CruiseRoyalDad

We utilized our drink package to do exactly this on an Anthem cruise to Bermuda a few years back. We basically just grabbed cans of whatever frosty beverage we needed whenever we had the opportunity. Placed them in our room fridges. Then when we debarked to go on a private charter we brought 3 families worth of beers and soft drinks with us, in a soft cooler, without issue. 

On 1/31/2023 at 8:45 AM, MattJump said:

The Suite Concierge is very specific about when they respond. They have a specific time throughout the day where they will respond to emails for the upcoming sailing, and it seems they are busy tending to the needs of the current passengers most of the day. When writing an email to them, I try to provide as much information as I can to make the most out of the email.

I was able to reserve all dining and shows on the nights that we wished 4 days before the cruise left. I asked the concierge to send me the list of shows, which they did the next day. I was able to send them this list of dining and I replicated this same list for the shows throughout the week that we could reserve. They prefer a list such as this one as it gives them clear information as to the day, the restaurant, the time, and how many people will be in your party.

 

SUITE #	Day	Date	Port	Day	Restaurant	Time	# of Guests
8660 / 8654	SATURDAY	11-Jun	MIAMI, FLORIDA	1	MY TIME DINING	7:00 PM	7
8660 / 8654	SUNDAY	12-Jun	AT SEA	2	HOOKED	7:00 PM	7
8660 / 8654	MONDAY	13-Jun	SAN JUAN, PR	3	MY TIME DINING	7:00 PM	7
8660 / 8654	TUESDAY	14-Jun	ST. THOMAS	4	CHOP'S	7:00 PM	7
8660 / 8654	WEDNESDAY	15-Jun	ST. MAARTEN	5	COASTAL KITCHEN	7:00 PM	7
8660 / 8654	THURSDAY	16-Jun	AT SEA	6	MY TIME DINING	7:00 PM	7
8660 / 8654	FRIDAY	17-Jun	COCOCAY, BAHAMAS	7	JAMIE'S	7:00 PM	7

That is a perfect template for clearly communicating reservation requests, especially for a larger group, to the concierge and it no doubt makes their incredibly difficult job easier. I've already copied it and saved it. I'll be using it for our Harmony sailing in August!! Thank you!!! 

Don't mean to hijack this one but it goes along with the suite lounge drinks topic. But if I'm a suite guest eating in coastal kitchen during the suite cocktail happy hour 4:30-8:30pm. Do I get "free" cocktails during dinner? I seem to remember this being the case when we were on the Symphony in 2020.  

Also, this may or may not work but it definitely did for us. A nice tip to the suite lounge bar tender on hour 1 of the first day and they won't bat an eye about handing over 3 or 4 coors lights unopened for you to take back to your room and place in your suite fridge. Will this be the case with every suite lounge? No. But it definitely worked for us! 

My experience with Poker is on the Allure, Anthem, and the Symphony. All of those ships have dedicated, live dealer, poker tables that are usually packed nightly starting at around dinner time. Don't expect to walk up 9pm and have a seat open. Anthem, I believe, had one table, the Oasis class ships run two, when busy, or at least they do at night. Same experience with astronomical rakes and cash game blinds. But hey it's quite literally the only game in town, so they do what they want. I don't think one important point was mentioned and that is they will put you on a list so that you can go gamble away your money elsewhere in the casino and they will call your name when a seat opens up. That was my experience on the Symphony and the Allure. 

As for tournaments they are usually too time consuming for me, even though I agree they are structured very much like turbo. They will run the POKER tournaments, at the available poker tables AND blackjack tables where you are playing poker tournament but sitting at blackjack table and the dealer faces the players. The semi and final tables are of course moved to the "real" poker tables. The opening rounds of the poker tournaments are run at odd times in the afternoons and I'm thinking that's just the casino's way of getting the gamblers into the casino during off hours. 

There! Family of six. Kids ages 10,8,5,2. Plus sister's family of 3 and two other families from the neighborhood. Looking forward to it!

Looking at our first cruise this summer in a few years. We've been sucked into the suite life and this one is no different. Question, do sky class suite guests still get to walk into reserved seats at show (15 minutes prior to start) without having the concierge make an actual reservation to the show. We did this for the aqua and ice shows on Allure and Symphony before the great cruise pause. It seems when I look at perks now for sky class "reservations required" denotes shipboard entertainment. 

