HeWhoWaits

Last May on Ovation, we had an 11:00 "boarding" time. We were in line by 10:30 and had our first adult beverage in hand by 11:15. Friends on the same cruise with a 1:00 "boarding" time were in line at 12:30 and didn't get on the ship until almost 3:30. Definitely a case of YMMV, but the earlier your boarding time, the less likely you are to experience a longer wait.

If they don't get the system fixed soon, this may well become the topic with the greatest number of separate threads in the history of the forums! Still a bit to go to reach rants about chair hogs and questions about the beverage package, but the number of threads on the topic over the last month or so is quite impressive.

You handled the old coot better than I might have, depending on my mood at the time of the second encounter. Simple way to put him in his place would've been to ask (loudly) how HE got into the lounge. If his response was an appropriate "I used my SeaPass to access the door" you could have responded "That's exactly how I entered as well."

Q: What is wine at 5:30? A: One way and approximately the right time to begin your transition from afternoon beverages to evening beverages.

Sure we do - Chops, Giovanni's, Izumi, Hooked, Izumi Hibachi which are available for you to reserve. There may be more, but these would seem to be set in stone.

It floors me that folks are saying the equivalent of "no can do, sorry about your luck" in this regard as that hasn't been our experience. We always use the set dining time option and have moved to the other dining time for one or two nights on a number of occasions. If you have the early main seating, it's relatively easy to get a spot at the late seating with your regular wait staff. If you have late seating it's tougher to get a spot at the early time, especially if you want the same waiter and assistant waiter. No guarantees, but if you speak to your head waiter early on they will do their best to have your request accommodated.

Similar situation for my wife. Eligible for block on June cruise on Mariner and completed the request to have it sent to our home. Still no block. Next trip on Freedom in June will pass 210 for the next block. Looking like she may have to ask about the 140 block in addition to obtaining the new one (will be driving to/from this one so taking it with her will be an option).

Even with the moderation in place, you'll note that there a frequently posts by new "members" that are just rants against Royal and the "member" never posts again. As @AshleyDillosaid, the usefulness of moderation is to prevent true spam.

With respect to age restrictions - Royal will be very strict. One's age on boarding day is the age for the entire voyage. We intentionally planned a previous cruise to dpart AFTER our youngest son's 21st birthday rather than celebrating his birthday and our anniversary ON the cruise.

We had similar issues with our Ovation cruise last May and my wife's with friends on Mariner in June. Had nothing to do with any particular sale, just cruise planner cancellations/repurchases after final payment. Called multiple times to get the exact same issue corrected repeatedly. They "fixed" it then they system issued the same "hey you still owe us money" email a couple days later. Ended up getting multiple bottles of wine and a little OBC but not enough to offset the time spent escalating the issue. I agree with @Xaathat your best approach is probably to pay the difference and then have your TA fight like crazy later for additional compensation.

I assume your hourly rate is billed with a minimum of two hours. $500 for your time and trouble seems fair and reasonable.

DUIND = cruise to nowhere. No results because they can't do that.

On Ovation in May, there was a whiskey tasting event. Those with the DBP received $15 off the cost that the rest of us paid. YMMV.

The slide is rated to 110 kg. That converts to just over 242.5 pounds so they rounded up instead of down.

@twangster's link is great, but the biggest advantage to the paper compass is having the opportunity to peruse it each evening in preparation for the next day.

7:00 is not "early."

In May, Ovation had the WJ omelet station. In July, Explorer had the WJ omelet station but Freedom did not.

Earlier MTD times "sell out" almost as soon as they are available. The best scenario is to book the cruise early and start checking to see if MTD is available to book right away. Keep checking daily until it opens up and hope you're not too many hours into the day it opened.

To maximize how your points are awarded for the connecting rooms scenario, book one adult solo and the other adult with the kids in the adjoining room. Always book the same parent as the solo to accumulate double points on a single account. Cost of cruise is slightly more this way as you'll pay four full price and one reduced fare (as opposed to four full price) but it's a great way to accumulate double points if you're booking two rooms anyway.

Windjammer opens at 7:00. Sunrise is often much closer to 6:00. That's why I miss the "Early Risers Breakfast" selection of yesteryear.

We experienced the same thing on Ovation, Freedom, and Explorer during 2022. Global supply issues hit us everywhere, even on vacation.

If nothing else appeals to you, the chicken fingers with fries are very good.

Table numbers are flexible depending on the size of parties on each cruise. There's no way to tell in advance where a particular table number will be located.

Except when it's not. We've had early seating as early as 5:00 and late seating as late as 8:30. Depends on the ship and the itinerary.

Sounds like the exception that proves the rule. Have never previously heard of this happening (rule) but if it did (exception) I will be interested to hear how it turns out.