cruiserccl

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. And I hope we have similar experience.
I was hoping that if they do weigh us, the do it at check in and if I need to switch the other adult for my daughter, I can do it before and instructional seminar.
I did book 4 adults and if I switch one of them with my daughter, it wouldn't be an issue since she's a teen (even though she only weighs 100lbs) so pricing wouldn't change. In that case, I would put my daughter with my husband and I would go with the other adult to keep the weight down. But I'd rather not and my daughter has no interest in going.
And I don't think they would be too much over the limit...maybe just around the limit. I was just trying to figure out what we can do if that happens. And I feel bad for not checking if there's a limit. I never even thought of it. Every time we book something that has a weight restrictions (ie. zip lining, rib boats etc), there has been a section where we need to put our weight.
I feel so much better now. Thanks again!
 
 
 

@cruiserccl We did this in May 2019 to give context of the time that has passed.  They did not mention weight nor did they weight us.  My husband was the driver and I the passenger, we weighed well over the 375.  They just stuck us at the end and we were a lot slower than others due to our experience and weight.  Our daughter drove herself and I don't think she weighted enough, she's 120 soaking wet plus she has zero experience.
I don't think you'll have a weight issue but if you are over the limit you will be slower, but doable.  Switch people I don't think will be an issue as long as it's the same number of people booked.  if you booked 4 adults and keep it at 4 adults you'll be fine.  Mixing an adult to kid might be an issue due to different pricing and set up.
 

I thought it was a good question and was able to become educated with the responses.  Thanks for asking.
I was always told by my teachers that there is no such thing as a silly question. 

In the Cruise Compass section:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass
You can look over past cruises and see what restaurants were open on ports days on each ship in the past.

I apologize if this question seems very silly.
But I was wondering if I can use UDP for lunch at JR or Playmakers if they're open during lunch on Port days.
I understand it says UDP includes lunch during sea days. But I noticed that JR is open daily for lunch.
I would appreciate any experience and suggestions. Thanks!
 

Thanks so much!
 

There is no such thing as a silly question, especially when it comes to cruises. You will enjoy yourself more if you have a good idea of what is offered on the cruise and what the rules are. Àsk away!

Thanks so much!
I know a lot of people in the forum is so versed in everything Royal so I can understand how silly and possibly redundant my question appears. So thanks so much for being so patient with us new to Royal cruisers!
 

Thanks so much!
I know a lot of people in the forum is so versed in everything Royal so I can understand how silly and possibly redundant my question appears. So thanks so much for being so patient with us new to Royal cruisers!
 

Not a silly question at all !
If the restaurant is open and accepting customers, your UDP will permit you to dine there.

The ability to add more spots depends on the specific excursion.  For most ports, the excursions are operated by independent vendors and they would need to have additional staff, transportation, and equipment so it isn't always possible.  Other excursions like cabanas on Coco Cay are restricted by the number of units available and number of ships visiting that day.  So you have to hope for cancellations (or maybe passengers on the other ship didn't use their allotment and it become available to your ship) but that's just a hope.  Finally, for something like the Thrill Waterpark, the can't open unlimited spots without reducing the experience.  If they sell so many tickets that the lines for the slides get ridiculous, people won't come back or will demand refunds.  They may not publish a capacity limit, but you can bet they have one.
To answer the question in the thread title, I don't think I've ever seen evidence that they hold some excursion capacity for after you board the ship.  Most likely, anything available on board will be due to cancellations.  I think you also have to cancel 48 hours before the excursion to get a full refund.

The water park could very easily sell out. I would purchase now and if her friends don't want to go, you can cancel. If you cancel onboard, you'll get the refund as OBC towards your account statement, and if you don't spend it onboard, it should go back to your original form of payment post-debarkation.

Often cancellations become available when on the cruise. Try for a 'stand-by' list on the ship. Very occasionally Royal will try to add another "segment".

Hi. Sorry if this question has been asked before. I tried searching...perhaps I'm not using the correct phrase.
My cruise has a lot of sold out excursions. I was wondering if a certain number of spots are set aside for booking once we board.
For instance, my daughter has no idea if any of her new found friends will want to go to the thrill waterpark. So it's best to wait until we get on board, but if they may be sold out, I was thinking if we should purchase it now. If that's the case, can we get a refund if she decides not to go?
I would appreciate any assistance.
Thanks!
 
 
 
 

Absolutely, one of our main reasons for not going to the buffet. My family tends not to be too obtrusive so if there's a lot of people waiting for something, we would likely be the last to get it especially when there is no defined line. 
I do appreciate crew members who notices and ensures we get served before someone who just came, regardless of how loudly they ask for something. But that happens only once in a while. I'm just not sure why people don't use courtesy. I don't think they'll run out of food.

