Absolutely! Head strait to Giovanni's when you get on board. They open at 11:30, hand the Maitre de a list of all your dining requests with preferred times and sit down and enjoy a relaxed lunch away from the madding crowds while he gets your reservations sorted. Ive done this on several ships and it works great.
With their permission I always take their picture so I can make sure I remember their name and the correct spelling so I can make special mention of them in the post cruise survey.
If you plan to book more than one restaurant you should be able to do it all at whatever restaurant you go to first. They are all linked to the same system usually. I say usually because I have read here a couple of times that Hibachi was different. That wasn't my experience but I have read it here so I thought I would mention it as a possibility.
I had a similar experience with my Adventure booking Feb 2024. Eventually they showed up in the cruise planner about a month ago. When I enquired earlier in the year I was told by whoever monitors there Facebook that I could expect to see them in the cruise planner 8 - 12 months in advance. When I responded back that I had other cruises booked that showed availability for packages and specialty dining 16 to 18 months out there was no response. They showed up nearly perfectly at the 8 month mark. Are you inside that eight month window yet?
I think you mean debarkation and not embarkation. That being said, 2:30 is no problem out of Houston. I wouldn't even bother with self debarkation. It's an hour twenty to IAH. If you are in an Uber by 10 you'll still have tonnes of time to get to the airport.
We have still been getting our loyalty letter on embarkation. That has always included a list of onboard benefits. If you aren't getting yours I'd speak to the LA or Diamond Concierge (if D or above)
Yes laminating is fine but I use the aforementioned amazon luggage tag holders.
I use the MS word that was mentioned above. It is simple and I like the look better than my ridiculously poor printing.
Adventure was our last cruise before covid in Dec. 2019. So it was those memories that sustained us through those dark days. 🙂 I have a special place for Adventure in my heart. WE re back on her in February. You'll have a great cruise.
IF you've been assigned your gty cabin you can switch to any other cabin in the exact same category (4d to 4d, 3v to 3v etc...) that you would prefer that now show as available.
Exactly! On both my last two cruises ( Navigator and Oasis) both DW and I went to Cafe Promenade on debarkation morning and ordered a Latte. We made no mention of Diamond drinks or anything else. They punched the order in and then scanned the card and handed us a $0 receipt like they do with all diamond drinks. Clearly the computer was set up to accept this. It happened without us asking and without us telling them we were diamond. They simply handed us a drink, charged through the computer for $0.
I'd say that people being told diamond drinks aren't available debarkation morning is more the exception rather than the rule.
Generally the beginning of the month, the month preceding your embarkation. So if your cruise began Nov. 15 you would be able to book around October 1.
I'd start checking a few days early every day until it opened up.