Mturk

I believe what you could do is, before disembarking, use your prepaid Visa card to pay part or all of your balance owing for your cabin. If the there is a shortfall, then this will be paid with the credit card on file.

There are 2 main pools plus the solarium pools. However, the solarium pools are really more for lounging as they are not deep at all. The pool closest to the back, Splashaway Bay, is the one with the live music and the middle pool has the screen and it's under the North Star "arm" when not being used.

The short answer is yes. We are on a comped cruise later this month on Independence and we received an email to Royal Up about 45 days from when our cruise is to take place. We didn't bid as we upgraded our comped cruise to a junior suite.

Maybe you should consider buying one DBP and a refreshment package. You cannot do this online but will have to call in to get it done. My wife and I did this last January, which came in handy, which was our first cruise as Diamond and we had a few sea days. She had the package and i got use of 8 vouchers. Things are different for us now as we're each Prime members as well and can get drinks in the casino complimentary.

We used www.cabroma.com a few times and have been very happy with their service. 

Prior to 2020, we would always look for the best airline and hotel deals but that changed when at the end of 2019 my wife attained Super Elite status with Air Canada. That changed the dynamic for how we travel as her benefits makes it unattractive to fly with another airline, even if cheaper to do so. She travels for work, she's in China right now, and also has loyalty benefits with Bonvoy. Add to that credit cards with Air Canada and Bonvoy rewards and we're kind of hooked. Once travel resumed after the pandemic, we were able to use a lot of the accumulated points we earned and now we're back to accumulating again.

2 minutes ago, YellowBrickRoad said:

Can I buy one Unlimited Drink Package (calling Royal) and have my spouse use my 4 Diamond drink vouchers , totaling 8 a day on his end?

Yes but you need to call and request this but you will need to buy one refreshment package as well. We did this on Harmony earlier this year. 

Just now, RCIfan1912 said:

Just out of curiosity where do you find info like that? How many pinnacle, D and D+? Is that readily available info? 

When you go to the top tier event, they show it on a screen. I even took a picture of it because i couldn't believe how few top tier passengers were on the cruise.

On our August 20th sailing on Odyssey, there were 8 pinnacle, 56 diamond+ and 188 diamond for a total of 252 out of approximately 4,950 passengers according to the stats they posted at the top tier event. Really small percentage of total.

We've been on Odyssey twice and absolutely love the ship. There's plenty to do on the ship and the highlights, as mentioned, are Music Hall and 270.

Sorrento & Amalfi Coast by Motor Launch

In theory this should have been a no-brainer spectacular excursion. However, it turned out to be an excruciatingly long and tiresome day. In short, RC tried to pack too much into the day for sites that were too geographically dispersed to be properly enjoyed. We ended up spending most of the day on the bus instead of enjoying any of the locations we went to. We first went to a limoncello facility for an unscheduled stop along with several other buses from different cruise ships. Then we continued into Sorrento for another unscheduled stop at a furniture shop and then free time. We then went for lunch at a local restaurant where the food can best be described as bland. On top of that, my son asked for olive oil to mix with balsamic vinegar to dip his bread and was told that it wasn't included with the meal! After lunch back to the bus for an hour and a half bus ride to the port in Salerno to catch a ferry to Amalfi. We had an hour in Amalfi before heading back to the ferry and another bus ride back to the ship. We complained to shore excursions along with a few other families and did receive some compensation for our trouble. 

Back in 2011, we were on a Disney cruise and it actually happened twice during the same sailing! First time, we were leaving St. Thomas and my youngest son says "dad, it looks like we're turning back to port". Sure enough, we did in fact turn back and had to let off a family where a family member had a medical emergency. Then a couple of days later, we were heading towards Castaway Cay and the captain announces we have to divert to Grand Turk to let off another ill passenger and family. We saw the ambulance take the passenger away.

On 9/27/2023 at 12:01 PM, CJS2766 said:

We are in a Junior Suite. Therefore, who would we go to to make CK reservations?

