JohnC71

9 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Are you booked through a travel agency?  And have you tried using the other passengers' last names and the reservation numbers on the RoyalUp page?

YES I BOOKED THROUGH CRUISES.COM - AS AT TIME OF BOOKING THEY WERE OFFERING MUCH MORE IN TERMS OF ROOM CREDITS 

YES - MOST HAVE SAME LAST NAME, BUT HAVE ALSO TRIED OTHERS AS WELL - AND I HAVE TRIED ALL FOUR OF THE RESERVATION NUMBERS

My cruise is under the 20 day mark. Departing November 9th on Anthem.

I have not received any emails and have been trying the upgrade check part of royals site numerous times a week over last 60 days, to no avail.

We have 4 rooms booked all different reservation numbers. 3 balcony rooms and 1 suite. 

I would assume at this point there is no chance of a royal up offer.

Just find it odd that none of the rooms were able to view/bid on any offer.

Sailing on anthem in november 2019.

We bought deluxe beverage package for $44 which is the lowest I've seen it since we originally booked. We have several rooms who all booked at different times but were all able to lock in deluxe beverage at $44.

I have seen it as high as 52-54, but have seen my $44 price just a few times. Have seen $48 several times.

I'm sure others will say the same.  I was able to book just myself for deluxe beverage and my wife for refreshment package (best price seen for that was $20). Just need to call and come up with a good reason why one cant drink.  You can always just book it now and if it drops cancel and rebook at lower price. 

As others stated I would imagine at that time you should be fine. 

However, as it gets closer I would call a few livery type companies for a quote. 

I myself always book a car service from a livery company. If it's just me and the wife I just get a town car. With the kids a small limo. Where I am in Long Island NY, it's not much more to employ a livery service. Compared to hoping an uber is available.

I just like knowing when we fall asleep that at x time in the a.m, a car will be in our driveway with a driver willing to put our luggage in the trunk.

The last time I needed to go to jfk I checked uber the day before, just to price shop, and the estimate was only 20 bucks cheaper than the service I has already employed. To me $20 bucks is well worth not having to worry about if an uber driver is in your area, making sure you request them early enough, etc. I just feel with so many things to do the moments before you leave. It's one less worry, as the car will be there at the time you requested, normally 15-30 mins earlier. 

5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

Yes..it is 9.95 per person to eat at Johnny Rockets.  Milkshakes will be an additional charge on top of that unless you have the Refreshment or Deluxe drink package.  That means the kids would have to have the Refreshment package for their milkshakes to be included.

Also note that this is different on Anthem and Navigator as they have Johnny Rockets express which is ala carte and you pay only for what you order.

So on anthem, if you have a refreshment or deluxe drink package, you can just get a milkshake without having to dine at additional cost?

Cruise is in november. Guess we could wait... theres tons of rooms showing in that category (balcony)

May have been asked before. 

We already have 4 rooms booked. We have another family looking to join, last week I sent them a quote, they needed time to think about it ensure they could get off work etc. Since then kids sail free is gone and price is up just under $950, they have two kids.

I dont have the heart to tell them price increased. I considered trying to ease the blow by saying book now and well watch for a price drop etc, but from what I understand once you pass the final payment date, there is no repricing? With the exception of a full cancel pay fees and re book.

I feel terrible if they decide to book. And I have to tell them price increase.

Edit

Ok great. Once again thank you all for input and help.  

It definitely makes sense to cancel the key and use that money towards something else. Maybe I'll put it all on red when I see the first roulette table. 

14 minutes ago, twangster said:

The beds are currently at the end of the beach next to where Coco Beach Club will be.  

Thanks. That may work out well if we plan on spending time in oasis lagoon. 

I'm imagining you mean between snack shack and cocoa beach club?

I understand this wont give me oasis lagoon as we originally wanted. 

Just wondering where it is. As we have a few people in group who planned on going to beach. It would be nice, and right now seems cheap enough to grab just to have a central point where all our stuff is as we go about the day.

We decided against the waterpark as we have a 4 year old who appears to not make most of the height requirements.  Other child is an infant.  So were originally between the beach and pool area, definitely looking to spend some time at each throughout the day.

