General Questions

[JB333]

My wife and 1 year old daughter are looking to book a cruise for next January and had a few questions hopefully someone has some insight on! 

My wife and I have gone on 3 Celebrity cruises but looking to try Royal Carribean now that we have a child. Royal Carribean seems a bit complicated in booking compared to Celebrity, so thought I'd come here to ask some questions.

1) When looking at prices, at one point I thought I saw somewhere you can pre-pay gratuities for around $400, but now I can't find it! Does that sound about right for 2 adults and 1 child for a 7 day cruise? 

2) Looking at drink packages, it states the deluxe beverage package is between $63-$89 per day. Does anyone know where the range comes in? Is it different for different cruises or are their variations in packages? Just looking for something with rum and coke and strawberry daiquiris. I also noticed the water package has no price, does anyone know what that costs? It would be nice to have a case of 24 water in the room! I also noticed there is an 18% gratuity on top of the drink package, I assume that is in addition to the $400 pre-paid gratuities? 

3) We mostly ate in the buffet on Celebrity, I assume Royal Carribean and Celebrity buffets are pretty similar, but can anyone confirm?

4) Does anyone know if Royal Carribean will provide a crib for the 1 year old? Is there any pools that we would be allowed to bring her in (with swim diapers)?

5) Celebrity always gave a water when we were getting off a port, small gesture, but does RC do this? How about the champagne when boarding? 

Thanks!

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, JB333 said:

1) When looking at prices, at one point I thought I saw somewhere you can pre-pay gratuities for around $400, but now I can't find it! Does that sound about right for 2 adults and 1 child for a 7 day cruise? 

Assuming it's not a full suite, it's $14.50.per person per day - $304.50.

[time4u2go]

5 minutes ago, JB333 said:

5) Celebrity always gave a water when we were getting off a port, small gesture, but does RC do this? How about the champagne when boarding? 

RC will sell you water as you are getting off the ship.  No free champagne when boarding.

[JB333]

2 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

RC will sell you water as you are getting off the ship.  No free champagne when boarding.

Thanks! Is that even with the drink package? Or free if you have the drink package?

[time4u2go]

Just now, JB333 said:

Thanks! Is that even with the drink package? Or free if you have the drink package?

Free (included) if you have the drink package.

[SonicShip]

For #4. Call and ask to have a pack n play added to your reservation under the baby.

 

You can't use any pool but there is splash zone where the baby can play.

 

Edited March 17, 2022 by SonicShip
added video

[time4u2go]

14 minutes ago, SonicShip said:

You can't use any pool but there is splash zone where the baby can play.

 

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure that all RC ships have this.

 

@JB333, which ship are you going on?

 

Edited March 17, 2022 by time4u2go

[topnole]

14 minutes ago, SonicShip said:

For #4. Call and ask to have a pack n play added to your reservation under the baby.

 

You can't use any pool but there is splash zone where the baby can play.

 

Depends on the ship.  On some oasis class, for example there is a small area that is about 6-12 inches deep.  So sort of like a baby pool.  Important thing is if in a swim diaper the baby will not be allowed in the man splash pad area and they do tend to monitor this.  So only the small baby area for anyone in a swim diaper.  Our 1 year old enjoyed it however.   

[topnole]

56 minutes ago, JB333 said:

My wife and 1 year old daughter are looking to book a cruise for next January and had a few questions hopefully someone has some insight on! 

My wife and I have gone on 3 Celebrity cruises but looking to try Royal Carribean now that we have a child. Royal Carribean seems a bit complicated in booking compared to Celebrity, so thought I'd come here to ask some questions.

1) When looking at prices, at one point I thought I saw somewhere you can pre-pay gratuities for around $400, but now I can't find it! Does that sound about right for 2 adults and 1 child for a 7 day cruise? 

2) Looking at drink packages, it states the deluxe beverage package is between $63-$89 per day. Does anyone know where the range comes in? Is it different for different cruises or are their variations in packages? Just looking for something with rum and coke and strawberry daiquiris. I also noticed the water package has no price, does anyone know what that costs? It would be nice to have a case of 24 water in the room! I also noticed there is an 18% gratuity on top of the drink package, I assume that is in addition to the $400 pre-paid gratuities? 

3) We mostly ate in the buffet on Celebrity, I assume Royal Carribean and Celebrity buffets are pretty similar, but can anyone confirm?

4) Does anyone know if Royal Carribean will provide a crib for the 1 year old? Is there any pools that we would be allowed to bring her in (with swim diapers)?

5) Celebrity always gave a water when we were getting off a port, small gesture, but does RC do this? How about the champagne when boarding? 

Thanks!

They will provide a standard pack and play. Bring a pack and play sheet or two of your own.  They use a standard king and fold it underneath.  Could come out and night and be a suffocating hazard.   Put your sheet over that for safety.  

[firefly333]

If you pay for the drink pkg bottles of water are included. I wouldnt pay twice, but that's me.

