DrProfessor

Pretty sure it is first-come, first served for the parking garage. We have never had any trouble finding a spot in the garage. We usually drive in around 10am.

We were just there this past Friday. There were many open chairs. On another note, I was kind of glad to see that with the exorbitant prices being charged for beach club cabanas - they all seemed to be completely empty all morning - not a sole to be seen but the occasional life guards watching nobody. Maybe eventually, they will come down to earth with those prices if they continue to stay empty. Then again, we were on Mariner and it was the only ship docked, so maybe on a busier day, someone would have used them. They were certainly not cheaper in the planner running up to the cruise.

It will be terminal 5. You can download the schedule right from the portcanaveral.com. It currently goes out to the end of January, so it shows your cruise on Adventure for Jan 5 at CT5 (cruise terminal) both leaving and returning. We just got back from an 8-day on Mariner that was from CT5, and the parking garage seemed plenty big enough (we've never had a problem getting to it). Tip - if you find a spot on level 2, you can just go straight across to where you enter the terminal (which is on level 2).

We are on this cruise as well! Leaving this afternoon for the hotel in PC. We've been on Mariner a few times now, but never to Bermuda.

Mariner also has Playmakers and the UDP includes $20pp/day. It may not be a "dinner" venue, but one additional piece. We have the UDP on the upcoming 8-day on Mariner. For us, it is worth it to not eat in the crowded, loud dining room - and the food is significantly better than the dining room.

What a great explanation. We are supposed to go to Bermuda late next week on Mariner and if they change it, we'll be fine, but it certainly helps to get this detailed explanation as to why. The level of detail and explanation is very helpful including considerations of alternate routes and why those were a no-go as well. Here's hoping we won't have a weather change for our trip to Bermuda, but if we do, I'll know it has some sound reasoning behind it. We'll have fun either way. We knew it was hurricane season when we booked it, so there's always a chance of changes. As long as the boat leaves to somewhere (or nowhere), we'll be on it.

I think this depends on the port you are sailing from. We always sail from Port Canaveral, and the last couple of times, C&A status has had no bearing on boarding (it used to). They seat everyone according to their assigned check-in time and board in that order. Only suite class (GS and above) had special boarding.

We are doing the same. While I have 3 cruises booked with Royal (next one in less than 60 days now!), we decided that after staying with Royal for many years, we would try another line and I know a couple of people that liked MSC. When I looked into it, I also noticed the dramatic difference in price. We have one booked in Feb on MSC and if we really like it, we may end up moving more of our business to them based on the skyrocketing costs for Royal vacations. We love our Royal cruises, but even when sticking to the older ships to keep the cost down, the value for what you pay is quickly disappearing.

For now...

We had the same thing happen on Allure. We like the escape rooms and were ready to sign up because we thought Allure had one as many blogs and websites indicated. We couldn't find it and finally asked at guest services where we found out there wasn't one.

#1 - truish - all except for Hibachi. Sometimes they can call, but from what I remember, Chops (for instance) can make reservations for all of the restaurants except Izumi's. We usually end up visiting Izumis if we want to plan eating there (especially for Hibachi). #2 - Yes - see first answer #3 - Yes, if you have all the room #'s, they can book the whole party #4 - Sometimes. I think it depends on the ship. We were booking our week of reservations in Chops once and they said - well do you want lunch today? We open at... We have had other times where Chops is not open for lunch that day, but other restaurants were. If they are open, you can definitely eat there with the UDP. #5 - It ends up being a LOT of food every day. Pace yourself and enjoy. We like the elevated food, but mostly, we love the upgraded atmosphere over the MDR which is loud, busy and packed. Of course, the restaurants can be too, but they can only fit so many people in. Wonderland is fun, but for us, we've done it twice and that's enough. 150 CP is our favorite, but Chops is pretty good. You will get 1000 different opinions on all of that, so just try time all once. Also, they will probably tell you that you don't need reservations for lunch on sea days, but this is not true. Our first time with the UDP, we could not get into lunch on a sea day because they were all booked. Book your lunches.

We usually get the dining package (UDP), and when we go for the sushi side, the dining package includes 2 large "items" and 1 small, if I remember correctly. One thing they warned us about up front - with the dining package, a sushi order counts as a "large" item AND they informed us that instead of 8 pieces, the UDP only includes 4 pieces per order - so I think there is something to Happytime22's question. I didn't look at it is as a punishment, but I did note that it is apparently different than buying a la carte.

