Dawn T.

On 10/31/2021 at 12:19 PM, cruisellama said:

Do you know if 3 days the norm of a "win"  announcement of winning?  Or is that the minimum time you find out?  (I still have 2 in the pending status for a 21 Nov Oasis departure).   Could someone show up on embarkation day and find you they've been upgraded?

Hi.  So sorry for the long wait for a reply.  I just saw this.  I'm not sure you could find out on embarkation day, but I wouldn't be surprised.  From what I have been reading here, days before the trip is the norm for finding out of an upgrade through Royal Up.

Hi @Jakejosa.  My husband and I always use the valet option to park in Tampa.  We think it is worth the extra money.  Very easy to drop your luggage, give your key to the valet, then check in at the valet stand to get your ticket.  When the ship returns, you just go to the valet stand, and they bring your car to the curb.  It was an extra $5 per day the last time we were there.  Here is their website:  https://www.porttb.com/parking .  We always book it in advance.

1 hour ago, KLA said:

Ah.. bummed to read this and that's exactly what's happening with my cruise that departs in 5 days. JS Upgrade has been pending for about a week now. 

Hi, Kayla.  Two of our royal up offers expired, but we had a crown loft suite pending for a least a week, maybe 2.  Then 3 days before we sailed, it was awarded.  Fingers crossed you might still get your JS!

My husband and I were on Symphony for the 9/11/21 cruise.  We had a grand suite booked.  We bid $990 (total) for an owner's suite, $990 (total) for a crown loft suite, and around $2,000 (total) for an aqua theater suite (2 BR).  Probably a couple of weeks before the cruise, the owner's suite bid and the aqua theater suite bid showed expired.  The crown loft suite bid continued to show pending.  Three days before the cruise the upgrade to the crown loft suite was awarded.  The crown loft suite was amazing!  We loved being on deck 17, so close to the Coastal Kitchen and the suite lounge.

My husband bids all the time, but we have only won once.  It was on a 9-night Anthem New England / Canada cruise in October.  We went from a balcony to a junior suite.  He bid the max of $1,000.  The price difference to pay for the upgrade was consistently $3,000, which was the reason I booked the balcony.  We feel like we got a great deal.  We were assigned to JS 6632 which was awesome.  That balcony was really meant for a warm weather cruise!

My kids had cabin 10729 years ago.  You can definitely see the ocean.  It is a long walk down the hall to the back of the ship.  It is really a long walk to anywhere on an Oasis class ship!  My pictures aren't great, but this can give you an idea of the view.

Hi all!  Price drops have been so rare for me that I only check occasionally now, rather than daily or weekly.  I got lucky with 2 price drops recently.  For an Explorer cruise in April 2020, which was booked in May 2019 in a junior suite, I saved $721 in May of this year, then another $148 in June.  We were also booked on Explorer in a junior suite out of Rome this September.  I moved it to Odyssey in a junior suite out of Rome in September 2021.  The move was done in May, before final payment was due.  Royal had not cancelled the cruise yet.  I repriced it in June and saved $899.  Very excited to save so much on two trips!

13 hours ago, ScottinFLA1 said:

@Dawn T.

Thanks so much for the input. The flights are also part of the equation for us. Lufthansa has already cancelled all of our flights both over and back. I just hope at this point RCCL will soon announce exactly what their plans are through the end of the year and don't keep us all guessing what the heck is going on. They have a lot of our money

Our flights are Lufthansa also, but booked through United.  They don't show cancelled.   Bummer.  Maybe the cancellation is coming?  I hope so.  We booked business class, so they weren't cheap.  I would love to get a refund and not be tied to one airline choice for next year's trip.

Hi @ScottinFLA1.  My husband and I were supposed to sail out of Rome on Explorer on 9/8/20.  We decided before making our final payment that we were not going (even if Royal didn't cancel), so I moved it to Rome September 2021 on Odyssey.  I did pay for our airfare back in December, so I'm waiting to see what the airline does.  If they cancel, I will take a refund.  If they don't cancel, I will take the future credit and use it for the cruise next year.

9 minutes ago, AGSLC5 said:

oh really that's funny.. Do you remember if they magically got an upgrade to junior suite? 

This happened to my kids on Harmony last March.  They were in an oceanview balcony and the app showed them as Sea Class.  The paper SetSail Pass was correct though, and didn't show the Sea Class.  No magic upgrade to a junior suite.  I will admit that when I saw it on the app, I did wonder....  

35 minutes ago, Charles From Sydney said:

I will be taking my first Royal Caribbean Cruise in April on Ovation of the Seas leaving from Sydney.

I just checked in and specified an Arrival Time of 12:00-12:30 (which is printed on my SetSail pass).

