Reigert2008

37 minutes ago, Al Miller said:

So if I want to start with a new TA for my next cruise do I just book with them or do I have to alert RC that I am switching TA's? I have nothing currently booked so it would be from a clean slate.

Thanks in advance

You just contact the TA and have them make the booking.  Royal doesn’t care who makes the booking and won’t be able to do anything before it’s booked.

3 hours ago, SheSellsSeashells said:

I am counting down the seconds until my 1st solo cruise/1st non-Disney cruise/1st cruise since 2019 on Oasis on May 8th! I originally booked a day pass to the Coco Beach Club, but I canceled it after I watched many reviews that made it clear I paid far too much ($199+tip) for what I'd be getting for a few hours on top of what I'd already paid for the unlimited dining and deluxe beverage packages. Basically, my idea of a Perfect Day involves a nice lounger, relatively few people, and my beverage package. (I don't need to get into the ocean; I just want to look at and listen to it.) Is it possible that my best bet is to actually stay onboard and hang out in the Solarium or on the pool deck all day?

Can anyone tell me what it's like to stay onboard while docked at Coco Cay? I see in previous cruise compasses that there aren't that many food venues open during peak onshore hours, which makes sense; what about bar service? I don't see hours for either the Lime & Coconut or the Solarium Bar on the cruise compasses I've seen—are they closed until 3 like the other bars and lounges?

I'm a fan of being on the ship in most ports, but not Coco Cay.  My wife doesn't get in the ocean and she enjoys just sitting in a chair watching the ocean as well.  Also, the included food on the island is great and the Island itself is a wonderful experience.  I would suggest you sleep in a bit, eat a good breakfast, then wander the island for a bit before having an amazing lunch and heading back to the ship.  Sine this looks to be your first Royal Cruise, you should at least explore the island a bit so you know what's there and how you may want to spend your day on future visits.  

I'm moderately jealous that you are cruising solo, i've not been able to pull that one off yet

13 minutes ago, FloridaMac said:

We just discovered a future sailing has been cancelled, it appears because the ship is going to drydock earlier than planned.  I called RCCL and they said to wait for an email with instructions on what to do and what options we'll have.   Does RCCL usually offer the same level of cabin at the same price on an alternate sail date?  Is there anything else we should expect?

Royal or your travel agent will provide the details you are looking for, usually via an email.  I would start with contacting them to see what compensation they may be offering as it is different for each cruise.  

9 minutes ago, SpicyCherry said:

I was all checked in and printed SetSail passes 30 days out. Now, at 9 days out, I checked the App and being told to 'Check-In'. Has this happened to anyone else? Did I just lose my early boarding time? Say it isn't so

just go through the process again.  We had an issue with a cruise back in February where one field was suddenly empty, but everything else was fine and we kept our same arrival time.  I can't remember which field it was, but i seem to remember it was insignificant.

I also do the check in via a PC for the most part, since I have been checking in for up to 7 people.

Typically, we only buy the Refreshment Package in the cruise planner and book it shortly after we book the cruise and then reprice as needed.

  We've done limited excursions due to COVID restrictions in places and we did the WhitePass train in Alaska, but we are a "wander the port" type of cruiser and explore on our own.  We're also those "weird ones" that don't eat anything off the ship in most places and are normally back on the ship within about 4 hours of getting off and always back on the ship at least 2 hours before "time".  We like to get ready for dinner and then watch the "cruise runners" in some of the ports that tend to sell cheap libations  

When we cruise, our favorite things is not having cell service / internet so we can actually relax and people from home can't talk to us

8 minutes ago, wannabecruiseexpert said:

I’ll ask our concierge in the morning when I see her again but I didn’t know if random crew would know what I was talking about. 

I always ask crew when I have a question if they don’t know, they can certainly get you to the right person that would know.  

8 minutes ago, wannabecruiseexpert said:

On Oasis and walked went to Cats. There’s a lady holding a sign that says seating for concierge suites, the key, pinnacles and diamond (or plus….can’t remember) We are in a crown loft suite and I assumed that meant we were “concierge suites” but she wouldn’t let us sit there and said it was for VIP’s only, even after looking at our card. What rooms qualify if a crown loft didn’t? I don’t want to be embarrassed again 

If you’re on the ship, I’d just ask one of the crew that is working the venue. They would be in the best position to let you know.

54 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Personal opinion? No, I think they'll keep them.  But opinions are .... opinions

I hope they keep them. While it can certainly be frustrating to get a “later” boarding time, I think the current system “rewards” people who take the steps to stay on top of the reservation. There are also ways to get an earlier boarding time if you want to pay for a higher cabin class.  As a mostly inside GTY cabin cruiser, I’ve been able to get early boarding times with no issues, by just knowing when the dates of different things occur.  It’s all in the app or from your TA, so everyone knows the same thing.

