ScooterScott22

There was a scavenger hunt on our Harmony sailing in May. Not sure of the actual title listed but it was similar to other trivia and events. You got a list and your team recorded the items in pics on a phone. There were different point values for different items and high score wins. Point bonuses for first 3 teams to return, and there is a deadline.

Port of Miami to the airport should be a 10-20 drive, barring traffic. Traffic can be an issue in Miami so the question is really how much before noon are you thinking.

Yes, heated and I’ll add that we swam at both the “indoor” pool and outdoor pool while sailing in Alaska. On one of the cooler days and we tried both and the outdoor actually felt warmer. Not sure if they can adjust the amount of warm water they send to each or if it was another factor in pool temp controls, or simply our perception. YMMV but check each pool to find the one that’s “just right”.

You may want to bring some balls also. (No pun intended there.) Back in May we had a room overlooking the sports court. Yes there was players. They typically had 3 courts and usually all three were occupied. While I didn’t watch much there was an interesting play. The ball was hit and I watched it head out of the sports court and down into the Boardwalk. It landed about 10 feet from some people but they failed to return it, so Harmony may be low on supplies.

We can drive to the Florida ports so no issues there but the four cruises at other ports we have always arrived a couple of days early. I travel a lot for work and typically do over 100 flights a year. In the past I was never too worried as I was pretty well practiced at making flight changes. Lately it has not been quite as easy even with having airline status. Things just are not as reliable as they once were. (And that is saying something, since it wasn’t terribly reliable in the first place.) Time of day, frequency of routes, and number of connections are all things to consider in how complex your travel is and risks. As long as you know what your alternate routes are and your options you might be able to decrease some of the worry and some of the days you need to possibly budget ahead of the cruise.

Reviewing this and had a couple of thoughts to pass along. First I agree with others that the size of the party (9) might be the most influential piece on getting a reservation. Agree that to head to one of the restaurants right after boarding and work with them to see what you can schedule. Don’t forget that you can also update or find new reservations while cruising in the app. So adjustments still might be possible. The other item is a question, how far out is your cruise? We did UDP on Wonder in March and Harmony in May and on both occasions not one location, other than Mason Jar, had every table occupied. The issue seems to be staffing, not enough servers to cover every table. If your sailing after Labor Day there are a few reasons, it might not be as difficult. Stick to your plan, know your spots where you can be flexible and good luck.

Reading through this thread and I wonder if the ship will impact this late arrival situation. Especially on Oasis and Quantum class there are a fair amount of specialty dining options. We have been on at least 4 cruises on Royal where we have never went to the MDR. We know specialty dining isn’t for everyone but since we have dId the last cruise with friends that had the same view, there are a few other that will leave open tables in the MDR. So does the presence and number of specialty dining venues possibly impact the flexibility of the MDR to accommodate parties that are late. (I really wanted to type “parties that are tardy” there.)

There are some good points/strategies about staying on ship time already. We also typically are back at least by 30 minutes but usually 60 minutes or greater. We enjoy getting back and watching for Pier Runners. Our last cruise was one of those exceptions. We were on one of the ships tour and it got back only 10 minutes or so before departing. My view is that there is increasing degrees of risk related to being left behind. The ship will never want to stay longer in port due to the associated costs of extending port time. Being on a cruise line excursion decreases the chance that they will leave. Also factoring in is the next port/stop. If the ship is making a short hop, something like Aruba to Curaçao or St. Thomas to St. Martin, the risk is also pretty low and port fees are the likely factor. If the ship is making a long run then not only are the port fees an issue but they are worried about making the departure time because being late increases risks for being tardy at the next location or burn more fuel ($$$) making up time with extra speed. So the risk probably varies, but as long as you even pay a little bit of attention, it shouldn’t be a worry. Happy sailing.

Seconding this experience. We were on the third Wonder sailing and the bridge wings access was “locked” during parts of that cruise. Went there at various times and days but only found them open once, while at port in St. Thomas.

Based on our couple of successful Royal Up bids, as well as our unsuccessful ones, the sweet spot seems to be a couple of weeks to about a week out. I’m not saying a late or last minute notice is not possible, but just less likely. The other factor to know, that might be helpful, was if there were open rooms of any category that were higher than yours. If you know the ship was near capacity, another thing that makes it less likely.

It seems that Royal probably has maximized their ability to pull revenue from Coco Cay. If adding anything special for the suites could decrease revenue, and I suspect it would, then I expect no changes specific to that group. Not having a suites specific area likely increases the demand for cabanas and beach beds. Royal likely has the data and I bet it shows that the suite guests occupy those at a greater ratio than the non-suite staterooms. That extra demand probably helps keep prices higher for the cabanas since they use dynamic pricing.

