BlackForest

Thanks Footzz...very interesting. And I just love your username!

You no longer have to take your "selfie" photo during the boarding process to the app. You can receive your boarding/check-in time without taking the photo. Then later take a "selfie" pic that you like...and you can re-take that photo over and over if you aren't happy with the previous take.

There is a section in the back of Playmakers that is the Owner's Box VIP area where groups can reserve. It has wall to wall TVs...super cool. Our beloved Packers play on Christmas Eve at 10 am ship time which is before we dock at Cabo San Lucas. (Side note: don't get me started on Aaron Rogers leaving us...although karma caught up with him.) My research has only come up with..we can reserve this once we are on the ship so not in advance and it is first come first serve. But does anyone know if there is a cost to rent the space and if so how much? If no "rental" cost perhaps a drink minimum (although that wouldn't work for those with drink packages🤷‍♀️)? I am sure RC doesn't offer it for free but the Packers aren't playing that great this year so doubt we will pay much to watch them lose. 🤣 Thanks and Cheers!

I have booked balcony cabins before but yesterday I won my Royal Up bid ($150 total) from a spacious balcony to a Junior Suite (JS). What a frickin' deal for a JS! We never had a JS before so we are super excited. We won JS aft on Navigator (cabins 7694 and 7692). These are the ones with exceptionally large balconies albeit obstructed because they are in the back of the ship. It comes with 2 lounge chairs and 2 dining chairs with small table. We aren't divas but I am wondering if we can perhaps get a bigger table for the balcony. It would be over the moon fun to have the family play dominoes out on that large balcony. The two balconies are adjacent but my research has discovered the balcony partition won't open up between them. Does RC have extra balcony furniture lying around to be used upon request? Or is that just a pipe dream? Can we make such a request ahead of time or do we ask the cabin steward when we see them? We can always play dominoes on the tables in the game room or pool deck so no big deal if RC can't furnish my request...pun intended 😉. Cheers!

That was super helpful to know roughly how many hours you can book initially! Thanks

I found out the answer to my own question. Open house for Royal Babies/Tots is from 2 pm - 5pm on day 1. Hope this helps others. Cheers.

I check my prices for dining, on board activities, drinks etc every day and yesterday there was a price drop on port day casitas for Navigator of the Seas. I assumed the Black Friday sale would be the same for the length of the sale. But to my surprise today the casitas dropped from 40% off to 50% off. At $75 a casita that includes two welcome drinks and 4 bottles of water it is a must-get for us. This gives me hope that maybe Cyber Monday will have other sale price drops?! Cheers.

Great tip on the Hendricks Amazonia! Thanks!!

We will have a 14 month old joining us for this year's Christmas cruise. On embarkation day there is supposed to be an open house for the Royal babies/tots program when you can book babysitting services. Not every ship has this service but Navigator of the Seas thankfully does. Does anyone know the typical time of the Royal Babies Open House? We really really really need baby sitting services so that the adult family members can go on a RC excursion and the Escape Room activity, neither which allows infants. We hope to be one of the first in line to book babysitting in order to lock it in and have peace of mind. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I like the idea of Hendricks to replace Bombay Sapphire. I read that Hendricks has cucumber notes...if that is a thing for liquor. Maybe a cucumber Martini with Hendricks?? You all raise good options that I have never tried so I appreciate it. Some I never heard of so I will have to research the ingredients. Fun! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I will be sailing on the Navigator of the Seas this Christmas and I am looking for your recommended top shelf liquor or "customized" mix drink (say with top shelf liquor substituted in the standard ship mixed drink or a good topper for a mixed drink or a mixed drink with fresh juice instead of pre-made mixer...that sort of thing) that I can order. My fav is Bombay Sapphire gin martini (without the vermouth...so basically straight Bombay Sapphire gin😉). However, typically they are watered down (except I have had some good ones in the Diamond lounge back in the day when they didn't offer 5 drink vouchers at any bar). I know, I know; some may say RC doesn't water down drinks but the Bombay Sapphire gin I receive at the various bars on cruise ships never taste the same as when I drink it back home. And by the way, most restaurants in Connecticut, where I live, don't taste the same either; so I don't mean to bash RC. I could veer toward wine only since then it is consistent and not watered down but I am on vacation and would like to try something new or special. I am also looking to venture out beyond Bombay Sapphire gin martini's. What top shelf stand alone liquor do you recommend or what mixed drink that is relatively strong do you recommend? Or do you order your drink in a certain way or tip the bartender in a certain way where you are guaranteed to get the drink in the strength level you want? I can also compromise on a stiff drink for one that is absolutely delicious. I have family members joining me who aren't big drinkers so they would appreciate the delicious but not so stiff drink recommendations too. Thanks and Cheers!

