HeWhoWaits

There is no such thing as "Formal Night" on Royal cruises any more. I believe all the ships have converted the terminology to "Suggested attire: Dress Your Best" at this point. You'll see people dressed to the nines and others in jeans and a tee-shirt.

Does he dine at Row-bair Tay-vons?

Welcome to the boards. Royal requires a card be associated with your account (use a credit card rather than a debit card because of the daily holds placed when they run charges). Because you want to pay cash, you have the option to go to guest services onboard at any time and make a deposit to cover expenses and again near the end of the cruise to pay off your balance. We typically go and pay cash to cover the spending to date the morning of day 4 and then pay off what is already posted to the onboard account on the last night. That way, the only real charge to our card is any spending after that last visit to guest services.

We can affirm that @djs68has been watching @Matt's videos and/or listening to podcasts.

Very poor survey design.

The only change is the order of days on which you get what set of rotating items.

We gladly pay more for an aft-facing cabin any time it is available. The more sea days included in the itinerary, the more this amenity is worth to us.

The only place that is too far from stairs or elevators is off the ship.

The key card from your night before sailing arrival is perfect.

After paying the original refund back to Royal last Tuesday because the account was showing a balance due, there is no a new refund in the same amount posted to our credit card. Called about it and the same thing happened on the other sailing my wife is on that her friend corrected last week too. This goes beyond a "glitch." Royal certainly seems to be trying to find an excuse to cancel for non-payment and keep the money.

I have to be creative to limit this to five. 1A) Pre-Breakfast 1B) Breakfast 1C) Second Breakfast 2A) Elevenses 2B) Lunch 2C) Afternoon Tea 3A) Dinner 3B) Supper 3C) Late Night Snack 4A) Wine 4B) Drink of the Day 4C) Single-Malt 5A) Sunrise 5B) Sunset

I think most of the swirl around "doing nothing" is because there are different interpretations. "I'm not doing anything different leading up to the cruise" does not mean taking ZERO precautions. It means the individual isn't changing anything from their current level of precautions. I could increase my precautions significantly and still be seen as "taking too many risks" by many of my peers. Would that be better than "not changing anything" by those doing more than I am?

You definitely want to check on the balance due on your cruises, especially if they are past final payment. Royal may believe that you have a balance due because of the refund (caused by a "system glitch") and could cancel your cruise for non-payment.

You're suggesting that Royal IT is capable of doing something like this?

If we drove, we would wait to be among the last ones off the ship anyway (easier to not fight the crowds). If they don't have everyone off in time to move from the berth for marine traffic, that's extra time to enjoy the ship before returning to reality. Makes using all the Diamond vouchers on debarkation day easier!

The antibiotic-free chicken was more appetizing.

I like to ask if they have any children and enjoy watching their faces light up when they tell me about them. Two of my three most recent cruises included one or both young grandchildren. Went to breakfast early at the Windjammer and had multiple servers all over us. Interacting with young kids seems to help crew members not miss their own children as much as they otherwise would.

Have to wonder if the mysterious emails going to some with a zero balance are related to the mysterious refund and lack of notification about a balance due on other accounts.

That's the part that makes being required to complete the form in order to BOARD the ship baffling.

It wasn't me (that I recall, anyway) but I'm on the sailing following you and now I'm curious.

I am fully prepared to LOUDLY request (maybe even demand) that they allow those who have completed all the requirements in advance be allowed to move ahead of those who have not. No reason to hold up MY boarding because others are unprepared.

You're doing it wrong! Cutting back on how much you eat leading up to the cruise causes your stomach to shrink (albeit slightly) which makes you get full quicker. The right approach is to warm up for the excessive eating on the cruise by gradually increasing your food intake leading up to the cruise. That way, you won't be as uncomfortably full after each of your daily seven or eight meals.

The complete lack of communication by Royal is the biggest issue with the situation. Our Alaska cruise would have been cancelled for non-payment (despite a receipt that shows paid in full) if I hadn't called to try to get a lower price. Phone rep and customer care both attributed it to a "system glitch" but there was no explanation given for why no notifications went out. The cynic in me thinks the "system glitch" could be a ploy by Royal to get some free cash flow.

But all of that happens AFTER you test negative and the worries about testing positive pre-cruise have passed.

A friend who had also gotten a mystery refund recently called about her sailing (also paid in full). She called Royal based on my experience. The exact same situation - no email, not showing in online account, pending payment on a cruise past final payment date. Royal IT strikes again!