Trackhead37

11 minutes ago, kj1231 said:

Already heard back. Thanks again!!

 

DAY 1: Bayonne, Cape Liberty  Welcome aboard! Please visit us at the Dive Shop on Deck 14 at 4:00pm. Bring your completed medical questionnaire and PADI online course confirmation. We'll do a quick review to check that you know your stuff and size you for your scuba gear.  Then we will learn how to put our equipment together, this should take an hour or so.  

DAY 2: Day at Sea  06:00 - 09:00 AM
Confined Water Dives 1 & 2 and swim tests (Pool session onboard)
Confined Water Dives 3, 4 and 5 (Pool session onboard)

DAY 3: Kings Wharf, Bermuda 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Open Water Dives 1 and 2

DAY 4: Kings Wharf, Bermuda  09:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Open Water Dives 3 and 4  

 

Looks good. Meant to tell you they reply pretty quick if not busy. They are very good with getting the confined stuff knocked out quickly. People may try to knock the short time frame but honestly a lot of local places stretch out the time unnecessarily to justify what they charge for it. They won't move on until they know you got stuff down. Dives 1 and 2 will involve repeating a lot of stuff you went over in the confined dives, to show you can do them in open water, while 3 will be a few more things. 4 is just you doing the dive with your paired buddy as if you were out doing a dive with someone. Oh and make sure anyone doing it with you has equalizing down; that was the killer for my son on our first dive... he had a bit of a cold and wasn't able to equalize and only got through the first dive as a result. Didn't think to make him practice blowing and pinching his nose beforehand to make sure he knew how to do that properly and its some bad ear pain if you keep descending and can't equalize.

Some pointers for on the ship, first, be prepared and rested for that swim test; its a pain in the ass doing all those laps in that tiny pool... take your time, it's not a race. Doing all the confined dives in one period like that, is a lot of time in the water; use the wet suit for sure. Even with the wet suit, your body temp is going to steadily drop in that pool water; it feels comfortable when you're in it and warm but it's not 98 degree water and your body temp is going to go down and you will start shivering. Use the hot tub to bring your body temp back up when taking breaks and you'll find it will go much more smoothly the rest of the way. And bring some bottled water to keep hydrated throughout those sessions.

10 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC.

 

You might try searching for an Anthem Cruise Compass on this itinerary (from last summer) to see operating hours.

 

 

The schedule for PADI certification won't be on a cruise compass. He has to contact them directly for that info.

37 minutes ago, kj1231 said:

Sorry to resurrect this thread but have been trying to get the PADI certification schedule for our 5-night cruise to Bermuda on Anthem OTS. We sail at 4:00 on day 1 followed by a sea day before arriving in Bermuda. The whole family (4 kids, 3 grandkids, etc.) is going and wondering what the schedule will be so we can plan other things.

 

Does anyone have the email address for the RCCL dive shop? I tried calling excursions and emailing shorex@rccl.com to no avail.

 

 

 

AN_ShoreExcursionsDiveStaff@rccl.com

There you go for the dive shop. That main email is useless, you should direct questions to the staff on the ship. Also CC AN_ShoreExcursionsManager@rccl.com

One of the two will get back to you with the exact planned schedule. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, as I got PADI certified on the Anthem a little under 2 years ago. Great experience, you'll be in very capable hands.

2 minutes ago, junglecat said:

If bringing water on board can it be in bottles?  I know at Carnival it has to be cans, which is crazy.  I've never seen water that is sold in cans, but I'm sure it's available in port cities, just for this reason.  

Aside from seltzer water, I don’t know of canned water. Bottles are allowed up to 17oz and the normal sized ones are 16.9oz. Carnival actually sells cases of water for delivery to your room. We had two cases waiting for us on our Horizon cruise last year, which was nice and the pricing wasn’t insane either.

2 minutes ago, dacsmom said:

The only reason I bring water on in my carry on is that the bottles for sale are the 1 liter bottles and I like to carry the smaller ones. The price really isn't that bad on board at all. The first time I looked at buying the bottled water on board I thought it was the small bottles and that the price was outrageous. Then I saw the size of the bottles and realized my mistake.

You're talking about the Evian 1 Liter water. They also sell regular 16.9oz purified bottles of water as well, for cheaper than the Evian. But cheaper still means, the cost of 2 bottles of their regular purified water, is about what you would pay for an entire 24 case of poland spring water.

3 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

Easy for you, not so much for the baggage handlers. It probably doesn't sound like much but it's just one more thing they have to deal with.

Yes, easy for me, which is all I care about. I don't really care if it sounds like much or doesn't sound like much. Case of water is generally lighter than one of our suitcases so, with a tag on it, it's no more difficult to get to a room than a piece of luggage is. The only real issue for the company, is people not buying their overpriced bottled water.

