KenCP

@Tigerlaw The 4 night is gone now and the 5 night is back, so it does change a fair bit. Just have to keep checking.

@Marmaduke I have talked with people who have done cruises in Europe and if possible it is best to use US dollars. Not many of the staff get off in ports in Europe to exchange money and when they do they loose a percentage. If you do no have US dollars they will not turn it away. When I go in August I will bring US money with me but will have Euros for ports.

Good tip @SweetHomeLady I will remember to offer to exchange Euro coins for bills with the staff.

@Tigerlaw just keep checking the cruise planner. I booked almost a year out for my cruise and it changed so many times it was hard to know what to buy. One day I would check and there was a five night dining package and then it would disappear for awhile then it would come back. Now that my cruise is within 5 months there more options again with the new packages that just came out. It also varies between ships I am finding as well. Right now my particular cruise is offering a 4 night package but for other sailings it is not being offered.

I got my Key for August for $19.99 per day. Has not changed with today's sale, still the same price.

I have the UDP and I called to see if the lunch was included on embarkation day and it is not. As I have purchased the Key it is included. I also asked about Izumi Hibachi and you still just can get a credit towards your bill, and you pay the difference.

Thanks @pepperandchips ! I went ahead and booked The Key. I was going to get the VOOM package, then I seen that I have 2 tender ports as well,so I thought it was worth the extra few dollars to skip a few lines too.

thanks @twangster I will check it out.

Hi, Ken here from Newfoundland Canada going to be doing my first cruise on a cruise ship this summer with Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas. Not my first choice of ship for my first cruise experience but it was the ports of call that was of more interest. Will have to experience the newer ships on my next cruise! Living on the 16th largest Island in the world I have spent a lot of time sailing and boating so this will be a new experience for me on a boat with a couple thousand people. Over the years of traveling within North America and Europe and seeing the cruise ships they never really appealed to me. Now that many of my friends have gone and we have similar travel tastes I am going give it a shot. I am sure I will enjoy it and will be booking again. This blog and Matt's live blogs on YouTube helped me to choose Royal Caribbean as my preferred choice of cruise line.

I will be sailing on Vision of Seas in the Mediterranean in August and was debating getting The Key. I was going to get the VOOM Stream and Surf package if the internet was good on Vision of the Seas. Just wondering if anyone has been on Vision of the Seas lately and could let me know how the internet was. Thanks!

It seems to go up and down weekly but not by much.

For my cruise in September every option is currently showing, even single night restaurant. I think it depends on your Cruise and how many people have booked particular dining options. The 5 night was not showing for awhile on our particular cruise but is now back again.

If you can take the time do the 12 night cruise. If you are doing the 7 night you can always add a few days on beginning and end of your cruise. It is so easy to get around in Europe by train, bus, or rental car to go see other cities. We go to Europe every couple of years and tour around very easily. This will be the first time we have done a cruise in Europe, we will be taking the 12 night Venice cruise with RCCL out of Barcelona and spending a few days before in Barcelona touring around and week on the end of the cruise to go to Germany for the wine festivals.

Thanks marti314!

We booked through Expedia Cruise Center after reading a lot of information on this blog and Matt's videos on Youtube about using a travel agent rather than booking with the cruise line directly. Our agent at Expedia has been great and got us a great deal. We were able to use the cruise planner once she sent back the conformation from RCCL. We have booked some excursions, Ultimate Dining Package, and Deluxe Drink Package on the cruise planner. So you have access the same as if you booked directly with the cruise line. Also, when you inquire with Expedia they will direct your inquiry to someone near you not a call center somewhere overseas. That was my experience here in Canada and I was directed to a Local Expedia Cruise Center and have had many conversations and emails with my local agent.

Have a great cruise pepperandchips!

Thank you WAAAYTOOO!

This is my first cruise cruise and this blog has been a wealth of information. I have the ultimate dining package booked for the Mediterranean cruise this summer. On sea days there is lunch in one of the specialty restaurants with the UDP. The question I have, is there lunch served on embarkation day in the specialty restaurant or do you have to have “The Key Pass” for lunch?