TheaFromCDA

Hi Guys,
I know that Harmony (and I guess Symphony when it comes out) has the "best" internet on a cruise ship and many people including Matt has raved about it... I dont know if I just had really bad luck when I went in December, or if it was the location of our stateroom pretty much 3 doors away from the back/ aft, but my internet was not what I would perceive as fast or reliable.
Maybe my expectations were a bit too high when I signed up for the Stream and Surf package but streaming definitely was not feasible certain days... I did notice that mid-ship...or at least in the public areas (windjammer at least), the speed seemed to have improved. I was using an iphoneX, iphone 6 plus, ipad air 2... all pretty much had similar issues across the board. Im pretty sure I took a few speedtests, just gotta find them...
As much as I would like to just disconnect from the "real" world while on vacation, I actually have to be fairly accessible if work (or family) needs me so booking a cruise, reliable internet speeds is kind of key. 
IF the internet is about the same as Harmony's, I think I can get away with or just deal with it... I am just concerned if I book anything older than Harmony, that the internet would decrease dramatically? 

Hi Guys...
Sorry for the delay. This sailing has been… entertaining to say the least on this cruise LOL. I had elected to cancel my prepaid internet plan because paying for 3 days Voom service when I still had my own carrier in NY was ridiculous. I elected to get internet access again and pay for the fee when we actually got out in open waters/ actually sailing (ie. Today/ Day 4).  
To add on to what @CarlaB said...
 
Sequence of Events:
Day Before the Cruise:
E-mails seems to have gone out between 130 to 230 pm Eastern Standard Time the day before the cruise. I received mine around 130pm. This e-mail advised that the Florida stop has been cancelled and due to weather, there were the two options:
A. Florida is skipped but the Cococay and Nassau stops will occur OR B. Overnight stay in Bermuda instead. The decision of which option we were going to take was not announced until the day of sailing. 
On the Day of sailing:
At this point, everyone was still expected to have gotten on the ship at the proper sail away time. Communication I had with reps via Twitter only said the Captain will determine if passengers were allowed to go off the ship (for NY Day trips). 
It was determined that Option B was going to take place. Initially, the Captain's plan was to "anchor" in the NY port (to allow for the casinos and shops to open, depart for Bermuda 4pm on Monday.) This would mean going off ship was not a possibility.  
The captain apparently filmed a segment that was supposed to air on the ship’s tv channel…unfortunately it did not. The cruise director said it would…it did not. 
 
 
On Day 2 (Sunday):
Between 10am to 1030am in the morning- announcement goes out saying that due to weather, anchoring was not going to be the best option so passengers were allowed off ship. Passengers were required to be back on board no later than 8am Monday. 
A complimentary shuttle from the Port to the Bayonne 34th Street Station (about a 5 min trip) was provided between 1030am- last trip back was 8pm.
Passengers electing to do this was responsible for everything at this point and to get back to the station by 8pm if you wanted to get the shuttle back. 
If passengers wanted to come back after 8pm they could take a cab or rideshare back. 
It was about 1.5 hrs from this station to the 33rd St PATH station in NYC (cost was about $11 -12 roundtrip).
At this point, the plan was still to go to Bermuda, with sailing out of NYC at 4pm Monday. 
During the day, the captain did hold a Q&A session regarding the issues… we did not attend as we elected to go to NYC for the day instead. 
 
On Day 3 (Monday):
Around 930am -10am on Monday- an announcement goes out again stating another change of plans.
The weather in Bermuda was apparently going to now be terrible and added to it that 
The weather event has now cleared sufficiently so that we could sail to Cococay, spend 1 day there, then sail back, this option (we will call it Option C) has been chosen.
Apparently, the same offer stood that if people now did not want to sail to Cococay, they could depart the ship and get a full refund back, despite having spent the last 3 days on the ship. 
They were initially given 45 min to notify Guest Services and depart the ship as the Captain initially wanted to set sail by 11am.  
Some people elected for this, and I would say on top of the 1000 who cancelled after the 1st itinerary change, probably another 50-100 people elected to leave at this point. 
I would say we set sail closer to 1130 am. 
Ironically, the weather Saturday and Sunday were substantially nicer than Monday. I am guessing the system we were trying to avoid finally arrived as we were leaving?
The captain again taped an explanation with visuals of the weather system this night. Fortunately, this explanation WAS available for us to watch to give us an idea of what we missed from his Q&A. 
 
