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!

FYI: You will not get double cruise points for staying in a Junior Suite or above if you get it through the Royal Up program. You only get double points for staying in a suite if you booked/paid for a Junior Suite or above at the time of the original booking. I agree with the advice to "bid what you think it is worth". That's good advice. Good luck!

At the top of this web page, click on CRUISE COMPASS. Select Anthem of the Seas and you might just find exactly what you are looking for. Good Luck!

Can't wait! With the addition of some 6-8 night sailings, I wonder if they might visit some different ports (other than the standard Ensenada, Catalina, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta)?? I love Navigator of the Seas and I cruise on her all of the time (since I live just 13 minutes away from the pier in San Pedro). Frankly, I would cruise on ANY Royal Caribbean ship docked in San Pedro. But, I welcome the addition of Quantum of the Seas!

The safety icon will appear at the bottom of the home screen on the app around 8:00 on the morning of the sailing. You can watch the life jacket instructions and listen to the safety horn before that in the app, but you will still need to watch the video/listen to the safety horn on the morning of the cruise in order for it to be marked "COMPLETE". I usually just wait until the morning of the cruise so that I don't waste my time watching it twice.

There are currently 6 tiers on the Crown & Anchor Society Loyalty Program: Gold: 3-29 points Platinum: 30-54 points Emerald: 55-79 points Diamond: 80-174 points Diamond Plus: 175-699 points Pinnacle: 700 points There is a 27 point spread between Gold and Platinum, a 25 point spread between Platinum and Emerald, a 25 point spread between Emerald and Diamond and a 95 point spread between Diamond and Diamond Plus. That all sounds achievable. But, there is a whopping 525 point spread between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle. I am a Diamond Plus member with 407 cruise points. I first reached Diamond Plus at 175 points. That means that I have been Diamond Plus for 232 points. I feel like I have been Diamond Plus forever and yet I still have 293 point to go before reaching Pinnacle. Shouldn't there be another tier added somewhere between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle?

It all depends on the ship. Freedom class ships and smaller do not require or accept reservations for any of the shows. Ships larger than Freedom class offer and accept reservations for shows. This is because the larger ships typically accommodate 5000+ passengers, but the theater cannot accommodate that many people at one time. Entertainment reservations will be available in the Cruise Planner under "ENTERTAINMENT" anywhere from 30-14 days prior to the sailing. Keep an eye out for them and make your reservations as soon as you can in order to secure seats for your desired times. If you do not have a reservation for the shows on the larger ships, then the seats of the passengers who "no-show" to that particular show will become available at the door.

I too am Diamond Plus and we always stay in a balcony room. * I purchase the internet package when they go on sale. *We are not "foodies" and the specialty restaurants are not our thing. *There is always reserved seating for the shows for Diamond Plus members. *The ships dock in most ports, with the exception of just a few ports. Most of the time (but not always) the concierge in the Crown Lounge will provide us with group 1 tender tickets the night before we tender. If not, I bring a cup of coffee with me as I wait in the tender ticket line about 1 hour prior to distribution of the tickets and then I usually get group 1 tender tickets anyway. Given all of this, I have never had the need to purchase the Key. But, if you are considering buying internet for all people in your family, eating at specialty restaurants and if you really want to impress your cousin with all of the amenities, then the Key might be worth it for you. Since you usually stay in a grand suite, you saved a lot of money by booking balcony room(s). Therefore, the added cost of the Key is probably less than the cost of booking a grand suite anyway.

Another option is to park at an "off-site" parking lot near the pier. Most off-site parking lots are within 1-2 miles from the pier and many of them offer a free shuttle from the parking lot to the pier on embarkation day and then a free shuttle from the pier back to the parking lot at the end of the cruise. Prices vary depending on the lot you select but they generally range anywhere from $6 - $20 per day. This is a relatively inexpensive and convenient option. You can Google "off site parking near port of Miami" to find a lot of parking lot options.

The "SAFETY" icon will appear at the bottom the home page of the app at 8:00 am on the morning of the cruise. After you click on the SAFETY icon, you can then watch the life jacket video (and click on all names/confirm for all guests in your party) and listen to the emergency horn. The life jacket instructions and the emergency horn will then be marked "Complete" in green. All that is left is to visit your assigned muster station when you get on the ship so they can scan the barcode on your Set Sail Pass/Boarding Pass. Bon voyage!

It's sad, but true. Royal Caribbean uses "Dynamic Pricing". That's code for "they will charge as much as people are willing to pay". As long as people keep paying these inflated prices, Royal Caribbean will keep charging them. I suspect eventually they will hit the ceiling where people are less willing to pay these prices and then we might see some relief. Until then, though, I expect prices to remain high.