You might know you should book certain things, or check-into other things on your Royal Caribbean cruise, but did you know there's an advantage to going back in later and doing it again?
Things can change when it comes to planning a cruise in the weeks and months leading up to the sailing, and sometimes it can be worthwhile to double check there is not a better deal or option available.
Whether it can save you time or money, Royal Caribbean will sometimes adjust what it offers and those that take the extra step to go back into the Cruise Planner, booking engine, or app may end up benefiting from these updates.
Here are the top things that definitely worth checking again, even if you already took care of it earlier.
Earlier check in times
The time you can check-in for your cruise on embarkation day can sometimes get additional options after check-in opens up.
Ever since Royal Caribbean began enforcing check-in times, getting an early time has become important to many cruise passengers because they want to maximize the amount of time onboard the first day.
While check-in times will open up for everyone on a certain date leading up to their cruise (right around 45 days before your cruise departs), Royal Caribbean has been known to open up earlier times later on.
It is becoming somewhat common for earlier check-in times to suddenly appear, many days after check-in times were first available. There's no notification or alert of these earlier times, you just have to check back periodically.
The good news is you can easily go back into the check-in process in the app and select a new time.
In the app, below the "View SetSailPass" button is a link to "Edit Check-in". Click that and then click "Arrival Time" to see if there are any earlier times to select.
You will have to repeat this process for every guest on your reservation.
Price drops on your cruise fare
It is hard to beat the feeling of saving a lot of money, and you should be checking the price of your cruise regularly to see if the price has dropped.
Up until your final payment date, if you see a lower price for the same cabin category on the sailing you are booked on, you can get the difference refunded back to you.
With Royal Caribbean's enhanced Best Price Guarantee, you can get the difference as onboard credit if you spot the lower price after final payment date.
If you do see a lower price, contact your travel agent to have them re-price it for you. If you booked directly with Royal Caribbean, then it is up to you to contact the cruise line to make the adjustment.
Read more: Do cruise prices drop?
Price drops on pre-cruise purchases
Just like cruise fares, the price you paid for drink packages, wifi, shore excursions, and more can all get lower in price.
Royal Caribbean makes it easy to cancel and rebook something before the sailing in its Cruise Planner website.
If you spot a lower price than you paid, you can instantly cancel your previous purchase and then go back and re-purchase it for the lower price.
If you used onboard credit to pay for some or all of it, the onboard credit will come back instantly to your account after you cancel the previous purchase.
There can often be wild swings in prices for certain pre-cruise purchases, especially the drink package, CocoCay cabanas, and wifi.
Read more: How to cancel and rebook pre-cruise purchases on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner
New shore excursions
Depending on when you booked your cruise, Royal Caribbean could add more shore excursion options later.
What to do in the ports you visit is always a popular topic, and shore excursions can be limited depending on the port and how many other guests are booking excursions.
Royal Caribbean does sometimes add new tours to choose from. This is especially true if you checked tours more than a year before your sailing is scheduled to begin.
In addition, if a guest cancels a tour, suddenly a previously sold out excursion is bookable again.
Read more: How to book a Royal Caribbean shore excursion
New health protocols
Consumers have no choice but to be vigilant about staying up to date with new health protocols these days, and you should keep an eye on the health protocols for your cruise leading right up to embarkation day.
In short, health protocols can (and often do) change often. Technically, you should get an email with any update to health protocols but do not rely on that.
Instead, check back on Royal Caribbean's website for any new health protocols, especially in the month leading up your sailing.
Ignorance is never an excuse, and too often there is a family that misses their cruise because they were unaware of a change to testing or vaccine requirements.
Read more: This should be your approach to getting a Covid test before your cruise
Cancelled staterooms
Whether for a price drop or option not available before, it is a good idea to check if new staterooms have opened up for your cruise.
The best time to check if there are new stateroom options or a lower price is right around final payment date.
Since a lot of people will have to decide at final payment date if they want to actually go on the cruise or cancel it, this is when you typically see the most cabins come back on the market to book.
If there is a better room location, or more desirable cabin category that you have had your eye on, it behooves you to check back for rooms that someone else cancelled.
Room assignment
If you booked a guarantee stateroom, it may be worthwhile to check not only if a room has been assigned, but where it is and if you can move it.
After booking a guarantee stateroom, Royal Caribbean will assign you a specific cabin. You have the option of changing that room assignment to another unsold cabin of the same category.
It needs to be the same room category, but checking your room assignment again after booking may get you a better location than you were previously given.
