Traveling Mike

You need to be careful on questions like the Windjammer. Lots of people have different opinions.  I have seen people post about formal night that you need a tuxedo or dark suit because that is what they believe or want.  People go the other way and tell you gym shorts and flipflop are OK  at any dinner.  I suggest you use common sense when reading responses.  With that said here is my opinions: 

1. After 31 cruises one of my biggest problems is over packing.  When me and my adult son cruise together we can pack in one suitcase and still over pack.  RCL will handle 5 suitcases but how many days do you need to pack for.  For boys and  men the thing I always run out of is socks and t-shirts.  What I do not use and pack is dress shirts and dress pants.  Dockers and polo shirts is good for me.  One thing for you to think about is do you want a family photo on formal night and what do you want your family wearing.
2. The Windjammer is a buffet. It is meant to be casual and it is on the pool deck on purpose.  They expect people to come in from the pool deck and eat.  Just make sure the boys are not barefooted and do not lave seat wet for the next person.  The last thing is my mothers rule, if you do not have a shirt on you cannot walk in the dining room or kitchen.  That rule always made since to me and makes mom happy.

Last time i had the RCL gift card I called Royal and had them apply it to my gratuities and the remaining amount to my onboard account.

I just went to the Royal Caribbean Norwegian site and it looks like their best price guarantee is only good for 48 after booking. On the United States site it states it is good until final booking and after final booking they might give a upgrade if available.

From the United States Site:

When making your reservation with Royal Caribbean, you can book with confidence knowing you're protected by our Best Price Guarantee program.

Found a better price within 48 hours after you booked? 

• If you still have time before your final payment, we can provide you with an upgrade, if available, or a refund for the difference in price.

• If you've already made your final payment, we can provide you with an upgrade, if available. or a non-refundable Onboard Credit for the difference.

Found a better price but it's been more than 48 hours after you've booked?

• If you still have time before your final payment, we can provide you with an upgrade, if available, or a refund for the difference in price.

• If you've already made your final payment, we can provide you with an upgrade, if available.

I am in the United States and we still have price adjustments.  I just did a price adjustment on my April 2026 and October 2026 cruises.

I ran into trouble last year when my phone came off of airplane mode from a reboot.  T-Mobile sent me a text message warning me so I did not get charged to much money.  "I called T-Mobile and talked to them about it and they recommended that I turn off "Roaming" while I was on the cruise ship as a backup safety method.  If you turn off roaming it will not connect to the ship cellular because it is not a T-Mobile system.  Now while I am on the ship I have roaming turned off and my phone on airplane mode.  Those thousand dollar bills are not fun.

Your location is "LocationPlanet Earth" so just wanted to say the closed loop is for United States Citizens.  I started cruising when my son was 8 years old and I got him a passport at that time.  It made thing much easier and gave him a valid photo id to use other times.  

I cruise most of the time on RCL ships and have done Celebrity 4 times.  This is the first time since the Loyalty Match set me at Elite Plus.  I am looking for items I would use but some are confusing.  I have access on the RC Blog to people that know their stuff.  Can you help me understand?

• I understand as soon as I get on the ship I can use 2 bags of laundry (for my pre week in Tokyo).
• I can press (2 items) and dry clean 1 item.
• I get 240 minutes internet.
• The one big thing I am not sure how it works is the free drinks.  "Captain’s Club Elite Cocktail Hour 5–7 PM daily"
• On RCL we get a bottle of wine at the start of the cruise.  Is there anything like that with Elite Plus?

Just now, OCSC Mike said:

You may not have read the whole thread.

You are 100% correct.  I hit the flashing icon and seen he wanted to know how to do it.   Then I read the entire thread.   I called RCL to see what they would have to say and I also wanted to know about booking reservations for my October 2026 cruise.  I posted what they told me, and that did not help.

I just called and talked to Royal Caribbean.  According to the person I talked to the dining reservations open up at the one year before your cruise.  They also said only the Unlimited Dining as the ability to book reservations.  When I told her I could do it for 3 night and 5 night she said it must be because of my Crown and Anchor status or the cruises I have booked.  All of my cruises are 8 night or more.  

So we are back to Royal Caribbean does not know how the website works.

3 hours ago, CruiseRoyalDad said:

Please teach me how to do this because I definitely don't have this option

I have 5 cruises booked right now and I checked and it works for all of them.  I would not think it is connected to my C&A status.  When I go to book the package; Right after you click "Purchase" on the package you should get the page below.  It lets you select a day and then it shows you available time slots.  The ones in my screen print are underlined in red because I have a dinner booked at that time.

If you have already booked your package; go to your order history.  Find your dining package purchase and when you expand it you should see a menu item for "Modify" that will take you to the reservation screen as in the screen print above.  You will also have a menu item for "View Reservations" that will just show what you have reserved.  My October 2026 cruise does give me "We’re stuffed! Reservations are currently not available."  because it is to far in advance to book reservations.  I am assuming I can go back and book them when the cruise gets closer.