Been checking cruise planner numerous times a day since we booked in may.  Today "Full day beach bed rental" popped up at $299.  Has anyone else seen this or better yet rented it in past? Does anyone know where these beds are located? 

I have seen the cabanas and read the different discussions regarding the different cabana areas. 

I already dropped the ball, as when we first booked. All 3 cabana types were 599.  Now the waterpark cabana is 599, chill island is 1299 and oasis lagoon is now gone. We were waiting on few other rooms to book to see where everyone wanted to be.  Of course by the time we decided on oasis lagoon it was gone.

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

As others have mentioned, the Key is really a waste of money if you are Sky class.  Since you have the Ultimate Dining Package, you will already be entitled to the embarkation lunch - somewhere.

The absolute ONLY Key amenity that you will not get with Sky class is the one where you are permitted to drop your luggage off at the theater and have it delivered to your suite.  If you think that is worth $419.86, then by all means, keep The Key.

 

Thanks for the info.

This may sound like a stupid question, this means I bring my own luggage to the room? 

I guess my follow up question would be, what if the room is not ready yet. Is there somewhere to drop it while we eat lunch/explore a bit while waiting for room to be ready? Or am I stuck waiting with all my luggage in tow?

25 minutes ago, Matt said:

Glad to see you on the boards @JohnC71 , but just a heads up, typing in all capital is interpreted online as "yelling" and a faux pas. 

Appreciate the welcome.  

I could understand it being interpreted that way if I wrote a one liner.  However you can see that if I wrote a full email asking questions, responding and thanking those that assisted.

I guess I assumed I could browse and interact with this forum while at work.  For whatever reasons, the programs I am required to use at work need capitalized letters for commands and entry.

Since you mentioned/asked, I made sure to take the caps lock off on this one - hope it helps your day go well.

To all those who assisted, I truly appreciate it, and would like to assume I didnt come across as yelling at anyone.  If I did come across that way to anyone, then my sincerest apologies to you.

Hopefully, I didnt make any spelling or grammatical errors in this post.....

28 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

This is where you may be in luck for having the suite privileges as with the dining packages you can't reserve dining times ahead of time.  Typically you have to wait until you get onboard and reserve like everyone else with a dining package. However being in a suite, the concierge should reach out to you a week ahead of time to introduce themselves.  You reply back to that email and ask them to make your dining and activity reservations.  You will need the booking reservation numbers for all of the rooms involved.  They will tell if you they are able to help you out with the other rooms.  This will be much easier if you can get all of the reservations linked together.  

If they can't do it ahead of time for some reason just make your reservations and then once you get onboard immediately go see if they can get the rest of your party reserved with you.

Thats a great point - Thanks for all your help!

AWESOME - APPRECIATE ALL THE RESPONSES 

I WAS LEANING IN THAT DIRECTION - BUT WANTED TO ENSURE IT MADE SENSE PRIOR TO CANCELING - AS I DEF HAVE SOME TIME BEFORE I NEED TO CANCEL

WILL CONCIERGE ASSIST WITH DINNER RESERVATIONS FOR A BIGGER PARTY SIZE THEN WHATS IN MY ROOM - MEANING IN MY SUITE ROOM THERE IS 4 PEOPLE (2 ADULTS, 2 KIDS)  HOWEVER AS I MENTIONED EARLIER WE ARE TRAVELING WITH 3 OTHER ROOMS. SO WOULD BE LOOKING FOR THEM TO HELP WITH RESERVATIONS FOR 8-10 DEPENDING ON THE NIGHT

Just now, twangster said:

They'll get a Chops lunch on boarding day and exclusive hours at certain activities that you will not as Sky Class.  

You already get Voom with Sky Class so that's a huge part of The Key wasted.  You can eat lunch in Coastal Kitchen.

The only reason to buy The Key is to hang out with your friends at lunch on day one and to participate in exclusive hours at activities with them.  For me that would not be worth it.  

