Starry Eyes

And remember that casual cruiser ex boyfriend not only gives his new GF D status, it also passes to his GF’s minor children.

I rather wish they would remove the matching status if/when the spousal or significant other relationship ends. The previous spouse/SO loses their linked status before a new new one can be attached to the account. I see no reason a person with a series of temporary live-in GF’s or BF’s should pass permanent C&A status to each of those ex’s, for example.

I understand the desire for flexibility, but since you mentioned reservations, I thought I’d throw it out there. Solarium Bistro is still a buffet, yet a bit nicer atmosphere and waitstaff bring drinks. It may or may not suit your family. If you book then and decide to cancel on board, someone else will likely snap it right up.

OK, how many were full suite to full suite? when I think of a suite upgrade, I am thinking if a full suite, not a (yawn) JS.

Of those four suite upgrades since full capacity, how many were from one suite category to another suite category? And how many from a regular stateroom up to a suite?

I often have the impression that MTD lines are longer near the opening time…though *hopefully* those lines clear fairly quickly as so many tables become available (the early diners all sat at the same time, so they file out steadily). So the line might be gone by 7:30, as the above poster reported. Or maybe lines were never bad on that cruise🤷‍♀️. Different people on different cruises will report different experiences. I just want people, especially ones with little kids, to know about the odd MTD start times on Royal so they are prepared. Another free dining option in the evening you might consider is Solarium Bistro. Take a look at that menu and see if it would appeal to your family. If so, make a reservation if still available. You can cancel if you change your mind but if you wait too long all the reservations will likely be gone.

Actually you have two choices: If you want reservations, you could go to the MTD desk early on boarding day and ask for reservations. There is a chance you will get one at a time you like…or not. Worst you will hear is no. You can also go without reservations. Outside the MTD dining room, there will be two lines. One for people with reservations and one for people without reservations. Join the latter whenever you wish. You will be seated; I don’t know how long the line might be or how long you might wait. BTW, some people do report showing up before the MTD start time and being seated. After all, every night there are some early traditional diners who do not come to the MDR). The MTD host may be able to go ahead and fill those seats if it won’t interfere with the work flow of early traditional dining waiters. You can stop by the MTD desk early and ask very politely.

we are in the same situation for our upcoming b2b. We submitted bids for full suites though full suites are sold out. So first someone in a suite must cancel; that’s not a frequent event but it does happen now and then. Then Royal either puts the suite for sale on the web or puts it into RoyalUp. If it goes to RoyalUp, our bid must be selected. I bid what the suite is worth to me. As our bids are not super high, good chance somebody will have out bid us. Overall, my odds are low, but as the bidding is easy I still take the shot. We won a RoyalUp on our January cruise from OV to balcony. Balconies and suites had been sold out (the whole cruise was sold out for a bit) for weeks. There must have been cancellations and we moved up. There are far more balconies on a ship than suites. So more balconies become available due to cancellations than do suites.

Pretty sure the deadline is shorter than that. We booked the day prior to sailing a few years ago.

You are repeating yourself, so I will repeat my agreement. I dislike Royal’s MTD system. I never, ever write about it on CruiseCritic as an advocate of the new system but rather to alert people to the change. Some people erroneously link the change to covid and thus think it will magically disappear soon; that’s unrealistic as the change predates covid. I hope you are able to convince RCI to change their system.

I agree and it is NOT because of covid.

As a couple of us have mentioned, the new MTD scheme started before covid. I experienced it on Harmony before Covid. Another poster shared a 2019 pre-covid Symphony experience with the new MTD scheme. I assure you: RCI conceived the idea and rolled it out before they heard of covid.

Oh, I totally agree. I liked the original MTD, but as an early-mid diner the new system stinks. I think the new system is about filling seats efficiently in the MDR, not about pleasing cruisers It has always been true that the main production shows on the small/mid sized ships are timed to accommodate the early and late diners. Someone who selected a middle time in MTD always had this issue. The difference with the new system is that they are less able to scoot their dining time earlier to catch the early show. They can catch the late shows.

