dandi799

Saved a bunch on Coco Cay Waterpark, but was really hoping for a decent sale on the DBP...which went up by $5. Lol. 

9 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Finding a drink the way you like it can be quite a trial and error effort 

Completely agree! At least the DBP makes it less painful to walk away from one that I don't like! 

I sail on Friday (I'm so excited) on Freedom. I've never sailed on Freedom before, and I'm wondering if anyone here might have some advice about which bar(s) tend to make the best gin and/or vodka martinis and a great classic manhattan. I'm not a big fan of super sweet drinks, so I'm hoping to find a bar or two that make really great classics. Thanks so much!!

We are cruising out of Miami 2 weeks from today. We are masking up and not hanging out with other indoors as much as possible. I do have two days at an in-person conference this week, which makes me very nervous, if I'm being honest. We are flying to Miami the day before the cruise, and I have N95 masks and face shields for all of us. I'm completely over caring if I look silly at this point. We have been planning this cruise since 2019, and I just want it to happen!

18 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

We have luck usually with the Central Park restaurants, so just go to see which are open and walk into the podium. Typically several of them are open to make reservations. I've also been able to do it through the app once connected to the ship's wifi.

Oooh, that is good to know! If we have to wait a bit to board, I can try to see if I can do it on the app. Thank you!!

24 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

BC Chops or Giovanni's/Jamies were usually open for lunch on embarkation day but who knows if any of them will be open after the restart.

Thank you! I will start there! I will report back with how things go! I appreciate it!

8 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Any specialty restaurant that is open has access to reservation system. 
I write out my requests and hand them to someone able to make reservations. I wait for verification. Eventually reservations will show up as events on the App calendar. 

Thank you! I guess I am wondering which specialty restaurants are typically open right when you board.  

This is a very specific question, and I know that things might be different with the restart, but I am on the first Symphony sailing (8/14), and am going to have to make my UDP reservations right after boarding. I’m thinking there will be a big line at the podium in the promenade. Does anyone know what speciality restaurants I might be able to go to in order to make those reservations after boarding? Thank you!!

I get that message when I go to the page - https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade, but when I click on the "modify/cancel" link in the email they sent me confirming my bid, I can see that all but one of my bids are expired. So, I'm thinking maybe that message comes up if you click that original Royal link once bidding is closed?

9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Sorry but you got some very BAD information....which isn't particularly surprising.  As you suggest, one of the advantages of the UDP is the fact that you can eat whenever you want - as long as you can get a reservation.  So forget what the rep told you.  You do NOT have to eat at ANY particular time with the UDP.  I recommend that as soon as you board the ship, you head to any one of the specialty restaurants that is open or to the dining reservation kiosk (usually located somewhere in the Promenade) to (1) make your dining reservations for whatever time/restaurant YOU want to dine and (2) let them know that you will NOT be going to the MDR so that they can release your seating to someone else who may be WAITING to get into the early dining.  Enjoy your cruise and your UDP.

Thank you so much!!! This is what I thought when I purchased it (and one of the reasons I did), so I was really nervous. I appreciate you taking the time! Phew!

This is our first time purchasing the unlimited dining plan (we are on Symphony on 8/14). I purchased it back in June of 2020, and honestly have no recollection of whether I signed up for a dining time. However, on my husband's app, it said that we will be dining at 6:30 each night, which does not sound like a time that I would have picked, as we prefer to eat later. I called RCL and was told that I needed to eat at the same time each night with the UDP AND that they could not change that time now without canceling and rebooking (we got it for $160/pp, and it is now $217/pp). I definitely thought that part of the benefit of the UDP was that you could make your reservations at different times and restaurants each night. (I know that it should be the first thing I do once I board, which is why I've been stalking the website/app to see when I can actually get a check-in time.) Can anyone confirm what the policy is in terms of times? Thank you so much!

I've filled it out three times so far. I sail in a month, so I'm just going to keep filling it out whenever they send it, just to be safe. 

Thank you so much, @twangster!!