I WAS JUST TYPING A QUESTION ASKING ABOUT THOSE CERTAIN ACTIVITES - RIPCORD, FLOWRIDER ETC

HOWEVER, REGARDING CHOPS LUNCH - WE ALL ALREADY BOUGHT THE ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGE - SO I AM ASSUMING I COULD EAT CHOPS LUNCH ON EMBARKATION DAY, MAYBE I WOULD NEED SOME DOCUMENTATION IF I HAVENT GOTTEN MY CARD YET SHOWING THE DINING PACKAGE?

HELLO ALL,

CRUISE IS IN NOVEMBER 2019, I ORIGINALLY HAD A BALCONY ROOM BOOKED - SO IN PLANNING AHEAD - I ALREADY PURCHASED "THE KEY", ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGES FOR MYSELF AND WIFE, AND DRINK PACKAGES.

I NOTICED YESTERDAY - PRICING HAD DROPPED ON MY CRUISE - I CALLED IN AND THEY RE-PRICED - I WAS GOING TO GET A $850 REFUND - WHILE ON THE PHONE I DECIDED TO RUN PRICING ON THE SUITE CATEGORY - WE OPTED FOR THE OWNERS SUITE - 1 BEDROOM - AS MY WIFE DIDNT LIKE THE IDEA OF OUR 4 YEAR OLD BEING ON A LOWER LEVEL (COMPARING TO THE LOFT STYLE SUITE) - SO THE RE-PRICING ENDED UP COSTING ME MONEY - LOL

ANYHOW - I HAVE STARTED TO READ UP ON PERKS WITH THIS SKYCLASS SUITE VS PERKS WITH "THE KEY"

IT ISNT MUCH MONEY TO KEEP "THE KEY" ($419.86 TOTAL FOR BOTH OF US) IF IT MAKES SENSE TO DO SO - AS I ONLY NEEDED TO BUY IT FOR ME AND WIFE AS MY KIDS ARE TOO YOUNG TO REQUIRE THE PURCHASE

ONE OTHER ITEM TO NOTE - WE ARE GOING WITH OTHER FAMILY - 3 ADDITIONAL ROOMS - THEY ARE IN BALCONY ROOMS AND ALREADY PURCHASED "THE KEY" - SO IF THERES SOMETHING WERE GOING TO MISS OUT ON WITHOUT "THE KEY" THEN I WILL PROBABLY JUST KEEP IT.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK WE SHOULD DO? 

APPRECIATE EVERYONES ADVICE AND RESPONSES

Thanks for the heads up! 

Deluxe Drink package on my anthem cruise in November went down to $44 per day/night. I had originally bought for $47 and was happy with that then.

We have 4 rooms, so 7 drink packages. Just under 30pp saved. It adds up. 

The four year old doesnt need "the key"

Here is the fine print from the cruise planner.

guests ages 6 and older in the same stateroom are required to purchase the Package. Guests age 5 and younger accompanying a guest who purchased The Key can enjoy these benefits: priority check-in and boarding, exclusive welcome lunch at Chops Grille or Jamie’s Italian, priority departure at ports of call, seats in the exclusive  VIP seating area at shows, and choice departure on debarkation day with the exclusive à la carte breakfast.

Has anyone been to melia with a day pass?

17 hours ago, emsff02 said:

We went to Atlantis last February and here are my observations.

To get there, a large group climbs into a mini bus type van that look like the image below, and may be smaller than the one pictured. There is no ability to fasten a car seat in these busses. They dont exactly drive fast so holding your infant on your lap shouldn't be too bad, and the drive from the pier isnt very long. 

Once they drop you off at Atlantis, the walk to the water park is long, so if your four year old is similar to mine, it will be like the Bataan death march. The neat thing, is you can explore the aquarium and pools on the way to the water park. My kids loved that!

The water park itself is fun. There is an area for smaller children to play etc. There are chairs etc surrounding that pool too. If you walk past the kiddie pool area and head to I believe the "river pool" this one is closest to the beach and there is a sandy area the kids can play in. There are also lockers in this area that you can rent to store your valuables in.  The river pool is also a zero entry pool so the kids will have shallow water to play in. It also connects to the aquaventure river so just watch for empty tubes to come floating by, also people will exit the river here as well. 