I think one thing to consider as things get back to normal is that you may not be waiting in your room before getting off the ship.  You would then need to drag your luggage to the dining room/windjammer for breakfast and depending on your cabin location, could mean waits for the elevator or going up/down steps.  Even with a single bag this could be daunting to navigate.  We pack in "carry on" size bags and even then it has been a pain for the few times when we had to get off early and did the self carry option.  

My  wife and I were discussing this the other night. We’re not Diamond yet, but it could happen this year.  Wo don’t really drink alcohol and have been buying the refreshment package for all our cruises.  We’re thinking we drop to the soda package and then use our vouchers for coffee, bottle water, and mocktails.  We also have to factor in the Freestyle machine availability since she likes the Powerade Zero that is in the machine. On the “rare” ships with no freestyle machine then maybe we get that refreshment package since more water may be consumed. If the vouchers “rolled over” it would make the thought ices much easier.

we also, don’t want to be limited, so we may set us a price point for the refreshment package and then use the vouchers to “try” things that we’ve never had before.

I always recommend that people make their final payment at least 5 business days before the date on the invoice.  This allows time for you to know the payment occurred and that there were no issues.  You never know when you or your TA could have an emergency and in an emergency, you’re probably not thinking about your cruise payment.  In most cases the day it hits your credit card doesn’t matter, unless of course your final payment date coincides with your credit card billing cycle and you’re trying to push your bill off one more cycle. 

36 minutes ago, jay1021 said:

I totally agree.  But, I have friends that are more worried about the "Security/Law Enforcement part of it.  Or I should say, they are least worried about the Security/Law Enforcement part of it.  

I've told them that if Security/Law Enforcement spots pills/powders/liquids that are not in the proper containers, it's grounds for further investigation.  Can turn into a hassle.  I know, I was one of those Law Enforcement types.  But, it was as a result of something else going on and the questionable substance(s) were found subsequent to a legal search/apprehension/arrest.  But, it's been a while since I have been around such things.

personally, I wouldn’t travel with those types of people  , but I’m a ”rule follower” and try to make my life hassle free   we had to have a serious discussion with some family members since they wanted to combine all their meds into a single bottle, and we let them know that they were on their own to get to cruise.  They came to their senses and carry their meds appropriately.

For what it’s worth, here’s Royals take on it. Not sure it counts as a policy, but this is what they say.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-packing-clothing-recommendation

Personal Items:

We suggest that guests transport all their medications in their carry-on luggage to minimize the potential for diversion or loss of medications and advise that all medications remain in their original, labeled prescription containers.  It is also advisable to pack at least three days of extra medication in the event of an unexpected change in the itinerary of the voyage.

It’s always best to carry medication in the original containers.  Should an emergency occur, first responders could look at that bottles and at least have an idea of what someone is supposed to be taking and how other medications may react.  

2 hours ago, PaintedBunting said:

Hi!  (First time cruiser - I have learned a lot here so thanks for that!)

Our cruise is in a few weeks and I would like to gift a member of our group an onboard massage that would enable them to pick the day and time once they are onboard.  I cannot see an option for this on Royal Caribbean's cruise planner.  Does anyone know whether I will be able to get one once our cruise has started?

Thanks!

While this is a nice gesture, it really doesn't work in practice.  Your best bet is to make up your own certificate and present it to the person, then when they book the item you could arrange for it to be billed back to your room instead.  

15 minutes ago, TheRick said:

Hello,

my wife and I haven’t been on a cruise since 2006 and it wasn’t on Royal Caribbean. I have what might be a stupid question, but here it is. I read you don’t get your sea pass card right away when you get on board. How do you get your sea pass card? Does everyone have to wait in line at guest services or is there another method?

Like everyone else has said, you will find your sea pass cards either on the desk in your room or on your cabin number plague.  

I also recommend that you print out your set sail pass (amongst all the other boarding documents).  While early on the first day, many locations will ask for your cabin number, sometimes they want to see the Set Sail Pass as well.  You can also get it in the Royal app, but having that piece of paper makes it a bit easier.  

5 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Yeah, my comment was a joke because they haven't worked since the early 2000s.

Ah…. That was well before I started cruising. I assumed they worked at some point, I always set the volume in the middle, just in case

20 minutes ago, Reigert2008 said:

Was in my cruise planner for one of my upcomming cruises and noticed that a couple has the number of remaining spots listed.  This could be helpful to see if you want to risk the cancel/rebook if the spots are low.  Probably would want to factor in what the savings are for it.  Example, maybe not worth the risk for $5 a person, but for $20 a person then spin the wheel!

