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The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, And Me!

Grenouille21
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exercisemama

exercisemama

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On 4/7/2019 at 11:45 PM, brillohead said:


On Royal, an 18yo is an adult, and is not able to access the teen activity areas.  

It's rough, particularly when the 18yo is still in high school, but I can understand RCI's perspective from a legal standpoint.  An 18yo "man" is viewed differently than a 17yo "boy" (same for "woman" and "girl") when it comes to legal matters.   If you had a 13yo daughter, would you want her in a club alongside an 18yo college freshman?

Fortunately, there are usually a lot of older teenaged and early 20s guys hanging out at the sport court, so they should still be able to find others to hang out with even without the use of the teen center.

My son is still in high school and looks much younger than 18. We are going on this trip to spend time together, so I guess we’ll have to reserve shows and other activities. I was just hoping he could spend some time with his brother.  I’m sure they will be able to find other things to do.

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brillohead "Live from...." Rare

brillohead

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2 hours ago, exercisemama said:

My son is still in high school and looks much younger than 18. We are going on this trip to spend time together, so I guess we’ll have to reserve shows and other activities. I was just hoping he could spend some time with his brother.  I’m sure they will be able to find other things to do.


That's the thing with Oasis class...there's TONS of stuff for two energetic boys to do together.  They can do the rock wall, zipline, Flowrider, slides (wet and dry), mini-golf, laser tag, ping pong, shuffleboard, pools, hot tubs, sports court.... and then there are all the shows, trivia games, karaoke, movies, more shows, meals -- plenty of time together!

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ShillyShally

ShillyShally

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13 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

 

As someone who is divorced from a very manipulative who apparently wrote the book on gaslighting, I have learned that a "paper trail" is essential.  It is much harder to say "I never said that" when you can screen shot and say "Yes you did".  Oddly that still doesn't stop some people from saying "Well I didn't MEAN what you think I meant...." Um, sure.  Sure.  

Do we have the same ex?  Sorry we can relate on this one!  I will say now that I do not have to have any interaction anymore is much nicer and saner!

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Grenouille21

Grenouille21

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10 hours ago, Lionesss said:

Loved your review, and sounds like you had a great time, minus the sweatshirt.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

I must have missed something????

 

What about the discover card.

 

TY

 

 

That darn sweatshirt!  I need to prep DS next time that he needs to go into the store looking for something other than a sweatshirt.

 

See post #217 about the Discover card that was somehow added to my on board account.  I have never had a Discover card, ever.  

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Lionesss "Live from...." Rare

Lionesss

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Just an update on the thread.  On page 6 the face snorkel masks.

 

Well we ordered the above masks on April 1, this year thru Amazon

 

They arrived today

 

Man they were hermetically sealed and tons and tons of bubble wrap.

 

Tried it on, great fit.

 

Now in about two weeks we will have to make sure they are leak proof.

 

Sea Ya

 

 

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Grenouille21

Grenouille21

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On 4/13/2019 at 7:00 PM, Dana'sDaughters said:

I enjoyed your review, and I'm so glad to hear your good experience with an early departing flight! I've been worrying about that because we really need to do as early a flight as possible...10:30ish...Glad it went well for you, even when you had some issues leaving!

 

Awesome, thank you for reading my review!  I was worried about the early flight, for sure.  It worked out completely fine, obviously, but I think I would still be nervous about trying it again.  

 

3 hours ago, Lionesss said:

 

 

 

Just an update on the thread.  On page 6 the face snorkel masks.

 

Well we ordered the above masks on April 1, this year thru Amazon

 

They arrived today

 

Man they were hermetically sealed and tons and tons of bubble wrap.

 

Tried it on, great fit.

 

Now in about two weeks we will have to make sure they are leak proof.

 

Sea Ya

 

 

 

1 hour ago, brillohead said:


No bathtub to try them out?

 

Right??  Try them out now!  Find a pool or use the bathtub!  Don't keep us in suspense!

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Grenouille21

Grenouille21

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3 hours ago, Cel_cruise said:

Did you ever hear from RCI about The Key?

 

I was *just* coming to share that I had a phone call today!  Copying and pasting below, and adding more about the arcade/charging privileges and the Discover Card Incident.

