.jpg)
Booking a cruise and then making sure you add all the extras you want can take some effort, partly because many passengers don’t really know what they want.
They need to decide whether they need internet access, a beverage package, or whether they might want to book some land excursions. These are decisions that are best made before boarding the ship because prices are almost always higher on board.
Related: Royal Caribbean, Carnival Share a Rule of Thumb for Cruise Ship Bathrooms
Additionally, passengers should decide on a specialty dining option before boarding this ship as some restaurants sell out while others will see the best time to eat disappear quickly.
If you want to do something special like a chef’s dinner or the new Royal Railway on Utopia of the Seas, you’ll need to act fast. Royal Caribbean also has a weird feature that’s been frustrating passengers who buy one of its most expensive dining options.
The Unlimited Dining Package (UDP) allows anyone who purchases it to eat lunch and dinner every day at any specialty restaurant. There are a few minor exceptions (Izumi Hibachi charges a small additional fee) while a la carte restaurants like Playmakers Sports Bar charge a daily stipend.
It’s a popular deal, but people who book UDP can’t book their dinners until after they board the ship. This is frustrating because people who book individual restaurants for an additional fee can book a day and time.
Additionally, Royal Caribbean passengers who book UDP tickets are frustrated by having to spend their first few moments on board waiting in line, then making dinner reservations. This process can take 10 to 20 minutes once you get to the front of the line.
Royal Caribbean has pledged to fix the issue and has begun rolling out pre-cruise reservations to buyers through the UDP program.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or first) cruise.
Image source: Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean wants to improve overall booking
Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty has talked a lot about improving the booking experience for customers. That includes booking their cruises and all the different extras they might want.
“If we can pick one positive out of COVID, it’s that the consumer, whether it’s young, middle-aged, etc., has become very accustomed to booking or buying things online. And we’ve really improved our ability to remove friction from the booking experience for the ticket price, as well as the onboard booking experience, by streamlining, taking a lot of steps out of the process, etc. And that’s really what’s driving this better behavior,” he said during the cruise company’s trip. Q1 Earnings Call.
He pointed to Royal Caribbean’s new trading system that allows the cruise company to better manage the process.
“In the first quarter, we had 100 million visits to our websites, 100 million. That’s double what we had pre-COVID. So we’ve really upped our game, not just on a marketing basis, but also on making our websites help our customers dream about what they want to do and help them get the experience they’re looking for. And then making sure they get all the experiences onboard that they want to have and being able to solve all of that long before they get on the ship,” he said.
Royal Caribbean UDP Reservations Starting to Appear
Liberty has talked a lot about bringing back the first day of passengers’ vacations, which means allowing them to make reservations before their flight.
You can do this for display on Oasis-class ships, and the company has started rolling out this capability to UDP buyers. It’s something the cruise company promised earlier last year, without specifying a start date.
Read also: Top Travel Agents Share How to Get the Best Price for Your Cruise
Now, some people are reporting that the cruise company has added this functionality.
Nicole Pantalina first shared the update on the Royal Caribbean Dining Facebook page. group“The site now allows you to make all reservations for UDP in [the] “Time to buy!!” Pantalina explained that she would set sail on December 2nd on The attraction of the seasOther users also did not notice any changes to their cruise plans. She also said she was unable to make UDP reservations in advance for her Anthem of the Seas cruise next year, Royal Caribbean Blog It has been reported.
Cruise lines typically test new technology before introducing it to their fleet.
Are you going on a cruise or thinking of taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website for answers to all your questions.
