Sounds great, right? I'm not sure RCL has started that. HOW EARLY CAN I BOARD THE SHIP? All rights reserved. Avoid a huge cell phone bill by putting your phone into airplane mode while on your cruise. I am a stay-at-home mom with an amazing husband and two little girls who keep me busy with gymnastics, soccer, and swimming. In addition to being able to use your drink package benefits nearly anywhere onboard your ship, Royal Caribbean also extends the benefit to Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas and Labadee in Haiti. When it comes to travel, there are always going to be certain factors involved in the trip that you have no control over: weather, canceled flights, flat tires, and Michael Poole. Don't book a cabin one deck above or below a public space, such as a pool, dining room, or bar. In that post, we provide tips for staying organized and packing for your trip. ", "When is the best time to book a cruise?" The Aurea experience provides much more than just priority access and luggage drop off, also including access to the Top Exclusive Solarium, access to the thermal suite, discounted drink package rates, free delivery of room service and more. An intangible benefit to pre-purchasing anything is it saves you time onboard from doing the exact same thing, which means more vacation time back to you. It has grown into a website full of information on family vacation tips, kid friendly activities, homeschooling organization hacks, and so much more! You may also want to pack a dinner outfit, especially if you . When we say "early", we mean booking your cruise 12, 18 or even 24 months before the sail date. Get Cruise Savvy with our FREE Newsletter! But did you know if you wait to book your drink package onboard the ship you will be overpaying for it? Cruise fares tend to be lower the sooner you book. This means the terminal will open up . Guests can use onboard credit towards purchasing Royal Caribbean'sshore excursions if they book onboard. You will not have to start over! I wrote about this in the post on 19 things you should do on embarkation day. Its also important to note that theres no best time to board the Royal Caribbean ship. Adventure Ocean will be open on the first evening of your cruise, but they have an open house on embarkation day in the afternoon too. But it wasn't a nightmare either. I booked my Symphony of the Seas cruise five months in advance of my February sail date. Previously, Royal Caribbean permitted a maximum of two 750-milliliter bottles per room. Here is a list of several cruise lines that offer priority boarding when you gain loyalty status and what it takes to get there: Most of the time if you have priority boarding you will also have priority disembarkation included as well. If you are flying to your cruise port, be sure to fly in at least one day before the cruise is scheduled to depart to protect against a travel delay. The concept is simple: pay a few bucks and skip the lines. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. If your cruise leaves at a different time than this, check with your cruise line to see what time embarkation begins. But I have a helpful suggestion. All rights reserved. The price you pay for the cruise is the same whether you board at noon or 2pm, so you may as well get the extra two hours of fun! Bermuda supreme court legalised same-sex marriage last year. We also use the hairbrush for the kids hair after swimming. Its not a lengthy process but should you need to stop along the way to gather a piece of information, do not worry. Whether this is your first cruise or youre a seasoned pro, we hope you have a great trip! The boarding process for the 1/8 Adventure of the Seas cruise to the S. Caribbean was horrible. Once we walked to the entrance of Terminal Building A, we saw two separate lines: a LONG line on the left and a short line on the right. People often wonder what is the cheapest month to go on a cruise, and the key is cruise when others cannot. There are a few tricks to scoring early arrival times if you are eager to be one of the first passengers on the ship. We make sure to pack several items in our backpack, which I will include below: Youll notice that many of the items listed above are needed because our kids swim on embarkation day. Guests may be able to check in earlier but will usually not be able to embark until this time. That being said, my sister had a junior suite AND an oceanview room booked. Then, we walked right into the suite waiting area. Simply check in on the very day availability opens. We didnt even have to get off the couch. In addition, these roll calls are helpful because someone might spot a change or announcement before you, which can greatly benefit you by getting ahead of the pack. Modified Date: Jan 6, 2023. The embarkation process is stressful enough without adding in the guy behind you asking you to hurry things up in the most colorful of ways. (Sponsored). In many cases, Royal Caribbean promises a discount on select pre-cruise purchases compared to the price onboard. Many cruise lines allow you to pay a little extra for priority access to the ship. Exclusive a la carte breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on . , Cruising in 2023 is mostly back to normal following the pandemic-induced changes implemented across the industry in. If you dont have extra room in the budget, the first point in this article