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. 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. Check with the Windjammer wait staff for a schedule of options. The moms in our group then ran errands to take care of some items. By arriving early, you will beat the big crowds that descend upon the cruise terminal later in the day, and you also get the added benefit of having some extra time onboard the ship. You will not have to start over! You can bring soda, water, energy drinks and any other non-alcoholic beverages. If someone cancels their cruise, their check-in time goes back into the system for someone else to grab. How to Complete Check-In. If you are in My Time Dining for dinner, your best strategy is to make reservations either before the cruise, or during the cruise. So the earlier you book your cruise, the more stateroom inventory you will have and if freshman year high school economics taught me anything, it is that supply and demand plays a big part in pricing. Not only can a porter help take a load off of you, they can greatly assist with disembarkation and getting you through the terminal faster. When you purchase anything before your cruise via the Cruise Planner site, you will be required to pay for it at the time of purchase. Royal Caribbean sales promotions will come and go, but if you talk to folks who book their cruises very early, they will tell you that booking super-early beats most sales offers. 1. If you encounter problems using Online Check-in, please contact Carnival. Our $2,179.98 cruise has an insurance cost of $138 if bought through Royal Caribbean. This didnt take long at all, and our whole group was onboard the ship shortly after 11:00. The Online Check-in Process is a 4 step process and Royal Caribbean will walk you through it step by step. You'll need to buy The Key for every guest in the cabin (age 6 and above) for every night of the cruise. When we say "early", we mean booking your cruise 12, 18 or even 24 months before the sail date. You should always check with the cruise line to see what is not allowed on their ships. We will be flying out . Children between the ages of 0-5 are complimentary and ages 6-12 are $10 per child at any specialty restaurant. With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! $50k Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance. First, we recommend choosing your port arrival time before completing anything else during online check in. In many cases, Royal Caribbean promises a discount on select pre-cruise purchases compared to the price onboard. Royal Caribbean International allows cruisers to choose a port arrival time during online check-in. Over the course of a 7-night cruise, those savings add up quickly! The price will be different depending on which port youre sailing from $59.95 in Miami to $129.95 in Seattle. 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. Its important to note that these times that you choose during online check-in are only port arrival times. The result is far fewer guests in the pools, hot tubs and water slides than at any other time on your cruise. These are the times of year when demand is less for cruises to certain regions. While frustrating to not have the rules enforced across the board, we still recommend adhering to the check-in time window to avoid any possible denial of boarding until later. Modified Date: Jan 6, 2023. Ships embarking on cruises from Amsterdam are docked in one of two places: Felison Terminal, where smaller ships dock, or the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam , where a 10-minute walk will take you to a popular station. Royal Caribbean offers all guests the option to bring their own luggage (rather than have their luggage delivered to the terminal) and leave the ship anytime once customs officials clear the ship. The FCC . Youll also find that the water slides dont have long lines at this time on embarkation day. I dont think I need to mention how this would slow down your boarding process, but its a key element to remember when cruising. 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. The cruise line can have an impact as some lines have different embarkation . 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. 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. 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! Yes, a suite is more expensive. The reason is Royal Caribbean cruise fares are very erratic, and can change at a moment's notice. You can view all the shore excursions available by logging into Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner and browsing the shore excursions by port. Guests may be able to check in earlier but will usually not be able to embark until this time. Then, the dads in our group took the kids to the pool so that they could swim in virtually empty swimming areas. Through our past experiences, on many different lines, we have boarded closer to 11:00. 5 rounds of Hornady SST Lite 12 Gauge 2 3/4" Shotgun Slugs. 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. Arrived to the port at 10:30. Once onboard, cancellations must be made at least 4 hours prior to show time. 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. Depending on your disembarkation time and port, the time needed to arrive at the airport will vary. The price for The Key varies by sailing, but prices start at $25 per guest for each day of the cruise. Try your best to adhere to the check-in time, but they will still admit you for check-in if you were to arrive later. Have you heard about Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages? Norwegians priority access program includes: Other cruise lines have some sort of priority-access program as well. In most cases, you should be able to save at least $10 per person compared to dinner (if not more). Re: Changing one guest name - Royal Caribbean. 