skittermagoo

Soon-to-be first time cruiser here, and I have a snorkeling excursion planned for one day (scheduled through RCL). Since I've never done this before, I have some general questions! What should I bring off the ship with me for this, and do I need to worry about securing my stuff on the small boat while we are out in the water? Example: I'm planning to bring some cash, my ID, a credit card (?) and a photocopy of my passport in a bag of some sort. Should I also bring my phone? Do I need to secure these things to myself in a waterproof bag while I'm snorkeling, or can I leave them a tote bag with our towels and sunscreen on the snorkeling boat? If I leave it on the boat, do I need a lock for my bag?

Great, thanks! I'm not sure I could get by without a sock to knit!

I'm about to go on my first cruise; I'm hoping NOT to have to pick things up from the table of shame! Can y'all tell me if the following will be ok to bring? blunt-tip (child-safe type) small scissors - no sharp point NON-surge protected power cube (that has a cord) circular knitting needles

You can, but only if it's within 30 days of when you first booked. Also, this is true for the US, not sure if it applies if you are outside the US. It used to be 60 days, but that has since changed. (I found this out the hard way; I found out about being able to transfer to a TA 32 days after I booked my cruise, so I just missed the window).

So, originally our group on our upcoming cruise was 7 people, and I linked reservations and made a reservation for one table in MDR for us. Now there are two of us going (everyone else cancelled). Do I need to call RCL (ugh) and have them change the reservation before we go, or can I do it on board on the first day? I can't seem to find a place online to do this or to unlink our reservations (they are still showing on the website even though they cancelled) I don't want to go and have them seat two of us at a giant table by ourselves.

I have a tag-on question about insurance . . . (first time cruiser here). I purchased the RCL protection when I booked; do I also need additional insurance, or is the one offered by RCL sufficient/comparable?

Can anyone tell me which kind they have on Adventure of the Seas?

I'm glad to hear this -- we have the national park snorkeling booked for our January cruise, and I can't wait!

I just happened to wake up at around 12:30am on the day our check-in opened, and it was available. Got our arrival time nailed down and did the rest later when more awake.

Thank you so much for this, @CGTLH! I just happened to be awake at around 12:30 and got our arrival time booked; I'll do the rest today. (That was the main thing I was concerned about). Also, for the second time in about a week, I'm wishing we had gotten passport cards when we did our passports. I'm not sure if we can get them in time, but I'll know for future travels that it's something very convenient to have!

Ack, one that I forgot: is it easier to do the checkin on a computer, or on the app on my phone?

Sooooo . . . tomorrow check-in opens for my first cruise ever! I'm so excited!!! I have some questions about check-in . . . my husband and I are traveling together (same stateroom); when I check in will I get the boarding time for both of us, or do we both need to check in separately? If we both do, can I do it for both of us on my one phone? Also, can I start the check in process, get the boarding time locked in, then go back later with all the other stuff (pics of vax cards, etc)? If yes, then there is a non-zero chance that I'll wake up randomly at 3am and see if I can get a boarding time. Other random first-timer questions: Do we need to take our actual passports when we get off the ship and go on shore excursions, or do we take copies and leave the passport in the safe? What do you do with your seapass card while you're at the pool? Leave it in your bag? What do you do with your bag? (i.e. do you just leave it on your chair, or are there lockers, etc)? I seem to remember seeing somewhere that if people have iPhones, they can use messaging app without WiFi? We don't have the UDP, but if we decide we want to eat at Johnny Rockets, can we just pay an extra charge to eat there? And finally, how do I make the next 46 days go faster?

I'm on Adventure out of Galveston on Jan 21, 2022 -- my first cruise! A while back, my app was telling me that check-in would be available 10/25; then RCI changed the payment deadline to 30 days before. I expected the checkin date to change, and it did. But now, when I check my app (iOS), the checkin date very briefly flashes up and then goes away, and every day the date that flashes is pushed one more day forward. It started showing a December date, and now it's showing (oh so briefly) January 5. I have to toggle back and forth between screens to even see it for more than a fraction of a second. I'm sure this is just the app being weird; was just wondering if anyone else is experiencing something similar.

Not a hard savings per se, but I was able to switch from a GTY ocean view to an assigned balcony stateroom on Adventure of the Seas (Jan 2022) and saved around $40.

We got our birth certs back about a month later.

I wonder, does this affect the check-in date? (i.e. do they let you check in before the final payment date, or will that be pushed as well)

In changing my stateroom on my upcoming Adventure of the Seas cruise, I was comparing the ocean view balcony to the "spacious" ocean view balcony staterooms . . . it seems (unless I am missing something) that the "spacious" rooms are only 5 sq ft bigger, and the balcony is actually 4 sq ft smaller . . . (screenshot below). That doesn't seem like that big of a difference to me . . . not that I'm going to change anything at this point, but I'm curious why the different designation -- do those 5 square feet really make a huge impact? Am I missing something here? (This will be my first cruise, so I may be naive here, but I think I'd rather have the balcony be a titch bigger anyway)

Our check-in date was previously Oct 23 (for a 1/21/22 cruise); after calling and changing our stateroom type this morning, it's now showing as available Dec. 7 (a change from 90 days to 45 days).

Thank you all so much for your answers! I called this morning and not only changed from a GTY ocean view to an assigned balcony stateroom, and I actually saved $40! Y'all rock!

First off, apologies for all the first-timer questions . . . there's just so much to consider! We have our first cruise booked (1/21/22 on Adventure of the Seas), and unfortunately I didn't know until it was too late that I could have transferred our reservation to a travel agent. So, I'm doing this all myself. Right now we have a GTY ocean view stateroom booked, but we may have decided we really want a balcony stateroom, depending on the difference in price. I was planning to bid on RoyalUp, but wanted to know if I can just upgrade it instead. If so, can I just call RCCL and have them change it and charge me the price difference? Will all my other things (beverage package, excursions, etc) stay the same if I do this, or is it something where I'll have to rebook completely? My experience with calling RCCL has been, well, spotty at best. Is there a best number/option to call? (I seem to remember someone posting either here or on FB that choosing the "cruise planner" option sometimes results in better results).

THIS brings up another question I forgot I had! Say I get a 1pm time slot or something . . . is it possible to drop our bags with the porters earlier than that? How early?

So, my check in date finally showed up in the app, and I just realized I'm going to be at away from home at a retreat the weekend it opens. Naturally, I want to check in online as early as possible to get the sweet sweet earliest possible boarding time. If I understand correctly, there are also documents I need to upload as part of this process. So questions: can I start the check-in process to get boarding time slot locked in and then upload documents later, or does it all have to be done at the same time? If I need to do it all at the same time, what documents will I need to upload (so that I can gather them ahead of time)? Can I do this for both myself and my husband (who will not be with me on check-in weekend), or do we need to do it separately? How long does the process take (like, do I need to set aside an hour for this, or is it fast)? Is it better to do it via a laptop and the website, or through the phone app? Are there other questions I should be asking? RC crusing vets, please share your check-in secrets and tips with me!

Love this! Also, I'm not quite human before having a coffee, so this is great to know.

I recently discovered that you can only do this within the first 30 days after booking; I think it used to be 60 days, and when I found that out, I tried to transfer to a TA, but was juuuuuust outside the 30 day window. Next time I'll go with a TA from the get-go. (newbie mistake)

Wait, what is this? We can have coffee delivered to the stateroom in the morning? Please tell me more!