TriCoachCruising

Great review!  Thanks for the insight to a wonderful vacation.

Has anyone had Royal Genie Andrei? We just got a note that our original genie (Cleon) had a family emergency. Hope his family is ok.

Sailing the Symphony of the Seas over Thanksgiving 2018 on the RCL Blog Group Cruise.

Do's:

Fine line water show. I am not a fan of production shows but it was awesome.

 

Flow rider was fun and not too crowded when we did it.

 

If you can time it right around kids, try the specialty restaurants. All were good.

 

Sit in Central Park after dinner and listen to the guitarist. Very relaxing.

 

DON'Ts

Do not sit in the Prominade area before the open the cabins at 1pm. It's madness. Chill in the solarium and relax.

 

Windjammer is sooooo crowded. Avoid during peak hours if at all possible. No different than any other ship though.

 

Don't sit in the front row of the comedy show unless you like being picked on!

Thanks, we sail on October 21st, 7 of us all family and all adults. Looking forward to it, first time in Star Class.

Can't find a JS on Harmony same month next year for under 5K. Show me a Harmony JS next May for less than your so called 'high' of 3.6k? What sailing is your GS? Can you find me a Harmony GS for 3.9k? I would probably move my booking for that price.

Sometimes you can catch a great deal, I think it is harder now though. We booked a 2BR ATS for 4 of us for 10,900.00; including drink packages for 4, specialty dining, gratuities and the Genie included was a better deal than DW and I in a GS and my nephew and his wife in a JS. Our TA gave us a 750 OBC as well. I heard the same deal now is about 24,000.00 we booked a year in advance and sail October 21, 2017. Thought we would give the 4 BR Presidential Suite a try for the Symphony in 2018, price was 70,000.00 for 8, so of course we didn't take that deal.:(

It's called the Mobile Pass App, and you pretty much have it described above. THE RESPONSE app documentation is only good for 4 hours, so it needs to be submitted with the applicable passport information (including a photo you can take with the phone camera) no earlier than 4 hours before you go through customs at the Ft. Lauderdale port terminal.

 

This is still reasonably new technology used, but it works very well and streamlines the process when disembarking. We went from stepping off the ship (Harmony) to curbside in about 20 minutes, including getting our luggage waiting in the terminal. The lines through customs for people using the app (a separate line) are somewhat shorter and definitely faster.

We have Global Entry, did they have kiosks at the cruise terminal?

The folks on board don't care where guests sleep.

Thanks!

Main bed near the bathroom.

Thanks, so the couch is near the balcony. I ask as my brother and sister in law are sharing a room with my sister. Was hoping they wouldn't have to step over the couch bed to use the rest room at night.:)

I know this isn't part of the thread but I know you are knowledgeable about many things; can a guest sleep at night in our 2BR ATS instead of their cabin? We are just evaluating space for my sister 9first cruise for her). I realize she is not entitled to any Star Class benefits.

We had 9317 last week with the bed beside the balcony.

 

 

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Does anyone know where the couch is located in cabin 8705?

I personally love the water taxis. It's both a mode of transportation, AND an awesome activity tour.

Water taxi is our favorite post cruise thing to do. We stay at the Hilton Marina post cruise and hope on right there.

Booked on Symphony of the Seas Thanksgiving 2018.

Didn't seem right. I'll get my travel agent to recheck it today.

 

We are in 8730 which is a 2BR Aquatheater Suite as well, I believe decks 8,9, 10 are 2BR

LOL we did too! But then we found a Star Class suite for less than 1k above the most expensive Sky Class suite and snapped it up for 6 of us!

That's why we booked the 2 BR ATS for 4 of us. Normally, DW and I book a GS and our traveling friend book a JS, for the cost of the two suites, we came out much cheaper with the Genie, drink package and specialty restaurants included. We will tip the Genie nicely because according to the British Butler Institute website RCL Genies receive a salary of 2150.00 per month which is 537.50 a sailing not including their tips. I suspect the tips help greatly.

Having looked at the video that my TA sent, the ship looks very nice and I get the feeling that perhaps X is attempting, with this vessel, to pull in more upper income clientele. Interesting that there are 16 infinite cabins for solo passengers but at a hefty price for those solo passengers such as myself. Once the newness wears off perhaps prices might come down a bit.

The "Magic Carpet" seems... I don't know, just not sure it will do a thing to enhance ones cruise.

The ship over all looks stunning however: will it be short staffed, will customer service become important again, will the MDR food be better than just okay, and will the entertainment be quality? All remains to be seen.

Looking forward to sailing on this ship, our first Celebrity Cruise.

We also tip with each round of drinks, also in suite/concierge lounge, we sail at the end of the month and will go to the bank soon and get about 50 in singles and 50 in fives ( got this idea from someone else on this site) also good to have small bills in Caribbean islands

DW and I do the same thing, we take a bunch of singles and tip everywhere that a server assists us. A small token of our personal appreciation.

On March 14, 2017, my friends and I (5 couples) booked several Sky Suite (S2) cabins. January 27, 2019 sailing date - Deck 10, port side. $450.00 OBC (travel agent and Celebrity), pre paid gratuities, free internet, free premium beverage package.

Booked a Sky Suite (S1) Deck 10, Starboard side with $300.00 OBC, pre paid grats, free internet and free premium beverage package too. Sailing April 14, 2019 but like the deal. First cruise on Celebrity.

Booked S3 B2B in January -- not thrilled with the Magic Carpet beam along the side of our balcony but we do like shade and there should be plenty of sun in the Retreat. These S3 suites cost slightly more than the S1 aft suites we have booked on Equinox for similar itinerary at same time -- have to decide before penalty period which to keep [nice problem to have :D]

I booked a Sky suite S1, cabin 10154 for 14APR19. Where is the Magic Carpet beam? I couldn't tell and now hope it's not in front of us.:D

We sail on November 17, 2018 for Thanksgiving.

