melski94

Has anyone seen 2020 itineraries with Glacier Bay National Park as a stop? I know that RC can start traveling to Glacier Bay beginning October 2019. I'm sailing on Radiance northbound in June 2020 and wondering if it is a possibility that RC will add Glacier Bay to the itinerary. I believe that there is a limit of visits to the park so wondering if my ship isn't one of the lucky ones to go or if RC hasn't released a schedule yet. I'm debating on keeping my original cruise or switching to another line (Princess or Celebrity). Coral Princess which already has the park listed and is a Southbound cruise. Also considering switching to Celebrity Millennium southbound which is actually slightly cheaper than Radiance but the park isn't listed (similar ports to Radiance just SB). My dates are not flexible and I only depart at the end of June. Any insight is appreciated on if RC will add Glacier Bay soon?

We are a family of 6 so completely full on the cabana. Even with all 6 of us, full day waterpark passes would save us $275 (waterpark prices are now up). My husband doesn't think we'll use the cabana as much as if we were on the beach. Then again we might need a break from all the stairs!

I wouldn't recommend chichen Itza ruins as that is a ferry ride to the mainland plus a long bus ride. Travel time is several hours each way. At the very least make sure it is a RC excursion. Personally, I'd wait for a trip to the mainland to do the ruins. For an excursion for all ages including kids, I'd look at Paradise Beach or Mr. Sanchos. You can do those on your own and save money over an RC excursion as both are an easy taxi ride from the pier.

We buy Voom for everyone with a cell phone so for us that means a 4 device plan. There are too many instances where we separate for a bit only to text "where r u?" You can price out the difference between a 2 and 3 device plan but a 3 device plan is usually only a few dollars more a day over 2 devices.

Have you looked to see if your cruise has a roll call on Cruise Critic or a Facebook page?

Personally, I have 4 kids and would never get the refreshment package. Only 2 of my kids drink soda, so they get the soda package. First for one who enjoys sports drinks, powerade is in the freestyle machines which is covered by the soda package. Just note that Starbucks is not included in the refreshment package. It is about $3 for specialty coffee at the cafe promenade and $6 for a smoothie in the vitality spa. Just make sure that makes sense for you as you are paying for it even on port days. Don't forget you can bring on 2 bottles of wine per stateroom and 12 17 oz bottles of another non alcoholic beverage (sports drinks) per stateroom. Also, to save money have you looked at non-RC sponsored excursions? I've never snorkeled with RC as I don't like the "herding cats" mentality plus my youngest who is a great swimmer doesn't meet RC age requirements. Check out Trip Advisor for reviews. There is a nice beach walking distance to the pier (or take the water taxi over for about $7 rt). Rent some beach chairs for about $20 for 2 chairs. If you are Star Wars fans, check out the Yoda Guy which is walking distance from the beach.

If you want a ship day then you should do a ship day. Everywhere that tourists go, there are businesses that cater to tourists and so technically a tourist trap. We've done some of these islands several times and always find something new to try. Personally, my family loves to snorkel so we try to do at least one snorkeling tour each cruise. St. Maarten has cool snorkeling tours as they will take you to snorkel plus see the mega yachts, airplanes land at Maho beach, etc. Touristy yes but it is a great way to explore a new place. I'd suggest you look at Billy Bones Charter or Soualiga Destinations if interested.

We had a 9:45 flight out of FLL after Symphony in Miami. We arrived at FLL by 7:45! If you have TSA pre-check, you should be fine. However, there are always the possibilities that something could happen so just have a plan b in mind just in case arrives late.

If noise is a factor to you then I wouldn't go with a Central Park balcony and its the same with an ocean balcony. My kids CP balcony was loud from the pool music especially the band during the day and we were on deck 10 which is the lowest balcony you could get. If you are really sensitive to noise, you may just want to avoid being outside during times the band plays. Personally I loved being on deck 10 on Symphony (better than deck 12 on Harmony). Deck 10 splits the difference between the Promenade and the pool.

I have booked a cabana at the Thrill Waterpark for our July sailing. However after just visiting Coco Cay on Symphony, there were plenty of chairs available everywhere. My husband thinks I should cancel the cabana as we will mostly be riding the rides and too busy to really enjoy the cabana. We do enjoy the bungalows on the beach in Labadee but we feel that the waterpark will be a different experience. If we take a break, we can easily just use our chairs. I believe there will be 2 ships in port that day (Grandeur and Navigator). So would you cancel the cabana and save $300?