 

I just got a call from someone at Royal Caribbean regarding my email about The Key.  She apologized for the issues, and said that most likely the issues with reduced private hours and no priority debarkation were due to the amount of people who had purchased The Key on our sailing.  She said she understood that the idea of telling guests they can cut the line at activities is uncomfortable and she wouldn't want to do that either.  It sounds like they are working on figuring this stuff out but it is going to take a while.

 

If anyone is still looking to communicate with RCI regarding disappointment (or satisfaction) with The Key, I would recommend going beyond the post-cruise communications options and heading to operations managers etc.  Be polite, obviously, and let them know that you are telling them about your experience so they can work on making the experience better for future guests.  

 

I also brought up the issue of charging privileges, and the Discover. card that was somehow linked to my account.  She did not confirm whether I should or should not have been able to turn off charging privileges, though she acknowledged that it is a step in the check in process.  She is refunding the amount that DD spent in the arcade as a courtesy. I did NOT ask her to do this, and I even said it wasn't a huge amount and I didn't care about the amount of money, just that I thought I had done something to prevent ANY money from being spent at all.  

 

She has no idea how the Discover card thing happened and agreed that this would be concerning.  She is going to look into it, though.  

 

So the moral of the story is that if you have issues, reach out to RCI.  It might take a while to hear back, but they will respond if you go to the right people.  She had copies of all of the communication I had sent, including my emails to post-cruise services, so be aware that everything you send them *is* being read.  I have a tendency to get hot-tempered when I feel like I am not being heard, and I am glad I managed myself this time because it would have been embarrassing to deal with someone who had read an angry email that I had written.  

 

KuxG.gif

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GUEST71919

GUEST71919

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On 3/29/2019 at 4:24 AM, Grenouille21 said:
 
Then we drove into a residential area and this is what I was talking about with being sad.  We stopped at this house, where this monkey was in this little chicken wire cage on the side of the house.  He was also chained to the house.  Royston gave us bananas to feed him, and petted him and loved on him, but it still made me sad.  I kept trying to ask questions like "But does it get to come out of the cage?" and "Does it get to go in the house, or go anywhere else?" but I don't think I got any real answers.  I probably don't want to know anyway.  
 
46767348404_ac41449a29_k.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

‘You are so right, we don’t want to know about these situations that are very, very sad. But I think we should know and our children should know (since as parents it is our job to help them understand things in the world before they can grasp them without us). Being someone who loves traveling, it is difficult to know that these places do not exist if we as tourists do not pay for them, if those who would do this to an animal did not profit from it. The only way to stop it is for all of us (or those with hearts and minds) to refuse to pay for any excursion involving captive or trained animals (whether sled dog puppies, “swimming” with dolphins, or the so-called elephant sanctuaries).

 

I am always astonished to me when I hear people brag about their excursions or see the photos that they post of their children or themselves on one those excursions that are in reality based on them all having “fun” for a few minutes in exchange for an animal having a life of pain. I am sure you likely feel the same based on the words in your post. Could so many people be this blind? I think that the answer may be yes.

 

I realize that no matter what someone says here at cc there is likely to be a chorus of angry responders, but if someone stops to think a minute more and then doesn’t contribute to a life full of pain for an animal that is helpless to stop it, then I am fine with any of the anger someone sitting home bored wants to throw my way. But there is no changing the fact that these kinds of “experiences” are no more than an exchange of our enjoyment for their pain and I so hope that there will some day be fewer tourists willing to be that selfish.

 

 National Geographic has been trying to get the word out about this animal tourism problem for years and tries to use both images and information to educate readers about what lies behind these “fun excursions.” There is more information available at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/06/ 

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Grenouille21

Grenouille21

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13 hours ago, 2Beeze said:

 

‘You are so right, we don’t want to know about these situations that are very, very sad. But I think we should know and our children should know (since as parents it is our job to help them understand things in the world before they can grasp them without us). Being someone who loves traveling, it is difficult to know that these places do not exist if we as tourists do not pay for them, if those who would do this to an animal did not profit from it. The only way to stop it is for all of us (or those with hearts and minds) to refuse to pay for any excursion involving captive or trained animals (whether sled dog puppies, “swimming” with dolphins, or the so-called elephant sanctuaries).

 

I am always astonished to me when I hear people brag about their excursions or see the photos that they post of their children or themselves on one those excursions that are in reality based on them all having “fun” for a few minutes in exchange for an animal having a life of pain. I am sure you likely feel the same based on the words in your post. Could so many people be this blind? I think that the answer may be yes.

