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When can I sign up for MTD & Beverage Packages


keleher99

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I'm sailing on Oasis next February and I've gone onto my cruise planner and tried to set up My Time Dining as well as order my beverage package. I keep getting a error message stating that it's not available at this time. Shore excursions and spa are available. I even called Royal directly but they told me the same thing. Is this common? How long before my sailing can I set these up? I want to make sure that if a sale comes out on beverage packages I can get the sale price

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You shouldn't have to set up MTD if you chose it during booking. On our first night we go to the dining room and ask for a spot at 5:30 that night. They set us at that time all week, but tell us we can change it whenever we want. The whole point of MTD is to have a different time to eat each night if you want, depending on each day's activities you have planned (or not planned), to be able to walk up and say "we're ready to eat". We try to help the staff by just setting the same time all week, and we'll call them if we won't be there or want to change times.

Sorry if that was no help, or more confusing. Maybe someone else can help.

I'm looking to book Oasis for next year :-)

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Beverage packages should become available soon. I've seen them 6-9 months prior to sailing, sometimes even earlier. Dining use somewhere between the 60-90 day mark. I'd start looking around final payment time if not a bit earlier.

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We're sailing the Harmony in August. Booked it last August and we were able to book the beverage package right after we put our deposit down. Shore excursions, spa, and internet were also available on the cruise planner at that time. I was then able to get in and book dining at specialty restaurants and reserve MTD times at the beginning of February (so about 7months out and I was pleasantly surprised by that). Just waiting for entertainment to open up now. When we sailed the Allure last July I could not get dining until about 90 days out. I would say just keep checking your cruise planner. It seems to vary by ship and sail date.

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I got my MTD reserved when I first made the booking.  It was just one of those questions asked when you make the reservation.

Same for us. Booked last month and they asked if we wanted MTD or the traditional,  early or late seating.

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As far as reservations for specialty restaurants go, I was told by a RCCL rep via e-mail that it would be 7 months, which would have been last week for us, but still cannot access. On the forums here, have heard anywhere from 60 to 90 days out. So, I'm really not sure. I'm just going to check every day till it happens. It will be a nice surprise when it does!

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I can book drink packages for the Transatlantic on Symphony that is 592 days away, but I can't on our Western Caribbean on Liberty that is 368 days out.

That seems strange, as does the variance of between 7 mos and 60 to 90 days for dining reservations. They must have a reason for this, that none of us seem to know. Even those with double digit cruises under their belts.

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Reservations for the cruise we took on Harmony a few weeks back were available well over a year before sailing.  That was the earliest I can ever remember.  There just doesn't seem to be any rule or pattern to when they release these cruises or reservations.  No rhyme or reason !!!

 

I wonder on mine if it's because I haven't paid my full deposit. We got a reduced deposit for booking with NextCruise on the ship.

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I wonder on mine if it's because I haven't paid my full deposit. We got a reduced deposit for booking with NextCruise on the ship.

That shouldn't affect the ability to make reservations. I did not pay my balance early yet those reservations were open over a year ahead of the cruise. There's just no telling when they will open up !

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I booked through Costco Travel, about 300 days ahead of time for a Christmas sailing.  I could book drink & internet packages as soon as I paid the balance, but not before.  Dining shows unavailable, but I don't think Majesty even has a specialty dining restaurant.

I've heard good things about Costco Travel. How were the savings over booking through RCCL or a travel agent? Any other benefits?

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I've heard good things about Costco Travel. How were the savings over booking through RCCL or a travel agent? Any other benefits?

 

It was about $100 cheaper per stateroom than RoyalCaribbean.com, maybe $50 or so cheaper than other websites I tried (CruiseSheets, Travelocity, etc.) and comes with a $70 Costco gift card they mail to you a few weeks after the cruise.  I called them a couple times to do a price-match when I noticed it dropped, link up the dinner reservations for both staterooms and again to move the stateroom when I changed my mind about which deck to stay on.  They were quick and friendly and took care of all requests without a problem.

 

Other sailings had different perks.  They pretty much all come with a Costco gift card, $ amount varies on the price of the booking (I saw ranges from $50 to $300), some included onboard credits and soda packages.

 

I didn't go to an actual travel agent, but I tried USAA's travel site.  The price was about the same, but didn't offer any perks.

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I've heard good things about Costco Travel. How were the savings over booking through RCCL or a travel agent? Any other benefits?

You can get some good discounts, usually in the form of a type of rebate with a Costco cash card. However, the downside is that you never talk to the same person, plus they've started to me that they charge a change fee should you want to reprice the cruise if the price drops.

 

I've had very good experiences booking resort packages with Costco, but you should be aware of these two limitations.

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