No towel stations. You need to get them from the ship and bring them with you. There were life vests at the oasis lagoon. I don’t know where there are other places.

We are on symphony now and we bought the 4 device package for my kids who have phones which my 12 yo does. I highly suggest it for the piece of mind. I am assuming since he is so worried that the 10 yo won’t be allowed to wander on their own. However the 13 yo could and hopefully has a cell phone or iPod to use to connect. The 13 yo will be on the teen club if he wants and the 10 yo in adventure ocean. For the 10 yo, the parents can decide who can sign him out of the club and allow him to be a self signer. For the most part during the day we stick together as a family. Night time is when things get tricky if the kids don’t want to see the shows. Every family is different and your brother will set whatever boundaries, he feels are appropriate. I would still highly suggest a Voom package as you can find a 4 device package on sale for about $26 a day. The number of ‘where r u?’ texts I send and receive on the cruise is very high!

I had my kids come and watch. They were able to eat from my plate but we didn’t have leftovers so I’m not sure. For my class, we didn’t eat anything truly raw. We made a shrimp nigiri (not raw), a shrimp tempura roll and a California roll.

The extra key is blank and for room access only. I highly suggest a lanyard to help keep track of the sea pass card.

Yes I can confirm. We had 3 adjoining rooms on Harmony and we had the balcony dividers open.

This is why I never book RC excursions. We were at a beach resort in Cozumel a full hour before the RC excursion showed up and they left 45 minutes before us. We were still back on the ship 2 hours before all aboard time and paid significantly less.

If you had to choose 3 restaurants for dinner, which would you chose? We have a 3 night package for a 3 night cruise this weekend. I'm thinking Wonderland, 150 CP and debating on the 3rd. I love fish but Hooked doesn't interest me. I love sushi but I'm a sushi snob so no Izumi. I am debating on Jamie's and Chops. Any recommendations?

I don't think this is anything new except maybe a new name. You've always been able to book a private Flowrider time for this price. I could be wrong but I think its only an hour and it isn't prime time, ie they aren't taking away from public hours for this. With the Key, its private time is only 1 hour over the cruise. Not really a huge deal except for those who expect more private time for those who purchase the Key.

This Sunday it will only be Symphony. RC moved either Navigator or Mariner from Sunday to Saturday so both ships will be there on Saturday and Symphony on Sunday. These changes were made in only the last week so no time to shop sales and they are making some money off of it. In July, there will be 2 ships in port, both Grandeur and Navigator.

We had a last minute change for this weekend on Symphony and all of CocoCay is expensive. $79 for the waterpark and no cabana under $1000. My July sailing on Navigator has the water park at $59 so to me you have a bargain at those prices!

Our cruise leaves on Saturday but my DH and my set sail pass is unable to view or print online or on the app. It says we are all checked in so I'm not missing any info and my TA double checked that. My TA called RC yesterday asking for help and it has been elevated to the tech desk but still no resolution. My kids who are in another stateroom directly across from us are checked in and I have their set sail passes printed. I know my issue is due to canceling the Key a few weeks ago. For some reason RC thought then I had a balance on my account when the reality is they owe me money. My TA has fixed that for me. However, I still haven't received a refund. Any thoughts on what to ask for or have my TA check? I keep checking and I still have my stateroom and reservation. I know I can check in without my set sail pass but it takes longer. I am just paranoid that RC will cancel my reservation at the last minute for some 'problem'. Frankly, I don't have time for this and the stress of the unknown is really bothering me!

My guess is because Symphony is going to CocoCay on Sunday. That port was recently added in the last week.

I think because you booked reservations the night before and not on the cruise planner, you weren’t able to have the same wait staff. You were basically given space available spots, ie if I canceled my reservation to eat at specialty or you were stuck with 5:30 or 8 pm slots. I typically book my dining reservations about 9 months before my cruise for the same time every night and get the same wait staff. Only time I get a different table/wait staff is when I adjust onboard due to an activity which is when some lucky family gets my popular 6:30 time.

Many beaches in Cozumel have some type of entrance fee. Some are all inclusive and others like Paradise Beach have a $3 entrance fee and you pay for what you use. Most of us do not do an RC excursion to the beach. It is very easy to get a taxi to take you where you want to go.

Because it is so difficult to book connecting rooms online, I use a travel agent. If you want to see true availability, look at Costco or the RC UK site. They have much better options to see all available rooms on a deck. Many times I tell my TA the exact rooms that I want to book and saves me from dealing with RC on the phone as my room situation always requires a phone call.