A specialty lunch would have been another good option for Xmas Eve. What it looks like we finally settled on (that the entire group agrees) is to go to Hooked for Xmas Eve dinner. This specialty restaurant did NOT have the upcharge for a holiday dinner. We have one family member who doesn't eat seafood so we thought this wouldn't be an option. But they said it was fine with them since there is a steak option they can order at Hooked. Rumor has it the steak comes from Chops 😉 So after all the back and forth on Windjammer buffet v. Chops Holiday dinner we booked Hooked for dinner at the Black Friday sale price! We not only saved $ but my sis and I love lobster so we are thrilled. Again thanks to you all...even though we "zigged" instead of "zagging" all your input was helpful. Have a happy holiday season!

I too am cruising on a holiday sailing. Several months ago the app had all 7 days of the main dining menu when we made our specialty dining decisions. Then a couple of weeks ago the app removed the main dining menu for days 5-7. Now the app doesn't show any dinner menus for main dining. Perhaps RC is in the process of changing their regular week's menu because it is a holiday sailing. Hopefully the app will show the menus soon!

Gosh, I really enjoyed reading everyone's input. Can't thank you all enough. Special shout out to Bonsai3s for mentioning all the holiday festivities on Navigator. That gets me even more excited for our family. We will be traveling with an 18 month old so Santa photo op should be fun...if the little guy doesn't get too scared of Santa 😆 You all raise excellent points. My thought is...indeed it is the family's decision to book an excursion that conflicts with our early main dining time. We weren't forced to book it so RC doesn't really have to make any accommodations for us. Mum@Mercury raises an interesting point that the family may not want to go from an excursion and then change into formal-ish wear to go to Chops later that night. We tend to be early dinner people and we booked Chops for 8 pm (which was lucky we could get in even that early...next available time was 10 pm). And perhaps my niece and nephew with their 18 month old would prefer earlier dining at Windjammer than late night and longer dining at Chops?! As with all families we have conflicting desires within the family. Some like the idea of formal night dress up Christmas Eve; others prefer to save the $ since the Chops Holiday dinner is sort of a rip off due to the little added value for the extra charge. Which is confirmed by Willing292...thanks for sharing your experiences for Chops Holiday dinner. I have enough "ammunition" from your feedback to push my sis in the direction of Windjammer. And as C-leg5 mentioned we can try for perhaps a My Time Dining for just that night once we explain to the Maitre D when on board. But we will have to cancel our Chops reservation now knowing that Windjammer is the likely dining experience for Christmas Eve. Thanks CC family...your input is valued by me and my family. Enjoy the holiday season!

Ha, I am diamond plus and frankly I don't think my service requests are honored any more than a first time cruiser. Main dining is definitely not an option...unless for some reason they allow a one-off My Time Dining the night of this excursion on Christmas Eve. Too me that is too much of an ask for them to fulfill. It will be either up-priced Chops Holiday dinner at $99 a pop or Windjammer. Just wondering if others have tried dinner at Windjammer over a holiday. I know that sometimes Windjammer serves on-demand crepes which one can't get in the main dining room. Yummmm. Maybe they do something special for a holiday like turkey carving...as previously mentioned.

