Skid

2 hours ago, rjac said:

So, my brother in law will be cruising with us next year. He has an RC credit card and has amassed over 200,00 points with it. He is now in the enviable position of losing points because they are reaching their expiration dates. If he redeems these points now and applies them to his cruise next year, can he use those now to book on line spa, excursions, etc. now? Thanks. 

When we redeemed our RC credit card points a few months ago, the on board credit did appear on our cruise planner page as available to use. However, they sometimes wait until 30 days before the sail date to actually process the redemption, so if you happen to catch a great cruise planner sale on a beverage package, excursion, etc. before the OBC shows up, you may to grab it and pay.

2 hours ago, rjac said:

I like your idea of the backpack carry-on. We usually drive to the port and put them on at the car park place. Do you think they are durable enough to put on before you check your bags and trust them to the luggage gorillas? 

I do think they are durable, but because they are so easy to attach I don't take the chance and wait. My real concern about putting them on before the flight is that I don't want them blocking or causing any confusion with the airline luggage tag.

8 hours ago, rjac said:

Here is another link for you: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E4SQNU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I have used these and they are great. The stainless steel wire is really strong! These work with both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise luggage tags. Matt is correct that these little babies make it so much easier and they are reusable. 

Agree! Just used these and they are fantastic. Kept them in the backpack carry-on and easily attached them at airport baggage claim. We bought them on ebay with free shipping.

4 hours ago, DocLC said:

As others have said, there boarding times are as usually, but boarding seems less hectic because of the longer boarding window. Muster will be about 45 minutes before sailing give or take. 

Ship sailed at 8:30PM and they actually had 2 muster drills. One at 5:45, and another closer to sailing time for passengers that arrived too late for the first one.

2 hours ago, klaconqueso said:

Hello wonderful members of the RC Blog Community - wondering if you guys would be willing to share your experiences with the late sail away time of Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan. What time should we arrive at port, what time are we likely to get on board, and about what time is muster? With a port heavy itinerary, what nights do the formal nights fall on? 

Thanks in advance! 

Boarded yesterday for St.Thomas-Curacao-Aruba-St Kitts. Because of late departure, we flew in same day and arrived at the pier at about 3. Check in was quick and easy. Muster was at 5:45. Normal 6:00 early MDR seating is 6:30 onthe first night. First formal night is night 2. I assume the second is night 6 (not sure) because on night 5 we are in Aruba until 11PM. FYI, Voom Surf & Stream works great all over the ship. If time allows, purchase it in advance during a cruise planner sale, where you can save up to 50% off the on board price of $17.99/day for one device.

On 3/22/2017 at 8:14 PM, monorailmedic said:

If that's the use case I think you'll be quite happy with the level of service on any Royal Caribbean ship.  Many of the folks on the boards enjoy streaming video on Periscope or FB Live, which takes far more bandwidth and less latecy.  As such, they (well, we) tend to be a bit more critical of the speeds and stability in that way.

 

As bcarney mentioned, you can always speak with someone on board and cancel if it isn't doing what you need it to, but I suspect you'll be just fine.

 

Report back and let us know after your cruise!

We are on Adventure OTS now. Phone on airplane mode with wifi on and using Voxer app to text and talk (not a phone call, like a walkie talkie). Voom Surf & Stream is working great all over the ship. If you have time, wait for a cruise planner sale. On board, the price for one device is $17.99/day. I paid half ($8.99) in advance with a cruise planner sale. Thanks Monorailmedic, bcarney and others for your input.

6 hours ago, elly said:

Can someone please link me to where I might purchase the drink package and/or Voom through this cruise planner? Thanks!

Try:          https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/asr/login.do?cS=NAVBAR&pnav=3&snav=3

53 minutes ago, TishM10 said:

Thanks. But if you take a tour that is not through the ship and something goes wrong (like not getting back in time) you are kind of stuck right? 

That is true, but from what I have heard, that should not be an issue with this tour company. We did book other excursions for this trip through Royal, but felt confident enough to use Grey for St. Kitts. Obviously you need to do whatever makes you most comfortable. No need to add any stress to a vacation! Have fun no matter what you decide.