However, before starting the check-in process, the Royal Caribbean web site says "Please arrive no less than 2 hours before boarding"!

I am confused! Should I arrive at my Arrival Time of 12 or 2 hours before at 10?

In Sydney, unlike the cruise ports in Florida, they enforce the actual boarding times on the SetSail pass.  We cruised out of Sydney in March 2019.  @twangster also mentioned this in his current blog:  The cruise terminal has no waiting area inside so appointment times are strictly enforced.  Once the ship is ready to board they’ll open the doors and start looking for early appointment times.

13 hours ago, DanielB said:

I know I have seen this asked and answered, but I have searched and can not find.

If there are 2 people booked in a room and 1 does not show at the port, the other just lets them know that there is no intent of them coming and board the ship as normal.  As they will receive double points for the reservation just like a solo booking.  Is that correct?  Any tips or precautions to doing this?

As always, thanks a bunch.

 

This happened to us once.  My husband and I drove to Fort Lauderdale for a 5-night trip on Majesty. I boarded the ship with him, but ended up getting off before we sailed to go home due to a family situation. He stayed and sailed solo.  He received 10 points for the trip.

15 hours ago, JoyJoy said:

Helloooo!

I am doing a 3 nighter on Navigator of the Seas out of MIAMI. Luggage Tags have number 9 on them. We are booked in a Junior Suite.  Purchased the Key. Flight leaves out of FLL at 1130am. 

Can someone explain the meaning of the luggage tag number in relationship to how fast we can disembark please?

How fast can I get off the ship with priority departure if I allow them to take my bags?

Thanks  

Hi @JoyJoy.  You mentioned that you have the Key.  With the Key you will get priority disembark.  Your luggage tags will be marked as "Key" guests, not one of the numbered tags.  Your luggage will be in the specific area for Key guests, and you should be escorted off the ship.  We had the Key on Anthem out of Cape Liberty, and it was awesome for the disembark.  Hopefully you will have a similar experience in Miami.  Maybe someone else can add their experience out of Miami.  Have a great cruise!

37 minutes ago, SweetHomeLady said:

Have you used the Key on a recent Anthem sailing?  What was your experience?  I purchased it for two of us at $25.99.  DH loves adventure and hates crowds and waiting, so I thought it would be worthwhile.  Now we have a potential to Royal Up to a Junior Suite for about the same amount.  That suite perks would eliminate some of the crowd factor (dinner at Coastal Kitchen, Suite seating at shows, etc.)  Trying to decide if I should cancel the Key and try to Royal Up.  Any thoughts?

My husband and I had the Key on Anthem last October for a 9-night sailing.  We were booked in a balcony cabin.  We wanted a junior suite, but the prices were ridiculous when we booked (around $3,000 more).  We always get 2-device Surf and Stream anyway, and we had a $100 OBC to use.  We paid $19.99 per person for the Key. 

My husband always bids on RoyalUp when he has the opportunity.  He started out with a mid-range bid for a junior suite, but decided to change it and put in the max bid.  About 10 days before the cruise, we got the upgrade to a junior suite for the max bid of $1,000.  Based on the price difference between the balcony cabin and the junior suite, we felt like we got a great deal.  We loved the cabin, and we ate dinner in Coastal Kitchen every night.  It was wonderful!  

We did not cancel the Key because of the upgrade, since it was to a junior suite. With the Key, we absolutely loved the embarkation day lunch in MDR with the Chops menu.  We also loved the disembarkation day breakfast.  We didn’t take advantage of any seating for shows or private hours for activities.  We were only able to take advantage of priority disembark at one port, and it was great.  We just got off the elevator, asked where to go for the Key, and they let us get in the line right at the exit.  We had excursions booked in all the other ports and had to meet in the theater and they escort you off.

I know getting the Key is a personal choice, and I can tell you for the Anthem cruise we absolutely loved it!  We didn’t even take advantage of all it had to offer either.

12 hours ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

 i always stay in Rome pre cruise a few nights then get a transfer to the port and back to Rome for a night stay before flying back. 

Hi @SMOKEY0202.  This is exactly what my husband and I are doing this September.  I would rather not move hotels from Rome to Civitavecchia for the night before the cruise.  Can you tell me what transfer company you used for your trips to the port and back to Rome after the cruise? 

2 hours ago, S0nny said:

Thank you SO much for sharing! This is the first cruise we are going on with the Royal Up program, so I have some trepidation about it. I don’t know what minimum bids are vs. what is normally accepted (like... if I bid minimum, is there any chance?). I’m always curious about what that experience is like for other cruisers. 