My husband, daughter and myself will be going on the Oasis in May in the Owner's Balcony suite. We've only been on Royal tweice before and both times were on the Explorer and in a balcony cabin. I'm looking for any tips and tricks about the suite perks, and I had a few specific questions.

Since there will be 3 of us in the cabin, what are the chances of getting an extra lounger, and who would we ask? Not the end of the world if we can't just a thought.

 

I read about the Suite Sun Deck, what is this?

 

What is the Thermal Spa room?

 

Should we book our shows before we board, or did I read correctly, that we have special seating and don't need to do this?

 

Thanks so much for the help, we have done most of our cruising with Princess, so I'm looking for any help that I can get.

Congrats on booking a suite. We did our first on the Allure in a GS in October and doing a 2BR Aquatheater in Oct 2017 on the Harmony with another couple. The Suite Sun desk is a nice quiet place, it has a bar but no pool. It's located at the front of the ship above the Solarium. You need your key card to access. The Thermal Spa room is in the salon area and might be nice for you and DH, we didn't use it. You don't have to book for shows in general as there is reserved space as long as you get there 15 minutes prior to the show, they release seat at 10 minutes prior to the show. You will need to reserve the comedy show online as the venue is small and no reserved seat for suite guest. I recommend booking it in the cruise planner.

Hope this helps, enjoy.

Would anyone who has recently sailed and purchased a dining package be able to answer a few questions regarding the three night dining package we purchased online. Will we be able to pick the restaurants we want to eat at or do they give you whatever is not booked up? We chose 6:30 as our time and would like to book at 150 Central Park, Wonderland and Chops. Have most cruisers been able to get the restaurants they requested? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated:)

Be aware that two of the specialty restaurants, Wonderland and 150 Central most likely will come at an additional expense as these aren't normally included in a dining package purchased online. These are high end and come at a higher price point.

See this disclaimer:

*Specialty Dining Packages must be booked at least two days prior to boarding and may not be available for every sail date. One reservation must be used on the first or second night of the sailing. Packages include service charge and food portion only for dinner and, when available, lunch service. Beverages not included. For venues with a la carte pricing, package includes a $30 food credit. Participating venues and cover charge prices vary by ship; additional charges may apply for food selections. Not available on holiday sailings. Not valid for premium experiences including Chef's Table, wine pairings dinners, Izumi Hibachi experience and Mystery Dinner Theater.

Your post reminded me of this video.:)

 

Absolutely love this video!:)

We were in 8330 on Harmony for the 11/12 sailing. We loved it! We did have 8 people in there and that was a bit much with only 2 bathroom. Six ladies trying to get ready for dinner at the same time did not work well!

 

Seeing the Aqua Theater shows from the balcony was just amazing! I think you see so much more from that level. While we did not dine at the balcony table (seats 8), we did spend a lot of time on the balcony each morning and evening. We were with a group of 14 and at times we were all in our cabin and between the living room and balcony it was very easy to entertain a large group. The balconies in the 8th deck ATS's are the largest balconies on the ship.

 

The master bedroom and the living room each have ample storage, however, the 2nd bedroom has very little and most of it is in the entrance hall. There are 2 safes in the suite.

 

Working with a Royal Genie made thing so easy. He was able to get all 14 of us seated together in the MDR, although he is meant to only provide services for those in his suites. Reserved seating for the shows was amazing! He was able to save us long waits in the GS line several times. He was able to get us a private time for the Escape the Rubicon with little notice (they were booked solid and we forgot about it till day 6). Just a few of the several perks that he provided.

 

We did not hear people in the cabin above us except if they were moving loungers or chairs on their balcony. We did get some noise from the Aqua Theater shows, but it was greatly minimized if you had the balcony doors closed and locked.

 

Hope this is helpful :)

 

 

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Thanks for the review. We sail in the exact same cabin on October 21, 2017 with just 4 of us; however, we will have other family members on the cruise. Nice to know they shouldn't have any problem hanging out in our suite and viewing the Aquatheater show from the balcony. Thanks again!

If someone does not pepay tips or removes automatic tips, then the crewmembers are "charged" the standard tip rate.

Thanks, just so I understand this. If I remove gratuities and tip my suite attendant 140.00 in cash the last night. He gets charged the 6.10 x7 days=42.70 and can keep the difference of 97.30? We don't eat in the MDR hence, why we did this on the last cruise for the first time. Normally, we prepay gratuities but realize we are tipping folks we never use. In addition, we always tip anyone that serves us e.g. (Windjammer server/table cleaner, concierge etc).

Pretty sure you need to go all the way to Star class to see the rates 10X higher.

 

Nov 5, 2017 Allure PP pricing not including taxes

 

Inside $709

 

Owners Loft $7,567

Ok, see your point. We booked the Harmony 2BR Aquatheater Suite (Star Class) for 10,149 for 4 people ($2637 pp) inside cabin is $888 pp. rate is 3X higher.

Sorry, I'm new at posting topics. What I am trying to say the perks Suite people get are disappearing. They are small thing that most people wouldn't notice but they add

up to a big downgrade in service for folks paying the most for their cabins. No pillow menus, no DVD player, no tray of chocolates, no cream for the coffee in the CK, no Thermal Spa even though it was advertised,Etc. Lots of little things things that enhance the cruise experience and that we are used to getting.

 

 

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Interesting, we were on the Allure in October in a GS. We had a pillow menu, DW got cream in the CK and they gave her honey because she doesn't use regular sugar. We had a fruit tray or chocolates or canapes in our room 5 of the 7 days. Maybe is has more to do with your cabin stewart and concierge. We also didn't pay anywhere near 10X what others pay.