Questions

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello, its been awhile since we cruised Royal, we been cruising Celebrity and booked a second cruise for this year on Royal but have some questions: (Freedom 8 night cruise)

 

1- I have chosen Mytime Dining, I noticed on somebody's post that said maytime dining is 7-9:30pm.  Does this mean we are unable to go to dinner at 6:30?  

 

2- When does check in start, 45 days?

 

3-  Do you like the specialty restaurants, any advice?

 

4-  We have three big trips planned for this year and the reason why we booked this is that our kids asked us to join with our grandkids of course and how could we say no?  We want to keep the cost down, for over 25 years I have had balcony cabins, and we chose a 4N room which is on deck 6 very forward, room 6504, has anybody stayed in this cabin or any of them close to it and how was your experience with this room?

 

Thank you.

[doghog]

36 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Hello, its been awhile since we cruised Royal, we been cruising Celebrity and booked a second cruise for this year on Royal but have some questions: (Freedom 8 night cruise)

 

1- I have chosen Mytime Dining, I noticed on somebody's post that said maytime dining is 7-9:30pm.  Does this mean we are unable to go to dinner at 6:30?  

 

2- When does check in start, 45 days?

 

3-  Do you like the specialty restaurants, any advice?

 

4-  We have three big trips planned for this year and the reason why we booked this is that our kids asked us to join with our grandkids of course and how could we say no?  We want to keep the cost down, for over 25 years I have had balcony cabins, and we chose a 4N room which is on deck 6 very forward, room 6504, has anybody stayed in this cabin or any of them close to it and how was your experience with this room?

 

Thank you.

1. MTD starts at 6:45. You can always head to the MDR and see if they are seating yet. Could very ship to ship and cruise to cruise. If you're concerned with a time you should reserve in your CP prior to the cruise. Early goes fast.

 

2. 45 days prior to your sail date.

 

4. When looking out the window watch your head. Very easy to bump your forehead on the window due to the slant of the window. 

Edited March 9 by doghog

[firefly333]

Check in starts at midnight at 45 days before. Midnight ships time. If I live in TX and leaving from florida its midnight florida time. I waited until texas time as I'm used to and missed the earliest check in time. 

 

You can ask when you board and they might have a empty table they can assign to you at a earlier time than 7 pm. 

 

 

[Mum2Mercury]

Thoughts: 

- Of course you have to go with your grandchildren!  

- Your details mean you can't have dinner in the MDR at 6:30.  You can eat at several other places at 6:30.  

- No, we don't personally care for specialty restaurants.  We've tried 'em, and we don't see that they add that much to our trip.  We don't care to pay a second time for dinner; we'd rather have the "included" meal on the ship + go out to dinner at home.  

- Yes, check-in begins at midnight (in the time zone from which your ship sails) 45 days out.  

- When we were still working /couldn't travel as often, we always went with a balcony cabin.  Now that we're retired, we tried inside guarantees, and we're loving them!  We're happy downsizing our room to be able to travel more often.  

- Deck 6 is not particularly popular, but it's our personal favorite.  We like being one floor up from the Promenade on Deck 5 and two floors up from the open walking areas on Deck 4.  As I said, we're going with inside guarantees these days, and we're almost always assigned to Deck 6 /midship.  

- We don't particularly like far forward, as it's far from ... well, everything. 

- Your specific room is sandwiched between an outdoor deck and other cabins -- should be a quiet spot. 

9 minutes ago, doghog said:

When looking out the window watch your head. Very easy to bump your forehead on the window due to the slant of the window. 

Not a problem for me!  Being under 5' has its benefits.  

[Cruisegirl6]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

1. MTD starts at 6:45. You can always head to the MDR and see if they are seating yet. Could very ship to ship and cruise to cruise. If you're concerned with a time you should reserve in your CP prior to the cruise. Early goes fast.

 

2. 45 days prior to your sail date.

 

4. When looking out the window watch your head. Very easy to bump your forehead on the window due to the slant of the window. 

Thank you. 5:45 is way too early and 8:30 too late.  I always have dinner between 7-8 but my young grandsons will be on the cruise so figured 6:30 happy medium lol.

[Cruisegirl6]

49 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Thoughts: 

- Of course you have to go with your grandchildren!  

- Your details mean you can't have dinner in the MDR at 6:30.  You can eat at several other places at 6:30.  

- No, we don't personally care for specialty restaurants.  We've tried 'em, and we don't see that they add that much to our trip.  We don't care to pay a second time for dinner; we'd rather have the "included" meal on the ship + go out to dinner at home.  

- Yes, check-in begins at midnight (in the time zone from which your ship sails) 45 days out.  

- When we were still working /couldn't travel as often, we always went with a balcony cabin.  Now that we're retired, we tried inside guarantees, and we're loving them!  We're happy downsizing our room to be able to travel more often.  