NOTES:
·      The bathroom system was down for about 1 hr after we departed NYC. 
·      Some of the Guest Services reps onboard were TERRIBLE. I understand that some were new, a lot were overwhelmed, but some were downright rude, dismissive and gave flat out wrong information. Hopefully the Rep H.S. was just having an off day…otherwise...if he treated others the way he treated us for 45 minutes, I could completely understand how some people were losing their patience at the agents. Shout out to Front Desk Manager Pretty Shamu… she was kind, informative and kept a positive attitude throughout. 
·      The Wi-Fi/ Internet system was completely down from roughly 5pm Sunday to around 9am Monday.
·      The Wi-Fi system being down includes the free Royal IQ app. Initially Guest Services did not know when we called… I was told to come down and see the tech manager… only to be told when I got there that it was actually a system wide issue.  
·      The waters were fairly active when we left NJ… fortunately for us, we do not get seasick…however they were giving out free Dramamine because apparently, there were quite a few that did not feel well. 
·      The offer for the 1 day credit (for initially missing Cococay) is still going to be given despite the fact that we are now going to the Island. 
·      The cost of the Thrill Waterpark was refunded when it was supposed to be Plan B. The cost of what they are now charging now that we are visiting Cococay is cheaper than what was originally charged. Not sure if this is due to a goodwill gesture.
·      The cost of the internet they were offering on the ship is cheaper than what was offered on CruisePlanner… Even the days that had 20 to 30% off Voom Surf & Stream packages.
     o   Instead of pre-purchasing next time, I may just buy one of the packages on the ship because your C&A discounts are also added on top of those prices.
 

2 Nights- Saturday and Sunday night

Hi Guys...
Sorry for the delay. This sailing has been… entertaining to say the least on this cruise LOL. I had elected to cancel my prepaid internet plan because paying for 3 days Voom service when I still had my own carrier in NY was ridiculous. I elected to get internet access again and pay for the fee when we actually got out in open waters/ actually sailing (ie. Today/ Day 4).  
To add on to what @CarlaB said...
 
Sequence of Events:
Day Before the Cruise:
E-mails seems to have gone out between 130 to 230 pm Eastern Standard Time the day before the cruise. I received mine around 130pm. This e-mail advised that the Florida stop has been cancelled and due to weather, there were the two options:
A. Florida is skipped but the Cococay and Nassau stops will occur OR B. Overnight stay in Bermuda instead. The decision of which option we were going to take was not announced until the day of sailing. 
On the Day of sailing:
At this point, everyone was still expected to have gotten on the ship at the proper sail away time. Communication I had with reps via Twitter only said the Captain will determine if passengers were allowed to go off the ship (for NY Day trips). 
It was determined that Option B was going to take place. Initially, the Captain's plan was to "anchor" in the NY port (to allow for the casinos and shops to open, depart for Bermuda 4pm on Monday.) This would mean going off ship was not a possibility.  
The captain apparently filmed a segment that was supposed to air on the ship’s tv channel…unfortunately it did not. The cruise director said it would…it did not. 
 
 
On Day 2 (Sunday):
Between 10am to 1030am in the morning- announcement goes out saying that due to weather, anchoring was not going to be the best option so passengers were allowed off ship. Passengers were required to be back on board no later than 8am Monday. 
A complimentary shuttle from the Port to the Bayonne 34th Street Station (about a 5 min trip) was provided between 1030am- last trip back was 8pm.
Passengers electing to do this was responsible for everything at this point and to get back to the station by 8pm if you wanted to get the shuttle back. 
If passengers wanted to come back after 8pm they could take a cab or rideshare back. 
It was about 1.5 hrs from this station to the 33rd St PATH station in NYC (cost was about $11 -12 roundtrip).
At this point, the plan was still to go to Bermuda, with sailing out of NYC at 4pm Monday. 
During the day, the captain did hold a Q&A session regarding the issues… we did not attend as we elected to go to NYC for the day instead. 
 
