TheMick424

4 hours ago, dr martini said:

We just sailed in a junior suite on Freedom out of Terminal A in Miami a couple weeks ago, check in on the phone app as soon as you can for your sailing- we got a 10:30 AM boarding time and your digital set sail pass will say suite guest on it.

Have that ready to show (take a screenshot of your pass as digital cell service on the port island is not great until you're able to get on ship Wi-FI, it's a lot of devices in a small area kind of like a stadium on game day) as port staff will check that outside the terminal before you even get inside to put you in the correct line.  When we arrived just after 10 there was no line, a nice lady showed us in towards a separate elevator to the right of the normal escalators and stairs that go up towards the famous propellor lobby.  that elevator will take you to the suite boarding area which is awesome, there's no waiting in line just a bunch of comfy chairs and couches where you're told to sit and relax, the staff will come around to you to finalize your boarding and check everything, there's snacks and waters available, it's really slick and we were onboard before 11am.  That was our first suite experience of any kind with Royal and we loved it, will definitely be doing it again.

 

Thank you!  These are fantastic tips!

If you are sailing Sea Class (Junior Suite) out of Miami, do you use the Suite/Pinnacle line for check-in/boarding?

Anyone have recent pricing for taxi to Maho Beach from the cruise port?  We'll have 6 of us so I'm trying to weigh options for the day.  TIA!

Same here!

Anyone else unable to see the Solarium Bistro in the app for our sailing?  It appears on the web based cruise planner, but no where to be found in the app if I select our sailing. Wondering if it is going to be closed

14 hours ago, asquared17 said:

in the past we've found success being flexible with times, depending on the number of pinnacles and suite guests who are sailing and also want to take advantage of CK/or are not out and about at other specialty dining venues.

in our case, it helps that we are only a party of 2 and would prefer to eat around 5:30 (which is, admittedly, a little early for us) as a compromise so that we could be in CK rather than our 6:30-7pm MDR dining time.

best recommendation is go to go there when you board and ask if there may be any room for you as as a sea class (junior suite) guest. on some sailings, we were able to lock in a time for the week but on others, we kind of had to hedge our bets and see if they could accommodate us each night. in that instance, we kept our MDR reservation just in case and would call down to have them release the table if we could dine in coastal kitchen that night.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I think we can be flexible on time, but I bet we'll run into challenges if everyone in our party wants to go.  We have two cabins, each with 3 people (3 Adults and 3 teens).  Do you go up to the restaurant/suite lounge to inquire (not sure what the setup is like on Symphony, but assuming we won't be able to access the suite lounge with our sea pass)?

Anyone recently sail on Symphony in a junior suite and attempt to have dinner at Coastal Kitchen?  If so, I would be interested in hearing about your experience: whether you were able to get a reservation for your party, was there any pattern to availability, how the food compared to MDR, etc.   We would love to try it one night for something different -  knowing it isn't guaranteed, but crossing my fingers we can get in.

27 minutes ago, TravisMA81 said:

This must be what it was like trying to get Taylor Swift presale tickets. 

The DBP is showing 35%off and buy one get one 50%off in cart like everyone else.  I tried to get the water bottle package but it wouldn't let me.  If the deals last for the next week, they'll get it figured out.

oh, the TS presale was a disaster!  I am still recovering.  Haha!  

I tried to cancel a couple items to rebook, but it would not let me.  I also encountered the errors related to the credit card.  Hoping I don't have multiple charges on my card and nothing actually purchased.

On 8/5/2022 at 10:08 AM, Spang1974 said:

I have done this myself:) Shouldn't be an issue with or without a TA.

This is great news!  If you booked directly through Royal can you do this online (rather than via phone)?

This is great news!  If you booked directly through Royal, can you do this online (rather than having to call)?

I still don't see any Perfect Day at CocoCay offerings for our February 2023 cruise.  Makes me worried they are going swap out this port.

On 7/26/2022 at 9:33 AM, Kpen said:

Hi all,

I just booked my first cruise with Royal Caribbean for February of next year. I was hoping to book a Cabana for our day at CocoCay but the cruise planner is not showing any excursion offerings for CocoCay.

When do they usually open these for booking?

