twangster

The app is a work in progress. For now continue using a PC browser to complete online check in. Some elements of the promised 'future' check in process I think will wait until Symphony is based and sailing from the US but that is just speculation on my part.

Just to be clear, are you talking B2B or a proper 14 night voyage? If B2B then dinner menus will repeat one voyage to the next. However with the variety offered you are welcome to try something different from the menu on the 2nd go. As far as breakfast repeating, when at home do you eat a different meal eat day for weeks? I'm guilty of eating the same thing day after day or mixing it up a little bit, but not much. When people notice that breakfast choices are often similar day to day, I often wonder what I am life I'm missing, because on land, my breakfast doesn't vary so much day to day, week to week.. As far as dinner, I sometimes struggle between two choices. Repeating the menu 7 days later lets me resolve that which I noted the 1st time around as a strong option. "This time I'll try the duck but next time the chicken sounds great too".

It's quite a bumpy ride, very fun, but bumpy. I don't recall seeing anyone being weighed or challenged but given the forces involved I can see why there is a limit. I'm not sure how accommodating folks would be having paid full price to have a surprise buddy hanging onto them. I think that option is really for family and friends. Nothing personal but I enjoyed being by myself and having the freedom to run full out - I wouldn't accept having a stranger bundled onto me. I cruised with my friend's 19 yo daughter who is petite but I paid for her own jet ski because I wanted to go solo. I didn't even want her riding with me and she is my scuba diving buddy.

Valid point, I forget what its like to cruise without cell service in port.

@Pippa_OceanTime (aka Pippa Madden) from OceanTime.com.au was just on her not long ago out of Sydney. She did some periscoping from Explorer. You can find Pippa on Facebook and Twitter as well.

On a 3/4 night cruise there is isn't enough time to be bored ?

Personally I love Radiance class. I had a great cruise on Serenade a few months ago and have bookings on all of the sister ships. The size is part of that appeal. Very easy ship to get around taking the stairs but that glass elevator bank would be awesome in Alaska, plus helipad access.

Next week a bunch of us will be on the Explorer to Alaska for the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise, June 22-29. Keep an eye on this site for @Matt's blogs and my own in the live blog section. Plenty of periscopes as well I imagine. I find it impossible to get bored on any ship, any itinerary, even small ships.

I don't recall seeing a tourist booth but I may have walked right past it. I tend to research on my own ahead and time and have a plan, even for self exploring. End of July - plan for hot and it's the Caribbean so a pop rain shower is always possible. Take bottles of water off the ship. The walk down Passeo de la Princesa is a simple left turn at the end of the pier and just walk in that direction. Nice fountain at the end, couple of bars you can stop at. From there you can follow the shore and walk outside the old city walls. It eventually ends at El Morro. Or head up hill through the city and find El Morro then reverse what I said above and return to the ship walking along the shore. Between the fountain and El Morro along the shore there aren't any bars or places to stop and cool down so plan that portion accordingly.

At first I was wondering what customs and immigration had to do with dining ? I used the omelette station on Adventure last month. I'm sailing Vision after you but I expect she will have one.

Adventure was recently refurbished including her cabins. New water slides and Izumi. During the summer she is in the NYC area which is convenient from the UK. For the winter she heads to Florida. With up to 3,800 guests she is mid size by RCI standards but extra large by other cruise line standards (about the size of Carnival's newest ships). Indy is in Florida for the winters but mostly shorter stuff. There is one 7 night on her in 2019 to the Caribbean. Adventure has some interesting itineraries such as 12 night Southern Caribbean as well as 6 or 8 night Caribbean cruises. She also sails from Quebec once or twice once and she does interesting itineraries from Bayonne in the summer. Having sailed Freedom in November, Indy in December (pre dry dock) and Liberty in February I didn't get an out dated vibe from any of them. I was expecting Indy to look like she needed a dry dock but she didn't. Liberty is certainty a viable option.

Welcome to the message boards! Be aware this is an independent site not affiliated with Royal Caribbean. I suggest you contact Royal Caribbean directly to verify your details based on citizenship and embarkation port.