On Day 3 (Monday):
Around 930am -10am on Monday- an announcement goes out again stating another change of plans.
The weather in Bermuda was apparently going to now be terrible and added to it that 
The weather event has now cleared sufficiently so that we could sail to Cococay, spend 1 day there, then sail back, this option (we will call it Option C) has been chosen.
Apparently, the same offer stood that if people now did not want to sail to Cococay, they could depart the ship and get a full refund back, despite having spent the last 3 days on the ship. 
They were initially given 45 min to notify Guest Services and depart the ship as the Captain initially wanted to set sail by 11am.  
Some people elected for this, and I would say on top of the 1000 who cancelled after the 1st itinerary change, probably another 50-100 people elected to leave at this point. 
I would say we set sail closer to 1130 am. 
Ironically, the weather Saturday and Sunday were substantially nicer than Monday. I am guessing the system we were trying to avoid finally arrived as we were leaving?
The captain again taped an explanation with visuals of the weather system this night. Fortunately, this explanation WAS available for us to watch to give us an idea of what we missed from his Q&A. 
 
NOTES:
·      The bathroom system was down for about 1 hr after we departed NYC. 
·      Some of the Guest Services reps onboard were TERRIBLE. I understand that some were new, a lot were overwhelmed, but some were downright rude, dismissive and gave flat out wrong information. Hopefully the Rep H.S. was just having an off day…otherwise...if he treated others the way he treated us for 45 minutes, I could completely understand how some people were losing their patience at the agents. Shout out to Front Desk Manager Pretty Shamu… she was kind, informative and kept a positive attitude throughout. 
·      The Wi-Fi/ Internet system was completely down from roughly 5pm Sunday to around 9am Monday.
·      The Wi-Fi system being down includes the free Royal IQ app. Initially Guest Services did not know when we called… I was told to come down and see the tech manager… only to be told when I got there that it was actually a system wide issue.  
·      The waters were fairly active when we left NJ… fortunately for us, we do not get seasick…however they were giving out free Dramamine because apparently, there were quite a few that did not feel well. 
·      The offer for the 1 day credit (for initially missing Cococay) is still going to be given despite the fact that we are now going to the Island. 
·      The cost of the Thrill Waterpark was refunded when it was supposed to be Plan B. The cost of what they are now charging now that we are visiting Cococay is cheaper than what was originally charged. Not sure if this is due to a goodwill gesture.
·      The cost of the internet they were offering on the ship is cheaper than what was offered on CruisePlanner… Even the days that had 20 to 30% off Voom Surf & Stream packages.
     o   Instead of pre-purchasing next time, I may just buy one of the packages on the ship because your C&A discounts are also added on top of those prices.
 

Hi Guys...
Sorry for the delay. This sailing has been… entertaining to say the least on this cruise LOL. I had elected to cancel my prepaid internet plan because paying for 3 days Voom service when I still had my own carrier in NY was ridiculous. I elected to get internet access again and pay for the fee when we actually got out in open waters/ actually sailing (ie. Today/ Day 4).  
To add on to what @CarlaB said...
 
Sequence of Events:
Day Before the Cruise:
E-mails seems to have gone out between 130 to 230 pm Eastern Standard Time the day before the cruise. I received mine around 130pm. This e-mail advised that the Florida stop has been cancelled and due to weather, there were the two options:
A. Florida is skipped but the Cococay and Nassau stops will occur OR B. Overnight stay in Bermuda instead. The decision of which option we were going to take was not announced until the day of sailing. 
On the Day of sailing:
At this point, everyone was still expected to have gotten on the ship at the proper sail away time. Communication I had with reps via Twitter only said the Captain will determine if passengers were allowed to go off the ship (for NY Day trips). 
It was determined that Option B was going to take place. Initially, the Captain's plan was to "anchor" in the NY port (to allow for the casinos and shops to open, depart for Bermuda 4pm on Monday.) This would mean going off ship was not a possibility.  
The captain apparently filmed a segment that was supposed to air on the ship’s tv channel…unfortunately it did not. The cruise director said it would…it did not. 
 
 
On Day 2 (Sunday):
Between 10am to 1030am in the morning- announcement goes out saying that due to weather, anchoring was not going to be the best option so passengers were allowed off ship. Passengers were required to be back on board no later than 8am Monday. 
A complimentary shuttle from the Port to the Bayonne 34th Street Station (about a 5 min trip) was provided between 1030am- last trip back was 8pm.
Passengers electing to do this was responsible for everything at this point and to get back to the station by 8pm if you wanted to get the shuttle back. 
If passengers wanted to come back after 8pm they could take a cab or rideshare back. 
It was about 1.5 hrs from this station to the 33rd St PATH station in NYC (cost was about $11 -12 roundtrip).
At this point, the plan was still to go to Bermuda, with sailing out of NYC at 4pm Monday. 
During the day, the captain did hold a Q&A session regarding the issues… we did not attend as we elected to go to NYC for the day instead. 
 
