ZBrady

More eye-witness reports from this sailing's Roll Call Facebook group:
Allegedly the same kid had an accident two days in a row and one Code Brown was an adult. Someone is claiming they had their entire cruise refunded after contacting someone high up in the company. On this same port day nearly all excursions were cancelled due to storms, so a lot of unhappy people to begin with. Could be an interesting outcome!

This is a positive change. Makes it easier to easily calculate how much a cruise costs. The easier it is to determine the "out the door price", the better.

It seems sensible to me. The advertised price is the total of what you pay.  Not a sub-total.

Oh yeah, the 9 nighter is probably my max for now but once I retire that window opens wide! I was quite envious of the people on my last cruise that had been on from Australia and were continuing on to do an Alaskan cruise after ours. 

My brother and his family just got off Icon yesterday. They said there were a lot of kids but the amount wasn’t the issue. They’re used to kids as they work in the school system. The issue was that there was little parental supervision which interfered with their enjoyment, like small kids climbing on their lounge chairs or in between their legs while at the pool. They were all over the Swim-up bar and crowding out the hot tubs. And speaking of the pool, it was their impression that the ‘poop’ was from an adult, not a child. Having said that, they did have a great time and would go again. My niece said she would definitely book a Suite the next time. It was a much quieter atmosphere on the Suite Sundeck. A family friend onboard was booked in a suite and let her have a peek. She’s hooked now!!

There are no discounts for either package - 

We used to book directly with RC, but we told about MEI Travel, and have been useing them ever since, there outstanding

Today I Learned!

Somewhere between roughly one week before and the day of your sailing.
Generally, you can look at a recent Cruise Compass to see what to expect.

Cursory research indicates this is just the unique name given to the aft section of the Windjammer on this particular ship. Nothing special about it, just given a unique name for some reason.

I suppose front of house crew has to be more "on" with the ship full of passengers on sea days, as opposed to many passengers off the ship on port days.
Perhaps this is anticipated and they reassign staff in other areas of need on port days.

That was going to be my guess! She is currently about to finish a 12-night transatlantic, then will be on a 2-night Paris sailing before your more traditional 7-night Norwegian Fjords Cruise. That transition will have the app all sorts of messed up.

You'll be fine. GTY's are accounted for.
You will also see "sold out" categories show back up as available if you check often enough.

There are three primary benefits to a suite - the sun deck, access to CK, and the suite lounge/concierge(s).
The Grove - Easy to find a place to camp out and the food is decent Mediterranean type far, but the pool feels very isolated as its sunk down in the deck and there are no views out to the water (unlike the nice views on Wonder). Hot tub can be popular at times. Bar service is excellent. 
Coastal Kitchen - We never eat in the MDR anymore so its either specialty or Coastal. The view is not over the water as it looks into the Aquadome. Thus, it depends on which "views" you prefer. Food and service is comparable to other CKs. 
Suite Lounge/Concierges - They were fantastic and really helpful. Bar staff was good as well. 
But, here is the main issue - the room - Besides your concern about not looking out over the water, the other thing to consider is that the room "doesn't really feel like a suite". There is less storage (especially if you actually have a family in the room of more than two people) and the space is "tight". Royal provided several little "amenities" during the week - things like shower bombs, Icon swag, etc, throughout - I assume because they're aware people don't feel those rooms are "suite" enough and they're trying to make them feel special. (We sailed on Icon twice, and the first time was a different suite category - RCCL did not provide the little daily amenities in that one, thus the reason I think they're trying to plush it up a little)
I told my DS that I did not want to stay in those rooms again unless there was no other suite option. Thus, in my view, we tend to like and sail only in suites, but the Surfside suites are not worth it. 
 
 

Looking at a past Cruise Compass it look like Solarium Park Cafe opens back up from 9:00 pm - 1:00 am for Late Night Snacks. 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/enchantment-of-the-seas/sat-12302023-0000

Looking at a past Cruise Compass it look like Solarium Park Cafe opens back up from 9:00 pm - 1:00 am for Late Night Snacks. 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/enchantment-of-the-seas/sat-12302023-0000

That was going to be my guess! She is currently about to finish a 12-night transatlantic, then will be on a 2-night Paris sailing before your more traditional 7-night Norwegian Fjords Cruise. That transition will have the app all sorts of messed up.

Yes I do…or at least I assume so.  That really would be awesome to board early AND have rooms ready!  7 days to find out 😏 

As mentioned above, no matter what any document or app or website says, I think almost all early traditional is now 5:00pm (and also mentioned above, that means they want you there by 5:15pm).
We've had the "5:30 turned into 5:00" experience twice already (Allure and Wonder). Yes, it's earlier than I'd like, especially since I like to pop into the CL to check out the snacks before dinner but I also want no parts of MTD so we mostly show up at 5:15 on the nights we eat in the MDR and there hasn't been an issue.
If RC ever rolls out the 3rd traditional slot at 6:30-6:45pm that's been discussed we'll consider moving to that.

It has been the best way to contact CS for the last few years...this is not our first rodeo. If Royal wants to make changes to their contact CS process, no worries but please communicate it. Ignoring your customers is an awful business model.

12 night sailings will typically have 3 Formal Nights. On Odyssey's 2023 Greek Isle Cruises the theme nights were White, Tropical, and 70s.

More eye-witness reports from this sailing's Roll Call Facebook group:
Allegedly the same kid had an accident two days in a row and one Code Brown was an adult. Someone is claiming they had their entire cruise refunded after contacting someone high up in the company. On this same port day nearly all excursions were cancelled due to storms, so a lot of unhappy people to begin with. Could be an interesting outcome!

Historically (and presumably still), the app only loaded one set of menus for each ship at a time for all sailings. What this means, in practice, is that your sailing would actually be showing the *current* sailing's order of menus, which obviously may or may not be the same as yours. Which also explains why people experience weekly changes if they are checking frequently. 

Currently on Explorer heading to the Med on the first leg of our B2Bx3.  Things I've learned on the crossing:
Booked a balcony but will ensure we have a starboard side room when heading east to enjoy the southern exposure and extra sunshine.  Book a balcony on the port side for the trip west. Be nice to the crew.  The first nine days are at sea and are taxing on them.  There were some interesting theme nights for food at the MDR when compared to shorter cruises.  Book some lunchtime specialty dining.  It's cheaper at lunch and we ended up eating very lightly at dinner due to the successive time changes. The weather on the transit was much warmer than we expected with lots of pool days.  As a native Floridian, I over packed for weather under 70 degrees.   Plenty of people brought games for entertainment.  The challenge has been finding a place to play.  The available tables in lounges, cardroom, library, etc. fill up quickly. D+ drink coupons run out quicker on sea days.  ; )

More eye-witness reports from this sailing's Roll Call Facebook group:
Allegedly the same kid had an accident two days in a row and one Code Brown was an adult. Someone is claiming they had their entire cruise refunded after contacting someone high up in the company. On this same port day nearly all excursions were cancelled due to storms, so a lot of unhappy people to begin with. Could be an interesting outcome!