WAAAYTOOO

There will, most likely, also be a Tribute Band on your sailing and they generally will perform in both the Music Hall and 270 so there is usually at least 1 additional performance in 270 besides Spectra’s Cabaret. I concur with RockerDom31 that I find it easiest to book you meals around shows rather than the other way around. So, I recommend you book the shows you can book in advance and eat around them. You have much more flexibility for dining options than you do with entertainment options.

It’s down to $17.99 on my Thanksgiving Brilliance Cruise (25 Nov). It has dropped since this morning when I last checked it. The 2 device Voom price is also 45% off for this cruise. Conversely, the Key has sold out (banner announcing “sold out” in the CP) at $24.99 on next week’s Grandeur Bermuda cruise.

??

I recommend that you do not give your bags to anyone - not even the blue banner porters. Keep them with you during the entire boarding process, especially if you want them taken upstairs for you. If you leave them with ANY porter there’s no telling when they will arrive and chances are (5 out of 6 times for us !) there won’t be anyone to take them upstairs for you. If you tell the Genie that you want your bags to go through security and onto the ship with you then there will be no problem. Don’t let the Genie tell you that the bags can’t stay with you. They can. It’s a little extra work for the genie b/c they to arrange for 2 separate porters (1 for in the terminal and 1 for on the ship) and it’s 2 tips for you vs 1 but it’s worth the extra time and tip. There won’t be any waiting around for your bags to arrive and you can unpack immediately (or have the attendant unpack for you while you go get a massage ! Just kidding).

Yes

So, Sabrina, which NE cruise are you doing ? Have you abandoned the Group on Oct 11, 2020 ?

100% correct

No. The Key has nothing to do with MDR dining. The Key gives you a special lunch on embarkation day and breakfast on disembarkation day.

I wouldn’t worry about paper copies of your passport. Your photo is good enough, I would think. Of course, you still have to bring your actual passport; copies of any kind are not enough to get you on the ship. You will not need your passport at any of the Caribbean itinerary ports of call. The most you will need is photo ID -drivers license, for example.

That is correct. The D+ discount is only good when purchased onboard. You cannot combine your D+ discount and a cruise planner discount. Sometimes it’s cheaper to purchase pre-cruise through the cruise planner than to wait to get onboard and use your D+ discount. The price for one of my upcoming cruises was discounted 45% pre-cruise and my D+ discount is 30% so I purchased it ahead of time. Obviously if you’re using the 2 free days, that has to be done onboard.

It is final payment date for non-casino bookings but when you book using a casino upgrade or a casino complimentary rate, once final payment is made, you’re done. No more price adjustments.

Good excuse to book a new cruise !

I certainly understand the passengers’ frustration with all the port changes and cancellations but I wonder how these same passengers would have reacted if the Captain had made a different decision and there had been an accident due to the weather conditions. Like it or not, the Captain did what he did to protect the passengers and his ship. If there had been an incident resulting from bad weather conditions, these same passengers, along with the ones who did NOT “riot”, would have reacted even more strongly AND the Captain would have been liable for real.

Sorry to say that the Asian Wonderland doesn’t look any more appetizing than the western Wonderland. ??

I’ve never had or used a Royal Caribbean app. I always bring printed copies of everything.

How incredible. Thank you for giving us some details. If you have any photos to share we would love to see them. 2 sets of staircases ? Seriously ? ??

Yes, I fear that this delay will cause boarding to be busy. Arriving early isn’t going to help you, unfortunately. I would plan on being there by 11:30 but you may end up waiting. Hopefully they will at least let you wait inside.

Yep. Forgot about that one

I know this sounds kinda lame for the younger and more adventurous members of your family, but when we go to a new port, we always do a “familiarization” tour. It’s just a generic, guided tour that includes local highlights. I usually really enjoy doing this. As KathyC said, some of you can rotate doing these tours with your Grandpa. You are so fortunate to be able to go on a cruise with your grandfather. Cherish this time together.

The truth is, I have no idea which kitchen the breakfast comes from. In the past, I asked the Genie to please have the CK prepare our breakfast and I made a very BIG deal about ensuring that we got real eggs. If Twangster is to be believed (hmph....??) there are no more powdered eggs so this shouldn’t be an issue. If they’re using real eggs everywhere now, then I guess it really doesn’t matter who cooks the breakfast. The bottom line is....just order what you want and who care who makes it, right ? So just give The Genie your order and let him take care of getting it from wherever it makes sense. Now....if someone wants sushi for breakfast, you might have a problem, but assuming you stick with pretty much traditional breakfast foods, you should be ok. To my knowledge, breakfast is prepared in the MDR, Windjammer and CK. I have never asked for this, but let’s speculate....someone in your group wants juevos rancheros or a traditional English breakfast with baked beans for breakfast.... Could someone from the WJ prepare those dishes ? Probably. Are those dishes already being prepared in the WJ for breakfast ? Probably. It might be kinda fun to see if you could get those (or something similar) delivered to your suite. It’s something to think about. I have a SC cruise coming up myself ! I might give this some consideration.

Eating specialty restaurant food on the balcony is one of those perks that you canNOT get anywhere except Star Class. Take advantage of it while you can. Breakfast out there is positively decadent.

Welcome to the blog, DrNDo. I would love to hear about the Ultimate Family Suite. We’ve never had any first hand experiences with that suite.

Welcome, Sharla215 !

Frankly, to me, the biggest “upside” to the CK vs the MDR is the ambience. The food is just marginally better, IMO but, particularly on the O class ships, the view is so incredible that it just “makes” the meal. I do completely admit that the CK filet is the best on ship. I find the CK on Anthem (this is the only Q Class ship I have sailed on) to be just “meh”. I love breakfasts there (given the lack of options elsewhere) but the ambience on Anthem is orders of magnitude lower than it is on the O class ships (JMO) because of the location, orientation and views. Sorry to say it this way, but there is an element of “covetousness”, given the CK’s exclusivity. Since not everyone can go to CK, it gets a bit of allure (pun intended) just by being unavailable to some. Is the CK better than the MDR ? Yes. My final statement: Dan refuses to eat in the MDR ever again on any ship...so, with that in mind, we would choose CK every time, if we only had 2 choices. But the lobster bits in orange sauce is a crime against humanity (and crustaceans). ???

Yippee ! Way to go, Michelle !