booked my first cruise!

[caffeinated]

I just signed up here, booked my first cruise for next year today on Harmony of the Seas, and I am already so excited. Such a long wait though!  It's me and my hubby going! We have cruised before but it's been a looooong time.

Give me all your tips. I am confused on dining. Which is best? I am signed up for My Time dining? How does it work? Can we just show up whenever? Are beverage packages worth it? They seem so expensive! Anything else worth knowing? I am already feeling overwhelmed.

[Pattycruise]

I recommend reading the boards here.

as for dining, when you booked your cruise you should have been given options as to early dining (begins anywhere from 5/5:30 depending on the ship, late dining (begins 7:30-8:00 depending on the ship) or MTD (my time dealing).  Of course by next year there could be changes to the options.

[Xaa]

Awesome @caffeinated!

We like traditional dining and choose the early seating.  We prefer it because we like to walk up and go directly to our table, no waiting.  Same table, waiter and time each night.  MTD is sort of like on land restaurant dining.  For the best results you would still reserve individual MTD slots each day or you can just show up.  the former results in a shorter wait than the latter.  

You of course don't' need to dine in the MDR (Main Dining Room) each night, you are welcome to hit the buffet or any of the specialty restaurants (at an extra charge for specialty).

Drink packages are personal and they are costly.  For the Deluxe Package (Alcohol), I always say that if someone needs it, they know they need it.  Otherwise I recommend you fund your own drink package as you can probably save.  For Soda package, if you're moderate soda drinker there is probably value there.  it comes out to only like 3 soda's per day.  Refreshment package is in between and good for those that want mocktails, specialty coffees and soda.  

We're all over the board in our clan.  I take Soda, teenagers get Refreshment and my wife brings 2 bottles of wine onboard and we self fund the rest with no package.  Just remember when doing drink calculations per day, that you are talking every day including port days when you may be off the ship.  Your drink packages will work in the private stops of Labadee and Coco Cay.

Other tips.  Get a passport.  Arrive in port a day early.  Pack less than you think you need to pack.  If there is something you want from the cruise planner, it will not be less expensive on the ship.  If an item in CP is at a price you can accept, buy it, don't wait.  If it goes down you can cancel and rebook it.  Try to plan less and let your experiences onboard guide you.  Don't worry if you don't do everything, the ship will sail again.

[Xaa]

One more thing I would add.  Get travel insurance.  If you get it 48 hours after booking it also covers pre-existing conditions in most cases.  I say to get it not necessarily to cover the cost of the trip you might miss, but instead to cover the possibility of a medical situation that requires evacuation.  That can run ten's of thousands of dollars.

I don't insure land vacations and just risk the cost of the trip, but I do insure cruises primarilyfor the medical.

[caffeinated]

9 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I recommend reading the boards here.

as for dining, when you booked your cruise you should have been given options as to early dining (begins anywhere from 5/5:30 depending on the ship, late dining (begins 7:30-8:00 depending on the ship) or MTD (my time dealing).  Of course by next year there could be changes to the options.

Thank you. I chose My Time dining for now, will I be able to change later? I had to choose something, and just wasn't sure!

[BMW Hoosier]

7 hours ago, Xaa said:

Same table, waiter and time each night. 

You know I just don't get why people make a thing about this. If I visited the same restaurant night after night, I wouldn't think anything of having a different table or waiter. 

[OCSC Mike]

39 minutes ago, BMW Hoosier said:

You know I just don't get why people make a thing about this. If I visited the same restaurant night after night, I wouldn't think anything of having a different table or waiter. 

If you get personable waitstaff who take the time to chat and you get to know them, it can be nice. They might also remember things like always having a bowl of strawberries waiting for a young child or whatever. It's not a huge deal but there are little things like that which make it different than just going to restaurant.

Personally, I haven't been a fan of the MDR itself for a long time but I could appreciate some of the personal touches back when I did eat there every night.

As with most cruise-related topics... to each his own.

[Xaa]

25 minutes ago, BMW Hoosier said:

You know I just don't get why people make a thing about this. If I visited the same restaurant night after night, I wouldn't think anything of having a different table or waiter. 

It's just a preference.  An all things being equal thing.  Not a must have. I like to have someone who hears our idiosyncrasies early on and then just observes them throughout the week.

