Anthem of the Seas-Wow Bands

[tbill]

Do I buy them or not? What do you think?

[SHIPBROKER]

Do I buy them or not? What do you think?

 

Affirmative, we were told they charge $ 5.- we decided to use the "card"

[tbill]

So there is really not a good reason to spend $5 for them right?

[gkny]

I'm not purchasing a band next month.

[Kathie13]

Used the bands on Quantum & they were fantastic. No looking for sea passes, just put your wrist upto cabin door. No charge on our cruise.

[robtulipe]

So there is really not a good reason to spend $5 for them right?

 

Not really.

We used the card holder lanyard, shown below, on our recent Anthem cruise which also had a zippered pocket for tip money. We had no problem having our cards scanned when it was in the card sleeve and it was easy to remove to hand to the waiters in the bars and theater for drink purchases as they didn't have portable scanners.

I even found that I could just dangle it from my neck in front of, close to our cabin's door lock to unlock it when doing my coffee run in the morning when both of my hands were holding a coffee and other items.

Others on our roll call punched a hole on the face about 1/2" in from the right edge, centered between the top and bottom to clip onto a lanyard. This was at the lower inside edge of the North Star arm, just above the stack with the Crown and Anchor and doing this didn't damage the RF antenna.

 

Edited January 20, 2016 by robtulipe

[cot427]

I do actually plan on buying one in May, assuming they stay at that price.

 

Free would be better, but the days are long gone.

 

If not just for convenience, but a sort of souvenir/memento of the cruise.

[robtulipe]

Used the bands on Quantum & they were fantastic. No looking for sea passes, just put your wrist upto cabin door. No charge on our cruise.

 

There is a $4.95 charge for the WOW band now and you must get them from a table set up just outside the guest services area for the first few days. After that period you must go to GS to purchase these. :(

 

I read here that an old WOW band can be reprogrammed at no cost for a different cruise so keep the old ones if want one, without paying $5, for your next cruise that has RFID technology. ;)

Edited January 20, 2016 by robtulipe

[fletch1027]

I do actually plan on buying one in May, assuming they stay at that price.

 

Free would be better, but the days are long gone.

 

If not just for convenience, but a sort of souvenir/memento of the cruise.

 

RCI is CRAZY for charging $5 for a wow band, when it benefits RCI as much or more than it benefits the passenger!

 

The higher prices on the new ships should surely include the cost of a wow band. The amount of metrics they will collect from passengers using the RFID technology makes it even more insane that people would pay $5 for it. Holy nickel and dime!! Pretty soon the price will go up to to $5.85, because what the heck, add an 18% gratuity to those also!

 

Look at Disney. They spent BILLIONS on implementing their RFID band technology and it is free. 45-60 days out from my reservation, I get on their website pick a custom color for my band and even get names printed on them for no charge.

 

What a joke RCI... :(

 

[Merion_Mom]

I am sure that they are experimenting with "how many people will pay if we charge for them?".

 

I am wearing and using mine, but I didn't have to pay for it. I brought mine from the Quantum and "traded it in" for a new Anthem band.

 

:)

 

My cabinmate lost hers already, and they replaced it for free.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I am sure that they are experimenting with "how many people will pay if we charge for them?".

 

I am wearing and using mine, but I didn't have to pay for it. I brought mine from the Quantum and "traded it in" for a new Anthem band.

 

:)

 

My cabinmate lost hers already, and they replaced it for free.

 

I agree. I think giving them to everyone for free caused too much waste, as many people chose to not even wear them.

 

If I end up on Anthem, I'd probably end up buying 1, even though there's 3 of us.

 

Ps. How's your Anthem cruise?

Edited January 20, 2016 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[UandMe4Ever]

Used the bands on Quantum & they were fantastic. No looking for sea passes, just put your wrist upto cabin door. No charge on our cruise.

 

 

How hard is it to swipe your card to get in your cabin? what about the lights on new ships? We leave our card in for lights and remove when leaving! You still need to carry your card for DRINKS, so what's the big benefit, other than RCI collecting more money on top of the already high prices for cabins on the new ships.

 

JMHO

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

How hard is it to swipe your card to get in your cabin? what about the lights on new ships? We leave our card in for lights and remove when leaving! You still need to carry your card for DRINKS, so what's the big benefit, other than RCI collecting more money on top of the already high prices for cabins on the new ships.

 

JMHO

 

You can use the band for onboard purchases as well.

[KiwiGal117]

I understand that they will have them on Harmony (I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm wrong). If so, I will probably buy one for my son, so we don't run the risk of him losing his card like he did last time.

[Nigeldelarue]

I would love this band on the Harmony. Nothing worse then a long cord hanging from your neck with a card on it when your all nicely dressed up 👍🏻. Convenience would also be great !!

[UandMe4Ever]

You can use the band for onboard purchases as well.

 

BUT, still not for any drinks.........to me. it defeats the purpose............still need your card/.probably also to put in the 'slot' for the machines to keep track of wining/losings.

[pbs14]

Are the WOW bands on all ships? We will be on the Serenade in March and I think this would be good for our kids. Thanks!

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Are the WOW bands on all ships? We will be on the Serenade in March and I think this would be good for our kids. Thanks!

 

Not on Serenade. Only Quantum Class, and Harmony of the Seas.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

BUT, still not for any drinks.........to me. it defeats the purpose............still need your card/.probably also to put in the 'slot' for the machines to keep track of wining/losings.

 

Yes, you can also use it for drinks. All onboard purchases. Only thing you can't use it for is getting off the ship.

 

And well I don't use the casino, so I don't know.

 

I'm not trying to get you to like the WOWbands, I just thought you should know what they actually do.

[pbs14]

Not on Serenade. Only Quantum Class, and Harmony of the Seas.

 

Thank you so much!

[Guest maddycat]

We were on the Quantum last April and got the WOW bands for free. We never used them. We didn't find them comfortable. They went in the trash once we got home.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We were on the Quantum last April and got the WOW bands for free. We never used them. We didn't find them comfortable. They went in the trash once we got home.

 

That's probably why they're now charging for them. They were giving them to everyone, and the majority probably weren't even using them.

 

What I think they should've done is just made them available for free at Guest Services, but you have to go pick it up, so there would be less waste. But if they can make a buck...

[akcruz]

That's probably why they're now charging for them. They were giving them to everyone, and the majority probably weren't even using them.

 

What I think they should've done is just made them available for free at Guest Services, but you have to go pick it up, so there would be less waste. But if they can make a buck...

Exactly

[UandMe4Ever]

Yes, you can also use it for drinks. All onboard purchases. Only thing you can't use it for is getting off the ship.

 

And well I don't use the casino, so I don't know.

 

I'm not trying to get you to like the WOWbands, I just thought you should know what they actually do.

 

Thanks for the info. Pretty sure I know most of it. Point in fact. We still NEED the card for getting on and off the ship...Still need card to put in slot at machines in the Casino to keep track of your points. Bracelets won't fit LOL.

 

I know we won't waste money for that.

 

safe travels to you and enjoy your bracelet.

[besberry]

I won't bother to buy one on the Ovation in May. I have my old one from the Anthem and it was really only useful to open the cabin door. Unless you were sat right by the till at a bar, you had to take the band off to pay for drinks as their readers aren't wireless and so not portable, as such (I know they're on a wire!). As has been said before, you still need the card get on and off the ship and I found mine to be quite uncomfortable too.