Al Horner

I look forward to going to the new Perfect Day at Cococay in May 2019. What I find pretty daunting are the prices. As of today (Oct. 23rd) Cabanas can cost from $600 to $800 or more. The 30 minute helium balloon ride (which is what I would like to do) costs $64.00. I'm sure it's supply and demand but it's beginning to look like we'll get of the ship, look around and then get back on the ship.

This is not my first time with this comment. Why doesn't RCL try to accommodate the majority of their customers? They could ask on your cruise documents if you prefer casual or formal wear on "formal" nights. Then, they could seat you on an appropriate MDR deck. So on "formal" nights, you would have one or two MDR decks with casual wear and the remaining decks for formal wear. I don't think this would be difficult.

I'm one of the people who don't get off the boat when it goes to the Bahamas. The reason is that, in my opinion, the people who live in the Bahamas are generally unfriendly and make little to no effort to be welcoming. How many times do you have to hear, "Hey Mister, nice shore excursion!" When I say no thank-you I suddenly get a muttered F##k You. This isn't a one off. It has happened to me a number of times.

"No Balance Due" again for the past two days. I just wish it was true.

The Symphony will be leaving the Med shortly and heading to Miami. Does anyone know if the MDR menu changes from the European itinerary to the Caribbean itinerary?

My next cruise is going to be on our 46th anniversary. I plan to order flowers for in the room and try to make a specialty dinner reservation (once they open the reservations on my cruise planner).

#Balsam, I thought only Jesus could walk on water. Thank God you never speed, never litter, only cross at cross walks. It must be nice to be so freakin' perfect. That's enough. Me and Jesse James gotta get back to our outlaw ways.

#Balsam - talk about someone being irritating! Let me clarify. I always request and receive the distilled water with no problem. Yes, RCL will provide a very long extension chord which I find to be a trip hazard at night. What I found particularly irritating is the inconsistency with which RCL enforces rules. They say no power strips, I have openly brought extension chords and suddenly that's a no-go. Hopefully, this will become a non-issue. I think I read that the Symphony of the Seas has outlets on both sides of the bed by the night stands, in which case, we won't need any extension chords. Thank-you for your valuable and polite input.

We use CPAP machines and I prefer my own extension chords (not power strips) over their 25 foot long industrial extension chords. Never had a problem until the last cruise on the Liberty of the Seas when suddenly I had to go to the "Naughty Room" where I was duly chastised and had my extension chord confiscated. Irritating.

"The wedding planner Royal Caribbean set her up with has never been on a cruise and cannot answer all of her questions."   -    Wow. This statement is sad on so many levels. I would think that the wedding planner would get the answers if they don't know them. None of them sound like unreasonable questions.

I live in Houston and we do have RCL ships sailing out of nearby Galveston. Unfortunately, those Galveston RCL cruises have very limited itineraries. I would like to see the ships sail to the Southern Caribbean or the Panama Canal or other stops like Dominica. I find myself flying to Miami for a cruise departure just to get some different destinations.

I just checked my dashboard and it said, "You don't have a balance due." I think it's just great that Santa Claus came early this year and paid off my balance due amount.  OR JUST MAYBE - it's another website glitch.

I'm sailing on the Symphony out of Miami in May 2019, so, right now I'm looking forward to the Symphony transitioning from the Med to the Caribbean.  The reviews, the menus, the shore excursions, and everything else will mean more when it's similar to what my cruise will be. Ah well, 229 more days to go!

In 234 days I'll be boarding the Symphony in the new terminal. I know it's just a building but I'm kind of looking forward to seeing it. It's a nice looking building but the framework for the ramps takes away from it. They should paint them so they blend in with the colors of the building.

Hi Matt. "Enter" was not exact. I was hitting the submit payment button on the website. Interestingly enough, I tried calling the RCL phone no. a few times to book the shore excursion on the phone. Three times this morning I would get a sound like the line was connecting and then the phone would go dead. I think RCL doesn't like me.

I am booked (through the RCL website) on a cruise on the Symphony of the Seas in May 2019. Just recently, the Cruise Planner added some shore excursions for our cruise, one of which I would like to book. I go into the Cruise Planner, enter all my info and then enter my credit card information, press "enter" and nothing happens. There is nothing wrong with my credit card. This has been going on for at least three days. Is anyone else having difficulties making Cruise Planner purchases?

OK. So, the deluxe beverage package goes up and down but I wonder if the individual drink prices on the ships fluctuate as well? For instance, if the price of the deluxe beverage package goes up for a particular cruise, does the corresponding (non-package) individual drink price, on that cruise, also go up and the same if they go down?

As of today (9/15/18) for my sailing on the 5/18 Symphony of the Seas, the Café Select Coffee Card appears to give you 15 espresso based coffees for $31.00. On the other hand, the Refreshment pkg gives you most non-alcoholic drinks including "premium coffee" for $26/day. Does the Refreshment package premium coffees include espresso based coffees? If you're drinking just coffee (no water, no soda, no tea, no "fresh squeezed orange juice) I guess it makes sense.

I'm not a coffee snob but I do like a good cup of coffee. That being said, the ship coffee is OK at best. If you like a decent cup of coffee, you might want to spring for the coffee card.

In reality, when we decide to go on a cruise, our first thought is about our finances. We live near Houston, so, if we sail out of Galveston, we save a whole lot of money. Then, I look for sale prices. We do like being in a Junior Suite. Frankly, all the ships are nice, so we are really driven by price and location more so than which type or class of ship. The itinerary is almost unimportant. There is always something to do at whatever port we go to.

Whatever ship I'm on at the time is my favorite type of ship!

My wife and I have always booked a junior suite. We are both "large" people. So, what I like about junior suites is that they have a bath tub/shower combo instead of those skinny little shower tubes. The closet is typically a nice walk-in closet. Finally, the room itself is just bigger so I don't have to walk sideways to get by the bed. Another perk, contrary to what it says above, is that we have always received priority check-in when we get on the ship. No priority departure but I'll take what I can get. We also get double C&A points. Our next cruise is on the Symphony of the Seas in May 2019. I understand that, once we are on the ship, we can try to get evening reservations for the Coastal Kitchen restaurant. So, there are a number of benefits to the Junior Suite.

We're going to be in a Junior Suite on the Symphony of the Seas in May. I understand that, once on the ship, we can request a reservation for the Coastal Kitchen for dinner. Here are my questions: What makes the Coastal Kitchen so desirable? Is there an extra charge for eating there? Thanks!

Shopping? Please, let's hope my wife doesn't read this....

Any shore excursion suggestions for St Thomas that do not involve beaches, water or snorkeling? I've been to the Pirate museum and tower up on the hill.