AshleyDillo

You ask 10 different people from either and you're likely to get 10 different answers. That's the problem. I know that the requirement for the Real ID with the star is that you have to present more documentation for the enhanced ID, but one of those required documents still isn't a birth certificate. If you visit the Department of Homeland Security's website it does state that you can not use a real ID for international cruise travel. https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs

They haven't rolled out the chat feature to all the ships at this point unfortunately and haven't released when they will.

Agreed..it's a totally different vibe than a normal cruise, though. I was surprised by exactly how much different it really was. I did the Warped Reward at Sea a few years ago and it it was very much like the Warped Tour festival..but on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Amazing experience as all the bands end up mingling and hanging out with the fans and treating it like their vacation too.

Go with Allure then...you're from Florida and you sail often enough. Use the itinerary as an excuse to stay on the ship more and take advantage of that..with Oasis class the ships can easily be the destination. I'm not even sure I will step foot off of Oasis next month.

RoyalUp bids can be won up to cruise day..you never know when it comes to down to the wire cancellations. I hope you can get some answers from Royal, but I think you need to contact cruises.com and inquire with them as they are your TA. Royal usually won't talk directly with you because of that.

I was asking the Travel Agency question because TAs can opt-out of allowing the RoyalUp. I believe Costco Travel has opted out of it, but I'm not sure about the other big agencies.

Expedited arrival just means you don't have to do anything else to check in once you get to the port. You will go through security like normal, then they will ask to see your SetSail pass and they will guide you into the seating area to wait to board the ship. No checking in at a counter or with the folks with the iPads..you are good to go.

You said you hated CATS. All other things are nearly equal..same itinerary and the newest Oasis class ship or an AMPed ship. If pricing goes anything like it does for Thanksgiving this year..I would wait until after the 90-day mark and go with whichever of these sailings is cheapest. That's actually what I'm planning on doing next Thanksgiving.

No problem! It wasn't stated in your original request, but if both parents listed on the birth certificate aren't traveling with the 12-year old, they need to have permission from the non-traveling parent. They don't always ask to see it, but you don't want to be caught without it if they do. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-family-legal-documents-do-i-need-to-board

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/united-states-citizen-travel-documentation The 18 year old will need her ID and her birth certificate. Royal hasn't implemented accepting the Real ID in lieu of the birth certificate. The 12 year old only needs the birth certificate.

Are you booked through a travel agency? And have you tried using the other passengers' last names and the reservation numbers on the RoyalUp page?

It's actually a per VISIT credit. You can go to Playmakers for a mid-afternoon snack and spend up to $35. Then you can venture there again late evening, perhaps for their smores dessert, and you can spend up to $35 again.

Exactly..bid on what you would feel the most comfortable paying for that room if you do want an upgrade. They may also offer up the RS to you for bids. Never know when they have a cancellation come up. It's also a useful tool to do some data mining -- get an idea of what folks would be willing to pay for rooms and such.

From the deck plans that I saw when I was able to find them on Royal's site (which I can't seem to locate again), they didn't really have venue names in the empty spaces that are bars/restaurants on the other Quantum Class ships. So there may be some surprises or new venues yet to come as every ship seems to have a slightly new and different twist in some aspect!

I have seen them sold out on sailings before, so there's definitely a limit for each sailing.

If you can handle the stress of it, it is very doable provided you manage your own luggage off of the ship, everyone has passports, and you get up and out of there as soon as you can.

They use a proprietary algorithm that will net them the most money. So the answer is we don't really know. You also have to consider the bids they have in the pipeline for the rooms that will be freed up by any accepted bids..all the way down to that lowly inside room. It's a snowball effect down the chain. Say you're in a JS and you bid 10 for that OS. Someone in a GS bids 5 for that OS, but there's someone in a JS that bid 10 for the GS..that would net 15 if they accepted the bid.

You can book with NextCruise and then transfer the booking to a Travel Agent. You will get to keep the NextCruise incentives. Read all the fine print at NextCruise. Most of the OBC incentives that they offer are for non-refundable bookings. Reduced deposits are also for non-refundable bookings. Those are the two typical incentives for using NextCruise. NextCruise will have the same cruise pricing and offers that you can access on the website. While you are on the ship, hook up to the ship's Wifi and you will be able to access royalcaribbean.com without having to purchase an internet plan. You can price out cruises you are interested in so you know what you are going for when you have your NextCruise appointment.

They provide bar soap and a pump on the wall that is a "conditioning shampoo". There will also be a hair dryer in the room in a vanity drawer (not in the bathroom). The hair dryers are a bit weak and you have to continually hold down the button to operate it, so you may want to consider taking your own if anyone in your traveling party has long hair to be dried.

What room are you in? I don't think they offer suites unless you are already in a balcony at least.

Not at CocoCay but I did see a hold up at a port stop where they were making sure that an under-18er had a guardian when she tried to ding off the ship. There were a couple of families that were all together and they didn't speak English, so there was a hold up as they were sorting it out. They don't check to make sure it's an official guardian, just that they have someone over the age of 18 that claims responsibility for them when they ding off the ship. They don't require them to have guardians when to get back on the ship, but they won't be able to leave again without one.

Cruise Planner purchases show up as a charge from Royal for me (travel category) so I get my 3% as travel is my choice category for one of my cashback cards.

I don't believe Royal has finalized and released deck plans for Odyssey yet or a comprehensive list of the restaurants and bars.

Not true..you only have to double the bid. Makes it much more worthwhile when you've got 4 in your cabin to begin with, but not so great when you are solo. One thing to remember is that the RoyalUp is tied to a single room. For example if you split your family between 2 balcony cabins and then got a RoyalUp offer that included a 2-bedroom suite, you won't be able to combine the two rooms together into that single room. You would still have to pay for both rooms. You could get extra room keys so everyone could have access to one room, but only the ones on the original booking in the cabin that was upgraded will have access to the suite amenities. I've only taken a shot at a RoyalUp once..upgraded from an inside GTY to an OV balcony on Freedom of the Seas Blog Group Cruise Total price with the RoyalUp was cheaper than I would have been able to get a balcony straight up for my sailing, so I am extremely pleased with it.