Royal Caribbean - 1st Timer

[nyvrem]

i took voyager of the sea from SG to Oz before, 13 days

and oasis of the seas from florida for a 3 day cruise

depends on which ship class u take, the quality and standard really different

 

[lampano]

book the fine restuarants , some is worth it.

this was quite nice and worthy, had this during covide period, u need to book preadvance ahead, its quite popular, its like modern fusion food

cost 80++ per pax back then

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/sgp/en/cruise-dining/wonderland

 

[dezzo69]

Hi,
planning to take the cruise this year.

Any tips for 1st timer? What are the 1st things to do on board and events to book?
Which restaurant is good?

depends on which region you going.

cruise i been going to europe and northern asia (japan, korea)

if you just cruising around SEA, there isn't much events to book because most of the events are sensitive to weather conditions.

 

[AlmightyOnes]

go straight to casino

 

[lifeisshort]

hi,
Thanks everyone for your input. i will be going for navigator of the seas.

1. Food wise, i saw that some of u mentioned must book 1st; does this apply to those free meals only or those paid meals? any must try food even must pay for?
2. What are the events/activities that must book 1st? example: theatre show etc.
3. Any events that must try.

 

[hisokaomi]

hi,
Thanks everyone for your input. i will be going for navigator of the seas.

1. Food wise, i saw that some of u mentioned must book 1st; does this apply to those free meals only or those paid meals? any must try food even must pay for?
2. What are the events/activities that must book 1st? example: theatre show etc.
3. Any events that must try.

1. Complimentary meals no need booking. Main dining either is fixed or anytime dining. Windjammer can go as long as its open. You can refer opening hours on cruise compass. Other complimentary include cafe promenade which opens almost 24 hour

2 activities include rock climbing, flow rider, water slides, jacuuzi, gym, etc

3. Can check cruise compass for activities. Some shows will need booking


Most importantly, bring toothbrush and toothpaste as they are not provided in cabin

 

[Dr.Vijay]

hi,
Thanks everyone for your input. i will be going for navigator of the seas.

1. Food wise, i saw that some of u mentioned must book 1st; does this apply to those free meals only or those paid meals? any must try food even must pay for?
2. What are the events/activities that must book 1st? example: theatre show etc.
3. Any events that must try.

Are you going with kids or just as a couple?

@hisokaomi has answered all the rest

 

[lifeisshort]

@hisokaomi @Dr.Vijay , thanks for your input. can you help with the following as there is so much of unknown and exciting stuffs waiting for us. As we have elders and kids with us, i want to get things ready before we go onboard in case we are at a lost.

1. Is it a must to buy the wifi package onboard? I have SG and MY data package. Can we use it?
2. Must we download any apps before we go onboard?
3. i saw that there is "unlimited dining packages"? have you tried it? what is this about?
4. i understand that everything onboard will be charged to the cabin and we paid the bills before we disembark. Will we be given a card or wrist band etc? How many pc per cabin?
5. What are the activities that we try 1st once we go onboard to avoid long queues?
6. What is the best timing for meals to avoid large crowd?

Thank you once again

 

[Dr.Vijay]

@hisokaomi @Dr.Vijay , thanks for your input. can you help with the following as there is so much of unknown and exciting stuffs waiting for us. As we have elders and kids with us, i want to get things ready before we go onboard in case we are at a lost.

1. Is it a must to buy the wifi package onboard? I have SG and MY data package. Can we use it?
2. Must we download any apps before we go onboard?
3. i saw that there is "unlimited dining packages"? have you tried it? what is this about?
4. i understand that everything onboard will be charged to the cabin and we paid the bills before we disembark. Will we be given a card or wrist band etc? How many pc per cabin?
5. What are the activities that we try 1st once we go onboard to avoid long queues?
6. What is the best timing for meals to avoid large crowd?

Thank you once again

1) Yup, it's a definite must to keep in contact with others -- outside of the ship.

Within the ship, you could technically use their app that allows you to message others within the ship who are also using the app. It's just a simple messaging app, so it's not like a Whatsapp equivalent, but it's a free way to keep in touch as long as everyone you want to keep in touch with on-board is a Royal Caribbean member, has the app downloaded and has configured it keep in touch with your family (i.e. created a group, chat or chats that you need like one with everyone in the fam, another only with your other half, another only with your kids, etc. -- the choice is yours)

You can't rely on roaming data while onboard -- the ship will be far away from land-based telecom towers to be of any assistance.


2) The Royal app by Royal Caribbean. Everything you want to do like plan activities, check schedules, book stuff, and even chat is on it. So it's a must have and it's one of those things you'll be reminded to do before embarking on the journey.

3) Haven't tried those 'unlimited dining packages' but basically, it's no different from the 'unlimited drinks' package and the likes where you get more mileage out of these if you're a big eater/drinker, OR you don't want to keep count on what you want to dine on. Basically, it's the easy way out to have access to all kinds of meals without thinking as the ship has many pay-per-pax/dish based restaurants in addition to your free options that are included with your ticket to come onboard.

