stowite

5 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Thanks for posting!  I needed a good laugh today 🙂 and, I had no idea about the scissor one?  I always bring a full sized one with my knitting, and have never been called to the naughty room...

Well the article is misleading.  The actual policy is the blade of the scissors can't be longer than 4 inches.  I probably own at least 20 pairs of scissors and maybe one pair has a blade that is longer than 6".  Also RC has scrapbooking cruise groups that are their customers.  I can guarantee the scrapbook groups would not frequent a cruiseline that has extremely restrictive rules on scissors. 

I dress pretty casual during the day in shorts and t shirts for around the ship. In the evening I like dresses but take at least one sweater or wrap for the theaters that can get chilly.  One thing I haven't seen mentioned is long pants and socks if you plan to ice skate, and socks and tie shoes if you want to zip line.  

On our only cruise in suite we didn't tip the concierge but that was because our friend's genie did everything for us that the concierge was supposed to do.  The genie was who got a refund on a dining package refunded to the correct room after the concierge tried and it was refunded incorrectly.  The genie also walked the two of us off with our friends so our group wasn't separated getting through customs.  We gave the genie the tip that would have gone to the concierge.

Glad to see some are getting the benefit again.  Of course to be consistently inconsistent, mine was recently rejected because I had some thing on my booking that was not combinable but they could not tell me what that was.  They were kind enough to send me an email for someone I do not know who has had their $200 shareholdler benefit approved.  I emailed them back about sending me someone else's response in error but I have not heard anything back regarding my concerns about this misdirected email.

21 minutes ago, Mr. Candyman said:

Figures...I know where to look, guided you to it, and I still can't see it.   Maybe it only appears once I am within a certain day of my sailing?

I am having the same issue.  I can't find it either even following the above directions.  When I was talking with C&A the other day the phone rep  couldn't find it for me either.  I hope it will show up soon

4 hours ago, MissLittle1959 said:

  I'm looking forward to using the Key Program in two weeks and will leave a review once we return or maybe even while I'm still on the ship.  Going on the Anthem of the Seas.  I haven't seen any reviews yet on the Key on that ship unless I missed them.  I don't relish going thru 80 pages. lol

I will look forward to your review of the Key on Anthem as that is the ship we are going on.

8 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

I see no reason why your friends could not enjoy Chops for lunch with you.  The restaurant is open for anyone, not just the Key people.  I would, however, recommend that they purchase their lunch ahead of time (through the Cruise Planner) so that they would not have to pay the 18% gratuity.  If they wait until they get onboard to purchase the meal, they will be charged an additional 18%.  Also, I would suggest that they have the suites concierge make them reservations at Chops for embarkation day.  That way they will be assured of getting in.

Thanks, I was thinking that the suites concierge might be helpful in getting them a reservation.

8 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

 

There were two check in desks on the Symphony earlier this month, one for those with the Key and one for those with reservations.  We were behind two people (obviously a couple) who stated that one had the Key and one had a reservation, and they were directed to the reservation line.  

 

Just have your friends make a reservation as soon as possible and go to the restaurant together.  I was able to make reservations for the Symphony and the Adventure (December 2019) within a couple of days after the Key was initially announced, but checked repeatedly for the Mariner in October to no avail; plenty of availability for Day 4, but nothing on embarkation day.  I think they are keeping all tables open for Key guests.

Thanks for this information.  I wonder if since our friends are in a Suite if they would be able to get reservations more easily,  perhaps the concierge would be able to help.  Something to consider.

23 hours ago, FloridaMac said:

Just did The Key on Independence of the Seas 5 day Western Carib.  Saved a lot of time embarking and disembarking - really got the VIP treatment.  Chops lunch was nice.  Internet package was great, each of us had our own login and we could FB Message and voice call each other using FB Message.  I also had a Skype phone number and we called to/from the States.  We will absolutely do this again and again until they raise the price too high ;-) 

I am considering the Key as we are sailing with friends on Anthem who are in a suite.  It seems like the Key gives some similar perks to the Suite. 

I was wondering if anyone knows if the suite VIP seats are in a similar location for the shows and if the priority embarkation and disembarkation are handled similarly for both Suite guests and The Key.  I would like for our friends to feel free to take full advantage of their  Suite perks without worrying about leaving us behind. 

It would also be advantageous for us to be able to disembark together which if we both have priority disembarkation that is done at a similar  time and method would be useful.

I am also not clear if my husband and I would each get a Voom code or with this since we both have to buy the Key which could be good for us.

Does anyone know if our friends would be able to eat boarding day lunch with us even if they don't have the Key and just pay for it separately?  I know on Allure prior to this program we all just walked in and had lunch at Giovanni's table together without a problem.

We really enjoyed Baton Rouge Steakhouse.