 

I have a picture of the splash zone on liberty. The toddlers loved it, sorry I was showing someone it's raining..but caught the splash zone over on the right where water squirts out and a tiny slide. 

 

 

[ridge4]

Yes, the package prices will vary by sailing and demand. Once booked, you can see all the choices in your Cruise Planner. In addition, the package prices on an individual sailing can change. You can book the selections you are interested in, then keep an eye out for price changes. You can then cancel and rebook it for the new price.  

[JB333]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure that all RC ships have this.

 

@JB333, which ship are you going on?

 

We are looking at Oasis Of the Seas

[smplybcause]

Royal pricing changes all the time so the range is just whether it's on sale or not, not different packages. They only have one for drinks. That's the same for the water package, but you get water with the drink package so it's a waste of money if you ask me to buy it. Just get a bottle of water everything you head to your room.

[topnole]

2 hours ago, JB333 said:

We are looking at Oasis Of the Seas

Oasis class is great for a 1 year old.  So allure, oasis, Harmony etc will all be great.  The boardwalk is great for the little ones.  Our kids rode the carousel at least 100-200 times in the week. The pool set up for a 1 year old isn’t the greatest.  But it worked well enough.   The aqua show was great for the little kids too.  

[Tierun]

My wife and I sail Celebrity by ourselves and Royal with the kids. The experience is different, but the quality is still good. Windjammer (buffet) is good and will be similar to Oceanview Cafe. Drink package is very unique with the dynamic pricing. On Celebrity we get the classic package and are happy with it and the $9 drink limit. On Royal the Deluxe package is the only option with a $13 drink limit. It covers most of the drinks offered, but it comes at a price that is often more expensive than the premium package on Celebrity.

[kokopelli-az]

5 hours ago, JB333 said:

Looking at drink packages, it states the deluxe beverage package is between $63-$89 per day. Does anyone know where the range comes in? Is it different for different cruises or are their variations in packages? Just looking for something with rum and coke and strawberry daiquiris. I also noticed the water package has no price, does anyone know what that costs? It would be nice to have a case of 24 water in the room! I also noticed there is an 18% gratuity on top of the drink package, I assume that is in addition to the $400 pre-paid gratuities? 
 

We are on the Jewel the end of this month.   For the deluxe drink package, we paid $53 pp per day, but that was back in October 2021.    I have looked at our Cruise Planner very frequently since then to see if the price has gone down (and then would cancel and rebook at the lower rate) but it has not.   Today it's $60 pp per day.   Since we bought the package last October, it has never been back down to $53 pp per day.  

 

The drink package changes price almost daily.   So if it were me, I would buy the drink package at a price you can live with and then keep checking your Cruise Planner to see if the price goes lower (then cancel and rebook the less expensive deal).   Every ship and every sailing is different as far as how they price the drink packages.   The drink gratuities are separate from the other gratuities paid, and they will be added to the price of your drink package.  

 

I just looked at the price of the water package for our upcoming trip.   12 cans of water is $11 pp per day and 24 cans are $17 pp per day.   Water is included if you buy the drink package.

 

From Royal's website regarding the deluxe beverage package:

Enjoy unlimited drinks and options all cruise long. Start the day off with a premium cup of joe, sip on a poolside piña colada, rehydrate with a fresh juice and wind down with the perfect wine pairing or classic cocktail.  – Plus, receive a 40% discount on bottled wines priced up to $100, and 20% discount on wine prices above $100. Onboard pricing is currently  $63.00 - $89.00/per day for 2021-2022 sailings.
Includes:

Fountain soda and refills at any venue

Coca-Cola Freestyle beverages*

Coca-Cola® souvenir cup

Non-alcoholic cocktails (mocktails)

Still and sparkling water

Premium coffees and teas

Fresh-squeezed juices

Cocktails • Spirits • Liquor

Beer • Wine by the Glass

 

PS:      If you plan on purchasing an Internet package, buy when you are ok with the price but keep checking back for a lower rate.    

[brillohead]

6 hours ago, kokopelli-az said:

I just looked at the price of the water package for our upcoming trip.   12 cans of water is $11 pp per day and 24 cans are $17 pp per day. 

Just wanted to clarify that the water packages are per PACKAGE, not "pp per day".

[Ourusualbeach]

21 hours ago, JB333 said:

Does anyone know if Royal Carribean will provide a crib for the 1 year old? Is there any pools that we would be allowed to bring her in (with

With a child under 2 you can absolutely request a pack n play.  This also allows you to book a double occupancy room and add the under 2 year old to it for the 3rd/4th guest rate.  Most times the rates for the first 2 guests on a double occupancy room are cheaper than the first 2 guests on a triple or quad occupancy room.  The rooms are the exact same size.

[kokopelli-az]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

Just wanted to clarify that the water packages are per PACKAGE, not "pp per day".

Oh sorry, yes, the water package prices are per package, not pp per day.   

 

Gratuities are added to the water purchase, so if you purchase the 24 pack for $17 the price would come to $20.06.