This makes it easy to undress them poolside, and they can hop right in. my last NCL cruise was out of tamp. While showing up early can be a problem, coming in later is not as much of a concern. That seems like a lot to save an hour or two on embarkation day. Its recommended to have travel insurance. If you're in a suite, you don't need to pay extra for this package too. So, continue reading below to find out everything you need to know about how to get an early boarding time on Royal Caribbean, so you can get started on your vacation as soon as possible! The only trouble is you may get hooked on it, and then you will have to come up with the cash for the next cruise. Have you heard about Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages? But if you opt to drag your suitcases all through the terminal and onto the ship youre just slowing down the entire process. First, if you miss The Key check-in window, you have to fall back to whatever time you had before. Children between the ages of 0-5 are complimentary and ages 6-12 are $10 per child at any specialty restaurant. You can login to your account on the Royal Caribbean website or via the Royal Caribbean App. Getting an early arrival slot means that you can board the ship earlier than . Our driver dropped us off with the porters at the terminal who checked that all of our bags held luggage tags, which we had printed from our online account. I'm Shari. As long as the cruise line doesnt make a drastic change to their program you will keep reaping the rewards for every cruise. Powered by Cruiseline.com. Any money saved is always welcome! You should always check with the cruise line to see what is not allowed on their ships. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Sounds great, right? Get Cruise Savvy with our FREE Newsletter! Since your luggage isnt guaranteed to arrive in your room before dinner, youll want to make sure you have everything you need ahead of time. Guests can choose boarding times in the afternoon or earlier times of 10:30 or 11:00. The actual times, however, will vary by sailing. But once youre approved you will get a 5% discount on any future MSC sailing along with some other discounts on ship amenities. Members also get invitations to special events, like behind-the-scenes tours of the ship. Like what you see? If you subscribe to the theory that time is money, then you definitely want to arrive to your embarkation port early. When we say "early", we mean booking your cruise 12, 18 or even 24 months before the sail date. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Answer (1 of 9): It is becoming more common to have a check-in time on your boarding pass. 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. Here are some of the benefits included with this program: Carnival Cruise Line: Faster to the Fun (FTTF). Check with the Windjammer wait staff for a schedule of options. You start getting benefits after just one cruise, and you never lose your status. . If getting onto your cruise ship as early as possible is important to you these tips above should help. And the earlier check-in time you have, the sooner you get to get onboard the ship and start vacation. The open house is when you can go to meet the staff, register your kids, and ask any questions. . The result is far fewer guests in the pools, hot tubs and water slides than at any other time on your cruise. Some days it's sunny, some days it's stormy, some days it's just . 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. From a bag getting lost in transit to flight cancellations, its always better to be protected than to not have insurance when you need it most. Kids get special pricing at a specialty restaurant, so buy dining packages only for the adults. If you ever wanted to see what the suite life was all about I recommend booking a short 3 day cruise. You can view all the shore excursions available by logging into Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner and browsing the shore excursions by port. You'll need to buy The Key for every guest in the cabin (age 6 and above) for every night of the cruise. Want to get an idea of what entertainment, activities and things to do (along with times) will be offered on your cruise? But given that you must make many decisions during the booking process, it can pay to use a seasoned travel agent who specializes in cruises to help you arrange things. 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. Depending on the length of your sailing, you can get up to $250 onboard credit. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. The Windjammer on Radiance and Quantum class ships offers an area at the rear of the ship to enjoy any meal with a fantastic view of the ship's wake. Possible pranks include attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed. Comment below to share your tips with us! That being said, my sister had a junior suite AND an oceanview room booked. The boarding process for the 1/8 Adventure of the Seas cruise to the S. Caribbean was horrible. Here are the 8 easy strategies I used to save money on my Royal Caribbean cruise that you can use too. #4 Check into your cruise as soon as you can Royal Caribbean now enforces its check-in times, so be sure to check-in for your cruise as soon as check-in opens. It'll guide you to aim and take the picture. The faster you get on the cruise ship on embarkation day, the sooner you can start enjoying your vacation. Exclusive a la carte breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on . With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! Aurea is the most expensive options and could cost anywhere from $150 to $600 more than the lowest cost experience. We found our SeaPass cards in the room, which are used during the cruise as your room key, identification, credit card, etc. This provides the ability to break up the total cost of the cruise. 