Please clarify two reviews I just read on July 24th about the Icon

[DJLDRUMS]

First, there's no evening option to have your cabin cleaned and made up, only mornings.

Second, there's a fee to get a towel for use at the pool or take it off the ship with you.

Thanks in advance to those who reply.

[PhillyFan33579]

Just now, DJLDRUMS said:

First, there's no evening option to have your cabin cleaned and made up, only mornings.

Second, there's a fee to get a towel for use at the pool or take it off the ship with you.

Thanks in advance to those who reply.

When we were on Icon in February, we had the option of having our cabin cleaned in the morning or evening. There was not a charge to take towels off the ship. This has been our experience on every RCI ship, including Enchantment right now. Our cabin is being cleaned in the evening and we have taken towels off the ship on Roatan yesterday and Belize today without any charge (waiting to board a tender in Belize right now). 

[Biker19]

39 minutes ago, DJLDRUMS said:

Thanks in advance to those who reply.

Many one off things could happen on a sailing (or is mis-reported) - don’t assume any of that is the norm. 

[smokeybandit]

The only towel fee is if you don't return them. No fee to actually get them.

[DJLDRUMS]

5 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

The only towel fee is if you don't return them. No fee to actually get them.

Thanks smokeybandit, Biker19, and PhillyFan33579 for your replies, I'm thinking you probably were sent the same email from CC as I did this morning. Reading about the Icon good and not so good topics this morning I felt that I needed more clarification. You've put that topic to rest. We'll be on it in thirteen weeks. It's bad enough that Royal has more problems on the Icon that they don't have on other ships. I look at it as it will be an experience at best. 

[smokeybandit]

1 minute ago, DJLDRUMS said:

It's bad enough that Royal has more problems on the Icon that they don't have on other ships.

I don't believe this to be true.

[George C]

17 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

The only towel fee is if you don't return them. No fee to actually get them.

You sign for towel so they need to be returned, unless in suite since suites don’t need to sign for them. 

[smokeybandit]

1 minute ago, George C said:

You sign for towel so they need to be returned, unless in suite since suites don’t need to sign for them. 

I've never signed for a towel, unless you just mean having your card scanned. But either way, still no fee to get a towel.

[George C]

26 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I've never signed for a towel, unless you just mean having your card scanned. But either way, still no fee to get a towel.

Yes but they can charge you if towel isn’t returned.

[lovesthebeach2]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

Yes but they can charge you if towel isn’t returned.

At the end of the cruise

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, DJLDRUMS said:

It's bad enough that Royal has more problems on the Icon that they don't have on other ships

Not at all

[BecciBoo]

Our check in is Tuesday.  Some of you have posted Miami is not enforcing check in windows at terminal...is that still true and looking to book entertainment before boarding is unavailable in my app at the moment.  So the only reason to be trying to get the first boarding window wouldn't help with reservations...??  Want to be sure to make all the shows.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 7/24/2024 at 9:46 AM, DJLDRUMS said:

First, there's no evening option to have your cabin cleaned and made up, only mornings.

Second, there's a fee to get a towel for use at the pool or take it off the ship with you.

Thanks in advance to those who reply.

Royal raised the gratuity price and cut cabin service (for non-suites) from twice a day to once a day.  Double-whammy.  

 

Your cabin steward will give you the option of morning OR evening service.  If someone told you it "must be" in the mornings, I suspect his or her cabin steward had already filled his evening slots.  

 

As several other people said, you check out the towels and -- assuming you return them -- no charge.  You can take them off the ship, as long as you return them.  If you're visiting one of Royal's private islands, they'll have towel stations on the islands.  

 

Smartest way to handle towels:  On Day 1 check out however many you need, and -- instead of returning them -- EXCHANGE them for fresh towels /take clean towels back to your cabin.  Then, obviously, return them on the last day /ask your towel station attendant to verify that your towels are all checked in.  This means your cabin number isn't going in /out of the computer system multiple times, and it reduces the possibilities of human error.  It also means that if you want to hit the hot tub first thing in the morning /late at night while the towel station is closed, you have towels.  

49 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

Our check in is Tuesday.  Some of you have posted Miami is not enforcing check in windows at terminal...is that still true and looking to book entertainment before boarding is unavailable in my app at the moment.  So the only reason to be trying to get the first boarding window wouldn't help with reservations...??  Want to be sure to make all the shows.

