DrProfessor

I don't think you really need the app to board the ship - you can use a printed set-sail pass. The only thing is that everything - including the daily planners is move to exclusively on the app. Also, the folks on the lively discussion about the e-muster might say you need the app to complete the check-in for the e-muster drill. I'm not sure about that either as you can probably go to your check-in station and get the live demo there. There are still people that do not have smartphones, although they are getting to be far a few between. Still, Royal has to have a way to accommodate them. They are just pushing as hard as they can toward the app for everything.

Well, that's NOTHING to joke about. You know your going bald when you use more toothpaste than shampoo. Seriously, I don't talk much about my hair - it's one of those gray areas...

This is good to information to know. I have another suite question. One week from today, we will be in an owner's suite on Jewel. We won an upgrade from a suite GTY. We have never even been in a full suite before so we are really going to enjoy this trip. I think that I read that the concierge is supposed to contact us via email about now. Is that right, or is that only for the Oasis class ships? We have the UDP and would like to take care of all that before we board if possible.

The other morning my wife told me she had dreamt the previous night that I gave her a diamond necklace. She asked me, what do you think that means? I answered, "Maybe you'll find out tonight!" Her eyes opened wide and a huge smile blossomed across her beautiful face. That night at dinner, I handed here a small wrapped box. She excitedly opened it and pulled out... a small book titled "The Meaning of Dreams".

Hay! I got that last comment. Enough stalling, lets get to the mane event.

It is called different things by people, Tepanyaki or Hibachi at Izumi's. Basically, it is a full meal prepared for 8-10 people in front of you. The chef comes out and entertains while cooking your food. It is a lot of fun. But it is quite popular, so if you plan to do this, go straight to Izumi's when you get on board because other restaurants seem to not be able to book Hibachi/Tepanyaki. Also - be sure to specifically state that you want the Hibachi or they may reserve your time on the sushi side which is not the same.

It is pretty much a placeholder and you can pick/change it to anything you like (based on availability) once you are on board.

One of our favorites on the Oasis class ships is 150 Central Park. The bread that they bring before the meal is best of any of the specialty restaurants (our opinion of course). The meals are all very good and fried cheesecake (if you like cheesecake) is just the right size for dessert.

We had booked a suite GTY for our upcoming Feb cruise on Jewel and fully expected to be in a JS. When the royal up came, I put minimum bids in on GS and OS. We won the OS upgrade and were notified when we had just under 30 days to go before the cruise. I was floored by how early the upgrade happened and the jump to an Owner's Suite using the minimum bid. The cruise is no longer on the site, so I assume it is pretty much sold out. A third party site is still listing the cruise, but all of the prices say "Call". We usually don't book GTY's but maybe that had an effect somehow. In the past, we have only ever booked standard balcony rooms (a JS only one time). No one knows the algorithm, but I am pretty happy with this result. As to the OP's question, we are not diamond yet, but this one will get us within 3 points.

I actually got an email that we had been upgraded. Later that day, I got another email with updated cruise documents and I could log in and print the correct luggage tags for the new room as well.

Not necessarily. We booked a suite GTY for our upcoming Feb cruise and bid the minimum for an upgrade and got notified that we were upgraded a few days ago (about 30 days out). We ended up with an Owner's Suite (Jewel) - so excited. Actually not quite sure what to expect, but this is probably the only time we will ever have a cabin at this level. The highest category we ever sailed in was a Junior Suite once and expected to be in one this time as well. We mostly do balcony rooms. Anyway, the point was that we weren't expecting the upgrade but got it about 30 days out so you never know. Our last accepted upgrade was much closer to sailing if I remember right, but this one was early.

I'm not sure about the version on Symphony, but we have done the Escape the Rubicon on another ship (I think it was Allure or Harmony?). We have also done a different escape room on Mariner. Generally, you are paired with many other people, whoever wants to participate in that time slot. There is a limit to the size of the group, but I'm not sure what it is. I think we had somewhere between 10-14 people in the room - but for these rooms, there is a lot to do, so you need at least a couple of groups (or more) working on puzzles. The frustrating part about that is that there are some puzzles solved that you never even have a chance to ponder. For us, it was completely worth it but we love escape rooms - and the production quality is top notch.

