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Welcome to the forum!

Voom is unlimited, so there is no difference between using an iPad or phone.  Your phone cellular data needs to be turned off though or you could accidentally connect to Cellular@Sea, which is insanely priced for data.  Put it in airplane mode and then turn wifi back on.

Yes, you can connect as many devices as you want, but only one at a time.

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

No, there is no such thing as a cruise to nowhere anymore.  A foreign-flagged ship (which Royal Caribbean ships are) must make at least 1 foreign port before returning back to the US port of original (or any US port, actually) (Jones Act).

I think that was just a terminology misfire.  The poster appears to be asking if Coco Cay day becomes a sea day.

Which the answer is yes, but you will rarely find out much in advance.  Cruise line captains know that the private islands are a big draw and make every reasonable attempt to make those stops.  They would almost never make that decision the night before and even if they do they may or may not opt for a late departure.  It will almost certainly not become an overnight stay as the dock will probably be reserved for another ship the next day.  But very importantly weather reports change, it is extremely unlikely the decision to skip Coco Cay will be made until they are at the island and know whether they can tender/dock.  Doubly so when Perfect Day opens, RCCL is not going to want to refund that excursion money unless it truly is too dangerous to dock.

I can't answer for every carrier, but I can absolutely text through wifi without a cellular connection (Verizon).  But it does require a wireless internet connection, which means purchasing the package.  While there may be some caveats the answer is almost always no.

As far as RCCL perhaps introducing an app that can text without purchasing the package, like the DCL app can, that is TBD.

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Or else it is not truly a "unlimited" drinks package....

Ah, but see, they don't claim it is truly an unlimited package.

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OUR DELUXE
BEVERAGE PACKAGES 

Toast to virtually unlimited options with cocktails, beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, premium coffee, tea, and bottled water* – plus a 40% discount on bottles of wine under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100.

They are very careful not to suggest it includes everything or is completely unlimited.

$27.  About 20 minutes if there are no traffic problems, which in Miami is a toss up.

Welcome to the forum. 

Just want to clarify that there is an important difference between "debarkation" and "deportation".  If you are being deported after a cruise then you did something very wrong

1 hour ago, monctonguy said:

I would say stayed tuned on this....its kinda hard to "uninvest" once you have all these things built and in place if the demand or desire is not there.

My thoughts exactly.  I'm very interested to see if it really is a big enough draw to justify the costs.  Will this actually increase revenue?  Will this attract more cruisers?  I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out after it is open for a few years.  I do see the logic and agree with twangster on this being a great way to keep smaller ships relevant.  Can't argue that someone who might normally not take a short cruise on a smaller ship could be persuaded by a visit here.

I however completely disagree on hurricanes being no more issue here than Miami.  Miami is in much danger to hurricanes, no question, but they are on the mainland.  After the storm passes semi trucks and trains of materials and supplies head in.  Bucket trucks from power companies all over the country converge on the affected area (I have seen the convoys heading down I-75 from here and Michigan after hurricanes).  An island does not have these luxuries.  Cruise lines are still avoiding Tortola 6 months after they were hit.  And I can't wait to see people (most likely unfairly) decry RCCL for diverting ships and supplies from needy islands to "fix their water park".  I'm sure the engineering team is aware of and doing their best to account for hurricanes, but the comparison to cities on the Florida coast is thin at best.

Regardless, I still say the design choices are ugly, that the water slide is a terrible eye sore, and that aside of adding the dock this is not a positive move.  Time will tell whether I'm in the minority or not.  I'm fully prepared to be, if most people love it then I guess RCCL is making the right move.  Like I said, I look forward to seeing the results.

I only speak for myself, obviously, but this doesn't excite me one bit. I live 30 minutes from 2 indoor and 1 outdoor water parks, but I don't have a tropical island nearby. I haven't been to Coco Cay yet, but I have been to Castaway Cay a few times.  Castaway Cay is the idealized tropical island, it is quaint and has the Disney "fake-authentic" feel about it. You feel like you are on a quiet island, even though there is always water and drinks and a buffet a tram ride away. Now look at that picture of what it will look like as you walk off the dock and on to Coco Cay. Painfully bright and gaudy like any other water park in the world. There's nothing special about it to me. I'm sure it will be fun, I'm sure a lot of people are excited for it, but to me this is just hurting a great destination.

And of course there is the potential up charge. (I use "potential" loosely, I consider it a guarantee) I wonder how crowded the remaining free beaches will be. I'm willing to bet the new food areas won't all be included either.

If you have the soda package then only soda is included.  There is no discount for any other drinks.  Also this only includes soda from a fountain.  If it comes in a can then you will be paying for it, no discount.

"About how many RCCL cruises have you taken?"

Currently it is not more than one.  By the end of the year it will be not less than one.  Very obscure reference.

Welcome to the boards!

I just want to clarify what you are asking.  You are saying that you do not require an HA room but booked one?  Ok, no problem so far.  So occasionally HA rooms are booked up with people who do not require them, and then someone who does require one books and they have to reassign someone so the handicapped person can have an accessible room.  And your question is how can you stop a handicapped person from getting an accessible room, on account of you (someone who does not require an accessible room) booking it first?

I would say good luck with that, but I feel more appropriate would be "break a leg"!

We used City View the last time we were there, which I don't recommend trying to get tickets for.  Not because they weren't great, they were, but apparently they shuttered 4 days after we were there.  I just learned that trying to pull up some info for this reply, so that's a bit of a shock and disappointment because I really liked the drivers we had.