On Day 3 (Monday):
Around 930am -10am on Monday- an announcement goes out again stating another change of plans.
The weather in Bermuda was apparently going to now be terrible and added to it that 
The weather event has now cleared sufficiently so that we could sail to Cococay, spend 1 day there, then sail back, this option (we will call it Option C) has been chosen.
Apparently, the same offer stood that if people now did not want to sail to Cococay, they could depart the ship and get a full refund back, despite having spent the last 3 days on the ship. 
They were initially given 45 min to notify Guest Services and depart the ship as the Captain initially wanted to set sail by 11am.  
Some people elected for this, and I would say on top of the 1000 who cancelled after the 1st itinerary change, probably another 50-100 people elected to leave at this point. 
I would say we set sail closer to 1130 am. 
Ironically, the weather Saturday and Sunday were substantially nicer than Monday. I am guessing the system we were trying to avoid finally arrived as we were leaving?
The captain again taped an explanation with visuals of the weather system this night. Fortunately, this explanation WAS available for us to watch to give us an idea of what we missed from his Q&A. 
 
NOTES:
·      The bathroom system was down for about 1 hr after we departed NYC. 
·      Some of the Guest Services reps onboard were TERRIBLE. I understand that some were new, a lot were overwhelmed, but some were downright rude, dismissive and gave flat out wrong information. Hopefully the Rep H.S. was just having an off day…otherwise...if he treated others the way he treated us for 45 minutes, I could completely understand how some people were losing their patience at the agents. Shout out to Front Desk Manager Pretty Shamu… she was kind, informative and kept a positive attitude throughout. 
·      The Wi-Fi/ Internet system was completely down from roughly 5pm Sunday to around 9am Monday.
·      The Wi-Fi system being down includes the free Royal IQ app. Initially Guest Services did not know when we called… I was told to come down and see the tech manager… only to be told when I got there that it was actually a system wide issue.  
·      The waters were fairly active when we left NJ… fortunately for us, we do not get seasick…however they were giving out free Dramamine because apparently, there were quite a few that did not feel well. 
·      The offer for the 1 day credit (for initially missing Cococay) is still going to be given despite the fact that we are now going to the Island. 
·      The cost of the Thrill Waterpark was refunded when it was supposed to be Plan B. The cost of what they are now charging now that we are visiting Cococay is cheaper than what was originally charged. Not sure if this is due to a goodwill gesture.
·      The cost of the internet they were offering on the ship is cheaper than what was offered on CruisePlanner… Even the days that had 20 to 30% off Voom Surf & Stream packages.
     o   Instead of pre-purchasing next time, I may just buy one of the packages on the ship because your C&A discounts are also added on top of those prices.
 

Hi Guys...
Sorry for the delay. This sailing has been… entertaining to say the least on this cruise LOL. I had elected to cancel my prepaid internet plan because paying for 3 days Voom service when I still had my own carrier in NY was ridiculous. I elected to get internet access again and pay for the fee when we actually got out in open waters/ actually sailing (ie. Today/ Day 4).  
To add on to what @CarlaB said...
 
Sequence of Events:
Day Before the Cruise:
E-mails seems to have gone out between 130 to 230 pm Eastern Standard Time the day before the cruise. I received mine around 130pm. This e-mail advised that the Florida stop has been cancelled and due to weather, there were the two options:
A. Florida is skipped but the Cococay and Nassau stops will occur OR B. Overnight stay in Bermuda instead. The decision of which option we were going to take was not announced until the day of sailing. 
On the Day of sailing:
At this point, everyone was still expected to have gotten on the ship at the proper sail away time. Communication I had with reps via Twitter only said the Captain will determine if passengers were allowed to go off the ship (for NY Day trips). 
It was determined that Option B was going to take place. Initially, the Captain's plan was to "anchor" in the NY port (to allow for the casinos and shops to open, depart for Bermuda 4pm on Monday.) This would mean going off ship was not a possibility.  
The captain apparently filmed a segment that was supposed to air on the ship’s tv channel…unfortunately it did not. The cruise director said it would…it did not. 
 
