karen_g

On 11/21/2022 at 3:46 PM, Scoobydobe7 said:

Not sure about "The Key" but if you are in a star class suite you do get to jump the line for bummer cars..after waiting in line for an hour, it was finally our turn, 5th in line and star class got to jump ahead of us...Needless to say, they were the most bumped cars that session..lmao...but it was all good

I won’t be in one of those suites, but that sounds like a real bummer for your family.  Plus, I can imagine that it would feel awkward for the people “cutting in line”, even if they do have permission to do so (because of their status).

Thanks, everybody.

I have purchased The Key for my Caribbean cruise next year on Odyssey OTS.  Can anyone tell me which of the activities have "private hours" for Key participants?

Do North Star and iFly qualify?  Bumper cars and sky pad trampoline?   I know on other ships rock climbing, and flowrider are included, but I am curious about the different features that only Odyssey has.  Thank you for any info you have.  🙂

I got an email from my travel agent yesterday morning for the March 20th cruise.  Be careful if you are looking at booking excursions on the Royal website.  If you search for Costa Maya excursions, the page that you get actually lists Cozumel excursions (even though they are labeled as Costa Maya).  

I'm  in a similar situation, and would also like to know opinions on this topic.  For my next cruise (quite a long time from now),  2 days passes at Coco Beach Club cost about the same as 1 SouthBeach Beach Bed.  What would be more relaxing and shaded?

So I thought I would report back.  After spending quite some time on the phone with Customer Service this morning, the story I got is this:  for my sailing, they cancelled ALL the Chill Island Beach Beds, due to construction.  Proggieus was indeed correct.  And I am still surprised; I thought Chill Island was done with renovations!  Nevertheless, I'm still hopeful that I'll be able to find a shady spot.  Fingers Crossed!

4 minutes ago, proggieus said:

well of course the other option is that an area that had (or is about to get) beach beds is under construction and will not be available for the day you are there.

 

 

would you rather have it canceled or lay next to(or inside of) a construction site all day?

My reservation was for Chill Island.  It was my understanding that Chill Island has had a full compliment of Beach Beds for some time now.  I would be very surprised to find them doing construction in that spot, but I suppose anything is possible.

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Maybe they scheduled another ship there the same day and had to take back cabanas & beach beds.

I just checked 2 different "cruise ship calendars", and they are still showing my ship (Symphony) as the only ship there that day.  But the calendars might not be updated yet, I suppose.

I am SO angry!  Today, I got an email from Royal with subject line reading "Cruise Planner Cancellation Summary".  It said that my CocoCay Chill Island Beach Bed THAT I BOOKED 4 MONTHS AGO had been cancelled and I was being refunded back to my credit card.  NO explanation whatsoever.  My cruise leaves in 9 days!  I have emailed them, but so far have just gotten the standard "we'll get back to you within 36 hours" response.  Grrrrrr!!!!!

23 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

Go to Central Park and try any of the restaurants there.  They should be taking reservations at the podium inside.  The dining room will be crowded because people are trying to make My Time Dining reservations for the main dining room.

I never thought of that.  That makes total sense.  Thank you!

I have booked a 3-night dining package for my upcoming cruise on the Symphony.  When I get onboard, where should I go to make the 3 reservations?  A few years ago on Allure, they directed me to the main dining room where there was quite a wait.  Is that still where I should go to make my bookings?  Thanks for any info.

14 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

It is totally up to the Captain during the sailing.   I have been on several sailings where it was changed when the previous sailing (same itinerary, same captain) it wasn't.   All of the private excursion companies are aware of when the ship will arrive (local time) and when they have to get you back to the ship.  (otherwise they wouldn't stay in business very long).

 

Thanks, Steve.

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

You can try cruisett.com or cruisecal.com.

Thank you!

I will be on Symphony next January, and I'm trying to set up some private excursions in St. Kitts and St. Thomas.  Pretty sure that in the winter, both St. Kitts and St. Thomas are one hour ahead of Miami ("ship's time").  Will the ship stay on Miami time throughout the whole week, or will it change at some point? 

Where can I check to see what ships will be in CocoCay on the day I will be there?  Is there a website to check?

21 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Don’t think of it as paying more to pick a room.  Think of it as those that are willing to take the worst cabin on the ship are getting a discount. 

Very good point.

1 hour ago, er345 said:

I agree with the FOMO part. When the key was introduced at $19.99 per day I thought there was no way this was worth it. I was shocked by the number of people buying it.  Now that it is $29.99, I find myself reading reviews of people raving about the benefits and I second guess myself. Should I have bought it way back when? Would it have been worth it for my kids to go to the front of the bumper car line on Ovation and not have to wait an hour? Even though none of us use the flow rider and I would never normally eat a steak lunch right after boarding, and we have only one VOOM device purchased at a cheap $10 per day. But the lure of marketing is always calling.

 

 

Wow, you captured my mindset EXACTLY.  RickAinley put it perfectly: "The Key is playing on FOMO".  That marketing ploy is working on me too!

59 minutes ago, ryguy2008 said:

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

Wow!  Yes, that DOES defeat the purpose of getting the Key Reserved Seating.  I didn't know this.

4 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.

Thank you for this info.

39 minutes ago, renza said:

This ship does not need the key at all. We parked in parking garage and was on the ship in less than 10 minutes at 11:30 am. Park cafe is a great lunch for free with nobody there. In room at 1 pm and walked off ship with luggage at 8:30 and to the car in 15 minutes tops. Shows had no problem finding seats. We show up usually 25 min  prior to shows and always got great seats. Buy one internet package and u can all share. Never would I spend money on the key on symphony. 

Good to know, thanks.

1 hour ago, ryguy2008 said:

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.

Was this on Symphony?

Where was the Key Lunch provided on Embarkation Day?  Did you have a choice of venues?  The Key is not available in my Cruise Planner yet for next year (no details provided yet), so I was curious about the options for the Lunch.  At least, the Current options.  I know things can change...

2 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I'm afraid so. Unfortunately it appears to be gone for good across most of the fleet, although I would hope they will honour it for those who bought it prior to its demise. 

It has been replaced with Chops +1, which is not such a good deal pricewise but does give you a bit more flexibility as regards the days it can be used.

Bummer.  But thanks for the info!

19 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Got it for £52.44 for Thanksgiving cruise on Adventure. That equates to $66. Booked on 24 April, which was the day the BOGO died.

Aww... BOGO is no more??  I thought it had just not shown up on my Planner yet.

3 hours ago, seapad said:

We booked $69 for Ovation Alaska in Sept, $76 for Symphony, West Caribbean April 2018.

Those are the lowest prices that I've seen. Need to keep checking to watch the price. You can cancel and rebook if there is a better price offered. 

Wow, $76 for Symphony sounds outstanding!