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I just got onto Allure of the seas and connected to the internet and it says the provider is Starlink. Not sure if that is well known yet but I can confirm it's activated now.

Yes, you can. I had lunch at Giovanni's Italian (on Freedom, I think) on embarkation day. While waiting for my order, I made all my dining reservations for the entire cruise there. This is important for all who have dining packages. Make plans to go to any open restaurant on embarkation day, with a dining plan/schedule if possible, and make ALL your reservations. Popular dining times, between 6-8 PM, book pretty quickly. This is the plan/schedule I made for the Wonder. I included all the info I needed because I noticed some crew go by day of the cruise (Day 1, Day 2, etc), some go by day of the week, some go by destination. This is an old list, but I have since added the date. Another advice is don't do it over the phone; I like having a visual of the schedule they see on their screens, especially if you have to change things around in your plan.

It was crazy trying to get off this morning. Customs took so long checking through everyone details. Bonus for us was we could skip the long lines to get back on which took us 2min to board

Since there's no verification of who took the test or when, there really isn't any testing requirement.

Day 5 - At Sea As predicted by our next-door table-mates yesterday, the pool deck was heaving this morning. Since it was a beautiful sunny day this was only to be expected but there just seemed to be people everywhere. After a fair bit of hunting, we finally managed to find a single lounger in the sun to share. View from said lounger We stuck it out until 1 pm and then headed off to the Schooner Bar, as I had noticed on the Compass that there was going to be a flag trivia. I watch a LOT of international athletics and since it's pretty much a worldwide sport I'm pretty good with my flags, which I proved by winning the quiz. Go me! The prize was a $200 discount voucher for the purchase of something Effy. Sounds good? Sure, but there was a minimum purchase of $600 required to redeem it! Um, thanks but no thanks. I'll just bask in the glory and be grateful for the free little pendant that also came in the prize envelope. By the time we'd finished doing the quiz the lunch crowd at the WJ had thinned out considerably so it was fairly quiet and I managed to find a very tasty, albeit it rather large, steak and kidney pie. In the afternoon, there were plenty of open loungers in the sun. I guess by that time, all the morning sun worshipers had had their fill of golden rays (and were probably turning a nice shade of lobster pink to judge from quite a few that I noticed). This meant we were finally able to get two loungers together in a nice sunny spot and there I was, soaking up the sunshine, when suddenly a massive cloud blocked it out... except it wasn't a cloud; it was the north star doing one of its over-the-side journeys! It was quite impressive to watch. On my way back to the room after my gym session, I popped into the spa to pick up a price list since, for some unfathomable reason, we had had a $50 discount voucher delivered to us to commemorate "our special day" (no idea which special day they were talking about as we certainly weren't celebrating a special date on this cruise). And I also snapped a photo of this artwork which is at the top of stairs as you come out of the gym, just because I liked it. We were treated to a lovely sunset from our "obstructed" balcony this evening as we were getting ready for dinner. Tonight's dinner menu Artichoke and pea salad. I had this for the first time on Odyssey in May and really liked it. It didn't disappoint this time. Very nice. DH's cheese plate Lamb pot pie. Delicious but it was so BIG. I couldn't finish it; had to leave room for dessert. DH's pork shank (with a side of fries!) Chocolate souffle, one of my all-time favourites and which tends only to show up on longer cruises. I was so stuffed when we left the restaurant!

You could try messaging them directly on any of the social media platforms. They tend to answer much quicker than email. However I thought that I heard that they no longer allow this practice.

We have the big Inky and two keychain-sized Inkys. Apparently we're an Inky foster home.

ARE THERE ANY FEES FOR YOUR SERVICES INCLUDING CANCELLING A CRUISE? Do I work with the same agent all the time, or is it round robin? What should I expect realistically in terms of turn around time on questions Do you (the agent you're working with) specialize in cruises? Have you been on Royal Caribbean? If I spy a lower price, will you reprice?

Have an amazing time!

About 40 minutes from terminal to cabin.

Found the suite queue. On our way through to boarding

Appently they are turning people away who have arrived early

So are we. Excited to board this afternoon.

