JohnK6404

We need to have the Rock escort us... ?

Agreed! ? We too can only take one big vacation each year especially now since my wife had to change employers a couple of years ago and lost most of her vacation time due to the job change (went from almost 8 weeks to 3 weeks).

In addition to the other perks you mentioned that caught your attention... For me, my wife and friends, we all planned on doing the lunch at Chops Grille anyway (and now Giovanni's Table/Jamie's Italian was added as an option... hmmm decisions, decisions), so this was another bonus for us... not dragging around our carry-on bags was another little bonus and we were getting at least one device w/ VOOM. Just an FYI... looks like they finally updated the benefits of the Key online to include the Giovanni's/Jamie's lunch option and the entertainment reservation requirement: Summary of your benefits: • Priority check-in and boarding. Upon your arrival at the terminal, follow The Key check-in signage to your designated waiting area. • Carry-on bag drop off and delivery to stateroom. Drop-off located in main theater onboard and available until 1:30pm. Up to 2 carry-on bags per guest. • Exclusive embarkation lunch at a specialty dining venue. Choose between a Steakhouse (Chops Grille) or Italian (Giovanni’s Table or Jamie’s Italian depending on your ship). You can select your venue of choice once onboard. Seating is first come, first served from 11:30am – 1:30pm. • Private hours at onboard activities including Rock Climbing, FlowRider and more. The private hours schedule will be provided at check-in. • Priority port of call debarkation. • Reserved VIP seating at shows in the Main Theater, AquaTheater and Studio B. You must reserve your tickets in advance in the Entertainment section of Cruise Planner up to 72 hours before your sailing or onboard the ship. • VOOM ® Surf & Stream 1 Device high speed internet. • Choice debarkation with exclusive A La Carte breakfast from 6:30 am – 9:00 am.

I bet that is why they are making "Key" holders make reservations again... otherwise they have no control over how many show up on any given performance and cannot guarantee decent seating. We'll make sure to get there at least 20 minutes prior to showtime! ... and I bet by requiring reservations, they will increase the number of "Key" holders on each cruise since they can better manage the seating... anything to increase revenue! ?

I can't speak for the exchange rate, but it's very easy to cancel & rebook/repurchase any excursion, reservation or package through the Cruise Planner. Yes, you are charged immediately for the item you purchase on your credit card. If you want to cancel something, go to the top of the Cruise Planner page and click on "Order History" link. You will see a list of everything you have purchased/booked to date and under each item you will see a "Cancel" link. Click the cancel link and follow the prompts and your money will be refunded to the card you purchased the item with... they told me it can take 10-14 days to credit back, but I think it will probably be quicker. Go back into the item and repurchase/book and you will get the current discounted price. Just be careful that the excursion or reservation you are cancelling is not a limited or very popular one as, in theory, there may be a very slight chance (depending on when you cancel/reorder) the item is not available when you try to repurchase it (possibly booked while you were cancelling?). Naturally, a drink package is not limited, so no worries! We had booked an over the water cabana at Nellie' Beach and during the last Cruise Planner sale this past wekeend, the price went down 10% (woo hoo!). Fearing that if I cancel online I may lose it somehow (I think they only have 10 cabanas or so), I played it safe and called RC customer service and they quickly took care of the transaction and assured me I would not lose the reservation! The CS rep used the scripted 10-14 days for my refund of the original price to appear as a credit on my card. *** They do not credit the difference (no adjustment), they cancel the full charge and rebill the new discounted amount to your credit card. Finally, if you look at the very bottom of the page of any excursion, package or reservation you select, in the very tiny fine print, you will see the last day that the reservation/purchase can be made for your specific cruise (deadline for online/pre-cruise purchases is usually 2-3 days before departure otherwise you'll have to wait until you are on the ship). So it should follow that you can cancel/repurchase up to that date too! Have an amazing time! We are on Allure this May and can't wait!!!

Allure of the Seas (5/19/19)... 109 days to go!

... and I believe it cannot be used at the Starbucks.

FYI... I just got off of the phone with RC customer service and they confirmed that the entertainment reservation policy was changed back to the way it was originally rolled out (as @twangster experienced it in DEC). She explained that it may still appear incorrectly in the Cruise Planner (stating no reservations required). At least for my cruise (Allure, 5/19/19), we now have to make reservations (makes sense since they could run into seating capacity problems if the majority of the Key "holders" arrive to the same show!)... a little disappointed that we lose that flexibility, but I'm glad that @marcg125 mentioned it so it won't be a surprise! 109 days!!!

When my wife and I were on Majesty back in June 2010 (our first RC cruise), Michael McDonald was on board for a concert. It was a corporate recognition event (Fortune 100 company) and my employer chartered the ship for a short cruise (4-nights) out of Miami and booked Michael McDonald. We stopped at Key West, Nassau and CocoCay (not too memorable back then!). We got to sit right up front about 10-15 feet from him... he was drenched in sweat from the hot lights, but he was awesome!

Thank you @twangster for your review of your experience with the Key last month! https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/12/04/review-royal-caribbeans-the-key-vip-guest-experience We looked more closely at it this weekend as we were deciding on the deluxe drink package (currently $49/person). Since we were planning on getting at least VOOM for one device, and possibly two, with the drink package/VOOM combo ($60/person), it made the decision to purchase the Key ($19.99/person) much easier. It's effectively only $9/day more per person for all of the other perks!

