BrianB

Having 11:30 as the earliest arrival time is one thing.
But not being able to choose an arrival time until a few days later after checking in at midnight is what I’m wondering about.
Strange.

Keep checking.  Sometimes they open up earlier times later.

Don’t know if this is happening to others, but…
I always make sure I’m up at midnight when check-in opens for my cruises. As @Matt mentioned in his story, it’s a good strategy to make sure to get an early arrival time before they’re all taken.
But, when I checked in as soon as it opened for my cruise from Bayonne NJ on the Liberty of the Seas sailing May 5th…it allowed me to do everything except choose an arrival time. There was a message on top of the last page advising me to ‘check back closer to the sail date to pick an arrival time’.
So, I kept checking back…several times a day…until finally the times were available to choose. This happened two and half days later…so not much closer to sailing day.
Usually sailing on the Anthem out of Port Liberty…the earliest arrival time offered is 10 or 10:30am. This time, the first available time listed was 11:30am.
I’m thinking this is just something regarding the Liberty coming back to Bayonne…or it’s to blunt the onslaught to the system when too many users try to check in at once. There have been times when it seemed the system crashed just after midnight…especially when it’s a popular cruise with lots of ‘in the know’ guests vying for an earlier arrival time.
Curious.🤔

Agree with everyone else. Formal and Dress Your Best are for those who look forward to having the formal onboard experience and also to have their photos taken by the ship’s professional photographers.
They will be at areas throughout the ship with nice backgrounds, like marble staircases and the car on the Promenade…also they will erect photo backdrops.
But they don’t just snap a photo and you move on…they will take time to take multiple photos with many different poses. The idea is to give you lots of photos to choose from…hopefully you’ll purchase more than one. Meanwhile, the line waiting for their photos can get pretty long.
But the most important thing to know, in my opinion, is there are many cruisers who do not dress formal or ‘best’…they just stay resort casual like every other night. Also, that makes packing quite a bit easier.
Either way, you’ll blend in!

@Julanna Some machines have bets as low as twenty five cents a spin, or even lower. You still need to bet five dollars to get one point. So you would need to spin twenty times at twenty five cents a spin to earn one point. Some machines have a maximum bet of twenty dollars a spin…so each spin will earn four points. Each five dollars equals one point.
You can earn thousands of points by playing over a long period of time even on penny slots. It takes a lot of time to do it. For instance, betting .88 cents a spin a on a penny machine will take nearly six spins to earn one point. But, if you’re lucky, you may find yourself on a machine that gives lots of play for your money. Otherwise, you would need to keep feeding the machine to keep playing. I like to find what I call a ‘points’ machine. Those are machines that I know have a history of good play. They may not have as many jackpots, but they win just enough to keep playing…and keep earning points.
Jackpots have no effect on points. Someone can put in twenty dollars, and on their last spin win a thousand dollar jackpot. They still earned only four points. One point for each five dollars. 

Casino loyalty points on board are earned similar to many land-based casinos. For regular slot machines, every five dollars bet equals one point. For poker machines it’s usually every ten dollars bet equals one point. That’s because the player has more control to affect the outcome on the poker machine. 

Keep in mind…it’s not how much you put into the machine, but how much play you get. For instance, putting in ten dollars should give you two points…five dollars a point. But, if you put in ten dollars and are lucky enough to hit for twenty dollars and keep playing, you can earn six points. Your total bets equal thirty dollars even though you only put in ten. Many machines can give you quite a bit of play…win some lose some…over an extended period and your ten dollars can result in you earning many more points. It’s not the amount you put in…but how many times you bet five dollars.
Table games have different rules. Based on the type of game, the amount bet and the total time played. Many players change their bet amounts while they play. Those rules are not as clear as the slot machines and it can be difficult to keep track of what you are earning while you’re playing. You can always ask the pit boss.

I understand that some travel insurance policies do offer ‘Missed Port’ coverage for cruisers. It is an additional cost and allows a one-time set reimbursement per person covered. Usually $100.
There are some restrictions and conditions…such as the missed port was not replaced with another. The missed port had to be replaced by a sea day.
Even if port fees and excursions were refunded by the cruise line, and no loss occurred, the insurance would still pay out for the inconvenience of missing a planned port and not having a replacement.
But, again…it is a rider to the policy and incurs an additional cost. So you have to weigh the risk versus the cost…as with all insurance policies.
I never considered it so I didn’t really research it completely…but it’s always a good idea to check it out if that’s something that interests you.