I saw him fill the cup - it was one of those kitchen faucet type sprayers on a hose with a bunch of buttons on the back. I couldn't tell you what all the buttons were but it was not a dedicated tap by any means. I know that actual beer probably never came out of the same hose, but the soda did not taste right whatever else that tap was used for. The best way I could describe it was a terrible beer/alcohol aftertaste. Now, the freestyle machines all use the same "tap", but I have never had that awful of an aftertaste out of the freestyle machines. No big deal, I just know what happened to me that one time.

Don't misunderstand me, it did not alter the way I enjoy my cruise. I still had a great cruise, but just used the freestyle machines from then on. It didn't bother me in the least.

I made the mistake of asking for soda from one of the bars once. They used the tap/gun to dispense it. It tasted somewhat like Coke, but with a nasty beer aftertaste. Since then I don't get sodas from a bar.

For us, there isn't too much difference between Chops on different ships - or between Giovannis and Jamie's for that matter as they are pretty much the same. I will say, though, we discovered the warm chocolate cake dessert in Chops when we were last on Mariner and it was amazing - small enough to not feel like overload, crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside and when you grabbed a little ice cream to go with the warm chocolate from the cake... Went on Harmony recently and the warm chocolate cake dessert is Chops was nowhere near what it was on Mariner - it was more like a chocolate flan, dense and rubbery. So, yes, there are definitely some differences - this one was quite disappointing. For Allure (Oasis class ships), our personal favorite is 150 Central Park now. The starter bread is the best anywhere and the fried cheesecake is awesome - again, just a couple of small pieces, but just enough to not go into a coma afterward. We also like Izumis. Have done Wonderland twice (years apart) and probably won't go back now.

Yes, suites get 2 points per night. Jr. Suites also.

The World is a definite must if you go there. Also, be sure to tell them if you are allergic to anything, especially if they are just bringing stuff because you really don't pay attention to the actual menu. I have a severe allergy to pistachios, and they brought me the thing with pistachios in it. It looked so good, if they hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known until I had a bite and that would have meant an emergency trip to wherever medical is on the ship (thankfully, I have never had to go there).

Yes, what Biker19 said - just confirming. The $20 credit for Playmakers, for instance, is per person that purchased the UDP and per visit. So, for two people, you have $40 credit per every visit to Playmakers.

On Mariner last May and Playmakers was definitely included a la carte up to $20 per person. That was per visit as well. The wings are pretty good.

Royal Up is not run by RC, it is a completely different company which is why their website is still working.

For lunch on other days, they will tell you "No, you don't need a reservation". We have found that's not true if you want to eat lunch as a reasonable time like, say noon. The very first time we got the UDP, we bought the line that you didn't need a reservation and found we could not get into the restaurant we wanted to on a sea day just before noon. They told us to come back at 1:30 because they were all booked up. Since then, we always insist on getting lunch reservations when we know they are available (sea days).

We were on Mariner last year for Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl. They showed the game in Playmakers and other areas but I don't remember any special announcements or anything. If you plan on doing a specialty restaurant for Valentine's Day, specifically Chops - you will pay a lot extra.

In our experience, if you give them some notice (either before-hand or at least on the first day when you book), they will go the extra mile to take care of you - including getting things not on their regular menu. It might be a little more difficult on the first night with short notice, but even then, they have been super helpful. Neither of us are vegetarian, but my wife has a gluten restriction and they have been wonderful to her. I believe Wonderland would have plenty to choose from (seems like a lot of there food was meatless?), not sure about Izumi, but in Chops, you could make a meal out of the salad and side choices (lots of options that I think would be vegetarian) and order as much as you want.

We are in the UDP camp as well. We usually get it for every cruise now when we are just the two of us. It's not just for the food (it is better than MDR in our opinion), but also for the atmosphere and service. Not that there's anything wrong with the MDR, but it has always been crowded, busy and loud (for us).