DrPepper7

On 5/8/2024 at 12:46 PM, Tree_skier said:

If you don't have the internet package WhatsApp won't work.

I've seen others discussing WhatsApp and iMessage working even with no Internet package. But maybe it's not a sure thing.

For people who do NOT have the Internet package.

Could anyone explain if they recommend one over the other? For reliability in receiving alerts, messages going through, etc.

Only asking for communication between people onboard, not concerned about messaging home. 

Thanks!

2 hours ago, the admiral12 said:

I am on the May 19 Harmony and currently my UDP offering price is $340  and drink Package $77. 

Do you think this is as low as it will go or should I wait?  

I'm on this same sailing. And I check pricing daily.

The only time the drink package has been lower than that was a one day sale for national margarita day. It came down to $71. Even Black Friday was higher. 

The lowest the dining plan has been is $249 before grat or $294 with grat. That was with the Black Friday sale and a few other sales since then. 

No idea if they will drop down to those prices again before sailing, but as the last comment says you can always cancel and rebook.

I sail in May and bought the three piece set for my kids, so if no one else knows, I will report back then.

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

If you like and are checking everyone in you can use your cc for everyone initially - there's just a box to tick to do that - and it can be changed later.

How difficult is it to change later? Can it be done on the app or website before leaving, or does it have to be done in person at guest services or embarkation?

14 minutes ago, SG65CB said:

If you booked with a travel agent have them "link" your reservations (link the booking numbers). If you booked directly with RC then call them and have them "link" the reservations.

I have them all linked in my cruise planner. Is this enough? Or do I also need to have them all linked through my TA?

Thanks

17 hours ago, lovelife said:

I thought Royal was rolling out pre-cruise dining package reservations the first half of this year. Have they changed their minds??

 

From Royal:

 

1. Previous Limitation: Until now, guests with dining packages had to wait until they boarded the ship to make reservations. This process caused stress on embarkation day as they scrambled to secure dining times¹.

2. Upcoming Change: Royal Caribbean is changing this. If you buy a dining package, you’ll be able to book reservations pre-cruise. This means you won’t have to worry about making reservations on day one of your cruise. The change is expected to roll out in the first half of 2024, following the launch of the Icon of the Seas ship

There is no estimated date for the roll out, so I have little faith that it will be available before May. It would be nice if it is, but I highly doubt it. 

I haven't seen any further communication in it since the initial release. And even then, some things said first quarter and some said first half of the year.

1 hour ago, silentbob007 said:

 

Great question.  We did bring a stroller which was helpful when going through security and keeping our little one a bit reigned in.  We thought we would use it in ports but did not this time.  However, the dock in Costa Maya is LONG and I ended up carrying him on my shoulders to get to our excursion on time.  I really didn't want to mess with it when getting into transportation (there wouldn't have been room in the van for our Honduras excursion) though it probably would have been OK with the taxi in Cozumel.

Thank you for the info! I think we will leave it at home and cross our fingers. We'll have uncles, aunts, grandpas that can all help carry one twin or chase another if needed, so hopefully we'll survive it!

5 minutes ago, schooner_Drinker said:

 

I will definitely plan to use this!

Thank you @schooner_Drinker and @sharktums for the great suggestions! This makes me feel a bit better about our chances.

@silentbob007I'm trying to decide whether to bring a stroller for my 3 year old twins. We would only use it in port but I just can't decide if I think it would be a help or a hassle. Did you have one? If not, was your son able to handle walking the length of the docks once in port? Thank you!

Hello!

I will be cruising on Harmony in May with a group of 14 (9 adults, 5 children) and we have all purchased the unlimited dining package. I realize that we likely won't be able to eat all together at most, or maybe any meals, but has anyone done this before with such a large group? Do you have any suggestions for hopefully getting to eat together for at least a meal or two? Or just a general strategy for making reservations for a group that large once on board. I will be boarding as early as I possibly can and heading straight to make reservations, but any other tips? 

I'll be traveling on Harmony in May with 3 year old twins, so I'm very interested to read your thoughts and impressions on the cruise for toddlers.

Looking forward to it! Thank you

Yes! I will. We sail in May so I do have some time to gather things and have started looking already.

Thanks for the great suggestions!

Will be on Harmony with my 3 year old twins and 6, 8, 10 year old nieces. Want to make gift bags for each of them but I'm having a really hard time coming up with ideas. I was thinking stuff to keep them busy at dinner (especially for the 3 year olds) but can anyone give any other ideas? The older girls will have freestyle cups and I've already got them all some arcade credits.

Thanks!

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Cabin mates can check in at different times.

Thank you much!

Thank you much!

So, the minor child would not check in with grandma. She is arriving with her parents. But grandma will hopefully already be checked in. So, I'm just curious if grandma and minor child can check in at separate times, or if they need to check in together since they are roomed together.

Thank you! I will reach out to royal and see if they can provide insight.

I tried searching for an answer, but I may not be using the correct terminology because I could not find any information. 

I have 2 rooms booked for an upcoming RCCL cruise (one for my family and one for my mom and niece) and my sister has 1 room booked. My mom is traveling with me and we will arrive together at the cruise terminal. My sister will be arriving later, but one of her children is assigned to my mom's cabin. My question is if this will present a problem for my mom and my niece to not check in together. My sister's room holds a max of 4, but she has 3 children and her husband, so one child will be rooming with grandma.

If we have to wait to all check in together, we will do that. But we'd prefer to get on the boat earlier and not have to wait around for them to arrive.

Thanks for your knowledge.

Well, you still need a jacket for informal night, just no tie required. So at least it's not a total waste! :)

See you aboard!

I am on this sailing as well, and was wondering about formal night. MySilversea does not show one, so my thought was that maybe because on Mediterranean sailings, formal night is optional that may be why there is not one indicated.

From Silversea website :

Please note: On 7 day sailings in the Baltic, Mediterranean and

Alaska, formal night is always optional; guests may choose to

dress informal, a jacket is required for gentlemen.

So I am new to luxury cruising, (will be going on my first next June) and have a question regarding dress code. I read earlier in this thread that someone was made to put on a sport coat while in a bar on board, so does dress code need to be followed even if not in the main dining room? I know there are venues where dress code is more relaxed, so I'm just curious as to how that works exactly. If we choose to stay in our room for dinner, but wish to venture out later, would we be expected to be dressed in accordance with the dress code for the night? We are fairly young for luxury cruising I've been told, (I'm 28, he's 34) and we definitely don't want to "offend" or upset any more seasoned cruisers. Don't want any of those "these stinkin' millennials" looks :)

I don't see a gift card option :(

The Amazon cards may be stolen more frequently, but the potential is there for any card.

All my gift cards are from AARP, so likely the one I was able to guess is also from AARP (assuming that they have the cards with the closest numbers chronologically). So, it isn't an issue with Amazon cards.

The issue is not whether the cards have a pin or not. Its the fact that Carnival does not require the pin to use the card. So, anyone who goes on the Carnival website and guesses a gift card number (which is not hard to do at all!!) can use someone else's money. This is entirely Carnival's issue for not having enough security for their cards. I was able to go to Carnival's site and find a valid $500 gift card after only 2 guesses!!! So if I could do it that easily, so can all the actual thieves out there.

The OP bought the cards in 12/15 and they were all valid. But before they had a chance to use them, someone else used them by the method stated above. So, Amazon did nothing wrong...they sold valid cards that the numbers were then stolen off of. And it is Carnival's fault that they make it so easy to steal card numbers.

I posted again to John Heald today, and he says to leave it with him and he will get it to the right people, so hopefully they correct it soon and begin requiring the pin numbers.