3 minutes ago, trev71 said:

So technically its a 3-4$ gamble still.  I never had an issue in the past brining a 12 pcak of water on. I haven't cruised in a year so I am a little track of what rules have changed

Correct but it may now no longer be a gamble at all and could just be outright being refused everywhere. Haven't cruised RCCL since 2017. Back in around September 2018, they made a policy change. Previously you weren't allowed to bring any non-alcoholic beverages onboard, based on their official policy. Now, you can bring up to 12 (17oz) bottles/cans per stateroom but it has to be carried on with you. I tried searching for anyone posting about it, after the change was made but hadn't seen anything on cruise critic, just found one thing on google from some other site about being refused by porters but no further details. Figured putting up a post was the best way to get solid answers from anyone who used to put the luggage tag on the case and has tried doing it after that official policy change.

Just now, Host Clarea said:

There have been several reports of cases of water being refused by the porters.

 

By the way, the limit is 12 bottles per stateroom, not per person.

Yes I know, we have 2 staterooms so, I meant breaking up a case for each to carry 12 in that way.

I know RCCL recently changed their policy regarding non-alcoholic beverages being taken onboard and that now you can officially carry on 12 bottles, cans, etc, per stateroom on embarkation day. Previously, we would just put a luggage tag on a 24 case of water and it would get delivered to the room, even when this technically wasn't allowed at all based on the rules. We have a sailing coming up the end of June on the Allure and I'm curious if people have still been able to slap luggage tags on a case of water for it to be delivered to your stateroom? I really don't feel like breaking up a case and having each of us carry around 12 bottles in a bag so, I'm hoping that port workers are still just delivering the cases of water like they used to, as it has been a pretty easy thing to do in the past. Wish they offered a case of water like Carnival does, for purchase but they only offer the ridiculously priced Evian water. Would like to hear any recent experiences, from after RCCL made the change and started allowing a limited amount to be carried on back in like September I believe. Thank you.

10 minutes ago, frank808 said:

With voom being $32 a day for 2 devices, Royal is only charging $19.99 for the Key?  I figure if they up the internet prices, the Key would be closer to $29.99 a day.

Technically they aren't upping the price of the Voom, just giving less of a discount off the regular price. Since $19.99 seems to be the best rate anyone is going to get on The Key, we're pulling the trigger on that. Don't want to wait on the discount on the Voom because I'm happy knowing we did well on the pricing of The Key compared to the current pricing on the Voom. Spend the extra money and give us a reason to pat ourselves on the back for only paying $7 per day more for The Key perks, lol.

1 minute ago, Abr155 said:

Holy cow!  Then the Key def makes sense if you were getting internet at that price!!

Yep, basically forced our hand with those prices. It for the good though, since it gives an excuse to go with The Key option, lol. Of course could always buy just one device plan of Voom and sign out and in back and forth on each phone for cheaper price but did that once on a Carnival cruise and was such a pain in the butt, haha.

10 minutes ago, rockmom said:

holy moly!  That's insane.  😞  But I stalk the dang cruise planner pretty much daily.   FYI, even though I got a great deal on my Voom Surf & Stream and Chops, I still went with the Key.  The other perks were things we wanted and since I'm not in a suite and am not Diamond or higher, we went for it.  

Yep, i was like holy crap, that's crazy, I don't remember paying that much before, when looking at it with my wife. She pointed out that since we have always done suites, that we've never paid for it separately before, since it's been included with the suite. Unfortunately at the time we booked, there were no suite options available with a room for our kids that was directly across or next to it so, the only feasible option without booking one of us in one room with one son and the other in the 2nd room with our other son, was to do connecting balcony rooms. The Key didn't exist then so we thought we'd be suffering suite/concierge withdrawal this sailing. Now with The Key, we'll get everything but the concierge, lol.

12 minutes ago, Abr155 said:

I think some people may be over buying internet due to RCs confusing language when you go to add it to the cart. For the packages that are for multiple devices, you need only buy one pacakage-not one for each person! So make sure you are only clicking one passenger, not all of you! 

Naw, see post above. The difference is sale prices. I got 15% off Voom for my sailing and his is currently showing over 45% off and back when he got it 3 months ago, it was an even bigger sale. I suspect because my sailing takes place during 4th of July, they aren’t giving out the large discounts on the Voom. So The Key is generally worth it if you are at close to normal Voom pricing for your sailing and we’re planning to get the Voom anyway. Otherwise you’re paying a bit of a premium for the extra perks.