Last year on Odyssey we were also in a JS and would go to CK almost every night. We did the MDR once and never went back, the other times we were in specialty restaurants. We would reserve the next night's supper with the host when we left CK and never had an issue. You will love CK!

This has never been an issue for me and have never been asked about my meds when checking in either.

Got mine 7 days after our Aug. 20-28 Odyssey cruise. Funny thing is that for 2 of my sons, even before this past cruise, the points total on the app were wrong. When we went to the Loyalty Ambassador onboard she said that within the system it was showing the correct amount of points but the app wasn't updating for some reason. I checked with my sons once I got my Odyssey points and their apps were still showing the wrong amount from before the cruise. I've had them logout and log back in but that didn't do the trick.

Just now, Mturk said:

I've always been able to see and click on the link for "View itineraries" for both my wife and myself.....until the last offer. I was able to see and click on it in my account but even though it says for "select sailings" there is no view itinerary option on my wife's account. What's more bizarre is that it was for 2 itineraries one on September 24 and the other October 1, 2023 and we just got the offer last week. Not really much time to plan for a cruise! 

Update

Of course right after my last post I went to check my wife's account and there now appears the link! At least her offers are for January 2024.

I've always been able to see and click on the link for "View itineraries" for both my wife and myself.....until the last offer. I was able to see and click on it in my account but even though it says for "select sailings" there is no view itinerary option on my wife's account. What's more bizarre is that it was for 2 itineraries one on September 24 and the other October 1, 2023 and we just got the offer last week. Not really much time to plan for a cruise! 

Honeymoon September 1994 on Majesty of the Seas!

We just got back from Odyssey on Monday and my youngest had a bout with gastro on that sailing. My wife went with him to the infirmary, he was given a shot and told to stay in his cabin until he had no more symptoms and handed some Imodium and then sent to his cabin. When asked what his brothers should do since they were in one cabin together, she was told to just have them wash their hands frequently and properly. Shockingly, he was the only one to have gastro and it lasted a little more than 24 hours. Unfortunately for him, he missed the excursion to the ruins of Ephesus and beach day in Mykonos the next day!

54 minutes ago, PL8SWPR said:

Last night on the YouTube stream, Matt recommended the Marriott AC Fort Lauderdale Airport hotel.  It has only been there about a year, so everything is new.

I switched from the Crown Plaza to the Marriott for our October trip.  It was a few dollars cheaper.  It also seemed to be within walking distance of more restaurants and stores.

Stayed there back in January, we enjoyed the hotel very much.

Back in December I posted this in response to the same question.

We've been to Four Points Sheraton a couple of times pre-cruise. They have an airport shuttle and it's not far from the port too. They don't include breakfast but the rooms are decent size. Next week we'll be staying at the Marriott Fort Lauderdale in Dania Beach. It's more expensive but looks really nice. They also have an airport shuttle.

After having stayed at the Marriott I can confirm that it was very nice. First time staying in Dania Beach area and it was quite pleasant. Short Uber ride to port.

6 hours ago, Ray said:

these features are not available on RC UK site! 

However you can log in to UK site then switch to US site, this gives you access to these features allowing you to watch cruises and receive emails if price changes.

The same thing is happening with the RC Canadian site. That's why i never noticed this feature before.

20th Odyssey!

You will be charged the $160 ($80 + $80) by the end of your cruise. Actually, they charge the $16 per person daily. You should go to one of the restaurants as soon as you board to reserve your preferred dining times. I'm not sure if you'll be able to change to a set dining time but it never hurts to ask. 

8 hours ago, monctonguy said:

I had actually booked that hotel....they were supposed to do an "authorization" on my card to verify etc, but it was a book now, pay later option.

 

They actually charged the card and was going to stay on for a whole year...it was  a nightmare dealing with them....and the booking company about it.

That’s exactly what happened to me! I told Expedia that they shouldn’t be promoting that hotel because it reflects badly on them and will harm their reputation. I never went back to check if it still appears on their website.