luv2sailAgain

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I just scored nice price for solo on ocean balcony for July 18th 2021 for a 7 day.  $2447 inc tax for a balcony for one person.

These rooms always GO FAST. 

So book them this week for summer of 2021.  Best deal as the interiors are over 3k.  just saying act NOW.

What ship? 

According to Sir Branson's site, pre-order online for $50.  Deliveries start April 2020.

4 minutes ago, broadwaycam said:

It does not get flagged?

Not so far. . .  I do tend to over pack with my ultimate packing list. I have a packing cube with what seems like a million items such as pens, sticky notes, clothes pins, highlighters, and on and on. The couple of magnets I bring are in that cube.

8 minutes ago, broadwaycam said:

It does not get flagged?

Wow Twangster, thanks!  I think you have more tech knowledge in your little finger than I have in my whole body. The pictures were very helpful.

I put them in my regular suitcase not my carry-on.

7 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You can get just about the same experience at a lower price point on Oasis and soon, Allure.

Good to know!  Hoping Allure really does sail into my back yard in 2021!!

This thread is just making me more excited for my upcoming Symphony cruise! Thank you!

The Fastpass at Disney is free. You get 3 per day initially and then more once you use them.

BUT Disney has plenty of options to pay more, sometimes MUCH more for "pre/post park hour" entrance.

It is probably not a great idea to check your luggage too early anyway.  More of a chance for the airline to loose it.  Hoping for a "Travel Tuesday" deal tomorrow.  A girl can dream!  Once through security, I can entertain myself looking at the over priced shops, riding the moving sidewalks/trams,  walking around, people watching. . .  But you really have to get through security to do all those things.  The 1:45 flight is presently $150 more per person! 

We'll see!  Thanks for all of the help everyone!

14 minutes ago, KuffMUp said:

Yes.  Even if you don't do the self debark I would say it is ridiculous.  Time before last we were off before 8.  At the airport, they wouldn't let us check in.  Too early for our bags.  So we sat in the unsecured portion of the airport for a few hours.  I think in that case we were scheduled for about 1 pm going out.  If you haven't looked around at an airport, most anyway, there is not much for activities, food, etc before the security checkpoint.  So the wait seemed tortuous.  We couldn't really go anywhere since we were lugging our bags around. 😞 

I never thought about being unable to check in and having to wait outside security.  What airline did you use?  Our other choices are 11:45 or 1:45 (for $150 more). You are right. There is about "0" to do before security.

I had the same questions during our July cruise. 

I will say I did get one "perk".  I had to head to customer service when we boarded Harmony to take care of issues due to family members switching cabins. We were at the port bright and early, had a short wait, and were able to board very quickly. Once we boarded, we went straight to customer service and had no line at all.  After talking with the representative, I looked back and a line had started to form.

BTW I am a bit stubborn and would rather say "customer" services instead of  "guest" services.  I am not a guest, I am a paying customer. (-;
 

I am glad you asked this question.  We will be on Symphony returning to Miami on June 6.  We have sailed on Liberty and Harmony into Galveston and PC. We had no problem debarking and were on the road in a heartbeat. Both cruises were in the summer, so no January fog issues in Galveston.  But since we are flying to/from Miami, we were thinking of booking the 5 pm flight home to Texas "just in case".  Is this ridiculously late to be flying home?

One more thing...

We purchased our soda package ahead of time for our cruise last summer.  "Soda Package" was pre-printed on our Sea Pass card (or something similar was printed).  So you really didn't need to worry about a sticker coming off.

You do not have to use your cup at the bars.  You are able to get a regular glass of soda. You are correct, Liberty does not have Freestyle.  The soda package is on sale for my sailing at $6.50/day. If you drink more than a couple sodas a day on vacation, I feel the package is worth it.  

Keep checking over the next couple days.  Royal may be in the middle of loading the Black Friday prices. My planner changed throughout today.

