how early can i board my royal caribbean 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. (Sponsored). If you ever wanted to see what the suite life was all about I recommend booking a short 3 day cruise. Getting an early arrival slot means that you can board the ship earlier than . Youll also find that the water slides dont have long lines at this time on embarkation day. Get Cruise Savvy with our FREE Newsletter! This frees up storage space in your closets and drawers for other things. You can use it to check-into your cruise (more on that in the next tip), book entertainment, shore excursions and packages. 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. Unless you've really got money to blow, don't know how people make the decision to go to Caribbean/offshore schools anymore.Foundation year 1 (FY1) doctors told The BMJ that they had asked the trust to consider increasing medical locum shift pay rates from 24 an hour for social hours and 29 for unsocial hours to match those provided for . It is wholly owned by parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. The open house is when you can go to meet the staff, register your kids, and ask any questions. Remington Premier Copper 12 Gauge 3 Inch 1550 FPS 1 Ounce . The benefit of doing this is you get to "meet" other people on your sailing, which may result in new friendships, or saving money on a shore excursion or other activity that has a group discount. MSC Cruises has three experiences to choose from: Bella, Fantastica, and Aurea. If you get on the ship early you will find this is one of the best times to enjoy the cruise ship pools without any crowds. This way youre paying about half the price of a week-long cruise and you can test the waters. Booking a suite has more advantages than you may think. Did you know Royal Caribbean offers extra onboard credit if you own at least a certain amount of Royal Caribbean Group stock? Smart cruise advice, cruise deals, and breaking news. Exclusive a la carte breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on . 90% refund of cruise credits if you Cancel for Any Reason. In this post, we will walk you through the whole embarkation process so that youre prepared for your first day on board. Norwegians priority program offers everything from faster embarkation to quicker tendering, and even a faster debarkation process. All rights reserved. As for Royal Caribbean opening up additional earlier times, it's not usually the case. Packing your cruise day bag is important so that you have everything you need for your first day. Be the first to write a review! Royal Caribbean does not charge for its shows, nor does it charge for advanced reservations. 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. On a cruise, your vacation starts as soon as you set foot on your cruise ship. So if you have an early flight and can carry all your bags, then you can be among the first to get off the ship. As time progress, more and more staterooms are reserved and stateroom inventory drops, so the price increases conversely. Theirservices are complimentary, although a tip is expected for their trouble. On cruise day, everyone is excited to board. Second, you're spending extra money for a benefit that is not cheap. Either way, you should have plenty of time to enjoy all the entertainment and activities onboard the ship. Whether the first day or the last day of your cruise, be sure to grab a porter to make things easier on yourself. Yes, a suite is more expensive. Arrive early. The earlier you arrive on embarkation day, the earlier you will board the ship. Have our travel agency partner get you a free quote for a Royal Caribbean cruise. Then, we walked right into the suite waiting area. There is no question that if you want to get the lowest price on a cruise, book it as early as you can. Depending on when you go to select a time, there will be variety of 30 minute windows for you to choose from. Aurea is the most expensive options and could cost anywhere from $150 to $600 more than the lowest cost experience. Our family chose to eat lunch at Windjammer Marketplace after boarding. The larger the group, the more important having a reservation is to limiting the wait times. Royal Caribbean's app is a must-have for your cruise, so make sure to download it before your cruise. Do you have Cruise Fever too? You really do not want to bethat personin the airport losing their mind because the latest delay means the entire vacation is in jeopardy. These are the times of year when demand is less for cruises to certain regions. Want to get an idea of what entertainment, activities and things to do (along with times) will be offered on your cruise? After all, if you want to jump in that pool as soon as you get on the ship you might as well be prepared. And if this gets delayed it will also impact when you can embark. A number of factors affect when you can embark a cruise ship. On sea days, the main dining room is open for lunch and it serves up a different menu of options than what is offered during dinner. Check with the Windjammer wait staff for a schedule of options. Sure, you can book a Royal Caribbean cruise on your own, directly through the line's website. Tasks such as repricing, making special requests, dealing with weather events and more are why I use a travel agent every single I book a cruise. Depending on when you go to select a time, there will be variety of 30 minute windows . It has grown into a website full of information on family vacation tips, kid friendly activities, homeschooling organization hacks, and so much more! This online check-in is when you choose your port arrival time. 