Island Beachdog

The sold out banners were showing intermittently yesterday. Although banners for sold out are not showing this morning, you still cannot book dining for my Cruise in December. It will either let you go all the way through the booking process then come back with a not available response (after put in credit card) or give you a we’re full response after choosing the time. I do think now it is for inventory control since it is just WOS.

Yesterday, all of the dining venues, one by one started showing as "Sold out" on cruise planner. It is the same for lunches and dinners. My cruise is still 10 months out. I am on WOS. Maybe they are getting ready to start new dining reservation process? Has anyone else experienced this?

There were no cruise credits used for this cruise.

After cancelling my dining plan on cruise planner, I had waited over 6 weeks for the refund. After a couple of calls, I was finally advised that a glitch in the system failed to actually process a refund despite the fact it showed as cancelled. After much discussion and being placed on hold, I was advised that they would have to do a work around since the planner already had it cancelled. A couple of weeks later, I received a new invoice showing my balance as $500 more and no deposit paid. What?? Where did it go? Another call and a lot of adding and subtracting planner purchases and refunds by the CSR, she assured me that my deposit showed on her system, the monies balanced and the system would eventually update with my correct balance. She suggested I just give it a little more time. Ok, so I checked again today(approximately 6 weeks later) still no change in balance! I called again and again was advised that deposit showed on the reservation side and no idea why doesn’t show on invoice. After another hour and 45 minutes with it being bumped up to 2 levels, it was finally decided that the only way it could be fixed is for another deposit to be paid/refunded?!!!!!! How can Royal not have the ability to just adjust an error caused by a glitch? Everyone was very apologetic but that is just nuts!

Let me say first off I have had no experience with the Cruise ports in your area so I can't really comment on that. For a long time, I sailed almost exclusively on NCL and started alternating with Royal since the advent of the Oasis Class. I like them both for different reasons. First off let me say that the Joy and Symphony are not close to the same size or experience. Symphony is significantly larger than the Joy in terms of capacity and tonnage. I am assuming you have not sailed the oasis class. If so, I think you would enjoy the difference with the ships neighborhoods and activities. That being said, IMO NCL has better food and their main shows are better. Royal seems to have more varied entertainment options beyond the main showroom so that would also be a consideration. Royal's Oasis class ships, simply have a broader range of activities particularly for young adults. Royal's private islands are hands down better than NCL in every way. The down side to Royal is the $. All of the sudden their prices have skyrocketed. The cruise I booked for next year is $3000 more now than when I booked 6 months ago. They are really testing the market to see how much people are willing to pay. Just realized, I am starting to ramble so, let me summarize. If your boys are the primary consideration for making the decision (assuming they are not yet of legal drinking age) I would suggest the Symphony is a better choice. Don't get me wrong, the Joy is a great ship. It just offers a more relaxing environment than college age boys generally require (but the booze package sure is nice even if you only have wine with dinner). I hope this helps.

Any of the packages require reservations be made onboard. In terms of the lower price for lunches, the menus are more limited in some - but not all the restaurants. Izumi,& Jamie’s are the same. Chops is smaller menu but interestingly they offer the large filet and not the smaller cut. Hooked also has a smaller selection. Central Park does not open for lunch nor does Wonder. If you ate unaware, the Solarium serves lunch and dinner. It requires a reservation for dinner only. There is no additional charge for this restaurant. I believe they now serve all items except the entree from a buffet set up.

For sure! The Unlimited dining plan just isn't worth it to me now. I hate waiting until you get onboard to make dining reservations. It usually works out ok for timing but not always. I like to eat at 6:30-7:00 and it seems that everyone else wants to as well. Last time we had a hard time getting a cab to the port and wound up boarding after 1 so there were no 6-7s left. This time, I booked my 5 favorite restaurants for dinner and 1 lunch as soon as they were posted on cruise planner for my Symphony 8 day in 24. Thus far, the price I paid was the cheapest I have seen since I booked and it was still cheaper for me than the dining plan.

Yes, however, you can get an idea of the range. Prices change sometimes a few times per day. My 2024 8 day has ranged from $257 to currently $373.99 per adult all within the last 5 days.

When does it show up on cruise planner? I thought I would need to wait until aboard. I am hoping to reserve it on Symphony.

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I am going to pass.

I am still trying to decide on the beverage package. I know the typical prices for the fruity mixed drink options, however, I haven't seen any prices for something like a rum and coke. Are they also $14?

For that itinerary, I would choose Encore. The observation lounge is wonderful!. The panoramic view, great seating, snacks and a bar make for a very enjoyable experience. We spent way more time there than on our balcony. Can't beat it for cruising glacier bay.

To be honest, I would be more likely to hold onto a locker for the duration than to hog a chair.

I do not see my next cruise listed that way either. When I open mine, I see three icons across the top of the screen (a ship, a calendar and a person). Do you have those?

I had a similar experience booking dining on Symphony. It gave the same message for 2 of the venues I looked at. I logged out of cruise planner and back in 5 minutes later and it allowed me to book without any problems. I assumed it was a glitch as there were several open times available. Are you using cruise planner or the app?

Chops + 1 didn't show up right away as an option on cruise planner for my 1/27/24 cruise on Symphony. The Unlimited and the 3 night was up about a week before it showed. When it did show up, it showed sold out fairly quickly and was taken out of the listing. (just when I finally decide to book it) I would keep checking regularly. If it is as popular as it was on my cruise it may not last long.

When we were on the Allure in December, 2019, I noticed there was a table set up on the promenade the first day with 3 bottle wine packages being offered for a set price. Does anyone know if they still do this?

The dining times I scheduled on the planner all show a 4 hour duration. If I schedule dinner for 6:30, it knocks me out of scheduling any activities until after 10:30!!!! Will this change closer to sail date when they actually open up the entertainment reservations?

I really dislike having to rush onboard to get in line for dinner reservations only to discover I can’t get my preferred date or time. So, if I pre purchase my 2 favorite restaurants and then add the 3 night or chops + one package, would I be able to use wine discount for all specialty dining venues regardless? As it instructs you to make additional reservations onboard would they cancel prepaid dining reservations?

Can you bring partially consumed bottles of wine from specialty restaurants back to room for later consumption? I’m trying to weigh the value of purchasing a dining plan. We get tired of eating big meals after day 3. The discount for bottles of wine might make it worth it though.