Mr. Moonlight

24 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Think of it more as a placeholder reservation than a courtesy one.

But if it doesn’t hold a restaurant, what place does it hold?🤔

9 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

If you buy the dining plan, RCI will make your first reservation for you, then you can make your own reservations for the remaining nights based on availability. You can also change the made reservation to one of your choosing, based on availability.

Thank you, 1025cruise.  I do understand that they make what they call a "reservation,"  but do the reserve a particular restaurant for you?  And if they don't, what is it that the "reservation" reserves?

I’m getting so much conflicting information.  According to the written terms of our three night dining plan, “A courtesy reservation will be made for Day 1 or 2 of your sailing.”  I’m hearing so many people say that all this means is that RC selects a time slot for you, and you still have to select a restaurant upon boarding, which may or may not be available.  To be sure, that would make the “courtesy reservation” ridiculously meaningless.  Others have said that RC does select the restaurant for you, and some of those folks say the restaurant RC usually chooses is Chops.  I’m confused.  Which is it?  (Follow up question:  if RC selects the restaurant, how and when do you find out?)

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Does not make a difference.

Just curious.  Why would it not make a difference?

Thanks for all the quick and helpful responses! 🙂  It looks like a choice between better views vs. rain issues.  Question:  Since this is a northbound Alaska cruise with most of the sights on the starboard side, does it make a difference that that 9256 is on the portside corner?

We managed to book 9256 for a June  northbound Alaska cruise, but I’m beginning to have second thoughts.  I’ve read elsewhere that there’s not much of an overhang, which may be a concern in bad weather.  I do have the option of switching to 9660, which seems to provide more cover in the event of rain.  Anybody have any thoughts?  Thanks!

We recently booked the Northbound Alaska cruise, departing June 17.  The Grandview train transfer from Seward to Anchorage at the end of our cruise seemed like a great idea, but when I called and tried to book it I was told by the representative that it was sold out.  Not finding that plausible, I hung up, called again and spoke with a different rep, who told me the transfer was not showing up on his screen, and he couldn't tell whether it was sold out or not yet available to book. There is almost no information about it on the Royal Caribbean website, so I sent a direct message asking for help  That was a week ago, and so far, no response.  Is it possible that it's sold out?  If not, does anyone know how far in advance I could book it?  Any other tips would be appreciated.   Thanks!

We have just booked our 7 night Alaska cruise aboard Radiance of the Seas beginning June 17.   I would like to purchase the 3 night dining package,  however, I am concerned that in doing so I will be shut out of an early evening reservation and miss a show or activity,  or eating far too late in the evening to make it enjoyable.    Secondarily, I'm concerned about having to confront of mad dash for reservations, being poked and kicked when I would prefer to start of my vacation in relaxation mode.    

My question is whether these are legitimate concerns and might I just be better off coughing up the extra dollars,  paying full price for three specialty restaurants and booking the restaurants I want, when I want, and not having to deal with the stampede.

Thanks! 😃

Thanks, Bonnie! I think you may have sealed the deal for us. The balcony on 7688 does seem inviting, but I can't imagine what it would be like to have our daughter hovering over our heads for nine nights at sea. 9320, while very nice, isn't going to cut it if only two of us could be on the balcony at one time.

It seems that the balcony opening on 1688 is a bit small, all things considered, it looks like it's the best way to go!

My wife, 13 yo daughter and I are booking our cabin on the Explorer. As of time of this post, we have our choice of three available cabins, each of which has its benefits. I have been studying the boards exhaustively to try to figure out which would work best for us. While there are a lot of posts on these cabins, I still cannot decide!

9320 (D1)is right in the middle of the hump, but the balcony may not comfortably accommodate the three of us. (We loved our oversized balcony on the hump on the Serenade, our first ever cruise this year).

7688 (E1) is a corner aft, is about 15 square feet smaller than 9320, but has a huge balcony. It does not have a sofa bed, so my daughter would be relegated to the pullman . . . not sure how that is going to work out.

1688 is a supersized D1 corner aft cabin with a large balcony, though the view may be somewhat obstructed.

As this will be only our second cruise, I would appreciate any comments from any of you more experienced cruisers which would help us make our decision. Thanks!