I’m glad it is working for you and I agree that 6:45 is a very reasonable dining time. I’d like everyone deciding to sign up for MTD to know that MTD is opening later on most of Royal’s ships. Somebody who thinks they can pop in anytime from 5 to 9 is apt to be disappointed; let’s reset those expectations pre cruise if possible. I liked the old MTD system where that flexibility was possible; I don’t know how to bring it back. I think the new MTD system works better for those who eat mid or late. Those who hoped for flexibility in the early to mid range are not well served by the new MTD system. You obviously book fairly early and make your MTD reservations ASAP. snagging good reservation times. That’s great, but remember only a limited number of people will be able to do that or your 6:45 reservation line will be impractical. Less knowledgeable people probably won’t get those prime reservation slots. If ever you happen to book a last minute cruise, you probably won’t have those reservation times, either. On some ships the lines outside the MTD room are really long. Some people tolerate lines reasonably well; others don’t.

Though you evidently did not experience it, the new MTD (not improved) scheme started before Covid on some ships. We experienced it on Harmony before covid. It has continued to spread to more and more ships. First, let’s discuss the very early start time. Realize that when you change early dining start time, you impact late dining start time (and MTD start time). On Wonder early dining is 5 pm and late is 7:45pm. That’s pretty early for “late” dining, and I suspect some people who ordinarily consider themselves late diners can do 7:45. The 5 pm early dining mean MTD can start at 6:30 as the early diners are filing out. What if Wonder’s early dining were shifted to a more civilized 6 pm? Well, late dining would be 8:45pm, which Royal likely found attracted fewer people at Port Canaveral. And with the new MTD scheme, MTD could not start until 7:30. So, making early dining very early shifts people’s dining choices a bit and favorable adjusts the start times of other options. I think Royal is trying to maximize the use of seats in its MDR from the instant they open. If every seat on all three levels is assigned at opening time with traditional early diners, all three levels are filled within about 15 minutes. That’s very efficient use of the seats. Contrast that with the prior arrangement where two levels were early traditional and one was MTD. Two levels filled quickly. The other often filled at a trickle when the opening. Table availability is tracked and groups are escorted to a table each night, so more personnel is needed. The seats in the MTD room are probably not filled for an hour

In all likelihood the dining times on your sailing will be similar to the current sailing on Wonder (she’s not relocating, as some ships will soon). Here are the dining times on current sailing (according to the app): Early 5pm MTD 6:30-9:00pm Late 7:45pm

If you share the ship and sail date, your fellow CruiseCritic members can offer better advice

Be sure you check the opening time of MTD on your ship, especially since you mentioned young kids. On some Royal ships MTD does not open until around 6:45.

For those of us driving to port, bringing wine is much easier. We have a wider selection of wine locally than Royal Caribbean offers on the wine list. Furthermore, Royal has had some difficulty keeping listed wines in stock in the last couple years. Bringing our own assures we will be able to enjoy some favored wines.

People from a variety of tax brackets know the value of a $. I was never more aware of the value of a $ than in my poor student days though my tax rate was low. OTOH, not everyone has experienced (or is otherwise aware of) very high marginal tax rates.

If you have a personal history of consuming up to 20-25 drinks in a day on a cruise, two of you drinking more than $550 worth won’t be much of a challenge. Enjoy your cruise.

I have not had this happen on one of my cruises but I have seen reports of it here on CruiseCritic. All you can do is keep trying with both app and website.

I understand. For many of us the perks became meaningful at Diamond. It takes occasional cruisers a while to get to D, but if you will get there if you keep cruising with Royal.

You must be in a low marginal tax bracket else you would not say that.

A bit of progress. I received an email from RCI today notifying cancellation and refund to my credit card for my 4/8 cruise. The key disappeared from that set sail pass. The three packages purchased for later cruises have not yet been refunded.