BChabera

5 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

We always do our check-in ASAP (as soon as it opens after midnight Eastern time) and select the earliest available time which is usually 10:30 am or 11:00 am at the latest especially when we're coordinating multiple reservations so we can arrive and board together.

As @ZBrady mentioned above, as long as you take care of the reservations as soon as you board you should be OK, but may need to make some compromises with day/time.

Thank y'all both for the info!  I'm also in a junior suite, so based on what I've seen I should be able to check in early and get to the restaurants sooner, right? Or have I misunderstood?

I was planning on using my birth certificate and driver's license to board my closed-circuit cruise. I do not have time to get a passport. Yes, I know I should get one. No, there is not time for me to get a passport right now. 

I have two versions of my birth certificate. Both are from the state of Texas, not hospital records. One is the "long-form" birth certificate with my parents' names, address, birthdates, and a stamp from the Department of State Health Services Vital Records. One is the old format with just my parents' names and their address and a stamp from my city's metropolitan health district. Both have obvious other info like the time, location of birth, etc., and stamps from the State of Texas. 

Will they only accept the long form? This one has a typo for my mother's birthday, and I could not use it to get a passport until it was updated (hence why I do not have a passport), but I'm not sure my corrected copy will arrive in time. I'm very nervous and would like any advice or suggestions y'all might have. I plan on calling Royal Caribbean tomorrow but just thought some feedback would help either put my mind at ease or figure out what to do from here.

What time did y'all board for those of you that 

On 12/1/2022 at 1:36 PM, JohnK6404 said:

(1) True... you cannot make reservations pre-cruise if you purchased a dining package (eg. Chops+1, 3-Night Dining, Unlimited Dining). Generally speaking, only a la carte restaurant reservations can be made through the Cruise Planner prior to the sailing.

(2) We've had the same experience as @SpeedNoodles in the past. We've always been able to book the restaurants of our choice without issue once onboard (at least within 15/30 minutes of the time). It's one of the first things you will want to do once your board the ship. You can stop by ANY specialty dining restaurant and make all of your reservations at one time since the specialty restaurants share the same reservation system.

One of the reasons we love to grab that earlier boarding window is so we can explore, relax, and make our specialty dining reservations and get them out of the way. Everyone that has purchased a dining package will be doing the same thing at some point after they board, so the later in the day on embarkation day you wait, you will find the availability will start to dry up a bit.

What time was your check-in? I know that check-in can begin as early as 10/10:30, but our check-in time is 12:30. I'm assuming that might impact reservation availability? It's my first cruise, so I'm unsure what to expect.