how early can i board my royal caribbean cruise

Whether this is your first cruise or youre a seasoned pro, we hope you have a great trip! Royal Caribbean International has notified guests booked aboard several Allure of the Seas cruises to adjust their boarding times . If not, just leave blank, How being early is the secret to the best Royal Caribbean cruise, from start to finish, purchase the drink package of your choice online, 5 Royal Caribbean things you had no idea existed. 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. No one wants to think worst case scenario, but you're probably better off buying a travel insurance plan for your cruise than risking not having it. To save time and money, you really should pre-book beverage packages, dining packages, internet packages and more. 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. Royal Caribbean now enforces its check-in times, so be sure to check-in for your cruise as soon as check-in opens. You will then go straight to the section on choosing your arrival time and pick the one you want. The right slugs can turn a 12 gauge shotgun into a. This was a really fast process that took less than five minutes. Be sure to check it. Having an extra day or two provides a buffer to account for travel delays. To redeem this benefit, you just need to email[emailprotected]withyour name, address, confirmation number, ship and sailing date along with a copy of your shareholder proxy card or a current brokerage statement showing proof of share ownership. Prior to sailing, guests may change or cancel their show reservations online up to 4 days prior to their cruise start date. Keep in mind that other factors may effect your boarding time. The NextCruise office offers incentives to book another cruise while you're still onboard. In this post, we will walk you through the whole embarkation process so that youre prepared for your first day on board. Due to government regulations requiring cruise lines to submit final departure manifests at least 60 minutes prior to sailing, guests are requested to complete Check-in no later than 3 days prior to their cruise. By completing online check-in early, you will have the best choice of check-in times. 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. If you're in a suite, you don't need to pay extra for this package too. All rights reserved. Some specialty restaurants will cost less if you eat there for lunch. The earliest that guests can board a cruise is between 4-5 hours before the ship is scheduled to sail away. TX Royal Caribbean Directions to . Called RCL this morning and got a weird / rude response when asking about what time I can board the ship. In that post, we provide tips for staying organized and packing for your trip. It's important to note that these times that you choose during online check-in are only port arrival times. No reservations needed, just walk on in and be seated. Since we were in a suite, we were able to stand in the super short line on the right. Getting an early arrival slot means that you can board the ship earlier than . 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. If not, just leave blank. 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. Exclusive a la carte breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on . And after hopping aboard I was invited to a special lounge for suite guests with all kinds of complimentary foods and beverages. 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. Packing your cruise day bag is important so that you have everything you need for your first day. Note: MSC Cruises has a status match program, so you can carry over some of the perks you have with another cruise line. Depending on when you go to select a time, there will be variety of 30 minute windows . . Youll also find that the water slides dont have long lines at this time on embarkation day. MSC Cruises has three experiences to choose from: Bella, Fantastica, and Aurea. Royal Caribbean's suite accommodations include a variety of VIP perks, some of which overlap with The Key. Royal Caribbean typically allows cruisers to choose arrival times in thirty-minute blocks as shown in the image below. Guests should arrive at the terminal within the arrival time slot you selected during Royal App check-in. You can use it to check-into your cruise (more on that in the next tip), book entertainment, shore excursions and packages. You can read more about me here- Meet Shari. 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. Instant Real Time Pricing Even if you have an international cell phone plan, cruise ship cellular coverage is rarely included. Jon can be reached at. Rope dropping is also a great strategy for the sort of activities that quickly generate a line. We know youre eager to arrive at the cruise port for your Royal Caribbean cruise. Did you know that Johnny Rockets is complimentary for breakfast on Oasis Class ships? 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. The last day of your cruise is never fun, and regardless of how many times you cruise, it never gets any less depressing. 1. 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. Don't book a cabin one deck above or below a public space, such as a pool, dining room, or bar. Guests can use onboard credit towards purchasing Royal Caribbean'sshore excursions if they book onboard. If you're reading this at home, you're still better off booking a cruise now, rather than waiting to book onboard your ship. The earlier you can book, the best chance you will have at getting a good price 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. For everyone's sanity, this rule does not apply to cruise ships. Check out Intelligent Cruiser here for a better cruise vacation. On Voyager, Freedom or Radiance class ships, be sure to visit the helipad for my favorite sailaway spot. If youre still not satisfied you can pay extra for the priority access some cruise lines offer. 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. Peak dinner time is between 6:30pm and 8:00pm, so if you plan to dine during these times, reservations are so important. We completed our Muster Drill requirements immediately after boarding. The helipad onis located on the bow (front)of the ship and during sailaway, Royal Caribbean permits guests access to the helipad. (Sponsored). How soon can you board a cruise ship before departure? Have you heard about Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages? (Make sure you watched and marked off the Safety video in the app the morning of your cruise.). Freshly cooked food is always the best, and there are cooking stations available in the Windjammer that serve up some really tasty options. When a sailing is first offered, supply is at its highest because no one has purchase a cruise ship cabin yet. 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. 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. Before you book a room, look at the ship's deck plans and look what is above and below your stateroom. 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. Its recommended to have travel insurance. 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. 2. It was 6 years ago and I still remember my waiters name. Book entertainment and dining as soon as possible. Guests may be able to check in earlier but will usually not be able to embark until this time. Instead of arriving to your departure city on the day of your cruise, get in early! Things I've tried on Royal Caribbean that I won't do again, The worst cruise mistakes our readers have made on a ship. The result is far fewer guests in the pools, hot tubs and water slides than at any other time on your cruise. 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! Would rather get to port early and board than hang out in a hotel room. This fish feature is prominently present on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools' Day postcards. 2023 Mom's Plan-it Vacation Blog - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP, Ultimate Guide to Royal Caribbeans Junior Suites, Free Printable Cruise Packing List (with Tips), Guide to Royal Caribbean Ship Classes (2023), Easy Guide to Royal Caribbean Online Check In. Unlimited food and posh amenities await you, and its only feet away when youre in the cruise terminal. Dress codes look imposing, and you might feel like you need to have more outfit changes in a single day than most celebrities at an awards ceremony, but the reality is it's not nearly that stringent. Generally speaking, the best price for a Royal Caribbean cruise can be found when booked many months in advance. , Cruising in 2023 is mostly back to normal following the pandemic-induced changes implemented across the industry in. 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. 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. This includes your passport, boarding pass, and any other necessary paperwork. It can feel like torture if you have to wait a long time to board your ship. Hi there! It is wholly owned by parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. 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. The person didnt even ask for the ship name or location and gave monosyllabic responses. 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. Cruise ships will usually begin boarding approximately four hours before the scheduled departure time, typically around 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. When you make a reservation for a restaurant onboard, let your server know the adults have dining packages, but kids don't and you will get a better price than if you bought the dining package for everyone. A Royal Caribbean employee came over to our large group and checked in each party using her tablet.