I am not sure what you like at the Schooner bar but the main hangout on any of the Celebrity ships is the Martini Bars.  During the day there is always someone new to meet and at night there is always a show going on.

I have a TA (company) that does not know much about the ships, cruises, excursions or requirements.  They are very good at doing what I ask them to do.  They are also paid by the hour so they do not care how much time they spend helping me.  At the end of the cruise they give me a nice card to go shopping.  They are happy and I am happy.

I travel solo and find in Miami the easiest is Lyft or Uber.  Lyft is less expensive but they seem to be slower to show up.  For a family of 4 I would be looking at Uber and save the hassle of other methods.  As for the car seat, someone with little kids should be able to help you.

@Bird I pay mine off early all the time and I can still get price adjustments up until final payment date.  After final payment date you still want to call and see if they will do anything.  My last cruise they would not give me a price adjustment but they gave me a cabin upgrade for free.

 it sounds like you need a full service travel agent that can make sure everything is taken care of.  The travel agency I use is not that type of travel agency but they do everything I need.  I would recommend that you go on MEI site and go through some of the agents resume and find one that have done it for years and look like someone you trust.  I would stat with ones from your area.  You can see all of their information at https://mei-travel.com/free-travel-agent.  Just click on the red line "View Team Member".  It would be worth the time to do some reading and research.  

1 hour ago, FOB said:

yes there are now a lot more pinnacle / diamond+ for royal at the moment but I think that will stabilize a bit over the next few years as the older folks who could take advantage of the “double points” immediately after Covid unfortunately can no longer cruise

the Carnival people I have seen will have a big issue are the ones that are a high status because they have been with them 20 or 30 years but are to old to travel more than once a year.  They will lose their status after 2 years.  The old way the cruise line gave them a high status for being with them many years

I cruise exclusive on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships because of their perks for me being Diamond Plus 340.  If I lost my status and perks, I would be doing lots more cruise line bouncing and/or a lot less cruise vacations.

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

In balconies & above, yes. Interiors & OV on the oldest ships like Enchantment do not have coolers.

You made me go back to my cruise list and look.  I did not realize how many balconies I have been on and how many newer ships I have been on in the last 20 cruises.  I guess I need to make some phone calls and get a medical refrigerator for my next cruise on the Explorer of the seas.  I am doing a virtual  Inside cabin.

Every ship has a cooler in the room.  It is not a refrigerator but it keeps the drinks cold.  they are small (depth) and does not fit plates to keep food cold.

I would think it is FlowRider private lessons and  Ripcord by iFly.

I have booked Royal shuttles both ways.  I just call Air2Sea and have them book my shuttle.  Most of the time I do not use the one from the airport to the ship because I go in the day before and stay near the airport.  Seattle has some good private transfers.  I always use the transfer from the ship to the airport.  I use the Port Valet service on the ship and do not have to deal with luggage or check in at the airport.  With the Port Valet service they take your luggage the night before you get off the ship and the next time you see it is at your home airport.  They also check you into your flight and supply you with a ticket.  Then when I get off the ship i just walk over to the transfer busses and get on the next one available.

In my experience on other ships it is open a lot.  They do have times where it is just beginners or just advanced but it has someone on it all day long (as long as weather permits).  I did see a post on Facebook where someone asked the same thing about the icon.  Here are their responses.

Cindy Juren

From what I recall, most days they had an hour of stand-up followed by a few hours of “mixed wave” and then shut down for a bit (during which time private sessions were happening on some days). Later in afternoons they had several hours of boogie-boarding where the middle inflatable partition was set up so it was truly just for beginner boogie-boarding. Lines were pretty long on sea days in the afternoons. Port days are perfect though! A few evening sessions were offered but didn’t get to any of them.

Apple Boyce

On Icon, Flowrider was open most of the time. The type of session varied - sometimes was stand up, sometimes was boogie board only, some was mixed wave so you could do either. There were also sessions a few days in the afternoons that were kids 12 and under only .. these were around 1:30-4 or 1-3. This was a great time for kids to ride with lower waits. There were also a few single hours of "competitions" and one staff show hour.

you can book your nights when you purchase the package. You can go back and change them after you purchase them.  I just went in on my April cruise and selected 3 dinner package and it gave me the choice to book my times before going to the cart.  If you want to set them later or change them just go into your purchased items and do a modify on the package.

I sailed on her a few years back and do not remember food in the pubs.  I just spent 15 minutes searching and it looks like only drinks in the bars and pubs.  If you ask me after next April I can give you a real answer.  I am going to spend 32 days on the Voyager of the Seas.

This is the company I purchased with a few years back and I have been so happy with them that I purchased a carryon.  I went with this company so I would be matching international standards.  The one I purchased has a handle that lets you know if you are over 50 lbs.  It is just a red line but it gives me an idea.

DELSEY PARIS