WAAAYTOOO

Your balcony cabin will be assigned by Royal some time prior to boarding. The assignment is unrelated to check-in. Keep checking your booking online to find out which cabin you’ve been assigned. Fingers crossed for you ! Good luck.?

...and you raisin lovers wanna chew ‘em up. Wonder how they feel about that ?

I thought the god parents of the Harmony were Royal Caribbean employees.

Funny, but I had thought about something like this back when they first announced the new "rules" of the unlimited plan. What is to keep someone from going to Playmakers, eating their $25 (or whatever it is) worth, closing out the ticket, waiting 5 minutes and then opening a new ticket ? Personally, I don't think it's worth all of that hassle but I'm sure some people will try to do whatever they can to bend the rules.

OMG...this looks like one of those safety parody videos from the third world that we use to show horrendous safety no-no's (I'm a safety engineer) ! Too funny. No OSHA on a cruise ship but honestly....they should know better than this.

UGH. Sorry to hear about the motion issues. Too bad....those desserts look incredible ! What is that white thing with all of the raspberries on top ?

Yes, it is. We ate there a few times on our B2B there last Feb. It was not open on embarkation day and it was closed the last sea day b/c they were holding the sushi making class there. But other sea days it is open. It is not open on port days as far as I can remember....but then neither are any of the other specialty restaurants. Jamie's and Chops were both open on embarkation day but they also host the Key people so it can be crowded at both/either.

I will join in the 150 diss club. I used to love 150 when they did the fixed 5 course meal. I soooo miss the bread and salts. On our recent Oasis cruise we ordered the prime rib for 2 and it was awful. I think they need to think about a complete re-do on this restaurant. I plan on skipping it completely on our Dec 2020 trip.

Yikes. That is a really STRONG earthquake !

If you decide that you want to go early, and there's a chance that the room may not be ready, just make sure that the Genie knows that the porter needs to take the luggage upstairs. If you don't do that, trust me...it will be downstairs. Last year, when we were on our Anthem B2B SC cruises, I cannot remember what time we got there, but I do know that we went straight to our suite. Looking back at my itinerary, our flight arrived at EWR at 9:13 so by the time we got our luggage and got to the terminal, it was probably 10:30 so that may have helped.

Now that's what I call going into "DRY DOCK". Unless it really takes a BIG arc leap, it will be on land somewhere !

Welcome to the blog Ro<3. Yes, you can definitely decorate the door(s). No reason to believe you cannot use tape.

Welcome to the blog, Kellyfairweather ! Wow. I hate to say it, but I am glad I am not in your shoes. I know that Royal has cancelled 2 of the cruises out of Shanghai but I don't think they have cancelled anything out of Singapore - yet. To be honest, I don't know what I would do, were I in your situation. If you cancel on your own, you will be looking at a 100% forfeiture of your cruise fare. On the other hand, if you go, you could be putting your life and your family's at risk ! To answer your question, nobody knows if Royal will cancel any additional sailings out of Asia. This situation is so scary ! God speed and good luck. I hope that they will cancel your cruise and give you a full refund....but honestly, nobody knows what will happen at this point.

Welcome to the blog, Doclegend33. Oasis is a great ship. I have never been to Hilton Rose Hall but I know that Matt speaks very highly of it.

Welcome to the blog, SC202 !!!! I cannot answer #1 as I have never been to Castaway Cay...or even been on a Disney cruise, for that matter. 2. I love sea days but I think a 2-day visit to CC might be perfect. 1 day to do the water park stuff and another day to just lounge on the beach. We've only been to Perfect Day once but I was very impressed. I think it is a game-changer for private island destinations. Even though I am NOT a water park person, I loved going there. We are trying Coco Beach in 2 weeks and cannot wait to go back !! 3. I do not think that you would be overwhelmed by going on an Oasis class ship the first time. I think you would be starting at the top and it might be tough going DOWN from there, but it is such an incredible ship ! I say, "go for it". 4. There is no negative to Allure, IMO. It's a longer cruise, so that speaks for itself. It has more to do than you would ever be able to do and see in 6 days. I have never sailed on Mariner so I cannot really comment on it but I have certainly sailed on that class ship many times. I know that the amplification on Mariner has provided many enhancements. I am an Oasis class gal, so I would vote for Allure.