1 hour ago, frank808 said:

I bought about 3 months ago for our cruises in Feb.  Current prices are a $1 more at $19.99 for 2 surf and stream devices.  

I’ll trade you, lol

12 minutes ago, rockmom said:

I also paid $18.99 for a two device Surf & Stream for my May Allure cruise--and have the screenshot.  That was the price on 11/21, so 'pre-black Friday' deals.  We also got lunch at Chops during that sale for $17.60 per person.   

 

Ah, that explains a lot. So they just left out that a larger than usual sale was going on at the time they purchased the Voom package. My sailing is during 4th of July and also on Allure. Hefty price difference on that. Had i gotten Voom at that discount, then The Key would be a large increase. Their BS 15% sale right now has it at the $32.28 per person per day price though.

6 minutes ago, frank808 said:

Price for a 2 device surf and stream voom internet package for our 10 and 11 day cruise was bought at $18.99 a day.  So $190 for our 10 day cruise vs $400 for The Key. Chops lunch is about $22 each.  Difference vs buying internet and chops lunch vs key is close to $165 for 10 days ($16.50 per day).  Much more than $3 per day.  Prices of the key vs buying surf and steam and chops lunch will vary.

Those numbers don't look right. My 7 day cruise is about $16.99 per day for the the voom and stream for 1 device. The Key is $19.99 per day per person. $18.99 for voom and stream for 2 devices looks quite a bit low. Even just the standard Voom is like $14 and change per day on 7 day for 1 device. I was wondering if maybe you're looking at 1 device pricing but that would be too high for that. I do have a feeling you're maybe looking at lower Voom option without stream. Do you have screen shots of this?

2 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

This is offered on Brilliance as well? I thought is is limited to big ships as there is no flowrider, Ifly, waterslides or show reservation options on Brilliance. This really does not make sense!

 

Most people just compare the key to the price for Internet and a Chops lunch but both have nothing to do with the idea of a fast track pass.    

The comparison is made because it comes down to the cost. If you are already planning to get internet and wanted to eat at chops, both of those cost money and in total, add up to a price close to that of The Key. At $3 per person per day more than just the cost of the internet(that’s $42 total more for 2 people) if you were already going to get that internet for 2 devices, that’s not much more money to get the extra perks and a lunch at Chops too. That’s the only properly way to compare it financially. Of course if you weren’t planning to do the Voom, then you would only look at it in terms of the cost of The Key.

1 hour ago, tcneal said:

 

Be careful with only buying for 1 room if I read correctly.  We are in the same situation as you with 2 rooms, 1 for kids, and I was told if The Key was not marked on the cards, you might not be able to take advantage of the perks.   I don't know how they would handle the Priority Embarkation/Tendering.  My guess would be it should be fine paying for 1 room, but you never know.   I was thinking more about the shows, rock climbing, flow rider, etc.   If your kids are old enough and don't have it on their sea cards, they might not be able to take advantage.   It might be a good idea though if they are young.   We went the other way with 1 adult and 1 kid booked in each room so I could get the Beverage package and my wife didn't so that forced us to get The Key for both rooms.

Yeah we thought about that but aren't really concerned about the stuff like the shows, rock climbing and such; the teens get their own scheduled times for all those activities with the teen club so will have plenty of time to do all those things without the usual lines and we really don't see them except for when we make them meet us for dinner and when we do our excursions at port. The only wonder we did have was with with priority embarkation but, since we have had them with us when we book suites and have them in the room next to us, we know we've never had a problem with checking them in or taking them with us when we get priority stuff; i left on 1st tender with one son during our scuba certification through the ship and my wife left on the 1st priority tender with our other son for their day at coco cay. They were even welcomed with us for the other suite perks we got, like a tour of the bridge and some lunches with captain or cruise director and such. Not looking to take advantage of it in that way though. We did the one adult in one room and the other in the other room once and ugh, what a pain I found that to be with the room keys, lol. One of the reasons we didn't do the suite this time with them in another room, is there was nothing available that really worked, being right next door or exactly across from our room; we would have had to split us two adults to do it and didn't want to go through that again so, just did connecting balcony rooms instead. Even with The Key perks, I know we are really going to miss having the concierge this cruise. I'm wondering if they will ever do a buy-up that gives access to that without being in a suite, which I've seen on other cruise lines.

