Shari

They have done away with the non-combinable restriction for the shareholder benefit.  However, the new rules are only for bookings on or after 1 June 2019.  Here is a link to the FAQ page.  https://www.rclinvestor.com/faqs/shareholder-benefit/?fbclid=IwAR0SsApeIDoXrGRXoU8v7Tu-Q2mVuYDhYewkAZRVC_XF5DgJXusuXnQgoUk

They have done away with the non-combinable restriction for the shareholder benefit.  However, the new rules are only for bookings on or after 1 June 2019.  Here is a link to the FAQ page.  https://www.rclinvestor.com/faqs/shareholder-benefit/?fbclid=IwAR0SsApeIDoXrGRXoU8v7Tu-Q2mVuYDhYewkAZRVC_XF5DgJXusuXnQgoUk

I will gladly pay the $6.70 extra to be able to sail an Oasis Class from Texas  ?

TERMINAL 3 UPDATE: Here is an update on the Galveston Terminal 3 project. This was posted in the Galveston daily News today.
Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston signed a memorandum of understanding in December. The port of Galveston trustees approved the deal in January. However, a final lease agreement has not been signed due to unspecified leadership changes at Royal Caribbean.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson confirms that nothing has changed with their intentions to construct a new,  state-of-the-art, cruise terminal in Galveston, and plans are continuing to move forward. Royal Caribbean has already sent survey crews and divers to inspect the condition of the new terminal site.
The Port Board of Trustees  unanimously approved the spending of $300,000 to begin engineering work to collect physical data of the site, and for pavement work at another location to allow relocating of facilities from the Terminal 3 site to a new location.  This move expresses confidence by the Port of Galveston that the deal will be finalized soon. 
 Passenger fees were increased from $8.30 to $15 per passenger on January 1 of this year. That has generated over $500,000 in new income for the port so far this year. That will help fund the Port’s cost for the new work going into Terminal 3.

Yippee !  I am not a fan of Jaimie’s. Not a huge fan of Giovanni’s but it’s better than Jaimie’s !

We will be on this cruise with friends of ours.  If anyone likes to smoke cigars I am sure you will meet my husband and our friend!

We are sailing next week too.  It is going to be a fantastic cruise!

I'm not sure that phrase has ever been uttered before in the history of mankind...
 
 
?   I  juss keeding

The silver lining is that you are still here to ponder this "problem", the alternative is much worse.  
Take stock in being alive and don't let this stress you out.  
Here's to a speedy recovery.
 

I FIGURED IT OUT!!! RC is not offering 20% on dining experiences. They are offering 20% off on dinging experiences!
Savings on exclusive dinging experiences: 20% off when booking Chef’s Table and any Culinary Experiences onboard.

Now on Day14 of the Ovation Repo, and the arrangements put in place for D and D+ guys have worked very well. Thanks to Nadia in the music hall and the great bar staff, and all the parts of the ship, we have enjoyed the cruise. Honolulu in 2 days.

We had a very unpleasant woman at a table once who complained about everything.  We asked if we could be moved but there was no other tables available for the 4 of us.  We only ate at the MDR 2 nights and spent the rest of our dinners at specialty restaurants or the windjammer.  

Nope, but it sure is fun   ?

 

Chairs that automatically dump off people's towels when they haven't been used in 30 mins!!!  ???????

We are headed to Ovation on 13 May.  This is Ovation's first Alaska cruise and it is so packed with Diamond and up we received the following email.  I have never heard of specialty coffee being preloaded onto your Seapass before.  Has anyone else?
ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
    Dear Guest,
We are excited to welcome you onboard Ovation of the Seas for its transition sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington.
As you may know, this sailing is quite popular among our Crown and Anchor Society and as a result, our staff is making enhancements to accommodate you.
During your cruise, the Nightly Happy Hour will expand to include both the Diamond Club and the Music Hall on deck 3&4. As always, 3 drink vouchers will be loaded on your account for you to use at the bars and lounges throughout the ship during happy hour.
DIAMOND CLUB & MUSIC HALL
CONCIERGE LOUNGE
Deck 3 & 4
Deck 12
Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club
Pinnacle Club and Suites
Additionally, we understand with more top tier guests than usual, the rush for morning coffee can become hectic. To alleviate some of the wait, we are loading one specialty non- alcoholic coffee voucher per day onto your SeaPass card. This can be used in the Main Dining Room, La Patisserie, Café Two70°, Solarium Bistro, and the Windjammer. Once onboard, please check your Welcome Letter or with your Concierge for additional information.
We’re happy you’re joining us for these special sailings and we hope your time with us is nothing short of spectacular!
Thank you for being Loyal to Royal, we appreciate your patronage.
Sincerely,
Your Crown & Anchor Society Team.