will help the most. The total cost of my cruise for two guests, including gratuities, taxes, and fees, was $1656. We have spent years sharing tips, secrets and strategies on this blog about taking a better and more fun Royal Caribbean cruise, and we discovered there is one common thread among so many of our best tips: being early. Those who arrive early will not be able to begin boarding, and those who arrive late will need to wait until we are able to work them into another group. I'm Shari. By going on embarkation day, not only will you likely have a short wait but you may be able to re-ride a number of times! Two brothers started Cruise Fever in 2011 when they decided they couldn't stop cruising so they might as well write about it. This frees up storage space in your closets and drawers for other things. You can login to your account on the Royal Caribbean website or via the Royal Caribbean App. But once youre approved you will get a 5% discount on any future MSC sailing along with some other discounts on ship amenities. The result is far fewer guests in the pools, hot tubs and water slides than at any other time on your cruise. Due to government regulations requiring cruise lines to submit final departure . So many aspects of the cruise experience, from saving money to saving time, can be greatly improved if you embrace the idea of doing it all early. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. Two restaurants that always offer a cheaper lunch price than dinner are Chops Grille and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen. When I tried on my Android / Pixel 6 Pro, I had to hit the button a bunch of times to take a picture . Cruise ships have to receive clearance from port authorities in order to be able to allow passengers from the previous cruise off the ship. This large room consisted of plenty of seating options, refreshments, and restrooms. In the weeks leading up to your cruise, be sure to complete online check-in. Can anyone who has recently been on the Serenade rec. Set . By pre-purchasing certain items, you can pay off parts of the cruise months or years in advance, allowing you to reduce the cruise bill at the conclusion of your cruise. But if you're at home, it's still a good idea to book as early as you can to lock in the lowest price. Freshly cooked food is always the best, and there are cooking stations available in the Windjammer that serve up some really tasty options. If you do not complete Check-in 3 days prior, you will be required to complete this process at the pier at leasttwohoursprior to the published sailing time. Try to get on the ship as soon as you can (in other words, get inline at the port early or get to the airport to the Royal Caribbean desk early to get the first transfer to the pier). Find answers to your questions about all the requirements to board a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Royal Caribbean now enforces its check-in times, so be sure to check-in for your cruise as soon as check-in opens. You'll want to include all of your valuables, medications, and documentation. No reservations needed, just walk on in and be seated. Embarkation day is often full of a lot of chaos and stress, especially if you are a first time cruiser. You really do not want to bethat personin the airport losing their mind because the latest delay means the entire vacation is in jeopardy. As for Royal Caribbean opening up additional earlier times, it's not usually the case. Related: A look inside Regent's most expensive cruise ship. Fax: +1 345 946 8825. For assistance in navigating Online Check-in or questions on how to fill out the information - contact your travel agent or if booked directly, contact our Service Specialists at 800 327-5782, Monday through Friday, 9:00am-10:00pm ET and Saturday and Sunday, 9:00am-6:00pm . If you want to find the best prices for the spa on your cruise, consider booking things on port days, or early in the morning or late at night for the best prices. After we completed this check-in procedure, our family sat in the waiting area until it was our turn to board the ship. Once you get onboard and connect to the ship's wifi, it will ask you if you want to just use the app. When you get the terminal, be sure to tell the pier agent you are staying in a suite so you can be directed to the right place. A. Depending on the length of your sailing, you can get up to $250 onboard credit. Answer (1 of 9): It is becoming more common to have a check-in time on your boarding pass. For groups traveling with more than two people per room, however, a new policy could allow groups to bring . Over the course of a 7-night cruise, those savings add up quickly! If you ever wanted to see what the suite life was all about I recommend booking a short 3 day cruise. Often this comes down to the ports of call being visited by the cruise line. So the best way to learn about what is offered on your cruise is to check out a past Cruise Compass. By enabling airplane mode, your phone is incapable of using its cellular antenna. Check out Intelligent Cruiser here for a better cruise vacation. