IRMO12HD

I feel like they would know and honor it and I only say that because the cruise we just finished was our step up to Emerald and while we didn't get the Emerald benefits on board, the pins were already in the room. We found that really surprising since we know things are normally reflected on the cruise AFTER points are added.
So I guess they had to know we were crossing the threshold and if they knew that, they should know about yours.
But I still agree with the others to call, because while some humans may know and you may even get the pin, the technology may not update so it may need to be done manually on that 3rd leg.

Your points won't post until some number of days after the 2nd cruise but you have earned them.  You will need to contact the Loyalty Ambassador once you board the 3rd cruise.  They can verify you have earned the points and upgrade your status in the ship's system.  Most likely, your SeaPass cards won't be updated to the right color but you will get the benefits.

Oops, what’s $30 in loitering cocktails when you’re waiting for vacation to officially commence??

Day 3 was pretty good. Some members attempted, that's the key word, to ice skate. It didn't work out well at all. I spent most of the day in either the suite lounge or suite deck relaxing and reading. Too much sun breaks me out, so I tend to mostly avoid it. A stray observation is that the suite lounge fills up at exactly 4:55 and clears out at around 7pm. The view is perfect for having a drink and relaxing, I am usually the only person in there until happy hour. Kristen and Albert always take great care of me.
I tried my hand at a bit of trivia but my group didn't do well at all. A few of us went to Dazzles for some bad dancing. I will say social distance is not a thing.  Every elevator says no more than 6 or your party. We are 5 and this group of 4 tried to get in. BFF mom is a nurse and a stickler. She always reminds people of the rules. Well yesterday the group of 4 tried to get in with us, they had no mask on and were clearly tipsy. They informed her, proudly, that the number was 10 people and she doesn't have to be a covid bitch. BFF mom closed the elevator but this made her mad, she wanted to tell the captain what happened 😂
Dinner at CK was very good, the braised beef gnocchi is divine 😋. My only slight issue is the manner in which they bring out food. I got the shrimp cocktail and braised beef as apps but I received the cocktail 25min after my first app and literally 5min before my entree. My brother ordered the scallop app and the curry soup. His soup came 5min before my shrimp cocktail. I chalked it up to the fact we told our server we weren't in a rush. But it was a bit odd. Most of my party was blown away by the ivory mousse dessert, I was quite disappointed with the chocolate napoleon. But if I am being honest none of the desserts have impressed me.....except the ranger cookies.
After dinner we all went to Dazzlers and then I headed to the casino. As I am typing this, I am even. I had a decent run, then some lady sat next to me and refused to stop talking. She gave me bad juju and I lost pretty bad,well everything extra I won. I ended the night with the exact amount I started the cruise with. So the plan is to play with my alloted amount tonight and hope for the best.
The captain just announced we have docked at our first port of the cruise,  St. Maarten. The plan is to get off around noon and see the port and be back aboard around two. Tonight is also our reservation for the comedy show. Right now I just finished breakfast at CK and I am heading to the NextCruise desk.

I’m the planner in our family too. Even if I do all the planning and paying my kids still veto my desires while on the ship.  That’s why God put casinos on cruise ships……to keep me from smacking them upside the head. I get a drink, sit at a machine, and all my worries disappear.  🙂  
 
You do you. 
 
That said, you are wonderful for planning all this for them.  Next time they gang up on you, tell them Yesiamthere thinks you are awesome!

@WAAAYTOOO I will post more later about the Genie+ as I talked to a few other people staying in the actual resorts who had issues as well. With all the kinks it is just a cash grab right now, it also requires you to be on your phone a lot instead of enjoying the experience.
 
Also after some truth or dare trivia and a Effy jewelry demonstration I am in a great mood. I also just had a tequila sunrise🤣 and I just got a peach daiquiri while on the deck in the shade. Boat is rocking but I'm only a few drinks in.

