cynt

Great review @bonsai3sand @ARandomTraveler. Thanks for taking us along for the trip.

Yes, just what I needed, a Wildra review to read in the middle of the night. Menopause and insomnia are terrible over here in these parts. Looks like I'll be courting your reviews all week. Hopefully your review will last longer than this weeks cycle of M&I. Hopefully we'll join you in FL in 11 years and 10 months. But whose counting. LOL! We're hoping to find a quiet little town between all the big towns within an hour or so from a beach and a couple of hours from a cruise port. Love your review as always. Thank you for the time you put into these reviews.

M2M gave an excellent description. Zero dollars needed to have a great beach day. Coco Cay is one of my favorite spots.

You have to call Royal and ask to add the transfer.

The horse races. On my 1st cruise I thought it was the coolest thing ever. My 2nd cruise people were teaming up and dressing them extravagantly. We had so much fun.

OMG! I was just telling my husband that Royal use to have a topless deck. I remember stumbling upon it while looking for an empty lounger.

Those prices are crazy. I won't complain about my $3800 Jr suite on the Symphony Oct 2022. I'm hoping they might send Icon to my home port Galveston one day. It looks amazing. We finally got an Oasis class ship down here.

Book two balconies.

When I can't sleep at 3AM and you peruse over to CC and find a Wildra review, I'm like sleep who needs it? LOL! As always loving your review and I call my husband Snuffleupagus too. I read that and hollered. I knew we were sisters from another mister. Now I'm laying here mad because I've read all of the review to this point and I want more. LOL!

I've been to Alaska twice. When people mentioned layers I was like Texas layers or North Dakota layers. This is what works for me - Athletic wear. Pants - cuddle duds for base layer and athletic leggings, joggers, etc. for top layer. Most days I didn't use my cuddle duds. But when we were at the glacier I was so glad I packed them as well as when we were whale watching and sitting in the cold drizzle watching the lumberjack show. Top - tank, long sleeve t-shirt, thin pullover jacket/fleece, sweatshirt, pullover rain hoodie/poncho (look in camping section of Academy, the one we have is a thick plastic material that folds up in a pouch). I go outside on the balcony first thing on a cruise morning to see what to wear and bring in my backpack. I would recommend dry wicking material for pants and tops. We always pack something fleece, a sweatshirt and rain poncho. We throw these 3 items in our backpack.

When you get on the ship go directly to any specialty dining restaurant. They will assist you to book all your dining reservations for all the restaurants for the week. Forget trying to do it yourself. It's a pain. Pro tip: Have the restaurant, dates and times on a piece of paper with you. It makes booking much easier.

Check to see if that's for two people? One case per person equals 2 cases. I had to deselect my DH so it reflects one case of water.

YIKES! Black Friday 2021 we got them for $40 each. $200 no way it's worth it. That's more than a day at Disney World. Don't go for the okie doke because ur on the Icon. If your kids are not teenagers and do not LOVE water parks and do not LOVE climbing stairs, lots and lots of stairs it should be a hard NO. We visited the Waterpark for the first and last time in October 2022. We were on the Symphony and the only ship in port. The Waterpark had low attendance compared to our local Waterpark. Everything had a short 5 minute wait. And most of the wait was climbing the stairs and carrying the apparatus up to the slide. It was definitely a work out. The park was fun with a lot of variety. We were in there about two hours. We loved the wave pool area. It was super fun when the waves started. We spent most of our time in the wave pool. We rode everything we wanted as many times as we wanted. My hubs went to the tip top to ride that slide. He enjoyed but didn't want to climb to the top again to ride it multiple times. We ate lunch in the Waterpark and then left to enjoy the island. We were tired of climbing stairs and ready to relax. Like I mentioned I believe fit and active teenagers will enjoy it. I believe most Tweens and teenagers have endless energy. I would not pay $200 though no matter how active and fit they are. Try and catch a black Friday sale if your dates are after Thanksgiving. I don't even think I would pay $100. It's just not worth it. If your kids are under 12 DO NOT purchase Waterpark passes. They have two Waterpark activities for them. One is a huge pirate ship Water activity slide thingy. It looks like so much fun. The second is a kid sized Waterpark and water play area. And then of course there's the beach and ocean. Tons of activities to keep the whole family entertained. And when you get bored beach hop to another beach.

