jakeil7

48 minutes ago, daisyday33 said:

 

3.  If we can board earlier - what time should we arrive at port (I'm assuming there will be a line) and how long was your wait in line?

 

There are many on here that would suggest 10am. I disagree totally in most cases. Ideally, you want to board just as they are opening rooms which is typically 1 or 1:30.  Otherwise you are dragging carry ons around which is going to stink for a group with so many kids. However, since you are concerned about getting reservations, you do need to get on board ASAP.  My thought is that you might want to have the reservation makers get on early with the rest checking in later. 

I think it’s a coin flip. You really can’t go wrong on either. 

6 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

True, but if the brother is just paying 1 fare and keeping the cabin for himself, while the OP is paying for 4 and squeezing all 4 into a cabin, it doesn’t seem equal.

I was speaking to the connecting rooms, not how people should be assigned to them. 

Can you tell us a little about yourself/ your party?  Family?  Couple? Single?  Retired?  Still working?

34 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Try to get connecting to make better use of the 2 bathrooms.

That might depend on how...social...your brother is 😁

If I ran Royal, I would have sent this to FL via Bermuda and/or Bahamas. Why they didn’t repo is beyond me for the most part. However, there is one possibility:  deep cleaning and heavy maintenance could be scheduled on the way down. Without passengers, this is a lot easier. Only thing I can think of though. 

There are a lot of items here. For the standard rooms, are you thinking inside or balcony. If you go with one suite, you will want to ensure it has two bathrooms as that will be your limiting factor which boosts the cost further. 
 

if you go with two rooms, send a kid with your brother as you have to pay for two people per room no matter what.  As you seem to infer, you can have the kid stay with you.

generally, the two rooms will almost always be cheaper given the 2 bathroom requirement. 

BTW, leaving SJ at night is a pleasant experience. It is very pretty sailing past Old San Juan

12 hours ago, voyager70 said:

 

Nope. Read my post.

 

Nope. Not according to https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/UnitedArabEmirates.htm

This is also based on my personal experience traveling there. However, it would not be the first time the government had outdated information and the rules changed from when I was there. 🙂

Americans do not need a tourist visa. However, some of the other ports might require one. 

Also add in the flight length from anywhere in North America  to the UAE

1 minute ago, kernow said:

...throwing money at them.

Although this is a totally valid strategy as well 😁

The only way you could be affected is if you were in a suite class cabin on a ship with extensive suite-focused facilities and there were many high end elites.  Since you are on a smaller ship, it does not matter. 

8 minutes ago, bgoff60 said:

I know all boats are slightly different in what is and what is NOT possible so this question is JUST for Symphony OTS. . .

 

1. Do I need the WiFi package to use just the RCI mobile app?

2. What additional capabilities can I do with eh RCI app in terms of communicating with others in my party? Can I text them on for such things like "We are at the Royal Promenade bar '' x.  Meet us there at 4 pm.

3. other things we need to know?

1.  No

2.  The app does not have messaging capabilities on Symphony. 
3.  Connectivity can be an issue in some cases. My phone kept disconnecting from the network. Also, most plans are one device at a time. You need to go to logoff.com to remove one device before adding another per the device instructions you get with the plan.  

You know, I think there is one thing that has not been mentioned here: time. Some of us have to worry about when the trip is (dates) as much as where it goes  Do both fall under the category of  itinerary?  I don’t think so given the discussions here

How old will they be when you cruise again?

4 minutes ago, dancingfish said:

I think ports first and then ships... I mean is there really a bad ship???

Yes. The S.S. Minnow 😁

It depends on the type of vacation you want.   After all, you are not going to sail the Oasis down the Rhine and you wouldn’t want a Viking Longship (that’s the generic class, right?) sailing the Caribbean even if it were possible 😁

5 hours ago, CORKY_Q said:

Royal is getting more and more restrictive regarding power strips. The people who inspect your luggage can't differentiate surge protected from non-surge protected. We saw an awful lot of them (of all kinds) when we got off the Allure last month.  They are waiting at a table when you debark for you to re-claim.

I had no problems myself with a power strip, but YMMV

14 hours ago, daisyday33 said:

We are in four side by side ocean view balcony rooms on Deck #10.

You should be ok then (see the earlier post from another person in the same type of room), but with 3-4 people per room I would still strongly suggest taking a couple of non-surge protected power strips.

as for the usb question, I did not see any in my cabin but I was in a suite so there will be differences. I would start by using the converters that came with your devices. If not that, there are many power to multi usb converters out there. Just make sure they are powerful enough to charge your devices.  

Please ignore

3 hours ago, daisyday33 said:

We are taking a family cruise in November with 6 adults and 7 children (ages 8, 9, 11, 11, 14, 14, 17) and we have not cruised on Symphony of the Seas before. 

 

critical question:  what kind of rooms are you in?

21 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Is this El Loco included or extra charge?

On Symphony it was included. Breakfast and lunch only. 

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Leaving from San Diego.  If I did the midnight option, it would probably be Japan Airlines SAN to Tokyo, tight connection there (an hour or so) then Tokyo to Singapore.

We did this same flight last year, on the way to Shanghai, and it was a great flight although  we had to hustle to make the connection.  I thought JAL was very good.  Even enjoyed the food.

I have heard great things about JAL but have only flown them from PVG to NRT in business.  Be very careful with the close connections. 

There are some other areas where chairs could go but on Symphony they have replaced the non-aft area with a couple of sports options. Shuffleboard on the port side (I think) and ping pong on the starboard side. Of course, lifeboats and gangways take up most of the area which is why the track exists in the first place.