Lexster

15 hours ago, Sydnie said:

Thanks so much for the helpful replies. Looking forward to our trip. We got an early check-in time (I think) at 11am, so the plan was to head right up to the windjammer and setup the reservations while people are starting to grab food.

Yep, 11 is I think generally the earliest you can get unless you have the Key. That's the time we had for our last one. We breezed right on through check-in.

3 hours ago, Xaa said:

I have a follow-up on this.

Is there a procedure for connecting to the ship's network?  I assume the SSID will be something obvious, is there a password needed? 

We've ordered Voom as well, do I expect those credentials prior to sailing or to be in the room?

Bill

You connect to the SSID, yeah, it'll be obvious. When you try to go to a web page, a login page will come up, but I believe you can ignore that if you're using the free wi-fi. At that point, just go into the Royal app and you should be able to do things within the app.

5 hours ago, Sydnie said:

As stated in the title, could someone please tell me how to book show reservations on the app? I am a major planner and want to be prepared. We are traveling with a large group and I am pretty much leading everyone (with many first time cruisers) with all the bits of information, making daily schedules, etc. I've looked up videos on how everything else works and have found everything I have needed thus far, but I am struggling to find this bit of information. Specifically I want to be sure that I am actually making a reservation for the shows and not just "adding to calendar", since I saw mentioned that there is a difference in those. If it makes any difference, we will be on Allure in September, so I am looking to book Mamma Mia, Aqua and Ice Shows (and trying to get the same show time slot for all of the rooms on our sailing).

Sorry for the silly questions! Last time I cruised about 4+ years ago (then we had to wait for my youngest to be old enough to enjoy a cruise!), the app really did not work and it was miserable, so I am really excited to hear it's been greatly improved since then. 

Thanks so much in advance for the help and tips! Appreciate you all.

We were able to book shows the second we got on the ship. It's super easy to look through what's available and choose what day/time you want to attend the show. I would definitely recommend doing it once you're on. Just basically take a seat in the Promenade or whatever your ship has and do it since shows will fill up very quickly.

11 minutes ago, Neesa said:

I agree with this 100% and dare I say...I think it may be us the passengers (general terminology not every single person) 

This is our 5th Oasis class since the Royal come back. Everyone has spent the money they want to do everything..   now. Sad to say common courtesy for others has all but disappeared. People are only concerned mostly for themselves, no one is patient and as the week goes on it gets worse. 

In line somewhere? Well the one person in front of you is just holding the spot get near the action (park Cafe make your salad for example) the rest of the party show up. Did you push the button for the elevator? The doors may open but the people who are closest have pushed in and now it's packed....wait for another. And these are adults, the children are watching. In the Suite Lounge there are teenagers every night half naked, bikinis or trunks for boys with no cover ups traipsing all over. Wait, mom dad is this okay with you?

I know capacity is crazy but cruising etiquette has pretty much disappeared right now and the crew still masked is working hard and is tired probably instructed to just let things be. Who throws food over their balcony, smokes on the balcony? The customer is changing thus the experience. 

It's time for my Royal break, I'm going to reset and rethink sailing in the future. Even if just for a minute. 

Not to get into a complain-fest about this, but yeah...just one anecdote. Husband and I were trying out the mini-golf course on Oasis and we're not even through Hole 1 when a bunch of kids run up to play on one of the golf decorations. This girl runs past and just kicks my ball. Not intentionally, but like...it was like they didn't even notice us there whatsoever. I get that they'd kids, but still. I also experienced what you described where one person would hold a place in line and their friends who show up and just cut. Not even a "hey, do you mind? They're with me", just pushed right in.

18 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

I don't understand this. Is it a staffing thing? I've been on Symphony at 100% capacity and it never felt overly crowded or full. Something is going on right now that suddenly people are complaining about the crowdedness on the ships when it was never a major complaint in the past. 

Maybe the feeling comes from waiting longer in lines than expected. Like, we all know there will be lines, but should I need to wait 20 to 30 minutes for a coffee at Cafe Promenade? If lines continue moving, then things tend to not feel quite so crowded, in my experience. Another thing I noticed is on Oasis in May there were fewer events than I expected (likely due to things not back up to full speed in the entertainment department), so people had to make use of fewer events and venues than normal, which also leads to the feeling of being crowded. For example, they didn't do an aqua show. They only had two "previews" because the people were new, so that's one venue that never had passengers in it.

17 minutes ago, PatsFanBrian said:

You're describing some of the more common complaints these days, although lack of pool chairs is an age old pain point.