I got this for my 8/14 SY cruise. I didn't notice any new updates in the protocols email, and I don't think it included which areas would be exclusively for vaccinated guests.  @WAAAYTOOO were you able to find that in the protocols for Symphony anywhere? 

I was able to! In the confirmation email, there is a button to "modify/cancel" the upgrade bid. Just click on it, and you should be able to change your bid while it is still pending. 

Thank you! I know that seems obvious, but I was just suddenly second guessing everything.  I appreciate it!

Hi, all!

I received my royal up offer, and I want to make sure I understand it. This is our first time thinking about putting in a bid. I am traveling with my husband and 2 children, and we are currently in a balcony stateroom. When I go to bid, it says "double occupancy" and I do not see an option to increase that. I see that it says that we only pay for the first two guests, but I just want to make sure that there is not a chance that they will put us in a room with less occupancy than we need. We would definitely be moved to a room that sleeps at least 4 guests, is that right? Thanks for all of your help!!

Oh, no!! That is disappointing. What complete roller coaster this past week has been! I guess I thought that most itinerary changes would have been sorted out before the announcement on Friday. I will have to mentally prepare myself for a potential change to the 8/14 sailing, as well. Thank you for the update!

12 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I am booked on this sailing.  I have not received any email about an itinerary change.  As of right now, the itin is still exactly the same one it has always been.  If they plan to change it, I don't know about it yet.

 

If you haven't heard about it, that makes me feel better! 

I just read (in a couple of places) that, at least for Symphony's 8/21 sailing (8 nights), the itinerary has been completely changed. Was supposed  to be Labadee, Aruba, and Curacao, and (according to a couple of people who received an email) is now Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts & Nevis. Because I don't trust anything unless I read it here....a) has anyone else seen that change, and b) has anyone seen any other itinerary changes for Symphony? I'm on the 8/14 cruise, and, while feeling extremely lucky to potentially actually get to sail, also got really great deals on my excursions, and would be bummed to have all my ports changed on me, particularly if Coco Cay got taken away. 

Just coming back to say that Symphony is out of dry dock and heading back across the Atlantic! Assuming a 10 day journey, she should be near the states by 6/17 https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9744001

I've been wondering the same thing. My 8/14 sailing of Symphony is no longer available to book (at least, I'm not seeing it), but there were a lot of cabins available when I looked earlier this week, so that made me think that they might be limiting capacity, at least for a bit?

So, how confident do folks feel that the sailings that have been confirmed as going will truly go? I feel VERY lucky to be on the 8/14 Symphony sailing, but given that it is the first one out, I'm still really cautious about getting my hopes up. But, this seems like a big announcement that has been a long time coming, so.....are people feeling good about this being a pretty solid plan, and not just another delay that will end in more cancellations? 

38 minutes ago, jensspark said:

Thanks! We were booked on Oasis for Thanksgiving 2020 in a 2 bedroom Aqua Theater suite (dream cruise!!!) which of course didn't happen. Our anniversary is 8/3, but we pushed back to 8/14 to give more time and because we wanted an itinerary we had done before so we could enjoy the ship in port. We're based in Houston, so have sailed Liberty many times and were ready to move up to the next level!!

I'm probably going to double book for that week and then use Cruise with Confidence for a FCC and cancel Adventure if Symphony gets the green light. I'd rather have 2 booked than hold out and get a last minute cancellation without another option. I know we'll use the FCC and would prefer the 125% since I'm having to book that Aqua Theater suite in the future (son graduates in 2024, so will book as soon as it goes on sale).

I'm crossing my fingers with you. We booked 8/14 on Symphony pre-covid, and have been holding our breath. The 2022 August Symphony cruises are out of our price range at this point, even with the 125% FCC, so we would only want to Lift & Shift if canceled. I just looked on the RCL website, and the 8/14 sailing is not available to book at the moment. This could just be an IT glitch, or they are already at the capacity they want, but I'm feeling defeated at the moment. Still...fingers crossed. 

I know it is one state, but we were hit hard and slow to reopen, so it really is saying a lot if Gov. Murphy just ended the PHE in NJ today. 

https://twitter.com/GovMurphy/status/1400548584383262726?s=20