47 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

In theory, yes you should each carry your own individual bottles now.  No, there haven't been many (any?) reports of enforcement yet since the policy is so new.

But the policy seems to have been changed because of situations like yours where people in the same stateroom board at different times.  Previously your wife could bring 2 bottles and says "my husband is parking the car.  he'll board later without wine."  and then you'd board and also carry 2 bottles saying "my wife already boarded without wine" and look at that you've brought 4 bottles for the stateroom.  Now, if each adult carries their own one bottle, you still end up with 2 bottles per stateroom for a couple.  Cabins with more than 2 adults can be happy because they can now officially bring more wine.  Cabins with only 1 adult won't be happy because they get restricted.

So you're saying people were routinely boarding with four bottles per stateroom!? No way! 

Has anybody experienced any changes with the new wine bottle per adult policy, replacing 2 bottles per stateroom, to 1 bottle per adult? Honestly, seems like silly semantics to me.

However, do my wife and I have to carry our own individual bottles onboard? We often run the drop off, people, bags at curb and park the car drill, leading half our party to board slightly ahead of the other. Do we really need to ensure that each one of us carry the bottle in our carryon? Or can she or I just carry the allotted amount for each adult in one of our carryon bags. 

Is it me or has the Wonder of the Seas new suite layout limit families of 6 from entering the sky suite class by removing the Grand Suite 2 bedroom option. This feels like a double whammy. We basically need to move up to Star Class, for one of the awesomely beautiful but ridiculously costly cabins that can fit 5+, OR we have to drop out of suite class to 5+ family cabin. 

The next question is "are you willing to drop out of suite class?". Answer: Not Really. While Matt's connecting stateroom advice on the surface works, I often find that two staterooms are within a stones throw of what one Grand Suite 2 bedroom would have cost, with ZERO of the very attractive, vacation making, suite perks. 

Let me know if I'm missing any options on the Wonder of the Seas. 

13 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is it a wife GTY or do you get to choose your own wife ?  Probably an important detail.

Ha! We have derailed. No wives people, no wives. And trust me wives are definitely NOT free. 

On 8/24/2022 at 9:47 AM, Cruisingmama said:

If you're asking if it's worth it money wise then you probably don't have unlimited income. For $3,000 you can get another cruise OR pay for the ultimate dining package + drink package + voom and still come out ahead. It's really up to you. 

Somewhat and respectfully disagree. Let's do some quick math here. If you are interested in drinks you can probably forgo a drink package with suite lounge being open for beer and wife from11-11 and cocktails from 5-8 as per another poster on thread. So let's say that' $68 for two people over 7 days. $952 total. VROOM internet. Usually $17.99 per device but if you get a family plan or some sort of deal let's say it's $24 for two people over 7 days that's another $168. We are down to maybe a $1,880 saving which if you get it just right MIGHT be a balcony on an Oasis class cruise but usually not and DEFINITELY not during the summer or holidays, if we want to compare apples to apples.  Then the perks for showing up to shows merely minutes before they start and getting premium seating, concierge escort on embark, debark, and port days as well as coastal kitchen for 3 meals a day which really reduces the need for specialty dining.

If finances allow it's worth it. Honestly, the Junior Suite, is usually not worth it. Very few perks and much more expensive than balcony for minimal extra space. UPGRADE or DOWNGRADE don't stay in the JS. 

Stayed in one of these on the Symphony in 2019. We will do you one better, we had 3 children with us in the room for a total of five people in room. They were 7,5, almost 17 months at the time. The baby we had upstairs in the loft with us, in the changing area right in front of the bed. The room worked perfectly. Though nervous at first it proved many times more convenient than the Grand Suite we had done with the same size family on Allure the summer before. In contrast to the Grand Suite it feels open and roomy. The curtains of the loft close providing separation between us and the older children. The TWO bathrooms are key with four or more people in a room. The deep, large, balcony is basically the best view and highest perch on the ship! The location of the suite was absolutely perfect even though at first I thought it would be a hassle.  We were steps from the suite lounge/Coastal Kitchen and all of the amenities that brings with it, we were a few floors above the windjammer, and the pool deck was also conveniently located. With our children being the age that they were it was easy access for quick dips or night swimming which they made a nightly ritual. Finally, right outside the suite floor doors you have an elevator bank that provides quick access to the main entertainment decks of the ship. Don't worry about being too high and about long elevator waits on port days, as you know from having stayed in the Royal Loft Suite, the concierges provide express elevator rides to exit on port days! 

