Jump to content

Wow bands...


Mikeb1892

Recommended Posts

...do we still need to carry a Sea pass card, or do these replace the Sea pass card?

...I've read that they are $5.  Do you purchase them ahead of the cruise or once you're on board?

...do they only function as a wearable credit card or do they also unlock your room?  What other features do they have?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No experience on WOW Bands, but from what I understand...

They function the same as your Sea Pass card: opening your room and charging your onboard account. (Think like the wrist bands given to you at some place like Great Wolf Lodge.) As I've heard, they are not available for pre-purchase. You have to go to guest services on board and purchase there. I've heard repeatedly that they are $5.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A SeaPass card is always required to leave or return to the ship.  Local authorities at a port of call would have no way to read a Wow band and know if a person is really a guest on that ship.  That leaves wow bands for on board use only.  

They are only available once on board but can usually be reused on another future cruise if the next ship also supports wow bands (most Quantum and Oasis class at time of writing).

They do unlock your cabin which is where I find the biggest benefit.  They can be used to make purchases on board or order drinks at a bar but often the card reader isn't close by so you end up having to take it off and handing it to the bartender so that isn't always convenient.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Mikeb1892, just used them on our last sailing on the Harmony.

1. They replace the Sea pass card, BUT for safety muster I would bring your card. We used our bands they scanned one of us twice and skipped another, we were harassed for 2 days accusing us of skipping the muster. Phone calls, letter messages, TV alerts....UGH!

2. If in a suite just ask concierge via welcome email & they will be in your cabin. All other cabins they are for purchase I don't know the location but I'm sure staff can guide you upon embarkation.

3. Yes, wearable credit card as well as unlocking the room, just don't mix them up as they are tethered to your individual Cruise Planner purchases.

We enjoyed them sometimes, we really liked having the option....Sea Pass cards though if disembarking at Coco Cay or any port for that matter. Need them to get back on ship as well as off like @twangsterreiterated, so on board use only.  Have a great sailing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Mikeb1892 said:

...do we still need to carry a Sea pass card, or do these replace the Sea pass card?

Yes, you need SeaPass for embarkation/debarkation, checking out of Adventure Ocean, and maybe somewhere else

2 hours ago, Mikeb1892 said:

I've read that they are $5.  Do you purchase them ahead of the cruise or once you're on board?

Purchase onboard. Guest Relations always sells them

2 hours ago, Mikeb1892 said:

do they only function as a wearable credit card or do they also unlock your room?  What other features do they have?

Check out this post: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/11/19/royal-caribbean-wowbands-what-you-need-know

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Expressman said:

Does anyone know how (or if) these work within the casino? Wondering if I would still need to carry the sea pass card to gain points on slots or at the tables?

Since the cards on the ships with WOW bands are the tap to pay cards, it works the same way at the slots and tables.  The card reader is a a tap reader.  The WOW band will register at the tap readers.  I did notice that these readers were much more obnoxious and difficult to deal with at the slots than the old way of inserting the cards.  It sometimes took several tries to get it to read and register..didn't seem to matter whether it was with the card or the WOW band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Ram cruiser said:

I understand wow bands working on the ship but can they work on Coco cay?

While on Harmony last May, we visited CocoCay, and were able to use the wow bands for entry into the waterpark.  We had our seapass cards with us too, but was indeed able to use the wow bands to come and go from the waterpark with no problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just got off the Symphony earlier this month and used the Wow bands.  You had to buy them on board (Bolero’s on our ship).  We went right away to avoid the line which did form later.

I enjoyed it as I did not have pockets on most of my outfits.  Much of the time I did not have to take it off but occasionally I did.  I did not find that inconvenient compared to searching through my bag for a sea pass or wearing a lanyard around my neck.  
 

You literally use it for everything while on the ship- drinks, buying things as flash sales and at the souvenir shops, getting into my room, access to shows, ordering alcohol in the main dining room.  It worked for everything on Coco Cay too, including drinks.  The only thing I needed my sea pass card for was getting off the ship.

If you have more than one of you in your party I would suggest getting a different color as sometimes mine and my husbands got mixed up.  This wasn’t a big deal- the bartenders usually laughed about it and we were never denied a drink.  When we did have to remove the bands the bartenders were great about telling us which was which.

We will definitely use these again and saved them for our next cruise.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/28/2020 at 10:35 AM, Mikeb1892 said:

Are there different colors available? 

We were on Harmony last July and bought the bands.  Guest Services told me that they were out.  Then, we were walking by Boleros and there was a table where they were being sold.  We were told the colors were related to the muster station and you were unable to choose a color. That conflicts with other things I have read, but just wanted to mention our experience.

I really liked the band.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, luv2sail said:

We were on Harmony last July and bought the bands.  Guest Services told me that they were out.  Then, we were walking by Boleros and there was a table where they were being sold.  We were told the colors were related to the muster station and you were unable to choose a color. That conflicts with other things I have read, but just wanted to mention our experience.

I really liked the band.  

They let us pick our band color on Ovation and forgot to charge us, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...