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market by passengers as of 2021. Some families prefer to arrive in the afternoon, so they dont have to navigate crowds at the terminal. Her whole family, including the oceanview cabin guests, were permitted to stand in the suite line. A passenger can't sail from one U.S. port and get off at another U.S. port (even for the day) without the trip including a foreign port of call in the itinerary. For example, a 7 day cruise with the Bella experience will earn you 500 points, while that same cruise with the Aurea experience will net you 1,000 points. If you are concerned about the drink package price dropping, take solace in the fact you can always cancel and rebook with no penalty! Here are some of the benefits included with this program: Carnival Cruise Line: Faster to the Fun (FTTF). Love Cruise Fever?Sign Up to Our FREE Newsletter! With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! Jon can be reached at. Getting on the ship for us is also the point when the cruise 'starts'. While making a mistake is bound to happen, we can learn from, The proverb, "experience is the best teacher" is a famous proverb ofJulius Caesar, and it applies to so many aspects, While I can't come up with a formula for the perfect cruise for every single person, I can suggest some easy ways to. Have our travel agency partner get you a free quote for a Royal Caribbean cruise. Second, you're spending extra money for a benefit that is not cheap. One of the Royal Caribbean suite perks is that suite guests are permitted to enter the terminal one hour before their official port arrival time. Most cruise ships will . And again, this just slows down that quick embarkation process. By completing online check-in early, you will have the best choice of check-in times. The Windjammer is the go-to spot for most when they get onboard their Royal Caribbean ship for lunch, but there are good alternatives that are less crowded. There's an impressive amount of discounts and benefits included in Royal Caribbean's loyalty program that you should absolutely know about in advance. (The porters also have luggage tags in case you forget to print yours.). They offer guests the option to drink as much as they want on their cruise for a fixed price. Tipping hard working crew members is a must-do, but double check the bill that it's not already included. Set Sail pass states that boarding begins at 2:00 PM. Most cruise terminals enforce the boarding times, but occasionally you find situations where a particular pier agent doesn't pay attention to the check-in time or say anything about it. You can change in a public restroom, and towels are available at the pool area to use. To save time and money, you really should pre-book beverage packages, dining packages, internet packages and more. Carnival allows you to check-in 14 days before the cruise date, for Royal Caribbean its 45 days, and for Norwegian Cruise Line you can check in 21 days before a sailing. In this post, we will walk you through the whole embarkation process so that youre prepared for your first day on board. This didnt take long at all, and our whole group was onboard the ship shortly after 11:00. 2. The exact amount of the discount will vary from sailing to sailing, but in general, the savings of booking a drink package online before a cruise can be as much as over $10 per person, per day compared to booking it onboard. The actual times, however, will vary by sailing. Commonly it is expected to tip somewhere around $1-$2 per bag. The reason is Royal Caribbean cruise fares are very erratic, and can change at a moment's notice. Plus, the Royal Caribbean app will have all of the activities for the day listed so that you can easily reference it during your sailing. What you want to do is look at what the ship you're considering has to do onboard, and ensure it has the most important options that you want to experience. This online check-in is when you choose your port arrival time. Quick tip: You should always keep one bag with you. Theirservices are complimentary, although a tip is expected for their trouble. When a sailing is first offered, supply is at its highest because no one has purchase a cruise ship cabin yet. Each ship is packed with adventures . You can save and come back to the process at a later time. Since 2021, Royal Caribbean has mostly been enforcing check-in times, so it's important to get a good time as early as you can. We will be flying out . Nor do they publish their entertainment schedules prior to a cruise. That seems like a lot to save an hour or two on embarkation day. By having them get the non-alcoholic drink package, you will save a lot of money compared to buying them the Deluxe Beverage package that costs much more. Be the first to write a review! Depending on the arrival time you chose during online check-in, you can show up at the cruise terminal as early as 10:00 am for your cruise vacation. Also, since your cruise will likely take you to foreign countries, its crucial to have a passport with you. The "3-1-1" rule is ubiquitous in airports. The menu can vary from lunch to dinner, but the experience is still the same. Check-in opens up 45 days before your cruise begins. Test out the TV, the toilet and the lights; check for bed bugs; sanitize anything you need to. Too many parents are unaware of the open house and waste time signing their kids up as the evening session is set to begin. Booked my cruise early. