ARandomTraveler

I've been unable to complete cruise planner purchase through the safari web browser on my iPhone for several months. For some reason one of the things you have to click on (like terms and conditions or something) isn't showing up and therefore won't activate the button that lets me make the purchase. I've tried flipping my phone horizontally, and I've tried using the private browsing app just in case that changed anything (it didn't). I'm able to do it from my computer, but right now I'm out of town and without a computer, and I'm seeing a really good deal on the dining package for one of my cruises and don't want to miss out. I guess I can just call and make my purchase but if there's a trick to getting my phone to work, please fill me in.

I just checked my upcoming Allure sailing (sept. 30th). I already added the set sail pass to my Apple wallet during my check-in, but I tested it just now to see if it's working today, and it gave me an error, so I think it's just an issue with the app right now, and not just for November cruises. The set sail pass is still in my wallet so it didn't disappear or anything, it just won't let you add them right now.

I haven't been on Utopia but the starlink (high speed satellite) internet was good enough for me to use FaceTime and watch live streamed football games so you should be fine. Symphony is a newer Oasis class ship so they've got lots of hot spots around the ship. Older ships (like Allure) do not have as many, so even though they've also got Starlink Internet, it sucked for me in most areas of the ship. Couldn't get internet in my room at all.

Salad and dessert

Allure doesn't have the bionic bar, it still has the champagne bar, and I think that's what's getting replaced by the pesky parrot.

She gave the link to book through infinity earlier, and said it's an extra $25/person for transport (it's also mentioned on their website). https://www.infinitybay.com/explore/activities-events/Day-Passes

If it's showing you the same price, that's because it's still the same price. If the price goes up or down, you'll see it. The "reserved" sticker in the corner just shows that you bought it already, it's not indicative that it's necessarily showing you what you purchased it for. The fact that it's the same price is just coincidence.

I guess think of it this way - there's a rule against one of these things, but no rule against the other.

I was just clarifying what I thought biker meant. I haven't seen Wizard of Oz as I haven't been on Icon so I can't speak to it, but others have said it's great.

Wizard of Oz isn't Broadway though, I think that's what he (Biker) means. The Wiz is Broadway, and Wicked is Broadway, but the Wizard of Oz is not.

Where?

I was just gonna mention this (making sure you're in airplane mode before making the calls, to ensure your phone is using wi-fi and not a cell phone tower). If you have T-Mobile (at least certain t-mobile plans), you can use your phone almost everywhere in the world, not just US, Canada and Mexico. I'm able to use mine all over Europe, as well as Asia. I even made phone calls and used FaceTime in the middle of the South China Sea. No charge (using wifi of course). The LTE signal on land can sometimes be slow, but it's free (on T-Mobile).

Thanks for the update. So annoying to have to wait so many days to figure out what's happening with money related things. It's not even really about the amount of money, it's more just having to keep it on your "to do" list of things to keep checking up on. The nice thing about credit cards is that it's always fixable, so much less stress than when people are taking money from your checking account. I've been dealing with RC accounting for 2 weeks now. They had to re-book one of my cruises and 15 days later, they still haven't applied the $900 deposit I paid back in July. I keep having to contact them to extend the "courtesy hold" they've saved my cruise under until the deposit gets posted. They told me it would take 7-10 business days, and we've now passed the 10 business day mark, so it's annoying to me to have to keep making sure my cruise doesn't get cancelled before they extend the hold on it for the 4th time.

I had the same thought about Oasis class ships, and avoided sailing on them for NINE YEARS!!! Curiosity finally got the best of me and I booked Symphony in 2022, and it's is now BY FAR my favorite class of ship. My initial reaction to seeing the Allure docked next to our ship (Mariner) in Cozumel in 2013, was that it was way too big and there was no way I'd ever enjoy that ship. Then, reading about all the different room categories, neighborhoods, and pre-booking of shows made it seem really intimidating. The nice thing about cruise critic though, is the more you read it, the more you learn, and the less intimidating it got. I felt like I knew the ship very well, long before I ever stepped foot on it, so once we finally sailed Symphony, there was no intimidation anymore, and after just 1 day on the ship, my daughter let me know how disappointed she was that I spent her whole childhood sailing the smaller (voyager class and freedom class) ships, and that she never got the chance to enjoy the big ships as a kid (my bad 😢). I've sailed all classes except vision and radiance, and have a very hard time booking a ship that's not Oasis class anymore. They're so much fun, so much to do, so many venues to check out, so many shows, so much food, so much general walking around and "taking it all in" there is to do. I just love it. Oh - and as for crowds, that first experience on the Symphony was during thanksgiving week, one of the most crowded weeks to sail of the year, with tons of kids, and we didn't think it was bad at all. Everyone spreads out, and since the ship is divided up so well, you never see everyone in one place all at once (except maybe during the sail away or whatever parade or event they had going on one time on the promenade). The other good thing (for people without small children) is that typically, you're doing the opposite thing from what all the families with small kids are doing, so they're rarely, if ever, overtaking the space you're in.