Spot on from WAAAYTOOO. I was coming here to post something very similar.
You can't please everyone, so I personally don't try to.  I love organizing and planning, love sharing that with others.  It's almost as much fun as the cruise itself.  Almost.  lol
I make plans, and my "bestest" of friend know this.  They understand that they can hop onto the "Barb train" and go along for a fun time, or do something else.  It doesn't matter to me which they choose.  I have a work friend (like a sister) who asks what my vacation plans are that I'm willing to share with others.  She and her hubby have traveled 3 times with us now, and are comfortable enough to go their own way when they want.  
Please try to have fun.  Don't let this spoil your cruise.  While the "piling on" was very unkind, please try to shake it off, and enjoy YOUR cruise.  Let others know where you are going and what you are doing, and don't wait around for them if they are late.  It is not your responsibility to cater to their every moment.  This is your vacation too!  🙂
We enjoy talking to our waiters briefly when dinner is wrapping up, if they/we have time.  But we also prefer to have privacy during our meals.  It's a fine line between being attentive, and hovering, and the best servers know where that line is.  Maybe this will improve as the week goes on. 
Hope your cruise is uphill from here!

Not to make you relive an unpleasant experience but I am trying to plan a family Disney trip myself so I am interested in more about all of this.  If I can't cruise I might as well take advantage of living so close.  Even though I now live in FL I will still go and stay in the Disney property hotels just for the convenience.
I know that you said you thought the Genie thing was a waste of money....but do you think that b/c the family was so unorganized or b/c the program itself just wasn't working ?  I will go back and re-read your post about that...but do you have any other insights ?  Would it have made a difference if you had been staying on Disney itself (one of the Magic Kingdom hotels - Polynesian, Contemporary or Grand Floridian) ?
It has been over 20 years since I last visited Disney and I know a lot has changed.  Even back then (when I was much younger, much thinner and much more able to get around) I insisted on staying on property b/c I love getting up early, going to the park, coming back in the middle of the day to relax and rest and then going back to the park in the evening to enjoy the cooler weather and the nighttime activities. The whole "car thing" is such a hassle that once you get in the car and leave, I do not have the interest or the energy to come back again.  Once I'm done (if I'm not on-property), I'm done. The nights are so awesome at WDW but I cannot stay there all day AND all night.
Dan is from Southern California so he grew up going to Disneyland.  He has never been to WDW.  I want him to at least go once so he can see the difference. I, myself, have never been to the Animal Kingdom.  It wasn't even there the last time I went.
Thanks for your help on this !!

@WAAAYTOOOAfter the whole theme park fiasco I gave up planning. I usually announce I'm heading somewhere and then they say they are coming, so I wait. Then I miss it. I have few plans for the cruise as it is my relaxation time.
I am feeling much better but I am cautious, we are dining in CK so I won't have the same issues, hopefully. I did bingo and didn't win anything so now I am in the suite lounge enjoying my book and a Bellini.

I am really so sorry to hear that things got off to a rocky start.  I know HOW MUCH you have planned, stressed, prepared and PAID getting ready for this cruise.  I could feel the excitement and your love for cruising in your words and I know you wanted to share all of it with your family.  There is just NOTHING worse than putting so much energy into something for OTHERS and then having them totally not appreciate your effort at all.
I happen to agree with you about servers.  I love when they are friendly and interested in helping but I don't want to engage in small talk with them.  I don't really enjoy discussing "how my day went" with them.  If I ask for suggestions for food, that is one thing but I don't really care about their opinions as I am usually very VERY familiar with the menu(s) and usually know what I want.  If I have a question, I will ask.  Take my order, deliver the food and be gone.
Having been the organizer of many group cruises, this is what I have discovered.  I will NOT try and organize peoples' daily activities.  I will decide what I want to do, invite anyone who would like to participate to come along or join me later, and then do whatever the f'k I want to do.  Another thing I have learned is that when my family disagrees with my opinion on something (my daughter is a die-hard vaxxer) I just avoid that topic and try and talk about something else.  That's about all you can do.
I truly hope this will not discourage you from doing family or group cruises again.  It is really a lot of fun to have friends and family around but it just isn't worth my sanity to be in charge of their activities.  I hope that your family enjoys the cruise and that it gets better for all of you over the next few days.  It sounds like they all made the classic mistake of hitting it too hard on the first day/night and then paying the price.  I spend waaaytooo much money for a cruise to lose time to that kind of poor decision !!!
My best to you and to your family.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I hope you're able to salvage the rest of your cruise and and enjoy the time you have left. My DH would go apoplectic if a waiter did that to us. If we need something we'll ask for it. And the party that came with you are terribly inconsiderate and disrespectful wasting your time waiting around for them. 😒