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Royal Caribbean. From sunny Aruba to, If you are at least a Diamond member or above in Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society, here is a great way to, Taking a Royal Caribbean cruise is a great family vacation because of all the great things to see and do onboard. Instead of arriving to your departure city on the day of your cruise, get in early! This makes it easy to undress them poolside, and they can hop right in. Royal Caribbean typically allows cruisers to choose arrival times in thirty-minute blocks as shown in the image below. Read more: 10 biggest tipping mistakes cruisers make. An an example, if you have kids and water slides are a must-do, then skip the Vision Class ships and Explorer of the Seas. In the weeks leading up to your cruise, be sure to complete online check-in. Be sure to pack these items in your carry-on luggage, and not your checked luggage. So if youve been delaying getting your passport renewed and dont have a trip planned any time soon, Id recommend getting that taken care of. Royal Caribbean is inviting select guests to try out a new way to board the ship that aims to improve the embarkation, The first day of your Royal Caribbean cruise should be the start of an amazing vacation, so be sure to avoid these, The first day of your Royal Caribbean cruise is areallyfun moment in any cruise fan's vacation, because it is when, The first day of your cruise is such an awesome feeling, and I have some great tips for making it as super smooth as, Embarkation day on any Royal Caribbean cruise is an exciting and busy day, and it appears Royal Caribbean is trying to, When your Royal Caribbean cruise ship begins to sail away from port and your cruise actually begins, you will probably. Known. And in that case theres nothing you can do but sit back and make the best of it. We will also provide tips for scoring the earliest boarding time on Royal Caribbean based on our recent experience on the Oasis of the Seas at the cruise terminal in Port of Miami. Perhaps one of the most common questions we receive on Royal Caribbean Blog is about how to save money and get the best possible price for a Royal Caribbean cruise. When you make purchases onboard your cruise, at the end of the cruise you get a final bill with all of the charges tallied up. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Its important to note that these times that you choose during online check-in are only port arrival times. For lunch and dinner, you can find a rotating set of options that include pasta, stir-fry, crepes and more. If someone cancels their cruise, their check-in time goes back into the system for someone else to grab. Search Now Heres what The Key is (and why some cruisers like it), Royal Caribbean testing expedited boarding, Video: Mistakes to avoid on the first day of your cruise, What to expect on embarkation day on a Royal Caribbean cruise, The best spot for sailaway on every Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Related: Photography on Cruise Ships: What to Expect. And in many cases, the port you are departing from has its own cultural and historical attractions that you can explore. Your loyalty status doesnt reset at the end of the year. Guests who pay for this upgraded status typically receive priority access upon arrival on embarkation day. Each stateroom may bring up to two 750 ml bottles of wine or champagne, as long as one guest is of legal drinking age. Since these are Royal Caribbean cruise tips that apply primarily to just this cruise line, it's meant to provide advice that almost anyone sailing with Royal Caribbean can use right away. And the earlier check-in time you have, the sooner you get to get onboard the ship and start vacation. I pack my kids undergarments for them to put on after they swim. Just know that with some of the tips above you will still be able to get on the ship before most of the other passengers. Book entertainment and dining as soon as possible. Be sure to look up all your benefits, and ensure you use the most lucrative Crown and Anchor Society perks during your sailing so you can reap the best rewards! Depending on when you go to select a time, there will be variety of 30 minute windows . Youll also find a free printable cruise packing list! Each cruiser scanned his/her SetSail Pass (from the Royal Caribbean app) and was permitted to board the ship. Booking a suite has more advantages than you may think. Here is a list of a few prohibited things Royal Caribbean has on their website: If you try to bring any of these things onto your cruise ship you will not only get the items confiscated, you could also be in some trouble with the law. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Royal Caribbean Blog. Royal Caribbean allows guests to bring up to 12 bottles/cans of non-alcoholic beverages per stateroomwith them on embarkation day. The price will be different depending on which port youre sailing from $59.95 in Miami to $129.95 in Seattle. Note that boarding did come to a stop at one point. Knowing this, we decided to reserve a shuttle service to pick us up at our Miami hotel at 9:30 on embarkation day. Employees come over to make you show that you are in a suite. I wont go into every perk these loyalty programs offer, but you can check out our comparison of the loyalty programs on 8 different cruise lines. Our hotel (Intercontinental Miami) was a short 15-minute drive to the Port of Miami. These programs often offer other perks as well that are usually only reserved for suite passengers.
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