Ryan79

As long as you are flexible on days, times and restaurant, you will be will be fine with no issues. If you have your heart set on always eating at a certain time or want a certain restaurant on a specific day…then you may run into some issues 

Being 2 weeks out and the preboarding reservations being gone is very normal. Those are usually booked up within about a week of being released, which is about 30-40 days prior as stated above. 

If there is no separate bar, then no you cannot just go and grab a drink. They would have to charge you the onboard rate for dining in order to seat you. 

There is no way to tell, but the odds are decent. Just depends on the demand for the unobstructed view rooms for your specific cruise and you will get one of the leftovers. I would plan on getting obstructed view and if your don’t….its a bonus. If an unobstructed view is important, pay the $$ and also get the peace of mind. 

Booking your reservations individually versus the UDP is probably also going to be a better financial move with your scenario, plus you can select your dining days and times upon booking

It will obviously vary by business. Some will and some won’t. Just like how not all businesses in Seattle accept Canadian currency. Those that will take them aren’t going to do you any favors with the exchange rate. Just use a card, it’s much easier

@mom2mybugs I have that same excursion booked for December. Please post your thoughts!

Sounds like a great question for your TA to handle!!

As was said above, it’s a moving puzzle. It’s based on demand and rooms that are leftover. There is an algorithm at play that is constantly shuffling rooms based on demand. Even when you get a room assigned using the bar code trick, there is still a possibility (not big, but a chance) that your cabin assignment can change. 

2 hours ago, tjcruisers said:

We go with connecting staterooms, having that 2nd bathroom is a must.

I cannot second this enough!! 5 people sharing one small bathroom isn’t going to be a good time. Been doing this since my kids were 8.

I check about every other day

It happens sometimes. Excursions are operated by 3rd parties, so sometimes events happen that are totally out of Royal’s control

I did an infinite balcony on Celebrity and wasn’t a fan of the concept. Not a surprise if they aren’t selling. Looks like I had the same experience as @JasonOasis above!

Yup, my RC motto is “ABC…..Always Be Checking!”

If it’s a closed loop US based cruise you should be fine. I cruise all the time with my step son with no consent form filled out by his dad. Both his mom and I have different last names than he does. If it’s not a closed loop US based cruise, yes consent form from dad will be a very good idea! 

@steverk I sailed out of there about 18 months ago and people were being turned away for showing up early. Those people were making a huge scene which is how I know this! LOL I got the Key for my next cruise out of San Juan in December to ensure this doesn’t happen to me. Key was only $1 per day more than internet, so it was a no-brainer. There are a few others on this forum who have had/seen very similar instances at San Juan.

@mom2mybugs San Juan is one of the VERY few ports that is known to strictly enforce check-in times. Just a nugget of wisdom that I wanted to pass along since many of us are in the habit of just showing up whenever! 

The Key doesn’t give you any benefits for docking ports, only tender ports. Also 8:00am isn’t a guaranteed thing. There are several factors that could delay arrival

You are also hoping that there are no delays getting into the port and no delays by Customs to allow the ship to disembark. Not common, but a ship arriving late into port does happen!

Yup, sounds like a routine dry docking to me too. Just the time time since the last one and just the right duration to be out of service. Nothing major going on 

Yup, just a new automated response that will do nothing and go nowhere 

On 4/12/2024 at 10:11 AM, Lucky said:

I believe if you pay the child pricing they have to order off the kids menu.

Nope!! Unless Chops now has the adult menu ribeye on their kids menu, that is not the case in my experience 

Lot to unravel here. Excursions trickle in as your cruise gets closer. There is no set timetable when they are released. This is normal. Royal has no control what kind of bus is used for transport. All excursions are ultimately through 3rd party vendors. Royal has never had reviews for excursions on their website, whoever finding reviews online and on this site is easy. Your best bet for specific questions is finding someone who has done the specific excursion. The Key 20% off is off of the on board price of the restaurant. Those prices are found in the cruise planner. Discounted reservations made using the Key or dining packages are made onboard. You are getting a significant discount for the packages so that is the trade off. You must be flexible. If you want a specific restaurant reservation for a specific day or time, it’s best to book online not using a package.

Sounds like an Apple “problem” and not a Royal one. You cannot expect for Royal to make current updates to their app, but have them be compatible with obsolete and vulnerable versions of an operating system. There is obviously something in the app programming with 17.0+ that is incompatible with older versions of iOS. You are going to find this same issue more and more with other apps as time goes by. Royal didn’t intentionally set out to create an app that was purposely not compatible with 16.x just to screw people over. 

Don’t go east of Carrall Street on Hastings!! Outside of that, the immediate area around the port is VERY VERY safe and walkable.