Peter D

I was just looking at Harmony and Oasis for Nov 2025. The Royal booking system lists Jr Suites and Sky Jr Suites. As previously observed, Royal introduced this Sky Jr suite for Utopia sailings as basically Jr Suite with Sky Class amenities. The assumption was this suite class was going to be rolled out fleetwide at some point and Harmony and Oasis sailings are now offering it. The problem I see though is the Sky Jr suite amenities listed under these Harmony and Oasis sailings are just the typical Jr suite Sea class list and not true Sky class. I hope that is a mistake.

You are probably right to worry about the cancel and rebook option. I have been burned doing that very thing. I know it says 'Don't pick up the phone..." but that is probably best thing to do. Calling the Royal Customer service numbers and trying to get it manually adjusted is probably your only option. The onboard price is not likely to be cheaper than cruise planner pricing, so I would not count on any onboard refund (as onboard credit).

I bet if you had said 'nevermind, I am not going to buy my arm full of t-shirts, magnets, and key chains'... they would have given the bag. Frankly, as consumers, this probably what we all need to do.

I've had two recently including one for my Wonder of Seas cruise last month. Costco tells you it will be given onboard, but on both occasions, Costco dining credits were just added as regular onboard credit for use in cruise planner and usable for whatever you want.

Couple other things to consider. The NorthStar on Quantum is currently out of service and has been for quite a while. The website even mentions it, so if that was something you were interested in, keep that in mind. I am guessing it will require the routine drydock maintenance to repair. Also, both Quantum and Anthem are large ships. When we were on Quantum in August, we were not able to get to Dawes Glacier due to ice floats. For that matter, in July 2021, we were on Serenade and it was turned back as well for same reason. The point being is that while Royal lists that as a destination, it is very hit or miss if you will actually get to see it. Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau may be your only option on either cruise to see a glacier. If the destination is more desirable than the ships, I would also echo the recommendation for Radiance of the Seas. In May 2022, we did a northbound from Vancouver to Seward, spent 2 two nights in Seward (fjord cruise and halibut fishing) and then took the scenic train to Anchorage (flew home from there). That itinerary will hit 3 of the rotational ports and Hubbard Glacier (which I believe is a more dependable stop). It was without a doubt, my favorite Alaska experience.

If you really wanted to go to the Cape, perhaps taking the ferry from Boston to Provincetown is an option. Provincetown is a unique experience, that is for sure.......

We sailed Alaska on Quantum in August 2023 and have been on Anthem many, many times. The ships are pretty comparable. "We Will Rock You" is a pretty good show, especially if you are a Queen fan. Sonic Odyssey on Quantum is a pretty good show also featuring an Earth Harp which is quite unique. "Spectra's Cabaret" is probably a better show than "Star Water", but I wouldn't personally choose a ship based on either show. Same goes for "The Gift" vs "Sequins and Feathers". Looking at the Summer 2025 itineraries for both ships, the ports may be where you want to base your decisions. There are two common ports (Juneau and Victoria, BC) and there are four rotational ports: Sitka, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Icy Strait (in my order of preference). It appears Quantum is the only ship that will be going to Ketchikan and/or Icy Strait. Furthermore, I'd recommend picking one of the sailings that visits two of those optional ones, so I personally would avoid the Anthem sailings that only go to Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, BC. One side note, while you did not mention which week you were looking at, if you have a chance to witness one of the salmon runs, that is pretty cool thing to see. We saw the Coho (Silver) Salmon run in late August and Sitka was a great port to see it.

Another place to look is on the Royal App, main dining room link where it states "Guests are asked to dress in smart casual attire for dinner seatings". That seems the recommendation for the specialty dining as well, except Chef's table listed as 'formal'. That said, @ChessE4 is correct. Don't worry and wear what you like.

All the benefits with Platinum tier are already loaded to your account when you board, but you will want to manage the usage. You would want to tell the waiter or bartender when to use them (50% ones and 10% one) each time and if you are a wine drinker, that would be the best value rather than beer and soda. You'd want to do the same for the one-time coffee beverage discount. The casino $4 free play is also automatically applied to your account.

Journey band, DSB, is scheduled to be on Ovation of the Seas sailing starting today (21Sep2023).

Thanks for sharing this approach. I like the idea that you were able to apply your Diamond+ 2 days as a discount on a 2nd device essentially giving your wife six days of service for price of 2 discounted days. I am definitely going to look into this for my next sailing.