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. Once at the Muster Station, you just scan your SetSail Pass. 20102023Regal Sea Media LLC. 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. If you're flying to your cruise, take heed of what happened today as an important reminder of what not to do, We have a quick tip to share on how you can save money on your next Royal Caribbean cruise before you ever set foot on, The Royal Caribbean Blog staff collectively spent over 270 nights on Royal Caribbean ships in 2022. If you are on a Radiance or Quantum Class ship, be sure to enjoy your meals outside while at the Windjammer. Royal Caribbean shore excursions guarantee your return to the ship, even if the excursion is delayed. Kids get special pricing at a specialty restaurant, so buy dining packages only for the adults. This is a 9 night cruise and price per night is noted below for each cabin type. [Subscribe fo. When we say "early", we mean booking your cruise 12, 18 or even 24 months before the sail date. And the earlier check-in time you have, the sooner you get to get onboard the ship and start vacation. Firearms and ammunition, including plastic replicas and toys, Sharp objects like knives and scissors(scissors with a blade length of less than 4 inches are allowed), Coffee makers, clothes irons, travel steamers and hot plates, Alcoholic beverages like beer, selter, or hard liquor. (Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas). If you wait weeks or months to book a cruise onboard, the price of the cruise may increase and negate any savings you'd receive from the extra onboard credit. On all ships, check for entertainment reservations once onboard the ship via the Royal Caribbean app. Unlike Traditional Dining, you will not be seated at the same table . In many cases, Royal Caribbean promises a discount on select pre-cruise purchases compared to the price onboard. Note: MSC Cruises has a status match program, so you can carry over some of the perks you have with another cruise line. If you believe in the, "rip the Band-Aid off quickly" theory of life, than disembarking your ship early will likely result in a shorter wait. Those who arrive early will not be able to begin boarding, and those who arrive late will . And from there the perks just kept coming. If your schedule allows, the best time to cruise when prices are the lowest are in the off-season and shoulder seasons. 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. The Key program by Royal Caribbean offers priority access at the terminal, baggage delivery to stateroom, welcome lunch from Chops Grille, VIP show access, and priority departure. Whether this is your first cruise or youre a seasoned pro, we hope you have a great trip! 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. Each cruise line has their own list of prohibited items, so just make sure you follow those instructions and avoid being pulled to the side by security at the cruise terminal. Previously, Royal Caribbean permitted a maximum of two 750-milliliter bottles per room. And in many cases, the port you are departing from has its own cultural and historical attractions that you can explore. Note: You dont have to complete the entire check-in process in most cases. Don't book a cabin one deck above or below a public space, such as a pool, dining room, or bar. After having paused this program during the cruise re-openings , Carnival is now offering Faster to the Fun again. Depending on your disembarkation time and port, the time needed to arrive at the airport will vary. The cruise line can have an impact as some lines have different embarkation . 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. So which food is included and which cost extra? One mistake a lot of new cruisers make is to book the cheapest cruise they can find because they assume the ships are more less all the same. While buying stock in any company should be based on solid financial planning, if you happen to own at least 100 shares of Royal Caribbean Group stock, you can qualify for bonus credit to spend on your cruise. Royal Caribbean sells its cruises largely based on the concept of supply and demand. Generally speaking, the best price for a Royal Caribbean cruise can be found when booked many months in advance. Want to know one of the best tips for avoiding the worst cruise ship cabins? All E-Docs will be available up to 21 days prior to departure, provided full payment has been received and Online Check-In has been completed. {{alert.title}} {{notification.title}} {{notification . Royal Caribbean may send you an email about boarding times, but those are mostly suggestions and not enforced at all. How to Complete Check-In. The person didnt even ask for the ship name or location and gave monosyllabic responses. Click on the person icon, and it should fire up the camera again. 