Queen of Oakville

2 hours ago, FirstAnthem said:

I second pcur above on the Apple pie dessert. I had it on Adventure. Not the regular Apple pie with raisins in it—that was horrible. I had that awfulness on Oasis.  But the Apple pie that is like a purse, kind of open on the top. I got it every single night, except one night I got the baked Alaska because I love that too, but my husband ordered the Apple pie that night so I could at least have a bite! So so good. For meals I really liked the spaghetti bolognese, chicken Parmesan and the fried fish with jasmine rice. We ordered extra bowls of the rice! Something about it was just so good. So simple but delicious. 

FYI - at least on symphony - the apple pie no longer has raisins it!!!  

I think you are both speaking about the apple purses.  I had this years ago on Grandeur and had a terrible allergic reaction to the almond paste filling.  They don't advertise the nuts in the description of the dessert, but there was definitely almond paste in in (if we are speaking about the same dessert.

One of my favourite desserts was the key lime tart - it came with a meringue top that I scraped off, but the tart was delish.  A few days later they had a lemon meringue tart at Park Café which was also delish.  I was pleasantly surprised with the desserts on symphony.

One of my all-time favourites is the chocolate ganache tart which I've had both on Royal Carribean and on Celebrity.  On celebrity they put a little raspberry liqueur in the middle.  It's basically a chocolate ganache poured into a chocolate cruse tartelet shell.  So yummy!!!

Am I the only one who read the thread title and thought the OP was completely paralyzed and wanted to book an excursion with a high level of activity?

@mattR  I get my insurance through RBC.  I've had to make claims in the past and RBC had been amazing to deal with.  I've never had issue getting reimbursed.  I just buy the annual travel plan now and renew it every march break.

I would call them and see how they would insure your mother's situation. If  it is insurance coverage they offer, then I would recommend them.

Worth noting, I don't bank with RBC for any other purpose, but I am very satisfied with their insurance product.

11 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

The problem is better analyzed by using more descriptive terms. It involves a few steps, so please forgive the length of this post.

 

RC has FCC of two sources, it seems. One is for compensation instead of a refund for cash spent (e.g., what you get out of your NRD less $100 if you cancel prior to final pymt). Call it "refund FCC".  The second type appears to be FCC given as good will--money in addition to your refund for a cancelled cruise in some value usually calculated as equal to or a portion of your cash outlay.  Call this "bonus FCC". 

 

Here, it seems that the OP took FCC in lieu of cash as a refund at some point in the past, making it kind of a hybrid but really it is direct compensation for cash the OP previously spent.

 

The problem is that in calculating his new "bonus FCC" for the Oasis cancellation, it sounds like RC is treating OP's original "refund FCC" as if it were a "bonus FCC" (i.e., a gift from RC).

 

We can probably understand that RC should not have to double its gifts by both refunding "bonus FCC" and then giving additional "bonus FCC" in that amount. "Bonus FCC" added to "bonus FCC" could be done, but it doesn't really make sense. Refunding the gift once seems sufficient. 

 

Now, if I read it right, the OP is saying whatever he deserves to be granted should be based on his initial cash outlay that led to his original "refund FCC" rather than solely on his Oasis cash outlay, but RC treated it as if he used a "bonus FCC".

 

If the premise is correct, I think the OP has a point--the "refund FCC" should be treated as cash for the new calculation because it represents his cash, not a gift.

 

If the premise is wrong, and if the original FCC was really a goodwill gift rather than a refund, he has nothing to complain about because he is out nothing if RC does not choose to give him a double gift rather than simply returning his gift. Most critics seem to think this is the case, but he emphasizes that he had a choice.

 

Bottom line, RCC probably cannot account easily for this, or follow it through several transactions. They should, and use of a differential terminology would help.

 

 

@kittentanz  If this correctly addresses your situation and you chose to pursue this further with RC - I think using terms such as "Refund FCC" and "Bonus FCC" as @mayleeman explains will help convey your issue to RC.  The explanation you used throughout this tread is somewhat confusing, and I can't see Royal siding with you if they don't understand what you are upset about.

13 hours ago, destiny217 said:

Thanks.  Did you notice if taxi cabs were plentiful or had a long line?  Thanks again.