I believe the unusual lines are due to the ships still working to get back to full staff strength combined with a high percentage of staff that are inexperienced.  When we were on Explorer back in late June, at Capt's Corner, the hotel manager noted that while the ship was approaching full staffing level, the biggest issue was the inexperience of the crew.  Everyone's learning to sail again.

The pool chairs, unless you're at the pool by 9AM, will always be a challenge.  That has nothing to do with staffing levels.

Hopefully this is just a one off for you and the next cruise will be a better experience.

I'd second this. I was on the Oasis back in May and there were clearly staffing issues and some folks who didn't quite know what they were doing. Disembarkation was a disaster every time. Everyone lined up, but the crew were not making sure passengers were lining up the correct way. There were no indicators of where the line should flow. People just ended up cutting and forcing their way in. No fun.

On 5/6/2022 at 2:45 PM, FoxMCO said:

Anyone have any recommendations on mocktails? We don't drink so want to get something fun to celebrate our little trip.

I had sooooo many virgin Pina Coladas. They actually have a few specialty mocktails on the bar menus, too. One I remember was a Blueberry Nojito. That was super good.

I tried it on the Oasis of the Seas back in May and it was good, but...I wouldn't say I'm "tantalized" as the Royal Caribbean Press article says. It's sliced beef in a roll, so...it really rides on how good the beef is. For me, the roll seemed stale. Actually, that was a problem throughout that sailing. The rolls were often hard, but sometimes I'd get one that was soft like it was freshly baked.

Overall, it's free, so definitely worth a try. Maybe the quality varies ship-to-ship.

I'm curious about this as well. I was looking at Mayan Eden, myself.

I just booked this cruise and saw there wasn't a Roll Call for it, so figured I'd start one! The countdown begins!

40 minutes ago, LovetoCruise87 said:

We may have to try that. Thanks for the idea. 

Yeah, the nice thing is it's just for one meal, so if you don't like any of them, you don't need to sit with them for 7 nights.

7 minutes ago, LovetoCruise87 said:

That's my thought as well. With my luck we would have a couple who monopolize the conversation every night. lol

We actually had better luck at Izumi. We got seated with two couples who were pretty cool. We exchanged numbers with one of them, which was fun. Got our first cruise friends.

2 hours ago, endofturn said:

My wife and I took 5 cruises with just the two of us. Having random dinner partners for the whole week was part of the fun for us. Met and became Facebook friends with much of them. Some we even met up with after the cruise as well since they lived close. 

You met new folks, talked about your day and plans, etc. 

Of course it is totally up to you, you can always request to be at a 2 top.

Personally we loved the traditional dining and meeting the same folks for dinner every night. A lot of the times we'd go to shows or have drinks with them afterwards as well if we felt like being social..

I may do that for a different cruise, but I always worry I'll be seated with people I don't like for the entire cruise.

19 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Right, but those aren't proximity scans like someone standing close to you.  Square you have to physically scan the card, not just get close and use RFID.

I don't mean to argue, but that's simply not correct. Square has tap-to-pay terminals. Also, I literally just downloaded an app called NFC Credit Card Reader on the Google Play Store and was able to skim my own debit card. It shows my card number and the expiration date. These things are easily done.

10 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

RFID skimming of credit cards by proximity is extremely rare and newer cards can't even be skimmed like that.

I'm aware it is rare, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Newer cards absolutely can be skimmed. There are numerous devices out there which basically act like portable payment terminals. Square is an example. All they need is to brush up against your wallet and they have your card number. We literally didn't use the card the entire trip, so there's nowhere else it could have happened.

On 5/16/2022 at 11:13 AM, Atlantix2000 said:

Yes, it's possible someone in Nassau was close enough to read the card with an RFID reader.  But it could just be a coincidence that your husband's debit card had suspicious activity that day.  My wife hasn't used her debit card in almost a year and she doesn't even carry it in her wallet.  Still just last month, we were contacted by the bank due to a flagged transaction.  Did someone steal her card info many months ago and wait until recently to try using it?  Maybe.  More likely, a scammer just used an automated script that keeps trying random card numbers and random pin numbers and they happened to hit on her digits.

I would agree that taking your entire wallet off the ship is not the safest option.  Carry only what you need which is probably just a little cash, 1 credit card, and an ID.

I'd find it very unlikely that someone randomly guessed his number on the one day we got off the ship in a port with his wallet. All the thief bought was $300 worth of steam stuff. Not saying it's impossible, but I think it more probable that it happened in port.

