The Fun Researcher

Yeah, looks like they have the correct night on the current cruise (first of the two days sailing back)

Great idea. Looks like this week is still an 8 nighter (Feb 4th - 12th) with the first 7 nighter starting on the 12th ETA, looks like next week also has the second formal night on night 7. I'm assuming this will change though.

We have a 7 night cruise coming up in March on the Anthem. The new menus are now loaded into the Royal app and to my surprise the second formal night (lobster) is night 7. I had booked Chops for lunch that day. I don't want a specialty lunch on the same day as formal dinner. I'll cancel and switch to day 6 for the Chops lunch if the new menu is accurate. Think this is a mistake, or real? Never had second formal night be night 7 on a 7 night cruise that I can recall: FYI, itinerary below Day 1 - Embarkation Day 2 - Cruising Day 3 - Port Canaveral Day 4 - Nassau Day 5 - Coco Cay Day 6 - Cruising Day 7 - Cruising

Ugh, sometimes I like to take that cheese plate back to the room for a snack later in the evening.

Celebrity severely cut their dinner buffet. Lunch and Breakfast seem mostly unchanged. Doesn't impact us because we "always" eat dinner in the MDR. I can see it being a big deal to those that like to eat dinner at the buffet though. It's drastically cut.

Platinum and above can request them. My daughters and wife like them and will request a robe for each. Always been honored.

I’m not sure it’s any better with the other cruise lines. We’ll see how things go with our two Royal cruises this year and decide about other cruise lines after that.

Ship is large, but not ridiculously so. It feels plenty big and has never felt overcrowded Great connection to the ocean. The walking deck (deck 4?) on the sides and back of ship are great for ocean views and just sitting on one of the benches/chairs, as well as the helipad in the front of the ship(which is super cool at night to see the stars and just feel the warm strong Caribbean breeze at night) The large central promenade on deck 5 is a great central location for grabbing coffee, pizza, drinks etc and makes navigating the ship very easy and intuitive. It also quiets down at night and is just a beautiful place to hang out. We love the large promenade versus other cruise lines that use "centrums" which are just circular areas in the ship and make it feel cramped and chopped up in our opinion. Ice rink. Great show and time for open ice skating Putt putt golf, flowrider... Great pool deck (especially if the ship has been AMPED like the Navigator, Mariner). It's not split up like Oasis class. Beautiful 3 tiered Main Dining Room Hope that helps.

Probably an inventory issue with how many of those coolers they keep in stock ETA: We bought a couple of the Bud Light packages for our March Anthem cruise, but the cooler packages aren't even showing as an option on our July Quantum Alaskan cruise. Hopefully that will change.

Totally sums up my feeling of Oasis class, and I agree that Freedom/Voyager classes are still our favs. We'll see if that changes when we try Quantum class in March. Having said that, our cruise on the Allure this past June was amazing. Great service, food quality, entertainment, and 8 night southern itinerary. I knew about the "lack of connection to the ocean" from our first Oasis cruise, so I know what to expect going in. I don't shy away from Oasis class as much anymore.

That worked. Thanks!! Was hoping that it would magically say I'm Diamond, but alas, still Emerald. 🤣 Need our March cruise on the Anthem to get there. Can't come soon enough. 🙂

Perfect. I booked Spectra for night 1. We don’t typically go to the welcome show anyway.

Is “We will rock you” or “The gift” ever on night 1? I was thinking to book spectra I night 1

Thank you!. Don't mean to be daft, but two more questions: Is the Quantum class the only one that's opposite all the other Royal Classes? Is the bed by the bath for all rooms with 3 or 4 occupants for ALL classes (even Quantum?)

To your point earlier, is it the opposite for Oasis Class and Quantum Class?

Just depends on where you like to lounge in your room. Our last cruise in June, my sister's family and ours would gather before dinner in my parent's balcony cabin. Yes it got cramped, but I'm not one to turn down some wine in their cabin. LOL They liked having the bed near the bathroom so it made the balcony feel more like an extension of the adjacent "gathering" space in the cabin. Our upcoming Alaskan cruise on the Quantum we have 6 balcony cabins spread among 16 family members so we'll have a smorgasbord of options. I like either for different reasons.

Jumping on here. How about the Quantum, Balcony #11154?

Wow, o.k. Folks get charged wrongly for towel charges. Royal's system is far from foolproof, and results in erroneous charges. THAT'S the issue. Sure there may be a couple of bad apples that leave towels on excursions, or take them home. (It's beyond me why someone would want a generic blue towel that's been washed over and over again already.) In reality, talking with fellow cruisers over the years the charges on average are not correct and require the passengers to go to guest services to correct.

Fortunately we've always checked our folio the evening before we leave, or the morning of. We've had pool towel charges show up (which are significant) despite the fact that we had always returned them. Such a pain to stand in line at guest services for errors in their clerical work.

Right now the extended versions are sold out for our July Quantum cruise. How exactly do you reserve timeslots? Do you have to be on the ship for this? Do you have to go to where the north star is physically located or can you do it all on the app? When do they open time slots on embarkation day? I just want to be ready for when things open up so I can get the best options available. Thanks

That’s the way it’s supposed to work

I don’t disagree. I was just kicking around some thoughts.

Just chiming in again. Even though I agree that there are issues with the current setup of reciprocation and grandfathering, I can say I have NEVER (that I know of) been impacted on my cruise by how many D, D+, or Pins are on any given cruise. It's been a total non issue and hasn't impacted us at all. I'm curious if that will change as we get Diamond in March and then start having access to the lounges and benefits.

This probably deserves it's own thread as we're diverting from the OP's original question but... Speaking of C&A members who "Inherited" their status through their parents, spouse, etc. but don't have enough point on their own to be D, or D+: Off the top of my head (haven't thought it through too much) Downsides: Crowded Diamond and Concierge Lounges. (this seems to have eased with the 4 or 5 anytime vouchers). Seems that Royal is already addressing Concierge lounges and removing access to D+. This might be a direct result of "too many" D+. (not sure if a lot of D+ are inherited or not) So many D and D+ on any given ship. I see this being probably the biggest downside. The cost to Royal for all the drink vouchers and other perks starts to add up to the point that it cuts into the bottom line. Does this make the program less attractive to Royal, or is the loyalty benefit outweigh the cost? Benefits: Those that didn't "earn" their points get to have very nice perks for life (Royal's benefit) These benefits keep cruisers more loyal to Royal, bringing in profit to Royal for each cruise taken. ...and hopefully these individuals eventually earning their status outright.

Yes, they do. Mocktails, soda, bottled water, etc...