 
On Day 2 (Sunday):
Between 10am to 1030am in the morning- announcement goes out saying that due to weather, anchoring was not going to be the best option so passengers were allowed off ship. Passengers were required to be back on board no later than 8am Monday. 
A complimentary shuttle from the Port to the Bayonne 34th Street Station (about a 5 min trip) was provided between 1030am- last trip back was 8pm.
Passengers electing to do this was responsible for everything at this point and to get back to the station by 8pm if you wanted to get the shuttle back. 
If passengers wanted to come back after 8pm they could take a cab or rideshare back. 
It was about 1.5 hrs from this station to the 33rd St PATH station in NYC (cost was about $11 -12 roundtrip).
At this point, the plan was still to go to Bermuda, with sailing out of NYC at 4pm Monday. 
During the day, the captain did hold a Q&A session regarding the issues… we did not attend as we elected to go to NYC for the day instead. 
 
On Day 3 (Monday):
Around 930am -10am on Monday- an announcement goes out again stating another change of plans.
The weather in Bermuda was apparently going to now be terrible and added to it that 
The weather event has now cleared sufficiently so that we could sail to Cococay, spend 1 day there, then sail back, this option (we will call it Option C) has been chosen.
Apparently, the same offer stood that if people now did not want to sail to Cococay, they could depart the ship and get a full refund back, despite having spent the last 3 days on the ship. 
They were initially given 45 min to notify Guest Services and depart the ship as the Captain initially wanted to set sail by 11am.  
Some people elected for this, and I would say on top of the 1000 who cancelled after the 1st itinerary change, probably another 50-100 people elected to leave at this point. 
I would say we set sail closer to 1130 am. 
Ironically, the weather Saturday and Sunday were substantially nicer than Monday. I am guessing the system we were trying to avoid finally arrived as we were leaving?
The captain again taped an explanation with visuals of the weather system this night. Fortunately, this explanation WAS available for us to watch to give us an idea of what we missed from his Q&A. 
 
NOTES:
·      The bathroom system was down for about 1 hr after we departed NYC. 
·      Some of the Guest Services reps onboard were TERRIBLE. I understand that some were new, a lot were overwhelmed, but some were downright rude, dismissive and gave flat out wrong information. Hopefully the Rep H.S. was just having an off day…otherwise...if he treated others the way he treated us for 45 minutes, I could completely understand how some people were losing their patience at the agents. Shout out to Front Desk Manager Pretty Shamu… she was kind, informative and kept a positive attitude throughout. 
·      The Wi-Fi/ Internet system was completely down from roughly 5pm Sunday to around 9am Monday.
·      The Wi-Fi system being down includes the free Royal IQ app. Initially Guest Services did not know when we called… I was told to come down and see the tech manager… only to be told when I got there that it was actually a system wide issue.  
·      The waters were fairly active when we left NJ… fortunately for us, we do not get seasick…however they were giving out free Dramamine because apparently, there were quite a few that did not feel well. 
·      The offer for the 1 day credit (for initially missing Cococay) is still going to be given despite the fact that we are now going to the Island. 
·      The cost of the Thrill Waterpark was refunded when it was supposed to be Plan B. The cost of what they are now charging now that we are visiting Cococay is cheaper than what was originally charged. Not sure if this is due to a goodwill gesture.
·      The cost of the internet they were offering on the ship is cheaper than what was offered on CruisePlanner… Even the days that had 20 to 30% off Voom Surf & Stream packages.
     o   Instead of pre-purchasing next time, I may just buy one of the packages on the ship because your C&A discounts are also added on top of those prices.
 

Not going to lie,  I didn’t even know there was a potential storm prior to getting the email when we were already halfway driving to NJ From Canada?
Due to the fact we were already on our way + time from work, cancelling wasn’t a viable option for us so I’m just ?? That Plan A STILL happens. 
I know Carla had mentioned just one night in Bermuda which  confused me a little since it wasn’t one of the options given and unfortunately up until now (2:38AM EST, the Royal app still has the old itinerary and https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates says no updates ?)
@MaryS was kind enough to provide possible hope that Plan B would still be ok.
@CarlaB I hope that the next sailing goes better for you and the fam. This is the first time we’re sailing out of NJ (we’ve done Harmony and Symphony the prior years ) so I’m sure your kids will love Oasis (if that’s what you intend to rebook)
 

Umm so... now it’s saying that we’re just Anchored in port until Sunday...
does anyone have any experience if we would at least be allowed to leave the ship if we’re just anchored from today to tomorrow in NJ? 