I think that booking a refundable deposit cruise is a very very smart thing to do. I sure wish they still allowed you to book a suite with a refundable deposit.

This is a very controversial question at the moment. Traditionally, the answer has been "no"...that you could have as many appetizers, side dishes and desserts that you want, but only 1 entree. Then, Royal came along with the Unlimited Dining Package and touted it as "eat as much as and as often as you want". The ships quickly pushed back on that, however, and have made the rules for the UDP very confusing and ship/venue-specific. I think the answer to your question is still "no" but I don't think anyone truly knows the FINAL and true answer to that question.

It is doubtful that anyone would have this information BUT for anyone to even try to answer you, they would need to know which dining room you are in. Are you in traditional dining or my time dining ?

Not sure what you're asking here....but if you are asking if I would send my credit card information to someone via email, the answer is absolutely, positively NO, NEVER. I have done this many times. I often book my own reservation and then turn around and transfer it to my TA. I do this sometimes b/c I find a sailing and room that I really want and don't want to take the risk of waiting until she can go in and book it for me. There have been times when I book a reservation KNOWING that she is going to have to go back in and completely reprice it using the casino discount. I never worry about what someone else might think about my bookings. If a refundable deposit is what works for you - for whatever reason - book it. You can always go back and change it to a non-refundable deposit later once you know for sure that you are going to go. Just be aware, however, that repricing to a non-refundable deposit does not automatically mean that you will get a lower rate.

If you have the UDP, that is true. If you are paying full price for your specialty dining, you can make your reservations before you board for whenever you want them.

I realize that the CK/SL are bigger on Harmony and Symphony but I actually love the SL on Oasis and Allure b/c I love the bar that overlooks the kids' pool area. I think the bars on Harmony and Symphony, facing the wall, is truly boring. Both have their + and - I guess !!

The Grand and Owner's Panoramic Suites have always been on Oasis and Allure. The reason that the CK/SL on those 2 ships are smaller than on Harmony and Symphony is b/c the CK/SL was created out of the old Viking Crown Lounge. With Harmony and Symphony, they eliminated the Panoramic Suites and made the CK/SL bigger. The Ultimate Panoramic Suites are being created far forward above the bridge and are nowhere near Deck 17.

Love this itinerary !! USD are good. No need for converting to local currency. I have used a credit card a number of times and never had an issue. I recommend using a CC that does not have a foreign currency fee. Bring as much money as you think you will need ! If you are planning on shopping, bring more. If you just want to wander around and grab a drink or something to eat, not so much. I usually bring a medium amount of cash and a CC...that way, I am covered if I see something I just cannot live without !!

