Mr. Candyman

The package will cover everyone in your stateroom along with any of your children under the age of 21 in another stateroom.  You just need to visit the photo people to ensure they link the staterooms.

Just to add, I was informed that it needs to be done 3 days prior to your sailing.  

Keep in mind the photo package sometimes doesn't show up in your cruise planner until you're closer to your sailing date. I'm 88 days out and mine still has not shown up yet

You can grab multiple drinks without them being there but be prepared to show each of their cards, especially with the alcoholic drinks.  

1 hour ago, CraniumDrain said:

Is there no complimentary WiFi on the ship (Harmony of the Seas) at all?

Also, I thought I saw that the RC app has a messaging feature that will work with the ships WiFi at no cost, but I can’t seem to find info on it.

The ship has free WiFi to use with Royal App, but you must pay for internet access.  Other than Allure and Harmony, I don't know what other ships currently offer the chat feature.  

2 hours ago, teacherdl said:

Thank you!... so I buy VOOM, turn on airplane mode, and I should be able to text my daughter at home with no penalties. Correct? 

(And I did try texting connected only to internet and it worked.)

Correct

5 hours ago, tiny blonde said:

I've tried pulling up Onboard Activities on the Cruise Planner, but the message says they cannot bring up my info and I should try again later. Does that become available close to cruise time?

Yes...just keep checking from time to time

7 hours ago, Marlena said:

and just wondering....if we both have deluxe drink package cant I technically use it at the same time for my daughter. Order her any juice or virgin drinks she want? 

I don't think anyone will complain about you occasionally giving your 4 year old a drink.  Well some people might complain but I wouldn't expect you to spend $140+ for your 4 year to have an occasional virgin drink.

10 hours ago, Pima1988 said:

It does change daily, and I believe it was in the $8 range. I never paid attention to the price since I always have the DPB.  However, the thing to be careful of is sometimes they sell the drink of the day in "specialty/souvenir" glasses.  Those are more expensive.  I want to say for those ran @13-14 a pop.

I think they do the same thing in Labadee with their Labadoodles

It changes everyday and I believe they were around $8.00, but that could vary by ship

I heard that as of 2020 everyone traveling via plane, will have to have a passport card anyway.

4 hours ago, Lovelysmile29 said:

I have the option to receive  a gift card from my job for Royal Caribbean.  The terms say that I am not allowed to use it as an onboard credit but I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with trying to use a gift card to purchase things using cruise planner.

I believe you can use it as onboard credit but you cannot use it in your cruise planner.  If you follow the directions for redemption, it will show up in your account once you get onboard.  I'm pretty sure that needs to be done 2 weeks before your cruise.  You might want to call Royal to ensure that you abide by the terms.  Would hate to have you get one and not be able to use it.  

12 minutes ago, Clear Laker said:

We have taken a collapsible cooler in the past (no issue bringing it on the ship).  The issue is getting ice for it.  We used it when we went to the beach and stopped for drinks at a store.

I don't know what ice machines the cabin stewards use but would assume you could slip him $5 -$10 to fill it up for you.  Maybe more than one or two bags of ice would normally cost but also less hassle trying to get ice on your own

41 minutes ago, rtread said:

I've hesitated to dive into this but would really like to hear from more experienced cruisers on what you have observed on past cruises. First, I like cold beer....sometimes I like several. But I think I do pretty well drawing the line and shutting it down. My wife likes a mixed drink, sometimes a second or third. She knows when to shut it down.

The cruises look like a good opportunity for someone to overdo it.....to the point of being a problem for others. With the drinks packages, numerous bars, party atmosphere, I'm sure the cruise staff, bartenders, security, etc. have procedures in dealing with these folks. What do they look for? What are the limits? What are the repercussions?

I'm not trying to be the party pooper but just wondering how it's handled. Thanks.

That's a good question...they probably handle the situation as discreetly as possible.  I've never experienced anyone that rowdy on a cruise but would assume they take the same steps as the would in any nightclub.  I'm sure a bartender knows what signs to look for.  If you start to become obnoxious and belligerent, I'm sure security will step in and maybe escort you to your cabin and tell you to stay there to sleep it off.  And I would assume if you didn't, you'll be detained somewhere out of sight until you sobered up.  They probably wouldn't kick you off unless you caused serious damage or assault someone....I'm just speculating.

22 minutes ago, spiralqueen said:

It is included for the newer plans. We are on a grandfathered early plan that gives us unthrottled unlimited data. If my brother didn’t regularly use 30+ GB a month we would be able to switch to a newer plan and get those North American roaming benefits. We also unfortunately can’t use the $10 a day passport. We need to buy the $60 30 day one. The good news is that US territories like PR and St Thomas ARE included so that’s something at least. 

Gotcha....yeah, I've been scolded by my wife for changing plans that have had features grandfathered in.  

1 hour ago, OrlandoDad said:

Thank You!

 I believe I have an understanding of the RCL App Chat feature, but would rather not leave reliability and set up issues (installing app on others phones) to chance while boarding the ship.  Plus, as I mentioned, I will need more than just the ability to contact my party on board.

I heard the app now has push notifications so we'll see in 98 days.  They're continually working on it so hopefully it will be better by my sailing.  And as you said, I'm not relying on it, and I need to do more than chat amongst us so I have the Voom packages already purchased.  

50 minutes ago, OrlandoDad said:

 

 

Thank You both for that info....had no idea it would be for room access only.  But that makes sense.  That being the case, I will not waste vacation time standing in line at guest services to get extra keys!