I guess these have gone up like everything else Royal is charging for. These are, however, some of the best escape rooms in terms of production quality. Back when it was $20pp, it felt like a tremendous value. $40, maybe. We would probably do it. (We have already done the Mariner one though, along with whatever ships have the Rubicon one.)

The puzzle break is more like an escape room in a box activity - not an actual escape room. It was an activity (if I remember correctly) like "morning trivia" and was free to attend. Everyone there breaks up into teams and then you get an envelope of clues and various things to help you through the overall puzzle. There are other things in the room that you have to go check out to solve some of the puzzles. I am being vague, because we have done it twice and it was the same both times, so I don't want to spoil anything for anyone that wants to try it. It was a lot of fun and very much designed like escape room puzzles. If you see the "Royal puzzle break" as an activity and you like puzzles, you may want to get there early and save yourself a seat. As for the original poster - there is no escape room on Allure. It was supposed to have one, but never got the upgrade. For the ships that have them, they will show up on the app (after you board) and (at least before the pandemic) it was $20pp to sign up. You had to sign up as soon as they became available because they sold out pretty quickly. However, usually, there are several times throughout the week (or however long your cruise is).

Glad you clarified. I thought it went from Tampa through Panama, to California, back through Panama and all the way to Boston. That would be quite a long cruise!

It's probably just a reference to slot machines (multi-line mix) - like calling at a "Royal Flush" offer in refence to poker? I don't know - just guessing. I'm sure someone will know.

It depends on the app you are using. The GPS will work, but if your app (like Google Maps) requires wifi to download the map live, then it won't work. Depending on your platform, you can download offline maps (these can take up some space) with the right app and then it should work.

We're in the exact opposite boat (no pun intended, but it works). We have only been on Royal and have our first MSC cruise booked (YC) in Feb 2024. We just made diamond and are looking forward to trying something new - mostly because of the skyrocketing Royal prices. We still have 3 other RC's booked, but figured why not try another line that is a little more reasonable on pricing these days.

You are correct. We went this last Feb and it is a heated pool, but it was also a very nice day.

This is how we ended up winning a bid on an owner's suite this past Feb. We had a junior suite and when we bid, it wasn't a couple of days and we were awarded the upgrade. This was about 30 days before the cruise when it was awarded. We had never been in anything above a JS, so we were spoiled a bit by that cruise. The next one we went on just because we needed 3 points to make diamond and we did an inside room - one extreme to the other.

Thanks Orville. I was assuming the glitch, but didn't know there was another way to go in. I'll file that one away.

So, I thought I would check in here to see if anyone else has experienced this issue (Royal's IT strikes again?). I just made final payment on my upcoming October cruise and that all looks correct when I log in (You don't have a balance due). However, I have two other future cruises for Oct 2024 and Feb 2025 that now also say "You don't have a balance due". I have not paid anything on those but the deposit. I hesitate to call right away (may wait until after this October) because I don't went them to "correct" the one I just paid off. I'm just wondering if anyone else has seen this behavior and will it automatically be corrected? If it makes any difference, the one for this October was through a TA, but the Oct 2024 and Feb 2025 are just through Royal (no TA involved).

You should get a lot of responses (some directly contradicting each other). Most will say, there is plenty to do without paying an extra dime. As to your question about the Beach Club, we have done that once and have it again this coming October. We really liked it, but probably wouldn't pay over $100 for it. It is really just a little fancier (upgraded towels, green chairs instead of blue?, plenty of space, limited numbers of people, etc.) with a nice lunch included. The infinity pool is nice if you swim and you get there early (gets a little crowded later). There is also an additional adults only beach coming (Hideaway beach) (should open sometime this year last I saw).

We live in Brunswick, GA (about an hour directly North of Jacksonville), so PC is about a 3 to 3.5 hour drive for us which is very doable. After having tried Tampa once, we did not know how good PC was. I know some who don't like PC, but terminal 1 really is nicely laid out. Short of some superb itinerary or a ship we must go on, we stick to PC because it is so convenient. I believe they are building another terminal, but I don't know what size. I am thankful that Royal still has ships like Mariner and Independence sailing there, but with 2 Oasis class ships, parking is going to get tighter for sure. We may have to go back to the park and cruise packages at hotels if it gets too bad, but we love getting off the ship and getting in the car immediately.

According to the latest Crown & Anchor newsletter... "You can now play smoke-free onboard Oasis®, Allure ®, Harmony®, WonderSM — and soon Symphony of the Seas®. Each ship will now have a separate non-smoking Casino RoyaleSM with 2,500 square feet of slot machines and table games, a dedicated cashier window and dedicated beverage service."