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Correction eclipse in august 2026

I am curious if Royal will be putting together an eclipse cruise in the western Mediterranean for August 2024. I booked one on Cunard to be on the safe side but would rather cruise Royal. When will Royal put out cruises in Europe for the summer of 2026. 

Got my cruise docs today. 

Did anyone get their travel documents/luggage tags yet?

I did.  However I am curious why Day 5 only has the 2 adult comedy shows available.  I wonder if they are waiting to add something else.  I am thrilled they added Effectors to the line up.  Love that show.

Now if they only I could reserve my UDP dining pre-cruise I would be set.

In viewing You Tube posts of the Icon's connecting rooms, none have shown them with the balcony divider open.  Based on what I do see in those videos, it looks like the door is very narrow.  This is rather bothersome as it does not really provide the open feel and connectivity I was hoping for.  Does anyone have any information on this or pictures with them open?  This is the first time I am traveling with my family not in a suite and was hoping for at least a similar feel on the balcony.

On 3/17/2024 at 7:17 AM, putinbay said:

Hello, yes, we booked the Empire Supper Club for day 5 several weeks before our cruise at full price. I went down there on day 3 during the afternoon hours (probably around 1:00 PM) and asked if I could cancel and rebook so that I could get the UDP discount. The gentleman that manages ESC was super nice and said, "No need to rebook. I will refund you the difference right now." The refund came back as refundable ship board credit. I was really happy that it was a quick and frictionless refund process, and I thanked the gentleman several times . My wife and I were seated at the first table (please see pic below taken from my seat).

Also, out of curiosity, I asked if the entire week was sold out. He answered, "Yes."

Hope this helps!

Thanks,

Matt

Thanks Matt,

That was helpful Info.  I am going to try and do the same.  I was worried if i had not booked it now I would not get it once on board.  Your response confirms that.

21 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Nope. I believe earlier is Key and Suite guests on Icon. 

So I have Key.  WIll I be able to check in earlier than my assigned time?

Did anyone get a check in time earlier than 11:30 AM?

6 hours ago, putinbay said:

Hello,

We just got off Icon earlier this morning. Thought I'd provide a quick review while we're waiting for our flight back home...

About Us - Me (49), my wife (48), and our two boys (13 and 15).

Embarkation - Our boarding time was 11:30 AM. We arrived at the pier at 10:20 AM and we were onboard by 10:30 AM. I had a drink in-hand by 10:35 AM. LOL! Royal has the embarkation process down perfectly! Hats off to Royal! We were super impressed!

Capacity & Crowds - A crew member told me there were 2,400 kids on our sailing, and the ship was at roughly 85% to 90% capacity. The crew member said they're going to 100% by the March 30th, 2024 sailing. The ship didn't feel too crowded to me, except for a few areas on the pool decks. We sat at Cloud 17 the whole week, since they have padded loungers up there . We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a drink. On the other hand, Coco Cay seemed very crowded. We arrived at South Beach around 10:15 AM and all the loungers were taken. We should have gotten off the boat earlier, but no big deal. We went back to the ship by 1:00 PM and had the ship to ourselves and went on a bunch of the slides. I think next time, we'll stay on the ship .

Food & Dining - We had the Unlimited Dining Package. I was able to lock in all our reservations right when we got on the ship at Izumi. The process took roughly 30 minutes, since the people in front of me were taking forever. Once it was my turn, I gave the lady my print up of all my desired reservations (used Google Calendar). She loved the print out and quickly locked in all my options. Only bummer was Hibachi only had 9:00 PM available, other than that, we were able to get all the times we wanted. We did not eat in the Main Dining Room at all. We ate at all the Specialty Dining venues except for Pier 7. The food was great! And the service was great, too! Only place I would not go back to is Hibachi. Guess it's more for the show, but we agreed the food was not very good  . Way too much butter and salt (at least that's what we thought). My wife and I also did Empire Supper club and it was spectacular! What a great dining experience!

Room & Accommodations - My wife and I had cabin 14756, and our boys were in an inside cabin 14747. Our room was on the aft of the ship. We had an unbelievable view of the back of the boat (please see pic I took from our cabin). My wife did not like the rattling and shaking feeling in the cabin. She said she would not want the same cabin again. There definitely was a lot of rattling and shaking going on, but I was ok with it b/c of the view. We also noticed we felt the ship moving a lot more (overall) than we had expected. For comparison, we were on the Wonder of the Seas two years ago and we did not feel that ship move at all. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say Wonder was about a 1 or 2 while Icon was about a 6 or 7. My boys were also complaining about it. One of the crew members also said she was surprised to feel the boat move so much and agreed it was more than Oasis class ships like Wonder. But overall, our room was fantastic! 

Shows & Entertainment - We saw Wizard of Oz on the second night and it was excellent! We were super impressed! We also did Starburst and the headliner show. Both were good, but Wizard of Oz took the cake! The comedians were also very funny! 

Disembarkation - Getting off the ship this morning was a breeze. We walked off with our luggage around 8:45 AM. However, complete chaos ensued when we got outside the terminal to hail a taxi, Uber, Lyft. People all over the place trying to hail their Ubers, Lyfts, etc. It took about 30 mins to finally get a Lyft out of there and then 20 mins to the Miami airport. The airport is also crazy busy, with very long security lines. It took us almost 1 hour to get through security and to our gate. We are on Southwest.

