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?

Coming off Allure so do not have a lot for comparison and looking to book on Independence for 2020. My limited understanding is that ships without a Coastal Kitchen have another space for use for breakfast, lunch , dinner and then a different space that is more so just the suite lounge. How does that work on Independence? Do they use a specialty restaurant space? If so how does that not interfere with lunch /dinner in the specialty restaurant? Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Going on Allure on the 23rd and from info here was checking out the info on the Royal app. However, noticed the the times are different b/t the Cruise Planner and the app. One port stop where Cruise Planner has it 730am - 230pm and the App shows gangway open at 1230pm and All Aboard at 730pm. Any ideas which one is correct? or at what point they would show the same overall schedule?

Yes, it was one of the options in the cruise planner -- but from the Forums I also expected to book those on embarkation day too. Once I saw all the dining reservations available so early, it was mid January-ish, I jumped on it and made on-line for 5 out of the 7 nights.

Going on Allure in June and have been reading the forums quite a bit in the last few months. I did make MTD, CK and specialty restaurant reservations but now trying to tweek the plan a little bit. However, the Cruise Planner shows pretty much no dining availability for each day of the week until 8pm + esp for MTD. Then I think about the forum talk and all the people who are making their dinner plans on embarkation day. Question is do more reservations become available on day 1 or do all those people just know they will eat late? I am having such a hard time with these two changes I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to get a dinner time you wanted if you wait until embarkation day. Am I doing something wrong perhaps?

Thanks for the input....and hoping it works a day or two for a lighter more 'normal' breakfast then we will enjoy the other days in main dining areas.

Going on Allure June sailing and wanted to check on the Solarium area. From how I read various posts/info there is an Adults Only Pool area and a separate Solarium Bistro area that kids can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. Is that correct? Looking at maps/layout its seems like an odd setup to not have kids at the pool itself, the eating area is not far away? TIA,

Thanks for the info and knowledge.....this will help my cause. And some perspective on the worrier in our family..we actually get to Fort Lauderdale 2 days prior to embarkation....just in case...

Many have been impacted with change of port stops or port times but what about true safety issue. Isn't it a worry if something happens to the other 2 propulsion pods? From info posted here it seems this is 'normal ' to just run at a lower speed as it did in 2017 and that went quite awhile too so supports the fact it can run for months in 2019 at a slower speed -- although having the same problem 2yrs later is not very comforting. Its taken me a few years to convince DH to try a cruise and he is convinced we will be on the news now when it all goes wrong. We are on June 23rd sailing and have travel insurance but just port changes is nothing that I can use to activate any coverage. So from that true safety viewpoint -- is it just hoping Murphy is not your friend and Mother Nature doesn't throw bad weather into the mix?

If they have to run slower though should we expect itinerary changes at the very least? On the June 23rd sailing to St Kitts/St Thomas/Nassau and don't see how you make it to St Kitts going slow and allow enough port time. How much in advance do they tell if any itinerary change? Fingers crossed as the main reason for picking this cruise was the St Kitts stop.

First time cruise this June on Allure and very excited. Making a few specialty restaurant reservations and read that you have to book for your entire party, then day of reservation will get refund for any kids that are in your party. So in my example we booked a reservation for 4, paid the standard fee but 2 are kids so we would get a refund on those 2 kids. Question -- is that refund to the credit card used to make the reservation, or on-board credit maybe ? TIA