1992cruiser

I called and spoke with a very nice lady who said Wonderland is able to accommodate that size party, but it will have to go through shipboard events. She said to go ahead and email them and they would take over everything including payment. She said it's important to finalize it before dining opens up to other reservations.

Thanks for all the suggestions....

Do you have anyone in your group in a GS or better? If so, the suite concierge might be able to help with reservations.

There is one GS couple. Do you have any idea when they can contact the suite concierge? The sailing isn't until Feb, so I have plenty of time.

I posted a link to a few reviews of Wonderland and 24 out of about 40 people were interested. I know some people are just going because most of the group is, but they are aware of the unique food.

We are okay with a few tables, just hoping they are in the same section. Some places are able to move tables together for real large groups, but I've never seen the setup for this restaurant.

My main concern of waiting until we board to get the date and time is some people in the group have infants and need to book the nursery once we board for the night of the dinner. Not very worried about the 3+ kids because there seems to be a lot more available in the adventure club. I would much rather be able to tell everyone upfront, Day 5 at 8:00 is Wonderland and they can make arrangements as needed.

Does anyone have experience booking a large group at a specialty restaurant? We are trying to book Wonderland on Harmony for 24 adults. Dining hasn't opened up yet so I want to be able to do this the day it opens. I'm assuming I need to pay for all 24 people at that point? Some are in our group with a TA, a few others have different TA's so they aren't linked with us.

Any suggestions...(besides don't do it).

First, nobody is falling off the ship (get them an interior cabin). If they are overly intoxicated in public areas, it will be noticed, teens aren't able to hide it as well as 'drinkers' and you guys will get to have a fun conversation with the Royal security.

Second, if teens want to drink, they will find a way. My suggestion is make them have late dinner with you and make them eat early breakfast with you. There is nothing better than watching a teen suffer through breakfast with a nasty hangover, especially when they think they are hiding it from you.

Third, it's so easy to smell it---during, but especially after (unless you also smell of booze). Teens aren't smart enough to know which drinks to order to keep the smell away.

Go enjoy the cruise, let the kids have fun. Let them know ahead of time there will be consequences if they drink (or if they are caught).

Does anyone know if they can make wow bands for room only entry. Once onboard, some of the people cruising with us will be switching cabins (booked a diamond in each cabin for the discount). On the other ships, we could just have extra sea pass cards made that were cabin entry only.

The gift card program Royal uses is awful and has way too many restrictions. I bought my Aunt a $100 gift card a few years ago and she gave it back to me and said I thought we were friends. I don't understand why they can't make their cards like every other large company. I would buy Royal gift cards all the time for gifts if they would just get rid of all the restrictions for use.

We brought our 1 year old (her bday was on cruise) and used the daycare twice so we could relax by the pool for a few hours. We used the nightcare four times so we could enjoy our dinners, have some casino fun and catch a few of the adult shows. The care was great and I would highly recommend it. We never had a single issue with it and they allowed us to use it as much as we wanted since there weren't many babies onboard.

We brought baby food, but only used it for snacks when we were out. She ate very well and the mdr waiter would bring her fruit, mac n cheese and chicken fingers as we would sit down.each night she was with us. The buffets are great for that age as there is always something easy for breakfast and lunch to eat.

People say it's a waste of money to bring a little one because they won't remember it---I say it's something I will remember for the rest of my life. The staff was awesome with her and she had a blast...So many smiles from that week, we had a great time.

I have been on Oasis, Allure and Independence with a child going to the nursery. Only the Oasis was closed day/night 1. The other two were open around 7 or 8, we were able to drop our daughter off and be seated for dinner at 8:00.

I wish it was consistent, but then I would guess that they would always be closed Day 1. It must be a staffing issue? I would suggest signing up as soon as registration begins.

If you add Fox News, there will be non stop protesting in Central Park and the Promenade.

I really don't understand why people care what other people do with their time? If someone wants to watch the news by the pool, great... If someone wants to sit in their bed all day and watch the news with the balcony door open, great. Ones way of relaxation doesn't have to be yours.

And why are some people threatened by having Fox news available on a Royal ship? Whether you like it or not, Fox news is a very popular channel and pulls in much better ratings than most of the other cable channels shown. If you don't like it, don't watch it. I don't watch it often, but I would like to have it on in the background while getting ready.

Well this makes it a little more difficult to put people in different cabins for balcony discounts and then switch when onboard. Can you get a wrist band or sea pass card for $5 with just the ability to open a cabin door?

