KJones

It was just a clarification. The way your sentence was phrased could have been interpreted, by someone who doesn't otherwise know, as implying that purchasing the Key could grant access to CK.

You could try calling to see if you can switch rooms (if they are the same category).

My guesses: There are multiple laundry areas used by the hotel services, I would say maybe on every deck that is primarily staterooms (if not two small ones each deck - one aft / forward). It would be pretty easy to convert one of these into the guest laundry room, without impacting the crew members' own laundry facilities in the crew area. I can't imagine them having crew bring their personal laundry up to the stateroom decks, or sending guests down to the crew decks. I think I recall reading something about switching out crew as normal. They might just arrive/depart from more varied ports. The ship likely has laid out of a schedule of how frequently they need food / water / gas etc and have coordinated with local vendors along the itinerary to have the ship restocked while its docked in the various ports.

What exactly are you concerned about? That you might not make it back to ship in time? Book through RC and you'll be fine. That you might not have very long at the ruins themselves? This is valid- we spent 2hrs max there through the RC excursion out of Cozumel, the vast majority of the excursion is travel time. However, we were still really glad we did it, since we're not sure we would make it back to the Yucatan for a stand-alone vacation.

I second the suggestion to get the travel insurance (in general, regardless of whether you do this excursion). And if you do get it, read the policy to verify if mountain biking is one of the exclusions. It may be considered 'too extreme' for it to be covered (though seems a far cry from being the same as skydiving). Just something to consider!

The Allianz policy I bought through AAA had a line item for missed ports. It looks like up to $100/port, and maximum $300 per policy.

+1 to bringing your own (both shampoo and conditioner)

Are there other things to do at Progresso (I'm unfamiliar with it) or is it known for something? I would opt for it simply because I haven't seen it on many itineraries, while it seems like every 2nd caribbean cruise includes Costa Maya. I second @WAAAYTOOO's suggestion for Chichen Itza - we did it from Cozumel, so if its even closer from Progresso I would take advantage of that.

Looks like the sheet was updated for 1/26/24 so it could be new

As someone who defaults to an interior room, any balcony guarantee room would be fine with me If you did end up with an obstructed view (lifeboats or something), the good thing with Radiance is that there are a good number of public areas that have glass walls for watching the water. We hung out at the outer tables in the solarium or at the Champagne bar.

@CrimsonCruiser I don't have an actual answer for your question, but unless you're booking 6+ rooms, you might be overthinking the complexity. You can link the rooms yourself in the cruise planner once you have the reservation numbers. If everyone knows their C&A number and level, it should be fairly easy to send that to your current TA. I could be overlooking something, so hopefully a TA on the boards here will chime in.

I think there's a discount for onboard photo purchases if you've sailed RC before and have Crown & Anchor status, but it's still probably cheaper to pre-purchase the package if you think you'll be getting at least a handful of photos.

At some ports, there is usually a golf cart or something similar that can take passengers from the ship to the end of the pier/port entrance.

See this thread:

I'm sure someone will chime in with their actual experiences, but my thoughts: Barcelona: I believe the ship docks in/very close to the city so there should be lots of time to explore. Mallorca: No idea Florence: Minimum 1+ hour from dock to the city, plus the same on the return. You would have to rush through most of the major sights to hit everything, or you just pick a couple things you want to visit in greater detail. Rome: Minimum 45min from dock to the city, plus the same on the return. Same situation as Florence. Personally, I think Florence and Rome are better suited to land vacations than cruise ports.

I can appreciate your concern, but absolutely do not bother. I'm fairly certain that Royal and crew members are fairly aware of the fact that everyone everywhere has been/ is getting sick these last few months - whether it's covid, flu, rsv or the basic cold.

@jbrinkm I wonder if you could just call RC to change dinner reservations instead of waiting til you're onboard?

Nope, that rule only applies when someone purchases the deluxe beverage package (includes alcohol).

We used Hoonah Travel Adventures during our stop in Icy Strait Point early-ish September 2022. I think we paid somewhere around $160pp maybe, and there was a max of 18 people on the boat (so one of the smaller boats, without it being a private tour).

"Meet the ‘cast’ of the 9-month cruise that’s taking over TikTok" https://wapo.st/3HeUrZs (gift link, no WaPo subscription necessary)

Never look at the % off - just the final price. Royal will raise the 'onboard price' then have a "sale" that's a higher percentage off, but ends up being the same as a lower price with a lower percentage off. You can always buy now and cancel/repurchase later if it does get cheaper.

There are quite a number of people on the world cruise documenting their travels on tiktok!

Are you trying from the Cruise Planner or Royal Gifts? Cruise Planner should let you if your reservations are linked. Royal Gifts should let you regardless. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/royalgifts/celebrations/bon-voyage

Overall we enjoyed it. The salmon was good - both with and without the sugar glaze. The salad/sides are buffet style outside, so the food has either been out for awhile or is fresh out the kitchen - it seemed timed to with when an excursion bus was arriving. Service was good. The small gift shop is was a step above the usual trinket shops, but fairly standard. The short walk from the food area to the back with the waterfall and "gold mining" was scenic (it was in September, not sure what it'll look like in spring). We felt we got our money's worth, though I think if we paid ship pricing we might have felt different.

We went to the Salmon Bake in Juneau but we just drove there ourselves (not a ship excursion, we had a rental car). It was like $20+ per person cheaper and you have more flexibility on how long you stay, but you'll have to get there and back on your own.