Just validating that once active, it will remain active in Royal’s system. My son gets the soda package. The cup from a 4 day on Navigator out of LA worked just fine on a 7 Harmony out of PC. The west coast cruise ended on a Friday and the east coast started on Sunday. Since it was inside the time window, it didn’t matter that he changed ships, or even that he went from the pacific to Atlantic. LOL!

We vary quite a bit but usually I will usually do a suit or the tux for formal night. I’ll add that my tux is pretty subtle and could be assumed to be just a black suit. On the occasion that we truly stay casual, we try to find a dining option that is a little less main stream.

What oasis class ship are you sailing on? We are doing Allure for the first Tina and are excited to try the Samba Grill for the first time. Since the Solarium Bistro converts to that for dinner, is it not showing for you because it is a “different” venue? As for the age limit, our son has been in to eat on a few different occasions, he was 11 at the youngest, while on Ovation, and was never questioned.

Surprised to not see @twangsterresponding to this thread yet! He was the master & commander of the North Star on our Ovation - Alaska cruise in 2019 if I recall correctly. There are days that the North Star will not charge and those are usually sea days, in Alaska the days with an associated charge were while we were at the glaciers. On port days, I don’t recall a charge but I think that they did not open the North Star in all ports. That should likely be the trend but someone who recently sailed should be able to provide a more current experience, since they might be trying to increase revenue and adding times that require a fee. And he snuck in a response as I was typing!

Chops as a steakhouse will work since that style is classic. Wonderland is ok, just a different dining experience. Mason Jar was a nice change but execution as a little below my expectations. Maybe it is because I travel a lot for work, mainly in the southeast, and I have experienced some fantastic southern cooking and bar-be-que but I would rank that below 150, Chops, Hooked and maybe even Izumi. Nice new concept, good options too just lacking some good southern flavor. Needs some “BAM!”

Ice skating rinks can be found on Oasis, Freedom and Voyager class ships. I have heard of people bringing their own ice skates, but have not tried this myself. (Too much other stuff to pack.) it appears that the original poster is referring to the Sea-Plex on the Quantum class ships. That space is a multiple use space. It can have bumper cars, soccer, trapeze, etc. Some do roller skating but not sure which ones since not all activities translate to all ships. For the other part to the question, it sounds like you are asking about roller blades, not roller skates. Referring to the ice skates, it seems that people maybe allowed to use their own skates here if the same policy is applied, but not sure if roller blades would actually be allowed. That doesn’t answer the question but hopefully it clears up some of the confusion (about skate types, ice vs roller, and roller blades vs roller skates.)

Adding to the poll - we like it, but not always the best. We have done Chops on Wonder, Harmony, Ovation and Navigator. They are not equal and probably Ovation ranked the highest of theses in a head to head comparison. We feel that it may be the best specialty on some ships but it may not take the top spot on all. On Harmony the Hibachi had a slight edge and on Wonder 150 was much better.

If the restaurant is open for lunch, you can use your UDP at the specialty restaurants. Going deeper into your question, Chops is fine and will usually be open on sea days, if your first day is a sea day you should be fine. If you mean first day as in embarkation day, typically Chops is reserved for the Key guests for lunch.

Just clarifying, you are referring to the White Pass train in Skagway? If that is it, you should find options in the ships excursions, probably can book it directly too but unlike some other excursions that one doesn’t have a lot of benefits to book direct. Since you stated “the train portion”, wondering if you are doing the combo of ship and train.

No problem, expect a flight question in your future from me. I travel a lot for work (about 100-125 flights a year, pre-pandemic) so always looking for tidbits.

We will be doing that itinerary in September, if I remember I’ll note the distance and post here after we complete the journey.

We have done a TA cruise and had a trans pacific planned (cancelled by Covid). The TA was on a smaller ship and we had no issues since we went in planning on relaxing as much as possible. The TP was suppose to be on a Quantum class and we were really looking forward to all the activities she had to offer. Either one can be satisfying, but you have to pick based on you own expectations.

What? Can I reverse that? Can I get my son’s C&A point total. Because of work schedules he got to do a 4 day with Mom when I had to work and later got a 7 day with me when she couldn’t get away from work. So he’s has more than both of us by a bit. (Actually probably a moot point as we will all hit Diamond after our next cruise, even with the point differences.)

Welcome, and hopefully you enjoy your initial cruise and continue to cruise and post here. Cruising can be very fun and also very individual, some like to relax, some like the ports and other like the adventure and experiences on the ship. You can really make a cruise into what you want it to be. Some great info provided above already. We did the Wonder back in March and had the dining package. Since it wasn’t covered above, just adding that we felt it was worth it. I’m not knocking the MDR. We found that the Wonder really has a good selection and liked all of the restaurants to some degree. It probably has the most specialty dining of all the ships so if you are a foodie at all you should consider it. Our experience in 150 alone was the best we have seen in the Oasis class. Have fun planning and have a great cruise.