pasodancer

We did max bids last week (Symphony) for 3 Star Class Suites ....were in Sky Class Suites.  Did not win. 

"Dress Your Best" night (aka formerly Formal Night) on an Anthem 5 night sailing is Night 2.  We only had 1 Formal Night on all 5 Night Sailings.  .  On our Formal Nights last week on Symphony - you saw everything from Gowns to Shorts.  Most people dressed up a little more than usual.  It was nice seeing all the families that were having ships photos taken - all coordinate their attire.  We did have 2 formal nights on Symphony (7 Night sailing), most dressed up the 1st night and few the 2d night.

Symphony of the Seas (10/2) Arrival at pier (12:45pm arrival, check-in scheduled for 1:30pm .  Went to suites arrival sign and were literally inside and finished check-in within 10 minutes and was onboard the ship immediately.  IT  helped that we had requisite paperwork in hand (negative COVID test, proof of full vaccination, passport & set sail pass) and just breezed through 3 check points, received our “purple “The Royal Comeback” wrist band” and literally walked onto the ship.  Grandson had to have mandated COVID testing at boarding, so he (w/ his parents - also in Suite Cabin) had a separate line to check-in so he could be tested.  They had to wait in separate area until his test results were completed (took over an hour).  Cabins opened at 2pm, luggage delivered at 3pm.

Just received above in an email.  

My unofficial guess is that it would be "first come first serve" when signing up for the test 24 hours in advance as they only have a limited number of slots for testing.  I know that I would rather get the Authorized home proctored testing before traveling all the way to the port and be tested.  I would be devastated if I was standing there w/ bags in hand waiting to get on the ship and they said "sorry".  I would also be devastated at home, but at least I wouldn't need to quarantine before flying back home with family in tow.   

I thought that "formal" night went away?

We are in a Crown Loft and I was able to bid on all higher level suites - both the Royal Loft and the Ultimate Family Suite were a minimum of $1750 (x2 = $3500), maximum bid was $10K for both of these suites.  NOT HAPPENING for us, but I am sure there is someone who would want and be in the financial situation to bid on them.  I did bid on the Villa Suites & ATS 2 BR - $500 minimum ($1000 total).  I figured if I won the bid then I would be reimbursed the cost of the Deluxe Beverage Pkg (3 people - $1485) so I would be ahead of my original cost by $485.  Believe my bid is too low, but nothing ventured nothing gained!

I'm also trying to understand the process......if I had to guess (and trust me I'm probably incorrect) the process would be the "actual price paid for current cabin" and then some mysterious formula that would generate the minimum bid for an upgrade?  That way if I paid $100 for my cabin my minimum upgrade would be $500 whereas someone who originally paid $200 for a cabin then their minimum upgrade bid would be $400???

Someone posted on the Royal Up thread that it looked that the Royal Upgrade was only 1 level up.  No idea how they came to that conclusion?  

I'm positive there are others on this site who could enlighten us.  

(Also, don't know about others but it seems I'm checking my Royal Up bids and cabins remaining in possible upgrades several times a day  - especially as it gets closer to our sail date.)

I LOVE the chilled fruit soups - especially the banana!   The Prime Rib is amazing.  Don't get me started on deserts!!  

sailing 10/2, tags were available 9/22

Capt_BJ:  WOW thank you!!!   Will pass it along to him.  Have a feeling he will take public transportation - he is the adventurous type.  

Thank you!

11 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Have you Google searched for the light rail system, which is very good. Have taken it to Brickell, Little Havana and a couple of other places, but not that specific area.

Would his final stop be "Brickell"?   (have never done public transportation in Miami - always used Uber or Taxi).  Thank you!

Adventurous adult son is thinking at it may be faster for him to take Public Transit from MIA airport to our hotel (he arrives at airport 5:30 on a Friday evening) versus taking an Uber.  He will only have a carry-on bag & small back pack.

Can anyone recommend "yes" or "heck no"?   If "yes" can someone give me a clue as to what he public transit he would take from airport?  

Thank you so much!!//Maria

Buy now!

Be VERY optimistic (and good luck!).

Paid $9K for Crown Loft (3 people - Symphony 10/2/21) 16 months out.  I never had a price drop but have seen the price climb.  Believe current price is right around $14K.  I know there are plenty of Crown Loft available at this time.

My rule of thumb is for a cruise & cabin that I want -  "book it when you see it and hope for price drops along the way"

on a daily basis!

4 hours ago, cured said:

You don't even have to lie.  Walgreens is doing walk-ins for booster shots and at least in my region, no questions asked.  

Here - local health departments & selected pharmacies are doing 3d boosters for Pfizer & 2d for J&J provided you had your last shot 28 days ago.  DH and I got our 3d last week (no questions asked other than general health) and several of our young (in their 40s) employees got their 3d today - again, no questions asked (I know because I drove them to their appointments today).  

I guess it depends upon where you are located....if anyone in the Hampton Roads area needs a location for the 3d shot - let me know & I'll give you the location.

Great photos - thank you for sharing.  Will be there soon!

We get free WiFi (suite), but really don't use it.  As soon as we get onboard we'll put our phones in the safe.  However, daily, (we are business owners), we will check to see if there are any phone calls or messages from work.  We actually do give our business employees, as well as the kennel where we have our pups boarded, the emergency number to the ship so they can contact us when we don't have our phones available.  

Thank you so much for taking us with you on your vacation - amazing photos & great information.  Cannot wait to board her soon!

Pre-Covid (2018):  For us it depends upon how much we use him.  For a 7 night on Anthem we tipped $600 (we rarely used the Genie).  For a 7-night on Oasis we tipped $800 as we did use our Genie to make reservations for us.  We didn't have any in-suite dining or parties.  We also did additional tips to the Cabin Stewart each time (think it was $100).  

19 minutes ago, JohninDC said:

Or split into two $10 UberX cars - your call! 

That would be a good call - but w/ all the dang stress - I wanted a sure thing.  Yes, I would have saved a heck of a lot of $ using Uber XL - but my luck there wouldn't be any available for when I needed them.  I just need to insure we all get our pre-tests successfully completed, flights on time, hotel with no issues and luggage arriving when we do, etc.   - I  am doing everything possible to make it as stress less as possible.   Will definitely use Uber from port back to airport! 

The Suite Line to get back on the ships in port is usually the "next one up"...entrance although sometimes it is "side by side" w/ the general boarding entrance.  We've used the suite line on Oasis, Anthem, Allure, Freedom, Independence, etc.  Ports - Jamaica, Mexico, St. Thomas, St. Marten, etc.   It is always there - just need to know to look for it.  

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

We sail in suites and have never seen a separate line for suites getting back on the ship in ports.  What ship and ports have you experienced this?

Oasis, Allure, Anthem, Freedom, Independence, etc.  Ports - Jamaica, St. Marten, Mexico, St. Thomas, Bermuda, Bahamas, etc.   There has always been a separate line for suites at ports.  Granted, we have only be doing suites for the last 10 years - so I cannot go back further than that.