Is adventure one of the ships that has some balcony cabins with metal frames (balconies are part of the ship structure) and some that have the glass? Or is that on the voyager class ships that were built after adventure? If adventure has a mixture of these, then the more desirable balconies are (I think) decks 7 and above, but don't quote me on any of this. Someone who knows for sure will confirm.

Does Utopia not have a Broadway show? I thought it got Wizard of Oz. Or was that the Icon?

You assume correctly

Anyone can do it, but you have to call and do it over the phone because they don't give you the option online.

They've got other accessible rooms that aren't suites at the back of the ship. I understand that you have a mobility issue and I have no doubt that creates a lot of hassles and hardships for you, but c'mon, nobody forced you to take a cruise, or to stay in a room at the very back of the ship, and if going to your muster station is this much of an inconvenience (or even, it sounds like, a near impossibility), perhaps you might rethink this trip, as you're certainly not going to be able to get to any of the shows, or other venues on the ship either. A family member of mine has been an avid cruiser for 40+ years, doing multiple cruises a year, but is now so immobile and wheelchair bound that she doesn't enjoy cruising anymore. Last trip they took she was stuck in the room the whole time because she couldn't comfortably navigate the ship, and couldn't get off in any of the European ports because they were tendering and the cobblestone streets weren't wheelchair accessible. Sometimes stuff like this is what makes you realize your cruising days might be over.

How are they going to make it if there's a genuine emergency? In fact, how will they even enjoy this ship, if getting up the gangway takes them out for the whole day, to the point where they can't check in to their emergency station?

Is this an ad? 😂

Just go to the muster station as soon as you board the ship, before you go to your room. Very easy.

It's probably like Southwest Airlines, you can set an alarm and click "check in" as soon as the alarm goes off, but still get put in group B. Some people are probably picking their time before they input any info. They may be limiting the number of 10:30 slots to account for the number of "The Key" they've sold, or the number of suites or pinnacles boarding etc. Who knows. But like everyone said, show up when you want, they'll let you on.

Hmmm, good question. Since it's a transpacific coming back to the US, it might be more "typical" in the cruising experience (meaning, shows and activities and food will be similar to what you'd find on European and Caribbean cruises). I did an Asian cruise last summer and it was definitely geared more towards the Asian market, most notably to me was that the food in the windjammer was much more geared to the way Asian people eat. For example, not a lot of American breakfast items, there was a lot more food that I would consider lunch or dinner food put out for breakfast, and it was mostly Asian food (a lot of soups and noodles and meats for breakfast). Also, the only real sodas were Coca Cola and Fanta orange. And you won't find the same array of salad dressings (I can't recall if they even had ranch). However the fruit is amazing, always ripe and sweet (and you'll get some different, more exotic fruits like rambutan). There weren't as many activities, but the activities they did have were done in English. There were a lot of arts and crafts (like jewelry making and napkin folding), and a TON of trivia (trivia was done to death on that sailing), but not a ton of shows. No comedian. No quest show or anything like that. Karaoke was all in Chinese (even the songs that were supposed to be American had Chinese subtitles 😂), and it was a HOOT to watch because unless you speak Chinese, you can't understand a word and won't recognize any of the songs (and perhaps I'm just immature but I found it hilarious). Tons of room on the pool deck loungers, as Asian people don't like to tan. The people onboard were very friendly, respectful and much quieter than what you'll find on typical sailings. And there's no smoking onboard (but that may have been because we started in Singapore, where smoking isn't allowed). The staff is mostly Asian (instead of Caribbean or European). Signage on board was in English and Chinese, but coming from Japan, I'm not sure how things will be. I definitely recommend doing an Asian cruise if you're looking for something different. It's familiar enough to get by without knowing an Asian language (or being able to read kanji (Japanese) characters), but different enough to feel like it's a distinctly different experience.

The longer cruises tend to have lower prices, because the total price ends up being so high (when multiplying over 12-14 days). Asian cruises are also typically priced very low, because that market doesn't drink much alcohol. My 12 day Asian cruise last august had the alcohol package at $43/day. I still didn't buy it though because over a 12 day period, that's still a lot of money and I don't drink that much. The transatlantic cruise I have booked for next year has had the alcohol package listed as low as $57/day, but again, over a 13 day period, that's a lot of money, especially once you add the 18%, and when you have to buy for 2 people.