melski94

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.

We also had the same table for all of our cruises with MTD. I don't think it's a fluke as I think they would like to keep you with the same wait staff, assuming you plan to eat around the same time each night.

Yes plus the variances by ship. What worked on one ship may not be the same on another ship.

I'll let you know this weekend. I turned off charging privileges for my youngest and she has $25 arcade credit. I know she'll burn through it quick and so hopefully she can't continue to play. Our first cruise many years ago, we could just buy arcade credit onboard. Last year on Harmony, I was told we couldn't buy it onboard but could only refill anything already charged. I think it varies ship to ship but right now I would rather just buy it upfront rather than wait and see what I can do onboard.

I booked my March 2020 MTD just a few weeks ago and could only book 6:30. That is my preferred time so it worked for me. However, normally this early I would have every 15 minutes from 5:30 to 6:30 and 7:30 to 9:00 available. I don’t know why all the slots aren’t showing up as I can’t imagine they are full already. You could try calling to see if you can get a different time.

Are you from the NE? It could be cold for the first 2 days and last 2 days of your cruise. Not sure if traveling to Fl is an option for you. Anthem has the sea plex with go carts and x box games. Every ship has an arcade. I strongly suggest you read blogs about Anthem and look at the cruise planner for your unique situation. For FL, I’m assuming you are stopping at Cape Canaveral. My kids are looking forward to seeing the space center. If you do decide to book, I would suggest making a booking with a refundable deposit. Things happen and you may change your mind and that way you can cancel up to 90 days before your cruise and receive a full refund.

I’m all about saving money but the arcade credit is incredibly difficult to use. Yes I tried it on Harmony and it was so hard and some of my kids cards worked and 1 wouldn’t work in the arcade and then we never got the discount! It was so frustrating! You need to allow full charging privileges for your kids. Then it’s on you to keep count of every $1.25 charge in the arcade (good luck if you have more than 1 child), then you go to the loyalty desk to prove that you should get your credits applied. Then maybe you receive your $5 or $25 after a lot of work. It is so much easier to prepay on the cruise planner for arcade credit. You don’t get quite the discount but you save yourself so much time and frustration. The kids C&A benefits kill me! So worthless! Discount on coffee for my 8 year old...Umm no thanks. I’d rather have a discount on a milkshake but they aren’t going to give you a benefit that you’d actually use!

If you haven't prepaid gratuity, it will be charged to your onboard account at $14.50 a day per person. Personally, I would rather not have such a large bill at the end of the cruise, so we prepay the gratuity. We tip in addition to the daily gratuity. It isn't necessary or mandatory but if we like our stateroom attendant and how he/she deals with my slobs (aka kids) then we tip an extra $20. Same with the wait staff. Giving $1 for a drink will make sure you keep getting good service throughout the pool/bar and they will remember you the next day. Once again, nothing mandatory but a nice gesture. The chances of getting sea sick depend on the individual. The ship is relatively stable but if mother nature creates big waves there is only so much that a ship can do. My family is prone to motion sickness (cars, planes, ships) so I always have medicine packed. Our cruise on Harmony saw some large swells which was tough for my 7 yo. Most of the time we don't need it but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

In general, I find that excursions through RC have a strict age limit, however, those same providers will have lower age limits if you book directly with them. You don't have the benefit of RC transportation but if you chose to leave at the same time as the RC bus, you should be ok to get back in time. My daughter is 7 and we haven't been able to book RC excursions but book them on our own as we feel comfortable.

Also, in the MDR if your kids ask for a soda and aren't on a package but you are on a UDP package, the wait staff will *usually* not charge you. Only once (day one with a new Asst waiter), was I charged for a soda for one of my sons. I think he may have been chewed out by the waiter as I wasn't charged the rest of the week. I don't ask for a free soda and will pay for it without a fuss if given a bill. However, I find the wait staff to be very lenient for the kids especially if the parents have the UDP.

We were fine in a balcony on Adventure. There was no worry about seats for any shows as most were half full. I like Jr Suites for the size but for that price what else could you get to make your cruise....drink package, unlimited dining, chef table, cabana or another nice excursion?

I believe I can make specialty dining reservations on Symphony with an app but which app? Is it the Royal IQ or Royal? I’m hoping to be able to access the app in the terminal to make a reservation or should I go straight to a specialty restaurant to make reservations? I can never figure out which app to use on board.

@Baked Alaska I am so glad that everything worked out for you but from what I read, most of the insurance companies, even without Cancel for Any Reason, would have covered a medical condition. Most policies require a note from the doctor stating you can't travel and the policy covers the entire party. I think the ambiguity comes in with flight cancellations. Is it considered Trip Interruption, a Trip Delay or something else? Does your insurance expect you to get to the first port? I recently learned that mine does and I can only get my money back for the cruise portion if I miss 50% of the cruise (I've been on the phone asking those questions). Even with CFAR insurance, my insurance states that I need to cancel at least 48 hours prior to my trip so CFAR wouldn't cover any flight delays. There is too much fine print and insurance companies will do everything they can not to pay a claim! I don't really know what the right company is for me now but I'm using this company for all my already booked cruises. I plan on looking around for something else to see if there are different options. Outside a medical condition, I'm realizing that a flight cancellation is the most likely scenario for me and I want decent coverage for that.

I'm really sorry to hear about this. You should get all your money back from RC for shore excursions and other cruise planner purchases. I assume you have filed your claim with AON (the travel insurance through RC). Unfortunately, I don't think the flight cancellation is a covered reason to receive cash back for your cruise but not knowing what state you are from, I can't see your exact policy. The best you are probably looking at is a 75% future cruise credit which is better than nothing. I think we've all learned several things about travel insurance recently due to other people. Many travel insurance companies won't cover some basics that we all assumed were covered as they all have ways to not pay. Here is a recent experience from the blog

I just checked my kids in yesterday and I didn’t see a way to limit amounts this cruise but I did see it in the past. The choices were credit card, cash or no charging privileges.

In March, we were on a 7 day cruise on Adventure and had lobster on the 2nd formal night.

Actually, you receive one code and it’s good for 4 devices.