Nolefan95

Oh you think you are safe on a ship docked in Haiti? People really are naïve

Uhhh, Americans are a target. And if they decide they want to take hostages in Labadee, they will easily take hostages in Labadee. The security force isn't going to stop them.

Personally I think any of you that still go on a cruise that stops in Haiti are idiots. You think a paid security force made up of Haitians is going to stop an armed gang of criminals from getting into RCCL's area? If they want in, they are getting in rather easily. You think thousands of American's in Haiti could never be a target? Think what they could negotiate for the exchange of hundreds of American's. Our current leader has negotiated for the release of Americans before. Our own government says don't go to Haiti. You still going? I can also see our government saying they aren't going to do anything because they were all warned. We have done that too. People seriously have no common sense these days. Ohhh, RCCL has our safety covered? Get outta here. They got their bottom line covered. Guess you can't tell with all the nickle and diming they are doing.

This is not 100% correct. Phoenix is booked on Icon for pretty much 2 weeks every month for the next 6 months or so.

What gets me is they literally cut room service in half and now they are increasing gratuities. That is absurd. If anything they should be reducing gratuities for a lower level of service provided.

Ridiculous. Cut room service in half and increase prices. Insane. Beyond greedy. The $1B in profit wasn't enough.

Only been on 64 cruises??? 🤣

They have periods of time where the North Star and the iFly are free for holders of the Key. But you need to sign up asap after boarding.

Thank you. Just want to add that once you get through security it will look like you are in the clear, there will be shops, etc. But you gotta keep walking into the passport control area which won't yet be visible after security. There will be another line for that.... After that, you are in the clear.

I just want to share our experience as I found other's posts on this topic pretty helpful. Returning the favor. I really debated purchasing The Key for our 6/25 cruise on Odyssey of the Seas (our 2nd time on Odyssey). Family of 3 (myself, wife and 18yr old daughter). I knew I wanted to purchase the VOOM package. Also knew we wanted our time at Santorini to be maximized and low-stress. I saw nightmare stories of people waiting 2-3 hours to get up and another 2 hours to get down) in Santorini. I also saw mixed reviews on the Santorini excursions with people booking the excursions simply as a way to avoid the lines up to Fira/Oia. I viewed The Key as giving us front-of-the-line passes for the tender ports of Mykonos and Santorini. I also viewed the RCCL excursions in both those ports as simply front-of-the-line passes for transportation as those islands appeared to be extremely easy to do on your own after reading all the posts about them. So we purchased The Key as booking excursions in Mykonos and Santorini (combined with a VOOM package) would cost more than just purchasing The Key and would tie us to a group excursion that did things we weren't interested in (going to a Farm, winery, etc.). Turns out this decision was definitely better for us and I am happy with the decision but ONLY for giving us front-of-the-line tender tickets for Santorini. It REALLY provided us a huge advantage for Santorini. We were on maybe the 3rd tender (the ship arrived early and we weren't ready or we would have been on the 1st tender). We got to the pier, purchased the speed boat ticket to OIA, and avoided the extremely long line for the cable cars as well as the walk/donkey ride up. We got to OIA very early compared to everyone else and the pictures were incredible (meaning we could take pictures without other people in our photos since we got there so early). Afterward, we met several families who told us it took them 3 hours to get to OIA so we were happy with our decision. Also, the RCCL excursions for the most part (unless you booked extremely early and got the first excursion time), got to OIA well after we did. For Mykonos, there really wasn't much of a benefit to The Key for us. We actually didn't even use The Key for priority tenders at Mykonos. We had plenty of time to tour Mykonos on our own. We also did not use any other benefits of The Key on the entire cruise. I had planned to use it for the bumper cars and other activities but we just didn't need to. All in all, the time saved in Santorini, was priceless and allowed for spectacular pictures and I WOULD NOT hesitate to purchase The Key again solely for Santorini and the wifi. After 1.5 hours in OIA, it became EXTREMELY crowded and we definitely would not have had the amazing pictures we had without The Key. But if I was on any other itinerary that didn't include Santorini, I would have considered it a waste of money besides the wifi.

