scubaslayer

Maybe? We have MTD reserved 4 7pm every night so we can fit in the shows, but after issues booking entertainment (because Royal IT is great) I spoke to my TA who possibly had us changed to a 7:30 fixed dining time and waitlisted for early. So I am guessing we will have dinner with MTD at 7pm or the new fixed time at 7:30 (unless that is some how light dining). Either way after talking to the TA, all of my entertainment was able to be booked and we will deal with whatever, because the worst day cruising is still better than being at work. I plan to speak to our servers and plan it out so kid can step out but plan food around that issue. It isn't the first time we have altered plans slightly to accommodate. Things are much improved over the days of oh crap surprise fireworks when we attended events.

It isn't that obvious when you are enjoying your meal and having a conversation. I am often not paying close attention to what is happening everywhere around me. Dinner is when I have the best conversations with my kids about the day. The rest of the time they go off doing teen stuff and enjoying their freedom. If the crew enjoy it and want to do it, that is fine. My servers last time did not seem to be in that group but I do understand majority rule in things like this. I deal with that in my job as well.

I think this is where I am with it. First I would not complain about my servers on this, as they are doing their job. I mostly would just like to know in advance so my kid can plan accordingly. It isn't acceptable for her during her meal and I would like her to be able to escape before it begins and not miss out on her meal. I may not enjoy it but it is what it is. It just sucks if my kid is interrupted while eating and comes back to cold food. I guess I will speak to our server and see if we can arrange some sort of signaling so she can excuse herself at the correct time and it be less noticeable. I am aware that some like it and Royal is likely to continue with it as they shift more from "fine dining" and acting more like a family friendly chain restaurant. As my kids get older we may switch lines but right now they want the slides and to act like kids and I'm all for that as long as it lasts.

It wasn't on Royal for our pre-covid sailings either. It takes away the servers from clearing and serving. Our last cruise it was while they were trying to get desserts served to everyone. As for sensory overload, my teen is generally fine on a ship. Some shows are a bit much but kid loves theater and tolerates it for the most part or excuses herself and heads to something else. Of course my kid has had to learn a lot of coping mechanisms to avoid the stares and comments when the tourettes flairs and the spastic tics begin. Ships have plenty to do and spaces to escape. It is actually a great vacation, as you can really customize it to what works for you.

It really doesn't fit with a multi-course dining experience in my opinion. Plus it takes the servers away from what they are trying to do. I find it more annoying than the survey speech. If I know when it is going to happen, I can at least prepare the kid so she knows when to excuse herself to the bathroom for 15 minutes.

In 2022 they had the servers performing a song and dance thing during the MDR service on a couple of nights. Are they still doing this? I am sure some people enjoy this but honestly it takes away from our meal and my sensory teen doesn't like it at all. If they are still doing it, is it on specific nights?

So at what price point is the upgrade worth it from Sky to Star for most of you? I am debating between the 2 bedroom Grand and the 2 bedroom aqua for a high school graduation cruise on Harmony. Also should I wait to book onboard in a couple months or just book now to save our spot. What tours can your Genie arrange onboard? One or 2 of my kids are interested in theater but the backstage ins and outs as well (think stage crew, sound, and lighting). What experiences/extras have you had your Genie provide besides the food (and OMG the food)?

So overall, is Star Class worth the extra price per person? Would it still be worth it for people that don't drink or teens in the room?

I feel like Royal's IT and the hospital I work at use the same people. I'm getting tired of dealing with IT issues at work and then in my off time but once I am on the cruise it doesn't really matter. Waiting for vacation is killing me, so I am obsessively planning and attempting to live through the "Live" reviews.

My cruise is in June. I wasn't expecting to be able to book entertainment until May but it is showing up early. Honestly I wouldn't care if we had early or late traditional dining. I'm not a fan of mtd but also we didn't book until almost March for a summer cruise.

Harmony

I had to uninstall and reinstall the app. I also had to change my password. The app wasn't opening anything but a terms and conditions thing and wouldn't let me accept them and move on. After the reinstall and password change, since I had that issue online, everything is working fine, except the prices are the same as before and not the prices I want.

Thank you. I may give it a couple of days to see if it is fixed. If it isn't fixed by my time off, I will book shows then dining. It is a summer sailing, so I suspect it is going to be busy.

So how were the beds, compared to the beds in a regular room? They advertiser how great they are but I am a bit skeptical.

Cabins can also just be next door to each other or directly across the hall. We didn't want to pay extra for connecting rooms, so we have 2 balconies next to each other. The divider on the balcony can be opened so still connected that way and we will have an extra set of key cards so we can get into kids' room just in case.