Do you think pre-cruise rsvp's can hurt first time cruiser experiences?

[juanarcin]

My first cruise was on Mariner of the seas. I had a blast and have been cruising as often as possible since then (12 years ago). Lately I've been doing a lot fo the bigger ships and am curious if anyone thinks the reservation system might lead to a bad experience to first time cruisers? For example, experienced cruisers know that you can rsvp  events at about 30 days prior to cruising. But about 7 days prior to cruising an email goes out saying you can reserve. By this point so many shows are full, and events/attractions sold out. Especially the good stuff because experienced cruisers know whats good and they flock to it as soon as possible...meaning if its your first time, you have no idea and will likely not experience the ice show, the sky diving, the aqua shows, the cooking classes or the alcohol tasting events...because they are all sold out or full by th etime you get that "Start reserving" email!

 

I started thinking about this on one of my last cruises which was also my first Carnival cruise. I had no idea about thier comedy clubs, they get so packed! I didnt get to see a comedy show once because when I got to the ship I found out about it and all the shows were 100% full. The standby line was insane every night. so it made it impossible to get in and felt frustrating. I can only imagine how first time cruising must feel now adays when you show up excited but everythign is impossible to experience because so many pro cruisers have taken all the fun stuff! Wondering what you all think?

[TravelBluebird]

Well, I’m a first-time Royal cruiser, and the early deadlines and reservations for entertainment did take me by surprise. That said, I was able to mostly get what I wanted for entertainment since I didn’t mind late show times. 

 

As for Carnival Comedy, there are no reservations for that..its all first come, first served. That wasn’t the “standby line” that you were seeing, that was just the line to get in. Usually for Carnival, if I get there at least 30 minutes before, I can get a seat.  I noted that for Royal one of the things that was sold out weeks ago was the Adult Comedy show. I don’t mind, since I see so much comedy on Carnival, and I’m going to see the Aqua, Ice, Effectors and Tap shows on Wonder.

[btaranto]

Family cruising to Bermuda June 2024. Past Royal cruiser but haven’t been in several years. What do you need to make reservations for and how do you go about doing this? Cruising on Liberty of the Seas.
Thank you. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by btaranto

[SPacificbound]

Strange, I have never been on a RC cruise that required reservations for shows, you just show up.

 

FCFS

[jptoz]

3 minutes ago, btaranto said:

Family cruising to Bermuda June 2024. Past Royal cruiser but haven’t been in several years. What do you need to make reservations for and how do you go about doing this? Cruising on Liberty of the Seas.
Thank you. 

 Reservations are not needed on liberty for the shows. Just get to the theater, Ice rink early.

[btaranto]

Thank you. That’s what I thought. 

[taglovestocruise]

11 minutes ago, SPacificbound said:

Strange, I have never been on a RC cruise that required reservations for shows, you just show up.

 

FCFS

All Oasis Class ships have reservations for almost all shows, Quantum class has reservations for only a show or two. All show rooms have a standby line for those without reservations. Most other ship classes have a just show up and find a seat. I would guess Icon Class will be the most reservation dependent to date.

Edited September 26, 2023 by taglovestocruise

[ARandomTraveler]

I avoided Oasis class ships for 10 years, partly because of the need to do all the reservations ahead of time. It seemed intimidating and stressful. All the different room categories also confused me. 
 

Being a regular reader of cruise critic though, I inevitably learned all about oasis class, the pros and cons of all the room categories, the info about the reservations and the shows etc etc, and eventually it wasn't intimidating anymore. Went on Symphony last year and it's now my favorite ship class. 
 

If I was a new cruiser and ended up on an oasis class ship and was unable to access any of the shows I'd probably be very disappointed, but I can't imagine ending up on any sort of cruise or resort vacation where I hadn't read up on it before booking the trip. If someone does that, and they book at the last minute as well, they shouldn't be surprised that they missed out on a bunch of stuff. 

[juanarcin]

18 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

Well, I’m a first-time Royal cruiser, and the early deadlines and reservations for entertainment did take me by surprise. That said, I was able to mostly get what I wanted for entertainment since I didn’t mind late show times. 