Hi @sonny!  Just to add to my original post....  The $1,000 total bid was the max bid for a JS.  Originally, my husband bid lower, probably in the middle.  Later, he went in and maxed out all the bids (for JS, GS, and OS).  He really wanted an upgrade.  Best $1,000 we ever spent!  We managed to get 5:30 reservations in Coastal Kitchen each night without a problem.   

9 hours ago, GaCardinal said:

I think we might be on your sailing and we are still waiting to see if our bids get accepted.  We bid just a bit lower than your so fingers crossed.

Good luck!

2 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

My wife and I sailed in a JS last October around the same time you're sailing, and we had CK booked each night at 6:30; it was practically dead on all but the last night. Even that last night wasn't crazy busy, just more like what I'd expect from a normal dining venue at prime dinner hour. The ship sailed full, so I guess most of the JS / full suite guests were enjoying the specialty dining on board every night, or eating closer to the traditional dining times. 5:30 will probably be fine for you next week.

Have a great sailing, and congrats on the bid win!

@JLMoran This is excellent news!  It sounds like we might get lucky with CK. 

My husband always bids on RoyalUP whenever he has the opportunity.  I always tell him it will never happen.  Well, we are sailing on Anthem next week, and he received an email yesterday that our bid was accepted.  We originally booked a 2C (ocean view with large balcony) long ago.  I wanted a junior suite, but it was more than double the balcony price.  I kept checking the JS price, but it was never reduced.  We ended up with a J1 (junior suite with large balcony) for $1,000 (total bid).  We think it is well worth the upgrade.  We get a bigger cabin, better bathroom, giant balcony, plus dinner access to Coastal Kitchen.  We are hoping to get dinner reservations for CK every night.  We sailed on Ovation in March in a grand suite.  We had 5:30 dinner reservations every night in CK, and the place was practically empty.  We’re hoping for this on Anthem.  For those wondering about bid timing, he placed the bid on 7/29/19.  Upgrade email arrived yesterday 10/1.  Sail date is next week.

9 hours ago, Bethlehem_Cruiser said:

New cruisers for RC coming over from Carnival.  The wife loves the Bailey's Banana Colada when cruising - wondered if anyone knows if it's a "regular" drink that you can order?  (Have received a few strange looks when ordering by the initials though....)

Thanks!

We order BBCs on Royal all the time.  I use the initials when ordering, and have never had to explain what it is.  Welcome to cruising on Royal!

1 minute ago, Simon Lundy said:

Where r u sailing from & how did u purchase it im sailing from new York 2 the Bahamas March 2020 I'm just 8 months out & don't c it in my planner thanks 

If it is available for your sailing, it would be in the Cruise Planner under Internet & More.  I am sailing from Cape Liberty to Boston, Nova Scotia, etc.

I have the key on Anthem for a sailing this October.  I purchased it in January of this year, so 10 months out.

@GlowTheWeird Did you book through a travel agent?  I would suggest calling them.  If not, I would call Royal Caribbean about your reservation.  I thought it was a computer glitch, but I am a travel agent.  I checked my agency booking website, and every category on this sailing is closed, except these:

3B Spacious ocean view balcony for $6,084 pp (standard pricing)

6N Ocean view $3,010 pp (BOGO50 NRD)

6V Interior $2,485 pp (BOGO50 NRD)

This is very strange, but especially since it is so far out. 

16 minutes ago, nkenn said:

I have the similar dilemma.  We currently are in an Ocean View with a Large Balcony on Allure of the Seas 8/11/19 sailing.  We paid $2598.20 after fees, taxes and gratuities. I did a MOCK booking yesterday and now can get a Junior Suite for about $285.00 TOTAL not Per Person.  Do I do it?  My TA always seems to make me feel like Im bothering her when I ask things.  So I don't want to reach out unless its worth it.  Also at this point the only available cabins are in much busier sections....like directly behind Chops.  PLEASE HELP!

You absolutely must do this.  This is a DEAL!  

37 minutes ago, VinceC said:

It seems to be that the SetSail Pass in the ROYAL APP has the same information as in the online Cruise Planner except in the ROYAL APP it states SEA CLASS under my name.

Set Sail Pass shows all the same info as booked, same cabin and NO to the RoyalUp.

Could be a glitch, but could it be a glitch I could take advantage of?   I am a travel agent and I know in the booking they know because every time a call to speak with them as a passenger and not an agent, they ask me for my agency number.   So just maybe they have me earmarked for a possible upgrade?  or do they every give those amenities out to others even though they are not in a suite?

 

 

This same thing happened to us last month on the Harmony.  My husband and I booked long ago, but I added my kids about a month before sailing in a guarantee balcony.  I noticed that the app showed them as sea class, even though they were assigned to a regular balcony cabin.  The SetSail pass printed out correctly, without a Sea Class reference.  I figured it was an app glitch.