ryguy2008

I wouldn't say that I've ever met a miserable crew member. However, the main dining room staff on Symphony (MTD) were clearly under a ton of pressure to perform. I had multiple waiters on my August sailing explicitly ask for 5-star review. One even went as far as telling me that his rating is different from how I liked the food.

I highly doubt the water park will ever sell out. I was there on Symphony (the only ship on the island) in early August, when schools were still out.. Not only was the park packed, they were selling entry at the door.

(The way the island works is that you can buy pretty much anything on site. The staff have these tablets and they take a picture of you when you buy the package so there's "proof" it was you.)

That said, I loved my day there. For the fastest slide, they were handing out tickets so that the line was manageable. This allowed me to return at my designated time and wait no more than 15 minutes. That said, this wasn't advertised and  you needed to be at the park by 9:15 AM to get one. Otherwise, you were stuck waiting until 2 PM when the queue opened to all -- and it was long.

This is not all that surprising. On my Symphony sailing last month, I didn't even receive the letter in my room outlining the "Dine, Drink, Discover" perks. I had it on Harmony the year before. The bottle of red wine was waiting; however, looking online, it's rated very poorly.

I'm sure many people never claimed their lunch at Jamie's Italian simply because they didn't know.

Been quietly reading this thread... To say that I'm jealous of those on board would be an understatement.

Kudos though to the team for clearly being upfront and keeping you informed. Enjoy your extended trip!

Are they repeating shows still? ie: I assume they're fully treating this like any other regular cruise day.

I actually found it less crowded than Harmony! Both my sailings were in August (2018-Harmony, 2019-Symphony).

On Harmony, there were always long lines to get in to the Windjammer. Likewise, the food area on deck 16 was also very slow. I experienced neither of these issues on Symphony.

The one exception was the Solarium. The pool brought in a lot more people and it was busy at all times. 1 group also had a portable speaker playing music at all hours... (Even after midnight at times.)

I did it on my recent Symphony sailing. Is it incredibly expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? I'd say so.

Would I do it again on a return visit to Coco Cay? Probably not.

16 minutes ago, julieschuler said:

We just got off the adventure of the Seas yesterday! Paid our cash account in full on Friday with our visa debit. Today they charged me again on my via debit for everything I had already paid for on the ship. It was not a hold but a debit transaction from my acccount. I did a three way conference call with my bank and rccl., the girl at rccl argued with my bank when they said it was already deducted from my account  and it was not a hold. They said it will take up to 55 days to investigate before we have a chance of geting our money back. Canadian debit cards are differnt from American. It does not put a hold but rather takes it out immediately. the bank tod them the only way to fix it is to have rccl refund it. They refuse to do that. JUst a warning for other canadians!!

Holds are treated as "debits". However, when they are released, they get credited back. Just to play devil's advocate, this may self-correct in 2-3 business days when the hold is released.

I did it last year on Harmony and loved it... It was very R-rated with many "quests" that aren't appropriate for Cruise Critic. Cruise director Dru Pavlov went all out (I later learned this was his last cruise of his contract).

This year/last week, on Symphony, it was fun, but a lot more tame. The cruise director (Mike) seemed to just be going through the motions and tried to follow a pretty standard script.

Not sure if this was posted... but I wanted to share.

I was at Cococay on Friday (August 9) with Symphony of the Seas. The island was absolutely great -- it's not just hype.

That said, to mitigate the lines for Daredevil's Peak (the tallest waterslide in Cococay / North America), coupons are now given out to a fixed number of guests in 30 minute intervals. The coupons are distributed at the base of the tower.

I was there around 8:50 AM and got a coupon for 10:00-10:30 AM. As of 2 PM, the line opened up to everyone. This was a great way to ensure everyone had a chance to try it without spending 1-2 hours in line. During my timeslot, I waited maybe 7 minutes and I went down. As 2 PM approached, the line became quite long of people waiting for the queue to open and then it was long lines until closing (4 PM).

Overall, a great way to improve the guest experience. The only rule of thumb (and Royal even tells you this), you have to be at the slides early to get a coupon! By 9:45 AM, the coupons were all gone.

I'll be on Symphony in exactly a week. It's not necessarily a movie night. Instead, it's a comedy night in the theatre (as opposed to the attic/comedy club).