I didn't see a fast check-in line for ITA Airways but wasn't really looking for it as I wasn't aware it existed. But checking in on the app did save us a lot of time as the regular check-in line was pretty long. There was a separate line for those already checked in and who just had to do the bag drop. There is definitely a fast track security line (https://www.romeairports.com/fiumicino_en/fast-track.html) but if you have a direct flight to the US, you may not need it as direct flights to the US had a separate security line which had literally 3 families in it yesterday when we went through. But the fast track was 7 Euro's each and was a good alternative as the regular security line was very long. Probably would buy fast-track passes again as an alternative in case the USA direct flight security line is long.

See post 48 (2 posts above).

t

Well, I am back now. Unfortunately! 🙂 Turns out I didn't need Fast Track Passes at all but I think if we needed them it looked like a great option. We made a 10:40AM Miami flight yesterday and had plenty of time. Even ate and shopped at the airport. We self-disembarked at 6:30am and arranged a private transfer (Rome Cabs) for 6:45 AM who was waiting for us about 6:40 am when we got out of the terminal. The car traffic at the airport was pretty bad so our taxi driver dropped us off by the parking garages and told us where to walk (about a 3-minute walk). Probably saved 30 minutes that way. We also checked in ahead of time on the airline app (ITA) which also saved us time as there was a separate check-in line for people who already checked in and just had to do the bag drop. The regular check-in line was pretty long. The airport had a separate security line for direct flights to the USA which also saved us a ton of time as there was maybe 3 families in that line. Got right through. The regular security line looked very long and if we didn't have a direct flight I imagine the fast track pass would have come in extremely useful as the line was MUCH shorter in that line.

You will have no problem at all. We made a 10:40AM Miami flight yesterday and had plenty of time. Even ate and shopped at the airport. We self disembarked at 6:30am and arranged a private transfer like you for 6:45AM. The car traffic at the airport was pretty bad so our taxi driver dropped us off by the parking garages and told us where to walk. Probably saved 30 minutes that way. We also checked in ahead of time on the airline app (ITA) which also saved us time as there was a separate check in line for people who already checked in. The airport also had a separate security line for direct flights to the USA which also saved us time as there was maybe 3 families in that line. The regular security line looked pretty long.

Look at post 151

No they don't. I can assure you most people do not tip beyond the required amount.

Agreed but there is no debating the Odyssey feels MUCH smaller than Oasis class ships. The pools were also much more crowded on Odyssey and Oasis class typically provides additional variety with dining locations. Like I said, my daughter enjoyed the cruise but did mention she liked having more space that Oasis class provides. If she had the choice, she would pick Oasis Class. That being said, we are going on Odyssey again in June as we all enjoyed the ship and want to go on a Greek Islands cruise. We picked Odyssey as we prefer newer ships. But if Oasis class had the same itinerary we would have picked an Oasis ship. Its really individual choice. Can't go wrong imo.

Odyssey is much smaller than an Oasis ship. My teenage daughter enjoyed the cruise but definitely enjoyed the Oasis class ships more. Odyssey was very nice and she enjoyed the cruise but liked having more space (that Oasis class provides). Either way your teenagers will have fun. It really depends what they enjoy doing which only they can decide.

Completely agree with this. The cruise is entirely different with a balcony room (even with spending limited time in the room).

We always get GeoBlue Voyager Choice (affiliated with Blue Cross). I don't really want trip cancellation coverage as the likelihood of me canceling a cruise is extremely small. This policy primarily covers health and evacuation up to $500K and is very cheap.

So how does it work when you have a 3-4 in a room if they only have once-a-day service? Does the convertible sofa just stay open as a bed all day?

Seems to be just what someone heard about from others. But when I googled it, it seems to work well for most. There seem to be dedicated lines for those with Fast Track passes similar to TSA lines in the states. At EUR 7, well worth the risk imo. If I see the Fast Track line is extremely long, I can just skip it and lost ~$7 per person. The benefit far outweighs the risk imo.

Definitely will. Already purchased the Fast Track passes. When we arrive in Rome at FCO on June 23rd, we plan to scope out the airport so we know exactly where to check in and where to go after that in preparation. Thanks again!

Ha! Just going to ignore this post and not tell my wife.