Umm so... now it’s saying that we’re just Anchored in port until Sunday...
does anyone have any experience if we would at least be allowed to leave the ship if we’re just anchored from today to tomorrow in NJ? 

I am out of the loop here, is this because of a hurricane? Are we really still seeing hurricanes in mid November? That really stinks if you can't get to Coco Cay. Bermuda is awesome, been there 4 times and LOVE it but still not great to miss the new Coco Cay. Good luck, I hope everything works out for you.

Hi guys,
We just received an e-mail notifying us of an itinerary change for the Nov 16, 1019 Anthem OTS sailing (snippet below).
 
Im not too upset about missing Florida but was really looking forward to Cococay.
Question- For those that have been through something similar before:
Is it possible to have Bermuda-Cococay reroute or is it too far that if we end up with Plan B, there’s zero chance of a Cococay stop? 
email snippet:
“We’re being as transparent as possible, as early as possible, to help you plan the best cruise. Below, are the considerations we’re making through this decision process given what we already know:
 
First and foremost, your safety is our highest priority. We don’t want to make a decision too early and miss out on being able to take you to the Bahamas. Due to the way the storm’s moving and the swells it’s creating, we already know we will be unable to visit Port Canaveral, Florida. There is a potential for impact to our visit to Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay.  
So, what’s the plan? We have a couple, actually. 
 
Plan A: Currently, we hope to sail around the storm and stick to our Bahamas itinerary, and as long as it’s safe, we’ll visit Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Plan B: Should it be unsafe to stick to our original itinerary, we would visit Bermuda and overnight there. Bermuda is a snorkeler’s paradise, from the pink sand beaches, to the historic towns of St. George’s or Hamilton, and the natural wonders of Crystal and Fantasy cave, there really is something for everyone to enjoy. So, it would still be an awesome cruise! ”

Hi guys,
We just received an e-mail notifying us of an itinerary change for the Nov 16, 1019 Anthem OTS sailing (snippet below).
 
Im not too upset about missing Florida but was really looking forward to Cococay.
Question- For those that have been through something similar before:
Is it possible to have Bermuda-Cococay reroute or is it too far that if we end up with Plan B, there’s zero chance of a Cococay stop? 
email snippet:
“We’re being as transparent as possible, as early as possible, to help you plan the best cruise. Below, are the considerations we’re making through this decision process given what we already know:
 
First and foremost, your safety is our highest priority. We don’t want to make a decision too early and miss out on being able to take you to the Bahamas. Due to the way the storm’s moving and the swells it’s creating, we already know we will be unable to visit Port Canaveral, Florida. There is a potential for impact to our visit to Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay.  
So, what’s the plan? We have a couple, actually. 
 
Plan A: Currently, we hope to sail around the storm and stick to our Bahamas itinerary, and as long as it’s safe, we’ll visit Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Plan B: Should it be unsafe to stick to our original itinerary, we would visit Bermuda and overnight there. Bermuda is a snorkeler’s paradise, from the pink sand beaches, to the historic towns of St. George’s or Hamilton, and the natural wonders of Crystal and Fantasy cave, there really is something for everyone to enjoy. So, it would still be an awesome cruise! ”

From someone who has climbed the C&A ranks quickly the secret has been a lot of solo cruising on longer cruises and occasional suites.  To make it economical cruising off peak is the key.
Long cruises help a lot.  A cruise of 11 nights solo equates to 22 points.  The snowbird migration last year was 13 nights netting me 26 points.  
The best "bang for your buck" are transatlantics on older ships.  Rhapsody Nov. 2020 14 nights for $1,300 "all in" (inc. taxes and fees) on a solo basis would net you 28 points for a very low $46 per point although you do have to consider the cost of international airfare.  These ultra low fares are few and far between so if you used them exclusively it would take years to climb the ranks.
It's not always about just sailing the cheapest cruises.   You'll want to enjoy the cruise, it is money after all, so not all of my cruises are the bargain variety and often they cost me much more per point.  
If it's strictly a points grab suites can help but you have to look at the numbers.  In some cases the extra cost to move up to a suite is less than the cost of another cruise to gain the same number of extra points, in other cases it isn't.  I've got a 15 night cruise booked in a JS that will net me 45 points solo in a suite.  If I cruised solo in a regular cabin that would be 30 points.  The extra $1,200 to move to a JS comes with an extra 15 points.  I could spend the $1,200 for another 7 night cruise that will get me 14 points or for $1,200 I get 15 points so in this case it made sense to upgrade and I get to enjoy a JS cabin.  More importantly it's a pretty cool and unique itinerary and being 15 nights the extra space will be appreciated compared to an interior cabin for 15 nights.
One feature of C&A to be aware is the ability to put you and your "significant other" in a relationship.  Qualification so far appears to be having the same address on your C&A accounts.  Once in a relationship if one person achieves a certain level in the program, the other person is granted that level even though their actual points remains below the threshold for that level.  They don't get your points, but they get your level.  This is how one can sell the notion of cruising solo to a partner.  You are "taking one for the team" as you will both level up as you advance.  
Cruising just to get points doesn't make sense but if you research and check often you can find some pretty cool and unique itineraries and often they are cost effective off peak when most working class people or those with kids can't cruise.