 

As for Carnival Comedy, there are no reservations for that..its all first come, first served. That wasn’t the “standby line” that you were seeing, that was just the line to get in. Usually for Carnival, if I get there at least 30 minutes before, I can get a seat.  I noted that for Royal one of the things that was sold out weeks ago was the Adult Comedy show. I don’t mind, since I see so much comedy on Carnival, and I’m going to see the Aqua, Ice, Effectors and Tap shows on Wonder.

 

As others have said on this thread, Maybe its specific to certain class ships or maybe even just ships. I experienced this on the Panorama I believe though now that you mention it I'm starting to woder if it was a RC Quantum class ship. I have had frustrations with the reservation systems and I thought it was a newer thing because I've only started experiencing it within the last 4 cruises or so, but after reading through some of these responses, I guess its because the last few cruises Ive done have all been Oasis or Quantum classes. 

 

My concern is that this system encourages booking frenzys to avoid missing out. This causes people to book "in case" they want to go and if they dont go, then everyone who didnt book is left thinking theres no room. And dont get me started on the dining rsvp when you have the dinning package. Ive ended up in situations where all restaurants are booked and I can't even use it for the night. I know I'm supposed to make all reservations on day one, but I'd rather eat what Im craving at the moment, not what I put on a spreadsheet last Sunday. 

 

Ok I'm starting to sound angry haha, honestly, I still love every minute of it, just had to vent   😋

[juanarcin]

18 hours ago, btaranto said:

Family cruising to Bermuda June 2024. Past Royal cruiser but haven’t been in several years. What do you need to make reservations for and how do you go about doing this? Cruising on Liberty of the Seas.
Thank you. 

 

 

Seems like you got the answer you needed, but just FYI, if you are ever on one of th eships that do require reservations, they are done through the app and you can start making them 30 days before the cruise at midnight. But be strategic about it, I'm on the west coast so I'm behind everyone by a few hours and have literally woken up and gone straight to the app only to see things have been fully booked! Its rare but it has happened with the popular stuff like the ship tour or the cooking classes and alcohol tasting events.

[juanarcin]

18 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

All Oasis Class ships have reservations for almost all shows, Quantum class has reservations for only a show or two. All show rooms have a standby line for those without reservations. Most other ship classes have a just show up and find a seat. I would guess Icon Class will be the most reservation dependent to date.

This is what it is then! My last 4 cruises have been on Oasis and Quantum and I just assumed it was anew thing after the pandemic! Its definitely a great system but also very flawed. I love it when I can book, but it also sucks to wake up on the day you can start booking and see that everythign got booked already by the Level 5 Cruisers who stayed up till midnight to reserve every event on multiple phones simultaniously 😂

[nelblu]

My understanding is that those shows that require reservations is that Royal keeps 25% for on board reservations.  Usually, I have a problem getting Adult Comedy on Oasis and I basically go to Boleros and talk to the entertainment staff or if lucky try the APP.

[juanarcin]

14 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I avoided Oasis class ships for 10 years, partly because of the need to do all the reservations ahead of time. It seemed intimidating and stressful. All the different room categories also confused me. 
 

Being a regular reader of cruise critic though, I inevitably learned all about oasis class, the pros and cons of all the room categories, the info about the reservations and the shows etc etc, and eventually it wasn't intimidating anymore. Went on Symphony last year and it's now my favorite ship class. 
 

If I was a new cruiser and ended up on an oasis class ship and was unable to access any of the shows I'd probably be very disappointed, but I can't imagine ending up on any sort of cruise or resort vacation where I hadn't read up on it before booking the trip. If someone does that, and they book at the last minute as well, they shouldn't be surprised that they missed out on a bunch of stuff. 

 

You're right and to be fair, it does take a while before things are fully booked. I do think that RC can do a better job of announcing some sort of countdown to the booking though. As far as I know we get one email at the 7 day mark, but things officially open at the 30 day mark. so by the 7 day mark things are getting full and the popular stuff is gone. Even as  past cruisers who understands the importance of bookig day one, I have still woken up with a calendar notification that its time to reserve...only to see many events got booked because people wait til midnight so they can be first to book. It's like checking in for your flight, if you are even an hour late to the party, all the good stuff is gone!

