Cello56

We cruised with our son, DIL and granddaughters 1.5 and 3.5 years old. We asked for a pack and play for their cabin and brought one of our own for our cabin. Worked out great when one of the little ones needed a nap and Grandma and Gramps were willing to take them back to our cabin. The 3.5 year old insisted on sleeping in the pack and play in our cabin for the entire cruise as she thought this was a great sleepover!

I am not trying to be snarky, just genuinely curious. Why? What is it about Pinnacle that would make you want to spend this much money to sail alone just to reach that milestone faster? I'm wondering if you have added up the additional value of Pinnacle level verses the cost of all these cruises? Free internet - not expensive to purchase. Free drinks? Diamond Plus already get 5 per day each. Free cruise? $2500 or so is a drop in the bucket in comparison. My DH and I are completely loyal to Royal with over 50 cruises and over 400 points, but we just don't see the value of chasing Pinnacle. That is why I am curious. No judgement, just wondering.

We disembarked 3.5 weeks ago and still no point update. Sent a FB message to the C&A page and they responded that it might take 30 day. Very strange. We usually have them in less than a week.

I have always had to provide a credit card when submitting a Royal Up bid. They charge your card immediately if you WIN your bid.

You can take your grandchild to the Royal Tots Nursery where they will be well cared for - but you pay an hourly fee. Children must be 3 years old and 100% toilet trained in order to attend the Adventure Ocean kids program. There is zero wiggle room on the age requirement. As others have said, carousel, baby splash pool, games on Boardwalk will all be a big hit. There is one room up in Adventure Ocean that is for the younger kids and contains lots of climbing and big size toys. Our 1.5 and 3.5 year old grands had a lot of fun in that playroom.

Probably not. 10:30 is the earliest time usually available. No one can board until the ship reaches zero - meaning every single other passenger from the previous cruise has disembarked. You might want to find out what time your family are boarding and board after them? Or maybe hang out in the waiting room in an inconspicuous corner until you see them finish check in and then surprise them. The cruise line is trying to get literally thousands of people on the ship as quickly as possible, they are not going to make a special exception for you.

Take a look at the cost of booking two suites. Sometimes two cabins each with 2 or 3 guests costs less than one suite with 4 plus an additional cabin for 1 where you will have to pay the double occupancy price.

This has nothing to do with Royal and everything to do with Canadian Immigration.

I would think that people bidding on balconies would have a much better chance of getting their bid accepted as there are so many balconies. There are much few suites so chances of winning a suite is lower to not at all.

Exceptions are made for children that are special needs, but otherwise they need to be completely toilet trained AND completely self sufficient in the restroom. Staff will not be helping any child wipe or pull up pants. This is a safeguarding issue for the child and staff member. This isn't like a daycare setting where the staff work with a child on a long term basis. These are strangers who your child has never met before.

Keep in mind also that all cabins have a limit as to the number of people allowed to book them. If you are in a cabin for two you will not be allowed to add a third person to your cabin. If your muster station is already full you will not be allowed to add an additional person even if your cabin has room.

I had to be off loaded shortly after our ship left a port stop in Puerto Rico. The doctors on board discussed my situation with the RCI medical staff in Miami and they decided that the ship would turn around and have me taken by ambulance to a local hospital. I am not aware of any discussion as to 'which' hospital I would go to and the ambulance took me to the closest one I assume. I must say that the medical care I received on board the ship (Jewel of the Seas) was far and away BETTER than what I got in the local hospital. On ship there were two board certified physicians and two nurses taking care of me.

Another thing to consider is that your children will be assigned a different muster station from you. While it is extremely unlikely that you will ever have to muster, it could happen. I would be frantic if my teenage kids were not with me during a life threatening emergency.

Another thing to remember is that the other guests might have chosen their cabin for a specific reason. Perhaps they wanted that particular deck, or needed to be near the elevators. Just because you are offering them a cabin on a higher deck does not mean that they will consider that a better cabin. For example on ships with a Royal Promenade lots of people want to be on deck six since it is a quick trip down one flight to where the action is. On Oasis class ships we always book on deck eight since you can walk through Central Park to quickly traverse the length of the ship.

Honestly there is no way you are going to get complete strangers to switch cabins with you at the start of the cruise. My suggestion would be to have one adult in each cabin like you booked it.