KenCP

Jane this was a great warm up trip for your European cruise!  We you asked me about blogging I did not realise there was a section on here for that.  I probably will do updates on the "Live Blog" page when I am on Vision.  I just hope the Voom works well over there.

This is the latest I found on which ships have the Royal App and what features are available on each. Seems like Allure and Harmony are the only ships with the chat feature. Got the chart from here. @Matt's post from May 16 showed that it was on Quantum (not listed here) and that it should identify Key buyers (which it did not on my May 18 Symphony sailing). So this chart may or may not be 100% accurate and I could not find it on the actual RCL site.

 

With the latest Royal App update the key now shows on your digital SetSail Pass so it should not be a problem.  The Key shows just below your name.
I usually travel only with digital passes for airlines hotels, and rental cars, but I will print passes for this trip just in case there are issues.  I have read on this blog a few times people having trouble at check in.  I want my first cruise on Royal to run smoothly

We are sitting at lattetudes waiting to get off majesty.  We finally broke down and got voom on day 3 but it's hard to go back and recreate.  If voom cooperates I will have it the whole time on my vision Europe trip!  Might actually live blog instead of livish.  
I have tons of pics but it takes me forever to load then lol.  We were on the ship by 11am and in our time by 1.  The windjammer is very well set up with a middle "market" and a forward area that they open up at busy times.  The food was always fresh, hot and we hit it for lunch and the last night dinner (we were just too tired to do a 2 hour dinner!).  On the sea day we had Mongolian barbeque which was amazing!  I didn't love the Caribbean jerk meats at the last night, so I was forced (lol) to eat crepes and tons of amazingly fresh shrimp cocktail!  
The main dining room was incredible.  Best we have had since our first cruise on vision 4 years ago.  The food was very well prepared and always hot. And our wait staff was amazing!! We were at a table for 10.  They brought special vegetarian dishes out for Madison, and dealt very well with two of our tablemates who were always late (an hour on night one!) .  The bar service at the mdr was great... I was always asked if I wanted more wine and by night two they were asking if I wanted the specific type.
Service was also amazing in the schooner bar!!!  They didn't carry Oberon (the red I got to really like on Allure)...I could only find it in the main dining room.  On day 4 I asked them (should have done it sooner) if I could get it.  They went and got two bottles for me, would pour it as soon as I got up and didn't charge for the bottle, just by the glass.  It was a nice touch of service!!!  Loved the schooner bar for sure!  Andrew was a great piano player who played the whole 3 hour set with no breaks and dealt with all the drinks really well!
Our room attendant was fine... Not amazing, not horrible.  Often he left empty glasses (used) and didn't always wipe down everything, but we always had towels and we never had to wait for the room to be set up.  
We had one extremely bad service moment in the whole trip... Everyone was really super except for the guy organizing the sushi class.  We had decided to prepay and have the sushi making class for dinner on the last night.  I have to get off the ship now... Will comment more on this in a few!!!! Jane
 

@hayley_bopp
https://www.livornobyboat.com/
 
 

I have friends who were just there in Livorno and they said it is a lovely town.  Take the shuttle bus from the port into the town.  No problem to spend the day there exploring she said.
Have a look at some Youtube videos online and do some research, it seems like a lovely place.
Sometimes you do not have to go so far inland to find a great town to explore and have a great time.

I have friends who were just there in Livorno and they said it is a lovely town.  Take the shuttle bus from the port into the town.  No problem to spend the day there exploring she said.
Have a look at some Youtube videos online and do some research, it seems like a lovely place.
Sometimes you do not have to go so far inland to find a great town to explore and have a great time.

We did a very similar tour a few years back. Had a lovely time! You must eat gelato in San Gimignano!

I made a spreadsheet to calculate my break even point for getting the Deluxe Beverage Package on an upcoming cruise.  It turned out to be pretty useful and I thought others might find it interesting.  So...  I made a site on Wix to host an online version of the calculator for anyone that might be interested.
DrinkCalc
DrinkCalc V.2  (Now prettier and hopefully easier to use.)
I'm open to feedback to improve it as needed.  Keep in mind the options for style are limited but I can tweak the math as much as I want.

I'm such a paper person.  I always panic that I won't be able to pull up the app or my phone will die!  I hadn't thought about the swiping thing!  Jane

The discounts are off the "onboard" price which they play with and don't tell you what it is.  In wither words, it's royal Caribbean math and it won't make sense!  Just buy early, check often, and if the price goes down cancel and rebook.  There is no penalty to do this!  Enjoy your first cruise!  You will have a great time!  Jane

If anyone has been on this years 12 night Mediterranean Venice cruise on Vision of the Seas, or will be going has a copy of this years Cruise Compass I would love it if you could upload it to the Cruise Compass section this blog.
Or if you know of one that has been uploaded somewhere else and have a link that would be great as well.
Ports of Call:
Barcelona
Nice
Florence
Rome
Amalfi Coast
Venice
Split,
Kotor
 

I love packing cubes especially the compression ones.  It has allowed be to use a smaller suitcase, especially in Europe.  Having smaller luggage makes a big difference when you rent a car as rentals in Europe are usually smaller than in North America.  Also if you have to walk to get to your hotel from the car park smaller cases are much easier to maneuver in the small alleyways, and sometimes the many stairs you might have to climb or go down. Still carry my 50lbs though!

@CGTLH this might be another reason why they changed the cup design.
My hubby leaves his yeti at home too.  It is just too much of a pain in the arse to drag around all day in his opinion.  Plus, as others have stated they will not fill it your Yeti.  Leave the Yeti at home and bring silicone or metal straws instead.

The new cups being used have the chips embedded in the plastic. So no paper slip that can "easily" be removed.

Oh I will but $56 as a 20% off already is still steep. My Jan Allure sailing it was $49 on Black Friday. I am hoping it will drop more than that but it mostly likely won't.

My Ultimate Drink Package dropped, I rebooked it and saved $80.  My Unlimited Dining that I booked on Black Friday was still cheaper than the Memorial Day pricing. 

Check your cruise planners.  Sailing Liberty in August and my deluxe drink package dropped to $46 a night.  Lowest I had seen was $49.  Saved my wife and I $50

@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. 

Ok, went to our first show in the main theater on LOS tonight.  There was no sign indicating The Key, but there was a sign for suite and high end loyalty cards( I forget the color). I asked the staff member checking id’s where Key holders sit and she said right here and let us in the VIP reserved area.  Balcony seats in the center section.  Score!

The Key program on LOS for our trip right now.  I think it is worth it. Internet is slow but functional.  Priority boarding and carry on bag check great.  I was disappointed that the private time for Flowrider was only from 9am - 10 am on Day 2.  Only time all week.  Same time for climbing wall, day 3 only and Ice skating at 7:45 - 8:45 pm on Day 2.  I thought we would have more opportunities.  On Day 2 now and will check out priority seating for the show tonight.

I received good news via email today! They made an additional Key available for me! I'm glad I won't have to watch my 13 year old eat lunch at Chops without me now ?
Hello,
 Hope this email finds you well,
 I am glad to inform we were able to obtain the additional spot that you requested; to book The Key service, please call us as soon as you can in order to pay for it please. Payment can only be made today.
 Regards,
Kevin Velasquez
Resolutions Specialist
Royal Caribbean International®

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 @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.

We are back and had an amazing cruise! Brilliance was just delightful. That said, we were not able to use ultimate dining on embarkation day for lunch. Chops looked full and the manager who assisted us with all reservations and checked in on us all cruise long told us he could not seat us without the Key. I was bummed until the kummelweck hit my tastebuds and then I wasn’t too upset ?