We always book the first check-in time, and as they're lining people up, they do let people with the earliest time enter first.  As the day goes on, they may become more lax, but they are checking that earliest time slot. 

 

You're not going to have trouble reserving shows.

[SUgwoz]

On 7/24/2024 at 11:00 AM, DJLDRUMS said:

 It's bad enough that Royal has more problems on the Icon that they don't have on other ships. I look at it as it will be an experience at best. 

I think people have been more critical of Icon than most ships because of multiple reasons, price, the hype, going all-in on the family aspect, ect.

 

Didn't experience any Issues on Icon that was unique in May that hasn't been experienced on any other cruise (including the pools situation).  Service and food was excellent in the MDR, never a comment about surveys (unlike Allure sailing).  Ship was spotless throughout the trip with staff constantly cleaning tables and common areas.  The abundance of food options throughout the day/night along with activities exceeding my expectations for a cruise. 

 

Of course if you read negative reviews and spend the trip looking for negatives, you will undoubtedly find some.  

 

 

[dabucs]

Was on the beginning of July.  No towel fee unless not returned.

Choice of AM or PM cleaning - I agree with one poster that they might discourage or frown if one or the other is already filled up.

[LeeW]

If you have more than one person in a cabin only use one person to check out towels and it is best to do them all at once.  Same person checks them all back in.  The only time they have tried to charge us for towels after a cruise was when DW checked out some towels and I checked them all back in.  While you can get the charge reversed, it takes a while on the phone.  Has nothing to do with Icon, can be a problem on any Royal ship.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 7/29/2024 at 10:19 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

We always book the first check-in time, and as they're lining people up, they do let people with the earliest time enter first.  As the day goes on, they may become more lax, but they are checking that earliest time slot. 

What port checked/enforced check-in times? I have been on 13 cruises this year (number 14 is tomorrow) and I have not seen check-in times enforced at any ports (Tampa, Miami, Everglades, Canaveral, Vancouver) this year. The last time I remember check-in times being enforced was on Freedom at Port Miami at least 18 months ago if not longer.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 I have been on 13 cruises this year (number 14 is tomorrow) and I have not seen check-in times enforced at any ports (Tampa, Miami, Everglades, Canaveral, Vancouver) this year. The last time I remember check-in times being enforced was on Freedom at Port Miami at least 18 months ago if not longer.

This just supports my theory that it depends not only on the port, but also who is working that day, the barometric pressure and the phase of the moon. 🤣 

 

We've had two cruises in the past year--one in Seattle, one in Miami--where they were checking & enforcing the earliest time slots. It appears that even though enforcement is trending down overall, it's still a roll of the dice.

[ARandomTraveler]

On 7/29/2024 at 7:19 AM, BecciBoo said:

Our check in is Tuesday.  Some of you have posted Miami is not enforcing check in windows at terminal...is that still true and looking to book entertainment before boarding is unavailable in my app at the moment.  So the only reason to be trying to get the first boarding window wouldn't help with reservations...??  Want to be sure to make all the shows.

I sailed from Miami on July 16th (so 16 days ago). I had a 1:30pm boarding time because I booked last minute. Showed up at 11:22am and there was no line so I went through and they let me in. Was on the ship by 11:31am. I also brought 2 bottles of wine (though I was traveling solo). They didn't even open my bag to see that it was really wine. 

[ARandomTraveler]

7 hours ago, LeeW said:

If you have more than one person in a cabin only use one person to check out towels and it is best to do them all at once.  Same person checks them all back in.  The only time they have tried to charge us for towels after a cruise was when DW checked out some towels and I checked them all back in.  While you can get the charge reversed, it takes a while on the phone.  Has nothing to do with Icon, can be a problem on any Royal ship.

I checked out a towel on allure, and on the last night I returned it before the 9pm deadline. I asked the person at the towel station to confirm my account said zero towels. She said it did, but I received my statement a couple hours later that showed a $25 towel fee. Stood in a 45min guest services line to have it removed. That's the first time that's ever happened to me. I was traveling solo.

