CGTLH

One of the mixed blessings of a ship that uses Wowbands. With the card being the swipeless type you'll need a plastic pouch for attaching to a lanyard. Pouch is needed due to the antenna inside the card could be broken/cut if a hole is punched in the wrong location.

Might be one of those things to ask the Genie about, preferred or alternative means of communication. Using Messenger was a spur of the moment thing, meeting to get off in Roatan and she asked if we used Facebook Messenger. After that we added each other and she said if anything came up to send her a message. After that it somewhat became our primary means of communication. Flat out it made requests less awkward and less feeling guilty for causing an interruption with a phone call.

Using Facebook Messenger was a very smart move. In the chain of communication needs I've always felt a phone is one of the most intrusive ways. Always felt a phone call is a sense of urgency and needs an immediate response. Email, low on the food chain and tend to take awhile for a response tends to be formal. Instant messaging is the perfect middle ground. Not as intrusive as a phone call, can convey a message/point quickly. Think IM was why the Genie experience on Symphony was so great. Could send a brief message with a request (or picture) and it would magically appear. Sure the best part for the Genie is the request is documented and be looked back on for accuracy. Loop was never mentioned by the Genie in any personal pre cruise contacts.

Got off Adventure a few weeks ago. Sit down breakfast was held in Giovanni's. For lunch they offered private seating, no service provided. Here is the welcome letter left in the suite: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hHw62j4rScuTm-XF9tKar8u7ItqtSbdn/view?usp=sharing

Keep in mind on the Oasis class the covered amount is $13. Also think those "Royal Signature Cocktails" was a trial thing. Haven't seen those listed for some time.

Price I saw on the menu was $9.50 for the 750ml "oil can". Factoring in gratuity it ends up in the $11 range. Image pulled from the Facebook post

Saw the menu posted on Royal Caribbean Dining FB group. Yup, much higher than the menu I snagged on Oasis January 2018. Stuff that matters the most in my book: Kraken $1 more, Gentleman Jack $2 more. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DvmwzVeLWP9xQr-HT_BZv2YgeU7q2hLM/view?usp=drivesdk

Not really construction related... Happened to notice this blip in the Cruise Planner about Voom on CocoCay for a May 2019 sailing on Symphony. Your VOOM SURF + STREAM Voyage Package - 1 Device is available at Perfect Day at CocoCay for you to enjoy. Not listed on the Mariner GC sailing (March 2019).

Have to call to set the preference

First cruise with Royal was May 2010. First Diamond Plus cruise was December 2016, 16th cruise with Royal. One thing that did help was accidentally getting credited twice for one cruise. How was it done, combination of solo and suite sailings. Six sailings were either solo or in a suite.

Heck, I welcomed the lack of visitors and calls. Just saying I've always had the impression of constant deliveries and calls from the way people have described their experience. For the most part the two experiences I've had were somewhat quite. Maybe on Anthem we got a phone call every now and then. Our Genie on Symphony had established an alternative means of communication. Will say the Symphony method was so much better than phone. Guess I need to squeeze in another Star class for further studies.

On the traffic/frequent visitors thing, maybe @AshleyDillo can jog my memory, on both sailings done we were never really bothered. Only time might have been for deliveries of prearranged things we had already setup. Never got in the jive about having snacks delivered during the day due to early dinner and show times. Mixed with the fact we really don't have the ability to think of things. Only real "snack attack" on Symphony was a hankering for onion rings, took care of that with a to-go run down to Johnny Rockets. Plus it gave me an excuse to get a Goal Post Margarita, or two, from Playmakers. Don't recall much on Anthem other than the previously mentioned sushi to-go. Plus plenty late snacks at the Pub.

Spending many hours watching at the bar, pours tend to be the same. Many bars have "In Jigger We Trust" as their motto. Not saying that some bar[tender]s don't allow the jigger to overflow more than others. Sitting or requesting at the bar the process is order, drink in hand, then card. Roaming servers the order and card in step are combined. Biggest factor if you ask me when it comes to strength of a drink, ice. More ice in the glass means less of the mixer. The spirits are still the same amount. Just the ice factor varies the amount of mixer.

Reporting a bit late the final Windjammer Recon for this sailing. Theme for the night was American. Plus there were a few other bonus selections. Mongolian stir-fry once again was offered, only time it wasn't was the first night. Fitting giant pan dessert... Bonus feature 1: Chilled seafood (scallops, shrimp, mussels, and crawfish) Bonus feature 2: Freshly made doughnuts Final bonus: Cake Overall I was impressed by the theme nights on Adventure. Was a bit disappointed by the small number Indian/curry options. But from what I'm recalling I don't think other ships were that much different. On thing I was surprised about was no daily steamed vegetable offering, everything was a grilled or roasted offering.

Good news, maybe, still have one more set if WJ Recon pictures to post. Just happen to have a busy evening last night.

If anyone is wondering. Yes Terminal 29 does have a Global Entry and Suites CBP lines. Just have to ask right before start your way to normal lines. No signage indicating the line and it is normally roped off.

Playing catch up on last night's Windjammer Recon. Theme of the night was Greek, Mongolian Stir-fry once again for the freshly made meal. Opa! for the Greek selections. Only complaint would be the flow between getting the meat for the gyro and the pitas. Normally I'll leave the giant pan dessert for later, but with it being a Greek themed dessert Next up for tonight Indian selection, common them has been rice, Dal, vegetarian selection, and some type of meat. Finally dessert, did sample the Key Lime Meringue pie. Had to say it seemed better than the Chops version.

Also the 25 pound luggage limit might be a challenge for many cruisers.

Throwing this thought out as well, Amtrak. Think rail time might be the same as driving. But hey, you're not driving. We did this after doing a south bound sailing on Radiance. While in my case we overnighted in Vancouver and then did the same in Seattle still think it was a pleasant ride.

Digging up a photo of the pizza from room service on Harmony back in May of 2018.

One of the infamous last day of cruise signs...

Maybe the incident didn't occur from 16. Could be they closed off the area on 16 while the incident was being worked directly below on the pier.

So it is the end of day 7. Such a great feeling knowing Day 8 has started!

So far on this ship it pays to read your Compass. Bare minimum, do your own recon once Windjammer opens. Subject of Compasses, yes they will get scanned and sent to @Matt for publishing.

I look at the Deluxe package now more or less value over the Refreshment. I'll sit and figure out (spreadsheet time!) how many "enhanced" drinks are needed to take full advantage between the two. Also factor in preferences versus the stock happy hour list for DL/CL/SL. At the same time I'll view it as an insurance policy. If I make more claims against it win, if not oh well.