I'm in the same boat as the OP.  Booked a Feb '23 cruise on Symphony and still nothing listed for CocoCay beyond beverage packages and internet.

Are you able to carry-off your own bags at debarkation (ie. not leave them out the night before)? We would prefer to do this if possible.

If you book reservations for My Time Dining prior to your cruise, are you also able to revise the time/cancel the reservation prior to the cruise, or do you have to wait until onboard?

42 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Yes. You just need to know the room numbers when making the reservations once onboard.  If you want to use the app to make the reservations on board, you need to make sure that you have all of the reservations linked so you can see all of the individuals.

For the courtesy reservation time you select when booking the package, I always just ignore it really. You can pick the time if you know for sure that's what you want, but you can't guarantee that they'll have a reservation time available at the restaurant that you want at that time anyways.  I think the courtesy time selection is more of an inventory control thing for the Cruise Planner rather than actually booking a reservation.  You can change whatever is "courtesy booked" for you once onboard, if anything was booked at all.

When you are pre-paying for a single reservation at a specific time, that's the only time where it gets difficult when considering adding others with dining packages later. In that case, I would suggest pre-paying to secure the spots and then you can get refunded onboard.

Thank you!  Helpful tips!

17 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Makes no difference how you are paying for the specialty meals when you make the reservations.

Thanks!  So when on board, I should be able to make reservations for my party regardless of whether they have a dining package or not.  How would you recommend handling preferences for the courtesy reservation when booking the package, knowing that you may want to add others to the reservation once on board?

I am also debating the 3 night package (as well as the UDP if the price is reasonable), but traveling with family that may not want to do specialty dining often. What is the experience for booking reservations when you have some people with packages and some without? 

On 4/21/2022 at 7:06 AM, Jayhoaps said:

I have a question regarding the Solarium bistro, do you need to make reservations to eat there at lunch or dinner?

 

Also is the solarium bistro buffet style or you order from the menu? Time. 

I have a similar question.  I noticed this morning that dining options and dining packages were loaded into the cruise planner for my Feb 2023 cruise on Symphony.  It lists Solarium Bistro under the Specialty Dinner options with a la carte pricing.  It also shows listings for Solarium Bistro for Breakfast and Lunch, and appears to imply that reservations might be needed for these times as well.  I thought Solarium Bistro was complimentary at breakfast and lunch, with no reservations needed, but perhaps they are changing things or I am mistaken.  Anyone know how this works?

Will be following along.  Particularly interested in hotels that offer 2 queen size beds instead of 2 full/double.  

Are you able to check in multiple rooms at once, or does the app require you to do it in two steps?  Our family of 4 is traveling with my SIL and niece, and we've split the party across 2 rooms.  Just trying to figure out logistics to ensure the best arrival time, while being able to check-in my son and provide his documentation.

Beverage Packages were just added to the cruise planner for our Feb 2023 cruise, but not "on sale" and certainly not at a price point that makes financial sense for our level of consumption.  I'll continue to monitor, but will be forgoing a DBP unless the price comes down substantially.

Is the Voom bundled with DBP the Surf or Surf & Stream variety?

I'm in the same boat as the OP and feel like $98 pp/day is excessive.  Even if you assume that individual alcoholic drink prices increase from $13 to $15, that requires over 6 drinks per day to break even.  

19 hours ago, GlassSlipper said:

We just took our teenagers (13 & 18) last week and we dined in Speciality restaurants.  They enjoyed it and I felt like took no longer than eating in the main dining room.  If your kids do not mind having a sit down meal each night, then they would not mind this.  I actually think it may be a bit quicker, you are seated right away because you have a reservation. 

I'm sure they would love some specialty dining, but maybe not every night.  We are staying in a junior suite, so I was hoping to take advantage of Coastal Kitchen for a night or two, but reading these boards it seems like that possibility is slim.

Been reading up on all the different options for specialty dining on the Symphony of the Seas, and would like to try some of the restaurants.  However, I'm on the fence about whether paying for a dining package is worth it for teenagers.  We've never cruised with our 2 teens (16 boy, 14 girl) before, and while they enjoy fancy/nice food I don't know if they'll want to be tied down to a 2 hour dinner every night.  What would the experienced cruisers recommend?