WesKinetic

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.

There will be one specialty restaurant open for lunch. Most recently it's generally been Giovanni's, but it will either be that or Chops. Either way, when you go there, the crew members should be able to help you make your reservations for the rest of the trip.

Now you've got me curious. The Allure cruise compass collection on here goes back to 2011 and I can only find WJ open until 9. I know I've been on other cruise lines that would occasionally do an after-hours dessert party or something like that. Have they ever done anything like that in WJ?

As others have said, it is tied to the SeaPass card, not the room. So when you check in online or at guest services onboard, you can change the credit card on file for each individual. That way, everyone will automatically be charged for whatever they put on their card instead of you all having to figure out who owes what at the end. As for the OBC, it will be tied to the names of the people on file for that room. So if they charge something, it should go against that credit regardless of whatever room they're actually in. (With the exception of the room service example mentioned above.)

Was looking at a past cruise compass while preparing for an upcoming cruise and noticed this advisory. Is this something new, or have I just never noticed it before? And, more importantly, anyone have a good animals-on-board story?

There is no downside at all to booking early. You guarantee the things that you know you want to do and, if the price should drop later, you can cancel and rebook with no penalty.

My first RC cruise, I forgot to change my phone settings to stay on ship time. I enjoyed my day on Labadee, looked at my phone and thought I had a little over an hour to get back on the ship. So I had time for one more drink. I get my drink at the bar, just sitting there chilling out. I start looking around and realize I'm the only one around and all the crew members are busy folding up beach chairs, closing down the bar, etc. My error suddenly dawned on me and realized I had ten minutes until all-aboard. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have left me behind on Labadee, but definitely don't want to take that chance again.

Unfortunately, no. You can only add things that are in the RC app/cruise planner. So, for example, once on board you'll be able to add all of the trivia, shows, etc. you want. But it won't let you add your own entries. Which has always seemed dumb to me and something I wish RC would change.

Facebook post this morning from the cruise director. Sea trials begin tomorrow.

Any alcohol or other such goods the ship has been holding will generally be delivered to your room on the last evening of your cruise.

While I obviously can't guarantee anything, I can say I have never not gotten into a show without a reservation. You might not have the front-and-center seats, but I'd bet money you'll have no problem getting in via the standby line.

I can't speak to what bank they are affiliated with but, if memory serves, the ATM provider now charges a $6.50 fee on top of whatever your bank might charge. FWIW, you can use your Seapass card at the casino to withdraw cash without a fee by charging to your onboard account. @AshleyDillo put together a really good step-by-step on that below.

That is just a standard line on all invoices. For example, I'm looking at a cruise I have coming up in a couple months (interior non-guarantee room) and it says "Stateroom Obstructed View Percentage: 0%" My understanding is that the guarantee room means you will have that category of room or better. So it is theoretically possible that you could get upgraded to an ocean view or balcony room. (Not common, but it can happen.) That's why yours will say "Stateroom Obstructed View Percentage: Pending" until your room is formally assigned.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe "ZI" is the Royal Caribbean code for interior cabin. So ZI-GTY means you're getting exactly what you'd paid for--a guaranteed inside cabin.

Look closely at the list of ports and you'll see they are slightly different. On the Ovation cruises, they all include Juneau, Skagway and Victoria. The 9/8/23 cruise also includes Endicott Arm and Sitka. The 5/24/24 cruise also includes Endicott Arm but not Sitka. The 9/6/24 cruise includes Sitka, but not Endicott Arm. The Quantum Cruises are identical except one goes to Skagway, the other goes to Ketchikan. I think you'd be missing out by not seeing the glaciers in Endicott Arm (9/6/24), so I personally wouldn't pick that one. But you really can't go wrong with any of the others IMHO. As for pricing, no, the cheaper ones are not missing anything--it will be an identical experience. The pricing differences are just based on demand and the number of rooms still available at any given time. (Plus some other mystery factors known only to RC. )

The podcast episode @Matt referenced was an excellent resource. My only other suggestion is that Royal Caribbean does have a special needs form you can submit in advance of your cruise. What accommodations might be available to you will likely vary somewhat from ship-to-ship, but this will at least let the ship staff know ahead of time and they can let you know what assistance or options might be available. It also helps them so they know who might need assistance in the event of an emergency. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs As far as excursions go, the one thing I would mention is to do your research on any that involve significant walking. In many excursions, the walking paths can be rocky and uneven. For example, I have a family member who is blind in one eye and she had to be very cautious on those trips because of depth perception issues. Just something to keep in mind. Have a great time!

Did Oasis over Christmas at full capacity. Expect somewhat longer lines and waits for things, but certainly nothing crazy. We never had any problems getting in to any of the shows/activities we really wanted. The only caveat I would put on that was that things like karaoke, trivia, etc. got really full. So if you want to do that and want seats, I'd say get to trivia at least 20 minutes early, more than that for karaoke.