TAK2019 Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Hi Everyone, I‘m new to this site, which has been so helpful in planning our first family cruise. Thank you to whoever hosts this site! We are cruising over the holidays next December in the Caribbean with extended family (about 25 adults and kids ages 5 to 80) and have rooms in close proximity to each other on the same deck. We‘ve booked an Owner‘s Suite, one couple has a Junior Suite and the others all have various outside and inside staterooms. I realize that we will not get to use most of our Sky Class privileges (other than enjoying a larger room with free internet) since we will also be dining with everyone in the Main Dining room, but I was wondering what services can we still take advantage of while still being on a group vacation. More specifically, 1) For boarding, I assume we will just use the regular lines/waiting area and not the suite lines/waiting area, but if we get there early, I‘m assuming we can all get on pretty quickly. Is that correct? 2) Our dinners will be as a large group in the main dining room, but if we want to eat in the Coastal Kitchen one night by ourselves, would it be possible to make reservations at the last minute or should we make those reservations ahead of time? 3) I know the other non-suite members can‘t use the private beach facilities at Labadee, so there is no point renting a cabana there, but are there other cabanas we can rent on Labadee and are they nice? 4) For shows, it seems to me that the concierge can reserve seating for us, but the others will just wait in line and get seats wherever they find them? Or if we can bypass the line, can we save seats for them? 5) Do they have speciality coffees and freshly squeezed orange juice in the Coastal Kitchen? 6) Should we do all our reservations for shows/excursions ourselves or wait for the concierge? 7) Any other comments or tips on traveling with a large group with suite and non-suite classes? Thank you to anyone who has read this far and offers input on any of the above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 1-Might be better off waiting a bit until the initial boarding wave is over. That way essentially you go from check in to ship without any delay. 2-Try and make a reservation for CK that morning. Can sometimes be a challenge for a walk in to be seated. 3-If you book a cabana on Barefoot Beach you can invite non suite guests to use the cabana. 4-Suite guests can walk in without a reservation. Only exclusion would be the comedy show. 5-Think so on the fresh OJ. Depends on what you classify as specialty coffee. They have a basic espresso machine that can can cappuccinos and lattes, no flavorings. 6-Non suite folks will need to make their show reservations. For excursions do those in advance to reduce the risk of a sell out. Concierge can handle specialty dinning and Comedy reservations. For other shows see 4. Subject of show reservations: Only the folks in the Owners Suites can walk in. Folks in the Junior Suite and anyone else will need to make show reservations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 2 hours ago, TAK2019 said: For boarding, I assume we will just use the regular lines/waiting area and not the suite lines/waiting area, but if we get there early, I‘m assuming we can all get on pretty quickly. Is that correct? If you get to the cruise terminal by 11am, you all should be onboard fairly close to each other in proximity. 2 hours ago, TAK2019 said: 2) Our dinners will be as a large group in the main dining room, but if we want to eat in the Coastal Kitchen one night by ourselves, would it be possible to make reservations at the last minute or should we make those reservations ahead of time? Last minute reservations are available, but you run the risk that the given time you want is not available. Whenever possible, I recommend making reservations in advance. 2 hours ago, TAK2019 said: 3) I know the other non-suite members can‘t use the private beach facilities at Labadee, so there is no point renting a cabana there, but are there other cabanas we can rent on Labadee and are they nice? If you rent a cabana, you can invite non-suite guests to join you there. I've done this a few times with @monorailmedic 2 hours ago, TAK2019 said: 4) For shows, it seems to me that the concierge can reserve seating for us, but the others will just wait in line and get seats wherever they find them? Or if we can bypass the line, can we save seats for them? The concierge will likely not be able to get seats for your group. Saving seats is technically against the rules, but in practice as long as your friends get there early you can usually get around that. I think the problem is when there is a full theater, it is nearly showtime, and people are trying to save prime seats. monorailmedic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Since you are in an OS, you are permitted to have food (from the MDR, during normal MDR operating hours) brought to your suite and there is no limit on how much food you can order. When you place your room service order, they will ask how many people are dining and bring appropriate amounts of silverware, plates, napkins, glasses, etc. You will have a nice-sized dining room table both inside and outside on your balcony. I would estimate that you could probably seat 6-8 people