Anyway, as far as experience we liked it.  One thing that worked out well was that they allowed you to board at any stop to start your tour.  We had companions that were joining us at the Hemingway House but not taking the tour, so we all walked there.  After we toured the house we walked to the trolley stop and waited about 10 minutes.  We rode it around a couple of times in all, stopping at different stops and even retracing a bit.  We had a good time, I really liked that better than just getting on a trolley and going around without getting off.  We got off at the southernmost point stop, walked over to take pictures, took it in for a few minutes, then walked back and caught the next trolley.  It was about 20 minutes between trolleys.

Only one trolley we had was full, but of course now there is one less company in the game so can't say how that might affect Old Town or any others I don't know about.  It was a Saturday and had two ships in port though, to give you an idea.  I liked it, if you want a tour and plan to get off at a couple of stops then it is a good option IMO.

1 hour ago, Michele said:

Its confusing. Think I'll printout the first one and take it with, just in case.

Unless you have a list specifically saying soda is allowed you would be wasting your time.  Besides the wording making it very clear that it is not an all-inclusive list, " The following are examples of items that guests are not allowed to bring onboard ", arguing with security personnel is a great way to get a tour of a security office and jeopardize your boarding.  Just bring the soda.  Odds are they will allow it, but if they don't then just leave it and go on your way.  Please don't start your cruise off by making a scene over some cans of pop.

Welcome to the forum!

3 hours ago, tiny260 said:

This is out of the article on the main blog page:

" The sushi class is offered on most Royal Caribbean ships, but I had resisted trying it primarily because I do not eat shellfish and I knew many of the rolls made used shellfish.  While dining at Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas, my waiter informed me the chef could adjust my offering for something I could eat, so I decided to give it a try. "

So it sounds like they can adjust the content to meet your friends needs if you let them know in advance.

Ever have those moments where the answer to your question was staring you in the face, but someone else has to point it out?  This was mine for today

Thanks everyone.  We will be giving this one a try then, sounds like fun.

So Matt's review of the sushi making class got me very interested in booking it, but one of my friends is allergic to shellfish.  Does anybody know if they ever use shellfish in the sushi or, if they do, whether substitutions are easy to make?  Luckily it isn't a situation where he can't be in the same room as the allergen, only his own sushi would need to be free of shellfish.

If anyone can share their experience or knowledge I greatly appreciate it.

Complete side-note, I never knew this was something that could develop seemingly out of nowhere.  Apparently as a child he would devour peel and eat shrimp very regularly.  Then one day he got very sick after eating some and testing confirmed he was allergic.

59 minutes ago, Ari said:

You have to get the Presteam Packs that steam your clothes for you. 

I see the guy running that Kickstarter is also named Ari.  Must be a total coincidence that you are posting nothing but messages praising it  

Pretty sure repackaged Flameless Ration Heaters are not allowed on cruise ships.

Technical Answer: No, the rules state that personal wine consumed in a public area is to be charged the corkage fee.

Candid Answer: Nobody is going to ask where you got a glass of wine you are carrying around.

The corkage fee is for opening, storing, and serving your wine for you.  If you open the bottle yourself and keep it in your stateroom and only serve yourself then you will not be charged the corkage fee.  If you bring an opened bottle to dinner you are supposed to be charged the corkage fee.  Whether you are or are not is up to the server, but as you are being served wine that was not purchased on board the fee is supposed to be assessed.

I know this seems like a silly question, but as it is your first cruise I want to make sure you aren't confusing something:

Do you for sure have My Time Dining?  Or do you have Traditional Dining?

Forty Two

Agree with above that getting Voom for one device and setting up a phone for wifi calling will be the fastest way for someone to reach you in an emergency, and potentially cheapest if it involves more than a couple minutes of call time.  While giving them the ship number as a backup is a good idea, if you want to be easily reached (such as leaving children in the care of others while you are gone) having a cell phone on you is a convenience that doesn't have to stop when you leave shore.  Especially with RCCL's reasonable internet packages (when compared to other lines that charge by minute or MB).

Here you go: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5223-sorrentos-pizza/

Four pages and counting discussion without a real good consensus.  Though I think somewhere in the middle it turns in to an argument about which region has better food and how many Molsons a person can safely drink?  I'm not entirely sure, but either way I know I will try Sorrento's myself and see.  The pizza on DCL wasn't all that great either, but boy it sure hit the spot after a tequila/margarita tasting session.  That and a cup full of sliced pickles.

There are benefits to being in international waters

While true that is meant as a joke, I'm sure the lines probably acquire the legal rights to show the games.  They know that American visitors want to watch it so they get a nice big party going on that is well attended with people who might be very interested in buying drinks.

I haven't been on a ship during one, but I have looked at old DCL Navigators in preparation for our upcoming cruise and last year they showed it in one of the pubs as well as on the Funnelvision.  They even were advertising it with the full name and logo.  I'm sure this weekend I could even watch the Pro Bowl.  I don't really intend to, but I'm sure it will be on.

Enjoy your cruise!

The fee is per order.  You can order a single sandwich or several carts worth of food, if it is one order it is one fee.

Assuming Allure still has Cellular at Sea installed, then yes.  But when they receive their phone bills they will probably wish they had just gotten the Voom package.  Think $2 per minute expensive (and if they are calling each other then that cost is for each of them).  If their phones try to use cellular data it only gets uglier by the second.

Welcome to the forum!