I buy insurance for the medical/medical evacuation coverage.  I might be willing to roll the dice and take a chance with the cruise fare and air fare as I usually do not insure stateside vacations.  But if there was a medical emergency at sea - $$$$$.

20 hours ago, Doug S said:

Keep in mind that itineraries can change with little or no notice. No guarantee you will be on St Thomas on a given day.  Weather, mechanical, or other ship emergencies could alter the plan. Not saying this is likely, but I'd be worried about that possibility. 

 

Hate to be a downer, but in my military days, I'd have hated to rely on a cruise line schedule to report as ordered... 

 

Definitely something to seriously consider. Our stop in San Juan was skipped due to the unrest back in July.

I love visiting the Caribbean. For what it is worth, here are my thoughts.

You had mentioned amazing beaches/scenery.  With a little research, I tend to find beautiful beaches to enjoy in most ports.

Personally, I tend to favor ports that are more hilly than flat. Living in flat Houston probably has something to do with my choice.  I did live in the USVI for a bit. So, the eastern Caribbean is nice and familiar to me. I only mention these things because sailing to and from the ports with hills is so pretty. It is also enjoyable driving/riding around the islands. When you mentioned "scenery",  these things came to mind. With ALL that said, I enjoy sailing to: St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Barts (although I don't think they welcome many ships any more), and the BVI.  I've never been to St. Kitts or Antigua.  Labadee was a fun beach day.  San Juan is fun because you can go to the rain forest, enjoy Old San Juan, and/or explore the forts.  

Many years ago, I spent a week in Aruba and really enjoyed it. I think an ABC cruise would be fun (even though it is flat 😉).  

Living in Houston, it is easy to cruise to Mexico, and Grand Cayman.  While I do enjoy the ports, they are not as scenic as the eastern/southern Caribbean. Cayman is a tender port, so not easily accessible.  We also stopped at Falmouth, Jamaica on Liberty of the Seas.  I was a little worried about safety here.  It turned out fine.  Jamaica was very pretty.

Happy Planning!

Just now, reallyitsmema said:

 

Here you go. 🙂 

 

 

 

Thank you!

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

What you are talking about happened to the Allure.  Some people were actually able to get off the ship early when it was nice but then they had to evacuate the island.  There is a big thread with pictures.  

Do you recall the thread name? I can't seem to find it.

Following. . .

ONLY 196 days until our Symphony adventure! 🛳️ Looking forward to your thoughts as we plan. Have a great cruise!

16 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

 

Thank you so much for the reply. Our son is actually the older one and is 14.  Our daughter is 10.  This cruise is in March so weather should be comfortable.  

 

The boat from MK to Wilderness Lodge may be fun.  I'm looking at the (crazy) transportation map. It looks like there is a bus from there to Disney Springs?  We would still want to fit in Disney Springs if we went with the Disney transportation option. Or is a bus from Contemporary or Polynesian a better option to get to DS?   Also, next summer we are staying at Pop for a couple nights so the Skyliner isn't a must on this trip....but great suggestions.  

Disney REALLY wants your money. So no doubt WL would have a bus to Disney Springs.  You can actually walk from the TTC to the Poly or take the monorail.  You may just want to start at the Poly and then to Springs if you are wanting to maximize time at Springs.  If time allows, you could boat over to French Quarter for beignets if you had time.  At the theme parks, the deluxe hotels have closer drop off points in relation to the park entrances.  I would think this would also be true at Springs, but honestly IDK.  Wilderness Lodge is a deluxe, but Poly, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian have more prestige (and bigger rooms). But seriously, you are walking a million miles during the day. A little more walking at the bus pavilions won't make or break you.

Just allow plenty plenty of time to get to your destinations.  I am thinking 10 am and dinner times are peak times. March is spring break time for us Texans.  My daughter's band played at MK in 2018. Wow! The crowds were worse than our usual summer.  But boy, the weather was great!