We're going with friends on our next cruise (Allure, 5/19/19) and splurged for an over the water cabana at Nellie's Beach. Does anyone know how they assign the actual cabanas? Is there any rhyme or reason? First come, first choice? Thank you all as always!

Oh no! I guess I’ve been away from the forum too long! ? It’s sailing out of Cape Liberty from May-Oct 2020 after the dry dock... Port Canaveral, Perfect Day & Nassau... We may have to take advantage while it’s in NY/NJ! We’ve sailed Explorer & Liberty out of Cape Liberty (not Anthem yet)... Oasis would be crazy passing through NY Harbor and passing under the Verrazano Bridge!

Thanks! I figured I should do that... I think we’re going going to book one drink package at $49 and one combo drink/VOOM at $60 and as you suggested cancel/repurchase if it goes down! Thanks again!

Thank you! I figured that... I remember it used to be that way "pre-VOOM"!

I apologize if I'm going on a tangent, but when you purchase VOOM for one device, is it still one device at a time vs. only on one specific device? I'm assuming it's one device at a time so I can use it on my phone and then log out and later use it on say my iPad... thanks!!!

Just one vacation planned so far this year... can't wait! ? Allure - 5/19/19

As mentioned above, there appears to be no set time frame for the ability to make reservations on the Cruise Planner. We were able to make our dining reservations (set reservation times in MDR, make specialty restaurant reservations, etc.) last year in March 2018, 14 months ahead of our 5/19/19 departure on Allure. We were shocked that they opened it up so soon! We did have the option to purchase drink packages and make reservations for excursions also around that time, but held off to wait for upcoming cruise planner sales. I would definitely log in periodically to see if it opens up early... you may be pleasantly surprised. We are now just under 4 months from departure and the only feature that is not available (which is the norm from what the more experienced cruisers have mentioned on the forum) is making the entertainment reservations (shows, etc.). This will be the first RC cruise that we actually have to make reservations to be safe... all of the smaller ships we've cruised on to date (Majesty, Explorer & Liberty) automatically assigned your show times by muster station, etc. I'm not sure if that changed across the fleet and on Liberty (we cruised back in 2015 on Liberty)... I've been told that's the case on Oasis & Quantum class ships (recommended to make reservations). Most importantly, congratulations on your 15th wedding anniversary and have a great time! My wife and I cruised for the first time on our honeymoon (15 years ago this year!) on Disney... that's when we caught the cruise bug!!!

Yes, price for our 5/19/19 sailing on Allure is currently $49... was $52 last time I checked... Any chance it will drop lower in the next few months?

Welcome and have an amazing time! :) We're also on Allure departing on May 19, 2019 (Western Caribbean)... our first Oasis class cruise! Going with good friends that sailed on Oasis last year and had an amazing time... can't wait! :)

I believe Matt may have suggested these metal straws... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L1YXQEU/?coliid=IVO7O3U0XGGU1&colid=1QX6MGHIFLR87&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it I hate the texture and taste of those paper straws... might have to pick up the stainless ones before the cruise!

Thank you! I went through the “ALREADY BOOKED” option on the main page drop down and I got in... did not attempt to make a payment tonight. I was just looking at that last night and could not figure out where to go to review remaining balance and make additional payments. I miss the old website for reviewing your reservation, charges, payments, deadlines, etc.

It’s full price ($579)... did not want to take any chances... does the cruise planner sale include cabanas? Correct me if I’m wrong... If they offer a cruise planner sale down the road, but the cabanas are sold out, I’m out of luck and can’t cancel/rebook or get an adjustment? Will keep checking! Funny, I never thought of that... was only thinking of the sale on the drink package! ?

Back in 2015, they showed the World Series all over the ship (we were on Liberty of the Seas)... I remember watching part of the Mets/Royals WS on the pool deck on the big screen a couple of times.

My wife and I are 9 1/2 months away from our Allure cruise (5/19/19-5/26/19) - Western... we're going with another couple. Can't wait! First time on an Oasis class ship and first time with just friends (they did Eastern on Oasis last year and absolutely loved it)! Just an FYI... the Labadee cabanas and bungalows are available already in the cruise planner!!! Just reserved one at Nellie's Beach over the water... we were nervous that they would sell out if we waited too long! I just wanted to remind everyone (especially the relatively less experienced cruisers like us... this will only be our 4th RC cruise) to constantly check the cruise planner to see what opens up for reservations even this far out! We booked our dining months ago (14 months out from departure date). There never seems to be a set guideline for when certain reservations become available... Now, we need to wait for some really good cruise planner sales for the ultimate drink package, etc., and wait for the entertainment reservations to open up... less of an urgency to book the other excursions. Also, we cannot rave enough about how awesome and invaluable this forum is! Matt's articles, blogs, videos, etc., are also amazing and extremely helpful! Thank you all for sharing your live blogs and experiences so we can all learn and have some fun!

We were on a 10-night cruise on Liberty of the Seas back in 2015 that ran through Halloween. They asked for a bunch of volunteers to learn the Thriller dance... looked like fun. They practiced out on the pool deck for a couple of days. They also had a big costume parade through the Royal Promenade... lots of fun. Have a great time!