 

The last towel I checked out was at Cococay. I asked if I had to return the towel on Cococay or if it was ok to return on the ship. They said returning on the ship was fine, but I wonder if that was the issue. When I checked out the towel, they were writing down the room numbers by hand.

 

On the other hand, I signed up for a kayak excursion at the last minute on the island. They also wrote that down by hand. I didn't get charged for it. When I went to guest services about my towel charge, I mentioned that I also didn't see the charge for my excursion. She wasn't sure why, and didn't add the charge to my account, despite my admitting I hadn't paid for it. 

 

 

 

[BecciBoo]

6 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

They didn't even open my bag to see that it was really wine. 

We haven't had anyone check our wine bag for several years!  We take our wine in a dual wine bag with straps and slap it down on the belt.  They don't seem interested anymore!

[Engineroom Snipe]

On the Vision in April of this year when it had to use Norfolk cruise terminal.

 

They specifically asked each person if they had wine bottles and how many.

 

The security person requested to visually see the top of the bottle for seal inspection.

 

She then announced to the scanner operator the amount of bottles coming through in the bag and that they were sealed.

 

This was the first time in my cruising career that the bottles were specifically counted and the seals were visually checked.

 

My wife and I must have looked shady but they did this to everyone.

[Mum2Mercury]

15 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

What port checked/enforced check-in times? I have been on 13 cruises this year (number 14 is tomorrow) and I have not seen check-in times enforced at any ports (Tampa, Miami, Everglades, Canaveral, Vancouver) this year. The last time I remember check-in times being enforced was on Freedom at Port Miami at least 18 months ago if not longer.

What I've seen (consistently, though we haven't sailed yet this year, as we are fall-only cruisers) is that they do organize the early times -- when a lot of people are arriving at the same time.  Does anyone slip through?  I'm not paying that much attention to other people.  I don't know what happens as the day goes on (because I'm already through the check-in lines), but I do suspect they become more lax as the day goes on.  I only know what I see at the beginning of their day, when -- admittedly -- it's easier to keep organized.  

8 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I also brought 2 bottles of wine (though I was traveling solo). They didn't even open my bag to see that it was really wine. 

We always carry on one bottle each.  No one lately has been interested in it.  No interest in my Diet Dr. Pepper either -- sometimes they don't even ask us to unzip the backpack to look at the cans.  But that doesn't mean they won't do a thorough check next time.  

8 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

When I checked out the towel, they were writing down the room numbers by hand.

I've seen them do that. 

I don't think crew members have nefarious plans to get the company an unearned $25, but when they're busy and especially when they write things down by hand -- yeah, mistakes are going to happen.  That's why I use the method I described above:  Check out on Day 1, exchange as often as needed, check back in on the last day.  Minimize the possibility of human error.  

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

On the Vision in April of this year when it had to use Norfolk cruise terminal.

 

They specifically asked each person if they had wine bottles and how many.

 

The security person requested to visually see the top of the bottle for seal inspection.

 

She then announced to the scanner operator the amount of bottles coming through in the bag and that they were sealed.

 

This was the first time in my cruising career that the bottles were specifically counted and the seals were visually checked.

 

My wife and I must have looked shady but they did this to everyone.

Maybe the supervisors were hanging around that day?  

Maybe it was their staff inspection day?  

[PhillyFan33579]

4 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

What I've seen (consistently, though we haven't sailed yet this year, as we are fall-only cruisers) is that they do organize the early times -- when a lot of people are arriving at the same time.  Does anyone slip through?  I'm not paying that much attention to other people.  I don't know what happens as the day goes on (because I'm already through the check-in lines), but I do suspect they become more lax as the day goes on.  I only know what I see at the beginning of their day, when -- admittedly -- it's easier to keep organized. 

What port(s) have you experienced check-in times enforced? Like I mentioned previously, I have not seen check-in times enforced in a long time. This morning at Port Everglades, like most of my recent cruises, they were not verifying check-in times and they didn’t have the separate check-in lines by time like they used to have in the early days post Covid.  I don’t remember the last time I saw separate lines based on check-in times (i.e. 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM, etc.). If you read comments on this site and other sites, you will read countless comments from people showing up way before their check-in time and not having any issues. I think it is important to post accurate information on this site and what you have posted is not consistent with what I have experienced over the last 18 plus months.