That's all I can think of right now... Hope this helps! If you have any questions, please give me a shout!

Thanks!

Matt

Matt - Did you use your UDP discount for the Empire Supper Club?  If so,  when were you able to book the reservation?  I am getting mixed answers on this.  Thanks - Rose

Great plan!!!  I will post as soon as I see the availability pop up.

I was so hoping you were right.  Well fingers crossed that there will be tables available at that time.  I am hoping for a table for 4.

1 hour ago, putinbay said:

I had to pay full price. Supposedly, I will get a credit back when we're onboard next week. 

I was wondering if I could do that exact thing.  Who told you you would get the credit?

5 hours ago, putinbay said:

Thank you for the additional details. We've never had the UDP package and we've only sailed on Wonder 2 years ago (it's second voyage), and we ate in the MDR each night, so we're looking forward to the additional dining venues. I also booked Empire Supper Club since we have the UDP discount, and b/c the reviews are really good for ESC. Plus, I was able to use some of my $500 in ship board credit towards ESC . Really looking forward to that!

Guess I'll have to bee line to Giovannis and Hibachi right when we get onboard. Not exactly the way I'd want to start a nice vacation .

Thanks!

How were you able to book the empire supper club with the UDP discount before the sailing? I was told that you only get the discount if booked once on board.

I too am on this sailing.  Brining my adult children.  Booked it on one of the first days so got a great price compared to what they are going for now.

Does anyone know when we will be able to book our entertainment?  I also read that they were considering allowing those of us who have dining packages the ability to do it pre-cruise then having to wait until on board.  Did anyone hear whether that will be the case for this sailing?

Just got my second email today at 5:56 PM.  Looks like the trip departing on the 8th is now cancelled and we will not get an update on our sailing until the 9th.  Doesn't leave me any time to alternate plans since I fly to Fairbanks on the 12th.  Getting extremely nervous now.

Just got my letter regarding the propulsion issue this afternoon.  It really would be nice if they gave us more info.  I have pre and post cruise plans and need to figure out what to do about those plans.

Anyone trying to check in and getting the message "Sorry we hit a snag?"  I got as far as getting my check in time but cannot update any other info.

On 7/16/2023 at 2:22 PM, Brendon said:

At the end of May this was still the case.

That is awesome news!  Thank you!

1 hour ago, steverk said:

Sorry, I should have read it more carefully.

I don't know about checking your bags straight through, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can.  Either way, the local, free shuttle will transport you and your bags if necessary directly to the ship. Since it is the next stop on their circuit, it should be an easy connection.

Thank you.

22 minutes ago, twangster said:

I've taken the train twice from Anchorage to Seward booked direct with the Alaskan Railroad.   Granted my experiences are before the pandemic.

At the time the train from Anchorage didn't have a baggage car.  All luggage, cruise passengers or other train passengers, went by truck.  

The downtown train depot in Anchorage has a tent setup outside the station for luggage drop off.  The station itself is pretty small.  There not enough space for all train passengers to be inside the train station to give you an idea of its size. 

Outside in the luggage tent they have an area for cruise guests and an area for for everyone else.  At this point you won't see you luggage again until it's outside your cabin door on the ship.  Do not pack passports, medication, valuables, etc. that you will need on the train or to check in for the cruise in Seward.  Have your cruise line luggage tags attached or they can make some up for you like they do at any cruise terminal when guests don't have luggage tags.  There is typically a long line for tags so you are better off bring them and having them attached already so you can just drop off luggage and then go inside to get your train ticket.   

The train station in Seward is a 10-15 minute walk to the cruise terminal.  They offer a motorcoach that is complimentary but I walked it both times.  You won't see your luggage at this point.  It's already being loaded on the ship.  

Thank you.  I hope this is still the case.

Actually, my plans are reversed.  I am coming in on the train for the cruise.  Some suggested that in Anchorage my luggage can be checked and shipped directly to the boat, but I am not sure if that is just for those who booked the train trip directly through RC.  Since I wanted to experience the Gold Star class for the trip from Fairbanks, I booked directly through Alaska Rail.

I will be taking this cruise also.  Touring Alaska is a bucket list item.  Getting very excited as the date to leave draws near.  I did not book the cruise tour through Royal but rather did my own tour arrangements which includes trying to catch the aurora in Fairbanks and taking the Gold Star rail trip to the cruise port from Fairbanks. Post cruise I will be spending a day in Vancouver then heading to Emeryville to catch a cross country train ride home.

I am doing a solo trip this September arriving first in Fairbanks for a few days then taking the Gold Star from Fairbanks to Seward with an overnight stop in Anchorage before heading to Seward.  I am getting conflicting info in my google searches with regard to the transport of my checked luggage.  Does anyone have any recent experience with this when train transportation was booked directly with the railroad?  Since I will be gone for about 3 weeks I have 2 checked bags and as a senior I am not really interested in schlepping my luggage to the cruise port on foot.

Thank you for the information.  This gives me hope.