twangster

The concept of giving your table away applies to My Time dining. With my time dining you have 15 minutes after your reservation to present yourself at the host/hostess stand. If you don't make it your table is made available for someone without a reservation who has My Time dining but didn't make reservations. With traditional dining (early or late seating) you are expected to be at the table at the time provided with a small grace period. If you don't show up on time your seat will be empty. If you are at a shared table with other cruisers their meal service will begin shortly after the posted time. They are not going to force everyone to sit and wait for you - those people have shows and other plans that require meal service to operate on schedule. They don't allow stragglers because then the wait staff are trying to manage different guests at different stages of their meal plus it's awkward for any table mates to be eating their meal when you have nothing in front of you because you were late and just ordered. If you are the type (like my step daughter) who simply can never be on time no matter how much we push her, then My Time without reservations may be more suitable but you may have to wait if you try to visit My Time dining during peak times.

More intimate experience. Smaller ships often yield a better service experience with the crew. Embarking and debarking can be easier. Easy to navigate. After sailing mega ships for a number of cruises I was on Vision and was "What am I doing taking the elevator?". It's easy and quick to make it from aft to forward. Smaller ships can visit ports that some big ships can't.

Billy at CruiseHabit is a close friend to Matt and this site. No harm, no foul. Right @monorailmedic ? I have that same adapter and some shirts from the cruisehabit.com shop.

Start with a look at this blog post: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/12/31/symphony-of-the-seas-family-cruising-guide You've picked a great ship, love Symphony!

The initial Key was released at $24.99 but quickly dropped to $19.99 in the early months of the program. Sales appear to have exceeded expectations and $19.99 is rarely seen anymore on Oasis class or Quantum class. I think what happens is they have so many in the $24.99 bucket and once those sell it goes to $29.99. Once sold out it they seem to have a plan C where in some cases the price jumps to $37.99. I guess they figure if people want it that bad, they'll happily sell it at a huge mark up. There is greater benefit on the mega ships. More entertainment venues, more activities like flowriders, more people so priority boarding accomplishes more and there is more demand. Hence the higher prices. Initially it was 100 simply to test the waters and gauge demand. It might vary by ship or class of ship.

@Matt is on that sailing? I'm not sailing Mariner in August. Not yet anyways.

Have a great cruise!

Check out this drink package calculator: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/13069-experimental-drink-package-calculator/ The pricing above linked by @DDaley should be pretty close while in the EU. Onboard purchases will be in $USD. VAT may be applied to on board purchases as well. To give you about coffee products, this menu from Navigator will give you an idea of pricing:

Enjoy your cruise!

I don't like to recommend specific products rather find one that works for you given your goals. When I dive I wear a full body rash guard so I'm mostly covered up on the dive boat. I try to stay in the shade on the dive boat so my face doesn't get direct sun between dives. I snorkel wearing a long sleeve rash guard. I use a reef friendly sunscreen on my ears and legs when snorkeling. It's not super nice to apply. It's kind of chalky but it's the right thing to do. Once on land when I know I am done in the ocean, the regular sunscreen comes out. Here is what PADI has to say: https://www2.padi.com/blog/2017/09/07/best-natural-sunscreen-scuba-diving-snorkeling/ Sunscreen best practices Choose to cover up rather than slather on. A long-sleeved rashguard with UV protection is a better environmental choice than any sunscreen. Read the label: avoid sunscreens containing oxybenzone, butylparaben, octinoxate or 4-methylbenzylidine camphor. Even a small amount can cause coral bleaching. Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before going in the water so the product can absorb into your skin. This also improves its effectiveness.

August.

Puerto Rico is a US territory. No immigration when arriving from the US mainland. Taxi is probably the best way. It should be flat rate but they do charge a small amount for every piece of luggage. Make sure the taxi driver knows you are going to the international pier for Royal Caribbean since there are two cruise piers in San Juan. The bus transfer through Royal is another option. At the end of the cruise when you go to the airport to fly home all luggage in San Juan has to go through agriculture inspection. Do this before checking in with your airline. Old San Juan is a beautiful city full of history. Hopefully you have time to explore it. One of the benefits of starting a cruise in San Juan is you get an extra port to start with.