Fear not! Book it! Don't even think about the Grand Suite!! Now that the vaccine reqs were thankfully (mostly) rescinded we booked a 2BR GS on Harmony August 2023. While we'd love the crown loft again we can't fit it now that we are SIX!!! 

On 3/13/2020 at 9:09 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I’m still skeptical of how they would even know. The form that they cite is for persons over 70...there is no way that they are going to require a signed doctors note from EVERY passenger.  If you are under 70 and have borderline Type II diabetes, how would they ever confirm that ?  If they are counting on people being honest....I have a bridge for sale.

I'm not following? Why is this outlandish? We see exactly this happening before our eyes? Did you ever think you'd need a negative test or vaccination papers to board a cruise? Yet this is happening in real time right now. Forget the Doctor's note we need cards with dates, vaccination lot numbers, and signatures. The burden of proof for every passenger as left the doctor's note far behind. Show your papers please! 

While I agree that the OP is fishy at best I don't see why everybody is having such a hard time believing this can happen or revealing all medical records before a cruise vacation isn't in the future. As pointed out by multiple responses the language, at least, was once very much written in RCCL policy. 

For those saying "NO WAY", it can't happen, well it can, and it is. Right now.  It's precisely what the majority of posters here are asking for in thread after thread in terms of forcing their fellow royal Caribbean blog community members/family to be vaccinated, and show proof there of, to have as "normal" of a cruise as possible these days.

This is just the start, which is why the lines including our beloved RCCL should not have dealt with attempting to appease the impossible standards placed on them by big pharma tainted bureaucracies. 

On 8/20/2021 at 12:41 PM, dswallow said:

No, it's generally that you are told to wait a bit after recovery.

This would all be great if the CDC were still a credible organization. 

Awesome! Is it too early to ask if unvaccinated Royal Caribbean blog family members can participate in all group cruise activities!?!?

45 minutes ago, alamode123 said:

Fair enough.

I feel bad for people trying to be responsible in areas where it seems so many aren't being responsible

I feel horrible for people that don't accept anything but one form of action as responsible and insist on forcing their  informed decision that is best for them, on all others. The truth is there are multiple forms of success against covid and herd immunity that only considers those vaccinated part of the herd and disregards natural immunity is disingenuous.  I feel worse when I see posts that completely disregard the fact that the vaccinated population are coming down with both symptomatic and asymptomatic covid. Yet the posts read as if 90% vaccinated ship is the answer and we quickly found out and will continue to see that it's very unfortunately not. 

13 minutes ago, ChrisK2793 said:

What boggles my mind is that taking children under 12 on an unvaccinated passengers 12 plus allowed cruise with RCL means your entire party is basically treated as unvaccinated even if everybody 12 plus in your group is vaccinated  ……… YET, if you take children under 12 on an all passengers 12 plus vaccinated cruise, your entire party is treated as vaccinated ….. it’s the SAME kids under 12 on either cruise LOL

 

 

Chris stop, just stop. By this point we can't expect there to be logic in the policies, that expectation is enough to drive one mad.

I'm beginning to think it might be better just to have 100% vaccinated cruises. RCCL has already shown their hand as far as what they think of unvaccinated people who'd rather assess their own risk, beat the virus naturally, and avoid putting emergency authorization use drugs in their system.

It will then be disappointing to watch outbreaks, large and small, on the 100% vaccinated cruises. The CDC statistics and anecdotal experiences (yes you and I reading this both know of more than a few of our own friends that have become symptomatic with covid despite vaccination) have unequivocally demonstrated that the vaccinated populations are ALSO unfortunately being very much infected by Covid-19. But at least RCCL alienated and pushed a large portion of very loyal cruise fanatics off the ships to claim "hey we did every thing we could, we eliminated those that wouldn't toe the line with acceptable societal medical decisions".  

Maybe RCCL will then decide that if 100% vaccinated cruises are still suffering from outbreaks anyway, we might just as well have ALL people  back and stop dividing and pitting against each other a segment of the population that once shared a real love for a very special pastime together. 

