scubaslayer

22 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

My daughter just purchased something on app, but she didn’t want to use OBC, and told it so, but it still did.

Last night I had to tell it how much of my onboard credit I wanted to use. It accepted me saying zero, so she could always try canceling and reordering but I was having the same issues this morning everyone else is reporting. I finally got through on my app but the price is the same as last night for me, so I did not attempt to buy anything.

6 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Really?  Our area Home Depot only offers on very rare select days the military discount, both here in Titusville and Merritt Island.   Our Lowes here offers it daily.  

 

Where are you getting that discount daily from Home Depot?  

You verify it through the app or website and scan the app at checkout. I go wherever I get the best price though, even if the local place doesn't have a discount at all.

1 hour ago, Nobbi said:

Complete RCCL newbie here. I was checking on a 2025 June cruise and the unlimited dining came out to $55 per night. Given that the individual charges are not much higher, what is the advantage of the package, even if you went every night? I think I'm missing something important. If this is covered somewhere else, please forgive and refer me there.

 

Thanks

You can also get lunch on sea days.

It may be the rental. I didn't pay attention when we booked, I was looking at total cost but my booking now says 2 nights with arriving Friday and checkout Sunday morning. Also what time do they have you checkout? We checkout at 10am. Is it possible somehow they have you being there for 3 nights and checking out a day later than you plan? Also some rentals have a minimum length of stay. If the app is just weird for you, I would base decision on total cost and if it is worth it for your group.

12 minutes ago, marycruz said:

Where do key members have breakfast?  Is that also in a specialty restaurant?

There is a special breakfast on disembarktation day. I don't know where it is though. It is just listed in the benefits. I believe the special lunch on embarktation is in the MDR but I'm not sure and things may vary by ship.

So here is a way to break it down and decide if it is worth it to you. You are traveling with 2 kids under 6, so they don't get the key, meaning your cost is for 2 people. So questions to ask yourself:

1) Do you need internet and what is that going to cost?

2) Will you enjoy the lunch and breakfast for Key guests?

3) Do you have tendered ports?

4) Will you use the priority seating at shows and will you use the special times for Key guests for other amenities?

Then look at what each of those things is worth. With young kids dropping bags and getting priority for tenders (if you have tendered ports) would be great but it might also make sense to grab lunch and then go to the port later and walk straight to your room. I have done this with my family because they wanted to hit a tourist spot for lunch and we got in late the night before and the crowds onboard previously made lunch onboard harder when they were young.

For me to get the Key for our upcoming trip it would be for 4 because even though we have 2 rooms, the teens would lose it if we went to that lunch without them. So for us I put the value of that lunch and breakfast at about $40 per person. We have no tenders but the other perks I value at $10 per person. So cost of Key - (cost of internet + $50). If the Key is cheaper we will get it. If not it isn't necessary. Our upcoming trip I booked a specialty restaurant for lunch on day 1 and internet for way less than what the Key is .

I put my deposit down 2 days ago. I went into the TAs website to reprice and it now shows it as $10,000 more for my group of 4. I think something was up with the price for that sailing, because the per person price is now what it has been for every other sailing in this room for the past 5 months. I will check periodically when I get an email that looks like it might make it better (like black Friday) but I probably lucked out, along with the other 2 people that seemed to book about the same time (since there were 3 rooms when I was booking). My kid is going to flip when she finds out upon arrival. As of now she wants her graduation gift to be a surprise. She thinks I am just booking this as our regular family vacation for next summer.

4 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

That depends on whether the category is officially Closed by Royal Caribbean or Waitlisted.

 

If the category is closed, there won't be any additional fare reductions.  If it is Waitlisted, we've never see the cruise fare reduce. The Waitlist price is usually significantly higher than anyone who has already booked. 

 

If you're working with a TA, it's super easy for them to price check your stateroom and if there is a price reduction, they can re-fare you cabin without the need to call Royal Caribbean (or Celebrity).

This actually would work well and I didn't think about that. My TAs website lets you price and then shows upgrades and downgrade prices, including waitlisted rooms. I guess when I get those discount emails, I can jump on an do a quick pricing to see. My work hours mean I am often looking at things late at night. No need to bother someone with a call when I am getting home at 10pm their time.

Shamelessly stolen from someone's live review a few weeks ago.

30 minutes ago, BND said:

App and website have been very glitchy.   

When is it not? 🤣

I am planning a cruise with my daughter and some friends for high school graduation. Some of the kids will be 18 when we sail and I know it is legal for them to drink in ports like Cozumel. If we were going to book an all inclusive for the day, would they ID the teens if I said they were all under 17? That way they would have wristbands flagging them as underage and I would feel a bit safer knowing my group can't pretend they aren't drinking, while possibly getting way over the limit and putting themselves at risk. If it were just one drink I probably wouldn't care but when spending the day at the beach it is too easy to go overboard.

I managed to score a good deal on a 2 bedroom aquasuite for next summer. So there weren't many to start with and honestly I was only able to book that sailing because it was running a good $2000 per person lower than every other sailing I have looked at.

Well it might not be a worry anyway. The website and app both won't let me put it in the cart and check out. It is only being glitchy with this one thing, so I am thinking it might be booked or they reached the limit for the deal. I will try again in a bit but honestly the price today is only a dollar or two cheaper than it has been.

How can you reprice a cruise if you stateroom type is sold out or does that mean you can no longer reprice? I'm ok with the price we booked at but saving money is never a bad thing.

59 minutes ago, nelblu said:

You can check in earlier than the 11am as they no longer check the time assigned.  A 12 or 12:15 lunch time is absolutely achievable.  However, why don’t you pre/book the desired times via the cruise planner. 
 