You can attempt to rent a cabanna when you get to the resort, but they will probably be sold out. Dont bother calling ahead, you can only pre-book one if you are staying in the hotel.

The slides are all very fun so you and your family can swap off with the kids and do the slides. The aquaventure river is fun, they do have two person tubes so you can take the 4 year old (I took my 4 year old). I wouldnt take the infant because some areas are rapids and  just not safe for an infant. 

The food around the park is decent, we never tried any of the restaurants within the resort buildings. The adult beverages are tasty as well, and for what I can remember not terribly over priced. There is a starbucks in the water park too for the afternoon cafeine pick me up.

Overall we really enjoy Atlantis and it is a good time. We will be there in September when we cruise on Navigator for their 4 day Bahamas Cruise

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS - MUCH APPRECIATED!

23 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Not sure what your other ports are but Nassau is not the best one for all inclusive resort for a day...the British Colonial Hilton is walkable from the port, so that's a plus in my opinion..even if it's not an all inclusive.  

LEAVING FROM NY ON ANTHEM OF THE SEAS IN NOVEMBER - PORTS ARE PORT CANAVERAL, COCOA CAY AND NASSAU.

WE FIGURED WE WOULD MOST LIKELY STAY ON THE SHIP AT PORT CANAVERAL.  COCOA CAY WE DEFINITELY PLAN ON ENJOYING.  JUST FELT THAT IN NASSAU WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING BESIDES WALKING AROUND AT SHOPS ETC, AS ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE LITTLE ONES WITH US.

1 hour ago, Matt said:

I was looking at Melia and it's super expensive (same for Atlantis). Melia starts at $139/pp.

For anyone complaining about Perfect Day water park costs, take a look at how much per person they want at these resorts in Nassau!

I would also advocate the British Colonial Hilton day pass. It includes a food and beverage stipend and is much more economical.

Yea either one is not going to be cheap... However, we do have several young adults in our party and even a few older adults that are certainly good at getting their moneys worth when it comes to drinking in all-inclusives - Aboard the ship - we all (adults) have the deluxe beverage packages for this very reason.

So we thought the $139pp including food and drink in a nice/safe location was worth it for Melia - our question/concern was how much we would spend in Atlantis? - as everything is pay as you go - Money isnt necessarily the deciding factor, but something we would consider when comparing the two.  How much would lunch be?   Is the food of higher quality, to warrant it?  How much is each drink? All things we would consider.

Once again, open to other similiar ideas - will be looking into the British Colonial Hilton - as you recommended.

Hoping the cruise experts here can help us....

When we first booked our cruise, we were dead set on going to Atlantis, as we have never been.  In researching, resort day passes, seemed like a viable comparative option.  After reviewing a few resorts, I think the only one we would consider is Melia.  Seems like several were adult only or kids had to be a certain age.  

Things to know.

We are traveling with a infant (will be 10 months when we cruise) and a 4 year old.

We are traveling with several family members (aunts, uncles, older cousins (young adults).  All are good with helping my wife and I with the kids.  Especially keeping the 4 year old entertained, as he seems to go from one activity to the next very quickly...

We are mainly looking to get off the ship, enjoy pool/beach, drinks food etc.

Here are few questions/concerns

- Transportation?  My wife is concerned if we are taking cab type transportation that we wont have car seats.  Is either place walking distance?  Any other suggestions, regarding transportation to these places with infant?

- Time that both are open till? As current schedule has us arriving in Nassau at 12pm and departing at 10pm.  We do plan on being back on ship before nightfall for dinner on the ship.  But concerned as Melia says day pass is good till 5pm, that doesnt leave us much time once getting off the ship and to the resort.  Is that 5pm rule strictly enforced? Can you still hang out and enjoy the pool/beach and just not get food included at that point?  Not sure about time structure for Atlantis.

- Differences that may help our decision between Atlantis and Melia? Besides swimming with dolphins type activities.

- Is there any where else we havent thought to look into?