Sign up for shipboard entertainment prior to cruise?

[Cruising Princess]

In the old days I recall you could sign up for the shows in advance of the cruise via RCCL website. Is this still true?

My daughter and family are cruising on the Harmony on June 12th. She said she doesn’t see any info on their site.

Appreciate any insight.

[gumshoe958]

No, since the restart you can only book entertainment via the app once you’re connected to ship’s wifi, or in person or by phone once on board.

[majmaj4]

what time are the shows usually on Royal, I am starting to make dinner reservations and then I realized I may want to adjust for the shows.

[Ashland]

6 minutes ago, majmaj4 said:

what time are the shows usually on Royal, I am starting to make dinner reservations and then I realized I may want to adjust for the shows.

It can vary...make any adjustments once onboard...you should have no trouble doing this.

[Bruin Steve]

Do they post an entertainment schedule anywhere...so that we can plan out the shows beforehand?  Or do we have to figure it all out once onboard as well? (We're on Symphony of the Seas in April).

[gumshoe958]

4 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Do they post an entertainment schedule anywhere...so that we can plan out the shows beforehand?  Or do we have to figure it all out once onboard as well? (We're on Symphony of the Seas in April).

No, they don’t publish schedules in advance. 
 

At the moment events start appearing on the app a few days before you sail but the main headline shows may not appear until boarding day. Of course that may all change by April.

[orville99]

22 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Do they post an entertainment schedule anywhere...so that we can plan out the shows beforehand?  Or do we have to figure it all out once onboard as well? (We're on Symphony of the Seas in April).

Things will change a lot by next April.

[TheHawk1]

5 hours ago, Cruising Princess said:

In the old days I recall you could sign up for the shows in advance of the cruise via RCCL website. Is this still true?

My daughter and family are cruising on the Harmony on June 12th. She said she doesn’t see any info on their site.

Appreciate any insight.

Apparently in the post Covid world, Royal has taken away a convenience from its guests.  With the Oasis class ships, you always need reservations and it was so much easier booking it pre-cruise, so that you could coordinate show and dinner reservations before your vacation and everything was done.

 

Now you have to scramble on your embarkation day to play with their app and book all your shows when you get on... when what you should be doing is having your lunch, getting settled in your cabin and actually enjoying your vacation.  Not a good move by Royal.

[broadwaybaby123]

Your reservations for shows need to be made once you get onboard.  Honestly, most shows don't require a reservation to begin with.  The only one on Anthem, for example, that requires a reservation is "Spectra's Cabaret".

 

Attractions like the iFly and North Star will also need reservations and you cannot make these until the day you want to go at 8AM.  They can be done easily through the app.

 

Dining reservations, I believe can be done through your travel agent, unless you want a specialty dining restaurant.  If you want specialty dining, you'll have to make those reservations onboard too.  It's easily done through the app.

[orville99]

11 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

Apparently in the post Covid world, Royal has taken away a convenience from its guests.  With the Oasis class ships, you always need reservations and it was so much easier booking it pre-cruise, so that you could coordinate show and dinner reservations before your vacation and everything was done.

 

Now you have to scramble on your embarkation day to play with their app and book all your shows when you get on... when what you should be doing is having your lunch, getting settled in your cabin and actually enjoying your vacation.  Not a good move by Royal.

On Oasis class ships (at least on Allure and Harmony) there is a counter in the Royal Promenade on boarding day where you can make those reservations as soon as you board.

[orville99]

8 minutes ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

Dining reservations, I believe can be done through your travel agent, unless you want a specialty dining restaurant.  If you want specialty dining, you'll have to make those reservations onboard too.  It's easily done through the app.

Dining reservations (MTD/Early/Late) can be made pre cruise on the app or on the website - ours are booked for our next four cruises already and we don't sail again until July.

[Bruin Steve]

18 hours ago, orville99 said:

Dining reservations (MTD/Early/Late) can be made pre cruise on the app or on the website - ours are booked for our next four cruises already and we don't sail again until July.

Therein lies the problem...I've already made dining reservations--each night at 7:00 pm...And that works for most cruise ships--where there is but one show with two seatings and those shows are always at, say, 7:00 and 9:00.  I know I'll always have a two hour window for dinner.  I, sometimes, adjust my reservations to fit the port schedule (Say we're in a port until late and I know I will have a longer tour).

 

But what I've found with earlier cruises on Allure of the Seas is that a 7:00 nightly reservation doesn't work.  The Broadway show, the Ice show, the Water show, etc. have varying start times on different days.  I may find out, for example, the Broadway show, when I can fit it in, starts at 8:00 and I need to move dinner to 6:00 that night.

 

On these ships, one needs to coordinate dinner reservations with port times AND show times.  Being able to make dinner reservations well in advance might be completely worthless if none of the times work...and, when one finally gets on the ship and learns the show times, the necessary dinner slots might be gone...

[TheHawk1]

4 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Therein lies the problem...I've already made dining reservations--each night at 7:00 pm...And that works for most cruise ships--where there is but one show with two seatings and those shows are always at, say, 7:00 and 9:00.  I know I'll always have a two hour window for dinner.  I, sometimes, adjust my reservations to fit the port schedule (Say we're in a port until late and I know I will have a longer tour).

 

But what I've found with earlier cruises on Allure of the Seas is that a 7:00 nightly reservation doesn't work.  The Broadway show, the Ice show, the Water show, etc. have varying start times on different days.  I may find out, for example, the Broadway show, when I can fit it in, starts at 8:00 and I need to move dinner to 6:00 that night.

 

On these ships, one needs to coordinate dinner reservations with port times AND show times.  Being able to make dinner reservations well in advance might be completely worthless if none of the times work...and, when one finally gets on the ship and learns the show times, the necessary dinner slots might be gone...

You are absolutely right.  I have booked all my MTD reservations months in advance for a Wonder of the Seas cruise in September.  But without being able to make show reservations ahead, I have no idea whether those dining times are compatible with being able to see a show on the same night.  This is clearly a step backwards in terms of what pre-planning services used to be offered to guests.

[nelblu]

23 hours ago, orville99 said:

On Oasis class ships (at least on Allure and Harmony) there is a counter in the Royal Promenade on boarding day where you can make those reservations as soon as you board.

On my January 22 sail on Allure the entertainment staff was in boleros on the 5th deck. 

[orville99]

2 minutes ago, nelblu said:

On my January 22 sail on Allure the entertainment staff was in boleros on the 5th deck. 

That is where they have been on all of our Harmony cruises as well.