Tree_skier

I know I couldn't when I was on Odyssey in 2022 and the same was true on Ovation later that year. This is the first I have heard of a change.

I'm so sorry for you grand nieces circumstance. My thoughts are with her.

I have had my last ban. I behave and don't comment on any kind of controversial thread. However, I think there is a lot of discussion yet to be had on the subject.

Our email from the concierge on Oasis came 8 days before embarkation day. They handled all the reservation for our UDP and CK. I had already booked my shows (Cats, Aqua80 and the Ice show) but they booked an additional show for us that I never booked, the adult comedy show. The concierge will do whatever they can for you if you ask.

I think it would be fun to volunteer to be the victim in a man overboard drill. I'd even pay a little if they let me jump from the promenade deck. 29.99 plus 18% gratuity sounds about right.

IF you are not 15 minutes early you are already late. EDIT: oops I didn't see @not-enough-cruising's post before posting mine. 🙂

That's brilliant. I've got my first B2B booked this Dec. You've given me a great fun idea for an activity on turnaround day 🙂

I'm not sure it is accurate to say that the last day is not a cruise day. The DBP works on day 8 of a 7 night cruise. Royal will sell you excursions for day 8 of a 7 night cruise. To suggest that that day is some sort of void day that a particular product is not available seems hasty. In the absence of clear language from Royal stating they are no longer available I would expect them to be available. They have been on every cruise I have been on since turning Diamond. As recently as March 12th both DW and debarked the Oasis of the Seas with a latte in our hand that we got from Park Cafe with a diamond voucher. There was no dispute about whether it was legitimate. As a matter of fact we didn't ask to use our Diamond voucher, the barista simply charged to our diamond voucher with asking. You folks who are so adamant, stating no not possible and it never was, need to dial it back a bit. Many of of us have very different experiences than what you are suggesting is policy.

Yes, the UDP can be used for lunch on embarkation day. Is that in CDN$? Mine all went up with the new 'Sale' but that is higher than anything I have booked or seen.

If you plan on getting wifi onboard wifi calling is your best bet. It works well and when you have a decent internet connection. Don't bother messing with any of the other apps they will just make things more complicated. Setup wifi calling at home before you leave and test it out to make sure it works. Put your phone in airplane mode with wifi on and connect to your home internet. Call and receive a call to be sure it is working properly. If you aren't planning on getting Royal's internet service you should be able to find wifi in most ports (just follow staff as they debark the ship) and use wifi calling then.

CC represents a tiny portion of cruisers. On my last cruise, Oasis March 5, over 50% of were first time cruisers with Royal. My suspicion is that the vast majority know they are paying the auto-gratuities and rightfully believe that that is sufficient tip and don't even consider an extra tip. Then there is a significant % that don't tip extra even though they may be experienced cruisers. I believe the people who post on CC giving their examples of what they tip are accurate. They just represent a tiny portion of the cruising world.

We got an extra dessert on Oasis while at Izumi for dinner.

I haven't experienced the once a day service on Royal yet but NCL had it back in Nov. when I was on POA. I did not see my cabin steward once through out the cruise. I had no idea if they were male, female or martian. Room was made up between 10 am and 1 pm everyday and no service at all in in the evening. I'm not looking forward to this change.

Here you go...

@disneybabe, don't forget to come back and update us with the outcome.

The only show reservations I remember on Ovation was for the show in 270. You also need to make reservations for iFly and the Northstar. Do that as quick as you can for best times. Seadays you pay for and port days are free on the Northstar.

There is no difference that would matter to a teenager. They both have everything that a teen would like. As far a weather is concerned Alaska is a crap shoot. I've been three times and the weather has never been great. The first time was the third week of July and weather was rubbish. We've in late august twice and once it was good and once it was fair. It was cool every time but I wouldn't say cold. No matter when you book you need to be ready for bad weather. EDIT to add: Alaska is an amazing experience and even if weather isn't great you will not regret the experience.

It'll show up in you cruise planner. Various reports indicate anywhere from a few days to a few weeks later.

My last cruise was in a suite so I wasn't affected by the reduction to once a day house keeping however my next four are. I'm not sure how I am going to respond to this reduction in service. Typically I leave auto-grats in place and also tip the cabin attendant extra both on day 1 and the last night of the cruise. I'm going to be hard pressed to continue that level of gratuity knowing I'm getting that much less service. If gratuities decrease to the staff they will be hard pressed to keep or attract new staff. I don't think we have seen the end of this yet. There is potentially a big down side to the cruise lines that they have yet to see.

@TYMAN and @taglovestocruise are right and my experience is usually the same there is. I always make it our embarkation lunch. We share an appetizer but they'd let you order more. We each order a main and we share pasta. One time we hinted at being undecided about which pasta and our server brought both. I've never order more than one dessert but based on my experience with other things I suspect they'd give as much as you want.

At these new prices I'm pretty content with the MDR. I just don't see value in the packages and these new "sale" prices.

Us west coasters haves a little advantage there don't we 🙂. It's midnight ship time. 10 pm Pacific time for Galveston and 9 pm for Florida departures.

@Ourusualbeach, this might already have been addressed and I missed it but how is the deposit handled with a third or forth passenger? Is it still 10% or is there a flat amount that would apply to passenger 3 and 4?

Same for me. I'll do the odd super sweet sugary drink but mostly its LI Ice tea or Moscow Mule.

I have tipped between $40 - $60 to the suite concierge.