5 hours ago, CruisingNewb said:

I can see how that might have made you feel shamed.  Everyone is different in how they perceive a situation.  Here is my ultimate take on this, and I hope you understand that I am trying to be sympathetic, you don't know the bartender's background, culture, etc...his repeated comments may have hurt you, but I say give him the benefit of the doubt and brush this one off.  I am definitely anti-bully and anti-shaming, even though I am guilty of shaming once in awhile, but its all on a spectrum.  If you let it get to you that badly, then its only hurting you.  I know, I know, if others feel the same way, and experience the same thing, they too are being hurt, but in this specific instance, it just seems like bartender banter.  

Oh...by the way, I have had customers ask me, way back when, for virgin drinks and when I would try and upsell them, they would say something like "I don't drink" or "I'm a recovering alcoholic." That would shut me up real quick.  

As I said, this wasn't the only bartender who did this. He was just the first one and I had the longest conversation about it.

17 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

I am sorry that you felt shamed.  

I don't think the statement (read as text) is a direct insult or attempt to shame though.  I was once a bartender and when someone ordered a well drink, I would often try to upsell (as my job recommended) by saying, "Really? Top shelf is only xxx dollars more."  This statement was never intended to mean, "c'mon can't you afford the good stuff?"  

I expect my bartenders to be friendly and that sometimes includes light jabbing back and forth.

BUT--if the bartender in question used a derogatory tone of voice or some other mannerism indicating shame, then for sure that is inappropriate.  

It was a friendly tone and if it was once, I would have been okay, but he commented on it multiple times asking me if I was sure. When he gave me the drink, he said "Your /virgin/ Lime and Coconut", like emphasizing the virgin part which I felt was just unnecessary.

Hey, all we just got back from Oasis OTS and Nassau was one of our stops. We were only off the ship for maybe 30 minutes before getting back on, but in that time, my husband's debit card number was stolen. The very next day, he got an alert of suspicious activity on his card. He never even used it. It stayed in his wallet the entire time, so be aware that there must be folks with portable card skimmers walking around the area right off the port since we only went maybe a block or two away from the cruise port before getting back on the ship. My advice would be to leave any cards on the ship and only carry cash if you plan on looking in the shops at all. Also keep your money in your front pocket since it's harder to pick-pocket. We were also offered "some lines" from a random guy on the street, so be aware of that as well. Some people are not shy about offering illicit stuff even with police a half a block away.

We just got off the Oasis of the Seas for the May 8th sailing. I did note this on the RC survey, but just wanted to see if anyone else here has experienced bartenders shaming you for not drinking alcohol. We got the refreshment package and while most of the time we had no issues, toward the end of the cruise, I asked for a Lime & Coconut with zero alcohol and the bartender kind of badgered me about it. I was like, "I have a refreshment package, I don't drink alcohol" and he was like, "Really? You want virgin? No, come on." Made me feel a bit weird. I don't drink since I don't like alcohol, so...just give me my drink and don't try to make me feel like I'm a terrible person, okay? This happened two more times toward the end with different bartenders. Is this normal?

On 5/11/2022 at 6:11 PM, CruiseGus said:

Another option is to send an email about 2 weeks before sailing with your booking #, ship, sailing date, cabin # and your request to

rcldinning@rccl.com

I have had excellent results

We just got off the Oasis of the Sease and I emailed that address. I asked for a table with me and my husband by a window and we got exactly what we asked for. It was awesome.

So my oasis of the seas cruise is Sunday and I got a weird SMS which leads to this page attached. I haven't received any emails so not sure what it means. Should I be concerned or is this normal?

17 minutes ago, JerseyJoe said:

I just looked, Adventure of the Seas does have a Vitality Spa. Are you able to just go in and ask for a smoothie, at no charge with the refreshment package?

You should be able to, yes! The Vitality Cafe is where you want to go.

6 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

That rule only applies to alcohol packages.

Ah okay, thought it was also the refreshment package.

2 hours ago, Carrie22 said:

Sodas will be $3-4 and mocktails seem to be about $7. The drink package also gets you a cup to use at the Coke Freestyle machines, which you wouldn't be able to use at all without one of the drink packages. This obviously gets you all the soda combinations as well as a few flavored/sparkling waters and Powerades. The drink package can also be used for grabbing canned/bottled water which is nice for excursions or just bringing back to the room. Finally, smoothies can be found at Vitality Spa, at least on the bigger ships. I'm not sure about smaller ones, but I imagine they might be somewhere like Lattitudes or Park Cafe.

You don't have to get the drink package for everyone if not everyone will get their money's worth - you can always get it for one or two people and others can just buy individual drinks.

I was wrong, this only applies to the alcohol package!

Actually, I'm pretty sure everyone in the room has to have the drink package to prevent sharing.