- Deck 6 is not particularly popular, but it's our personal favorite.  We like being one floor up from the Promenade on Deck 5 and two floors up from the open walking areas on Deck 4.  As I said, we're going with inside guarantees these days, and we're almost always assigned to Deck 6 /midship.  

- We don't particularly like far forward, as it's far from ... well, everything. 

- Your specific room is sandwiched between an outdoor deck and other cabins -- should be a quiet spot. 

Not a problem for me!  Being under 5' has its benefits.  

Hello,  honestly, I believe the only time we actually used the balcony was on one cruise and that was for less than 20 minutes.  We booked the Celebrity Beyond three weeks ago, there was only one cabin available an outside guarantee so grabbed it as we want to do the 8 night ABC islands again.  I still am waiting for a cabin assignment and understand it can be anywhere, but now are thinking, do I really need that balcony??? lol. I think I am going to find like you, not missing the balcony.

I agree totally with you, I rather be on deck 6 close to everything and can use the stairs too.

Have you ever gotten upgraded booking the guarantee rooms?  

 

[cruiseguy1016]

15 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Have you ever gotten upgraded booking the guarantee rooms?  

 

 

There are no more automatic upgrades. You will probably have an opportunity to bid on an upgrade.

[firefly333]

13 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Hello,  honestly, I believe the only time we actually used the balcony was on one cruise and that was for less than 20 minutes.  We booked the Celebrity Beyond three weeks ago, there was only one cabin available an outside guarantee so grabbed it as we want to do the 8 night ABC islands again.  I still am waiting for a cabin assignment and understand it can be anywhere, but now are thinking, do I really need that balcony??? lol. I think I am going to find like you, not missing the balcony.

I agree totally with you, I rather be on deck 6 close to everything and can use the stairs too.

Have you ever gotten upgraded booking the guarantee rooms?  

 

While I dont sit out hardly with a balcony, I miss being able to see the weather when I wake up. How to dress if its raining. ..though even a ov would do me just as well. I get whatever group cat is the best deal. I'd rather the balcony than not, unless a big difference in price. I'd have to see the inside price vs what you paid for the outside balcony to decide myself. I'd pay some extra. Not $1000 extra like they wanted for my 2nd leg in europe. Taking a balcony over and changing to inside. .. and I hate changing cabins. But for 1k savings I am.

[PhillyFan33579]

Keeping in mind food is very subjective, the food in speciality restaurants is significantly better than food in the MDR. Having said that, I think the food in the MDR ranges from average to very good. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference. Will you be happy eating food in the MDR that is included in your cruise fare, or are you willing to pay more for better food in a speciality restaurant?  I have done everything ranging from eating in the MDR every night to purchasing the UDP and eating in speciality restaurants every night. What I find that works best for us is roughly a 50/50 split between the MDR and specialty restaurants during a cruise. 

[Cruisegirl6]

1 hour ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

There are no more automatic upgrades. You will probably have an opportunity to bid on an upgrade.

I have a cabin assignment, they also have move up like celebrity where you can bid on an upgrade, I was not aware of this.  Thanks.

[Cruisegirl6]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

While I dont sit out hardly with a balcony, I miss being able to see the weather when I wake up. How to dress if its raining. ..though even a ov would do me just as well. I get whatever group cat is the best deal. I'd rather the balcony than not, unless a big difference in price. I'd have to see the inside price vs what you paid for the outside balcony to decide myself. I'd pay some extra. Not $1000 extra like they wanted for my 2nd leg in europe. Taking a balcony over and changing to inside. .. and I hate changing cabins. But for 1k savings I am.

I got like an oceanview panoramic room.  1k is quite a bit of money, it can buy your drink package and internet.

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I got like an oceanview panoramic room.  1k is quite a bit of money, it can buy your drink package and internet.

I'm taking voyager on a TA to europe. That's the less expensive leg I have a balcony. It's the 2nd leg where they got me. My travel agent has certain group prices so I'm somewhat limited. Voyager I dont think has as many cabin category choices. 10 days port intensive and I wanted to see greece. So balcony pool deck, and he says inside is across the hall, easy move between legs. I dont want to give up my balcony for 13 days over. More sea days to lounge around and a balcony was only $30 more. With my d+ balc discount it often makes sense to get a balcony, sometimes not.

 

Lol it was a better deal imo than doing a Caribbean so may 2025 I try and TA out of port Canaveral. When I see how much hotels cost to stay a few days in rome after and the flight home I might change my mind it's a good deal lol. But I am saving almost 1k by moving 2nd leg.

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Thank you. 5:45 is way too early and 8:30 too late.

I've always thought so!  

1 hour ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I still am waiting for a cabin assignment and understand it can be anywhere, but now are thinking, do I really need that balcony??? lol. I think I am going to find like you, not missing the balcony.

The waiting kills me!  Not knowing until the last minute is the only think I dislike about Guarantees.  We've always been happy with our assignment.  

 

Don't get me wrong, we really like the balcony!  But for the price difference, we've found that we're quite happy with an Inside.  