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. The Key is an optional add-on you can purchase to get VIP benefits, including an early check-in time. There are also two different times to consider: what time can you board your ship and what time can you arrive at the port to check-in. You will be able to see the exact times that My Time Dining is offered each evening once you book your cruise. In that case, keep in mind the luggage tags you will be provided with can be swapped out at Guest Services for a luggage tag with an earlier disembarkation time. Depending on the length of your sailing, you can get up to $250 onboard credit. By planning to arrive to your departure port at least one day early, you assure yourself that a travel delay will not impact your ability to get on your cruise. What you want to do is log onto the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's website and purchase the drink package of your choice online. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. I'm Shari. In addition to the drink package, a wifi package also works while at CocoCay. 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. However, the cruise terminal in Miami did not open its doors until 10:00 am. This fish feature is prominently present on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools' Day postcards. Please note:All guests must be checked-in and onboard the ship no later than 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time or you will not be permitted to sail. If you'd like to arrive at that time, go right ahead! , Cruising in 2023 is mostly back to normal following the pandemic-induced changes implemented across the industry in. He also directed us on exactly where to go and made certain we understood we needed passports/identification documents. Your vacation time is limited, so do not waste it waiting to buy a drink package. 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. If someone cancels their cruise, their check-in time goes back into the system for someone else to grab. When I tried to check in for my May 2022 cruise, this step was the only glitchy part of the whole process. . Our rooms then opened up at around 1:00 that afternoon. You can even start using your drink packages right away to help you get into vacation mode even faster! Priority line at ship attractions and water slides during regular hours. So, make sure you keep everything within reach and enjoy a smooth boarding process. Started in 2010, Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as . The price for The Key varies by sailing, but prices start at $25 per guest for each day of the cruise. The best reason to use an agent is to save you time, because they are the ones sitting on hold when calling Royal Caribbean. 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? All rights reserved. You will not have to start over! Venue: The Artground Date: 4 - 12 Mar 2023 Fee: $18 per pax (Weekday), $20 per pax (Weekend). How to Get on Your Cruise Ship As Early as Possible: 7 We hate spam as much as lounge chair hogs. Answer (1 of 9): It is becoming more common to have a check-in time on your boarding pass. All Oasis-class ships offer this option, but many guests are unaware that breakfast is served here, nor that it is included with your cruise fare (Johnny Rockets has a cover charge for lunch and dinner). This large room consisted of plenty of seating options, refreshments, and restrooms. This is not only a great opportunity for your kids to become familiar with the kids club, but also save time later so all you have to do when the club opens up is drop them off and be done. If you are in My Time Dining for dinner, your best strategy is to make reservations either before the cruise, or during the cruise. Here are some of the benefits included with this program: Carnival Cruise Line: Faster to the Fun (FTTF). 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 . For lunch and dinner, you can find a rotating set of options that include pasta, stir-fry, crepes and more. Before you book a room, look at the ship's deck plans and look what is above and below your stateroom. In addition, Royal Caribbean has onboard laundry services you can use to make wearing the same clothes later in the cruise more practical. All Guests must board the ship no later than 4:00 pm. In the weeks leading up to your cruise, be sure to complete online check-in. I wrote about this in the post on 19 things you should do on embarkation day. Nor do they publish their entertainment schedules prior to a cruise. If you're reading this at home, you're still better off booking a cruise now, rather than waiting to book onboard your ship. Each ship is packed with adventures . The plan offered is called the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program, and it provides the following coverage: $25k Emergency Travel Medical Insurance. By completing online check-in early, you will have the best choice of check-in times. 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). 