16 hours ago, TishM10 said:

Thank you both so much. That makes me feel so much better. We were able to book shore excursions for the Bahamas and St. Thomas, but couldn't get the one we wanted for St. Kitts. Hoping they saved a few standby slots for that one as well :) 

We will be on Adventure OTS and in St. Kitts on May 26. Good friends of ours highly recommended Grey Tours and we booked a 6 hour excursion with them for $55 per person. They have a few different options.  Here is a link if you would like to check it out:

http://www.thenfordgreytours.com

Joe01-great post, thank you!

Joe01-thanks for your reply.

4 hours ago, Joe01 said:

That was Rob's last Royal Caribbean cruise for the foreseeable future, per Marc's FB.

Doing Harmony B2B in first 2 weeks of July with Abe first week and Bobby Brown second. Looking forward to having Abe, have had Bobby before and wasn't too impressed, nice guy, but not a great CD for Harmony, better suited for smaller ships with an older clientele.

Had Abe when he was on Anthem. He is fabulous. Personable, accessible and funny. We truly don't know when he sleeps-he's always around. Sailing on Adventure in 3 weeks. Does anyone know who the CD is and have any opinion?

My wife and I both got these cards a while back (should have waited- was only $100 OBC each then). The points are put on to your statement after your spending eligibility. Then you can each go on line to redeem the points. Make sure to reference your reservation number. The credit card company had said they usually notify Royal Caribbean the month before your sail date. Our OBC showed up today for our May cruise.

On a great note, Royal now lets us use the OBC to pay for reservations on Cruise Planner!

Thanks DocLC. I appreciate your input.

Last cruise was on Anthem out of NJ. The smart check-in process was amazing! Went from pier arrival to cabin in 15 minutes. We are sailing on Adventure out of San Juan on 5/20. Royal Caribbean told me they do not have that smart system there and will "get us in as quickly as possible". Does anyone know how long the check-in process takes there? Thanks.

My biggest complaint about the largest ships (Oasis class), bearing in mind I haven't actually been on any of them yet, is that their sheer size limits what ports they can go to. When my family and I were searching for our first cruise, I was beyond frustrated that Oasis ships are all stuck with 7-night itineraries, typically visiting only three ports; I hadn't realized at the time, but the reason is that those are the only ports with harbors large and deep enough to accommodate these massive ships. If part of the point of cruising is to go to places you normally couldn't, and be able to change out those places from cruise to cruise, why would I want to artificially limit myself because the ship is too damn big?

 

That said, the Anthem with its 12-night southern Caribbean itinerary is a notable exception, actually hitting 50/50 between sea and port days and giving a nice set of ports. Maybe RCI realized that while the Oasis class was an engineering marvel, it's ended up limiting the kind of cruisers they can draw? Maybe that's why the Quantum class ended up being smaller and closer in size to Freedom class. Part of why I'm planning to book that 5-night Bermuda trip is to have a chance to try out Quantum class before making a longer booking on it; I'm hoping I'll find I like it.

If that's the use case I think you'll be quite happy with the level of service on any Royal Caribbean ship. Many of the folks on the boards enjoy streaming video on Periscope or FB Live, which takes far more bandwidth and less latecy. As such, they (well, we) tend to be a bit more critical of the speeds and stability in that way.

 

As bcarney mentioned, you can always speak with someone on board and cancel if it isn't doing what you need it to, but I suspect you'll be just fine.

 

Report back and let us know after your cruise!

Thank you so much. Will keep it andhope for the best.

Basic use. Email, Hangouts, etc. Thanks for your reply!

I was on Adventure right after the half-"refurb" while they were still tweaking it.  24 hours with no access at all in the middle of the week sucked, but oddly enough one of the better locations with a strong signal strength was on my balcony in the aft corner of deck 9.

 

There is an account channel you can check on the TV in your cabin any time. Charges are usually posted fairly quickly. If you have any on board credits, they will deduct from that first.