WesKinetic

First thing, consider what package you might purchase if you DON'T get the deluxe package. Are you a soda drinker and would get your money out of the soda package? Do you like your iced coffees and lattes and would take advantage of the refreshment package? If you think you would likely get one of those packages, you need to subtract out the cost of that from the price of the deluxe package and then decide if you would order enough alcoholic drinks to make up that difference. So many people asking this question make the mistake of "worth it" based on comparing the deluxe package to getting nothing, which is rarely an apples-to-apples comparison.

BRB, off to share that quote with my wife, the math teacher!

I just tell my family, when in doubt, check the British pub.

If you get a promotional onboard credit from RCCL, is it only good on the ship? Or will you get it in advance to use for pre-cruise purchases? Long story short, RCCL is currently offering OBC for booking a new cruise. I booked last night for a cruise that meets all the fine print criteria, but it's not showing up in my cruise planner. So I didn't know if this was normal or if RCCL was just taking its sweet time adding it to my cruise? (The fine print does say "is applicable to cruise only", but I was a little unclear if that meant only while actually on the ship. The only other times I've ever gotten OBC, it was from a travel agent and showed up in the cruise planner.) Thanks.

@Pattycruise Thanks for clarifying. I figured there had to be some kind of catch. Fortunately, I've only had to go this route occasionally so I've never run into those restrictions.

Follow the instructions @PPPJJ-GCVAB posted above to access your account. There will be a "personal banker" button (or something to that effect) and one of the options will be to charge an amount to your room. Just charge the amount of your OBC (or however much cash you want) to the machine and then cash it out. Even if you don't have OBC, this also works as a way to get out cash without paying the ATM fees. You can charge an amount to your room and then cash it out instead of withdrawing cash from the ATM. (Not sure if/how much of a limit they have, but I've done this before for getting smaller amounts of cash as needed.)

Royal Caribbean's refund math is notoriously wonky with no explanation of where the numbers come from. But as long as you're confident the total amount refunded is correct, there shouldn't be any reason to worry. The excursion still showing up will most likely clear out soon.

There's nothing to stop you, and I've done that when I've had a can or bottle of something that I hadn't opened. It is technically unlimited, but generally they're just going to give you one can at a time. So you probably don't want to think of this your personal grocery store and expect to bring home cases at a time.

If you buy the drink package, an 18% service charge will be added automatically. So you don't really get a choice in that. (They add the same fee on each drink when you buy on board, so it's really six of one, half a dozen of the other.) But on board you can always give an additional tip for good service. As for whether the drink package is "worth it," I think @Atlantix2000 hit it on the head with something a lot of people don't think about. You need to factor in how many sodas, bottles of water, specialty coffees, energy drinks, etc. will you drink in addition to the alcoholic drinks? Those are all included in the deluxe package so, if those are things you would take advantage of, that may factor into your equation.

Oops, you are correct. I misread the post. My apologies. @CanHardlyWait is correct--bottled water is only with the refreshment package.

Yep, they're included. You can order at any bar. Sometimes you'll have to ask for a can if you want that instead of just a glass, but I've never had a problem doing that.

If you like sushi, I would recommend it. It was a lot of fun and a lot of food. And a pretty good deal for the price, IMHO.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality the food there. If you have the dining package, you can get up to $20 worth of food there each day, in addition to your other dining reservations. So a lot of times we will do that for lunch instead of Windjammer or another specialty reservation. And as @PL8SWPR said, even if you don't have the dining package and just want to grab a snack there, the prices are very reasonable.

Sorry, I wasn't clear--it's not a Johnny Rockets specific package. If you buy the Deluxe Beverage Package (aka the open bar package) or Refreshment Package (basically everything except alcohol), those can be used for shakes at Johnny Rockets. But those aren't cheap and, based on how you describe your drinking habits above, I think both of those would still be overkill for what you really need. If you go on a ship with a Johnny Rockets (Ovation of the Seas does not have one, so this wouldn't be an option there), you can always go there and just buy a shake (I want to say it's about $6, but it's been a while since I've been in one on board, so hopefully someone can chime in with more recent pricing.) Buying them a la carte like that would probably be the most cost-effective way for your party.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not aware of anywhere to get free milkshakes. There are several places to get free ice cream. But for actual milkshakes, you can generally only get them on board at places like Johnny Rockets (shakes included with drink package) or Ben and Jerry's (shakes cost extra).

One other option (and I'm not saying this is a great one) is there is bus service between Vancouver and Seattle. So if there is a better-timed flight out of Seattle, that might be something you could consider. Having a day in Vancouver would definitely be more fun, for sure. But if you have to be back home by a certain time, Seattle would at least give you some extra options.

Agreed with @smokeybandit--there's absolutely nothing bad about a last-minute cruise. You just have to be prepared that you may not get an early boarding time, prices are probably higher than if you'd bought a year ago, some excursions may be sold out, etc. But as long as you are comfortable with the price you paid for the cruise, everything else is, at worst, a minor inconvenience. Have a great trip!

You don't like RC's policy changes, so you're going to take it out on the hardworking crew who have absolutely no say over those changes. Wow.

If they ever have, I've never seen it. The beer selection tends to lean away from the hoppy side of things. For IPAs, you'll generally be able to find Stone IPA in the British pub and Terrapin Luau Krunkles at many places on board. But outside of that, the beer selection is overwhelmingly your usual pale lager suspects.

Generally speaking, Royal Caribbean is not responsible for decisions about patient treatment once you're off the ship. I was on Mariner last week and we actually had to divert to Ft. Lauderdale twice for medical reasons. We never actually docked but rather a Coast Guard ship pulled along side so the passenger could be offloaded and taken to shore. From there, transport would be decided based on whatever protocols the Coast Guard and local officials might have. Royal doesn't have any say or responsibility for a patient's medical care once they're off the ship.

I've had no problems connecting to VPN, but that will depend at least in part on your corporate IT settings. 90+% of the time, the RCL internet works just fine. But if your job is dependent on absolutely having to be on a specific meeting at a specific time, there is an element of risk involved. So if working on the ship is as vitally important as your initial post makes it sound, trying to work on a cruise might not be for you.

It still happens occasionally, but (at least from my experience) definitely seems to be less common these days. If specialty dining is something you know you want to do, I would certainly recommend booking ahead of time and not taking the chance.

@Ryan79 is correct. That is an unfortunate wrinkle in the online booking system. That is a standard line on all invoices and, when you book a GTY room, it puts that in there as a placeholder but it is not a guarantee. For example, I'm looking at a future cruise I have coming up and it says "Stateroom Obstructed View Percentage: 0%". That's in spite of the fact that I'm set to have an interior room, so I'm guessing it's pretty good odds I'll have an obstructed view. I agree that the 0% thing is at best confusing and at worst misleading. And someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not aware of any way to guarantee a certain view or obstruction level when booking GTY.

It's a very common glitch. Just double-check to make sure the status on your Seapass is correct. That is what should be tied to your benefits.

Oh, good call. I forgot about Mason Jar. And I should have said "at least one" specialty restaurant will be open. It's not common, but I have seen some cruises where both Giovanni's and Chops were open. Playmakers and Johnny Rockets are also generally available for lunch on embarkation day.