PRMLVM

We were on Independence in May, and my son took me to the helipad at night for stargazing. It is intense; my daughter refused to go up! A couple of other people were there. Very private wide open spot!

oh! I love all the live music on the ships (especially the big band/swing/standards, and the Latin rhythms). Do other cruise lines have such an abundance? 70s in Schooners, Latin in Boleros, guitar in the pubs....love it. I look forward to the "island beat" by the pool but sadly am not too impressed with the performers on Independence by the pool. I mean...I love that they're there, and I do appreciate the performance and talent and am glad to hear them! Maybe after 2 Independence cruises I'm just ready for a different take on the genre.

A member of our travel group is 6'2" and 265 lbs and he was comfortable in the theater chairs on Mariner and Independence. The ice show seats were more constricting, but nothing that caused him discomfort.

I can't wait until I have seen enough to have favorites! Enjoyed Jimmy Hopper and the "music from" Grease as well as the ice show "through the decades" on Independence recently. HATED the magician/variety act on the Mariner in 2020. Of course, this shows a subjective personal preference for music over magic (didn't hate on the magician, just predisposed to be anti-magic show). Looking forward to catching a comedy act on Harmony in the fall!

I posted mine already in another thread, but it still makes me shake my head whenever I think about it (and wonder how the RC staff replied): At the end of our cruise, heading off the ship to the terminal to get our luggage, we witnessed a lady berating an employee that HER luggage hadn't made it down yet, yelling "But you've had it since 10:00 last night!!"

That makes some sense. She asked for my current C&A number and called up my account and seemed to be poking around in there...but asked NO details about the unaccredited cruise. Just read the policy out loud to me. I would have been tickled to have a 30-yr old, non "Of the Seas" cruise count but I can't say I'm surprised it doesn't. (It was our first cruise....life happened...then in Jan 2020 (!!) we finally started cruising again! We didn't even THINK to ask for the prior credit, since cruising was brand new all over again to us).

Thank you for all the ideas! Seems their contact us page is discouragingly slow, if not completely ignored. Will try other routes going forward!

Yep, exactly. It didn't even occur to me to ask for the points for such an old sailing, until I read the comments above. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, tho!

Wish I had the same luck. I called the C&A line and the lady told me no points could be added for any trip more than 12 MONTHS ago, let alone my 20+-yr old cruise!

Nope. I called the Crown & Anchor phone line listed on RCI's site, and was told that they do not honor any requests made more than 12 months after sailing. She would not honor our '90s trip (or any trip over 12 months ago).

I've tried using the "contact us" form on RCI's website twice in the last nine months. I thought I was doing the right and convenient (for them!) thing by not tying up the phone lines for those with more complicated or time-sensitive questions. We've had to call them before to settle or clarify those kinds of things, and naturally spent time on hold - which is what I'm trying to avoid, for these two simple questions. But if they are not going to answer at all....! Has anyone used the "contact us" form and gotten their question answered?

Funny! On our 4-day Independence sailing, we commented that the music in Windjammer was too "coffee house Indy" and that we would like more Island music (there and at Coco Cay). Like you point out, for a quick getaway...bring on the island vibes!

We took a cruise in the 90s on the Nordic Empress (which has since gone through name & ownership changes). Will they count that cruise? Will they be able to, as we hold no documentation of the trip (except for our scrapbook pictures!)?

UPDATE: My adult children (20s) did the zipline and loved it; would do it again. In line, we met a woman who had just done her 7th total Coco Cay zip! I thought I'd pop back in and answer my own questions from the original post: The zipline took nowhere near 45 min. There was of course the time to get the gear on, watch the safety video, and climb the 3 towers, but even with all of those steps the kids were done in less that 25/30 min. They were first in line of their group, so maybe that had something to do with it, so if you're scheduling more than one activity you should probably allow for potential crowds. They zipped 3 lines, and once they were released at each of them, the ride itself was under a minute (like any "roller coaster" experience!). The ride goes over 3 areas of the main part of the Cay. They wore strapped-on sandals, but the ride does indeed require closed-toed shoes. However, they provide crocs for anyone who needs them. My son wears mens size 13, and they had a pair that barely fit (just enough for the ride!). They left their shoes in the dressing area and got them back at the end. They did not get wet. My daughter was closer to the fountain, but she is light and maybe that prevented her from being low enough to get wet? Pretty much everything MarvinS said above was what we encountered otherwise! My daughter was wearing a jumper with spaghetti straps, and was told she "should" have a sleeved shirt on so the shoulder harness wouldn't rub or hurt her. I'm not sure if they would have actually stopped her from riding; her dad sacrificed his t-shirt to her for the duration of the ride. My son said he would do it again, even at that price. My daughter said she would do it again, but NOT at that price. Both were very happy they got to do it on this trip!

Can you give the link to that article? We have a cruise coming up on Harmony of the Seas and I'm trying to get ready for everything!

I promise if my attempt at self-assist goes awry, I will not only let you pass me I will wave you along!

I think if we had two suitcases each, we wouldn't be considering it. Our trips so far have been short ones and we just have the one bag each. We have a longer trip coming up in the fall, so we will probably do KristiZ's divide and conquer method if we end up with more bags. It's just inconvenient, trying to time getting the bags out vs. the last night activities we want to be up and about for. We were cramming things into our one carry-on bag for our needed supplies but then would have to make sure non-carryon items got into a suitcase before getting to the airport check-in. Guess it's a matter of weighing which inconveniences/conveniences come into play each trip! Good to know it's not a rule we'd be breaking!

Good points! With our suite benefits, our disembarkations so far have not been crowded or very long. Now that I've said that tho.....

thanks guys! I hope one day to have enough experience cruising that I can help others the way you all have helped me (this and other questions). We just kept thinking it must have something to do with going through screening or something and didn't want to break any "rules". Guess they are just avoiding all the passengers bouncing into each other with luggage? (funny story: on our last cruise one lady was apparently complaining that it was taking too long to get her luggage off the ship. She yelled "You've had it since 10:00 last night!!" Ummmm.... does luggage get sent ahead by speed boat??)

Have been on 3 cruises, in a suite, and have always put our luggage out the night before our last night. Of course, this means keeping night/morning supplies and clothes, carrying them through disembarkation, and getting all back into suitcases before the airport. It seems easier to keep the luggage (one bag, on wheels) and roll it out with us when we disembark. Is there a reason not to do this? A rule? A customs thing? Does it slow us down at the port exit?

The excursion description says that the zipline experience at CocoCay is approx 45 min. Can anyone confirm that the experience lasts that long? Do the ziplines go all over the resort area? It also says to wear athletic shoes, yet the video shows a participant in sandals. Are strapped-on sandals allowed? Lastly, it mentions water and going through a fountain before landing. Do you go through the fountain, or just through the fountain plaza area (do you get wet)? Thank you for your help with these questions! Any other "know before you go" info would be appreciated as well.

Definitely! Have given that hint to others as well. Pizza over and over tho.... Sometimes you just want to get comfy and have a little "something" (pretzels, popcorn) and nothing as heavy as pizza. We were curious if the lounges had anything like that. We've taken 3 cruises and inevitably find ourselves wanting just a little something to munch while we had drinks and listened to the music..... (nope, not spoiled at all! )

Do any of the bars/lounges (specifically Harmony of the Seas and Independence) serve food, or even just light snacks like pretzels? (Schooner, Boleros, Sand Bar, etc....)