If you're playing enough in the casino, you should ask about free drinks while you are playing. I had one cruise that I lost some decent money on and ever since, I get free drinks and discounts off future cruises.

I gamble much less now, but still receive the free drinks.

I have a group of 20 going on Harmony next year. We were all on MTD, but switched to traditional because so many people said it's much easier to get tables close to each other or even a really large table at the same place and time each night. I think 12 is the largest MTD table and there aren't many available.

Good luck

I don't recall the hours, but they were open quite a bit. We had a 1 year old and used them almost every night until 12, she basically slept the entire time.

I would suggest going to register as soon as you board as some ships will fill up fast. Know what days and hours are most important to you because they only allow so many hours to each person until everyone has had a chance to register.

I have seen plenty of people using them before on Royal ships. The only thing I'll add is try and learn the card quickly as some people take too long looking at the card. You can almost always ask the dealer and they will help you with basic strategy---remember, the dealer doesn't win when you lose and he typically doesn't get tipped unless you win.

I'm glad you got it worked out.

 

I just wanted to ask if you made sure your room actually sleeps 4. My friend went on a cruise with the kids and the grandparents and had planned on changing the sleeping arrangement from what was actually booked, but it turned out the staterooms they had couldn't accommodate the plans they had. i.e. sofa beds but no Pullmans.

 

I travel with only one child, and most of my rooms (but not all) have fit only 3 people.

I have a jr suite so one kid will sleep on the sofa (she's 2) and the other will be in a pack n play. I did ask though and it does sleep 3.

Just an update for those of you that care....

I talked to my brother in law and we agreed that we would split the $700 and I would pay for his drink package since I have a ton of obc. It works out around $700 still, but at least half is obc. No single cruise fares on Allure and the rate was much lower with kids sail free, I actually also saved money on the regular cabin rate.

I'm good with it....Thanks for the opinions.

Both kids would be staying in my cabin.

As far as bringing a friend or another family member, most of the family is already going and friends were invited when we booked. I think I'm gonna have to talk to him or just act like I never saw it and pay for it.

That's a pretty personal decision. Don't think it's something for us to decide.

I know....I've just been battling in my mind back and forth. I don't want to just walk away from saving $700, but I also don't know if he would still go on the cruise if he had to pay the full double occupancy rate.

Oh well, at least it's a decision where I've already saved some money and it's not a 'bad' problem to have.

Here's the situation:

My wife and I have two kids.

Her brother is also going on the cruise so to save him from paying the double occupancy amount, I put one of my kids in his room and we agreed that I would pay the 3rd person fare that I would've paid anyways and he would pay the difference. Once onboard, she would just move to my cabin.

Our sailing now has kids sail free as a 3rd and 4th guest. I got the one discount but now I don't know if I even bring it up or just eat the $700 and not say a word about it.

Any advice....

My wife and I took our 11 month old on Oasis and had a great time. I will have those great memories forever, especially when she really started walking through Central Park. We did get a really good rate for the third passenger. We also had gma and gpa to help out and we made use of the day/night care almost everyday. We would send her there when it was her bedtime and we would enjoy our dinner and a show.

Packing is packing and you come home with less because of all the baby stuff you throw away. The crew was awesome and always made my daughter smile and laugh. We have another one on the way and just booked a 7 nighter for Sep when we will have a 3 year old and a 9 monther. Looking forward to it.

For those of you that don't understand the question because nobody is forcing you to go or 'holding a gun to your head', then move on to a different thread. Obviously, by the amount of people that are responding, there are quite a few people that don't get the cover charge either.

I don't recall anyone saying they are forced to go there, most people are just wondering WHY people go there, is the food great? Is there some type of show? Is there something we are missing?

The only bitching and moaning was about the WJ burgers.

People have odd and unique taste.

 

 

 

We have friends from the Midwest that think Bahama Breeze is the single best restaurant in the universe. They associate BB with their trips to Orlando and their honeymoon and their most fun vacations. They don't have BB at home.

 

They are ABSOLUTELY FLOORED when we tell them the only time we ever go there is when they are in town and insist on us meeting them there.

 

Same here...We have friends that request that restaurant every time they come to South Florida. It's the first words out of their mouth when we talk to them.

My wife and I have this conversation with everyone of our friends that goes on cruises with us and not one person has said that they would pay the cover for JR. And this comes from people who pay for specialty restaurants all the time.

We have two kids, so it's $28 for us to go eat burgers and fries---I don't get it.