Agree with everyone else. Formal and Dress Your Best are for those who look forward to having the formal onboard experience and also to have their photos taken by the ship’s professional photographers.
They will be at areas throughout the ship with nice backgrounds, like marble staircases and the car on the Promenade…also they will erect photo backdrops.
But they don’t just snap a photo and you move on…they will take time to take multiple photos with many different poses. The idea is to give you lots of photos to choose from…hopefully you’ll purchase more than one. Meanwhile, the line waiting for their photos can get pretty long.
But the most important thing to know, in my opinion, is there are many cruisers who do not dress formal or ‘best’…they just stay resort casual like every other night. Also, that makes packing quite a bit easier.
Either way, you’ll blend in!

I sail from Bayonne virtually all of the time.  I always arrive a little past 10 to make sure the garage is open for incoming guests. So I’m usually at the door to the terminal before 10:30. So far, there has never been anyone checking boarding passes. I go right in and get on one of the security lines.
The only time I had my boarding pass checked was right after the restart when they would announce the times over a bull horn and then allow us in. But that quickly went away…at least in the morning. I heard as it became more crowded during the afternoon, they would check for arrival times.
Since then, I always made sure I was up when check in opened to get the earliest time…even though I’m Pinn. I also thought that ‘one hour before or after’ referred to the arrival time. I worry that the one time I don’t get the early arrival time…That’s when they’re going to check!
**By the way…I was up last night at midnight and checked in for my May 5th cruise on the Liberty from Bayonne. It allowed me to do everything but choose a time. There was a message saying ‘check back closer to the cruise date to choose an arrival time.’ That’s new.

I sail from Bayonne virtually all of the time.  I always arrive a little past 10 to make sure the garage is open for incoming guests. So I’m usually at the door to the terminal before 10:30. So far, there has never been anyone checking boarding passes. I go right in and get on one of the security lines.
The only time I had my boarding pass checked was right after the restart when they would announce the times over a bull horn and then allow us in. But that quickly went away…at least in the morning. I heard as it became more crowded during the afternoon, they would check for arrival times.
Since then, I always made sure I was up when check in opened to get the earliest time…even though I’m Pinn. I also thought that ‘one hour before or after’ referred to the arrival time. I worry that the one time I don’t get the early arrival time…That’s when they’re going to check!
**By the way…I was up last night at midnight and checked in for my May 5th cruise on the Liberty from Bayonne. It allowed me to do everything but choose a time. There was a message saying ‘check back closer to the cruise date to choose an arrival time.’ That’s new.

If the "best" you brought is khakis and a polo shirt for him (my default for dinner) and a sundress for her - that's your best
If the "best" you brought is cargo shorts and a Metallica tee-shirt for him and a skort with a breezy top for her - that's your best
If one wishes to dress up (we used to do so, not anymore) - the suit and tie (or more) for him and cocktail dress (or more) for her - that's your best

I sail from Bayonne virtually all of the time.  I always arrive a little past 10 to make sure the garage is open for incoming guests. So I’m usually at the door to the terminal before 10:30. So far, there has never been anyone checking boarding passes. I go right in and get on one of the security lines.
The only time I had my boarding pass checked was right after the restart when they would announce the times over a bull horn and then allow us in. But that quickly went away…at least in the morning. I heard as it became more crowded during the afternoon, they would check for arrival times.
Since then, I always made sure I was up when check in opened to get the earliest time…even though I’m Pinn. I also thought that ‘one hour before or after’ referred to the arrival time. I worry that the one time I don’t get the early arrival time…That’s when they’re going to check!
**By the way…I was up last night at midnight and checked in for my May 5th cruise on the Liberty from Bayonne. It allowed me to do everything but choose a time. There was a message saying ‘check back closer to the cruise date to choose an arrival time.’ That’s new.

The wonky pricing per guest was super annoying with FCC during the COVID shutdown.  Making sure each person had the right amount, and then using the credit for a new cruise was like trying to pass Advanced Calculus🤪

Wait util you see a casino booking invoice that has been upgraded !  Those are hysterical....and completely unintelligible.  