 

I realize that no matter what someone says here at cc there is likely to be a chorus of angry responders, but if someone stops to think a minute more and then doesn’t contribute to a life full of pain for an animal that is helpless to stop it, then I am fine with any of the anger someone sitting home bored wants to throw my way. But there is no changing the fact that these kinds of “experiences” are no more than an exchange of our enjoyment for their pain and I so hope that there will some day be fewer tourists willing to be that selfish.

 

 National Geographic has been trying to get the word out about this animal tourism problem for years and tries to use both images and information to educate readers about what lies behind these “fun excursions.” There is more information available at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/06/ 

 

I really struggle with the animal tourism in my side job.  When a client wants to know which is the best dolphin experience, I want to answer that the best dolphin experience is the one that happens unexpectedly when you are out on a boat (or cruise ship, like what happened when we were in Alaska).  But that's not what they want to hear.  I answer honestly: that I have not had any personal experience with dolphin swims because I do not agree with the whole concept.  

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FirstAnthem

FirstAnthem

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5 minutes ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

Thank you!  If only my next cruise weren't so far away... 😥

My next one is in September—without kids 😱—for my husband’s 50th birthday. I can’t wait! On our two cruises with the kids so far, we immediately realized we needed to take one just the two of us, because the kids were way lazier and much less fun than us! Hahaha 

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Grenouille21

Grenouille21

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On 5/26/2019 at 5:51 PM, FirstAnthem said:

My next one is in September—without kids 😱—for my husband’s 50th birthday. I can’t wait! On our two cruises with the kids so far, we immediately realized we needed to take one just the two of us, because the kids were way lazier and much less fun than us! Hahaha 

 

Jealous!  Trying to justify a solo cruise this summer.  I really shouldn't, but I really want to....

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brillohead "Live from...." Rare

brillohead

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13 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

Jealous!  Trying to justify a solo cruise this summer.  I really shouldn't, but I really want to....


Just find someone to share the room with, and go your separate ways the rest of the time!

Solo cruise, but no single supplement that way!

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Bonita John

Bonita John

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On 3/26/2019 at 10:41 PM, Grenouille21 said:

The Key:  One of the perks of The Key is that you can drop off your carry on luggage in the Royal Theater and it will be delivered to your room before any checked luggage.  We went straight there when we boarded, gave them our room number/name, and dropped off our bags.  There we were given wristbands, and we were told those were for priority access to activities like the Flowrider, Rock Wall, Zipline, Abyss, etc.  I hadn't heard of having priority access, so I was confused.  All of the documentation I had read said we would have special hours just for Key members.  I was told yes, there would be special hours, but we could also go to the front of the line any time with the wristbands.  I asked again and was told no really, you just go to the front of the line and show your wristband and you get priority any time.

We were riding the Flowrider quite often and were told if we have the key to stand at the suite sign.  depending on the crowd they would let us in every other or every fourth.  It was good to know but we kindly said we would wait in line which half the fun was watching.  

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Grenouille21

Grenouille21

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On 5/29/2019 at 12:39 PM, brillohead said:


Just find someone to share the room with, and go your separate ways the rest of the time!

Solo cruise, but no single supplement that way!

 

😱

 

On 5/29/2019 at 12:58 PM, Bonita John said:

We were riding the Flowrider quite often and were told if we have the key to stand at the suite sign.  depending on the crowd they would let us in every other or every fourth.  It was good to know but we kindly said we would wait in line which half the fun was watching.  

 

See, there wasn't a suite sign at the Flowrider, and we were never told to go anywhere else when we were there.  It was very poorly executed.  

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karen_g

karen_g

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On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 2:45 AM, perfect match said:

We toured St Kitts with Thenford Grey. His van had windows, and AC that actually worked! Also, there was no off reading! Even Thenford couldn’t do anything about the very narrow, winding roads, though! 😱  Those roads were even more exciting when we encountered a vehicle trying to go in the opposite direction! The drivers had a system of communicating with each other using horn signals so they knew who would be passing through the really narrow parts first. We saw a number of the same things you did, and enjoyed our tour with Thenford very much.

 

I'll be going next January with Thenford.  Seeing (what I perceive to be)  inhumane treatment of animals really bothers me.  Did you see the caged-up monkey too???  I'm hoping you got to skip that part...

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