Lots of chatter it seems with this program. We have a sailing on June 30th on the Allure and will most likely be purchasing this. My wife and I are in one room and our 2 kids are in the room connected to us. Since we didn't do a suite for this sailing, this will give us some of those perks we'll be missing out on, without a significant price increase. We were getting Voom + stream anyway so its only $3 per person per day extra and only for me and my wife, since we don't have to add the kids. Totally worth it with the better reserved show seating and special times for access to onboard activities. As for how many they sell, as others have mentioned, similar programs with other cruise lines always sell out and are obviously considered worth it by a lot of people. They do have to limit it of course and even if it was 200, the fact is that 200 aren't going to show up for activities the same time, when there are multiple times available; it's why there are never thousands of people on line for flow rider or the rock climbing wall at one time. The question is whether or not you have the money to buy it. It was smart of RCCL to catch up to some of the other lines and offer a way to get suite/concierge type of perks by paying directly for it without being in that type of room.

Thanks so much for this information!

As stated, 90 days out is the general time frame it should appear in cruise planner under activities. I would say to start checking each day as you get close to that because it's very popular and will book up fast. Yes, time slots will open up once you're on the ship, that first day but if you really want your pick of time slots, you should book when it shows up online.

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Do they take a lot of photos for the $249 cost?? Did you have any issues when printing photos off of the USB drive once home at say Walgreens, etc?? Some places require a release from the photographer....

 

Thanks for any info....

Amount of pictures is totally up to you. There are photographers set up in various places, all throughout the length of the cruise, except last day. It's a matter of stopping and getting pictures taken or stopping, waiting in line for pictures, at busier times, like the formal nights. You also have picture opportunities at the ports and of course the embarkation photos. I believe my wife saw someone mentioning they had like 300 photos. We ended up with 106 total; probably would have had a few more if we had gotten off at the ports at the same time.

We haven't printed any photos yet but, don't foresee any problems. The USB provides a PDF copy of the release, just in case any place asks you for that. At like a Walgreens or CVS, they won't ask for that but I'm sure if you go to some higher end place that specifically does that sort of thing, they'd require it. You'll have everything you need for printing them.

And to touch on photo quality, some are good, some are bad, some are great. These aren't professional photographers you're working with, as they have other regular jobs on the ship, when not taking pictures. We have a couple of pictures, where our sons eyes are closed but other than that, most of the other photos are pretty good.

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Thank you for all the work put into this thread.

 

One question, what is a WOW band? I've seen that term but know nothing about it.

(Sailing on the Anthem, June 8th -- cannot wait!)

Here's a clear picture of one. It's the same chip from your seapass card, in a water proof wrist band.

The RCCL site does make them seem a bit more useful than they really are. You can't use it to get off or back on at ports. And to use them to pay for drinks on ship, you'll have to take it off and hand it to bartender. Other than that, it's nice for everything else and for going to pool without having to carry anything but a towel, since it opens room door. At $5, it's not bad but, really think they should just give them to all guests, along with regular seapass card.

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Please don't flame. My theory is that many people overeat during the day and don't enjoy the select offerings in the MDR at night. They may or may not be outstanding. All I am saying is that you have to be hungary for a good meal.

 

 

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Meh, I think there is a lot of over analyzing about the food and it's quality or lacking quality at times. The fact is, RCCL chooses when it wants to be cheap and that is probably what affects various food and how it tastes. For instance, something as simple as Sorrentos, where you're eating a heated up frozen pizza, while even Carnival is making their pizza fresh with dough and cooking them as they go. If they do it with pizza, I'm sure there are other things here and there, that simply aren't made fresh and suspect that could be why some stuff is good and some isn't.

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Glad to hear that. To think you would've lost all that money if it wasn't for these boards.

 

Could you let me know if your wife had the prime rib on lobster night? I'm really curious to find out if that might've been why I fell ill right after that night as well.

We used it thinking we did have to pay it so it's nice to get it back. Tipped each of the delivery people well but had we known it was no cost to us, would have given a little more.

As for the prime rib, no that doesn't seem to be the issue; we both ate that and I'm fine. Our kids were at dinner that night and they brought two orders of the prime rib, ordered medium but one was medium well and the other looked very rare. We stopped the kids from touching the one that looked rare and just shared the medium well one.

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I called C&A D+ line and questioned them about the $7.95 fee and was told GS and above don't pay the fee. I asked where it was on the web and was advised she was able to see it on her internal website, but not on the public one.

RCCL is refunding the charges for room service on our account. They admitted that it is free for grand suites and above. I also got a suggestion from someone how to find it on the website and here is the link to see it directly from RCCL:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/search/processSearch.do?ip_server=prdiphrase-unstruct-new222.dmz.rccl.com%3A200&ip_text=room+service&searchSubmit=+

basically it's a link searching room service on their website. It brings you to a Q&A about room service. The 4th question and answer are:

Q: Is there a charge for the new room service for Suite Guests?

A: Room service will continue to be complimentary for Grand Suites and above. All other suites will have a delivery charge of $7.95 per stateroom order. Continental breakfast remains complimentary for all.