This is the experience I am aiming for. Try some cruises in different regions more than just to sample the region but hoping to see what areas deserve a repeat visit with more awareness of likes/dislikes.

I am all about trying new and different. It's one of many things I like about Royal - variety across the fleet and with itineraries. Venturing out more next year, longer cruises, some abroad. I've got a 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 night cruises booked, on top of 3, 4, 5 & 7 nights. Those are Alaska, Asia, Bahamas, Caribbean, Cuba, Hawaii, New Zealand and Panama Canal. Looking at Norway, Med and/or Greece in 2020. I like doing things differently. Only sailing OA or QU class would get old for me. I love those ships, but I equally love smaller ships.

@Matt recently sailed Brilliance, as has @mpoole3 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/11/24/brilliance-of-the-seas-live-blog-preamble https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/01/25/brilliance-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-1-embarkation-day I've got a B2B booked in December. I like Radiance class. Bigger than Vision class but you can see where this design grew up from. No promenade like those ships that came after but it has a great Vintages with awesome sea views, best Vintages in the fleet. The Centrum is the 'heart' of the ship. This is Serenade's Centrum but Brilliance is pretty much the same: It also has a dedicated movie theater but arrive early for seats. Other things I like: Pub Helipad Access Deck 7 Extended Balcony Cabin Outdoor Windjammer Seating

How far out? Luggage tags are typically ready 30-45 days out. It's been like that for a while.

The photo isn't a big deal, hardly slows you down if you do it at check in. Outside of your cabin will be one Seapass card. Additional ones for guests 2+ will be inside your cabin. Note not all ships have implemented this yet. Certain ships have done it this way for a while now. More ships are converting to it. Eventually all will. Royal is trying to streamline the check in process, further refinements in the near future will allow most everything in the app on your phone. Part of that is shifting the Seapass distribution from the shore folks (who are typically a 3rd party) to having the ship create the cards and distribute them. Quantum class and Harmony have been like this for a while with other ships adopting this process this year and next year. Since cabins are not always ready when you board, your SetSail pass will have a barcode that is used to scan onto the ship upon boarding and to make any purchases such as drinks until cabins are ready and you get your official SeaPass cards.

As far as the customs forms - depends on the port and it's up to US customs, not the cruise line. Port Everglades did away with the forms as a test. Cape Liberty and Galveston still use them, or did in May and March respectively. Hopefully more ports will adopt the Port Everglades test, but that is all in the hands of the government, not Royal.

Crown and Anchor benefits were discussed in another thread and I've posted a sample letter of the on board offers for gold level here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6354-crown-and-anchor-how-do-they-calculate/&do=findComment&comment=68791 As far as the private departure lounge I've never tried to use it as I prefer a regular breakfast where offered. Location varies by ship.

I booked a cruise planner item just now and after entering all of my details, (like it doesn't already know my name so I get it to enter it twice more), it kicked me back to the dashboard and I was given the opportunity to repeat it all over again. Second time was a charm.

Good point. I cruise solo often and about 1/3 of the time the system doesn't apply the double properly. A quick call to the C&A team has fixed it every time without any hassles.

Welcome to the message boards! Try this link, it has some non-alcoholic and alcoholic prices https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-drink-prices Specialty Coffee can vary by ship. This was Freedom in November 2017.

The sight of Ovie with the cup really did a number didn't it? No, I don't think it's fake news. For a while Adventure appeared in the new app but only for a small group of users. Then it disappeared and hasn't returned. I suspect what the user captured was real. My evil twin says to piggy back off that momentum, photoshop a page based in Asia and make it look like I booked Spectrum, then post that to CC. Get everyone over there in a frenzy. I won't though, that would be mean.

The evil part of me wants to put my photoshop skills to use. "Look what I just booked! Grand Suite only $50 per night!"

Not that I am aware of. Depending how far out the cruise is, stuff opens up as people cancel and makes changes. Also, check with a travel agent. Sometimes inventory is assigned to agencies and not bookable on the Royal website. Many months before final payment due date the cabin I secured on the upcoming Royal Caribbean Blog Alaska Group Cruise wasn't available on Royal's website but I had no issues booking it through MEI Travel. I am often surprised how inventory varies between TAs and Royal direct.