I'm just baffled at how people blindly call to reserve and pay for a cabin without a deck plan in front of them to see the cabins assigned. And they don't verify booking with the email confirmation Royal immediately sends while you're on the phone. So you called in December 2022 and paid for your "adjoining" cabins and didn't look at the cabin assignment until May 2023? That's on you. If you called Royal to book they always make sure you receive the confirmation email and ask you to check everything and make sure it is correct. Did you not do this?

I would have loved this surprise as a kid. GO FOR IT!!

I can't specifically say they do acrylic nails but they do repair nails. I had a mishap October 2022 aboard the Symphony and they were able to repair it. They had a ton of nail supplies and stuff like a regular nail salon. I'm sure they can make it work.

Galveston is my home port. I'm still disappointed. I guess we're just too far north. I get it. Well I'll keep contributing to my airfare fund to fly to FL or the east coast. I'm just grateful to have Galveston as a home port for quick getaways.

I have 5 group cruises under my belt. If these are active seniors that are well traveled I would consider it. If you decide to do it pack your patience. I usually work directly with the cruise line to book our cruises. Working with a middle man drives me crazy. Half the people will not pay a deposit. Half of the people who paid a deposit will not pay the final payment. Set your expectations low. Be prepared to answer any and all questions about EVERYTHING. If you are not a frequent cruise addict Do Not Do It. If you are not flexible and can't pivot to plan B don't do it. You can not control a group of grown folks. I have found that it is easier to refer everyone to my PVP to book. I don't mess with group cruises on Carnival. I send everyone my cruise details and let them call my PVP. I pass along my flight details and hotel details and let everyone book their own. Group cruises are fun but require a lot of work. You can not vacation with everyone. Group or not. Sometimes you have to tell people no. I refuse to vacation with my bro n law or one of my cousins. Big time complainers, about everything. Nothing makes them happy. So I just leave them at home. Think long and hard about this decision. And remember It Is Your Vacation too. My groups knows, once I get you on the ship, I'm done! Go to Guest services with your questions. My next group cruise is Alaska Summer 2024. I'm actually keeping quiet about it in hopes people forget. LOL! My normal 4 cabins with my core 8 people are always ready to book. I'm debating if I'm going to open it up to others. We'll see. Happy planning!

May 2022 I used the Royal transportation because everything seemed more difficult than my normal Galveston port. I was glad I used it. It was very simple. I stayed at the Crown Plaza and took their shuttle back to the airport that morning. I found the Royal staff at baggage claim, waited for the bus and boarded the bus. We made maybe two rounds around the terminal. The bus was not full but the driver said they made the run back and forth until the ship left the port. We made a second stop at I believe was a bus station (I think) and then on to the Port to board the ship. Royal used a large coach bus with comfy seats. I road the same bus after the cruise. The bus filled within 5-10 minutes. It was not a big deal. $60 round trip. I was glad I road the bus because I was in an unfamiliar place and I didn't have to worry about price gouging with Uber or Lyft. I was traveling solo so paying $50+ for an uber/lyft was a no for me.

Glad you made a decision. Quick story, In May 2022 AA cancelled my flight during the middle of the night. They changed my DFW to EWR to a DFW to LGA. It cost me $143.78 in a Lyft to get to my hotel at EWR.

Thanks for the review.

When I have perk concerns I board the ship and discuss with guest services. Be nice and cordial. Ask them to book it for you because you didnt receive the invitation in your cabin as part of your perk. Print a copy and Bring it with you just in case. Guest services usually aims to please and will rectify most guest concerns within reason. Don't go to them demanding or anything like that. Just act like they forgot to do it and you would like to schedule it.

You can't go wrong with either ship. I love both classes for different reasons. Pick Symphony this time and Odyssey next time.

@dleahy4444 ENJOY! ENJOY your suite. It sounds amazing!!

We were on the Symphony in October 2022 and had great food and service. It was 13 of us and everyone found something delicious to eat each night. Food arrived hot and tasty which is kind of difficult when you serve 13 at once.