"First" RCCL Cruise - so much to plan it's overwhelming...

[the_dylaness]

I put "first" in quotes because I sailed Legend OTS in January 2002 but that's basically a lifetime ago, and irrelevant.

 

I notice lots of people talking about all the various things they had to book first thing onboard, or on the cruise planner in advance. It feels a little overwhelming, frankly.  I then recently read an account of a passenger who did NOT know to book "all the things" in advance and was rather criticized by many CCers about this.

 

I do not want to mess this up, so, please advise- WHAT do I need to do in advance, and what can wait until we are onboard?

 

If it is helpful for providing advice, we are Diamond (due to status match with Celebrity... no idea if our kids get any status on RCCL, they are probably Classic or maybe Select on Celebrity but they don't issue numbers) and in a Star Class suite.

 

TIA!

[poocher]

If you are sailing Star Class, you don’t have to do pretty much anything.  You will have a Genie to do it all for you.  They should reach out several weeks prior to get your wants/needs/preferences and then take care of it all.

[the_dylaness]

Will all of the "good seats" (preferred seats, times, activities) etc be taken? It seems like there is kind of a mad rush to plan everything in advance.

[DustFSU]

If you are in a Star Class suite, you will get a Royal Genie, which is like a personal assistant and they will contact you before you board and can book any shows in advance for you and anything else you would like, like specialty dinning which is all complementary since you are in Star Class. So you have it pretty good for the "first" time and going to feel super spoiled, but you are paying good money to get all that.

[ARandomTraveler]

Usually, if you're not in a star class suite, you would start making your reservations for dinner and shows for the week as soon as you get on the ship on embarkation day. 
 

Since you're star class, the genie will do this for you ahead of time, before boarding day, meaning, you get first choice of everything, and you're not in competition with everyone else to make reservations.

 

If you're not in star class, and you get on the ship and don't start making your reservations right away, this is where people run into trouble (from what I've read anyway, I haven't done an Oasis class sailing yet). There are probably a lot of people who don't read cruise critic who don't know they're supposed to do those things, and they're the "losers" of this competition, as they get what's truly leftover after star class people, and then the people who know to book when they get on board. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[QueSeraSera]

maybe should've booked star class for our 1st RCL cruise....

would the Key thing be worthwhile?

[poocher]

Certainly wouldn’t come close to Star Class.  That is a whole other level of service.  You do pay a hefty price for it.

[smokeybandit]

There's nothing you *need* to do as soon as you get on board other than muster station.

 

 

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

would the Key thing be worthwhile?

Only if you were going to get Stream Voom anyway and Key is within a couple of $ of Stream.

[the_dylaness]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful info.

Will we be able to see the show schedule in advance of our cruise and if so, how far in advance? 
We are celebrating a birthday and want to definitely at least have a bit of that plan made before we go...

[firefly333]

10 minutes ago, the_dylaness said:

Thanks to everyone for the helpful info.

Will we be able to see the show schedule in advance of our cruise and if so, how far in advance? 
We are celebrating a birthday and want to definitely at least have a bit of that plan made before we go...

shows can be scheduled as soon as you get on the ship. Your genie will find reservations.  The suite lounge has a concierge but I doubt your genie needs a back up. 

 

Most shows dont need to be scheduled, only a few. Dont worry. 

[poocher]

Your genie should be able to give you a show schedule prior to cruising.  Just ask when they reach out to you.  But understand that the entertainment schedule is pretty fluid these days.  Even when we boarded, changes were made throughout the cruise.

Be sure to mention the birthday to your genie!