2 hours ago, Jill said:

No. Cruises currently out of Florida have no testing requirements for vaccinated. However, that could change with this variant since some who have been vaccinated are getting Covid. 

You know that's an interesting question. Will Royal begin testing ALL passengers for covid considering the rise of the virus among the vaccinated? In the name of responsibility to the public. And if it comes to this will Royal still charge only those that were not willing to show proof of vaccination for the test and provide the return test free for those that have been vaccinated? If media reports on the variant are true we'll know the answer soon and Royal's true intention behind charging tests for unvaccinated passengers. 

On 7/26/2021 at 12:35 PM, Reigert2008 said:

This is an interesting situation.  Personally, I would skip out on the Royal Excursions this time just to not chance becoming a "close contact" and then dealing with anything should someone test positive or show symptoms.  Of course we are still wearing our masks and limiting our contacts to keep our comfort level under control, so you just need to do what makes you feel best.  

I tried to not wear my mask at an indoor thing this past weekend (it was a huge venue and had great air circulation), but all i did was think about the risk.  So I masked back up and then had a great evening.  

I'd like for Royal to offer excursions that are for each group of people for a little while to ensure that vacations are smooth, but i don't think it will happen.  We don;t do excursions, but generally get off the ship to wander and we will be wearing our masks as we visit any upcoming destinations since that makes us feel more comfortable.  Had they required excursions through Royal for vaccinated people, we would have just treated everyday like a sea say and still had a great time.

So do we just not talk about how the method of segregating the unvaccinated from vaccinated is becoming yet another ineffective safety measure? Just another virtue signal, if you will, considering the amount of covid cases that are popping up in the vaccinated population? It seems we have to do deny a lot of actual scientific statistics (per CDC) to make sense of a good portion of RCCL's covid protocols and dare I say it, CDC's own recommendations. I guess we can take solace in the fact that the policy is continually evolving. Patience is a virtue. 

On 7/22/2021 at 8:38 AM, jticarruthers said:

Just off Freedom.

There was enforcement but I would say it was gentle and not super strict.

I would describe it as "we all know this is theatre but we have to do it, so as long as you aren't too obvious in your violation we wont go out of our way to yell at you".

Strictest on the promenade area, no mask requirement outdoors, got lax real fast in the corridor/elevator area around our room.

We only had 800 passengers onboard though so it was very easy to get from room to promenade without seeing a human (of the ten cabins in our "corridor" ours were the only two occupied, same thing on the floor below us).

Did they say how much longer Freedom would be sailing at reduced capacity?

On 6/25/2021 at 10:05 PM, DunwoodyDad said:

Not sure how old your kids are but have them go to the kids and / or teens club (depending on age of course) the first night. That’s when they meet friends and it makes a giant difference.

We did a DCL cruise years ago but also switched as the kids got a little older and appreciated the focus more on activities and hanging out with other kids their age. They just preferred hanging out at Sorrentos for pizza, going ice skating, doing an escape room, or even walking around the ship with their new friends.  Not that there were not similar opportunities on Disney...it just seemed like the focus was more on Disney stuff and/or younger kids.

With 4 kids we went from 2 cabins to 3 cabins and despite that spent thousands less each cruise. They love RCL cruises even today (ages 15-20 now) and yet we are a huge Disney family.  We just did a week at WDW and had a great time but no one evens mentions going back on DCL. Meanwhile we are booked on an RCL ship between Christmas and NYE and the family can’t wait.

Exactly. 

On 6/27/2021 at 5:52 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Hmmm....this is really a hard thing to quantify.  Some people truly enjoy the service of a Genie and some think they are completely overrated and unnecessary.  How's that for a non-answer ?  I'm going to be completely honest, here.  I am one who loves, loves, loves the Genie and Dan honestly doesn't really care for the Genie service.  The first time we did SC it was so new and so different from anything we had ever experienced, we both really enjoyed it.  The second time and the third time, etc. Dan began to resent that the Genie always seemed to be interrupting us for one thing or another.  The door bell and/or phone seemed to ring incessantly...which is true. They were always bringing something or dropping by to take something away.  If Dan got his way every time, we would probably never do SC again.  It's just too much commotion for him.