Have fun!!

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

 

Royal has an "Orlando Outlet and Disney Springs Shopping" excursion, which drives to the outlet mall for a few hours, then goes to Disney Springs for a few hours (I think with more time at the outlet mall).  

 

This Disney Transportation option may be a bit more stressful to make sure we get ourselves back to the TTC on time, but is more flexible.

I love Disney and cruising. I could talk Disney or cruising all day long. Could not stop myself from replying again. (-:

Just some thoughts...

In my humble opinion, if you have seen one outlet mall, you have seen them all (or pretty close). If the outlet mall portion is first, late people returning to the bus may make the Disney Springs portion even shorter.  This happened to us in Cayman. The late folks were ALWAYS holding us from leaving the various stops and our time at the Turtle Center was greatly reduced (the stop my daughter was REALLY looking forward to seeing). BUT the shopping excursion would be the safest.

Resort hoping would be a bit more stressful. But you could always Uber back to the TTC if Disney transportation became a problem. Many people only stay onsite without a car, totally rely on Disney transportation, and love it. I will say this is hard for me being from Houston.  A car is like another appendage. You are your car - your car is you. (-:

The boats from the Magic Kingdom to Wilderness lodge are open air, if I remember correctly.  They were much more fun than the Friendship Boats that are in the Epcot area.  The Friendship boats are mostly enclosed and can get hot in the summer.  They are also very slow.  We enjoy them anyway. I have never been on the boats from the Orleans/Riverside hotels to Disney Springs. (On my list though. . .)  You can get beignets at the French Quarter hotel.

There are two entrances to Epcot.  The monorail from the TTC stops at the main entrance.  The skyliner stops at the smaller World Showcase entrance on the opposite side of the park.  You would have to have a park ticket and go through Epcot to go from the Epcot monorail to the Epcot skyliner.  I do enjoy the Epcot monorail ride.

Disney transportation would give your son "rides" without a park ticket. Depending on his age, he may really enjoy the transportation options.  Each hotel/resort has small shops that can be fun and not so overwhelming.

I don't know if this would work time/weather wise, but here is a plan I might use.  It would have monorail, boat, skyliner, and bus rides:  

1.  Take the monorail to Magic Kingdom (you will go through security at the TTC ).

2.  Take the boat to Wilderness Lodge.

        I think there is now an open air restaurant/snack area by the pool for lunch.

3.  Take the bus to Studios.

4.  Take the Skyliner to Caribbean Beach Hotel.

5.  Bus back to TTC.

           or maybe

5.  Transfer to the Epcot Skyliner.

6.   Walk/Friendship Boat to Yacht/Beach Club.

7.   Bus back to the TTC.

You can research the hotels for little special things at each one.  Just walking through the Wilderness Lodge hotel and grounds is fun.  I believe it was the second level of the atrium that had a smaller fireplace to sit by and enjoy.  There are rocking chairs in the lobby.

On the other side of the coin, shopping is fun for me! I also like safe.  I do NOT want to miss the ship and always take ship sponsored excursions.  Whatever you do, I hope you have a great time!!

The Skyliner does not go to Disney Springs.

I have no idea what the Royal Caribbean excursion to Disney Resorts includes.  But in addition to the Skyliner and Monorail, don't forget about the boats.  There are boats between Wilderness Lodge and the Magic Kingdom area.  There are also boats going from Yacht/Beach Club, Boardwalk, Epcot, Swan/Dolphin, and Studios. I almost forgot the boat between Disney Springs and Port Orleans/Riverside.

Just to clarify, there is not a charge for coffee to be delivered to your cabin in the morning.  Just fill out the door tag/menu the night before as CntPAcruiser stated. There are a few continental items that also do not incur a charge. Drinking coffee on my balcony in the morning is one of my favorite things to do on a cruise.

I also bring a travel mug and use it to get coffee at Cafe Promenade.

I hope you enjoy your cruise!