4 hours ago, VaTech8912 said:

 

Which ports do you find it most easy to do your own walking about / exploring at leisure?  (ie: avoiding long transfers and excursions)  We are fine with local, do it yourself, type excursions.    Thanks in advance.

Venice was very easy to walk off an buy a pass for the vaporetto boats and used them to go everywhere. 

If you are up for the hike up the city wall, Kotor would be easy to do on your own on foot.

Everyplace else we booked private excursions.

13 hours ago, pjlee3333 said:

And to show how different people can be, I love the Canada new England cruise.  Despite the fact I've done it about 14 times there are places I want to spend more time at.

When I was looking at a Canada trip, I decided the cruises didn't have enough time in Prince Edward Island for me so we ended up taking a 2 week land trip to Nova Scotia and PEI. So much to see there and such beautiful coastlines.

We have an ATT prepaid plan and it mostly worked last year on a trip to Nova Scotia and PEI.  There were some isolated areas that were dead zones for us most notably the Parrsboro, NS area and Cape D'or, NS area.  We had good coverage in Halifax and Peggy's Cove.  We did not have any other problems or surprise charges and we were calling and texting family in the US nearly daily on our trip.

Haven't seen this one yet, but since the stars are RCCL cruisers and the godfamily to Symphony of the Seas that may have helped the movie to have more attention to authentic cruising details.

As others said there is a lot to see that is walking distance but keep in mind the Citadel and other places that are away from the waterfront are up a pretty steep hill. Definitely walkable but certainly a consideration.

We were in Hawaii earlier this year and I think HI is thus far Zika free. I distinctly remember signs at the airports and the cruise port urging visitors to use appropriate bug repellent particularly if they have been in any areas affected by Zika to keep the HI mosquitoes Zika free.

It is a port intensive trip but depending upon what you want to do you can certainly have some laid back beach days there.

We found the mattresses to be comfortable on our trip this spring. I didn't hear any complaints about the beds from our travel companions either and we had a group of 9 people.

I am not one of the earlier posters but we recently did the private All the way around tour with Holo Holo. It was a great day and our guide took us to wonderful stops with beautiful waterfalls that we were able to swim in, black and red sand beaches, and various villages. Since it was a private tour we could stop at our own pace and could spend more time certain places and less time at other places as we wanted. Our guide also took pictures for us frequently so we have pictures of us in front of various sites as well as swimming.

Island Wide is another great tour company and owned by Mary Lou's son. He and his wife Kea tend to do some of the more "active" tours but really they will cater the tour to what you want to do.

I don't tend to be cold but I was freezing in the main theater. Oddly enough I found the ice rink theater to be comfortable. I won't cruise again without at least a light sweater for the theater just in case.

Looking forward to this. At one point we had this cruise booked along with the current Bermuda sailing. Since our cruise partners ended up not being able to go we opted out but curious to follow along on our almost cruise.

Thanks for all the answers!!

 

@Dumplynn I was also thinking about take a container, I've done it other times but have not used it. But as I'm cruising in july and it will be hot as hell maybe I'll use it to take some grapes, or small but strong food for the excursions. I have really low blood pressure and have the ability to faint in the worst moments and that small things are allways useful.

 

About that I've read recently that is not allowed, well...I'll try I don't know if they will take it away from me when getting off to the ports, but have done it without any problem in Caribbean cruises. Well, just one time when getting back to the ship they stopped my backpack because there was a banana(from the ship) on it, but no big deal. Other example, while on Israel I bough on Jerusalem some huge beautiful promegrenates and got them to the ship without any problem, I also had them not hidden in my stateroom till I ate them(pd, they were not as tasty as our spanish ones)

While I see no problem with people taking food out of the dining areas on cruise ships, I do see issues with taking non-packaged foods on and off the ships in ports. The rules and laws about that are there for good reasons to avoid transporting plants, animals, and diseases to other areas where they become detrimental to that areas native plants and animals.

I would presume you shouldn't have issues giving them both cards but it is wise to be observant for mistakes. Even without having drink packages my virgin mango tango was charged as a Jack and Coke. It was quickly corrected but always important to watch out as the bars are busy spots. I do wonder if someone else got a really cheap Jack and Coke in the transaction

What are your thoughts on choosing a Jr. Suite Guarantee on Allure?

 

The price difference is $142 p/p ($284). Worth the chance?

 

One of my questions is the size of the balcony. I know the suites on the middle hump are large enough for one or two loungers. But what about the balconies not in the middle? Can a lounger or two fit?

 

Oh, and I'm not too thrilled with connecting rooms either.:o

We did one last year and ended up with a hump cabin on the 6th floor. We really enjoyed it. It was connecting but we had no problems with noise. If anything we heard more from the hallway but maybe we just had really qiet neighbors.

I attended some interesting ones on a Mediterranean cruise focusing on the history and art that were in the ports we were going to. Some of our group attended one about pickpocketing that was very interesting.