Like the TSA at airports, gov't issued ID is not required for minors.

Take a look in the live blogs section of the message boards. If I recall correctly, @Traveler had some luck in the casino on Rhapsody. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9042-rhapsody-of-the-seas-greek-islands-25-aug-1-sep-semi-live-blog/&tab=comments#comment-81709 @Auto has a trip report from Rhapsody as well: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9757-its-all-greek-to-merhapsody-november-3-10/&tab=comments#comment-89605 Finally, @Matt who owns and operates this site has blogged from Rhapsody departing from Tampa: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/03/18/rhapsody-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-1-embarkation-day

It's just a matter of time before passports are required for cruising. You are wise to get them now.

You are welcome. I only call C&A, even when booking a new cruise or to get a quote. They can do pretty much everything the general contact center can do and more.

If you ask @Matt who runs this site he'll tell you Harmony remains his favorite ship even after sailing Symphony. They are very close to each other. Entertainment is different plus a few restaurants are different. Other than that they are pretty much the same. Symphony carries a premium because she is new. Both are great ships and 400€ is a lot of money.

NextCruise is a department within the Crown and Anchor Society. Try calling them, not the general toll free number. C&A 800-526-9723

I'm waiting to see how a similar situation works out for me since the sailing I remained on dropped in price significantly. I was told I will get 50% off the new lower price, not be stuck at 50% off the original higher price. The latter, 50% off original price is still a good deal but 50% off the new lower price is even better. My reservation number remains the same but my total shows the new rate anyone can book online. I was told within 24-48 hours the 50% off will be applied. My original booking was fully refundable by choice. New Majesty bookings are fully refundable by default. I booked the cruise before mine to create a B2B and now both are fully refundable. In your case the 50% may be occurring because the reservation didn't change. I don't think paying it off matters. Even if your balance is zero if they figure out the 50% was incorrectly applied it will be removed and you will have a balance. By wording of the offer you shouldn't be eligible for 50% off since you changed ships. In that sense if it ends up you get it that's great but if they come back and deny the 50% I wouldn't be upset.

No. I use FCC more often then I'd care for and it doesn't factor into price or cabin changes. In fact I've cancelled cruises that had FCC applied to them and have been able to get the FCC re-issued. The 90 day rule is the one to watch out for unless it's a 3 or 4 night sailing than it's 75 days. This is the final payment due date. Once past final payment due date no one is eligible for price adjustments. In the distant past they might have sometimes offered OBC for price drops after the final payment due date but that stopped in late 2017. Past final payment due date they will usually allow you to upgrade to a better cabin if the new cabin costs more.

The inaugural TA's have become elite top heavy. I'm not saying you shouldn't book it but prepare yourself for the entitled masses and some closed venues for the top elites at times. For example last year on the Symphony TA the entire center section of the aqua theater seating was reserved for D+ for every showing. Dazzles was closed nightly for Pinnacle only. For anyone not top elite it can seem like the cruise is focused on top elite. Normally on any given Oasis class cruise there are thousands of newbies but on these TAs most people are experienced Royal cruisers who know all the tips and tricks. Those tips and tricks don't work the same because everyone knows them. It's different for sure.

I too was optimistic the grandfather clause was to allow a more graceful exit from Cuba cruises but it seems that isn't the reality.

Not yet. As a scuba diver I use reef friendly sunscreen when I need sunscreen and I'll be in the ocean but so far that isn't a requirement at CocoCay.

Cancelled Vision but couldn't pass up 50% off a cruise. Since I'm flying, might as well do two.

Royal is constantly adjusting the dining plans but doesn't always note everything in the terms and conditions. Once upon a time they tried including Starbucks in certain beverage packages but that was short lived and never "official". They may be trying something with the Galley Brunch to determine impact. Anyone's guess if it sticks long term.