Buzzard05

I have a question about Online Check-In... I went in last week and went through all of the steps, including printing our SeaPasses. I went in this morning to just verify that everything was done (we leave on Saturday), and my Online Check-In status was "In Progress". All of the items showed complete, except for the printing. I went back in and re-printed all of the SeaPasses. When I check my status now, it says "Ready to Print" (or something along those lines). Is there something I am forgetting to do/missing here....or is this just another example of RCI's quality web site? Thanks

Check out this thread: A guy posted a work around on how to make MTD reservations on HOTS. I was having the same issue, and his solution worked for me. Hope this helps.

I would definitely say smaller bets and more spins. There is no quick way to earn points (unless you keep spending real money to buy the chips you burn through...which kind of defeats the purpose of playing to accumulate points for cruise freebies). I don't know if there is any such thing as "fewer spins" in that it is a long grind regardless of the bet size to get enough points to do anything with. Larger bets increases the speed with which you earn loyalty points (and game levels)...but you can burn through chips very quickly like this. However, you will also win bigger whenever you win....but like with any casino game, it is designed with the odds against you....so you may hit it big before you run out of chips, but probably not. Smaller bets are more of a grind, but seem to be more sustainable in terms of your chip stack. I generally find a game that requires little, or no, interaction and set up auto spins with a small bet and just let it run. It is much tougher early on when you don't have many chips. I would definitely hit that site I mentioned above and build up a good little stack of chips to start. Usually the first few rows of links/buttons on that site are active and give you chips...when you get down a few lines you will find the offers have already expired.

I have found playing on the computer racks up Loyalty Points quicker than on the phone (Level 71 over 100K pts.) I do small bets and just auto spin. You can also run both your mobile device and computer at the same time. The chip stacks are independent of each other, but the Loyalty Points synch up. The one "gotcha" (that has gotten me a couple of times) on the computer is this.... At some point, your network will glitch and you will disconnect. Do not be in a hurry and just relaunch the game and set up your auto spins. When you relaunch, the game resets and takes you to a HUGE bet. It doesn't take long at all to realize what you have done...and to watch over half your chips evaporate. Make sure you take the time to set everything back up the way you had it. Also, this website has links for free chips for the computer version that are posted daily: http://myvegasfreechips.com/

I'm still a little confused about Labadee.... Do you have to book an excursion, cabana, beach bed, etc. to have access to the regular lunch buffet on Labadee...or is that complimentary regardless? Thanks

I just noticed in my Cruise Planner that my internet package (3 devices) dropped from $37+ / day to $31+ / day. (+ = the cents...I can't remember those)

I just noticed that the Refreshment Package in my Cruise Planner has dropped down to $18.00/day.

That worked perfectly. Thank you very much for posting this!

I emailed RCI last week about this, and just got the following response: "We were unable to duplicate any errors with the My Time Dining reservations system in Cruise Planner. Dining times are loaded and able to be reserved at this time. We do apologize for any inconvenience experienced.If you continue to have trouble, you may contact our Cruise Planner department directly by dialing 1-800-398-9819. Regrettably it is very difficult to diagnose and correct web issues via email response. Representatives are available from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm Eastern time Monday through Friday, or 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time Saturday and Sunday." So I guess I will be calling to reserve our times.

I'm getting this same message too. I have "My Time" dining on Harmony in late July. We did "My Time" on a Navigator cruise last fall and I had no trouble making online "My Time" reservations before our cruise.

Okay...I bet that is what it is. It is 25% (ish) off of what you would pay for the same items on board individually ..not by just bundling the same items in the Cruise Planner. Thanks...I have been sitting here trying to figure out what I was doing wrong and wondering if I was somehow missing out on something.

Okay...what am I missing here? On the Cruise Planner, it lists the Sip and Stream package at $54/day with the banner "Save over 25% when you bundle". When I do the math, $54.00 x 7 (ours is a 7 day cruise), comes out to $378. If I do the Deluxe Drink Package and One Device Voom for seven days, I come up with 436.73...for a difference of $58.73. Now wouldn't 25% of $436 be $109? (I even played around with adding gratuities and still never got anywhere near a 25% savings.) Where am I messing up here...how are they coming up with "over a 25% savings" for this bundle?

