ryguy2008

Kate (Celebrity Edge) recently posted on her Instagram that Royal Caribbean (and all sister brands, including Celebrity) have had full authorization to use the pier at Cococay to swap crew. However, they're not allowed onto the actual island.

That said, that doesn't enable crew who aren't already on a ship to reach another.

Unfortunate, but the cardinal rule is while on the ship, try to fix any problems.

Dealing with post-cruise support will consistently be a nightmare.

On my Harmony and Symhony sailings, not only was the event open to everyone, I received invitations. These were my first 2 sailings with Royal Caribbean.

I think the events are now just an event honouring top tier members as opposed to being exclusive for them.

45 minutes ago, molsonschooner said:

I know they are very strict about this type of thing while on board so I imagine they will be strict on the island also.

I think this is the best answer that you'll get. Coco Cay is owned and managed by the cruise line. Therefore, they will likely be very strict around requirements. That said, nobody here will be able to guarantee you anything.

Therefore, on the day of, you may be lucky. Or... you may have someone that is going by the rules.

Not helpful to OP's situation. However, on my August 2019 Symphony cruise, the DDD was clearly already out the door.

Nobody told me at all that I had a free lunch at Jamie's Italian. There was no paperwork in the room. No guidance on the free gambling lessons. I asked if there was an explanation on it and nobody had anything.

I just went to Jamie's, made the reservation myself, and they basically gave me an "empty" bill to sign. Royal wants nothing to do with this.

There are also WowBands... Available for $4.99/each on embarkation day (and free for suite guests).

Can do everything that the SeaPass does, except leave the ship. Much more practical, especially for kids.

Heck, when I booked my summer 2019 cruise, in a 7 day span, the price was fluctuating by over $1,000. This was around 45 days out.

There really is no predictable pattern.

2 hours ago, Nectarologist said:

Also consider where you'll keep your sea pass card.  Don't know if ladie's swimsuits have pocket options like men's do but you need the care to enter and exit the park.  If you buy a wristband I assume you just use that.  Btw, Coco Cay was great.

You need your SeaPass to get on/off the ship. WowBands are not sufficient.

Therefore, even if the WowBand works for water park entry, it doesn't really solve the issue.

That said, there are free lockers (where you set a combination) right next to the slides.

9 minutes ago, Grandma Petania said:

I am aware of the no-sharing rules, but wonder if there is a daily limit of orders.  Or a minimum time after placing one order before you can get another drink.  What about an alcoholic and a soft drink at same time?  Or a shot and a coffee?  Or fresh squeezed orange juice and a shot?  TIA for answers.

This is really going to be a YMMV (your experience may vary) type of situation. There's no "hard" rules. You just need to be getting 1 drink at a time and the servers need to be comfortable that you're not sharing. Definitely no daily maximum... But assume that Royal Caribbean "big brother" is monitoring just in case something seems off.

Never happened to me, but I did hear a room attendant telling someone shortly after sailaway to head down for their bags. I also saw a stream of people coming out of the elevators with suitcases.

 Though, I think if you don't claim your bag within 15 minutes of sailaway, they throw it overboard. Or is that the New Years alcohol speaking... 🙂

Out of curiousity, what are their quotas?

On my recent Symphony sailing, I was approached often in the Promenade on embarkation day. Likewise, on the first night, there were people approaching tables in the MDR. However, that quickly stopped as the week progressed.

Are your travel docs ready? The 2 are usually linked.

All that said, easiest way to find out is to call... All you'll get here is speculation.

Technically the main dining room on deck 4 has tables with porthole views... But I'd hardly call that anything exciting.

From what I've read, this is the normal procedure for the annual president's cruise. I followed the threads this week pretty closely and it seems like this sailing is particularly designed for the most loyal members.

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

Got back to the room and found that “special” RCI champagne had been delivered. 
 

 

 

The champagne was for all returning guests on my sailing, or at least, so I thought. I was gold and got that on Symphony in August.

I'm pretty sure you can ask for kosher meals. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/can-we-offer-kosher-meals

That said, I don't recall seeing a kosher style section in the Windjammer. If anything, you can just pick and choose what interests you. That said, for example, there's no guarantees at all that hummus wouldn't have touched something not kosher.

Definitely check it out. For the most part, the island is free. The only main extras are the waterpark section, the helium air balloon and 1 restaurant that serves chicken wings. The rest is free and great.

37 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

You should be able to get your Key lunch on another day if the restaurant is not open when you get on board.

The only challenge with that is restaurants on Symphony only open for lunch on sea days.

On my recent Symphony sailing, we also had an inspection going on. However, boarding remained the same. We just left the terminal closer to 7 PM, instead of 4:30 PM.

29 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Last time we were there (Aug 2018), you paid and got a wrist band that locked and unlocked.

 

It was not keyed to any specific locker.  Pick one, lock it, then your band would unlock it.  Then you could move to a different open one, in any area.

Interesting. So that was before the major renovation. 

Either way, I doubt they will be re introducing that charge. 

7 hours ago, SF said:

Glad to know they're free. Are they located in the water park as well as outside of it?

Yes. The ones in the waterpark are right by the entrance. It's also where they hand out coupons for the tallest slide until around 9:15 AM (to reduce lines).

8 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

 

How are none of these comments accurate?  We're all saying pretty much the same thing as you.  Please clarify.

 

I was referring to the comments that you can stay on board until 10-10:30 as that is when last call is.

That is true for some ships, like Harmony. Symphony wants everyone off well before then.

5 hours ago, SF said:

It still shows a charge for the lockers on the website. Guess we'll find out when we get there.

It was free when I was there in August. Not really sure how they would implement a charge.

The locker is a keypad. You just enter a pin and hit lock. Same idea as the room safe.

None of these comments are accurate.

Symphony last call starts at 9:15 AM. Breakfast closes by 8:30 AM in the Windjammer and there is a hard stop on all other services, including Park Cafe at 9 AM.

I left the ship on my sailing 2 months ago at around 9:30 AM. By then, they were already setting up for the next sailing (and the monitors had stopped showing departure calls).

8 minutes ago, barb1256 said:

We will be on the Anthem in November visiting Coco Cay.  We are not buying passes for the Water Park, but I was wondering if we are still able to walk through.  I suspect not because I think I read that you are scanned as you enter the park area.   I was just hoping to look around and watch the slides for a bit, but I can probably see from outside too.

 

Thanks.

No, definitely not. You need to scan your SeaPass to get in & out.

The only suggestion would be after the park closes and people are heading back to the ship. At that point, there is no longer a checkpoint and you can wander through for a few minutes.

I've been on both (in August 2018 & 2019). Although your experience may vary, for me, I prefer Symphony. Here's why:

• On Harmony, I found that the lines to enter the Windjammer buffet were huge at times. As a result, I had to eat elsewhere. On Symphony, even right before an early port day, I was able to walk right in.
• As the current flagship, the menu options on Symphony in the main dining room are just a bit better.
• The Solarium has a non-heated hot tub, instead of a sprinkler. (Let's be realistic -- it's not a pool.) It's also much nicer.
• Hairspray was amazing. Gease (on Harmony) is OK.
• El Loco Fresh by the pool deck was actually surprisingly good. It was a nice change from just hamburgers/hot dogs, etc. which was found on Harmony.