I pre-booked Jamie’s on Anthem for  a party of 8 with some children involved and not a problem in making the 12:15 pm reservations. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what I am doing. I just wasn't sure what time is safe for being able to get to the reservation. The one time I went through Miami (years and years ago when Navigator was new) it took hours after we checked in before we were allowed to board. I just don't want to make a reservation that we are likely to miss and lose the money paid.

7 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

If check-in is 11am, I would show up at 10:30am and get in line.  If they question anything let them know your 11am check-in time AND that you have a lunch reservation for 12pm.  You should be perfectly fine, and even if you are a little late to Jamie's you'll be fine as well.

 

...and my opinion of the key is that it's a total waste of money.  I wouldn't recommend it at all.

In order for us to get the Key on this sailing it would have to be close in price to internet. I wanted it for the internet and benefit of lunch on day 1 and breakfast on the last day. The price has not dropped close to that, so it doesn't seem worth it for us. All of the other extras provided by the Key are nice but not important to us. We can definitely skip the key but if it drops significantly, we would consider it. Right now we have a 2 device package to share for internet and it should be fine though internet for all 4 would be convenient.

We did the online check in and our check in time is at 11am. I was curious how fast we might get onboard. I know each port varies on how fast the line moves and we haven't been to Galveston's new terminal. Last cruise in the old terminal the check in took 15 minutes and we went straight up the ramp to board, so maybe 30 minutes to get to the muster station but that was Liberty. Normally we don't pay for specialty dining but summer cruise, so I am guessing packed for the included venues and we will want to relax once onboard until the rooms open.

My family is sailing on Harmony out of Galveston in June. I was looking at booking Jaime's for lunch when we board. Our check in time is 11am. We get a very slight boarding group (gold) advantage. What time is feasible to make the reservation for? This group is 2 adults and 2 teens, so no small children to wrangle to get to Central Park but we have also never been on this class of ship. I was looking at 12:00 or 12:15 but am worried boarding might take longer and how long the walk will be. We also generally stop at the muster on the way onboard but we could also do it after lunch.

I had been looking at getting the Key for us but the price has stayed high. Does it ever drop in price closer to cruise or should I just give up looking for a price drop?

I read that but was looking for something more specific. I mean Xbox is older than my teen. Iwas hoping someone has a teen that knows the rundown

What video game consoles and games are available in the teen club on Harmony of the Seas?

6 hours ago, Jussabitconfused said:

My daughter, now almost 15, had these same symptoms show up in November of 2020. It started out with her saying the word "honk" quite often while in conversation and although we would all just laugh it off she would get annoyed at the fact that she could not stop it. Then she started with the head tics where her head would jerk back every so often. Then the anxiety started. She would not want to leave the house. In the store she would sometimes go hide because there were too many people for her to cope. Then she would stim and flap her hands when she was anxious or overwhelmed. I found something that helped and now she no longer needs it. She has never seen a doctor for it and is completely over all of her symptoms. 

This is called Brillia. I ordered it directly from their online site. The effects are not instant as it has to build up in the system but I am so thankful that I found it because now she lives a very "normal" life. She makes friends instantly on every cruise as soon as she gets in the teen club. 

I wish you the best and if you are hesitant maybe somebody else may want to try it. My husband's brother is taking it for anxiety and it is helping him, too.

Tourettes is generally outgrown or gets worse.  My daughter's symptoms now are basically gone. The worst was when she was much younger. I will follow what her specialists have told us, as she is far more complicated than "just" Tourettes.

5 hours ago, Tin can said:

I actually like it, I’m on a cruise and on holiday so I don’t necessarily want dinner to be like an experience I would have at a restaurant at home.

 

 

 

 

I could understand this in comparison with the UK. Unfortunately many of the restaurants where I am have this sort of thing and I enjoyed how calm and quiet dining at restaurants was while we were in England. I think many of us just want a different experience than what we typically get back home.

9 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

You can take your dessert with you.  It only happens once in 7 nights. And I haven't found that to be true at all.  All the servers I interact with seem to enjoy it immensely.  If people hate it so much they can always find out which night it is planned and go to Windjammer...I don't let things like that bother me.

At least 2 nights on a 7 day cruise from my experience and the person who is currently on a ship. I simply asked the question, so I could attempt to help my kid prepare/avoid it. I do realize it is not fine dining but it is a multi-course dinner in a nice setting. I do wish the MDR had remained a more upscale experience. It still isn't going to have a big impact on our life and I would hope it doesn't for anyone else.

I really wasn't expecting this to be a new topic to go off about but I guess we were due for something to strike a nerve.

25 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Are you doing MTD?

Maybe? We have MTD reserved 4 7pm every night so we can fit in the shows, but after issues booking entertainment (because Royal IT is great) I spoke to my TA who possibly had us changed to a 7:30 fixed dining time and waitlisted for early. So I am guessing we will have dinner with MTD at 7pm or the new fixed time at 7:30 (unless that is some how light dining). Either way after talking to the TA, all of my entertainment was able to be booked and we will deal with whatever, because the worst day cruising is still better than being at work. I plan to speak to our servers and plan it out so kid can step out but plan food around that issue. It isn't the first time we have altered plans slightly to accommodate. Things are much improved over the days of oh crap surprise fireworks when we attended events.

9 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

It is quite obvious when it is about to take place. And you can advise your server to let you know.

It isn't that obvious when you are enjoying your meal and having a conversation. I am often not paying close attention to what is happening everywhere around me. Dinner is when I have the best conversations with my kids about the day. The rest of the time they go off doing teen stuff and enjoying their freedom.

If the crew enjoy it and want to do it, that is fine. My servers last time did not seem to be in that group but I do understand majority rule in things like this. I deal with that in my job as well.