[offtosee]

On 5/4/2023 at 8:53 AM, caffeinated said:

Thank you. I chose My Time dining for now, will I be able to change later? I had to choose something, and just wasn't sure!

Yes, but you have to call and make the change. We scheduled our first cruise with My Time Dining without knowing any better. Once I got into the Cruise Planner, I found that the first reservations available weren't until 6:45, and we wouldn't be able to go at all most nights because we had shows scheduled at 7ish. So we called and switched to Early Dining. They said there was nothing available, but we asked to be waitlisted and it was approved after just a couple of days. This was maybe 4-6 weeks before sail date.

[Ditchdoc]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:57 AM, BMW Hoosier said:

You know I just don't get why people make a thing about this. If I visited the same restaurant night after night, I wouldn't think anything of having a different table or waiter. 

Like most things .... Different strokes etc.....in the past we have met really nice people and staff we enjoyed sharing time with each evening. On the other hand, we have dined with individuals who, by the third night, caused us to consider alternative dining arrangements.

Lately, post COVID, (dang COVID has changed so many things) the tables in the MDR are mostly arranged for two persons instead of 4, 6 or 8.

 

 

[smokeybandit]

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/getting-started

[smokeybandit]

31 minutes ago, Ditchdoc said:

Lately, post COVID, (dang COVID has changed so many things) the tables in the MDR are mostly arranged for two persons instead of 4, 6 or 8.

 

I haven't experienced this. Table layout is as variable as it was before covid.

[Pattycruise]

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I haven't experienced this. Table layout is as variable as it was before covid.

I agree.  I’ve been sitting at shared tables of 6-10 all year long.

[ChessE4]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:57 AM, BMW Hoosier said:

You know I just don't get why people make a thing about this. If I visited the same restaurant night after night, I wouldn't think anything of having a different table or waiter. 

Yes, but you aren't  thinking of bonding, of making friends. The reason we cruise is to avoid isolation and have fun with others. We aren't seeking anonymity. At home, eating out is different; we are just avoiding cooking!

[wordell1]

On 5/4/2023 at 9:57 AM, BMW Hoosier said:

You know I just don't get why people make a thing about this. If I visited the same restaurant night after night, I wouldn't think anything of having a different table or waiter. 

I appreciate when a waiter starts to recognize and anticipate your preferences.  

[CruisingNewb]

Congrats on your first cruise!

There are soooo many great and informative threads here to help you get on your way.  I will be honest, I am an overplanner and like to know everything before leaving my home for any vacation.  

HOWEVER, I am going to give you advice that sounds contrary to my personal views....Keep it as simple as possible.  Be studious and prudent and read up on as much pre-cruise planning as possible, and there are many things that you can never be ocer-prepared for, but overall, keep it simple.  For example:

1. Pre-check in: DO - Make sure you have documents, do your pre-check in and get your boarding time. DON'T - go over every worst case scenario like "gauging the exact mileage from your pre-cruise hotel to the port, estimating the Uber time to the port, and fixating on exact departure time."  By over-thinking, you will eventually fall into a self-fulfilling prophecy scenario.  Relax.

2. Dining: DO - homework and evaluate dining times and packages.  DON'T - plan out every meal with exact times, menu items, etc.  Eat when you are hungry, don't fret about squeezing every penny's worth out of packages. Enjoy.

3. Activities: DO - make lists of on-board activities and shore excursions you are interested in.  DON'T try to do everything, everywhere, all at once.  So many things you can do while at port destinations, BUT--so many things you can do on an empty ship when people are at port!  Our first cruise was a 3 nighter to Mexico and we spent all day at port.  In retrospect, we could have just spent a few hours at port and enjoyed some of the onboard activities while the ship was quieter. Have fun.

4. Tipping and Other Cruise Customs: DO - tip, say thank you, and say please.  DON'T - fret about how much to tip, don't fret about which side "port" and "starboard" are (if there is an emergency, staff will help you get where you need to go), don't subscribe to the "I have everything on my phone" or "leave passports in your room" stuff.  Just keep it simple and take everything with you.

5. Internet: DO - download the cruise app.  DON'T - unless YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO WORK, don't get internet.  Ditch the screen time in favor of "me" time.  Enjoy your cocktail by the pool and people watch.

I know these things all sound contradictory and it seems like I am saying do everything, but do nothing.  But if you really, really think carefully here, I am advocating for knowledge while saying whittle things down to the simplest form and treat it like a vacation.