I bring a bottle of Champagne and as soon as the room is ready I start chilling it and it is perfect for sail away.  Then my ice bucket is ready for my second bottle of wine.  

Yes, this is common on elite heavy cruises such as this one or Transatlantics. 
The Ovation Transpacific that is underway now is subject to the same as is the Hawaii to Vancouver cruise that follows it.  
These longer cruises outside of school breaks are a magnet for top elite.   
On Anthem a portion of upstairs in the Music Hall is routinely blocked off each for Diamond overflow.  There are so many Diamond and Diamond Plus on Ovation that they plan to use the entire Music Hall on both floors as overflow.  

We are headed to Ovation on 13 May.  This is Ovation's first Alaska cruise and it is so packed with Diamond and up we received the following email.  I have never heard of specialty coffee being preloaded onto your Seapass before.  Has anyone else?
ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
    Dear Guest,
We are excited to welcome you onboard Ovation of the Seas for its transition sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington.
As you may know, this sailing is quite popular among our Crown and Anchor Society and as a result, our staff is making enhancements to accommodate you.
During your cruise, the Nightly Happy Hour will expand to include both the Diamond Club and the Music Hall on deck 3&4. As always, 3 drink vouchers will be loaded on your account for you to use at the bars and lounges throughout the ship during happy hour.
DIAMOND CLUB & MUSIC HALL
CONCIERGE LOUNGE
Deck 3 & 4
Deck 12
Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club
Pinnacle Club and Suites
Additionally, we understand with more top tier guests than usual, the rush for morning coffee can become hectic. To alleviate some of the wait, we are loading one specialty non- alcoholic coffee voucher per day onto your SeaPass card. This can be used in the Main Dining Room, La Patisserie, Café Two70°, Solarium Bistro, and the Windjammer. Once onboard, please check your Welcome Letter or with your Concierge for additional information.
We’re happy you’re joining us for these special sailings and we hope your time with us is nothing short of spectacular!
Thank you for being Loyal to Royal, we appreciate your patronage.
Sincerely,
Your Crown & Anchor Society Team.

The most notable line in this article is:
"This form of travel will still be allowed for American tourists accompanied by U.S.-based, authorized sponsors, like cruise ship operators."
Looks like cruises to Cuba will continue.

The most notable line in this article is:
"This form of travel will still be allowed for American tourists accompanied by U.S.-based, authorized sponsors, like cruise ship operators."
Looks like cruises to Cuba will continue.

1. Allure
2. Voyager
3. Radiance
4. Majesty
5. Brilliance
6. Legend
I expect this will change after Ovation next month. 

Some of us are anxiously tracking the development of the Royal Caribbean app.  I thought it would be a good idea to track the features and updates in this spreadsheet.  With the spreadsheet in Google Sheets format, other like-minded ones can also contribute.  Updates can be found via the changelog when the app is updated.  However, app users may notice a capability that may not have been specifically announced for the ship they're sailing on.
Column A contains the features.
Cells B1-Z1 contain the ship names.
Feel free to add new features as they're announced.

Also remember that if you are dining in a specialty restaurant but there is something on the MDR menu that night that you really want (lobster tails or lamb shank comes to mind), you can always ask the specialty restaurant waiter to bring you something from the MDR.  We do this often. No need to miss your favorite MDR dish just b/c you are dining in a specialty restaurant that night !

We ordered the Ultimate Dining for our cruise on 13 May.  I just checked our "order history" information on Cruise Planner and the name has changed to Unlimited Dining.  So RCL is changing the Ultimate Dining to the Unlimited Dining. 

You can book drink packages, dining packages, excursions, etc. via one cruise planner.  After selecting what you want it will ask if there are more people and you can then add the people in the other cabin.  We have done this many times.  You may also want to verify that the two cabins are linked for main dining.  You should be able to see that on the reservation documentation showing the other reservation number as linked for main dining.  If they are not and you booked through Royal then call them and get them linked.  If you booked through a travel agent call them to get the dining linked.