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. There are plenty of ways to improve one's cruise, but if you remember a single mantra for your cruise, it should be simply to be early. However, the earlier your arrival time, the sooner you are usually able to embark on the ship. Those who arrive early will not be able to begin boarding, and those who arrive late will . Lots of passengers arrive early, standing in line for the opportunity to board early and be among the first on the ship. The tours and excursions available to book in the ports your cruise will visit are many, so take advantage of the resources online to find the perfect tour before your cruise begins. There are two problems with buying The Key for an early check-in. Rope dropping is also a great strategy for the sort of activities that quickly generate a line. 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. In addition to that you get to the best locations on the ship, personalized service, exclusive amenities, and other complimentary perks. We know youre eager to arrive at the cruise port for your Royal Caribbean cruise. If you choose to fly ChoiceAir, Royal Caribbean automatically displays only the airline schedules that will enable you to meet your cruise. The benefits wont always be the same, and you have to fill out a form and wait for approval. There's no way to know that's happened without checking manually. My kids wear their bathing suits onto the ship underneath their clothes. The larger the group, the more important having a reservation is to limiting the wait times. In many ports, porters have a special line for Customs that allows you to get through it all faster. Jon can be reached at. In that post, we provide tips for staying organized and packing for your trip. Depending on when you go to select a time, there will be variety of 30 minute windows . And if this gets delayed it will also impact when you can embark. Related: A look inside Regent's most expensive cruise ship. Embark's office is located in an industrial chic building in Boston's Seaport District. Now, if youre planning to embark on a closed-loop itinerary that starts and ends in the United States, you can use your birth certificate and legal name change documentation to board. They also re-wear their embarkation clothes since this first day is typically not dressy at all. We completed our Muster Drill requirements immediately after boarding. In short, to save time and money, use a good travel agent. 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. If you ask seasoned travelers how they get around these obstacles, the answer is often to give yourself more time. This means you can get extra value from your drink package purchase while anywhere in these private destinations. Set Sail pass states that boarding begins at 2:00 PM. I'm not sure RCL has started that. A Royal Caribbean employee came over to our large group and checked in each party using her tablet. 2. Whether it is a show, a ride on North Star or the tenders to CocoCay, the absolute key to avoiding waiting in any semblance of a line is to arrive before these activities are scheduled to open/operate/perform. 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.". or "How do I get the lowest price?" Our next RCL isn't until December 2016. Search Now The drink packages have become quite popular with guests, but Royal Caribbean rewards guests that purchase their drink package early with a discount. You will then go straight to the section on choosing your arrival time and pick the one you want. Other families, like mine, like to get the process started as soon as possible. A Royal Loft Suite on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. At 11:00, crew members instructed all of the suite guests to form a line. Some specialty restaurants will cost less if you eat there for lunch. Book entertainment and dining as soon as possible. If you can check in using the cruise lines app or website the very first day you have a better chance of having an early boarding time. The day your cruise begins is full of excitement, and naturally, you may be wondering what time you can board the ship. In the weeks leading up to your cruise, be sure to complete online check-in. *Please see all applicable Terms & Conditions for Promotions. (Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean) You are staying in a suite. When you complete online check-in, you will be assigned a check-in time. Easier said than done, but you probably won't need all the clothes, shoes, and outfits you think you might need on a Royal Caribbean cruise. You can enjoy a lineup of adventures on a Royal Caribbean cruise from Day One, like the North Star observation capsule, ice skating and more. 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. Can anyone who has recently been on the Serenade rec. So which food is included and which cost extra? Please plan your arrival accordingly to avoid the possibility of not being permitted to sail. If your schedule allows, the best time to cruise when prices are the lowest are in the off-season and shoulder seasons. If you plan on visiting the pool deck, you'll want a bathing suit, sunscreen, and other pool essentials. Before you book a room, look at the ship's deck plans and look what is above and below your stateroom. The difference is booking onboard will get you extra onboard credit and reduced deposit. Called RCL this morning and got a weird / rude response when asking about what time I can board the ship. Been a while since I've been on Royal Caribbean and we are sailing tomorrow out of Miami. MSC Cruises has three experiences to choose from: Bella, Fantastica, and Aurea. 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. Unvaccinated travellers age 5 and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. All rights reserved. Instant Real Time Pricing 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. For your return home, you have the ability to select the flight that best suits your schedule. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Here are my tips for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner. A second way to grab an early port arrival time is by purchasing The Key. Be sure to pack these items in your carry-on luggage, and not your checked luggage. Moreover, the onboard credit is stackable with other discounts Royal Caribbean is offering at the time! 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. 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. What time to arrive at the port. But did you know if you wait to book your drink package onboard the ship you will be overpaying for it? 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.