WesKinetic

From the Royal Caribbean dining FAQ:  

Quote

The ships do not provide, nor have access to, any organic food items.

Some of the specialty restaurants like Hooked may occasionally offer a wild-caught option, but the vast majority of seafood onboard is going to be farm-raised. 

Yes, even if you haven't linked reservations ahead of time. I went on a cruise with a group of friends a while back and had no problems. We hadn't linked the reservations , but one person from our party just went to Chops on embarkation day with a list of all of our names/room numbers and was able to make group reservations for all of us. 

Like @Snowchaser said, I got lucky last year and got it for $5.99. But that was very much an anomaly--it very rarely comes off of that $8.99 price point. So if you know you want to get it, go ahead and lock it in at $8.99. On the off chance it does go lower, you can cancel and rebook without penalty and get the difference refunded. 

@AshleyDillo That's a good idea about bringing one of the power converters. I have a couple of those at home I've used for overseas trips, but never even thought about bringing them with me on a ship. Thanks!

Agree with @Reigert2008. The Zoom streaming wifi is usually passable. But even under good circumstances, it's not blazing fast by any means. It generally works for most things, but the service isn't always consistent. So I certainly wouldn't want to count on it for something that was very time-sensitive. 

When you do the online check in, you assign a credit card to each passenger that will be charged for onboard charges. I don't have a cruise currently booked , so I can't look online to confirm this but, if I recall correctly, there was a way on the kids' accounts to disable them from being able to charge on board. 

9 minutes ago, Eddie Ireland said:

 

And let's just say you wanted to kick start your day and have a drink with breakfast... is that cool? Asking for a friend .....

Not just cool, but encouraged. A lot of times, there will be waiters coming around the Windjammer during breakfast taking drink orders or carrying around trays of mimosas. 

My last few cruises, I could find Stone IPA and Terrapin Luau Krunkles (not everywhere--usually at the British pub and maybe a couple other places). Beyond that, it tends to just be your standard macro offerings. 

Two bathrooms is a gamechanger. 

On 8/4/2022 at 4:59 AM, Xaa said:

• Then going to the terminal will I see porters outside?  When I do, I give them my luggage (and tips of course) and they send it on toward the cruise.
  • Is there generally a line for porters?
  • In videos I've seen some really long lines outside the terminal.  Any idea what I'm seeing there?

Am I on the right track?  The part about which I'm most fuzzy is approaching the terminal.  When I do, do I need to enter every line that might be formed or are there often lines forming for things I don't need?

There are plenty of porters out at the unloading area, so you shouldn't have a line or much of a wait for one. 

Outside the port in Miami, they have different lines outside set up by your boarding time (11:00, 11:30, 12:00, etc.). Without knowing what videos you saw, my guess is the lines were those who were being held while the earlier groups are boarding. As long as you show up close to your boarding time, the lines outside moved pretty quickly. 

Inside the terminal was a little more disorganized and confused, so pack your patience. But it still wasn't terrible. Have fun!

16 hours ago, Zuggs-Mimi said:

Thanks to everyone who added to this discussion, I am in the same "boat" as Xaa.  Someone mentioned that you get your room key on the boat.  I believe I also read that they are in an envelope on your room door.  My big question is what do you need to get that first "deluxe package beverage" on the boat? Boarding pass / room key?

No, the drink package is noted on your sea pass (either printed or on your phone), so you'll be fine. In most cases, the first day of the cruise they just write down your cabin number and you don't need to show anything at all. But you'll be able to get that first drink as soon as you're on board. 

Yes, the morning of the 19th is fine. It is two calendar days--not 48 hours. So as long as your test is done sometime the 19th-21st, you're good. 

I was on Symphony two weeks ago with a room right by the elevator and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the noise level (or lack thereof). Could I occasionally hear people outside? Of course. But it was no worse than in any other room hearing people talking as they walk down the hallway. The elevator bank itself was far enough away and separated that I couldn't hear people actually waiting for the elevator--only those walking to/from. 

Obviously I can't promise anything but, on my last three cruises, I've been in similar circumstances and each time they let us all board together. 

Regular paper usually works fine. You're going to fold it over on itself multiple times, plus staple it so it's usually pretty solid. 

If you're concerned about them ripping off, you can order tag holders with steel loops that work pretty well. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=royal+caribbean+luggage+tags&crid=1Z5OJOFINFWJ6&sprefix=royal+caribbean+l%2Caps%2C124&ref=nb_sb_ss_mission-aware-v1_1_17

@MLH Thanks for that info. Her room refund hit yesterday, but still waiting on refunds for excursions, prepaid gratuities, etc. The joys of Royal Caribbean accounting.  

On 7/18/2022 at 6:09 PM, MLH said:

I actually tested positive on my pre cruise test in Feb.  It wasn't a false positive and was followed up with additional tests.  I would have never known I had it if I wasnt going on a cruise.  For me, not knowing I had it , I could have infected many more people had I not tested.

@MLH Out of curiosity, do you happen to recall how long Royal Caribbean took to process your refund? My mother-in-law had almost identical situation--about a week-and-half ago, tested positive before her cruise but had absolutely no symptoms. Just curious how Royal is handling the refund process in those situations. 

I'm that lucky (?) guy who's been called twice for jury duty at times when I was supposed to be on a cruise. In both cases, once I called and explained the situation they were more than willing to delay my service to a later time. Your mileage may vary, but I got the impression that they're so used to hearing bogus excuses from people just trying to get out of jury duty that, once they realized I wasn't trying to get out of it, they were happy to help. 

That said, a grand jury is a little different kind of animal. But it can't hurt to ask. Good luck!

I know people have used On Point testing with success and had no problems. I'm not familiar with Azova, but it seems to be a similar business model, so I can't see why it wouldn't work. As long as you get some kind of email with the info Royal Caribbean requires, you should be good to go--they don't really care about the specific company that does the monitoring. 

@wordell1 hit it on the head. Officially, the answer is no but if they know you're tipping, the odds of getting it your way definitely increase. 

Another option if you're travelling with someone else with a drink package: one time I asked for a double something-or-other. Bartender said he couldn't "officially" make me a double without an upcharge (which I was prepared to pay anyway) but, since I was there with my wife, he rang it in as two drinks--a single of the one I wanted plus an extra shot on the side.  

If you go in the app, click on dining and then "main dining", you can find menus for each night of your cruise. 

The main menu always has at least one vegetarian option but, if you scroll down under the kids menu, you will also see a list of available Vegan options. A couple of examples from one of my upcoming cruises are attached. 

In addition to those options, as others have mentioned I know of people having success in asking for some kind of Indian vegetarian options. I can at least promise no one will go hungry. 

Yes, you absolutely can. There are things on that menu specifically designed to be shared. On last cruise, we had a group of 10-12, about half of which had the UDP. We ordered nachos, wings, etc. for the table and no one batted an eyelash. 

Different cruise line, so your mileage may vary. But my wife bought one on an Alaskan cruise a few years ago. When we went through security getting back on the ship, they confiscated the knife but attached her name and room number. It was returned to us the last night of the cruise. Others have reported taking it back to their room without a problem. But either way, the point is that you'll have no problem getting it in time to pack it in your checked bag for the flight home. 

You're not alone. 

I don't get on to Pokemon very much anymore, but I've gotta admit I'd never even thought about this. Now I'm intrigued.