Okay so lets talk about day 2 which was another sea day. Nobody made it to breakfast because they did too much the night before. They promised they were coming and I waited almost 45min in CK for them. I ended up eating alone. The same thing happened for lunch. This has been a current occurrence on this vacation, only reiterating why I cruise and vacation solo. We spent the day exploring the ship, mostly separate, lounging on the suite deck and our balcony. I had drinks at the sand bar and the suite bar, they were stronger at the suite bar. I hit the casino and hit a small jackpot so I am up right now....we will see if it continues that way for the remainder of the cruise
So I am going to post this as it has put a major damper on my trip
In my younger years I was a waitress, I always tip well and take care of those who take care of me. I still tip when service is basic too. Having been in that position, I have a standard of service that makes experiences amazing to me. I know from serving that each person has a style and I think the mark of a wonderful server is to read the room. My biggest pet peeve is servers who speak to guest like they are stupid, ordering things for them, constantly at the table and interrupting conversations, etc. Since most of the party is newbies, we came to a collective and ate in the MDR night 2. I felt our waiter was extra, he tried to read the menu to us, kept mentioning about giving a 10/10 and brought food he liked to the table for us to try....which is fine but he kept pestering us to try it and standing around, hoovering waiting. He delivered the food and started talking so by the time we started eating, at least in my case, the food was barely warm. I told my party this rubbed me the wrong way and my preference was to enjoy my meal with little interaction and then go to the headliner show. They got super offended with me because they felt he wasn't doing anything wrong. They basically said I was a horrible person because I suggested they tip him and I tip the assistant waiter. None of them are talking to me because they wouldn't allow me to explain why I didn't enjoy this service. They have felt like all the crew have been extra but suggestion something is not the same as saying "no, no, you don't get that, try this." I mention my irritation after the ordering process and then again when he wouldn't stop talking after delivering the food. I think it is rude to eat when the waiter is there asking questions. I was basically reamed out for not having sympathy for this guy and could only sit through a little bit of the Headliners because I couldn't rally. I basically went back to the room and cried all night. I mean we have been late to everything, they have complained and wasted my money and time. Yet I make two comments and I am implied to be prejudice and the worst. I don't want to spend any time with them as no one cared about embarrassing me, they tried to force me into saying my peeves while he was standing there.
Everyone's perspective is different, so maybe I was wrong, has anyone else experienced this and felt that way? I have never experienced anything like this, so the plan is to go to the casino and see if that will turn my emotions around.

It’s Cruise Day!!! Sitting in downtown Miami trying to see Oasis but can’t quiite make her out from this vantage.. Boarding at 11 😁

We used IPhones to take the proctored tests and had no issues. 

When I have played in the past with promo chips and won a hand they don't touch the promo chips only put down my winnings next to them. They only touch your promo chips when you lose. I then take the real chips and put them away and keep playing with the promo chips until they are all gone.

I always get travel insurance for any trips, not just cruises.   The rates will vary some with different companies.  But ours seem to run between $100 and $200 per person.  The length of your trip, how much coverage you want, and your age all play a part of what your insurance rate will be.

I do annual policies from Allianz.  Covers all trips, not just cruises and it's a one time per year fee.
Pricing can vary by state since insurance is controlled at the state level in the US.
Also you need to buy coverage for what's important to you.  Like car, house, health, dental and life insurance there is no one coverage that fits everyone.

Glad to have helped.  However, be careful as you travel down the rabbit's hole.  I once spent almost 3 hours preparing for 3 future cruises.  I now know how Alice felt.
Are there others outnthere that schedule each and every Martini they drink each and every day?
😉
Curt from Canada