Since you have connecting cabins you can always access the other from the connecting door.  My kids will be across the hall so I plan on getting an extra key-card just in case we needed access without one of them being around. It'll probably never get used so I'll just do so when the line at Guest services isn't too crazy.  

2 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

To give you an idea of how little data 200mb is, my mom accidentally racked up 78mb of data in about 6 minutes when she was trying to download the American Airlines app in a Mexican airport. That was a fun frantic call to AT&T to avoid a $150+ surcharge. 

I would have been fighting that charge since Mexico should be within AT&T's coverage area.  On other cruises, I was always anxious to get to Mexico so I could check my voicemails, emails, etc . 

2 hours ago, WaterBaby said:

Not sure what to do about having internet. ATT offers a cruise ship package unlimited text and call and 200mb data for $100

So I'm wondering which would be better to get the ATT offer or use the ships wifi VOOM which is now about $100 also ?

 

Definitely go with the Voom.  I'm pretty sure with AT&T, once you reach 200mb, you'll be charge a ridiculous amount for an additional 200mbs.  Also, if you trying to text with others on board, then you might want to look into a multi-device plan..   

14 minutes ago, spiralqueen said:

Oh wow, I didn’t realize that the TAs were kept in the dark too! I mean she was annoying to deal with for other reasons and always made me feel like I was inconveniencing her if I asked her to check on a price adjustment for me so I’m happy either way to have switched to Michelle, but I will erase one of the mental strikes I have against that old TA. 

Yeah when I called to ask my TA, he had no idea and was puzzled why he hadn't gotten any notification.  I figured it was still fresh news and everyone just hadn't been notified.  To this day, I still haven't received an email about it from Royal but I did notice the itinerary update in my cruise planner. 

10 minutes ago, KathyDS said:

Ok...what am I missing?  Right now, if bought separately, the drink package is on sale for $665.00 and voom for one device is $83.00 for a total of $748.  However if I buy it as a package, it's $786...so $40 more.  Is there something else we would get in the package that we wont get if we buy them separately?  Also, how do I "un-buy" the drink package I already purchased so I can buy it on sale?  This is our first time on Royal Caribbean and I'm learning the in's and out's of a new cruise line.  Thank you for your help.  

No, your're not missing anything.  Sometimes purchasing the combo doesn't come out cheaper than buying them individually because they offer different"sales".  In order to cancel, just go into cruise planner and under your order history there will be an option to cancel.  I personally try to make my new purchase before cancelling the cheaper just in case something goes wrong.  Sometimes you are able to and other times you have to cancel first.   

2 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

I’m very happy that I switched to Michelle for my future bookings. For my Allure May sailing the only reason I knew about the St Thomas to San Juan itinerary change was because of message boards and roll calls. I don’t always get Royal emails reliably and I never heard a peep from my online mass market TA that I used for that cruise. Old TA was good about giving us a ton of OBC, but you really saw then how much them giving you a chunk of their commission back impacts service and communication. 

In the Allure situation lots of TA's and passengers weren't notified by Royal; myself and my TA included.  Like you said, if not for the forums many of us would still be in the dark so we can hold that one against the TA's.  I got lucky and discovered a good TA but glad you found one as well with Michelle.    

7 minutes ago, JRA said:

I recall reading the corkage fee on Anthems was $25 . 

 

It was $15 on other ships so maybe they won't waive it on Anthem; just be prepared

1 hour ago, LG2000 said:

We just booked four adjoining ocean view balcony cabins on Harmony of the Seas. No connecting rooms were available the teen cousins are eager to go back and forth between their cabins. I understand that the steward can remove balcony dividers on some ships, but hoping someone can confirm this is also available on Harmony of the Seas.  

Yes they will remove the dividers for you.....just make sure everyone knows to knock before entering any cabins so no one just walks in on you getting dressed or worse 

1 hour ago, OrlandoDad said:

As much as I would like to disconnect from the world on our upcoming cruise, it is just not an option with work obligations, possible need to communicate with dog/house sitter,  etc.

We are an iPhone family with AT&T service, traveling on Allure, for what it's worth.

Based on my research here and my understanding, it seems as simple as:

Purchase VOOM for three devices.  Put devices in Airplane mode.  Connect to VOOM once on board.

Then, we would be able to text each other ("Get to your cabin, Miss 15 year old teenager!", etc.), send and receive texts from those not on the ship, make and receive phone calls through WiFi calling and send and receive e-mails as normal.  

Easy as that?  Am I missing something or under the wrong impression?  No need to contact or purchase an "international" plan from AT&T?

Thanks!

You can use the Royal App to chat with each other while connected to the ships Wi-Fi.  I know the chat feature isn't available on all ships but you're good on Allure.  You can purchase Voom for 2 devices and just share between the 3 of you.  This way your 15 year old can communicate with her friends if you wanted her too; or do the same with a 1 device plan. 

There's no need to purchase the International plan as AT&T has an International Day Pass that is $10 a day per device but charged ONLY if you use it.  You do have to contact AT&T so they can add it to your plan or you can log onto your account and do it yourself.  I have that as a backup just in case one of us accidentally takes the phone off Airplane mode.  Here's some information: https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/day-pass.html

Also make sure you have your phones set up for Wi-Fi calling before you leave home and test it . The phones need to have an address set in case of dialing 911, which is why it can't be done on the  ship.