So, the wife and I just returned from our second cruise aboard Spectrum OTS, this time it was a shorter 3-night sailing visiting Penang with one Sea Day. Compared to our previous experience a few months ago (despite the loosened restrictions) - the ship still feels very different than a typical European or North American sailing. A few things of note which I never mentioned in my previous post (which have remained status quo): so for anyone considering a Spectrum OTS out of Singapore - the market is a bit different based on the below: Unlike our previous cruise, the Windjammer is now fully self-serve (and for the North American's on this board) - the WIndjammer on North American ships will typically have 'theme nights' featuring a cuisine of a particular country, look no further as on the Spectrum's Windjammer has dedicated sections for Indian and Chinese cuisine. * Like my previous cruise on Spectrum earlier in the year... the pool decks remain largely 'empty' - hot tubs generally empty and of the people on the pool deck - the demographic on board including families tends to over dress aka pants and sweatshirts on the pool decks (as though it was Alaska) and hardly anyone in the pools as its just not part of the Singapore market. ***no 'chair hogs that we witnessed on this sailing, as most people in this market tend to prefer shade over sun and to avoid spending time at pools or on the outdoor decks generally - so if one is looking for a lounger, even on a Sea Day - there was a ton available... in fact the crew was removing loungers since they weren't even really being used*** * The Casino was extremely crowded (as per usual on sailings from this market) - as was the Windjammer (hard getting a table at any given time). * The solarium remained largely empty and the bartenders were generally 'bored' along with the bartenders at the 'Schooner' Bar. In fact on the occasions we were in both venues... we were able to chat up the bartenders for 30 minutes average before anyone else showed up... and we were advised that drinking and bars are not very 'popular' in this market. * The Flowrider was basically empty for the first two days of the sailing... in fact the Flowrider Instructors were the ones doing all the 'flowriding' for the first two days while people watched - basically 'performing' various stunts (this is something one would never see stateside as the Flowrider fills up on embarkation day). Only on the final day of the sailing did it 'fill up' and even then its nothing like out of Florida or California. Mind you something else you'd never see out of the US market is people waiting for the Flowrider carrying Umbrella's to shade themselves from the sun... and there were A LOT of umbrella holding people in the queue; though luckily no one attempted to flowride with an umbrella . * Masks like the North America market are now 'optional' however the majority of crew about 95 % are still masked as again it makes the people in this market more comfortable, and for the guests... about 90 - 95% masked as well indoors and outdoors despite it being optional. The only ones who went unmasked were those visiting Singapore for this cruise and it was quite obvious who the guests were. * Beverage packages are not very popular according to the F&B staff we interacted with since in this market... people tend to either a la carte beverages or just go with the free options ... in fact the drink of choice was typically hot drinks which the bars don't serve - again different market. * NextCruise was quite a popular spot with many people booking future cruises... though when the wife and I enquired about potentially putting down a deposit for a cruise from Florida or from Seattle, we were met with 'those markets not being very common in Asia' since most people who booked future cruises on board were only booking in the Asian market. * The Cafe270 was a nice upgrade from Cafe Promenade on the other ships, it serves a wide variety of things but closes at 1700 daily. Also Sorrento's is located in the Windjammer rather than on the Esplanade. Speaking to the Hotel Director at a public Q&A, the Hotel Director advised that the vast majority of the 5000 onboard are from Singapore with about 600 Indian Nationals and only 53 from North America (US / Canada) making this the smallest minority of guests on board. This is also the reason why the hotel director further clarified that in Asia... the North Star, Rock Climbing Wall, iFly Skydiving Simulator are chargeable (around $40 and up) in order to 'control crowds' while on US Based ships, these three things are typically non-chargeable at least at on Port Days. Even the sports staff on board knew this though most passengers are not aware of this. When this was also raised in the public Q&A - the Captain also re-iterated that the above are 'novelty attractions' but stateside their 'common'. The Captain of this sailing was Captain Wu Huimin who is from China - though the main speaker at the Q&A was the Australian Hotel Director. * Also there's a big hope that China will open again by late 2023 and 2024 and the plan is for Spectrum to offer cruises from Shanghai again - per the Hotel Director. Was also advised that if the ship does end up returning to China by then... everything would be in Mandarin only (in Singapore everything is still in English). Overall this sailing was pretty much like our previous sailing except masks were 'optional'. It was still a relaxing experience and it was great to interact with the bored bartenders who were standing around, many staff on board have mentioned they prefer this market since its a lot less work at the bars however the Windjammer does have its work cut out since non-stop eating is a big thing in this market. Didn't attend the Art shows this time around, and the SPA was also empty the times we went by as was the fitness center (even on the Sea Day). If anyone has any questions feel free to ask, also let the forum know if you're taking a cruise from Singapore soon, lots of useful tips including the revamped check in process at Marina Bay Cruise Center which is much to be desired.

Haha just took a test yesterday for our 10/31 cruise! First COVID test ever! Excited to finally be back to cruising, I had hoped Royal would drop the testing like everyone else by now...but I'm going to laugh when that happens on Halloween! Just very psyched to return to the sea!

