Huntr104

Hello.  My wife and kids will be on this sailing.  Looking forward to going back to the Southern Caribbean.  This will be our first time on Mariner.

Voyager and Freedom are similar.  Same layout a decor. Freedom is just a larger version. The difference is most noticeable at the kind pool and Royal Promenade.

We'll be trying the Voyager Class (Mariner) in June.  My favorite class so far has been the Freedom class.  

If you don't have your heart set on a ship, I would look at itinerary first, then narrow that down based on ship

Heckle no, cheering yes. 

This is why you always have the number of the pier agent when you disembark. If you are running late (and not on an RC excursion), call the pier agent 
I just asked this question to a friend of mine who was a hotel director with Royal for over 20 years. HD is in charge of every passenger who disembarks. He told me that if you call and let them know you’re running late they will wait IF THEY CAN! Not saying they will but they really don’t want to leave people behind. 
He also said the majority of pier runners involved alcohol. 
 
So snap a pic of the pier agent’s number (bottom corner of cruise compass) and don’t be late!!! 

Hello.  My wife and kids will be on this sailing.  Looking forward to going back to the Southern Caribbean.  This will be our first time on Mariner.

I have it booked for Mariner, which I'm on right now. I'll have a full review later this week.

Ok thanks.  That's what I assumed but I wanted to be sure.  I didn't want to sacrifice the double points. 😁

Thanks again everyone.  We booked a 4 night cruise on Freedom at the end of October. Sailing to Coco Cay and Nassau, but it really doesn't matter where we go as long as we get on the ship!  We're very excited.  

Thanks again everyone.  We booked a 4 night cruise on Freedom at the end of October. Sailing to Coco Cay and Nassau, but it really doesn't matter where we go as long as we get on the ship!  We're very excited.  

no need to worry about things.  We cruise often during the season and hurricane season runs from June to November, so that’s the majority of the year.  Of course, you should pay attention to the forecasts in the weeks before your cruise since, rarely, a hurricane could affect embarkation or debarkation of the ship. If you’re flying to the port,that could,be affected by the weather (much like any other time). Once the cruise starts you should be good to sail!
 
if your worry is changing the ports while on the cruise, there’s literally nothing you can do about it and it could happen, also rarely, for reason other than a hurricane.  

my advice is to go with the flow and have a great time.  I have family that got 2 days added to their cruise when a hurricane went through once and they enjoyed the extra days at no charge!  (Once again this is a rare occurrence).
 
here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center. Being that we also do a lot of Disney trips and were on property during Matthew, I follow along for informational purposes, even when we don’t have trips planned.
 
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov
 

Thanks everyone.  I'm feeling less worried about cruising in the fall.  We're so overdue for a cruise it's ridiculous. 

So I called on the 16th and spent an hour and a half on the phone.  The RCI agent understood that it didn't make any sense for me to pay them final payment on the 18th only for them to extend the vax requirements and refund my money 3 days later.  They made an exception and issued me a full refund. (We all knew they would be extending it)  I should receive my refund in 30-45 days.  Thanks for the help!

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me advice.  I really appreciate it!  

Thank you.   I think this may be the only option to get a refund.  I always booked Non Refundable trips myself by calling Royal.  After all this BS I'll only book Refundable trips through a Travel Agent in the future.
So, I can still get a cash refund after using a FCC?  and having a Non Refundable cruise?  

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me advice.  I really appreciate it!  

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me advice.  I really appreciate it!  

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me advice.  I really appreciate it!  

I've seen people say it's not worth booking anything higher than Jr. Suites on ships other than Quantum or Oasis Class ships because you won't get as much bang for your buck.  What are your thoughts on this?

See the post on the previous page

I did price it out last night.  You're right.  It's about the same price as a Jr. Suite. This may be an option for us.   Thanks. 

We sailed in a jr suite on Explorer in 2020, and loved the cabin.  We felt we had more space, and better laid out, than in some Grand Suites we have stayed in.  I loved the walk in closet, and the sitting area.  Granted, the bathroom is nicer in a GS.  But I would not hesitate to stick with a JS for 3 on that ship.  DD will be on a sofa bed either way, and the closet is big enough to change clothes in, so you actually would have more flexibility for privacy than a GS with just bathroom and main cabin.

We had a GS on Vision quite a number of years ago and while the extra room was nice we thought is was too much for our needs.  We book Jr. Suites now mainly to get the double nights awarded to our C&A standing.  We also discovered a JS on Quantum class ships has a 1/2 bath plus a full bath.  

We have booked both Junior Suites and Grand Suites on Explorer and Voyager. Last time we were on Explorer the suite lounge was on deck 10 tucked away with with no windows so unless you really want a cabin with a little bit more room and a bigger bathroom I would stick with the JS. Otherwise you are paying quite a lot extra for access to a lounge and concierge which the primary amenity for GS and above. It would be cheaper to buy the unlimited drinks package than effectively pay for lounge access.
Oh I do also remember you get access to Chops for breakfast in a GS if you don’t want to face the masses in Windjammer.

‘All that being said the Grand Suite is still a really nice option if you want to treat yourself. It really depends on what is important to you.