Traveling Mike

I do lots of GTY and I have gotten them 6 months before my cruise and some a day before my cruise.  One of them they changed it the morning of the cruise.

I plan ahead of time.  I figure out what I want for lunch and dinner.  Then as soon as I get on the ship I do directly to one of the Speiclaty Restaurants and have them book all of my days.  If you have multiple rooms have all of their information with you.  What I would do is make sure each family has the plan and each one head to a different restaurant.  Some of the time they are closed, or they have a long line of people trying to book.  If you are setting waiting to get on the ship some of the time you can connect to the ship WiFi and book your own rooms on the phone app.

11 hours ago, Wheeler825 said:

By 'same price' do you mean same price based on double occupancy, or do they give you a a single person rate on a normal room?

The double occupancy rate but I do not pay the taxes and port fees for the second person.  Depending on the cruise that can be a lot of money.

I book solo most of the time.  When searching for 1 person the GTY price does not show.  It only shows for 2 people.  When I call in or book through my TA I can get the GTY for a solo person.  It is the same price minus the taxes and port fees.

I have not done it myself.  BUT... On my Artic Cruise in September our Facebook group did 3 group dinners.  One of the people that was on the cruise ship the week before was able to book our reservations for everyone on Saturday, the day before we loaded.  She was not in a suite; she just went and talked to one of the Manager of the Specialty Restaurant.  He booked everyone's reservations.

2 hours ago, Mike n Ky said:

and need to book a cruise in the next couple days in order to hold onto the onboard credit. My TA is on a cruise and not connected so I am trying to use this on my own. Does anyone know how to do it?

Mine was connected to by TA, Costco Travel, and they had to book my cruise.  If it is just assigned to you just call RCL and book the cruise you want.  Then you would have 30 days to move it to your TA.  The next cruise certificate is attached to your account and they will be able to see it.

I always have travel insurance and have collected on it multiple times.  Just make sure it is someone you herd of our ask for advice.  I have used AIG Travel Guard and currently have annual policy with them and have been happy.

You get the main dining room for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner for free.  Some of the nights are Formal Nights.  Formal used to be very fancy, and you felt out of place if you were not dressed up.  Now they are not as formal.  There are still people and families that still dress up and take lots of pictures.  On the Formal nights I leave my blue jeans at the cabin and wear my dockers and polo shirt.  

Some Advice:  Do not eat all your meals at the Buffett.  I hear and see people doing that and I feel bad for them.  The buffet is OK but there is much better food for free around the ship.

Late Cleaning

and 

I don't care.  I am happy if you keep me with fresh towels.

7 hours ago, Bingee said:

Hi there first timers flying in from Gatwick on Easy Jet about 10am an the day. Would you advise flying in the day before??

cheers

I know you have lots of people answering you, but I wanted to make sure there is no doubt.  Flying ... Always a day early unless you have time to drive if your flight has issues.  I drive 4 hours to the Los Angeles port, and I worry about driving the day of the cruise.  That ship will not wait for you

It sounds like you are really sensitive to sounds when you sleep.  If you are do not take a chance.  If you are just not wanting to be next to a disco it will not be a problem.  The only place I have had issues in all my cruises is being below the pool deck.  Late at night or early morning they drag the chair around.  Also being on the Navigator I am guessing you are on a 3- or 4-day cruise with two ports.  There will be as much activity in the Main Promenade.

Offen the sales are by the cruise and not all cruises.  Like most people I sign on once a week and check prices.  Depending on when you cruise.  Black Friday always has great sales on drink and food packages.

We have not cruised out of Port Canaveral in years, but we always stayed an extra day or two at Disney World or Universal Studios and grabbed a shuttle the day of the cruise.  The hotels are much cheaper, and you get to have fun in the parks before the cruise.

Unless I am mistaken anything you purchase to eat, or drink has the gratuity added to it.

This will help you understand everyone above's answer.  On a Caribbean cruise or Trans-Atlantic cruise, it is often the side you want to see the sun rise or sunset.  On most of the Alaska cruises it does not matter.  If you look at the picture below you will see all of those islands off the main shore.  You will be cruising between them on the way up and back.  You are going to have beautiful scenery on all parts of your cruise.  When you get to the glaciers the ship captain will spin the ship around to give everyone a great view.  Pick your cabin by the location in the ship and how high off the water you want to be.  Most of the time the shows are on the front of the ship and the food is on the back.  The lower in the ship makes you feel closer to the sea the higher the further you can see out.  The lower and middle of the ship has less movement.  It seems the first cabins to go are the middle of the ship and middle decks.

3 hours ago, Lexster said:

It does, though for some reason it's at the top, while my reservation is under it, which confused me.

It sounds like a computer thing.  It could be cabin types or alphabetic or age...

@Home Alone  I was a single father and computer programmer for a school district.  I was not able to take vacations during school breaks because that is when we are processing report cards and schedule changes.  I would always take our vacations during school.  California has Short Time Independent Study.  You sign up with your school and right before the trip the teachers would give my son his work for the week.  He would do all the work and turn it in when we got home.  The school gets credit for my son being in school and my son does not miss work.  On our Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific cruises, we would email the assignments in so the teachers would not be put out when we got home after two or three weeks.  I would check and see if that is a possibility.

I cannot say for sure; I am sure someone else can, but I seen someone in front of me getting on my April cruise have one similar to that taken away.

I took one of the medium sized ships through the Artic Circle in a cabin on the very front of the ship.  I did not feel much movement.  You are on one of the mega ships the size of a city.  The weather will have to be very bad for you to feel movement.

They are also not big enough to hold leftovers from dinner.  They are big enough to hold medicine or drinks.

3 hours ago, Jess4214 said:

Hello,

I'm sailing soon on Allure. Is the souvenir cup delivered to the stateroom or do we need to pick it up somewhere else? Thanks in advance!

If you do not get it at the table when you get on the ship you can get it at almost any bar.  Now you do not need to have the cup to get sodas.  Any bar or dining place will give you sodas in the glass.  You can give them the souvenir cup and they will fill it.  You will also need it if you want to use one of the free style machines.

When I need cash ahead of time I go to Chase and order the foreign currency.  Most banks will not have it but you can order it and it will be ready in 3 or 4 days.  All you need is a Case Credit card or a Chase account.  I understand Bank of America and Well Fargo does the same thing.

In my research the most cost-effective way seems to be Uber or Lyft.  One Question for someone that really knows... Can Uber get into the port of Galveston?  As of December, they still did not have the clearance to enter the port.  The difference is using Uber vs Lyft.

If you are talking about regular coffee, you can order a Continental Breakfast to be delivered to your room for free.  That way your wife can have her coffee and Danish while she gets ready.  Room Service Sample Menu (royalcaribbean.com)

41 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

we would still be able to get D+ wash&fold laundry done twice a week

I just turned D+.  What is this wash & fold perk?