The only caveat is you can't redeem stars for a drink (based on what I was told last time) and the drinks still have the Royal 18% gratuity.

2 minutes ago, tagpsu said:

Need to decide by tomorrow. Cruising next June. Which one: Harmony to St. Kitts, San Juan, and CocoCay OR Symphony to St Maarten, St Thomas, and CocoCay? Cruising with son and his girlfriend (they will be 23 and 22/almost 23.  There would be 2 or 3 days post cruise in Florida to spend time with daughter and her boyfriend (he won’t cruise because he gets seasick). Husband and I will be on Harmony in December so we are thinking maybe Symphony for next June but son hasn’t cruised since he was 3 and his girlfriend never cruised.

I think you answered your dilemma. By virtue  of the fact you'll be on Harmony later this year, do Symphony. I did Harmony last year and loved the ship, but wanted to see some differences. Therefore, I'm off on Symphony in 3 weeks.

Harmony is amazing, has great shows (Grease / The Fine Line) and Symphony is the evolution of that. The biggest complaint for adults about Harmony was the lack of pool in the Solarium. That was addressed. Everything else, from what I understand, is just a repeat with minor nuances to keep it fresh.

16 minutes ago, LeeW said:

You do also get special extra hours on flowrider and rock wall.  Check the Key thread to see why anyone would buy this.  For us $5/day/pp would be too much.

Yeah, 1 hour/week per item and at very odd times. 

3 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

 

Live update, the woman mentioned above reported that there were 160 Keys sold on her cruise. She reported that they were not given a choice but were directed to the MDR with the Chops menu.

Sigh. This is why I cancelled The Key on my upcoming Symphony sailing. 

Cruise planner said it was lunch at Jamie's and the phone agents were utterly clueless. Told me that I can skip the lines at the ultimate abyss whenever I want, etc. 

There's also been reports on Symphony of the reserved show seating being full unless you still arrive very early, which defeats the purpose. 

Here's my questions.

1. Can you get any drink at the fittness (vitality) cafe with the refreshment package?
2. Did you spend time in the Solarium? Was it crowded?
3. If you tried it, how were the lines for The Ultimate Abyss slide?
4. Did you have any special privileges? (Suite class / The Key)

Boarding in 3 weeks today... Very much looking forward.

3 hours ago, karen_g said:

 

Was this on Symphony?

Yes. 

The Key is changing constantly... On my upcoming sailing, the only offer was for lunch at Jamie's Italian. They also no longer provide priority debarkation on the last day.

Honestly, if you buy it, monitor the package closely as your sailing approaches. Odds are, by that time, The Key will be completely different.

Hi!

As part of the Central Park perks (Dine, Drink, Discover), a free private gambling lesson is included.

Has anyone ever actually used this? How does one claim it? Was it any good? For reference, I'm sailing on Symphony next month.

10 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

Correct, the Royal IQ App only works when connected to the ship's WiFI.

 

You must pay something like $7 for each phone on which you want to use Royal IQ to text others on that same cruise with the Royal IQ App.  You pay this onboard.

 

Put the phone in Airplane Mode, turn on WiFi, and connect to the Royal WiFi service.

 

 

What's kind of interesting about the RoyalIQ app is that if you load your cruise activities in the morning, the data is saved for "offline use" while in port.

The new Royal app that is being rolled out to most ships is different. It's fully functional before your trip.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/perfect-day-at-cococay-wayfinding-map.pdf

Look at the food options. Only Captain Jack's is extra.

Symphony on cruise planner for early August is fixed price.

Dang. I knew the SeaPass was needed to get off the ship, but was hoping to use the WowBand for drinks. 

Hi! 

Does anyone know if WowBands work on CocoCay? These are the rfid bracelets that can open your room door on some ships. 

Thanks! 

19 minutes ago, mondsd said:

If you check in on the Royal Caribbean App you will get Expedited check-in.

This is not accurate. If you check-in with the app, you may get expedited check-in.

The term expedited checkin refers to the SetSail pass. It has no connection to your C&A status.

This is Royal's new process to "automatically" recognize you when you enter the terminal and bypass all queues. However, it is currently in a trial only.

From what I understand, it's largely based on 2 things:

• Luck of the draw.
• Whether your uploaded SetSail photo meets certain criteria.