JohnK6404

I would not let it bother you. You paid for, and certainly deserve, those perks when you booked your Star class cabin. We had similar responses every now and then even with the Key back in May 2019 (reserved seating at shows, early disembarking the ship on port days, etc.). People just had no idea what the Key was, but that was back in 2019. No hostility, but many confused faces...

Yuummmm... can't wait! Last time we had lobster tails was on our last cruise on Allure back in May 2019. I normally don't order lobster at home (and I know, Maine lobster is better, but these tails were delicious).

Just the 2 for now... Oasis (10/3/21) & Odyssey (2/12/22)... Always looking of course, but want to make sure our upcoming Oasis cruise sails out of Cape Liberty!

Chris, great to hear that you are back! I hope you'll still be on Odyssey when we sail on 2/12/22! Best of luck and we'll be looking forward to your videos!

Enjoy our Chops Grille embarkation day lunch and then walk through Central Park and order a Lava Flow from the Trellis Bar!

Maybe there is a different policy based on your region... that would explain the difference in your experience. We're referring to the US website and cruise planners.

@PPPJJ-GCVAB, you're correct. I purchased the DBP for our OCT 2021 sailing (old planner) just now and for our FEB 2022 sailing (new planner) a couple of weeks ago. In both cases, the 18% gratuity is not added until it's in your cart. There is no change to the purchase of beverage packages. One major change (and @twangster pointed this out in his comparison review)... ... involves specialty dining reservations and dining plans. Royal is now adding gratuity to specialty dining reservations in the new planner. I booked the same restaurant (not a dining plan) for both sailings and the old planner does not tack on gratuity, but the new planner adds a gratuity at checkout. We tip anyway, but now you'll have to keep that in mind when you're onboard. Maybe the check will reflect that the gratuity was prepaid and/or have a line to allow for "additional gratuity".

Our first, and only, visit to date was back in June 2010 on Majesty. We had a great time, but I don't remember too much (probably because there was no "wow" factor back then like we had previously experienced at Castaway Cay during our honeymoon). Also, we had to tender back then... a little bit of a pain in the butt. Can't wait (fingers-crossed) to go back for the first time in 11 years this OCT on Oasis for the ultimate "wow" factor! We really enjoyed Labadee, so we expect this to be even better! ?

I'm just glad that Oasis is still in Cape Liberty at least through the end of OCT 2022... just in case they cancel our OCT 2021 sailing! ?

Phew! Matt posted this today... Royal is not ending Lift & Shift as an option when they cancel the cruise... just not an option for Cruise with Confidence program. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/01/27/royal-caribbean-will-still-offer-lift-shift-if-there-are-more-cancelled-cruises

I'm not sure if it applies to sailings that Royal cancels... they may still offer that option if they initiate the cancellation (fingers crossed). I could be reading it wrong, but it sounded like Lift & Shift as part of the Cruise with Confidence program (we initiate cancellation or L&S) is ending as opposed to Royal cancelling the sailing and providing us with our options including L&S with the tighter deadline to choose. Hopefully, someone can clarify as we are booked for Oasis (10/3/21)... we would L&S to 2022 if they cancel the sailing... @Matt Matt, @Lovetocruise2002 Sabrina... do we know if it's retiring across the board? Thank you! ?

Just stumbled across yet another Symphony documentary... so can’t wait to get back out there! This one covers the Mediterranean itinerary... Series is available for me on demand on Smithsonian Channel... “Mighty Cruise Ships”, Season 3, Episode 5, “Symphony of the Seas” which originally aired on 4/28/2019... This is just the preview... available on demand, but will also be broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel on Sat, 1/23/21 at 2:00 am... time to DVR it just in case! ?

Exactly... I never knew Allure's hull was painted blue until I arrived at the port! ? When you're up close it's obvious... As you mentioned, distance, brightness/color/angle of the light, and angle of view makes it harder to distinguish on Allure's hull painted with the lighter blue color...

We enjoyed the embarkation day lunch back in MAY 2019 when it was still held in Chops Grille... I can see how the quality may be inconsistent now that it's held in the MDR for a larger crowd. ? Yes, you can cancel any Cruise Planner purchase usually up to 2 days or so prior to your sailing (when they close out the Cruise Planner for purchases)... check out the terms/conditions at the bottom of the page (after clicking on the item to purchase). They will tell you when the CP closes out for your sailing. Our CP closes out at 11:59 PM EDT on 4/22/21 (we sail on 4/24/21... hopefully!)... ... here is the blurb from the terms/conditions regarding CP cancellations:

Yes, we love that steak lunch! LOL! We may have to reconsider if they make too many changes to the program going forward...

One thing I'm curious about going forward... the Key embarkation day Chops Grille lunch is naturally held during lunch hours in the MDR... starts before/at noon... I'm assuming they have to give you an earlier scheduled boarding time so you don't miss the lunch... hmmm... I guess we'll see once we get back to cruising!

Very true, but fortunately for just my wife and I, it's only $308 in total (currently) for the both of us and well worth it in our experience... we had it for under $20/day last year on Allure (and purchased it for $16/day for our MAY 2020 Oasis cruise this year before the cancellations). I agree that as it creeps toward $30, the value is lost. At a price point close to or under $20/day, if you are also getting the internet package for each person, then you effectively get all of the other Key benefits for the cost of a single glass of wine per day (per person). Unfortunately, there is no way we can upgrade to a suite from Central Park balcony (Symphony) or Oceanview w/ Large Balcony (Oasis) for that price. Even a junior suite is usually literally double (or more) than what we paid for each cabin and still doesn't give you the full suite experience. Believe me, I've been watching like a hawk (we'll take the limited Coastal Kitchen access and double C&A points in a JS!). One day... ?

As @MuttMutt stated... you can go into the "ORDER HISTORY" and scroll down to the purchase and expand to see what you paid... Click on "ORDER HISTORY" at the top of the page in the Cruise Planner... Scroll down and click on "VIEW ORDER DETAILS" to expand the section... Naturally, divide the total cost by the number of nights of your cruise to get the daily rate you previously paid (ignore the gratuity amount)... Yeah, we lucked out with $44/day... hope we sail in April!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's at $21.99 right now for our 2021 Symphony and Oasis cruises. Grabbed it for Symphony last night and may have to grab it for Oasis too this weekend... I'm not confident we'll see the under $20 price point going forward until some sort of normalcy returns. Also wondering if they will actually start to limit the Key under the current climate/restrictions and they will start to sell out.

Oooh no... I guess I better consider making the DBP purchase sooner than later before they get greedy. Decisions, decisions... We got the DBP a couple of months ago for 4/2021 Symphony for $44 (now it's $53)... 10/2021 Oasis is $46 (might have to grab that) and 2/2022 Odyssey is $50 (as @SpeedNoodles just mentioned)...

Same for our 2/2022 Odyssey sailing! ?

Oooo... I really like that itinerary... I was telling my wife about that one! Our 8-night FEB 2022 Odyssey sailing is very similar (Aruba, Grand Cayman & Curacao)... I also really like the 8-night Mariner itinerary that stops at both Labadee and Coco Cay plus San Juan, St. Kitts and St. Croix!

I know! ? We too love the 8-NIGHT Mariner options out of Port Canaveral in 2022! The last 2 itineraries look very interesting as well! Hmmmmm.... so tempting!!! Bermuda, Nassau & Perfect Day! Aruba, Curacao, Dominican Republic & Labadee !!! Labadee & Perfect Day! ? Plus San Juan, St. Kitts & St. Croix!