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. If you do not complete check-in online, you will be required to complete this process at the pier at least two hours prior to the published sailing time. If you have an adult in your room that does not drink (much) alcohol, you can get around this rule by calling Royal Caribbean and requesting that person get the Royal Refreshment package. In general, Royal Caribbean's cruise fares are priced the least the further out you go, and as the sail date approaches, prices start to creep up as the supply of staterooms on a sailing begin to get booked up. On Voyager, Freedom or Radiance class ships, be sure to visit the helipad for my favorite sailaway spot. It's the rule that you can only bring liquids three ounces or less in a one quart plastic bag, with one bag per passenger. You can change in a public restroom, and towels are available at the pool area to use. Royal Caribbean offers a wide variety of things to do, services, and benefits to all guests that it can be easy to, We love a little intrigue as much as the next person, but nothing beats finding out about a secret, right? Your vacation time is limited, so do not waste it waiting to buy a drink package. The concept is simple: pay a few bucks and skip the lines. 19. In many cases, Royal Caribbean promises a discount on select pre-cruise purchases compared to the price onboard. In general, on a cruise with RCI, you can change 1 bane, no problem, as long as at least one original guest stays . Video: Royal Caribbean food secrets Discounts, tips and more! Weird. You don't plan to take advantage of its . In order to avoid having your phone try to use its cellular connection, all modern phones have an ability to turn off its cellular signal by enabling something called, "airplane mode.". Guests who were sailing in Star Class and had access to a Royal Genie were permitted to move to the front of the line in order to receive the priority boarding that was included in their suite perks. Norwegians priority access program includes: Other cruise lines have some sort of priority-access program as well. We have an entire forum dedicated to Royal Caribbean roll calls on our message boards that is totally free to use! I would love to hearyourtips and tricks! Lots of passengers arrive early, standing in line for the opportunity to board early and be among the first on the ship. There is no way to know in absolute terms what your upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise will or will not offer, but Royal Caribbean insiders will consult past Cruise Compass' to see what was available on those similar sailings to get an idea of what to expect. Many cruise lines allow you to pay a little extra for priority access to the ship. If it is, you should feel confident that the proper gratuity is being given to that crew member. The NextCruise office offers incentives to book another cruise while you're still onboard. It May be Time for Some Royal Caribbean Elites to Reconsider Paying for Drink Packages frequentfloaters.com - Marshall Jackson Cruise line drink packages and whether or not you should buy one are a subject of sometimes intense debate among frequent floaters. 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. 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. The first time I booked a suite was on Celebrity Silhouette. DON'T MISS: One Key Royal Caribbean Deluxe Beverage Package Tip Cruisers Need to know Royal Caribbean does not allow passengers to bring hard liquor on board its ships. (+1 345) 244 2431. All rights reserved. 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. Our hotel (Intercontinental Miami) was a short 15-minute drive to the Port of Miami. So, anyone in the wrong line was asked to move. If you are on a Radiance or Quantum Class ship, be sure to enjoy your meals outside while at the Windjammer. You can then save this information and complete the rest of the check-in process at a later date. In fact, most people don't use these showers, so there's a good chance they are unoccupied when you would need it, especially in the evening. The best reason to use an agent is to save you time, because they are the ones sitting on hold when calling Royal Caribbean. Embark's office is located in an industrial chic building in Boston's Seaport District. The price will be different depending on which port youre sailing from $59.95 in Miami to $129.95 in Seattle. For obvious reasons the early times are taken first. The earliest that guests can board a cruise is between 4-5 hours before the ship is scheduled to sail away. There is no question that if you want to get the lowest price on a cruise, book it as early as you can. Unfortunately, there's no wifi coverage in Labadee. If you are in My Time Dining for dinner, your best strategy is to make reservations either before the cruise, or during the cruise. Before the cruise, guests may change the show/ti. With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! Questions are often worded like, "How do I get a deal? I use the Ziploc bag to hold wet swimsuits until our room is ready, so you wont need this item if you dont have a wet bathing suit to store. Whether the first day or the last day of your cruise, be sure to grab a porter to make things easier on yourself.