SV1432

And the combined net worth of those who have contributed to this thread is…..

Others have already covered the details and hopefully put your mind at ease, but you’ll be there with Odyssey, not Oasis. Still a big ship, but not two Oasis class ships so that might help ‘a little’. Have a great cruise!!

Not to derail an otherwise fun and awesome thread, but question on the debarkation. In the ride share line, does it matter if you pre booked Uber/Lyft? It’s been a while since we’ve used Port of Miami (back when the car rental companies still had free shuttles to the airport). I’m trying to visualize how this works? We carry our own luggage and should be one of the early ones off, but wondering if pre-booking doesn’t matter if it’s just an on demand line for everyone. With 4 of us and some luggage, we’ll need an XL or Taxi van so we went with a pre booked XL on Lyft. Thanks for helping me visualize the craziness of debarkation day there.

Shows normally open up ~30 days prior to sailing. If you want to book when they open, you have to do that through the Cruise Planner and not the App. Go to Royal Caribbean website and log in. You will see 3 horizontal lines (if you’re on your phone) in the upper left. Log in, then you will see the option to plan your cruise. Click on that, then the 3 horizontal bars again and you’ll see options like dining, shore excursions, beverage packages, etc. Click on entertainment and when shows are available to reserve, you will see them there. If they aren’t available, you will see a message similar to “We are putting the finishing touches on entertainment for your cruise, check back later”.

Nah, it’s RCI’s way to test new menus. 4 hours is the new standard for trying out as many menu items as possible in specialty dining (along with unlimited lobster every night). Can’t accomplish all that in just an hour or two 😀😀

We’re a couple weeks out from our cruise and have entertainment reservations booked. I just tried to book a dinner as a test, and 5:30 showed a conflict with a 9:00 show as did 6:00 for the 10:00 show. I can’t speak to whether this is new or always been this way, but that’s the best data I can give you currently.

Congrats on the deal! You don’t need to tip cash, there is a receipt you can add a tip to which uses your CC on file. Either way works just fine, your preference. Have a great cruise!!

Good catch. I saw the daughters age in one of the posts later after I replied.

You should already be charged on your CC, but you can cancel and get a refund on any pre booked items up until 48 hours prior to cruise. This happens a lot, as items may drop in price with a sale, so people book at the reduced rate and cancel the same item at the higher rate they originally paid. A lot of the more experienced cruisers typically know what the best sales are (I.e. Black Friday, Internet package at XXX price, the best price I’ve ever seen for ABC package is $XXX, etc.) To be clear, I’m not 100% sure on RC’s policy relating to this and they may very well issue you an OBC. Just thinking out loud is all. Hope this helps. Maybe some other folks have personal experience with doing this exact thing, but I don’t unfortunately.

I know someone else posted a question on this, but I wouldn’t be certain on the OBC for this. Admittedly, I have no idea what your C&A status is or the room category you’re in, but I don’t believe this practice is the norm. If the extra price of pre-booking a specific restaurant so you can guarantee a reservation is worth it, that’s awesome. But I wouldn’t just assume an OBC is a given. If RC is allowing that as a normal practice, it defeats the value of the individual restaurant packages (higher price point but earlier choice of dining times) and decreases the value of the UDP for others that may want to experience Izumi. If you get to have a guaranteed reservation for the same price point as someone on UDP who can’t reserve in advance (other than Day 1 or 2), congrats on the awesome work around! It makes sense to pay more for a guaranteed, early reservation, especially if one absolutely has to eat at a specific venue they find value in. What exactly would RC be issuing an OBC for though?

I’m wondering if the OP means same type of room (I.e. boardwalk balcony) and technically not the same category stateroom. At least that’s how I took it. Agree with previous 2 posters. Give them a call.

Are you driving a rental car to MIA? Your own vehicle? Assuming by your screen name, you’re from out of town and need a hotel either way. Asking because if it’s a rental, might be cheaper to rent 1 way, stay at hotel a little outside of downtown Miami, drop rental at airport and then ride share to the port. If it’s your own vehicle, I’d still advise staying away from places near Port of Miami in a hotel if $$$ is a concern and parking at the port. It’s safe, convenient, and you’re still most likely coming out ahead not staying in a hotel with stay and park. There are articles on line of what hotels have free shuttles to the port, while some others charge. Edited to add that hotels that Friday night aren’t cheap by any means so parking at the port is definitely the way to go to save $$.

Ok, I understand now. Tree Skier beat me to it, but with 4 ‘adults’ for pricing purposes, two cabins is probably the best way to go giving everyone the most room/comfort without breaking the bank. I’m not sure what your original category was. Need a commitment to also help get connecting rooms which you might want given their ages.

Is the $4k per cabin when booking 2 balconies?

Sorry to hear of the honest oversight. The ‘sale’ that has been offered lately is up to $650 off, kids sails free. Give it a day or two and it will likely be back. That’s the best/most common standad sale I’ve been seeing lately. Reading what Tree skier said, that’s a great idea.

Depending on your check-in time, you should be able to secure some reservations on board. We’re also on the same ship, cruising out April 2nd.

That can vary quite a bit cruise to cruise. But I would say about 30 minutes prior if you want a good chance of getting in with decent seats. I also believe they restrict how many reservations can be made on-line, so when you first board, there might be openings that you can grab as well. We have never had a problem getting seats (4 of us) for the larger venues and usually have been in line about 30 before. Of course I can’t promise that’s always the case, but your group should be fine. Edited to say 30 minutes, not 30-40. 40 is a bit extreme. Anything in the 20-30 range should be fine. Only exception might be the comedy show as it’s a smaller venue.

Hello. You can keep checking cruise planner to see if anything opens up. If not, there is always a standby line you can wait in. If those with reservations don’t show, those in the standby line are let in. Usually about 15 minutes prior to show time. It’s normally not a problem to get in via the standby line if you get there early enough. Have a great cruise!

Thanks for sharing all the photos and stories during your voyage. It’s been really entertaining to follow along. Looks like everyone is having a blast, as it should be. Cheers!!!

I don’t think you missed out on anything. Based on the initial feedback, sounds like it won’t be honored or at least not in its entirety. For those rightfully concerned about cancelling the internet packages in good faith, I can’t remember if it was here or another forum like RC blog, but someone posted that they called RC and they were able to reinstate the internet package at the original price paid. Whatever comes of this, hope all of you enjoy your upcoming cruises. Edit to add that I too thought I bought a grand deal last night, but am fully expecting it to be cancelled and refunded. Either way, we will have a great cruise!!!

I’ll help contribute to the 1,000 posts goal. Not sailing this week, but on April 2nd, same ship. Have a great time!! 🍹🍹🍹