There was no show for us tonight because it was We Will Rock You and while I would have liked to see it (DH could not have cared less) the timing meant that the performance went right across our dinner time. In fact BOTH evening performances were held at exactly the same time 7.45 pm, which was completely useless for anyone with traditional late dining or who would normally eat later. The only other performance was the very first one, which was at 2 pm and people were already lining up for it at 1 pm while we were in the Schooner Bar doing the flag trivia. The CD had suggested the evening before that they should do this. I was incredulous. I don't care how good a show is, there is no way I would spend an hour waiting in line to get in. Anyway, with two more cruises already booked on Anthem for next year, maybe I'll get the chance to see it then. Instead, we decided to head over to Two70, where the Big Music Game Show was going to take place. We were not planning on participating, just spectating, so we had intended on getting seats near the door to make a discreet exit if it was rubbish. Fat chance! We got there 25 minutes before and it was already packed, so we ended up in the middle of a row on the balcony about as far from the door as was physically possible and still be in the same room. Anyway it was quite entertaining and we lasted until the end of round two, by which time some other people had already left so we didn't have too many legs to clamber over. I think, in total, we recognised about three songs between us while we were there! In retrospect, if we had realised what a great entertainer Perry Grant in the Schooner Bar was we would probably have gone there instead. We really only discovered him by accident one evening as we were heading back to our room and stopped to watch him for a few minutes, so I don't have any pics of him in action but he is definitely worth watching. I also took the opportunity to snap a few more pics of the artwork. I particularly liked these ones at the entrance to the Via: This sculpture outside Two70: And these colourful pieces which were lurking in a corner with a sign above it saying "Art Gallery" and which I think was an optimistic name for the place where they keep the artwork that will (potentially) be sold at the art auction:

Just be aware that items put into your shopping cart may or may not be available at the same price, once you come back to purchase them. It seems to have been a mixed bag, lately.

If you're refering to items in the cruise planner (drinks, excursions etc) you can add them to your basket and leave them there when you log off, they should be there when you log back in.

The blanket is 30" wide by 38" long. The octopus is 10" high and about 15" from tentacle to tentacle.

I'll chime in since we had the GLS on the starboard side (10720) for an Alaska sailing (Ovation) a few years ago. We really enjoyed the stateroom. Granted we had not done one of the larger GLS before so we did not have any perspective one how much space we could have had with the middle versions. Space was never an issue for our party of three, since we would most commonly cruise in a regular veranda stateroom this room was nicer. Our son did have to use the downstairs and the closet down there. As far as noise, the was some noise from the Owners Loft Suite below just after boarding as the group opened their champagne to toast. Otherwise it was really quiet the while time. What we did like was having the extra veranda's for Alaska. Being able to get outside to look at wildlife or the scenery from the side or back and even the upstairs bedroom was nice. With that sailing there is almost always something to see out there and you neve know when something interesting might show up (whales, seals and eagles) that you want to get outside quickly for. We did have one of the center GLS on deck 8 booked for sailing that was cancelled so can't give a direct comparison. Have fun, no matter where you end up!

No, not to Villa. We were on the Transpacific and on now to the NZ

Yes 1pm but they were running late today as Customs wanted to do a full inspection of everyone’s passport and immigration documents. People were still getting off at 12:30. On the plus side our cabin was ready as soon as we got on.

Long line to start boarding at 1pm.

While we were having breakfast, the ship was on her final approach into Lisbon so we headed off up to the top deck to watch our arrival. It felt rather strange to be arriving by cruise ship into a place that we can drive to from home in under 3 hours! Welcome to Lisbon. The ship docks close to the centre, about a 20 minute walk, half of which is on the zigzagging ramps between the ship and the terminal exit. There is not much in the terminal itself but you can get hoho bus and tuk-tuk tour tickets there. The hoho bus was 25 euros pp and someone I was speaking to while we were manoeuvring to the dock said the ship price was 60 dollars so it's definitely better to wait and buy on land. We enjoyed our wander around Lisbon. We had a typical quick, cheap and tasty Portuguese lunch of freshly-made vegetable soup and bifanas (pork steak in a roll) and DH had a custard tart. He bought a couple more to take back to the ship. I always recommend visitors try them out and they are pretty much a trademark of the country. Note that you don't have to go all the way to the Belém area of Lisbon to get them (this is where the original recipe is supposed to come from); as you wander around the city centre you will see numerous cake shops that make them on their premises. Look for the places with big piles of them in the window. They are just as good as the "originals". On the way back to the ship, there was a small but nicely laid out shop in the terminal selling souvenirs, food and drinks. Sailaway from Lisbon is pretty spectacular as you have to sail under the 25th of April road and railway bridge, and you feel sure the top of the ship is going to hit the underside of the bridge. We got ourselves a good spot on one of the little outdoor sections of the solarium. We were literally sailing into the sunset at this point, which unfortunately resulted in some lens flare in my pics as we headed towards the bridge. (I had never heard of this before that little green dot turned up in my beautiful sunset pics!) However, after we had gone under the bridge and were heading out to sea I managed to get a great one of it behind us.

