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ScooterScott22

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ScooterScott22 last won the day on September 21 2022

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  1. Hey Royal Caribbean Blog community, thought it might be interesting to see what people think, have heard or know about the Icon's Suite dining. There are a few people that hear things, and some suite snobs that know the details about suite life. Would like to know what people have heard, any thoughts or roumors. about the differences or changes for Icon's suite dining and impact to the guests. Personally have only loosely followed the Icon's announcements, so really just started looking a little more in depth. The addition of the Grove seemed to be one of the key changes and there doesn't seem to a lot of detail out there yet. Also the two story CK is nice but wondering if that really expands the number of guests since a hot topic on these boards is Jr. Suite access for dinner. For the Grove, since there is really limited details on the internets, any news on menus, style of dining or anything really? it seems to be similar to what we experienced on MSC's Yacht Club with outdoor dining on the suites sundeck/pool area. What are the thoughts on Grove menu? It is said to be Med, which might be a little harder of a concept as a counter style, so it seems more likely to be a casual sit down place. It does seem from the pictures like it could be a little more geared towards a sit down restaurant than a grab and go or buffet type venue. A real sit down venue requires more staffing, so wondering if that will be more like the artwork Royal has posted implies or if they made any changes. With Costal Kitchen doesn't seem like there will be too many surprises. As for the cuisine, its likely that the CK menu would be along the lines of the rest of the fleet. The big change seems to be in the layout. Everyone is reporting that Coastal Kitchen will encompass two deck but, in reality does that increase square footage or amount of tables? Because it has a U shape it may not actually be more usable space. Anyone have word on how this may impact seating. Also any word on how the bar area will be included. I could see dining on one level and bar/lounge on another. Just wondering since doing a quick count, if every suite is at max capacity, Icon would have something like 25 more guest with access to CK than Symphony, which has the potential highest number of Star and Sky guest in the fleet currently. The Max guest count for Star/Sky is 438 and adding Sea brings the total to 718. Jr. Suites could really be left fighting for diner reservations in some circumstance. Would love to hear anything that is confirmed about the differences or thoughts.
  2. We have seen the Royal Up bid go into spot were it was not modifiable when they were assigning rooms. If your cruise is about a month out, it is likely that they are starting that process. It seems to depend on the room inventory and the timeframe can vary a little but that is usually near the 30 day mark.
  3. Thanks, I came into this a little late and was reading through it, there was some discussion on the Delta related to price. It seemed like there was some rationalization on the value of the perks between the two. Guess I just have to follow closer.
  4. Just looked over this thread and wondering if I am missing something. We had booked The Key for last month's cruise and cancelled it when we switched to a suite. Since almost all of The Key perks are similar of lesser than the suite perks, it was not worth it. The priority embarkation/disembarkation and wifi (one per guest) are the biggest influence here and they included in the suite, right? The boarding lunch would be easily trumped by having access to Costal Kitchen. Not sure there really is any value to The Key if you have the suite booked.
  5. Agree it is do-able, but having been in that room, I would say that lunch, snacks, or maybe one dinner would be fine in the Suite. The room can accommodate four and six will fit for a visit. If you wanted to have six comfortably they will need to spread out some across the two deck and even outside. If you tried to all hang in the living room area it will start to feel cramped. Six people dining in that room is going to be even less comfortable. Doing that routinely might not be as fun and might even create some friction, unless everyone REALLY gets along well. We did two lunches in that suite, and even with our group of three the table started to feel a little tight. Granted one meal included the old Seafood Tower!!! With the one lunch, we did two people at the table and rotated one person sitting out on the back watching the wildlife. This lunch for three filled the table and unless you were seated in the spot where this pic was taken, you could feel a little cramped. The two chairs backing the window are OK but the window angle does start to pinch you in, and if you are along the wall to really can't move further to that side. As simple fix and it will almost give the non-suite guess the Star Class experience is just adding the dining package.
  6. No, just reply to the concierge if you were going to attend.
  7. We were surprised to see a bridge tour offered for the suites the other week. We have done that in Star class and know that has returned last year. Last week we were sailing in Sky class and they offered it on one of the sea days. So more things/perks might be for forthcoming.
  8. We have done Ovation in Alaska and just sailed Quantum to Vancouver. Agree with @twangster that the difference is very subtle. Some of the art work is different and there are a few interactive pieces on Ovation and the noodle place is Fish ‘n Ships but otherwise you couldn’t really differentiate. Look at dates, price and itinerary to help make the choice. I’ll add that the mix of suites is a little higher on Ovation so if you are choosing a suite (or Jr. Suite) the Coastal Kitchen and suite lounge may feel busier on her.
  9. There verandas in a Grand Loft Suite, sounds like 10320 or 10720. We did that for our family of three and for Alaska the extra balcony is great. The room is great but those corner rooms are a little smaller than the middle GLS. Enjoy the cruise and the room. It might be easiest to add the dining package for your party that are not in the suite. You can work out meals but it will make things so much easier. It will not put you or the genie into an awkward situation. They can easily make a dining reservation for the whole party. It avoids putting the servers in a position to sort orders and charges if you all have have the UDP.
  10. As mentioned previously, yes and there is not only the Diamond lounge with the coffee machine but if you are in a suite, the suite lounge has the same. Not sure exactly what motivated Royal to extend this perk, but you might also get lucky and get a bonus coffee per day as Diamond.
  11. We traveled with some friends last year and everyone had the dining package. The reservations were linked but they did board after us. We made reservations for four and no one questioned how many were right there or were in our cabin. Maybe they just wanted to “keep the line moving” so they only focused on what time and number that would be at the table.
  12. As for the rooms being ready early, you may experience some variety. Reviewing our three suite cruises in the past year. Star class on Allure we were taken right to the room after boarding and I can say we were there before noon. I’ll share that our Sky class room on Harmony Deck 17, crown loft suite, was ready by 12:15. Flip side of that our Sky class Owners loft suite on Quantum was not ready until 2pm. My guess is that deck 17 may be ready earlier than other staterooms so if you are doing Sky class in a CLS, there is a chance rooms are ready earlier but that could be ship or Cruise specific. Other Sky class rooms are likely more typical times.
  13. If the link above summarizes what I have heard from @twangster previously about internet service in Alaska, it will mean service will be available but can be slower than you are used to. Our experience with cruising Alaska in 2019 (pre-Starlink) was that service was always available but at times slow. It was similar to logging on back in the 90’s. Images were slow on some days and those days I didn’t even try video or streaming. Other days we even able to log in and stream the hockey playoffs. There was some lag but not bad when it was running. So hit or miss at best. We just got off the boat in Vancouver on Monday and had no issues. Granted we did not go north, we came in from the south but everything was working well. My son was on his laptop and playing games, videos, streaming, etc. and says everything worked like normal. While it may be different as you travel further north, 2023 was better than what we experienced on any day in 2019.
  14. There are a lot of options. If you are there just for a night probably best to stay as close as possible but if you have any extra time, I would pick one of the hotels just a little west, in the coal harbor area. It is still walkable to the pier and you have some options to get along to the west and walk out to Stanley Park along the water. Got some dining and other options a short walk and the train is accessible too. We did the Marriott Pinnacle and it was nice, good name for a Royal Caribbean cruise too!
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