The Genie will do whatever YOU want to do. They will make suggestions/recommendations (and they often have a reason for the recommendations that they make !!!) but it's your cruise and they are there to serve you...you will get whatever you want. Do NOT worry about not getting a table when you want it. You will get what you want. The "rule" you stated is technically true...about the restaurant being open...but I can tell you from experience that generally a great deal of the "snacks" that are delivered to our suite on embarkation day have come from Izumi. I imagine that, as long as you let the Genie know in advance what you want, you will get what you want. They are hesitant to try and put a formal, sit-down lunch together on embarkation day b/c everyone (particularly the Genies) are so busy but if you let them know what you want, they will make it happen. My biggest concern with something like tempura would be that it might (WOULD) be cold by the time it gets to you....or more accurately, by the time you get to it. I think that's why they generally have "finger food" on embarkation day...trying to keep warm food warm is a losing battle. Just be midful of that. The whole "drink in the suite" thing is so much more complicated than it needs to be....IMO. The truth is, they will bring you any drink you want at any time. Just let the Genie know what drinks you want (even liquor) and they will bring it. What they will NOT do is leave you a bottle of liquor. Frankly, I have never thought about asking for the liquor in a glass without the ice/mixer but I suspect that they would do that. As for the wine, either ask for as many glasses of wine as you want or just pay for a bottle to be delivered. The same works for champagne. It's far less of a hassle, IMO, to just pay a couple of bucks for a bottle and be done with it. They will bring glasses, napkins, silverware, etc. You should be able to have a nice spread with food and drinks that you want. What you will NOT get is a full, multi-course, sit-down meal for embarkation lunch. If you want that, you will need to go to one of the open restaurants....which is certainly doable. I have done it both ways. The very first SC cruise I was on, we were with friends also in SC. They had their Genie (I can't recall her name at the moment) and we had Reyno. It worked very well as some of the times their Genie made the arrangements and sometimes Reyno did, but they always coordinated. Having the same Genie also makes sense b/c you know things are well coordinated that way. I'm not sure I have a recommendation on this one. I don't think you can make a mistake on this one. Wasting food in SC is one of the unfortunately unavoidable pitfalls. We have learned, over the course of many SC cruises, that we do NOT want extra food brought to our suite but we aren't "snackers" to begin with. We love our specialty dining and we utilize that but we just cannot eat more food than that !! That being said, the Genie will bring you whatever you want, whenever you want it. Many people ask for an afternoon snack and that's great. I wish I could eat an afternoon snack !!! The best thing (IMO) is to ask for what you want and, during the course of the cruise, you realize that food is going to waste, cut if off. By the end of our last SC cruise, we had a strict "NO MORE FOOD" policy in effect. It is true that your meal gratuities are included in your SC cruise fare. We have a very standard meal tipping philosophy and we do not change it whether we are in SC or not. $5 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner. Always...whether we eat in the Windjammer or Wonderland (God forbid). You will be with a larger party most of the time. I never worry about what others in my party do. If they all tip like we do, the server scores !! If not, oh well....I can only control what I do. It keeps me sane. Yes. That is the best thing to do. When I first started cruising in Suites and finally SC, I used to feel very guilty about asking someone else to order food for me. It seems like such a personal thing and something I SHOULD be able to do for myself. So I started trying to just do it myself by calling the Room Service line. I quickly learned that this was a fool's errand. Nobody EVER answers that line. It was so frustrating. I eventually realized that if I wanted to eat in my suite, there was only 1 reliable way to get that order made and that was to use either the Concierge or the Genie. As those who have used Room Service before know, they will bring you EXACTLY what you ask for and nothing more. You must ask for salt, pepper, butter, bread EVERYTHING or you will not get it. Therefore, I began a ritual of making all of my Room Service orders in writing and handing them to either the Concierge or the Genie. It ends up saving us both a great deal of time and the order will be right. Give your Genie your breakfast order the night before. Breakfast is the BEST meal of the day for Room Service, IMO. SOOO decadent. We have never tipped our Genie $100 PP/PD. We tip $100 per day, period unless we have had some kind of complex event in our suite during the cruise. $700 for the week is very reasonable, IMO. 9. I know we have to go to the Star Class Zone 6 drop off area. I was a little confused as to what to do when we get there. I know I don't give the bags to the pier porters so is there someone at the star class banner that will tell me who to give them to or should I go inside with them? Definitely DO NOT give up your bags before you have checked in with the Star Class greeter/coordinator. You will have to fight off the luggage handlers but hold your ground !! Once you check in with the SC greeter, he/she will let you know where to go with your luggage. We choose to keep ours with us but you can choose to let yours go, if you want to do that. I don't recall which SC suite you are in....but if you are in a loft suite, I recommend that you keep your luggage with you and have the porters bring it inside and take it UP the stairs for you. If you are in one of the ATS or one of the panoramic suites, it isn't as critical b/c you don't have to deal with stairs. If you choose to keep your luggage with you all the way through the boarding process, be sure that you have coordinated that with the Genie ahead of time. They have to arrange porters to take care of this. It's easy to do this at Terminal A in Miami. Not quite as easy with the other ports...but it can be done. Just be firm.

We were just in 1758, which is the Grand Panoramic Suite that is "attached" to 1756. The setup is still the same. You have to go through that first door and then your suite door is inside that. I remember reading somewhere...long time ago....that the second "outside" door was added to reduce the noise from the CK. That doesn't seem to make much sense to me, but that's what I recall reading. As I mentioned in my recent blog, the biggest NOISE that we experienced had nothing whatsoever to do with the CK but came from the blaring speakers on the new pool deck area. It was ungodly loud and NONSTOP. By day 4 I had to call the Genie about it and she and the Cruise Director took care of it. Whether or not it was a permanent fix or just something they did to appease us, is unknown.