"Can someone send me a Cruise Compass from XYZ of the Seas?  I am going on the ship next week and I want to do some detailed planning".
This request comes up multiple times each month.  As a Cruise Planning Addict I know exactly what they are going through.  I have the "Cruise Compass" tab on the Royal Caribbean Blog as a favourite on my browser.  Last month, I stumbled on a "hack".  I hope my brothers and sisters of the "Order of Overly Organized" [OoOO] enjoy this one.
I use the Royal Caribbean phone APP that lists all of future cruises I have. Then I:
Go to the bottom of the start up screen (it lists all of our future cruises) and press the "Get more details on ships we support" tab at the very bottom. Find your ship that you will sail on ... I know all of them are not there but 23 of them are!. Select the ship you will be sailing on. Find a sailing date similar to the one you will sail on (you might have to do some digging on the Royal Website to find a similar one).  I choose the one that is sailing currently or as close to today as possible. Press Daily Planner and ALL of the On Line Cruise Compasses are available for you to view. I am looking at DAY 1 of Independance of the Seas for the NOV 01 to NOV 05 sailing right now.  I know there will be these events on these days:
DAY 1: 8:00PM Headliner Showtime (in this case Nate Weatherup) ... this was in the past.
DAY 2: 9:15PM Ice Spectaclar: Freeze Frame! (V) ... this has not even happened yet (it is 7:49PM in Montreal right now).
DAY 3: 3:30PM Name That 80's Tune Trivia (V) in the Schooner Bar
I think you get my gist. 
It is an absolute Disney World for members of the OoOO.  It is not as nicely laid out as "real" Cruise Planners', but it will definitely scratch that itch for all my brothers and sisters of the OoOO.
I hope this helps,
 
Curt from Canada

I agree all of the things we had to take care of before getting onboard actually lead to a much safer environment onboard. On Symphony of the Seas right now there are families with small children onboard but vast majority of adults around 99% that  I’ve seen all have the blue bracelet representing fully vaccinated.  In fact this cruise is the first time I’ve actually hugged people I don’t know or shook hands with complete strangers. I’ve taken quite a few land vacations since the pandemic but this is my first cruise since the pandemic and it actually feels like a normal cruise where people can relax and let their guard down and not really have to worry about COVID.  Strangers are interacting with each other not avoiding each other like we do in grocery stores… LOL!!!  
I’m trying to explain it I don’t think I’m doing a good job so my advise is simply this get on a cruise and experience it for your self.

For the Freedom out of Miami, we had 11:30 check in.  We arrived about 11:15 and were astounded to see that there was no 11:30 line--just a 12:30-1:30 line.  Not a big deal, but just odd.  Some others were a little snippy about it, but it was just a little goofy in our opinion.

About the same thing happened to us last month, October.  The day before we were set to leave on flight next morning, we took our Covid tests online, at home.  We are both vaccinated and had no symptoms.  My husband came up positive.  We were in shock.   Had to cancel the flight less that 12 hours before, plus the cruise, hotels, etc. You never know I guess.   Out next cruise is beginning for December for 2 weeks on Oasis.  We are not getting together with anyone for Thanksgiving.  And very little contact with people 2 weeks prior.   I have had about 10 cancelled cruises, and not going to chance this next one.
 

We were just about to hit the "10 days until we leave" mark for our cruise.  Darling wife and I started feeling a cold coming on.  Fall allergies right?  Unfortunately no.  We got a call from our sister-in-law that 6 members of our extended family that were all at our nephew's wedding that last weekend tested positive for Covid-19.  Hind sight now says that we should have protected ourselves better, but we were host couple for the reception which means interacting with a lot of people.  My darling wife is getting hit a lot worse then me and still has a sore throat and coughing.  Official tests show both of us positive also, so no way we are going to manage a negative test 2 days before sail.  So now working with TA to get our cruise cancelled again...ugh.  And yes this is a breakthrough case as we were vaccinated back in March/April.  Going to have to step away from blogs and Youtubers that we religiously monitored for last 2 months...just too painful.  So those on the Freedom this coming Monday have an extra drink for the two of us.  

IT was on my wife’s as well, we really enjoyed it, the horse looked like they are taken care of quit well, tour guide was great, of course they take your picture and try and get you buy it at the end. One little tip, the horses are in the water up to about the top of the saddle, so your legs and shoes are going to get soaked, something we didn’t think of, my wife had Sandels , no big deal, I had gym shoes, I actually found a Payless once we got back in town and bought a cheap pair of shoes for the rest of our trip, but awesome day, we hope to do it again in February.

Not sure if you enjoy horse back riding,we booked  thru Royal and it was a nice scenic ride to the farm, you ride thru the hills and then down to the beach, where the horses ride along the beach, then out in the water you go, the horses actually  love the water, highly recommend.