KJones

Bedazzle it and no one can tell the difference after enough drinks! 🤣

@Yo2slick, where do you have to come from, for the cruise ?  Do you have to fly ?  If so, I would consider the cost of transportation into this equation in addition to the cost of the cruises themselves.  Obviously, if you have to pay big $$ to get here then it might be a better deal to just splurge on the suite and just fly once....unless the 2 cruises you are considering are B2B....then, airfare wouldn't be a concern.

I would absolutely take the two cruises in a balcony room. We are the type that spend very little time in the room other than to shower and sleep, so paying twice the price for a suite wouldn't make sense to us. In fact, to be honest, even spending the extra for a balcony is a bit pointless since it only really gets used if one of us sitting out there while the other is getting ready!
In the past, our mantra was always "cheapest room with a window", which could either be an oceanview or, on the ships that have them, a promenade view. However, during the restart, the lower prices combined with our D balcony discount meant that the cheapest with a window also happened to have a balcony and DH has been spoiled. 😂
Which probably means that if we had become used to sailing in a suite we'd likely take one cruise in a suite over two in a balcony room!

When we changed days, we added the 2nd res before cancelling the first. We made sure we had a decent time. We did this when meal was on sale, so price was good.

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

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

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

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

When I sailed Radiance to Alaska, they opened the solarium to families for a couple hours each day. I  expect they will do the same on Vision.

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

Oh trust me #UltimateWorldCruise had Tiktok by the throat for the first two weeks or so. Since I was already (via algorithim) on the "cruisetok" side of tiktok, I started seeing lots of them and through that realized that cruisers and noncruisers alike were HOOKED on the idea. I think the accessibility of Royal Caribbean makes it so fascinating. I mean Oceania does world cruises every year but no one cared to talk about those Lol. And I'm pretty sure Viking has been in the world cruise game for a while too...
But yeah, there's actually several people vlogging it in different ways and many of the people documenting their experiences have met up and become friends (or at least friendly). I saw a funny video with a Full House style theme introducing the "cast" of the World Cruise hahaha

See this is one of those bent/broken rules it's best not to talk about. Per the rules of the package, no the bar tender is not to give you a drink if it's not your card.
That said, it can get busy and there's not always a foolproof system to verify who is using which card. It happens and I'm sure the increasing cost in the package is reflect that royal knows that.
BUT if at any point you get caught...they will penalize you. Period. Probably by either taking the package from your partner OR by adding the cost of one to your card.
 
Of course all of this is moot if you're planning to get the Deluxe Beverage Package because, in an effort to avoid this, royal requires all adults in a room to buy the package and even if you call for an exemption (medical, religious, AA etc) you will be told to buy the non-alcoholic package. So.....there's really no way around paying for it.
 

I agree with @FionaMG…stick to complimentary dining places for this first cruise…especially since it’s just 4 nights.  Also choosing your dining time is much better than MTD.  As far as the room…2 bathrooms for 5 is absolutely necessary (in my opinion) so best to book 2 balcony rooms and the different options suggested above are great ones!

Royal does charter a separate train that operates from closer to the airport in Anchorage to the cruise ship dock in Seward.  It sells out quickly and may or may not offer gold star service with dome cars.  You can call Royal to inquire if there is availability.  It leaves later in the day on the premise that fly in guests arriving the day of the cruise can still use their charter train service.  As a result you get to the ship later in the day, such as early evening.
The train booked direct with the Alaskan Railroad that leaves from the main or "downtown" public train station still operates as it did pre-CV.  
I like getting to the ship earlier in the day so I've always booked direct with the railroad.

Drive by...

Do you mean how tall you have to be? Because those are two different things 🙂
I'm tall enough to do the zip line on Oasis, but I don't know if I could get high enough to try.

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.

It's actually one punch per shot of espresso (where 12oz = 1 shot, 16 oz = 2 shots, 20 oz = 3 shots).  So two 12oz drinks is more liquid but less espresso.  So the value depends on how much caffeine you want.

Is having to go to Cafe Promenade just a Symphony thing? On our Radiance sailing last year it was in our cabin in the same envelope as our shore excursion tickets.
And they may even double punch for the 16oz, at least they did on Radiance. 12oz was 1 punch, 16oz was 2 and 20oz was 3. It was actually "cheaper" to get (2) 12ozs than a single venti.

I don't think this should be looked at as a change in GTY policy or a big risk booking a GTY.  This is a one off for circumstances we don't know, but must have been both unforeseen and urgent.
I would also be upset to get this letter, but I don't think we should make it more than it is.

48 hours prior to embarkation day

A car? My guy is good but he can't compete with that. 🤣

Stealing a magnet for the grandkids?  What a terrible excuse for a human.  
I stopped bringing magnets because of magnet thieves.  Still bothers me that people think they can just take other people's hard earned things, even something as small a magnet on a door on a cruise ship.  To think she was going to present it to her grandkids so they would look up to her and think what a wonderful person she was for thinking of them while in reality she was nothing but a common thief.  Hopefully she is banned from Royal.  No room for criminals on board.  

Is there a grand suite available in another location of the ship? If that cabin is in a different location for example aft versus mid, see if you can change the location of the grand and then hopefully you can add your 4th, good luck!
@Lovetocruise2002 you explained it well! 

If I was a cruise director, I'd give out actual prizes for winning things.