[reallyitsmema]

Reservations on Oasis and Quantum class ships are nothing new, they have always been needed.  They currently are available around 30 days prior to sailing but used to be available closer to 90 days prior to sailing.  There is no need to stay up and book at midnight.  There are standby lines that can be used onboard and the cruise line also holds back a certain percentage of reservations for those that don't reserve in advance and reserve once they board.

[TravelBluebird]

17 minutes ago, juanarcin said:

My concern is that this system encourages booking frenzys to avoid missing out. This causes people to book "in case" they want to go and if they dont go, then everyone who didnt book is left thinking theres no room. And dont get me started on the dining rsvp when you have the dinning package. Ive ended up in situations where all restaurants are booked and I can't even use it for the night. I know I'm supposed to make all reservations on day one, but I'd rather eat what Im craving at the moment, not what I put on a spreadsheet last Sunday. 

 

Ok I'm starting to sound angry haha, honestly, I still love every minute of it, just had to vent

 

What I’ve heard is that most people who “standby” for Royal Entertainment DO get to see the show, because of all the people that do book “in case” and don’t show up.

 

I agree on the Unlimited Dining Package reservations; I’m going to have to wait till I board, then book EVERYTHING.  Not going to risk at-the-moment-cravings.

 

And its good to vent!—I kind f did the same thing in my first Royal Caribbean video.  Doesn’t mean I won’t love the cruise!

[juanarcin]

2 minutes ago, nelblu said:

My understanding is that those shows that require reservations is that Royal keeps 25% for on board reservations.  Usually, I have a problem getting Adult Comedy on Oasis and I basically go to Boleros and talk to the entertainment staff or if lucky try the APP.

 

I've heard simular, though it still sort of leaves many in a bad spot if they board late. Because boarding is the same game as events, if you forget for a day about checking in, all the early boarding times are gone and if you get in later you risk boarding a ship with most shows and restaurants already booked.

[George C]

On oasis class ice and aqua and broadway show all are repeated in many cases multiple times , hardest show to get is comedy since it’s in a small theater. 

[juanarcin]

4 minutes ago, George C said:

On oasis class ice and aqua and broadway show all are repeated in many cases multiple times , hardest show to get is comedy since it’s in a small theater. 

 

Yeah, but also, while this post has mostly focused on shows, it's also common for things like the ship tour, sushi courses, alcohol tastings etc to get booked pretty fast

[George C]

5 minutes ago, juanarcin said:

 

Yeah, but also, while this post has mostly focused on shows, it's also common for things like the ship tour, sushi courses, alcohol tastings etc to get booked pretty fast

I find that interesting since none of those things are free , in all my 75 cruises I have not even thought of doing them , but to each their own. Even when I could do tours for free because of suite .

[juanarcin]

54 minutes ago, George C said:

I find that interesting since none of those things are free , in all my 75 cruises I have not even thought of doing them , but to each their own. Even when I could do tours for free because of suite .

 

Those events aren't free but in my experience they have been worth the price. Some can't have more people due to  seating, such as the sushi making classes that are limited to the size of the space. But I always wondered why events held in bigger spots like club venues had limits of about 20 people. 

 

Then one time I went to a cocktail mixing class and about 10 minutes before it started someone walked in and they were told the class was full but the host hesitated and said, "you know what? we have the space, take a seat and join" and he got their sail card to charge. Then another walked in and another, eventually we started 5 minutes late because so many people kept joining. Then because of the amount of people each part of the event took longer as more people asked questions or simply because making drinks for 35 people takes longer than making them for 25. so we couldn't do the entire class since the space was needed for another event before it ended. It was fun, but I understand why they limit the amount of people. 

[nelblu]

3 hours ago, juanarcin said:

 

I've heard simular, though it still sort of leaves many in a bad spot if they board late. Because boarding is the same game as events, if you forget for a day about checking in, all the early boarding times are gone and if you get in later you risk boarding a ship with most shows and restaurants already booked.

I agree with your observation.