Me.

Soft Octopus was my nickname in high school.

The weather has definitely caused the inside areas to be more crowded than we’ve experienced on Caribbean cruises. Today was the first decent day weather wise. I’m glad we didn’t spend the money for a balcony. On the flip side, pool chair hogs are non existent

i got my passport stamped in nassau. when we went back thru security to get back on the ship there was a small building to the left of the gate. i asked someone where after we took our pic by the nassau sign. Mission accomplished

You forgot to include "a safe for you laptop" and so much closet space"!!! The videos are great and we love him too. Have fun sailing! We just did the Royal Loft on Allure and have a 2BR ATS in the future so we will be following.

I have sailed to Alaska three times, twice with HAL and once with Royal, all pre-pandemic. HAL is going to give you a much more intimate ship experience. It will more directly compare to sailing to Alaska on a Vision or Radiance class ship as far as size goes, and that only with HAL's largest ships. While I think the demographic of folks choosing an Alaska cruise skews older than the Caribbean, I feel like the average age on HAL was higher than Royal. It will definitely impact the energy at the activities. If you enjoy some of the more "classic" things about cruising, such as dressing up for formal night, you might enjoy the HAL cruise.

For anyone traveling to Singapore Orchard Towers which is located on Orchard Rd right in the main shopping area is one to be avoided if you are not open minded. World famous for the "Four floors of whores" I have stayed at the Pan Pacific near Marina Bay and even just the Elevator Ride up to our room near the top floor was an experience! Elevator starts in hotel lobby inside building for about first 6 floors then all of a sudden you are outside for the rest

Excursion are operated by 3rd party companies local to the destination. What none of us know is what happens to the cost Royal pays to the local company that actually operates the excursion. Some may try to swap activities and charge Royal the same, others may adjust the price. We don't know. Should you get a price adjustment? That's very subjective and unique on a case by case basis. Bottom line - if you are not happy about your purchase then cancel it for a refund. Find something else that meets your needs either through Royal or direct with a local operator.

I have thought about this on Anthem since this is basically my "Home" ship. Assuming they can't upgrade the pods, they could easily get rid of La Patisserie and move some of the retail around to maybe free up that Regalia store next door on Deck 4. That would be a decent amount of space. I can't imagine La Patisserie makes all that much compared to a Playmakers. Another option might be to relocate the Bionic Bar and shore excursions on deck 5 and use that space.

I have done this many times over the years, only a few times have I been questioned but showed them B2B, then no problem. But like others say, they are just focused on keeping the lines moving. You won't have any issues. (Not saying this was me, but I have heard some have carried on 4 bottles before without a B2B! )

I had to laugh. Yes that was me giggling. I love royal because the age groups seem to be on the higher side and I have only considered that positive because of the fewer children running in the halls and touching all the food in Windjammer. My husband and I are in your age group….. I supposed someday we might be having to bring walkers with us!

I think everything you said there is a fair critique. Some things (staffing, cupcakes etc.) can be corrected, some (room sizes, lack of outlets, etc.) are kind of "it is what is" things. (Although I agree the location of the cornhole tournament seems really odd.) I would agree with the earlier poster that it's not really accurate to judge an entire cruise line off of one experience. It's possible you might enjoy the newer, bigger ship experience down the line. But it's also possible that Royal Caribbean might not be for you--and that's okay. You are certainly allowed to have your own opinion and to enjoy the kind of vacation you want. Personally, I like RC because I feel like I get the most "bang for the buck." But everyone vacations differently. I have friends that party on Carnival all the time and love it. I have others that are hardcore Disney Cruise Line fans. And still others would never set foot on a cruise ship. More power to any of them. Find the vacation that works best for what you want and enjoy it!

I don't think this is typical of Royal cruises(i haven't been on one now for almost 3 years but..) The dinner thing...1.5 hrs is always the norm on royal for sit down dinners in the MDR based on my experiences. We don't do it often for that reason. But I guess I know that ahead of time and plan accordingly....if I didn't know to expect than well, yeah I get it. Late shows and no shows....sounds like bad planning on the CD's job/part perhaps?... I haven't had weak drinks nor have I not been able to get a cupcake in a cupcake shop or a piece of pizza at a pizza place...so I can see your point there. Schooner bars are usually fairly small and always crowded when they have live music....I enjoy a good crowd or a busy spot like that but others not so much and I get that. I have cruised small and large Royal ships..usually things work quite smoothly and are enjoyable.....

some ships have the world class bar, some have a martini bar these would likely be the signature bars

What better way to "spend" a handful of small FCC than to deposit an Iconic cruise?