Royal is still doing the tribute bands on the ships, but it is difficult to determine if one will be on any given sailing. They are definitely not on every sailing. You can keep an eye on the websites of the usual suspects to see if they mention any upcoming sailings. Journey https://dsbband.com/ Led Zeppelin https://noquarterlegacyband.com/no-quarter-international-led-zeppelin-tribute and https://www.zepagain.com/ Aerosmith https://www.aeromyth.com/ (recently on Oasis out of Bayonne in June) Bon Jovi https://slipperywhenwetband.com/ Van Halen https://fanhalen.com/ There are probably others that I cannot recall, but these are the ones I keep an eye on. If any can think of others, perhaps we can keep a 'definitive list'

Coco Beach Club always felt like the 'adult only' venue as child pricing for beach club is pretty high. I also assumed this was going to be a 'solarium' on Coco Cay. I have not interest in paying for it. Maybe someday it will be complimentary, if not, I'll find other options for my Perfect Day .

When I was on ship for 21Aug sailing, the puzzle room was never available through the app and I never actually saw opportunity to do so. For that matter, I am not even sure they ever actually happened... Free IFly reservations book quickly onboard. Laser tag was very accessible. We booked one session and participated as standby in others.

I think you are right that cost is based on itinerary and length of cruise. I just looked at the pricing for 3N and 4N Utopia in August 2024. Cruise planner lists $23.99 ($30.99) per day. I believe the $30.99 accurately represents the onboard cost and if so, the Diamond/Diamond plus onboard discount is better deal for a single device plan. I guess at the end of the day, it is a gamble against onboard pricing.

I am not sure if you were directly responding to my post regarding onboard cost or if we just responded to topic at the same time, but my example came from my August 7 night Quantum sailing as well as my upcoming Oct Wonder CP offer $19.99 ($25.99). I have not ever personally seen onboard at $29.99, but frequently see $25.99. But yes, at 29.99, YMMV, even then, I think D+ is still better off getting onboard.

Couple other things to consider, the onboard Diamond and D+ discounts apply to each guest but it cannot stacked in a single purchase. Also, if you are willing to give up internet access on day 1, you can purchase the plan on day 2 for 6 nights but with discount is essentially 5 nights. For example: cruise plan for 1 device $19.99x7=$139.93 day 2 with one day Diamond discount: $25.99x6=$155.94-$25.99=$129.95 In this scenario, you are only giving up internet from sail away to midnight. With D+ two day discount, this is the approach I do every cruise.

No I did not. I figured it was broken and didn't look any further down. Thanks!

It must be something with the app updates. I am 43 days out of Wonder and all it is showing me is the same wine lists for every day under deck 3, 4, 5 and my time menu. Hopefully as we get closer, it will update.

You can definitely cast to the Odyssey TVs. I have streamed Netflix to it from phone in the past and it generally works well. I am not sure if you can use fire sticks or not; nor am I sure if you can do any of it without paying for ship wifi.

As stateroom services change to once per day rather than twice per day, I find it harder to justify any 'above and beyond' gratuity, but we do usually give a few extra bucks as a direct tip to the stateroom attendant for job well done.

I am booked on it in October 2024 with a 'not terrible' price. The aft of the ship does give me the 'avoid at all costs' vibe, but I am certainly excited to check it out. I think it is going to be a fun ship to be on.

We were on the Odyssey in May and they didn't even do the Quest. I would agree that Sportplex is not great location for it. 270 seems a better venue on Quantum class ships. I agree with others that Studio B is the best location. We saw it once on Serenade is the back lounge (Safari?). It was so bad in that location that we actually left because you could not see anything going on unless you were sitting immediately around the dance floor.

We did this cruise in May 2023. If you are cheap like me, you can also walk into the port no problem (about 1 mile from Forte Michelangelo). There were walkways all the way into the port. At that time, Odyssey was third ship in, but from not a bad walk at all. We took the train to and from Civitavecchia. and walked both ways to the port (about 1.5 miles from port to train). It was reasonably priced both ways. Outgoing was no problem but the return trip to Rome was crowded. If you are taking the train back to Rome, I would recommend buying your return trip ticket early, because the train station is super crowded for the return and trains sell out.

If I were going to book flights from EWR to YVR and SEA to EWR. I would try to book airline flights refundable if possible or I'd try to book with airlines that allow you to cancel without fee and funds go to a 'travel bank'. The problem with travel bank is that you would have to use them on a future flight (probably on Air Canada). Either way, you are able to take advantage of price drops. Alternatively, if you do not mind driving, you could fly from EWR to SEA, rent a car, and drive (approximately 2.5 to 3 hours) to Vancouver. I did this last year and it wasn't a bad drive at all. The advantage with this is you are able fly 'roundtrip' only on domestic flights and if you end up doing the whole 'travel bank' thing, it easier to use. The cost of the rental car needs to be figured into your budget, but it's an option. As for booking the flights now or not, it's really impossible to predict if flights will go up or down. You might find though that not all airlines have posted their flights to these locations right now, so as more flights become available, the price will definitely react. According to Expedia, flights on May 8th at 6pm is Air Canada only. So the other major carriers have not yet published flights. Hope this helps.