atseau

3 Chairs

Speak with the Hotel manager they will fix the problem.

That would be quite the tab from Boston.

Matt Thank you very much. I did and found out that Chops is open on embarkation day.
Thanks again

Unlimited milkshakes are only available with the DX (deluxe drinking package) or refreshment package. The UDP (unlimited/ultimate dining package) is for specialty restaurants.

Unlimited milkshakes at JR...mmmmm

Matt Thank you very much. I did and found out that Chops is open on embarkation day.
Thanks again

The food can be hit or miss, this seems to be a recent development. However as a whole I don't think Royals food sucks too bad. There will always be mainstays in the buffet and dining room, but I do think they rotate the offerings.  
I also doubt they are trying to drive 3500+pax to fight for 50-90 spots in the specialty restaurants.  In all honesty, imho, other lines have always had better free food than Royal but lacked in other areas. 

And they will miss a lot of opportunities for tips. Those 2 things every evening is a big motivator for tips.

We're flying in from Los Angeles the day before. We used points to book the Crown Plaza near the port. Don't know if the hotel has a shuttle to the ship. If not we can Lyft or Uber. 

https://www.porteverglades.net/cruise/parking/
https://www.cruzely.com/15-convenient-port-everglades-fort-lauderdale-park-cruise-hotels/

We prefer the Allure because it in not updated with the view blocking slide and the useless robot bar (instead of the champagne bar).  She is our favorite ship.

If your happy just being on a ship and cruising its a great option but no complaining if you get a room near the pointy end or the very back on the lowest floor.

Personally: just got notified about "guaranteed" room, and lo and behold - the room was an upgrade!  It can happen.

From what I hear around this site, when it comes to a guaranteed room you should:
be okay with the worst possible room in the category. It's not a sure thing that you will get it, but guarantee rooms are generally filled after all the self-picked room are gone. Meaning you get what other people probably didn't want. So if you have a balcony you may end up with an obstructed view balcony, or one on a lower deck, or one where there may be more noise/less privacy. You could end up all the to the front or back, having to walk longer distances. Or you could end up with a perfectly nice room with nothing at all wrong with it. If you can honestly be okay with potentially the "dregs" of the category, then do it. know you may not get your assignment until a week or two before the sail date so there may not be room or space to upgrade. I've seen countless threads posted here asking when they'll get their assigned room because the sail date is coming up and they still don't know.  

Basically, you are promised a room in whatever category you get for the price you paid. It's a little bit of a gamble but not one where you lose too much if you "lose".

Pre-paid gratuities
Gratuities acknowledge the 24/7 service commitment of your personal stateroom attendants, culinary and service staff. Guests can conveniently pre-pay gratuities at the time of booking or assign gratuities once onboard through their SeaPass account.

Ah, Light dawns on Marblehead!

Fairly certain that's cumulative, not simultaneously. 

Is it true that once you attain Pinnacle there is a secret benefit of free closing costs on your move into The Villages?
 
At first I thought it was crazy and then I started to ask Pinnacles, and I’ll be damed if they all don’t live there. 
 
Come Seek……

I personally give them cash tips for drinks.

I personally give them cash tips for drinks.

I personally give them cash tips for drinks.

I personally give them cash tips for drinks.

First, let me say I understand a lot of frustration in and with the cruise industry due to COVID. Its supposed to be a great vacation and customers pay a good price for the experience.  The media likes to dwell on cancelled ports and sick passengers and empty ships sitting at anchor. All the misery and misfortune in the headlines sells. No one wants to go on vacation and be limited to mask wearing, subjected to nasal swabs, flight disruption, port dismissal etc.
On the other hand, trying to take a purely scientific view point ...
Though ships have been called a Petri dish (generally with negative connotations), at the same time they are a somewhat unique controlled population sampling. Here you have literally thousands of people that are vaccinated and following masking protocols etc. Its not perfect but when you look at infection rates, those aboard ship are less than one percent compared to over 30% on land.
To me this is a perfect example of how an experiment works. You have two populations, one with generally well kept protocols and controls, and the other, not so much. The difference in infection rates is dramatic. It just shows vaccines, masking and isolation of known cases works.
Ships have other issues such as limited space for isolation and medical facilities. Their systems are not perfect but the numbers show they do work.