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Cub

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  1. Like
    Cub got a reaction from The Cruise Junkie in Just For Fun Show Us You Best Cruise Photo   
    St Thomas from MOS 2008
    Americas Cup sailing 2013

    St Thomas crop.bmp
  2. Thanks
    Cub reacted to SpeedNoodles in The Key - my experience last week   
    Since it seems to come up a lot, and although Twangster's detailed blog is far superior, I thought there may be one or two who might be curious about a recent experience.  I purchased it for my 4-night Mariner of the Seas cruise to Nassau/Coco Cay.  I was a solo traveler and I had a $25 onboard credit, so the price came to $55.  Between Voom and lunch on embarkation day, I'd already gotten my value, so it was really a no-brainer purchase for me.
    Embarkation:  They called The Key people with the Pinnacle/Diamond/Diamond Plus members when they opened up the doors.  I suspect they just threw us in with them because it was so early and there were very few people in the terminal yet.
    Delivery  of carry on luggage to stateroom:  A few of us wandered around trying to figure out where to drop off our carry on luggage when we first boarded - they were a little behind and didn't have a sign on the theatre door, or anyone in the theatre to take the bags yet.  In about 10 minutes we all figured it out (all 5 of us at that point) and someone did show up to start the process.  Unfortunately that person hadn't been provided with any luggage tags, so anyone who hadn't tagged their luggage had to wait a little while - I had my luggage tag on my one rolling carry on.  They also had business cards with Voom codes on it - but none of them matched the names of anyone who was there, so staff was confused. In the end they just gave us a card for whoever (sorry Adam Davis, or whoever's I had), and we were on our way.  I assume they managed to work it out in the end, but it was never an issue for me.
    Lunch at Chops - was a nice treat!
    Reserved seating section at shows - I only went to the comedy show really late on Embarkation day and on the last night.  There was a section roped off for The Key next to either higher C&A or suite folks - it really didn't matter at this show because there was really hardly anyone in the theatre.  The first night I sat in The Key section, the last night I sat somewhere else - it didn't matter.  But this is Mariner, not a Quantum or Oasis class ship, so I imagine it would make a difference on one of those ships.
    Reserved times for Flow Rider/Rock Climbing Wall/Sky Pad/Perfect Storm - they had at least 2 hours set aside during the week for each activity. They weren't at the most convenient hours, but, at least on my sailing,  it wasn't necessary for a separate time - there was never a line at any of those activities - I never saw more than a few people in line for any of them and most of the time nobody was using them. Apparently this was a "sit by the pool and drink" cruise for folks.
    On the 2nd day, I happened to stop by my cabin to pick something up and someone knocked on my door and delivered a fruit plate that was complimentary for The Key people. That was unexpected.
    Priority tender - We only tendered at CoCo Cay - I went down to get on the tender about an hour after we anchored and there was a line (not a ridiculous line, but a line as you'd expect there to be).  There was no staff along the line at all to ask about The Key benefit, and I'm just not the type to walk past a bunch of people who are waiting to also get on the tender to get in front of them, so I just got on with everyone else.  I was able to get on the tender right away anyway, probably because I wasn't trying to get on the first tender of the day, so it was just fine with me. I could have been more assertive, but that's just not me. And the ending result would have been exactly the same in this case.
    Disembarkation Day - it was nice to have a quiet, unrushed breakfast in the MDR.  It was the only time I'd sat with other people during a meal - almost the only time I'd spoken to any other people all week (I did talk to the iguana and the chickens on CoCo Cay earlier, that's a whole different story #retiredzookeeper) and I did enjoy that.  After breakfast, I ran back up to my room, grabbed my carry on, and went down to Deck 4, where there happened to be a staff member manning the line.  I asked him about The Key disembarkation, and he personally escorted me to the gangway past a long line, which was REALLY nice.
    I liked the program, and it was defnintely worth it on a short sailing.  I was getting Voom anyway, and there were just enough things that I was going to enjoy along the way that it made it worth it to me.  I very much doubt that I'll get it on my Ovation sailing to Alaska in June - I will be going with my husband, who has no interest in Voom, and we will be meeting up with old friends, who will not have The Key, so we won't be taking advantage of reserved seating with shows and special times for activities since they won't be able to partake with us during those times. We'll evaluate it again on our Symphony sailing in Feb 2020 - things may have changed with the program, or the hubs may decide he wants internet access, so we'll see then.
    Hope this helps someone out there!
  3. Haha
    Cub reacted to SpeedNoodles in How to track special deals in Cruise Planner   
    Wait, not everyone checks their cruise planner daily for sales? I don't know how to process that.  ?
  4. Love
    Cub reacted to jlovely in My Fast Track Plan From Platinum to Diamond C&A!   
