Carpe Diem

I am cruising on Quantum of the Seas in 23 days. So far, the only show open for reservations in the cruise planner is Star Water. Does anyone with recent cruise experience on Quantum of the Seas know when the other show reservations will become available on the cruise planner for my sailing?

You may already know this, but if you book a future cruise while on a cruise you will get the onboard credit plus any promotion Royal Caribbean is currently offering. For example, if booking a 7 night cruise in a balcony room, the onboard credit would be $100. The current promotion would also include $225 onboard credit, for a total of $325 onboard credit. That's a great deal. But, who knows what (if any) promotion will be offered during your sailing. If there was no onboard credit promotion offered at the time of your sailing, you would only get $100 onboard credit by waiting to book on the ship vs. you would get $225 onboard credit by booking today. In that case, booking today would be a better deal. Waiting to book while on the cruise is a gamble re: onboard credit. You might want to check out the price and onboard credit offered today for the sailing you are interested in. You may or may not get a better deal by booking now.

Oh! I thought you were referring to the current promotion royal Caribbean is offering (Up to $600 onboard credit when booking a new cruise). Were you asking about the onboard credit you will receive if you book a future cruise while on a cruise? If so, then yes, JohnK6404 is right.

it all depends on the sailing. This morning I was looking at a 3 night sailing out of Los Angeles and there was no onboard credit included with that sailing (maybe because it is only 3 nights??). I also looked at a 7 night sailing out of Los Angeles and it included $225 onboard credit. The best advice is to do a "mock booking" on the Royal Caribbean website. Enter the ship and sail date you are interested in. The amount of onboard credit (it any) will be shown.

The schedule opened right on time: Tuesday 2/27/2024 at 9:30 PM (ET). I booked 4 cruises.

I live 13 minutes from the pier in Los Angeles. Either hotel option works. If you want to stay in San Pedro, you can consider using Uber Eats to deliver In-N-Out to you at the hotel. It should be pretty inexpensive. Or you could consider taking Uber/Lyft to & from In-N-Out from the hotel. A 2.5 mile ride should also be inexpensive. In my opinion, San Pedro is a much nicer area to stay in than LAX and it's much closer to the ship in the morning too.

There are several game shows on board. Depending on your particular sailing, you might find the Love and Marriage game show, Who Wants to Be a Royal Caribbeanaire, The Crazy Quest and Majority Rules (just to name a few). You do not need to audition for the Crazy Quest or Majority Rules. Everyone can participate in those games. You will have to audition for the other game shows in order to be picked. Be an EXTROVERT. Be FUNNY. Be (a little) SEXY. Be everything that will make everyone else in the room laugh and want to be your friend. Good luck and have a blast!

Thanks for the info. I am eagerly awaiting the release so I can book several more cruises out of LA. Now that you mention it, I wonder if the delayed release was due to the addition of Quantum of the Seas? I wonder if they delayed the release because they needed a little more time to work out the schedule of 2 ships in LA??

I know bookings for the rest of 2025-2026 out of Los Angeles will open this week (the week of 2/26/2024). Is there a certain day of the week Royal Caribbean typically opens the new bookings or is it just random?

If you want to be at the airport 2 hours prior to flight time, that means you would want to be at the airport by 9 AM. It is a 40-45 minute drive from the cruise port to the airport. So, you would need to be off the ship, through customs and in a cab/Uber/Lyft by 8:15 AM. I guess it all depends on what time the local authorities clear the ship for passenger disembarkation. Sometimes it can be as early as 7:30 AM, but sometimes it can be as late as 8:30 AM. I have cruised to Alaska out of Seattle twice before and I am cruising to Alaska out of Seattle again in May 2024. For me, when I book my flight home after the cruise, I try to find a flight that leaves at noon or later. It's all up to you and your comfort level, though.

Have you tried contacting the "Resolutions" department at Royal Caribbean? Maybe they can help you. Just call the regular phone number for Royal Caribbean and tell the representative who answers the phone that you need to speak with someone in "Resolutions". I hope it works out for you. Good luck!

My apologies. Not Nantucket, it was Kennebunkport

We did that itinerary out of Bayonne. In Boston, we walked the Freedom Trail. LOVED IT! We walked past Paul Revere's house, saw the old North church, the Boston harbor (where the Boston Tea Party was) and so, so much more. If you like American history then this is a great tour. In Maine, we went on a boat tour in Nantucket. It was nice, but the best part came after the boat tour. We had free time to walk around Nantucket. We wandered into a local restaurant, sat outside on the dock and ate a fresh lobster dinner (lobster caught just 2 hours prior). It was cheap and delicious. Enjoy your cruise!

Healthcare provider here: The excursion sounds AMAZING! But, please put the health of the baby first. If it were me, I would cancel that excursion and opt for something else. You can do that excursion on another cruise sometime after the baby is born.

Your best bet is to go to the Next Cruise desk and book the cruise you want. If you booked your current sailing on Grandeur of the Seas through a travel agent, then Royal Caribbean will automatically assign the new booking on Wonder of the Seas to that same travel agent. If not, the new booking on Wonder of the Seas will be assigned to Royal Caribbean, but you can transfer it to your travel agent when you get home. Your travel agent can give you their best rates and perks. As a nice bonus, because you book at the Next Cruise desk while on a Royal Caribbean cruise, you will get shipboard credit from Royal Caribbean in addition to any shipboard credit/perks your travel agent may offer. It's a WIN-WIN!