When we got off symphony (same day as the OP) - it was mass chaos outside of the terminal and very poorly mangaged by port staff.  We could not even wade through crowds to find the uber pickup area.  We found the taxi line and went for it.  The line was huge - and we stood for an hour in the line, while others bypassed the line altogether and taking cabs from the end of the line.  it was tempting to do the same ,but we were not in a rush, stood the line, and waited one full hour in that line.  

Moral of the story, is beat the rush and get off the ship early.  We started trying to get off the ship at 9, had a huge wait for an elevator and were outside the terminal at 9:30.

I think the fairness of this all depends on the circumstances under which the FCC was accepted.

I recently accepted FCC for problems with use of the drink package for my minors without onboard spending privileges.  I was given FCC for each passenger on the sailing.  I thought the FCC was more than fair, was never requested, and exceeded my troubles.  Under this scenario - I would have no issue with the way OP's situation was handled.

If I had accepted FCC for something such as a cancelled excursion - in that case, I would have not been happy with the FCC unless it was in addition to a full refund.

Good to know what the OP's experience has been and will take this under advisement when accepting a FCC in lieue of a cash refund.

If an FCC is solely for my hassle and frustration, then  I have not issue with how Royal has handled this.  If the FCC was to reimburse me for expenses paid, then this sucks.

And now I'm hungry and I wanna go to Chipotle.  Burritos for lunch, anyone?

I'm confused.  Did Royal just make your cruise credit disappear, or was the cruise credit reinstated?

I assume you are talking about a future cruise certificate but maybe we are not talking of the same thing.

If I paid for a cruise with a FCC and cash, and the cruise was cancelled, I would want my money back plus my FCC back.  I would not expect my FCC to be replaced with cash.

The 4 device plan refers to the number of devices that can be connected to the account at the same time, it doesn't matter how many people are using those devices.

Our family of 4 has shared the 3 device plan in the past when DH insisted he had no use for the internet.  Guess who always complained that he could never get on??  

19 minutes ago, atush said:

I dont disagree, all smoking should be banned.

 

Even from the casino (hear this might happen).

Non-smoking casinos work on celebrity.

We love HAL, but won't sail with them because my eyes get so irritated by all the smoke in their casinos.

20 minutes ago, Queen of Oakville said:

 

 

What exactly is prohibited on ships?  Smoking or cigarette smoking?  If smoking is prohibited, that should include all smoking, whether it is for medicinal or recreational purposes.  Even if you have to smoke it for recreational purposes, the designated smoking areas should apply.

 

 

 

Meant to say "even if you have to smoke it for medicinal purposes, the designate smoking areas should apply"

31 minutes ago, atush said:

"And I'm also surprised that the pot-smoker has not warranted much outrage on this thread"

 

Probably because you c an walk away from potsmoker.  Cant walk away from your balcony and still use it.

What exactly is prohibited on ships?  Smoking or cigarette smoking?  If smoking is prohibited, that should include all smoking, whether it is for medicinal or recreational purposes.  Even if you have to smoke it for recreational purposes, the designated smoking areas should apply.

We had to sell a house we loved because neighbours were backyard chain smokers.  We could never open our windows in the summer.

I'd be upset too.

And I'm also surprised that the pot-smoker has not warranted much outrage on this thread.

I would have reported both.  And if security gave me the response of "I can't do anything" I would have asked for the supervisor and kept his cell phone number handy so he could be quickly called when the violators were on their balcony.

2 minutes ago, framboesa said:

Thanks! That's what we sometimes do, we ask the steward for a corkscrew and glasses and open it in the cabin. ☺️ But I was wondering if we could already have the bottle at the bar instead of returning to the cabin after dinner to get our wine 😉

I'm too cheap to pay the corkage fee 🙂  Besides the walk back to the cabin helps burn off the calories.

When Royal dropped the corkage fee a while back we tried storing a bottle in the dining room. - we felt rushed to consume the bottle as the waitstaff were always trying to fill our glasses.  We stored an open bottle in the dining room, but then had to open another bottle if we wanted another glass of wine later in the evening.  We prefer having access to our open bottle.

Enjoy your cruise 🙂 

Pack your own corkscrew.  

Open your own bottle.

Get glasses from closest bar and take back to your cabin.

Pour your own wine in the cabin.

Take wine with you wherever you wish to drink it, even in dining room or theatre.

Store your own wine in your cabin.

1 hour ago, mscinmia said:

Royal/Celebrity at most of the terminals in PEV now has facial recognition which really speeds up the debark.  If you have a passport and have not over purchased, do self assist and you will be off fairly quickly.