comfortably in your suite for a sit-down dinner. Certainly there will not be room for 25 but you COULD have a smaller group serviced. They will not ask whether your guests are suite guests or not. Obviously, with a room service order (especially one this large), a nice tip would be customary. This is one thing you could do for SOME of your group that would allow them to enjoy at least 1 suite perk with you. Obviously, you can enjoy ALL of the suite perks if you are willing to separate yourselves from the rest of your group and sometimes it's ok to do that. We traveled with a group of 21 a few years back and we had plenty of "alone time" to enjoy the Suites Lounge and the Coastal Kitchen. If your entire group is boarding at the same time then you will probably want to stay with them, particularly if there are first time cruisers among them. If you are coming in at different times throughout the day, I recommend that you Suites folks get there early, take advantage of the expedited boarding perks and meet the others later, somewhere else. Your non-suite guests will not be allowed to sit in the reserved seating area of the theater and it is a big no-no to reserve seats for people in the theaters no matter WHICH section of the theater you are going to use. If the group wants to sit together, my advice is to have them assemble and be ready to enter as soon as they open the doors/ropes for the show. That is a VERY big group to try and seat together. As CGTLH mentioned, the suites guests will not need to make reservations (except at the Comedy Club) but all of the non-suites, including the Junior Suites folks, will need reservations or they will be remanded to the standby lane and will certainly NOT be able to sit with the rest of you who did make reservations. From experience, I would recommend that you try and do 1 meal per day AT MOST as a group. Trust me when I say that it is WAAAY more work than you will want to do to try and corral that many people to do ANYthing. I would suggest that you have breakfast in the CK in the mornings as it is very quiet, leisurely and enjoyable and then later if you want to get the group together to eat, make it for dinner and insist that you all do traditional dining. Even then you will have to split up as there are no tables large enough to seat everyone but you can probably get 3, 10 tops and seat everyone. If you try and do this with MTD it's going to be a Charlie Foxtrot. Trust me, I know.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 11 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Certainly there will not be room for 25 but you COULD have a smaller group serviced. This isn't about dinner, but it is about capacity in the Owner's Suite. Last October, I was on Harmony of the Seas in an Owner's Suite. I wanted to host a party for the large group of friends I was traveling with. I arranged it with the Suite Concierge, and he was able to set up an array of hot hors d'oeuvres (yes, with Sterno!) and sweet items on the balcony and a large cheese assortment and some wine inside. We had about 40-45 people in the cabin and on the balcony at any given time. It was a fantastic experience, and I absolutely had a blast being able to treat my friends to this party on the high seas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkysAmazingRaceWinner Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 lol i tried to do this in an owners suite on Independence and you'd have thought i asked for a kidney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAK2019 Posted February 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 Thank you everyone for the very helpful tips and comments on everything from the cabanas to CK to the show reservations to tips on group travel. We‘ve never done a large group vacation like this before, let alone on a cruise, so not quite sure what to expect but the one meal/day for the entire group seems like a good idea. And thank you for the pictures and the party idea. Had no idea the owner‘s suite was so roomy or that we could host a party! I‘m really starting to look forward to it now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mworkman Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 Nice! Oh Sabrina @Lovetocruise2002, When's the sailing date of that Star Class Cabin? Hint, Hint...Party!!! Your favorite friends are waintng for invitations. Do we need to send you our list of favorite hor d'oeuvres? Here's my short list Lobster Toasts With Avocado and Espelette Pepper Figs with bacon and chile Caviar and crème fraiche tartlets Shredded brussel sprout and ricotta-toast Flatbread with fava beans cucumbers and burrata Shrimp toasts with sesame seeds and scallions Warmed spiced olives Eggs with pickled shallot and parsley Spanish style tomato toast with garlic and olive oil Traveler and Lovetocruise2002 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 2 hours ago, mworkman said: Nice! Oh Sabrina @Lovetocruise2002, When's the sailing date of that Star Class Cabin? Hint, Hint...Party!!! Your favorite friends are waintng for invitations. Do we need to send you our list of favorite hor d'oeuvres? It's like you read my mind! I'm just sitting down to sort out our dining arrangements to send it to our Genie. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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