IMHO, don't think you need to take up the package assuming the free options are adequate (and they generally are) and only pay for selective paid dining if you want to amp up one of your lunch/dinners onboard.

4) Usually this was handled by room cards issued, but I've not been on an RCI cruise in the last three years, so things may have changed.

5) There's too much variety on this note -- from entertainment, shows, to just lazing around
Your daily planner that will be sent via the app will have a list of activities like classes, group activities, puzzle solving, bingo, and much much more. So there's a lot to take in if you're going onboard for the first time. I don't think there's a must-do/must-see first kind of thing, but I'm a seasoned cruise user, so my view would vary based on ship brand and class

6) If you're going with fixed timing on the main dining venue -- everyone has a seat with service staff to assist. There's nothing to worry for that. If you're thinking of using Windjammer (their buffet place), then it's the usual lunch and dinner timings where you'll see peak usage and if you come earlier or later than that, the crowd will be less.


Have a great first-time cruise trip!

 

[lifeisshort]

1) Yup, it's a definite must to keep in contact with others -- outside of the ship.

Within the ship, you could technically use their app that allows you to message others within the ship who are also using the app. It's just a simple messaging app, so it's not like a Whatsapp equivalent, but it's a free way to keep in touch as long as everyone you want to keep in touch with on-board is a Royal Caribbean member, has the app downloaded and has configured it keep in touch with your family (i.e. created a group, chat or chats that you need like one with everyone in the fam, another only with your other half, another only with your kids, etc. -- the choice is yours)

You can't rely on roaming data while onboard -- the ship will be far away from land-based telecom towers to be of any assistance.


2) The Royal app by Royal Caribbean. Everything you want to do like plan activities, check schedules, book stuff, and even chat is on it. So it's a must have and it's one of those things you'll be reminded to do before embarking on the journey.

3) Haven't tried those 'unlimited dining packages' but basically, it's no different from the 'unlimited drinks' package and the likes where you get more mileage out of these if you're a big eater/drinker, OR you don't want to keep count on what you want to dine on. Basically, it's the easy way out to have access to all kinds of meals without thinking as the ship has many pay-per-pax/dish based restaurants in addition to your free options that are included with your ticket to come onboard.

IMHO, don't think you need to take up the package assuming the free options are adequate (and they generally are) and only pay for selective paid dining if you want to amp up one of your lunch/dinners onboard.

4) Usually this was handled by room cards issued, but I've not been on an RCI cruise in the last three years, so things may have changed.

5) There's too much variety on this note -- from entertainment, shows, to just lazing around
Your daily planner that will be sent via the app will have a list of activities like classes, group activities, puzzle solving, bingo, and much much more. So there's a lot to take in if you're going onboard for the first time. I don't think there's a must-do/must-see first kind of thing, but I'm a seasoned cruise user, so my view would vary based on ship brand and class

6) If you're going with fixed timing on the main dining venue -- everyone has a seat with service staff to assist. There's nothing to worry for that. If you're thinking of using Windjammer (their buffet place), then it's the usual lunch and dinner timings where you'll see peak usage and if you come earlier or later than that, the crowd will be less.


Have a great first-time cruise trip!

@Dr.Vijay

1. With the Royal Apps, we can use the chat function in it to contact fellow passengers with the same apps. The reason of me trying to get the data roaming is to contact family members too. With this function, at least the need for the data roaming is no longer needed. Is there any way to access the internet apart from buying the wifi package? like a free terminal to access the net or net cafe?

2. Regarding the fixed timing on the main dining venue, i am confused on this as i have been reading up on this. Actually, how many buffets restaurant are there? is it just Windjammer market place? As for the main dining rooms restaurant, is it like those that serve from the menu and we can reserve a seat with a fixed timing?

 

[Dr.Vijay]

@Dr.Vijay

1. With the Royal Apps, we can use the chat function in it to contact fellow passengers with the same apps. The reason of me trying to get the data roaming is to contact family members too. With this function, at least the need for the data roaming is no longer needed. Is there any way to access the internet apart from buying the wifi package? like a free terminal to access the net or net cafe?

2. Regarding the fixed timing on the main dining venue, i am confused on this as i have been reading up on this. Actually, how many buffets restaurant are there? is it just Windjammer market place? As for the main dining rooms restaurant, is it like those that serve from the menu and we can reserve a seat with a fixed timing?

Hi there

1) Regarding the need to connect to family back on mainland - unfortunately, there's no way around this aside from getting a Wi-Fi package onboard. Once you're a few kilometers away from the shoreline, you won't get a signal anymore. However, if your cruise trip is doing stopovers at various ports, you can bank on your roaming data once you reach the port of destination - provided that you don't need to be connected in the interim.

2) The fixed timing applies only to the main seated dining venue. This doesn't require any pre-booking and you're assigned to one of the two timings that are made available. This same venue also offers anytime dining options if you've opted for it—you can also select predetermined time slots in the app.

The main dining room has a menu to choose from
Ask for vegetarian and kids' menus if needed; they do have them, but they usually aren't offered upfront.

The buffet is only at Windjammer.