To answer your question, yes, I think having a Genie is going to be even more important in the restart than they ever were before.  Once they start to ramp occupancy back up I think things like specialty reservations are going to be more and more difficult to get.  I think things like expedited boarding and disembarkation are going to be more and more valuable.

One of the services of SC that I really love is the fact that they do your laundry for you.  You can have it sent out once a day, twice a day or never. I really enjoy this service.  They bring it back to you on hangers with your unmentionables in a bag.  There are so many things that are nice....

Is it worth the money ?  I guess I think it is. Many disagree.  It's hard to really quantify the level of service that SC provides.  Many will say....I'll just buy the UDP and the DBP+Voom and I will have the same thing, minus the Genie and save myself $$$.  But that's really not all there is to it.  On the first 2 SC cruises, I hosted the CC Cabin Crawls.  We had no less than 40 people on each of those who came to our cabin and were offered all the beer, soda, water, and food from the specialty restaurants (most of that food came from Jamie's/Giovanni's).....all at no charge.  We also offered champagne and wine (which we paid for but it was very inexpensive).  It was so much fun to show off our suite and have everyone enjoy themselves.  On each of those Cabin Crawls I know for SURE that we "sold" Star Class to at least 3 couples....so it's probably in Royal's best interest to cover such events.  Sky Class gets complimentary room service from the MDR menu.  Star Class gets room service from any and all of the Specialty Restaurants.  Big difference.

As far as what the Genie can do that you cannot do for yourself, the only thing that really comes to mind are the reserved seats at entertainment venues.  It's nice to be able to arrive at an entertainment venue just minutes before it begins and have the specific seats that you want, reserved for you.  Here is another example.  We had a credit card issue on one of our SC cruises.  The CC company (which was the Royal Caribbean Visa card, BTW !!!) began declining our onboard charges.  YIKES !  That was a real problem for us almost instantly as we charge considerable $$ to our onboard account at the casino.  The Genie talked with the revenue dept. and it was resolved - or so we thought.  Next day....charge declined.  By now, Dan was furious not to mention the fact that it was embarrassing when the casino pit boss had to tell us that our cash withdrawal had been declined.  Oh boy....  We tromped down to Guest Services, hoppin' mad.  It just so happened that another one of the Genies just happened to be there...and b/c the Genies all know who the SC guests are, even if they are not the Genie, he recognized us and asked if he could help.  When Dan explained the problem, the Genie disappeared behind the GS door and reappeared very shortly - this time with the ship's Revenue Manager - and this time, the problem was fixed...for good. Perhaps our Genie should have done this in the first place, but it was nice that it finally got handled properly by a fellow Genie.  They truly are a team.  We are always told that if, for some reason, our Genie is not available, feel free to ask any Genie for help. 

If you can afford it, SC is definitely a treat.

You are an incredible wealth of knowledge assuming things go back to the way they were we are very excited to for a Harmony ATS experience July of 2022. As Sky class veterans but Star Class newbies this info is invaluable.  From what you told us I think the general idea is to ask as needs arise and to not be shy about being denied. Other than not covering accompanying non-star class passengers IN specialty restaurants (which makes sense) do you any examples of a denied request? Or what they can't do? For example will a normally expensive behind the scenes ship tour be covered within the auspices of asking the genie to set it up?

On 6/29/2021 at 3:46 PM, sammy79 said:

  ...It’s cheaper than a Disney suite and seems like you get so much more perks...

If I had a nickel for every Royal Caribbean cruise and every class of cabin that this is true for. Honestly, the service is as good and sometimes better. Don't get me wrong I love Disney. A lot. But I can't justify another Disney cruise...plus how can you put me on a Casino less cruise!?!

1 hour ago, Jkaczano said:

I have 2 eligible but unvaccinated teenage boys. Husband (physician) and I are fully vaccinated.  There have been 3 cases of myocarditis around his hospital. We are still weighing the risk / benefit of the vaccine as our whole state (population 1.4 million) is averaging only 22 cases per day.  We have a 3 day cruise booked (grand suite) out of Florida in February.  I can justify about 10% extra ($300) total, above that I’ll cancel. I already have a fully refundable concierge room booked at Universal Studios ready to go as an alternative. 

Shh...don't talk about the side effects for the younger population. This could get you in hot water.

A demographic, as per CDC data (for whatever that is worth), which is largely unaffected by Covid-19.