We had a different experience with Cape Liberty on our Dec 2021 cruise.
We had a 11:30am arrival time which I was very happy about.
When we arrive at exactly 11:30am, we saw a very large line. We asked a rep to see if there was a different line for 11:30am and he said that they tried to organize it, but gave up. Several family ahead of us was boasting that they had a 12:30pm check in and no one was stopping them.
This was our first cruise from Cape Liberty and was a bit disappointed with the fact that they just gave up. Those were his exact words.

Absolutely, one of our main reasons for not going to the buffet. My family tends not to be too obtrusive so if there's a lot of people waiting for something, we would likely be the last to get it especially when there is no defined line. 
I do appreciate crew members who notices and ensures we get served before someone who just came, regardless of how loudly they ask for something. But that happens only once in a while. I'm just not sure why people don't use courtesy. I don't think they'll run out of food.

I agree...can't stand to have a kid sneeze all in his hand then pick up a bun and decided he doesn't want it, then he does the same thing with cookies and so on and so on and son on. Oh and adults do the same thing.  Please keep those serving the food!!

I respectfully disagree. I have seen people slide a finger on the serving utensil to taste the food, lick that finger, then do the same thing at a different dish down the line.  YUK!

Right? I mentioned this earlier.  No need to take back a mountain of shrimp or a plate full of bacon.  I love bacon.  Give me 3 strips.  After I eat it, if I want more, I can think about the health ramifications as I walk back to the bacon station.  If I decide against it, I save myself and avoid food waste.  
Another thing that bothers me about buffets and portion control, are the people who overestimate how much salad they need, take a few bites, and then leave it to be thrown away.  No need.  Pre-portion the salads and avoid all of this.  Oh wait...Windjammer is already doing this!  See, new buffet protocols are great!
Alot of the arguments against the staff serving you at the buffet seem to echo the freedom of choice and autonomy arguments found in many hot debate topics these days.  Just remember, it is still all-you-can-eat and no one is stopping anyone from getting more.

Honestly, I'm in favor of being served for this reason, as much as the hygiene. I watched a mom and daughter get three full platefuls of food, literally taking one bite off each plate and leaving the rest. I'm all for trying new things on a cruise, but they weren't even intending to try half of what they took. 
It is a minor hassle, at best, to have to ask for more bacon while I'm standing in line instead of the person in front of me taking a whole plate and not eating half of it.

Truth!
Honestly, regardless of which side you are on regarding Covid, masking, etc...one thing remains certain...handwashing, basic hygiene, covering your mouth when coughing and/or sneezing...these things should have been practiced, and continuously practiced, regardless of a pandemic.  Please serve me my buffet portions so that I don't have to rely on others' hygiene, or lack thereof. 

I just wrapped on a cruise where we were able to adopt the new protocols including no masks.  As I entered the Windjammer i was amazed at the number of people that refused to use hand sanitizer.  A good 30% walked right past the washy washy girl asking everyone to use the hand sanitizer.  This was never the case when we all masked up.   It seems some people are done with ALL protocols. 
So if these people are handling the tongs and dropping the tongs into the food (a common occurence pre-shutdown) then I'm all for the served WJ buffet.  
 

One of the reasons I chose Royal for our upcoming trip was because I was watching YouTube videos of current cruise vlogs and I noticed Carnival was letting people self serve at the buffet 😳. 
Then a vlog came on for a Royal cruise and staff was serving so I pulled the trigger. 
It was gross before covid, and now I don't think we should go back to that....ever. 

The entire COVID experience, it's attendant health protocols as it relates to infection control, has very likely been a completely positive one for the cruise lines. I don't have access to any details but am pretty sure that all kinds of GI and respiratory illnesses that were common and acquired aboard ship have been considerably reduced. I think most of us feel a whole lot better about cruising with what is very likely a steep reduction in Norovirus infection and "cruise cough" both having come along with layered protective measures v. SARS2.
People I associate with have a reasonable appreciation for the value of personal hygiene and good personal sanitation measures when in group settings. OTH, we've all seen segments of the cruising public who don't appreciate that at all. Because of that,  I'm all for a continuation of the layered levels of health protocols - one of which is no self service at the buffets - among a whole host of others including masking when objectively based conditions warrant - and I can almost guarantee you we're not done with SARS 2, COVID or any new virus that presents the same kinds of risk to personal health in the congregate setting that cruise ships are manifestly and correctly characterized.