VTHappyGirl

Picking out a cabin for my older parents and a walk-in shower is a must. Last cruise was in a Grand Suite and the 'ledge' to get over and into the shower/tub would be too now after more knee surgeries. All of the handicap accessible rooms are booked and we really only need the shower setup but do not need the rest of the features of the handicap accessible room. Can I go by the pictures on the RC website of the cabin types? Specifically, we are going on Harmony next Spring and pictures show either the Owners Suite and AquaTheater Suite with a tub and a separate walk-in shower. Crown Loft is out due to the stairs. Grand Suite has the big ledge. Is it safe to assume all OS/ATS cabins have the same setup as the pictures or say a 50/50 chance that some cabins have different layouts? Or it is safer to get a Ocean View Balcony cabin as it seems those cabins do not have a tub at all?

Looking forward to this cruise, it is a reschedule from 2020 on the exact same itinerary., so excited! 3rd cruise overall but the first where the kiddo is firmly a teenager so expecting a lot of new experiences.

We have done a Private Journey twice and both were great experiences. We did this as there was not a tour that fit exactly what we wanted and both times it was just me and an 8 year old traveling. I provided info as to what we wanted to do to tailor/customize the tour. The cost was what we would pay for a family of 4 on a regular tour so not too much sticker shock. The tour guides were great, knowledgeable and brought us to other places they thought we would enjoy based on our interactions in the first hour. To me the best part was the flexability -- kid is hungry, let's stop here where there is great XYZ to be found...or...that little beach spot looks nice, so let's stop and take a quick swim. Getting of the ship and to the meet up was easy and all Staff knew where to point us. This was SO much easier then 3rd party excursions we have done in the past. I would not hesitate to do use this service, some of the best money spent each time.

My family, like many others, are moving around lots of vacation plans for this year and next year (both cruise and non-cruise) and I have been looking at many options to reschedule our original Southern Caribbean cruise. I also really like to get a deal --- and seeing on Oasis the Crown Loft Suites are very well priced at ~ $3 - $4K less then the same category on Symphony or Harmony for the same month. I am comparing an Eastern + Perfect Day route for all 3 ships. Now the skeptic in me comes into play.....is there something about Oasis Crown Loft Suites they would be priced so much lower then other ships? I never expected this category to be feasible for my family and totally fine switching from our original Southern Caribbean itinerary to try out a Loft Suite. Am I being too paranoid about 'the why' the rate is so good on Oasis?

I cancelled an April 2021 cruise and got a FCC which I know will take a few weeks+ to process. However, when I log into my account I can see still all the info listing in the 'upcoming cruise' section. Still has the reservation number, cabin number, etc, etc. How long does it take for the cancellations to hit your account? I had expected it to take awhile to process FCC but thought the actual reservation would be gone shortly after I cancelled (on the phone). Its been about 4 days now and still showing up so thought I would ask here vs another lengthy wait on hold. Any ideas or experience with this? TIA.

How does UDP work with kids? Planning a Southern Caribbean on Explorer and without a CK on board considering the UDP. On this one would be just me/adult + 10 yr old. I see there is only 1 UDP price which is adult only. Would a child just be added at the $10 rate for specialty dining? We had a bit of trouble with specialty dining and the kid last cruise which might be my mistake.....what I thought I read on some threads was to make a reservation in Cruise Planner for just the adults (in that case 2 adults) and then at the time of reservation show up and they add the kiddo for the $10 fee. However, the issue was there were no tables at our reservation times for 3 people -- they only reserved a table for 2 since we only booked the 2 adults. Is there a better way to reserve specialty restaurants to for the entire party of Adults + Children? As always appreciate any insights or experience!

Do you have any contact info you can share for Leo Brown?

I have only been on two cruises with RCI so far and both have been Oasis class ships. Now looking ahead at the next bookings and looks like based on itinerary will be on a Freedom or Voyager class ship. For me -- the biggest perk of the the suite is access to Coastal Kitchen and then double the C&A points. For these ships without a Coastal Kitchen does it make sense to get the UDP? I feel like the Suites w/o a CK is really just added cost to 'buy' the C&A points. Am I missing another perk I should be taking advantage of more? Maybe this is the cruise to just get the JS for the points? Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

We are 72 days out from sailing and there is still no entertainment listed for this Symphony sailing. I typically assume the issue is on my end so tried the app, another web browser and then called RCCL. I was told that Symphony "usually takes longer to publish their entertainment schedule" then other ships but they had no idea of when to expect the schedule either. Any experience with this? How long before you sailed on Symphony was the Entertainment schedule published?

Thanks for the feedback......with the closeness any lounge gone from their current cabin I think they will end up giving up the current OS and switching to a GS where they can book more GS/JS nearby. I know, first world problems.....but gotta keep the in-laws happy!

Glad I found this thread......going on Freedom in late 2020 and bringing more family/extended family this time around and the In-Laws called with a question as they had been looking to possibly adding another cabin to the group. They have an Owner Suite booked 1340 and were trying to get another Owners Suite close by. There were ~8 Owners Suites Tuesday and many, many Suite options but seems that overnight they have evaporated and just a handful of GS or JS available. But the real issue for them might be that they specifically picked 1340 since it was very close to Concierge Lounge (and elevator/stairs). It looks like after the refurb that will no longer be there and the Suite Lounge up on another deck. NET == all the other Owners and Panoramic Suites *could have sold out* over night (vs IT glitch) but if they want a cabin close to the Concierge/Suite Lounge they need to pick a different cabin anyway. Looks like no rooms will be very close to the Suite Lounge so might as well go with the GS and save some money. Anyone have a preference on a deck they like if now they are not tied to being close to Concierge Suite?

I just got informed of a flight change on disembarkation day in Miami. We are flying out of Miami airport. The new flights leave us with a 6+ hr layover and we get home pretty close to midnight now making for a very long travel day with kids. It doesn't sound like an enjoyable of a way to end our vacation. There is a 1020am flight and our ship says it arrives at 6am --- is that enough time you think to get off the ship and to the Miami Airport? We do have TSA precheck, will be in a Suite which I think has a more 'direct' line at Customs and can take our own luggage. Is it crazy to expect to make that 1020am flight? Seems like the Miami Airport is < 10 miles away from the port. Or should we just plan on the 14hr travel day to end the vacation with a later flight? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated....TIA.

I just saved ~$1200 on the cabin for my parents who are from Maryland. It seems there is a new discount for residents of certain states and they qualify. Now I wonder how to check 'what states' because the Royal rep on the phone said it not really part if 30%, 50%, WOW, Wave , etc. She said those discounts by state just rotate and dont hit the Deals page on the website or anywhere else that she has ever seen. Anyone have insight on this type of discount?

Dining opened up on the Cruise Planner this week for January cruise on Symphony. Izumi Hibachi has available times at 430pm, 5pm, 530pm and then jumps to 9pm, 930pm, etc. That pattern is true for all 7 days of the cruise. Is that normal that the prime dinner hours from 6pm - 9pm are not offered for reservations and it will open up later on typically? Not a ton of experience with RC but seems odd just the 1 restaurant does not offer evening dining hours. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Looking at ship sponsored Costa Maya excursions and see what looks like the exact same tour of Chacchoben Ruins but there is one version that is called 'CHACCHOBEN RUINS EXCLUSIVE DRIVE'. It is 30 mins shorter then another tour offered as "Chacchoben Mayan Ruins". Any thoughts on the differences? Maybe just a smaller group size?