Salty Law Dog

Thanks for the responses. I’ll provide any interesting info after we get back!

Hubby & I are on Radiance’s Oct sailing from San Diego through the Panama Canal and splurged on the Royal Suite, cabin 1558. Wanted to see if anyone has suggestions on how to maximize the few perks that might be available and not necessarily published. We have had several genie suites on Oasis class- Radiance has none of those many perks, but there has to be something for the Royal Suite, right? Understand the published perks, looking for advice on what they don’t tell you but we can ask for anyway. (Like all the great genie advice we have gotten through this blog.) TIA.

Agreed. I figured it didn’t hurt to try it the way I did. Next time it may not work. But we usually get the UDP anyway, but it isn’t worth it on the Radiance class.

There was no need to adjust the price, and they did not, because I paid for one by reserving one spot, and then just told them my BOGO was my spouse when we were at the podium, and vice versa. It was much nicer because there was no anxiety about price or a reservation time (ie only times left that we didn’t want) and there were no issues with when we wanted to dine.

Following up on my own thread….While on Jewel recently, we didn’t have any problem using our D+ BOGO benefits whenever we wanted- for both cruises. Prior to the cruise I had booked two reservations, for one person each- one for me and one for my spouse, and paid for those. Then upon boarding we went to one of the specialty restaurants, adjusted the time (already had the days we wanted) and made sure the maitre d’ knew we were using the BOGO and that there were 2 people, not one. Easy peasy. As always, be sure to jot down the name who you worked with. We could have waited for the suite or Diamond Concierge to help, but it’s just easier for us to take care of it right away upon boarding. Word of caution- I DO NOT recommend booking any specialty dining with the person manning the table on the Promenade deck- go to one of the specialty restaurants. We did that recently on Symphony and it was “royally” screwed up. Since the restaurants fill up, it’s very hard to fix if you don’t catch it right away.

Thanks for the tips! So for the two of us, if the ship only allows night 1 and 2, we should get those free due to each of our status as D+? Somehow I don’t think that is going to fly. I’d much prefer to spread out to use 4 BOGO, 2 for each of us. I agree with WAAAAY Tooo, dining availability seems to be all over the place. Lately we have noticed the specialty restaurants are busy early, and then less so later in the cruise.

Ok savvy cruisers, can you please share your methods for best using the Crown and Anchor BOGO dining benefits? We usually get the UDP, but for the smaller ships, ie Jewel, it’s not worth it. We haven’t taken advantage of the BOGO dining benefits, but I’m struggling with the best way to do it, especially since we are both D+, so we should get 4 BOGO meals. Should I reserve one spot in the CP 2X for each of us, then tell them once on board that there are 2 of us? Thanks for any suggestions!

Us too! Booked a back to back, as I suspect there is WAAAAY TOO much to see in one week!

I think it is a mix of those who have already booked through CP, the slots they hold open for Star Class and suite guests, and then the rest. Be flexible and be nice to the person helping you book and you should be ok. I recommend heading to one of the fancier restaurants to book all of your dining rather than the promenade. Just my .02.

Definitely link your reservation with the party you are traveling with. It gets super complicated if you don’t.

Follow up to my old question about Nicol…he was FABULOUS!!! The most personable genie we have had. He visited us at breakfast in our 2BRATS every morning and shared stories of his childhood, fav foods etc and was sincerely interested in us. He did all the usual genie stuff, but also became a friend in the process. We would love to have him again.

We were on Oasis for 3 weeks straight in October 2021, not too long after they started up, also out of Cape Liberty, and we saw the Aqua show so many times I can still mime the routine! Ice show, Cats, comedy etc all when on as usually. Capacity in the venues was reduced, and Aqua was moved when weather dictated, but other than the marvelously low number of passengers, it was business as usual. The post is highly suspect, IMHO.

My parents got credit for an early 90’s cruise by providing copies of pictures and a well worn cruise compass (or whatever it was called then) from their scrapbook!

I’ve been working with our genie on an upcoming trip and specifically asked what we could bring for him, knowing their shore time is nonexistent. He said the crew has mostly been able to get what they need through Amazon (who knew!) with the exception of food items. He specifically requested healthy snacks, so we plan on making a BJ’s run and picking up nuts, granola etc. We figure that’s way more practical than “things” they need to find space for in their small cabins. Just a suggestion…. BTW, Shane is an absolute hoot, you’ll love him!!!

Absolutely track for yourself. There have been very few times that I haven’t had to have my TA go back and make corrections, seek additional refunds etc….and it’s never because Royal over reimbursed me! The mistake is always in their favor. Just recently my final payment was completely wrong…no idea how that happens. Things like UDP and cancelled (prior to boarding) specialty dining usually get reimbursed ok, but track everything!