LMAO. Wow must’ve been wishful thinking on my part. Sadly I don’t think I can afford it ?.
and yes... their errant bag turned up a couple of hours later. Mine turned up around 2pm down the hall...his turned up around 5pm in front of our room ?
basically it just affirms the advice Matt gives on that What to put in your carry-on advice about what to keep with you at all times

With my suitcase unpacked and clothes sprayed down with wrinkle release it was time to explore the ship!








A look down at the terminal from the ship.

Solarium:



The solarium pool.

I needed to take care of something inside so I made my way back down to the Promenade.



I went to Boleros to see if I could trade in a previous Wow band.  My old one had a muster station printed on it.  On Anthem they would not allow me to trade in my Wow band and required me to purchase a new one because the muster station from Harmony was different than my Anthem muster station. 

I was pleased to discover that Symphony accepted my old "Muster Station E2" Wow band and gave me a new one that has no muster station on it.   No charge.

The Soda Drink Package and Refreshment Drink Package does not require the other passengers in the same cabin to purchase a beverage package.  

Came across this on Facebook a few weeks ago.

My intention was to head to the Windjammer for breakfast but the morning sunrise and pool deck caught me eye.



They've done a really nice job with the upgrades.  If the rest of the ships scheduled to get AMPED turn out as well I can see myself spending a lot of time of Voyager class ships.

Once again I checked the free MarineTraffic.com app and saw we were approaching Nassau.

Breakfast can wait, down to deck 4 to catch the lighthouse as we enter port.


Not the best lighting or sunrise but what can you do? 
The scope of our arrival into Nassau:
https://www.periscope.tv/thetwangster/1BRJjeQLwdRGw
My stomach was letting me know it's time for breakfast.
The entrance to the Windjammer has been updated in a style somewhat similar to Harmony.  Hand washing stations were installed instead of just having hand sanitizing stations.  

Very fresh and modern, another upgrade I like.   

I know others are saying Uber/Lyft and that might very well be the way to go but we did the fly into FLL and sail out of Miami the last time.  We rented from Enterprise (about $65) and stayed at one of the FLL area hotels.   If I did it again with a rental, I'd stay at one of the MIA area hotels that way you'd be close to the rental car drop off, which had a free shuttle to the port.  

Thanks @tonyfsu21, didn't realize there was a different train option...given at the price point Brightline is at, it ends up being more ?

You would be best taking the new Brightline train direct from downtown Fort Lauderdale to Miami. The Miami station is very close to the Port. 

I would Uber/Lyft it. We just did that in August. Flew to FLL to sail Mariner out of MIA. We paid about $75 each way but was for an XL for 4 of us. For just two, a regular Uber/Lyft would probably be about half the price. Check rideguru for an estimate. And I completely love Intercontinental Miami. There's also Holiday Inn right across from Bayside Marketplace (minutes from POM). Hotels in Brickell are also quite popular. Hampton Inn and Suites in Brickell is fairly new and has good reviews.

When we cruised aboard the Symphony of the Seas on the Pre-Inaugural cruise (31MAR) they had WOW bands available (I believe $5); however, they didn't have the muster station information printed on them.  We could have traded our Harmony WOW bands, but they said that all 'WOW band ships' in the future will convert to the clean version (no-muster station information).  With that knowledge, we kept our Harmony bands and they uploaded our Symphony data onto them for free.  Unlocking the cabin door is what I use it for.  Here's hoping that they'll expand its uses in the future. 
They still have the same four colors available; Blue, Black, White & Yellow.

@TheaFromCDA lots of flight discussion on this thread too.
 

if you werent so awesome and helpful I'd probably resent you :P