 

Posted in the wrong chat, but i'm leaving it here

Was in my cruise planner for one of my upcomming cruises and noticed that a couple has the number of remaining spots listed.  This could be helpful to see if you want to risk the cancel/rebook if the spots are low.  Probably would want to factor in what the savings are for it.  Example, maybe not worth the risk for $5 a person, but for $20 a person then spin the wheel!

52 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

What in-cabin PA system volume controls?  

For the ships I've been on - On the "desk" panel there is a cream colored knob that is labeled something announcement related with a volume control.  To date, no amount of adjustment allows any announcements into the room.  We hear them in the hall and then crack the door open to hear them better

Was in my cruise planner for one of my upcomming cruises and noticed that a couple has the number of remaining spots listed.  This could be helpful to see if you want to risk the cancel/rebook if the spots are low.  Probably would want to factor in what the savings are for it.  Example, maybe not worth the risk for $5 a person, but for $20 a person then spin the wheel!

16 minutes ago, ScottW3 said:

As I usually do, I believe I'm overthinking things here.  My 2 days starts tomorrow (4/13). Do I need to worry about the time that I take the e-med test as long as it's after midnight in my local timezone?  The FAQ on the e-med test says that the timestamp will be listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).  Does that matter?  I've searched for this specific question but cant seem to find anything. 

Thanks!

 

I agree and do the same thing.  It is 2 calendar days before you cruise.  For us, we were cruising on Sunday, so we did ours Friday morning.  Technically, we probably could have done them "just after midnight at 12:01 am", but we did them around 6:30 AM before starting our work day.

Here's the link to the Health Sail center, somewhere on there, there used to be a chart that showed which days you could test, but i could not find it at the moment.

Link to Health Sail Center --> https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center?icid=hlthys_wrnssn_hlt_nbrdxp_pghdr_3467

I would have your travel agent check on this as well.  If you're not using a travel agent, then I would highly recommend you do this in the future.  This is one of many services that they can assist with.  

9 hours ago, fishernrex said:

The pin they were wearing.  (I can only assume they didn't buy it off e-bay -  LOL) 

That makes sense. We just received our platinum and emerald pins and it never occurred to me that people would actually wear the pin on a future cruise.  One of the first things I did when we unpacked from our cruises with the pins, was to put them on our pin board with our Disney Pins (in the “cruise area” of course  )

8 minutes ago, fishernrex said:

DH and I just returned from a fantastic cruise on Wonder -  We were on a casino comp in a Junior Suite with the Unlimited Dining and Beverage Packages (just using this for reference).  This was also our first Oasis Class and longest cruise (previously longest was 6 days on Odyssey).  We're only Diamond level C&A).  We've been fortunate to have travelled now on each class of ship and while some had more "WOW Factor" we've loved them all in their own way.  

On this particular cruise I ran into several Pinnacle level folks and they were the ones I heard complaining the most.  One lady in particular:  "Food is horrible" "Service is horrible" "My room attendant took 3 hours to get me a lounger on my balcony" "I told the restaurant manager they needed to retrain their staff" were just some of the things I heard.  I just wonder if everything was REALLY that bad or were they just burned out on cruises?  Does it become less enjoyable as time goes on (seriously, I can't even imagine and we cruise 4-5 times a year)?   I don't ever want to get that jaded about a vacation.  I'm still excited about upcoming cruises and hope to stay that way for many years to come.  

Our experience on this ship/cruise was completely the opposite.  We thought the service, food, and amenities were fantastic.  We had some meals that were better than others, but there was nothing inedible or anything I would complain about.  it really was just a matter of personal taste we felt.  It was noticable towards the end of the cruise that there were quite a few folks out due to COVID.  It's just the world we live in today and I feel like I have to come expecting some deviations and even perhaps a degradation of service at times due to shortages (whether it be supply chain or service).  The staff on these ships work their behinds off for months on end while we're treated like kings and queens -  I can't even imagine being that tired and still smiling.  

For you more experienced folks (and new ones also), what are your thoughts?  

I think that there will always be a certain segment that will complain about anything.I also think that as you do things more you just notice things that others don’t.  However I think the complainer group also had a lot of “do you know who I am” when it comes to status and think they should have more say in things. I’m a “problem solver” as part of my career, so I do write suggestions and leave them at the front desk when things are “off”, but there really has to be some major issues for me to complain about something.

I’m curious how you know they were Pinnacle? I would never think to mention my C&A status and would find it weird if someone asked me about it.

We are more of a “go with the flow” type of traveler.

It’s also important to note that not all the ships have a Freestyle machine. It seems odd that every ship doesn’t have at least one in the Windjammer. I recently learned this, and I’v3 cruised many times on several different ships.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-coca-cola-freestyle-machines