USCG Teacher

My family will be on board as well. 

13 hours ago, twangster said:

Wait... is that metric feet or imperial feet?

17 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

We loved Coco Beach Club, but at the $200+ pp price point we'd have to pass on it.

I couldn't agree more.  We love love LOVED the Beach Club, but at $200+ pp.?  No way.  Of course, there are also people who were paying $3,600 for the over water cabanas, so maybe it's my price-to-value ratio that's off.

15 hours ago, Tee said:

Hi.  I’m looking to book an accessible balcony room (10562) for our 2025 cruise.  I learned this type of room only available near the stairs/elevators for convenience purpose but I have never stayed in a cabin near the stairs before and is concern of the noise.  Anyone has experience with cabins in similar location (on other RCL ships) that you can share and possibly help me before we put down the deposit?  Thank you so much!

100% yay.  You're far more likely to have noticeable noise bleed from venues above and below your cabin (restaurants, the pool deck, music venues) than from guests in the hall near the elevators.  The elevator adjacent cabins are usually viewed as prime locations!

5 hours ago, Neesa said:

My cruise emergency kit! It's a money saver and if I have it I probably won't need it. Bandaid and wound treatment, Benadryl,Vicks, Neosporin, pain relief such as Advil, ginger gummies and sea sick patches. Night & Dayquill just for good measure. 

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

That's also in our default packing list. The mobile OTC pharmacy always comes in handy for random stuff.

Add me to this list, too.  I have a special clear zipper bag just for the OTC pharmacy as well.  It's also where I keep the Burt's Bees aloe cream.  It's such an automatic that I didn't even think of it as a "travel product," but it certainly is!

According to the app, there are 6 of them (as well as two Mezcal cocktails), and they are all priced at $14 which will make them fully covered by a Deluxe Beverage Package.

-Compression packing cubes

-Magnetic Hooks

-Universal adapter/USB hub. Turning that "useless" 220v outlet (sorry European friends!) into 3 USB ports is huge!

-Luggage handle wraps (makes my bags stand out from across the terminal/baggage claim!)

You may have to scroll down through several wine and other options before you get to the liquor choices.  For me, they don't show up until page 6!

6 hours ago, AlmondFarmer said:

I understand the “good times girls” tour has changed a lot since 1898.

lots of satisfied customers back then.

YMMV

I dunno, rumor has it that the souvenirs you take home are WAY better now...

While I can relate to the three "hot-tub in cold weather" (Santa hat is a nice touch!), I have to respect the woman who is just laying out on the deck chair's commitment to living her ideal cruise life!

4 hours ago, NYCruisers said:

Sorry if this was already discussed but I was wondering if I purchase one internet package could my husband and I alternate using it on two seperate devices?

Yes, you can!  You just have to log out of one device before you can log on to the other.

6 hours ago, NR1987 said:

Going to be experiencing star class with the family in 2023 onboard Symphony of the Seas. In terms of our Main Room Dining time. We were given the 530pm (early eating). Would you recommend that we stick to this time or request to change it to My Time Dining?  Can we change our dining time?

Agree with @SpeedNoodles, if I were Star Class, you wouldn't find me in the MDR at any time over the course of the cruise!  Not a knock on the MDR, it is perfectly fine, but it certainly isn't as good as all of the specialty options OR the chance to enjoy the meals served en suite!

Semi-related note?  Yesterday I received an invite to a survey.  Turned out to be entirely about how important the dining experience on a cruise is to me and what types of venues and dining experiences I prefer for each meal.

All the Air2Sea rules vary greatly by airline, but you can have your Air2Sea fare paid for even if you haven't paid off the entire cruise fare, but you or your TA has to call in to make it happen, the website apparently doesn't support this type of transaction.  I had my MEI TA call in a pay off my Air2Sea for my upcoming August cruise last month and I was immediately ticketed on American Airlines despite the fact that I still owe a few thousand dollars on my cruise fare.