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. Each cruiser scanned his/her SetSail Pass (from the Royal Caribbean app) and was permitted to board the ship. Commonly it is expected to tip somewhere around $1-$2 per bag. Two restaurants that always offer a cheaper lunch price than dinner are Chops Grille and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen. The concept is simple: pay a few bucks and skip the lines. Just one of the perks of being a suite guest on a cruise ship is having priority access. 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. Read more:Heres what The Key is (and why some cruisers like it). (He was right!) While Royal Caribbean maintains a core experience across all ships, each vessel has its own list of amenities and activities, and even ships within the same Royal Caribbean ship class can vary. A really common mistake is for passengers to leave their phone on like normal, and come home to a monster bill because of hefty roaming charges. Royal Caribbean shore excursions are fully refundable if your ship cannot dock at a scheduled port. There, crewmembers will typically check you in via . You may also want to pack a dinner outfit, especially if you . 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Royal Caribbean offers a lot of shore excursions in every port and on top of that, you can also consider shore excursions through third party groups to further expand your options. But did you know if you wait to book your drink package onboard the ship you will be overpaying for it? The earlier you can book, the best chance you will have at getting a good price on your cruise. If your cruise leaves at a different time than this, check with your cruise line to see what time embarkation begins. Possible pranks include attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed. The faster you get on the cruise ship on embarkation day, the sooner you can start enjoying your vacation. People often wonder what is the cheapest month to go on a cruise, and the key is cruise when others cannot. 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. and the answer to them all is simple: book your cruise as early as you can. 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.". To be honest, your embarkation day usually starts . Share them in our comments on this post. Keep in mind that other factors may effect your boarding time. That's my quick take on the new boarding process for Adventure of the Seas -- the first Royal Caribbean ship to restart operations in North America.. From the moment I began the process on Saturday in Nassau, Bahamas, in advance of the vessel's first sailing in 15 months to the time I stepped into my cabin, almost exactly one . Started in 2010, Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as entertainment, news, photo updates and more. You dont want to find yourself stuck in a foreign land without your passport in a worst-case scenario. Jon got hooked on cruising after his first cruise on his honeymoon, and today he is always looking for cruise deals and reading information about the cruise industry. Known. You don't plan to take advantage of its . Weird. View All Cruises The difference is booking onboard will get you extra onboard credit and reduced deposit. All sent to your inbox. Check-in opens up 45 days before your cruise begins. For a full list of items that my family and I pack on a cruise vacation, you can check out my Cruise Packing List article. And it may seem way out of your budget. The exact benefits you get depend on which tier of Crown and Anchor Society you belong to. I pack my kids undergarments for them to put on after they swim. Welcome aboard! Take advantage of the opportunity to get tickets and not be stuck in a line waiting to enter the theater or worse, miss out on the show completely. Video: Royal Caribbean food secrets Discounts, tips and more! Check-in opens up 45 days before your cruise begins. Many people here, I think, . But how early can you board the cruise ship? Just like dining, you can reserve shows in advance by going to Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. Follow along on this incredible voyage! One of the best cruise ship cabin hacks is to bring magnets with you on your cruise. You simply keep your luggage in your room (instead of placing it in the hallway on the last evening of the cruise) and then when the ship is cleared by Customs agents, you take your own luggage and disembark the ship. While showing up early can be a problem, coming in later is not as much of a concern. The biggest key is being prepared and knowing when you should or shouldnt pay extra to get on board faster. DON'T assume your cabin is pristine and in working order, if you tend to worry about such things. They also re-wear their embarkation clothes since this first day is typically not dressy at all. 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. For everyone's sanity, this rule does not apply to cruise ships. So, how do you secure an early arrival time so that you can board the ship as soon as possible? Its not a lengthy process but should you need to stop along the way to gather a piece of information, do not worry. The online check-in process is super simple and consists of filling out personal information among other tasks. If you want to try Sky Pad, FlowRider, rock climbing wall or zipline, take advantage of lower waits on the first day of the cruise.