wordell1

You will need to take a bus from the ship to the "cruise terminal", and then get a cab to the station. If everything goes well, it's possible but I think you are cutting it close. A lot would depend on what time the ship actually clears.

Great advice.

Make sure that you use the magnetic "sleeping off the adventure"/"out catching thrills" sign on your door to communicate to your attendant when you are in and out of the room so they can make up the room. Having 2 times per day service is one of the great things about a cruise in my opinion. These days you can't even get 1 time a day cleaning at even nice hotels.

If you booked a separate room for your children there would have had to have an adult on the room. Most likely your wife was booked with your kids and only earned normal credit, while you received double points for being alone in the room. No matter the circumstance, you call C & A and have them explain it to you. As stated above, you can also link your accounts so that you share status regardless of points.

It's covered by the soda package. It would also be covered by the refreshment and ultimate drink packaged.

Calling is definitely the best option, but you can also visit the loyalty ambassador while on your cruise to get them enrolled.

To me, this is one of the weaknesses of the Star Class program, even the suite program. A lot of people travel with extended family and want to be able to meet up. There really should be some middle ground. As an example, I think that you should be able to add an extra room for kids or extended family and add Start Class benefits to it (at a reasonable cost). Even with an adjoining room, you can't do that now.

I would print as many of your required documents as possible for check in. While they can use your phone, it goes much quicker if they printed copies. Your set sail pass will be used in the same way as your room key until you are able to get to the room to retrieve your room keys.

Its not always fast. Royal Excursions will have highest priority, followed by Suites, Pinnacles, and Key. You will go to the pool deck in the am to get a ticket/time. In my opinion, Belize is a place to book a Royal Excursion, even if you normally don't.

We also recently did this same cruise and largely agree with @Tammy LR. Overall, it was worth boarding in Rome vs Barcelona for us. Rome has a lot to do, and starting there allowed us to have extra days before and after. There were a few other issues we encountered that people should be aware of. Beyond the issues with the app, a lot of the ships systems and processes are geared to reset in Barcelona. 1. We had issues with our photos from the 1st part of our cruise being available to purchase on the 2nd. One of the photos was lost completely despite the crewmembers trying to locate it. The others were recovered, but it took some effort. 2. We ended up with different waiters in the MDR/MTD as the waiter assignments were reset in Barcelona. We liked out table location, so we elected to stay with the new waiter team. In addition, the issues with the app, and cruise planner before the cruise made it impossible to prepurchase the UDP, or make dining reservations for the 2nd half of the cruise. We weren't going to do UDP anyway so it didn't affect us, but for some this would be a big issue. I had to call Royal to make my MTD reservations as neither the app, nor cruise planner allowed me to do it. There were very few ship excursions in Barcelona - I guess the number of "Rome" passengers didn't justify them offering more. My 16 year old had to make new friends halfway through the cruise as the vast majority of teens boarded in Barcelona. Again, this was worth it overall. The above are more observations than complaints. For us, it was no big deal, but I could see others being really bothered by it.

You can get off very early in Rome as passengers board and debark here also. We debarked here a few weeks back and got off at 7:30. You can purchase the tickets the day of, but there may be a line at the ticket window.

I also love to people watch. I especially like sitting outside at the pub and watching people heading to dinner on formal night. Always interesting!

I use Rony's tours in Roatan - they offer a wide variety of options. HOME - Roatan Tours, Cruiseship Activities, Excursions, Zipline Canopy Tours with Ronys Independent Tours, Roatan (ronystours.com) Costa Maya has very good Mayan Ruins - I like Native Choice - Costa Maya Excursions | Activities in Costa Maya, tours and travel information (thenativechoice.com) or you can go to the beach - Costa Maya Beach Resort - Maya Chan Beach

They do make you wear shoes

Great write up -- Now you are no longer a cruise newb!

I typically prepay my tips so that the basics are covered. I typically will ask for extra towels and to keep the ice bucket full. I will give the attendant a twenty as I am asking. If everything is good for the rest of the cruise (it usually is after thev1st tip), then I would give another 80 to 100 as an additional tip for a suite. Maybe less for a JS. I do not think that tipping above what Royal charges is necessary. If you aren't asking for extras, and the service was adequate, then I don't think you are obligated to add anything. I have never had bad service on any cruise, but if I did I still would tip the normal amount Royal charges. I would just make a complaint instead - Hopefully that never happens!

It's not a fraud, or a scam. You received what you bought for a price you agreed to. Be mad at yourself if you want, its not like a quick Google search would have given you pricing online. Not mention that the information was available in this very thread. I don't think Royal is exactly secretive about trying to make additional revenue. I can get a bottle of Heineken for $4 at plenty of bars near.my house, and a whole case for $27.99 at Costco. It's $8 on the ship. I still buy it and I'm not being ripped off because they tell me that before I order.

If it is proctored, and produces a lab report with a date, type of test, your name, and results, then it will work

Anything you would normally use guest services for, the suite concierge can do for you. Pre cruise, it's pretty much dining requests.

I also enjoyed the Coq au Vin. I wouldn't normally order the duck, so for me it was a good change. I do fell bad for the duck lovers though

For me, the convenience is worth it. I worry about having issues getting an appointment in time. My last cruise was in Europe, so it was easier to bring the tests. In the past, every time there was a rise in Covid cases, it could get difficult to get a test.

I buy the home tests through Royal to avoid any issues. They are easy to do and can be done anywhere/anytime.

Yes - sounds like you have it right. Definitely have original cards, passports/ids, and a printed copy of the covid test with you along with your sea pass. Having everything printed speeds everything up.

I'm not sure what you read or what happened but I have a hard time seeing someone outright turned away from MTD. More likely, they were told that they would have to wait for a table. If you have not already done so, I recommend making reservations in your cruise planner for MTD. There will be two lines at the dining room for MTD, one for reservations and one without. It is always better to be in the reservations line, especially on the first night.

Roatan is a great place for a private/small group tour. It is inexpensive and worth it. I use Rony's tours. HOME - Roatan Tours, Cruiseship Activities, Excursions, Zipline Canopy Tours with Ronys Independent Tours, Roatan (ronystours.com)