We did a cruise over Thanksgiving last year with our two boys (18 and 16) on Navigator of the Seas. I will be honest, they both had fun but also ended up being a little bored at times. It wasn't because there wasn't tons of stuff to do on the ship, but because of the age of my oldest son. With him being 18, it kept him out of the teen club and activities. He and his brother are pretty close, so that meant my younger one stayed with him and also didn't participate in the teen club and activities. If they had both been able to participate in those activities together, I'm sure their impression of the cruise would have been much different. One of the things they had fun with was playing the machines in the casino. I don't know if my younger son played, or just watched his older brother (he is pretty tight with his money...so I am pretty sure he just watched his older brother blow his). In any event, he was never asked to leave the casino (now he is big - 6'2"/185 lbs on our cruise...so they may have thought he was 18 and never checked him). They also hung out at the pool, played a lot of basketball, and slept. My older son did try to get his younger brother into one of the 18+ clubs at night, but they got caught and he wasn't allowed in. I know they did sit and listen to some music at the other bars (or just outside them) without issue. They also went into one of the pubs on the Promenade and watched a college football game without issue...so I don't think you will have any trouble taking them with you to bars/clubs unless it is later at night (that is when my younger son couldn't get into that one club). Even with all of that said, when they saw a commercial for Harmony of the Seas they said they wanted to go on that ship....so we have a cruise planned for this summer on Harmony. They both like sports, so I am hoping that my younger one will be able to "play up" in some of the adult basketball, volleyball, etc. tournaments. He is even bigger now (over 6'3"/190+ lbs)...so it is actually probably better to have him playing with adults, I'm just hoping RCI sees it that way too. One of the things they both liked on the cruise was having their independence. I got two cabins (one for them and one for us right across the hall from each other). They liked being able to come and go as they pleased and doing their own thing. It was kind of a let down for us as it didn't really feel like a "family vacation" all the time...but it was cool seeing them stretch their wings a bit (on the confines of a ship) and do their own things. My advice to you would be to try to get your younger daughter to at least try the teen club early on in the cruise (while friends are still being made in that group). The worst that can happen is she won't like it and not want to go back...but she also might make a friend that both she and her sister can hang out with. To be honest, you may find it is your older daughter that struggles a bit to find stuff to do as she is too old for the teen club, but not old enough for the adult activities. Unfortunately, the cruise lines just don't seem to do a lot (if any) programming for that age group. Sorry for the rambling of this post. I have 16 things going on at my desk, and kept coming back to this to try to give you as much info as I could based on our experience.

I was just digging around in Cruise Planner and noticed that the Sip and Stream is still showing up for my July Harmony cruise ($54.00/day).

Heads up if you like the Refreshment Package.... I just noticed this morning that the Refreshment Package for my July Harmony sailing has dropped from $26.00/day to $18.20/day.

Thank you...this info is very helpful.

When you book through a travel agent, do you still have access to your cruise on the Royal Caribbean site? Meaning, will I be able to go in and purchase drink packages, specialty dining, etc. on the Royal Caribbean site (like I do when I book through them)....or does everything need to be done through the travel agent? Also, are my cruise documents available on the RCI site, or is that all sent to me via the travel agent? Thanks

Thank you both!!

I know that 18 year olds (even if they are HS seniors) cannot join in the teen activities (such as sporting events). Does anybody know if teenagers can "play up" in the adult age sporting events (such as basketball, volleyball, etc.)? My younger son is 16, but is almost 6'4" and 200 lbs. I know he would rather be able to play in the basketball/volleyball tournaments with his older brother (who is 18). Does anybody know if this would be allowed?

Yes, it logs you in using your Facebook account. You can play both on your computer and mobile device, and while your loyalty points are the same on both platforms (the ones that are used for rewards, and the ones you really care about)....the chips you bet with and your game level are different (meaning, I am level 21 on my phone with 60K in chips, but only level 14 on my computer with 30K in chips). I'm guessing they do this so you will purchase more chips (with real money) on both platforms. I have also started playing this game since I read this thread, and based on my calculations...I will have a free cruise in about 13 years.

We paid $126.00 for a night....so whether it was "free" or not...it was still a fair deal (there were four of us traveling).

We stayed at the Comfort Suites Airport North. They had a free airport shuttle and a free port shuttle in the morning. The hotel was nice, clean, and had a decent breakfast in the morning. The only drawback is that it there weren't any stores or restaurants really close (i.e. walking distance). However, it was good for what we needed it for.

I know on our Thanksgiving cruise on Navigator, they made an announcement at Guest Services that the ship was completely sold out and that no upgrades were available. So given that announcement...it sounds like there is a "chance".

I would mention it if you want anything "special" (though not sure what they do). I noted it was my son's 18th birthday when talking with a customer service rep prior to our cruise. His birthday was noted on our reservation, but he didn't want anything "special" (God forbid we call any extra attention to a teenager :) ) Anyway, we never mentioned it and they never did anything "special" in the public areas (dining room, hallway decorations, etc.) However, they did drop a happy birthday card by his room with a plate of deserts/cookies one day. As for the helipad, I often went out there at night on Navigator and yes, it is very dark....and windy (at least our cruise had a lot of wind). As for the breakfast question in the main dining room....on Navigator, I believe only one of the main dining room floors was open for breakfast and you just got in line and got seated. People weren't necessarily seated at their "dinner" table. If they had a table with 8 chairs available, they just came out to the line and grabbed 8 people and seated them together. As for your kids, all I can say is, you picked the right year to cruise with them being 14 and 17. My two boys are 15 and the oldest had just turned 18 prior to our cruise. Because he was 18, he was not allowed to participate in any of the teen activities (even though he is a sr. in high school and those are the kids he hangs out with anyway). He and his brother are close, so his younger brother just hung out with the older one...so he didn't even experience the teen club/activities. It was really a negative impact on our cruise as the 18 - 20 year olds on a cruise are kind of a forgotten population (too old for the teen stuff, too young for the adult stuff). I think had we gone a month earlier and they had both been able to hang out in the teen club, play in the teen sporting events, etc. they would have had a much better time. Anyway, just giving you this heads up in case you decide to book another cruise when your older one hits 18. (I should note, we sailed out of a U.S port. I am not sure if there any different age restrictions from non-U.S. ports.)

We were just on Navigator over Thanksgiving and I saw several families using them without issue (now I have no idea how close the person on the other end was when they were talking).