Trying RCCL instead of DCL

You should be able to bring 12 bottles (I think 500mL) of water/pop/soda on board with you. If you don't get the package at least you can have that.
 
We switched our DCL booking to a RCI about two months ago. The more we research and watch videos, the more excited we are to try Royal! We're booked on Harmony of the Seas, which has amazing reviews. We've got three kids, and we saved about $3000USD (we are Canadian) by making the switch. We'll now have to pay for our soda, but it certainly won't total anywhere near $3000 ;) Cannot wait!!
We will be trying Harmony later this year as well. It will be my second (DW and DD's third) RCCL cruise. The others weren't great, though ours was on the Serenade (and my wife and daughter were on the Majesty as well) so they were on a completely different class of ship.

Actually, outside of DCL, our favorite has been Princess and getting ready for this cruise on Harmony, I am getting a better feel as to why. Our preferred style is not to reserve too much in advance as we are more "go with the flow" people. Also, we are not big specialty dining people, so we'll see how that plays out on the ship. I know that there is a Johnny Rocket's that is extra charge, but is there another cook-to-order burger place (like SaltyDog/Trident on Princess or Guys on Carnival)? If not, do you have to get burgers/sandwiches, etc. in the Windjammer (that's the way it was on the Serenade - even the soft serve ice cream was in the WJ)? On Princess, there aren't many specialty dining places (just the steakhouse, the italian, and if you got sushi at the sushi bar - NOTE: there was some free sushi at the buffet - , and even then those are like $25/$29) as most everything else is included. On Princess I just don't ever feel like I have to spend extra on anything but maybe drinks...

Also, if you have to make a reservation for MyTime Dining, what's the point of MyTime Dining? On Anytime Dining with Princess, you just show up and they seat you. I am assuming it works the same way, but a number of the reviews I read make it seem like they want you to make reservations and actually, that really bugged me on our Serenade cruise. After 3 days, please stop asking me what time I want to make dinner reservations!

Last question. I read somewhere that RCCL actually charges for your in-room movies? Seriously?
 
Actually, outside of DCL, our favorite has been Princess and getting ready for this cruise on Harmony, I am getting a better feel as to why. Our preferred style is not to reserve too much in advance as we are more "go with the flow" people. Also, we are not big specialty dining people, so we'll see how that plays out on the ship. I know that there is a Johnny Rocket's that is extra charge, but is there another cook-to-order burger place (like SaltyDog/Trident on Princess or Guys on Carnival)? If not, do you have to get burgers/sandwiches, etc. in the Windjammer (that's the way it was on the Serenade - even the soft serve ice cream was in the WJ)?
I'm unsure as to whether they'll do cook-to-order burgers (although I think it's doubtful), but Mini Bites on the pool deck does serve burgers, dogs and chips/guac. Whether you consider burgers and dogs to be sandwiches is a different discussion.

Mini Bites also does eggs to order in the morning, which helps break the monotony of "buffet or MDR?"

Otherwise, you can get sandwiches at Park Cafe or Cafe Promenade, and pizza slices at Sorrentos, which is also on the Promenade.

If you are really jonesing for a JR burger they do have a burger patty and eggs plate for breakfast (which is free).

As for burger quality... they are definitely burgers. If you decide to skip them altogether you won't be missing out on an Out of Bounds Real Deal Flavourtown burger (with donkey sauce). Carnival honestly scored big time when they got Guy Fieri to design an onboard burger bar.

Also, if you have to make a reservation for MyTime Dining, what's the point of MyTime Dining? On Anytime Dining with Princess, you just show up and they seat you. I am assuming it works the same way, but a number of the reviews I read make it seem like they want you to make reservations and actually, that really bugged me on our Serenade cruise. After 3 days, please stop asking me what time I want to make dinner reservations!
It's best to think of MTD as how a normal restaurant works - you have walk-ins and reservations.

With walk-ins, you get to the MDR, and they seat you if there's availability or you wait if they don't. My understanding is that part of the MTD levels are set aside for walk-ins.

Reservations are scheduled dining times, but it simply is not at the set times of traditional dining. Hence, if first seating is at 5:30, you could book yourself to eat at 6:15.

Last question. I read somewhere that RCCL actually charges for your in-room movies? Seriously?
They do have a free channel that has movies on rotation (ymmv on getting good movies). But on Harmony, there should, in theory, be enough going on that you're not gonna need to run through the list of PPV movies.
 


That is what we do and that is usually enough to last us most of the cruise.
Denise
You can also purchase soda at the ports. Some people we met walked back onto the ship with us after a day in PR and they bought 2 12 packs at Walgreens. No one batted an eye.
 
On Allure we saw that there were pay-for, in-room movies as well as free in-room movies. We watched part of a movie our last night as we packed, but there was a lot to do on the ship. The free movie options were similar to what you would see on HBO or Starz as options.
 
You can also purchase soda at the ports. Some people we met walked back onto the ship with us after a day in PR and they bought 2 12 packs at Walgreens. No one batted an eye.
Yes we also do that. In January we stopped at San Juan and walked to CVS to buy some soda. It was no problem bringing it back on board.
Denise
 



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