2 hours ago, amanalo217 said:

When I went to the beach club in September an excursion ticket was not needed. They could just looked you up on pad when you came in since they were connected to ship network.

Same, I just received a letter with information, not physical tickets.  When I arrived at the actual Beach Club, we just gave them our names.

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

When I flew in August, the line for Clear was probably 100 deep, yet hardly anyone in the standard precheck line.

I had the same experience my two last flights out of O'Hare and PHL.

12 minutes ago, Vlad said:

Thanks, 

If I remember correctly excursions tickets usually right when you come inside your cabin? 

All of our shore excursion information was on the desk when we arrived, yes.

23 minutes ago, CharmMicah68 said:

You can't schedule lunch until you arrive at the Beach Club.

Unless this has changed since August, you can absolutely make your reservations in advance.  There was a letter in our cabin with our shore excursion information on day 1 with the extension to call to set up our lunch reservation.  I would suggest calling sooner rather than later if you want to eat during the more popular time slots.

57 minutes ago, Fredie said:

Is that a 1 or 2 bedroom ? 
thanks for the note. 

1 Bedroom.

1 hour ago, Fredie said:

Is the one bed room aqua suite on the symphony of seas noisy ? Can you hear deck noise or flow rider ? Room 14334 

Was in a Deck 12 Aquatheater Suite on Oasis this summer.  Noise from the Aqua 80 show was very loud, no way we were going to sleep through it.  Fortunately for us we're not early to bed types AND we absolutely loved the show.  We experienced absolutely no noise from the pool decks.  The whole family loved that cabin and would book it again in a heartbeat.

45 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Coast Guard and CDC want to avoid helicopter medivacs at all costs. A patient typically needs to be in a life threatening situation for that to occur.

Can confirm.

For the NY region, you'd be looking at one of the "Silvers," either the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star, and the trip is between 21 - 24 hours under the best of circumstances, and sleepers are pricey (coach is pretty affordable, but taking an overnight on coach isn't for the faint-hearted. It's not awful, but it sure isn't for everyone!).  That route is already running some of the updated Viewliner II cars, so be sure to actually call in and speak with an agent if you're booking this route to make sure you get in one of the newer sleepers.

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Take the train to Orlando, either spend a night in Orlando or if you get in early enough take a shuttle or ride-share to the Port area and spend the night in a hotel there.

The same wisdom applies, don't fly or arrive by train on the day of the cruise.  Plan to arrive at least one day early and spend a night in a local hotel either in Orlando or near the Port.   

This is always good advice, but even more so when using long distance rail.  Running the East Coast isn't normally quite as inconsistent as going through the center of the country, but that's a pretty low bar to clear.  Both the Silver Star and the Silver Meteor are scheduled to arrive in Orlando close to mid-day, and under absolutely no circumstances would I run the risk of meeting that schedule on embarkation day!  I love traveling on the rails, but you need to bake in a healthy dose of reality when doing so!

4 hours ago, Bean79 said:

I always thought nacho cheese was fake no matter where it cam from !! 

To be fair, it can only be called Nacho cheese if it is produced in the Nacho region of France, otherwise it's pasteurized partially gelenatinated non-dairy food product.

6 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

Is this for sushi or hibachi? If for hibachi, I’m pretty sure they can’t just simply add an extra seat at the table. Those tables are filled quickly with reservations and they aren’t going to bump a whole party for a 5 year old the venue didn’t know about until you showed up.

Wanted to say exactly this.  You're probably better off making the reservation and having the staff make the correction once on board if you're doing hibachi.  That's how we booked this summer, and it was handled quickly and easily.  I'd suggest stopping by day 1 or 2 during a slow period top make everyone's lives easier.

1 hour ago, BowTieBrigade said:

The way this really should work is that Royal should recognize my status on RCBlog. Gimme them D+ bennies!

I mean, if @Matt can work out a way to get me my 4 drinks a day, I'm 100% on board!