On symphony the doors were open to the suite lounge until 2pm or so, when room were ready. Then you had access only with your card after that

Lucky! I'm within driving distance of O'Hare ...which is super nice for getaways, but certainly adds to the $$$ & stress of getting ready to cruise.

You can ask for anything. Not meant to be snarky, but no one can promise what answer you will get. FWIW, my BIL had a harder time getting extra decaf on Harmony in May so my guess would be getting extra regular wouldn't be a problem.

T-Minus 12 Days I must admit, I’m quite envious when I hear about people booking over the water cabanas at Perfect Day at Coco Cay, or eating at Coastal Kitchen, or emailing back and forth with their Genie because unless I find a magic lamp on St. Kitts, I’m not getting a Genie. How I wish I could book a suite, I mean who doesn’t want to stay in the owner’s suite with all the space, all the amenities, and a bidet, I will miss having a bidet, but since I’m on a tight budget, my rump and I will rough it in a balcony room. Like many Americans, I live from paycheck to four days before the next paycheck. Being a cheapskate comes naturally to me. Some might even say it’s a gift. Okay, okay, no one calls it a gift, especially my wife. Here I will chronicle our seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas while attempting to save as much money as possible without compromising on having fun. I pre-booked our cruise, the deluxe drink package, internet package, and two excursions. I rushed to book the cruise instead of taking the time to try to get the best deal possible; although, I’m pleased with our deal. The reason for rushing the booking was the sale was set to expire in 1 hours and 52 minutes and I didn’t want to miss out. Little did I know that this is the sale that never ends, it goes on and on my friends. I suspect that this current sale and all the extensions date back to the day when Noah chartered the Ark of the Seas from Royal Caribbean during the Great Flood. I think I might have been bamboozled by the threat of the sale ending. I booked all the add-ons we wanted; repricing, cancelling, and rebooking when the prices dropped. We saved on the internet package by booking one internet package with two devices instead of two individual packages. Originally, I booked the deluxe drink package for $77.99 per person/per day. My wallet wept that day. I cancelled and rebooked when the price dropped to $72.99 pp/pd. And did it once again when the price dropped to $65.99 pp/pd. My wallet no longer weeps uncontrollably, but it does whimper from time to time, not to mention, my liver is not so pleased either. I’m not going to go all Ebenezer Scrooge to the point we don’t enjoy ourselves, but we are not going to spend freely like the Real Housewives of the Seas. This is our first cruise in what seems like forever and that’s a might long time, but I’m here to tell you, there’s something else, the barometer. A world of measuring how we can save on future cruses, such as the four-day Catalina and Ensenada cruise we have booked in November. The November cruise we will be thriftier. There are a few things I won’t skimp on and they are as follows: 1. Gratuities. We prepaid our gratuities, but I plan on tipping above and beyond, because I may be a cheapskate, but I’m not an A-hole. Well, I may be an A-hole, but I’m not the kind of A-hole that would screw over someone else on tips just to save a few bucks. 2. My wife made it clear that she wants something special from the ship. I plugged the words “something special” into my husband/wife translator and it comes back as jewelry. 3. Souvenirs for the grandkids. I am thinking of something loud and obnoxious; payback is a…, well you know. 4. And finally, I will not lie, cheat, or scheme to get something for free. For example, if we eat at a specialty restaurant, I won’t lie to the waitstaff telling them there’s a toe in my risotto (or would it be risot-toe) just to get a free meal. Even if my risotto has a toe in it, I hate confrontation, so I’ll probably keep quite while eating around it. I’m almost certain that quality control on the Harmony of the Seas is good enough to catch a stray toe in the food being served, at least I hope so. I will be updating a few times leading up to our cruise with my observations on the preparations and then once we board I will live blog our experience.

Well, if we didn't live 1500 miles from a port we'd probably be D+ by now.

We're hoping to make Diamond by mid-late 2023. We (my wife & I) are only 12 points away. However, we have a 6 niter planned in December 2022 and a 4 niter planned in June 2023. We will get another 5 niter in between December and June. Diamond is in our future!!!

Right there with you...Diamond in December 2023.

I'm on pace to hit Pinnacle in 2042

Goodnight all! Hubby