Starry Eyes

The D lounges were undersized before, Now with the increased number of D and above, the D lounges would be untenably crowded if they returned to unlimited drinks only in the DL during HH. Newly minted diamonds and aspiring diamonds would be shocked and disappointed (old ones know about crowded lounges). It really cannot literally go back to the old way. It could go to a specific D drink menu at various (or all) bars for set hours. Unless HH was shorter than the old days and shorter than suite HH, I think that would actually substantially increase the number of drinks per D. And I still don’t think most of those “moderate drinkers” who don’t buy a drink package with four vouchers will buy a drink package if they have a HH.

If those 12 Royal cruise have made you D on Royal, Celebrity will match that to Elite. But if you keep cruising on Royal and make it to D+, Celebrity will still only match that at Elite; the match does not go higher. Similarly, Celebrity Elite (and higher) can match to D on Royal. (If you those 12 Royal cruises have you at Platinum or Emerald, you match to Select on Celebrity) https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Reciprocity-Flyer_052021_FINAL.pdf

I see a JS gty at over $560 per person per night double occupancy. To me, it looks like they have sold all the JS and they are now overpriced.

Will it save money to walk it back to the old happy hour? I suspect it averaged more than four or five drinks per Diamond member during the old happy hour. There were lots of doubles ordered; lots of generous pours. Plenty of people seemed to try to maximize the drinks ordered in that timeframe.

I like to use the app. With the app, DH or I can skip straight to “select arrival time” (step 2). We select an arrival time for everyone in our party; we do this as soon as we can as we prefer early arrival times. We can almost do that in our sleep, lol. Then at my convenience and when fully awake, I go back and do step 1, scanning the passports and filling in addresses and such. Last I checked, the website did not allow one to do the steps out of order.

As I already had the website open (that’s how I found the rate), I thought I could finish booking on line faster than calling. This time it worked. I have missed out sometimes in the past as rates can sell out quickly. Wow, I did get lucky. I was not refreshing. I had seen the GGG flyer but never expected the rates to appear midafternoon.

You might want to read this thread.

I did not notice the deal come and go. The moment I saw it, I booked it as fast as I could type. I know how fast those deals can sell out. I also got a gty.

12/3?

We sailed on Mariner out of T5 about 3 weeks ago. They still had attendants at the base of the ramps and slips of paper for the dash.

Trellis Bar and Giovanni Wine Bar are both in Central Park. The menus for both, as wells as other bars, are in the app. Under dining, look for bars & lounges

Or maybe he wanted to see how long it took for his joke to be posted to CruiseCritic.

I understand you want to stay on the same ship. Nevertheless you might want to consider the alternative.

I’m not an expert, but I am not sure it will be allowed. The fine is pretty stiff if CBP decides it violates PVSA (Jones is cargo). Could you disembark at Vancouver and board a different ship for an Alaskan cruise? I seem to recall threads in years past when a TA or cruiseline (I don’t recall which one) initially said yes to a similar request then later (shortly before the cruise) decided they could not allowed it. A much worse spot for the passengers…

Surely you’ll have another chance to befriend him next time run into him. It’s bound to happen on that tiny ship😉.

Once you check in for your cruise and have a set sail pass, sometimes an unofficial stateroom number is encoded in the barcode. iPhone users just put the set sail pass in their apple wallet. Then they look at the string of digits below the barcode in apple wallet. To the right of the dash (-), there will be either gty or a set of digits. If gty, you do not have even an unofficial cabin assignment yet; You can try again later. If there are digits, that is your unofficial assignment. You cannot do anything with the info (like swap cabins) until it is official, but some of us like to know. Android users do the same thing using a bar code reader.

No. We checked the compass; there was no embarkation lunch for regular passengers. We saw Key guests and B2B guests in MDR.

If your neighbor is rude/noisy, you will be able to hear them even if your cabin does not connect. I do try to pick non-connecting cabins when reasonably possible, but I’ll pick a well located connecting cabin over poorly located non-connecting cabin. And we sometimes book gty, and may be assigned connecting cabins. We roll with it. I have had more noisy neighbors in non-connecting cabins than in connecting cabins. Perhaps people in connecting cabins tend to be more aware that their noise might impact a neighbor…if they don’t bother you, maybe you will return the favor. Since you cannot trade don’t sweat it. I think Harmony’s connecting door location is also better than on some ships. Always assume you will have a crying baby or noisy person next door when packing for a cruise. Pack earplugs and have a white noise app. Be happy if you do not need them.

Edit: I see from another thread your unofficial cabin number is visible with the bar code trick. They have saved a cabin for you. They just have not made the assignment official. I have sometimes waited until just a few days before sailing for my assignment to become official. NBD. If the cruise is sold out, the only way RoyalUp bids will be accepted is if someone has to cancel. There is still a chance, but perhaps not a very high chance of an upgrade

If everything goes perfectly (and often it does), you will make that flight. In the other hand, I have been on multiple cruises where disembarkation has been delayed for a variety of reasons. If you chose the early flight and disembarkation is delayed, don’t allow anyone in your party to be the cranky or mouthy passenger in the disembarkation line. Remember you knew you were taking a calculated risk when you booked a very early flight and sometimes those calculated risks don’t work out. Have a back up plan and use it if needed.

Given you don’t have really special plans for Puerto Rico, I’d also choose 8 nights on Odyssey. Both classes of ships have their fans. I can be happy on either class though they have different charms. You might have gotten more varied answers if you were comparing a longer cruise on Radiance class to a shorter cruise on Q class.

You did not mention your plans for Puerto Rico. Would you be adding days to explore there? If so, is that something that sounded great to you both? If you answer yes to those questions, I’d have a reason to say you should consider the Jewel cruise. If not, Odyssey.

Yes, you can. They want you to check in, but not everyone will remember to it. Some cannot do it. Sometimes Royal is still trying to sell last minute bookings on ships within 3 days of sailing. At that point on line check in has closed, so anyone who books that late cannot check in. Been there, worked out fine.

The OP indicated they let his mother disembark without signing a letter for the charge, though the cruiseline has the cruise contract and the credit card. If she had a cash account, I wonder if they would have allowed her disembark with luggage without signing a promissory letter/note.

I appreciate your sense of fairness and that it us your hubby’s turn; that’s admirable. Still can you set those thoughts aside for a moment. I want to ask about the big picture. Right now you are reaching for D, but you seem to be avid Florida cruisers, so there will be more point goals ahead (D+, crystal blocks, 340, pc). Which one of you is more likely to want to take cruises without the spouse in the future (solo cruise or cruise with kids, or friend, or parent)? If that person is you, then you should be continue to be the “point leader” for your linked C&A account. You take this cruise to get to D because this is good strategy as a couple and this is a cruise for strategic reasons. He benefits as you collect points. If that person is DH, then he should now take over the role of “point leader” on your account by taking the cruise. He would go not simply because it is his turn but because it is good point strategy.