Thanks to you both. Unfortunately we have 5:30 pm traditional early dining time so we can't do my time dining. They won't allow a one-time my time dining so the main dining room won't be an option. It is a pity because the excursion is through RC and they are bringing us back at 6:15 pm but still too late for our 5:30 pm dinner time. It is worth the "sacrifice" of losing Main Dining option for a sunset catamaran sail around Cabo on Christmas Eve. Huh, so a carved turkey at Windjammer. That sounds lovely. My hubby jokes if we go to Windjammer then he can wear his swimming trunks to dinner on Christmas Eve🤣. Maybe others will chime in on their experiences so I can convince the whole family Windjammer is the better option. I love the variety of a buffet and to not have to wear a cocktail dress (as I would if we were going to Chops) makes my feet happy. Thanks again and wishing you all a happy upcoming holiday season. Cheers.

On Christmas Eve we have an excursion on Navigator of the Seas that brings us back too late to go to the main dining room. This leaves us with two options...(1) pay the "up charge" of $99 for Chops Holiday Dinner or (2) go to the Windjammer Buffet. We booked the Chops Holiday dinner thinking it is a better option than a casual Windjammer buffet for Christmas Eve but the price of $99 is making the family rethink this decision. (As an a side: Jamie's Italian restaurant has a $96 holiday dinner and Hooks and Izumi are out because some family members don't like the menus. Sigh, ya can't please everyone in a family who cruises together.) Has anyone gone to Windjammer Buffet for dinner during a holiday? Do they have anything special they serve? Thanks in advance for your reply.

Thanks everyone. So true about a money grab. But we are stuck with either specialty restaurant when they jack up the price for that particular day or Windjammer. Our excursion doesn't allow us to make it in time for main dining. I will start another thread and see if anyone has eaten dinner at the Windjammer buffet during a holiday to see if maybe they do something special. We could save a lot of money if we went to the Windjammer. Again thanks to you all 🙂 Cheers!

Yeah it sort sounds like a rip off…jacked up price for one glass of champagne. The family will still do it. I plan on returning to the forum to give everyone my impression of it. Thanks for your input.

The bottle Evian water package is 50% off which is a real savings. Thanks for this heads up.

We will be sailing on Navigator of the Seas and booked the Chop's Holiday dinner for Christmas Eve. RC charges $99 for it; the description is "Celebrate the holidays at the Royal Caribbean hallmark, Chops Grille. Indulge in a festive meal with complimentary Moët & Chandon Champagne for each guest and a special holiday lobster tail. Or try one of our signature main courses from the full menu, like the 9 ounce angus filet mignon or the grilled branzino. The dinner wouldn’t be complete without an irresistible dessert, like warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and berry compote. It’s a classic way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year." (emphasis added) We booked it because our excursion has us returning after our traditional early dining time so it was either book a specialty restaurant or Windjammer. I understand it may differ from ship to ship and may have changed over the years but has anyone tried the Chop's Holiday dinner and if so what was your impression? Thanks in advance for your reply.

On 11/7 I couldn't check in at midnight ship time until I removed the app and then downloaded it again. My husband's app which he downloaded the night before did work for check in at midnight while I was waiting for my app to reload. My sister's app took 10 minutes or so after midnight ship's time before check in became ready. So if you are still struggling to check in I recommend removing the RC app and then downloading it again. Hope this helps. Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

Thanks so much for the heads up on the Black Friday sale...I was able to rebook at lower prices for the Escape Room as well as lunch for specialty restaurants and the soda package. I follow the prices every day and this is the lowest so far! Was fun to wake up in the morning and check the sale! Score!! 🙂

Excellent point! Many thanks 😀

Thank you very much for your input. Excellent point that the cabin is in the front of the dining room. I really appreciate the extra effort you took to look up the exact cabin number and deck plans for your analysis. You guys ROCK!