FionaMG

I see OP is sorted now but just to add info to the post by @Biaggio for potential future readers, Air Portugal (TAP) is a Star Alliance member so anyone with points on that alliance, e.g. United or Air Canada may be able to pick up some decent award seats.

@deep1, that sounds like a great mistake to make! Japan is on my radar in the hopefully not too distant future so I will be following the thread with interest to see if I can pick up any useful tips too. @KristiZ, now that I know you have insider knowledge of Japan I will be filing the information away for future use and may come back to pester you!

Have not been on Utopia but we had 11195 on Symphony and we could see and hear the musicians. Pic attached. I have a video too but it doesn't seem to work when I upload it, unfortunately. We really enjoyed this location. Normally we rarely use our balconies, when we have them, but we enjoyed listening to the music out there in the evenings.

The shared shuttle had several set times to choose from. I seem to remember there being one at 9 am but I don't see that on the website now. You could always contact them to ask. We had an 11.30 check-in time so I booked the 10 am shuttle. With the shared shuttle it's an approximate time as the actual time depends on where you are on the pick-up list. We were the last to be picked up - at about 10.15 - and they messaged me on the day to let me know to expect them around that time. We did not reach the ship until about 11.45, though, because the road into Civi was jammed solid with traffic. Obviously with the private shuttle you can customise the pick-up time to suit yourself.

Typically, Royal's Panama Canal offerings have been used solely to reposition ships between the Caribbean and Alaska for their respective seasonal sailings. If you look at Royal's ships sailing in Alaska in 2026, the only one that can transit the canal is Serenade. The other three are not only too big but are also not doing the winter season in the Caribbean. Anthem and Voyager will be repositioning from Australia and Ovation from Tokyo, so they don't even need to go through the canal. All of which suggests that Royal's only westbound PC transit in spring 2026 is that shortened one on Serenade. I can't help wondering if they will have difficulty selling it given that it departs from Cólon in Panama, not the most appealing of places by all accounts, and certainly much more difficult and inconvenient to get to than any of the usual Florida ports. Could the bean counters have got it wrong? Would it have been better to move the ship to Florida a few days beforehand so that the PC cruise could start from there? There is Celebrity, of course, but the prices are sky high. And then there's MSC who are testing that route for the first time with a Miami-Seattle sailing ahead of their first ever Alaska season. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

When we sailed on Odyssey in May 2022 we used Civitavecchia Shuttle Express. We booked two seats in a shared shuttle. The service they provided was absolutely fine. I just checked their website https://www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com/service/port-transfers/ and their current price for 4 passengers is €120 (for your whole party) in a shared shuttle or €190 for a private shuttle. We have also previously (2015) used Bob's limos and were satisfied with their service too https://www.romelimousines.com/

I too will be sorry to see Michelle go. I have not been working with her for as long as some of you on here but she has been consistently great. Wishing you all the best @michelle.

The break between April and May is for dry dock. Normally, the ship would then complete the full summer season in the Med, returning Stateside in October. However, given the time line there is speculation (and it is only speculation at this time) that Icon 3 may be doing some European sailings and that this is why Harmony has no sailings listed yet beyond mid-July. One way or another, Harmony is not going to stay in Europe indefinitely. If the Icon 3 speculation turns out to be right, maybe Harmony will return earlier than usual and there will be a summer westbound TA but really it's anyone's guess. If Royal stick to the current opening schedule, we may find out at the end of the month which is when "Europe 2.0" is supposed to go on sale.

Yes, what @Ampurp85 said. We saw this on our recent Freedom cruise. It said on the departure information that departure time off the ship would be 9 am but that the transfer departure time would be approximately 10.10 am.

Ah, right, I missed that on your original post. The price I mentioned for Freedom was just a single device. For our Allure cruise, which is 4 nights, the 3-device plan is currently priced at $191.96 so if I've done the sums right that works out at $16 per device per day.

I hate those overnight flights! From experience (albeit some years ago now!) kids have an easier time sleeping on the plane than the adults as they seem to be made of rubber and can curl up in the limited space without much difficulty. That said, and given how long a wait you have at your UK arrival airport, a day room there might be worth thinking about. There are on-site hotels at both Heathrow and Gatwick, if it's one of those you're flying into.

Where are you looking? If Royal are offering this, it would be under Shore Excursions in the Cruise Planner. Unfortunately, they can't let you stay on the ship as, due to US law, they need to have a zero headcount before they can begin boarding the next cruise. If there's no excursion, you might want to consider booking a day room somewhere. Perhaps your pre-cruise hotel would be able to accommodate; just check at reception. Otherwise, there's a website called dayuse.com that I have seen recommended. I haven't used it myself, though. I have also read that the TWA Hotel at JFK is a great place to hang out, so perhaps you could look into that option. Btw, unless you have privileges (e.g. airline status or travelling business class) you'd want to be at JFK to check in 3 hours before your flight, so around 4.15 pm, otherwise you'll likely find yourselves at the end of a very long queue.

Yes, very good. I paid $17.99 a day for my 8-night cruise on Freedom last month, taking advantage of the BF sale. Previously, it had not been below $19.99. And for my Allure cruise in April it has never gone below $21.99.

Very impressed!

Maybe that's what I'm thinking of then; I was sure I'd read there was something you didn’t get on the shorter cruises. Thanks!