. Do you recommend it? We are doing a private excursion in Skagway where one of the stops is at a self dog camp. A couple of the grandkids are a bit fearful of dogs but stopping is fine since they can choose to hang back. Just not sure I want to plan an excursion where we'd ride in a wheeled cart but would love to hear your thoughts. 

21 minutes ago, Coral said:

The Kenai fjords tour is really good. Highlight of Seward for me.

Yes, I agree - my husband and I did the 6 hour Major Marine tour in 2015 and it was awesome. But our adults kids think it is too long of a trip for their kids after being on the weeklong cruise. And it is pretty pricey when paying for 4 or 5 people that might be mildly interested so they have decided to forgo it on this trip. Maybe when their kids are older...