At Port of Miami, this option was not available to Canadians.  There was a separate queue for Canadians and US Citizens with birth certificates only.  Fortunately, it was a VERY short line.

The biggest delay we faced getting off Symphony (Miami) - was the cab line.  Granted we got off the ship late (9.30) - but we waited over an hour in the lineup for a cab.

Granted you avoid a lot of this by being first off the ship - but just an example of a delay beyond your control.

13 minutes ago, kkyyylllaa said:

Thank you !

 

How was they Symphony? We're headed out in 12 days!!!!!! 

It was a great cruise!  I posted a review, which is probably on page 50 by now 🙂

If your kids are young and can't swim there are a few great splash/pad mini-slide areas for them to play - all free!  The big pool is zero-entry too.

11 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

What ship?

Oasis.  I added a second post about lineups.  Another caveat is that some airlines will have long lineups and others will not.

To the OP, if you move forward with your 9:40 flight - you have to make every effort to eliminate all potential delays.

One of the big unknowns is the check-in/bag drop/security lines.

If you are flying on a day when several large ships are in/out - the line up to get through security can be disastrous.  It has been a few years since we flew out of FLL, so maybe things have changed, but I recall some Saturday/Sunday departures with very long security lines.  As long as you've checked in and they call your flight #, you can get expedited through security.

I've done 10:10 before at Everglades/FLL - and with room to spare.

I recall seeing racks of swim jackets by the pool (on coco cay).

Yes, as JR_Angus says, also ask for distilled water when you email special needs.  Both that and the extension cord will be provided.  You may want to let your attendant know which side of the bed your hubby will sleep on - because when you come back from dinner, the cord will be there and taped to the ground.

We had a great set up on Symphony.  There was a cord by the bed.  There was also a wardrobe with a pull-out drawer. DH was able to store his machine in the drawer and pull the drawer open at night to plug the machine in.

Depends on whether you buy the half-day pass or the full day pass.

You can come and go from the water park, but upon re-entry your seas pass will be scanned.  If you only bought a morning pass, you will not be allowed entry in the afternoon.

That being said, 1/2 day passes disappeared from my cruise planner, I'm not sure if they sold out or if they removed them as an option.

On 8/24/2019 at 4:01 PM, cruisegirl1 said:

 I don’t have a problem either. I like that we are able to bring on a small amount of soda or water, and two bottles of wine per cabin. I would hate if abuse made this allowance disappear. 

 

M

To be clear - we actually had two cabins.  Normally, the travel agent puts DH and myself in one cabin and the kids in the other.  Under Royal's rules, you can only bring two bottles per cabin IF there is an adult in the cabin.  I always ask the agent to assign DH and I to separate cabins.  This is the first time that I was happy I did so because they actually looked at the reservation to make sure there was an adult in each cabin to allow us to being 4 bottles on.

To the poster who commented on wine breaking.  We were on a tight time schedule and could not afford a stop at a local wine store. So I packed the wine in our suitcase.  I used wine travellers from amazon, which had multiple sealing mechanisms.  Put those in individual large Ziploc bags AND put those in a heavy duty Ziploc storage bag.  I then cushioned the wine between the clothing and the luggage interior zipped flap.  There was no way the wine was moving in the suitcase.  And in the odd event of a breakage, it was all well secured. Since I had all the wine in my son's suitcase, I further put all his packing cubes in plastic bags.  Next time, I probably won't bother with such extreme effort.  When I got to FLL, I removed the wine from the suitcase and put it in my carry on.  

4 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

Sure it does. When a ship has a branded Starbucks location, you can't use your beverage package at it. And they dumb down the offerings at the Cafe Promenade. That's two hits to the beverage package purchasers when RCCL exploits calling something a contracted shop instead of it being considered part of the ships offerings.

I'm not sure what you see as dumbed-down?  On Symphony - Café Promenade offered lattes, cappucinos, espressos, various menu coffees and various coffees blended with ice.  Hubby enjoyed what I think was called a Mocha Cream Ice - which he felt was equivalent to a Starbucks Mocha Frappucino.  He was able to customize it with an extra shot, fat-free milk etc.  DD was able to customize her iced lattes with extra pumps of vanilla - just like she does at Starbucks.  Both were covered on the refreshment package.