I just called to pre-pay gratuities on an upcoming b2b. I was charged $16 per day.
It appears that if the cruises were booked prior to the November change…and if I pre-pay prior to the sailing…then the previous charge of $16 per day is valid. If I don’t pre-pay…then I’m charged $18 per day onboard.
I didn’t pre-pay on my previous cruises that were booked prior to November but sailed after the November raise and I was charged $18 per day onboard.
I misunderstood the email. I thought if I called to pre-pay prior to the November raise date, only then would I get the $16 charge. Oh well… guess I’ll start pre-paying prior to sailing as virtually all of my pending cruises were booked prior to November.

Chargers for phone and iPad…check
Book for beach and pool reading…check
Sunscreen…check
Antibacterial wipes…check
Check under bed for pervert…check
Shampoo and body wash…check
Toothbrush…check
Check entire cabin for pervert camera…check
*Ready to cruise!
 

Hot off the press
Dear Valued Pinnacle Club Members,
We are thrilled to share exciting news regarding an enhancement to your Suite amenities access. Effective on sailings beginning March 15, 2024, and onwards, each Pinnacle Club member may now bring one guest staying in their immediate stateroom to accompany them into the Suite/Concierge Lounge, Suite Sun Decks, and Coastal Kitchen!
As we implement this new policy, below are additional details to note:
Non-Pinnacle Club guests must be always accompanied by a Pinnacle Club member, unless staying in an eligible Suite stateroom - this includes guests under 21 years of age which must always be accompanied by an adult1 Beverages consumed in these venues will be charged to guests' SeaPass cards - Diamond and above members may redeem their daily drink vouchers On sailings where the number of eligible Suite & Pinnacle Club guests exceeds the Suite venue capacity, access for Pinnacle Club members will be determined by cruise points and extended to one of their stateroom occupants. Those eligible will receive access notifications 48 hours before the sailing and a reminder on boarding day in the Welcome Letter Access to Coastal Kitchen is based on space and availability. Reservations are required and can only be made once onboard Crown Lounge access is not impacted by this announcement and remains exclusive to Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club members, unless communicated otherwise2 We are committed to ensuring your cruise experience is exceptional, and we believe these updates contribute to that goal. Thank you for your unwavering loyalty - we look forward to welcoming you onboard as we continue creating unforgettable memories together.
Crown & Anchor® Society
 

Explorer may be an example of the stealth updates they will do in the near term.  

I don't think they will do very much to Quantum guest areas. 
The dry dock is being performed due to required maritime maintenance every 5 years until a ship is 20 years old then every 2.5 years.  That is the primary reason for the dry dock.  The required maintenance is the basis to maintain the certificate to sail.  Without the prescribed scheduled maintenance the certificate to carry passengers would be revoked.  
It's not unusual for some additional work to be performed to guests areas during a dry dock because the ship is empty of guests.  When Anthem was scheduled to go into dry dock in 2020 before the pandemic happened Royal flat out stated there would be no meaningful updates to guests areas.  They might replace things like broken floor tiles but there would be no new venues.  During my January 2020 cruise on Anthem they replaced all the carpet in the Windjammer doing sections every night while the WJ was closed.  This was months before her scheduled dry dock in May of 2020.  The point being that replacing carpet doesn't require a dry dock.  Carpet is routinely replaced all the time as required over the lifecycle of the ship.  
Quantum, Anthem and Ovation are one year in age apart.  Once onboard they are nearly identical to each other. In many places if you were magically teleported between ships you would not be able to tell which ship you were on since they are nearly identical to each other.  There are minor differences such as the name of the pool side restaurant.  Ovation had this restaurant changed to a Fish & Ships venue during her first Alaskan cruise in 2019.  I was onboard and watched them work on it during the cruise.  It didn't take a dry dock to get this venue changed, it was done during a regular cruise with guests.  On Quantum specifically they may choose to modify this venue in a dry dock, or not.  Bilingual signage might be replaced, or not.
The SeaPlex pods that hang off the ship where Playmakers is located on Odyssey is wildly different between the original Quantum class and the Quantum Ultra class Odyssey. They would need to do a lot of work making significant structural modifications that would alter the weight and balance of the ship requiring her to be reengineered and recertified.  It's possible but it would be costly.  Would a PM generate enough new revenue to justify the multi-million dollar modification?  Without a PM guests find somewhere else to drink and eat so the investment would need to show that retrofitting a PM would generate new additional revenue that would not otherwise be spent.  
I doubt they would make this sort of investment on the original Q class ships but who knows?
They could maybe find a way install a Teppanyaki venue by displacing the teen/kids club area.  That would require some infrastructure such as plumbing and electrical to support a food venue in a place that doesn't have that infrastructure currently.  Would such an investment generate new additional revenue or would it simply drain revenue away from the existing specialty dining venues?  Royal has data to review from Odyssey to see if Teppanyaki has created new revenue or reduced the revenue from the other venues.  If the amount of new revenue is minor it's difficult to justify adding a Teppanyaki to the original Q class (non-Ultra).  
My gut is telling me that the original Q class ships won't receive meaningful updates to guest areas.  If a ship does not yet have shore power capability that will likely be added during a dry dock.  This type of modification may be best done with the ship completely dark, no power.  A dry dock while doing other required scheduled maritime maintenance is an ideal time to slip in a few days to add shore power capability.  Quantum needs shore power capability to operate from California so if she hasn't already had this added, it will be added during this dry dock.   
I think they will find a way to refresh Allure and Explorer.  Adventure is mostly "amplified" already, they just need to some minor stuff to call it a full amp.   PM on Voyager class is not required to declare them amplified so I'm not sure Adventure will get a PM.  Royal has to be careful as they have told investors they are focused on reducing debt, not so much on amplifications.  Yet we all know ships like Allure and Explorer need an update.  Liberty and Adventure to a lesser degree but both could use a minor touch up.  That's four ships that clearly have a need despite Royal telling investors amplifications have been indefinitely postponed.   I suspect they will find a way to quietly update these four ships without the fanfare and telling the worlds about it like the "amplification" program did.  Beyond these four ships I don't see newer ships such as Q class getting meaningful changes such as new venues at this time.  