1 hour ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Have you ever gotten upgraded booking the guarantee rooms?  

Three times 

- In the distant past, we were bumped from an Inside Guarantee to an Ocean View.  

- In the last year we were bumped from an Inside Guarantee to a Promenade View.  Okay, that wasn't really an upgrade because a Promenade is an Inside, but it's top-end Inside, which isn't promised.  

- In the last six months we were assigned an Inside Handicapped Room, which -- again -- wasn't really an upgrade, but it was larger than a standard Inside, and we did enjoy it.  Except the shower.  

- In between we've mostly had plain Insides, which we find comfortable for the two of us -- but we would not want to share with a third person, not even our small grandson.  

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I miss being able to see the weather when I wake up. How to dress if its raining

When we're in an Inside, we keep the TV on the Bridge Channel -- not sure that's the real name -- but it shows us whether it's raining, whether the sun is up, etc.  It's a good little work-around.  

49 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Keeping in mind food is very subjective, the food in speciality restaurants is significantly better than food in the MDR.  Having said that, I think the food in the MDR ranges from average to very good.

I'd say some is significantly better, while most is just better.  (The food that comes out of my own kitchen beats it all.)  I agree with your assessment of the MDR food -- average to very good.  In general, I think they do a good job with fish, a not-so-good-job with steaks, and are skimpy with vegetables.  

 

BUT we believe a better meal doesn't add much to our cruise, whereas spending that money on a dinner out at home adds more significantly to an everyday week.  

[doghog]

4 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Not a problem for me!  Being under 5' has its benefits. 

You need a stepladder/stool to look out the window. 😉

Edited March 9 by doghog

[Cruising89143]

We cruise both Celebrity and Royal. Since most of your questions have been answered I will give you my two cents on specialty dining on Royal. We enjoy it. We do everything possible to avoid the MDR. We have found it loud and rushed. Again, our experience. We prefer the relaxed quiet atmosphere of specialty dining. If we’re not using specialty dining, we move to the Windjammer.

[Sunshineandseadays]

Chops Grille is always excellent for a good steak. We always go there and Giovanni's when we cruise Royal. 

[Candleonwater]

On 3/9/2024 at 10:30 AM, firefly333 said:

I waited until texas time as I'm used to and missed the earliest check in time. 

I've never paid attention to things like this, so what's the benefit of checking in at the earliest possible time?

[Biker19]

25 minutes ago, Candleonwater said:

I've never paid attention to things like this, so what's the benefit of checking in at the earliest possible time?

Back in the COVID days when arrival times may have been enforced, folks who wanted to board early would want the earliest arrival times. They worried that if they didn't check in as early as possible, those early arrival times might be gone.

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, Candleonwater said:

I've never paid attention to things like this, so what's the benefit of checking in at the earliest possible time?

Most people want to claim the earliest check-in time, and those slots are limited.  If you check in at midnight, you can pretty much be assured of getting what you want. 

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Back in the COVID days when arrival times may have been enforced, folks who wanted to board early would want the earliest arrival times. They worried that if they didn't check in as early as possible, those early arrival times might be gone.

Not just back during the pandemic. 

Maybe it's because we always check in during the earliest time slot, but we see the staff putting people into groups.  Do the 12:00 people get in once the 10:30 crunch has moved through, or do they actually have to wait until 12:00?  I'm not sure, but I do know that the staff serves the 10:30 group first.  

[Mum2Mercury]

On 3/9/2024 at 11:30 AM, doghog said:

You need a stepladder/stool to look out the window. 😉

True.  It's rough not being able to reach ... anything.  

My youngest daughter was just measured at the doctor, and she is officially the tallest woman EVER in our family.  She's 5' 2 3/4".  

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Do the 12:00 people get in once the 10:30 crunch has moved through, or do they actually have to wait until 12:00?  I'm not sure, but I do know that the staff serves the 10:30 group first.  

At most ports there's no checking of arrival times (yes, I know there are exceptions). So you could have a 2PM arrival time and still check in at 11AM.

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

At most ports there's no checking of arrival times (yes, I know there are exceptions). So you could have a 2PM arrival time and still check in at 11AM.

That's not been my experience.  

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

That's not been my experience.  

You are probably the outlier from all the reporting here on the enforcement of arrival times.

[PhillyFan33579]

51 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

That's not been my experience.  

I have been on 8 cruises (Independence twice, Freedom twice, Liberty, Icon, Symphony and Celebrity Constellation) since October from 4 different ports (Port Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Port Tampa). No one at the terminal checked/verified check-in times on any of these cruises. A year ago or so it was 50/50 whether check-in times were enforced, at least based on my experience. But lately I haven’t experienced or heard of check-in times being enforced, at least at Florida ports. 

[not-enough-cruising]

53 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You are probably the outlier from all the reporting here on the enforcement of arrival times.

3 cruises from 2 different embarkation points thus far in 2024, have yet to have anyone care what my assigned arrival time was.