Oli

Do RCL ships still operate the casino/slots using USD when sailing within Europe etc? Ive not sailed within Europe before, but as located in the Uk am looking at some European dates on Indy etc. Do the ships still operate in USD ship wide or will it be euros if the ship is based within Europe for the season?

Not really a recommendation but more on a heads up/review. I recently stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th street which is a few mins from both the port, airport and the beach. The location was excellent for the port with free shuttle I believe, but the rooms are dated and the front desk was chaos. I felt due to the rooms it was overpriced. Wanted $300 a night when I stayed, mid feb, I used Hilton points though and would never have booked with cash. Seems about the going rate for larger rooms to accommodate families in FLL though. I did seem extreamly popular with cruisers and if you just want a half decent room with two doubles and a sofa bed, decent pool area and a two min ride to the port it might be worth a look. I must mention, I have not stayed anywhere else if FLL so have nothing to compare with.

I agree, did not see anything. Although I seem to remember vending machines for soft drinks, I might be mistaken though.

I was on Symphony second week in feb. I was at first devastated when I checked in online and was told 1:30pm. It was our first cruise and we were desperate to arrive and board early as we were new to cruising and did not want to be rushed and panicked at the last min. thanks to the info on this site, I ignored RCI, rocked up to the car park at 10:45, handed my bags to the porters and It the felt like I walked straight on the ship. Up the escalator, seapass scanned, let through the barrier, carry on scanned and then welcome aboard sir. We honestly thought it was quite possibly the most seemlessly painless process of any holiday ever. I’m sure it’s not always the case, but not having to queue once was the perfect start to what was a perfect cruise experience.

Well, in time end we done Sol Y Mar through rccl. It was really well organised and we went on the afternoon session, departing at noon and returning at 4pm. We choose it primarily as it was cheap and we just wanted a basic beach break. Must say, it was clean, drinks were reasonably priced and although it was jam packed, they worked very hard to find us beach chairs on arrival. The sea was relatively rough considering it is sheltered by a reef and therefore the sea was cloudy until you got out a hundred yards or so. All in all, I thought it was worth the £20 I paid. I did note they were charging around $40 on the ship though, not sure if I would have thought it such good value for a ten min bus ride to a non inclusive beach at that price.

I was on Symphony on Friday and can confirm that the ship seemed to wait ages for them, blasted the horn numerous times and called so many times over the tannoy for the missing passengers. At 15mins late there was actually four of five people who had not returned, a few turned up seconds before that footage begins and that seemed to be it off we sailed. We were made to take our passports off the ship in Nassau so at least they will have or should have had them. As you all probably well know, we were made well aware by the crew as we disembarked in the morning that all aboard was much earlier than all previous ports. Another point, even RCCL excursions seemed a shambles in Nassau. We were booked on one to leave at 9am, the bloke eventually turned up at 10 and then hurried us through the trip as he has three more to do after for Symphony.

Thanks @WAAAYTOOO and @dodgestang for the replies. I will be sure to report back how I get on upon my return. I feel I have already put a fair amount of additional revenue through RC before even cruising, drinks packages, voom, excursions and dinning so will see how I get treated. Ive been a regular visitor to Vegas for the last 20 years so I’m interested to see how play and frequency is rewarded by comparison. Although as others have mentioned elsewhere, RC having a captive audience and no competition, I’m not expecting to feel as well comp’ed.

Has anyone any experience of the Sol Y Mar beach club in Roatan? For a simple beach break it is relatively cheap, in fact the cheapest beach excursion or so it appears in my cruise planner. I have seen many reviews of Tabyana, but at double the price, is this extra justified? Oli

Hi all, I along with my family will be embarking Symphony of the seas in two weeks for our first ever cruise and I have read a wealth of information over the last six months in this forum and via the blog but have a few questions regarding the casino, more specifically the loyalty program. If I spend enough, or should I say lose enough to reach prime, would my complimentary prime cruise become bookable April 2019 or April 2020? I can’t seem to find a definitive answer if my play in feb 2019 counts towards status April 2019-2020 or April 2020-2021. I have noticed that there are certain period where slot play offers double points, does anyone have any experience of the timings of these play periods? TIA of any answers, we are all getting excited for our trip. Oli