I expect the news much closer to the actual refurb. I say that because in the Royal Amplification days the specific details of an amplification were announced closer to the start of the work being done.
Royal has always been cagey about their refurbishments. They tend to play it "close to the vest" until they can't anymore. 

The husband has his annual prime cruise booked out of Bayonne.  It’s not an issue.  It’s good anywhere they sail, 7 day or less cruise, with exceptions such as ship must be out over a year and last  year most ships were excluded during summer months. (Restrictions subject to change this year)

I don’t think you can switch a current booking to a new Prime Casino booking…but you can apply the value of the certificate to the current booking.
That’s what I usually do. I think the certificate is for a free 7 night Caribbean cruise for two. There are no 7 night Caribbean cruises from Bayonne. I’m pretty sure they don’t consider the Bahamas as ‘Caribbean’ even though it’s sometimes referred to as such. The Bahamas are in the Atlantic.
The best bang for the buck would be to use it for the 7 night Caribbean. It usually covers everything except port fees and taxes. But, I’m not flying to Florida for that. I’ll just take the value.
 

I know they made an announcement about letting kids use the Solarium on other ships…but it was for a short period in the late afternoon/early evening.
I don’t think that’s going to work on Odyssey sailing out of Bayonne in the winter. It will be difficult keeping kids out on the first two and last two days of a seven night cruise. I can also understand the parent’s frustration of paying for the cruise and not being allowed to bring their kids when there is no other similar option. Seems like we’re headed for some exceptionally crowded Solarium sea days…more so than usual, which is almost like the Hunger Games trying to find a lounger now.

I’ve had a cabin that was in a sold-out category so there was no way to check for a price drop. Certainly didn’t think the price would drop as there were none available in the category.
But, I called to apply an Instant Cash Certificate from the Casino and was surprised when the agent told me the price had dropped a bit and would I like the new price. Very unexpected and appreciated.
I went back and checked up to the final payment date in case some opened up (sometimes group bookings and TAs have them on hold) but the category remained sold out.
You can always call and check. Couldn’t hurt.

I know they made an announcement about letting kids use the Solarium on other ships…but it was for a short period in the late afternoon/early evening.
I don’t think that’s going to work on Odyssey sailing out of Bayonne in the winter. It will be difficult keeping kids out on the first two and last two days of a seven night cruise. I can also understand the parent’s frustration of paying for the cruise and not being allowed to bring their kids when there is no other similar option. Seems like we’re headed for some exceptionally crowded Solarium sea days…more so than usual, which is almost like the Hunger Games trying to find a lounger now.