Starry Eyes

Are you pouncing again?

Right now (as we do not know what may soon change), as a D you are eligible for a welcome beverage amenity. For diamonds the choices include can of soda or can/bottle of water or bottle of juice. Those choices expand when you hit D+. There are also other gifts for D+ and Pin

Your initial statement posited that most D+’s take 6-8 cruises per year minimum. That’s not the same as saying how many cruises the D+’s who converse with you (a retiree who takes almost entirely longer cruises) seem to brag about. You do not cruise with a representative cross section of D+ cruisers, as you do not take representative cruises, just longer ones. It is unlikely a representative cross section of D+ cruises talk to you as you likely interact most with those doing the same things at the same time. Even on that cruise you may never encounter: talk with a lot of D+’s. Furthermore when you are talking about your own high number of cruisers per year, some people exaggerate their own cruising in response. So, all in all, I have no confidence in your conversation based guess of how many cruises most D+ cruisers take per year.

It is unlikely that most D+ cruise 6-8 times per year minimum. Likely there are many D+ who cruise 1-4 times per year and gradually built up points over many years of cruising. CruiseCritic posts are not representative and naturally draw more posts from the high frequency cruisers.

I think the availability of the cabin you are bidding on and the amount of money you bid for that cabin matter a great deal. I think the general category you reserved also matters, though I suspect your invoice price makes little or no difference.

No, your two cruises have separate reservation numbers. You would have to bid separately for each cruise. You could win one cruise and lose the other. The offers one cruise may be different prices than the other. If you are interested you do not necessarily have to have an email to bid for the other cruise too Try to sign in with the other reservation number. Here is the link https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade

If you’d like to see it in writing from them, you could google “does (fill in the blank) participate in cruise bidding programs” It bugs some of their customers when they learn this, so we see posting about it on this board regularly. Next time you book, you’ll know in advance.

I think not. While none of us know the details of the RoyalUp algorithm, we have seen newbies, Pinnacles and everyone in between report both wins and losses.

There are phone numbers for their insurance desk on this contact list. I hope it helps. https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/Flyers/13033980_Sales_Contact_List.pdf

Based on this FAQ, I thought the ETT also helped other guests. Perhaps not. Q What happens if I miss my boarding due to travel delays? Guests who miss their cruise due to travel delays can contact the Emergency Travel Team (ETT) to discuss their options going forward. In specific situations, when the guest has the proper documentation, it is possible to join the cruise at the next port of call, but all options must be discussed with ETT.

I found this. I’ve never needed to use it, so no personal experience Emergency Travel Team 24*7 (365 days a year) (800) 256-6649 (305) 539-4107 select option “2” EmergencyTeam@rccl.com

That must be another recent, step toward normalcy😃. There were no beverages or snacks in T5 Suite/Pin area when we boarded Nov 19. If OP get T6, though…?

Check the linked schedule carefully as I don’t know your exact dates. Indy has been at T1. Mariner has been at T5 but will transition to T1. Be sure you check where your Mariner cruise will return. No, we did not use the transfer. We returned the transfer tags and optioned regular tags. Our plan mirrored yours (with a stop on turnaround day in Cape Canaveral). Wonder’s return was delayed a day due to a medical emergency, so we drove to the hotel provided by Royal, then back to returned to board Wonder the next day. I hope that does not happen to you. Do you want to hit the road early after your second cruise? If so, you probably want to move the car to the correct garage. If not, leaving it in T1 garage might save some $. One prepays for parking in garage 1, so you will only pay for your Indy cruise; not the extra days you are on Mariner.

Don’t count on the coffee and snacks. The amenities depend upon the Terminal. I saw a mention of Jewel of the Seas sailing Jan 6 in your threads. Is that correct? If so, we disembark that day so I know your is scheduled to be an unusual day as there will be three Royal Caribbean ships boarding in PC. Therefore Jewel is scheduled at Terminal 6 (usually a Carnival terminal). Nobody can tell you what amenities they might give Royal’s suite guests in this usual circumstance. I believe you will return to terminal 5. The two terminals appear close together. Here is the schedule so you can see for yourself https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Nov22-Mar23.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

Last month we sailed Jewel (T5) followed by Wonder (T1) at Port Canaveral. During our Jewel cruise we received a voice mail message that they recognized that we were sailing Wonder and would provide special tags and a transfer. It was basically the last tag number. It was nice, though I wish they asked if we wanted the service rather than assume we did. We drove to port, parked the car in the T5 garage, and wanted to make the transfer ourselves instead so we could make a stop in Cape Canaveral and park the car in garage 1. The port map you saw sounds questionable if it has Jewel at T1. I do’t know if this schedule goes far enough for your cruise, but maybe it will help https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Nov22-Mar23.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

If all four people are sharing one cabin, I’d say having all four fit well together is very important. I think you wise to replace only with great care or sail with three. Have a wonderful cruise.

The other point of this email: Some people would consider an upgrade more trouble than it is worth after checking in at the pier (or the night before or whenever their personal cut off for more trouble than it is worth). This email reminds them to cancel their bids when they personally reach that point. Other people want the upgrade, even if they have already unpacked. They can let their bids stand, though the odds of a late acceptance seem quite low.

Your cabin will have a thermostat, though it seems easier to make some cabins comfortable than other cabins. And some people experience the ship temperature differently than others. On our last cruise young, athletic newbie cruisers from the Midwest told us (Florida retirees) that the ship was too cold all week; a rather funny reversal. They regretted not bringing warmer clothes as they felt the ship was over air conditioned; you may want to consider that possibility as you pack

If another guest on your reservation has a different last name, you might try the other name. There are a few travel agents (including a big box agency starting with C…I won’t name them due to CC rules)that do not participate in RoyalUp (or any other cruise bidding program). If you booked with such an agent, you cannot participate. There are reports of guests who do not receive bid offers for unknown reasons on some sailings though the same guest does on other sailings. That has not happened to me, knock on wood.

Her schedule was altered for the holiday. No ships are scheduled in PC tomorrow https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Nov22-Mar23.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

OP said PC this am. Posting this on Royal Caribbean boards, suggests it might be the only Royal Caribbean ship disembarking at Port Canaveral today, Independence OTS (4N cruise). There were multiple ships from other lines in PC today.

We have been impressed with quality of food at our Cheers with Officer lunches on recent cruises on both Jewel and Wonder.

Now that we cannot see our options and make selection online, I suspect awareness of the welcome beverages (for D and above) and the D+/PC amenities has decreased…in addition to the inconvenience

I remember the single serving wine bottles; that was our choice then. I remember when they were discontinued. (Of course, Boucher are way better than little wine bottles) I double checked the list. Diamonds are not able select beer as a welcome beverage. Diamonds can select water, soda or juice. D+/PC have those options plus beer.

I thought water or soda were D welcome amenities while beer was added to that list for D+.