    Goals.  ?  I'll go take my soon to be 16 points and cry in the corner, ha!  One day I'll get there! 
  5. Haha
    Cub reacted to AshleyDillo in Fast Track To Diamond Status?   
    This brings out my inner math nerd..love it!
  6. Haha
    Cub reacted to BigKarl in Most useful (but not important) carry on item   
    My wife would probably say "I was the most useful (But not Important)?
  7. Thanks
    Cub reacted to Dogbreath in Just Got Back from Alaska   
    My wife and I rode the Radiance from Vancouver to Seward a week or so ago. This site was very helpful, so I figured that I would return the favor with some thoughts about our cruise.
    First off, we had a great time. The ship is nice and clean. The staff is great. Food was great. I probably gained 100 lbs.
    We booked a Grand Suite so I was expecting some perks. We got more that expected.  We booked the starboard side thinking that we would see more than the port side since it was a northbound cruise. Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. If we ever do it again, I'll book the port side. We arrived in Seward before 4:00 am and docked on the starboard side. That is one noisy pier!
    Check in at Vancouver was a bit chaotic. The lines were long at around 1:30 when we arrived. We were ushered into the regular line. After about 5 minutes (and remembering what I learned on this blog) I inquired with security about a line for suite guests. He thought for a moment then escorted us to the suite check in line where we only had to wait for the couple in front of us to finish. Check in was a breeze then. They took our pics, looked at our passports and gave us our sail cards. We later learned that the computers had been down for a few hours causing the backup. 
    Next up was security. I had bought a bottle of Havana Club while in Vancouver and had it in my backpack. I had every intention of declaring it and reclaiming it at the end of the cruise. The backpack sailed right through the scanner with not a word from security. My guess is that to the scanner it looked like a bottle of wine which is allowed.
    After that was US Immigration and Customs. Just used the scanners. Took like 5 minutes tops for both of us.
    Walked on to the ship and quickly found our cabin. Our luggage was there. So was a plate of welcome goodies, 2 sets of binoculars (GS perks) and a bottle of sparkling wine courtesy of our TA and Royal. We spent a bit of time checking out the cabin, sitting on the balcony, and finding the bottom of the wine bottle. A note here about outlets. There are 2 110VAC and 1 220VAC outlets on the desk / makeup area. There are 3 or 4 more 110VAC outlets under the end table by the curtain. If you book a GS, bring a long extension cord. With that and the CPAP cord, the wife was able to breathe all night. There is also a very low power outlet in the bathroom for a shaver. I used it for my Waterpik.
    The next morning (at sea day) we were surprised to find a note inviting us to brunch in Chops. Another perk of a GS. The brunch was quite good. Sushi, several types of finger foods, desserts, wine. All served by the officers of the ship. The Capt. even made an appearance and spoke to each guest individually.  We had dinner at Chops that night. The filet was amazing.
    The following day was Ketchikan. While we were out exploring Royal left more edibles in our suite. This happened a few times during our cruise.
    We hit the Concierge lounge daily even though we had the DDP. There seem to be snacks there all day, but alcohol starts at 4:30. Drink types there are limited, but with the DDP the waiter/bartender had no problem going out of the lounge to make us Mojitos. Drinks in the lounge tend to be stronger than those in the regular bars. In the regular bars the bartenders are required to measure the shot - there is no such requirement in the lounge.  Service in the lounge was impeccable. The Concierge, Ricardo, was super helpful before and during the cruise answering every request cheerfully and making reservations for us without delay.
    We used room service for breakfast one morning. We ordered full American breakfasts at no additional cost. It was delivered hot and on time. We could have ordered room service dinner as well. In a GS you are provided with the full MDR menu from which to order. We never did.
    On the morning of debarkation (or is it disembarkation?) we were invited to Chops for breakfast. After that we did go to the WJ to meet some friends. It was packed. The quiet Chops breakfast was a great perk.  We did not have a priority debark time only because we were traveling with a group. Had we not been, we could have left as early as 6:30 AM. 
    One last thing. We had been told that we had $100.00 on board credit. On the advice of our TA, I went Guest Services the next to the last night. There I discovered that we actually had $300.00 credit. The $100 was actually per person. The other $100 was because I got a RCI Visa and used it once before the cruise. The important thing here is that the credits are assigned to individuals not cabins. I had $200; my wife $100. Mine had been used up and there was a balance due. My wife's was untouched. The Guest Services agent cheerfully connected the two accounts which lowered our bill another $100. It also turns out that there are two types of credits - refundable and non refundable. If you don't use all of your credits, make sure that you ask for your refundable credit to be applied to your CC. I'm not certain that they will do it if you don't ask.
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