blueeyescruiser

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

If HC cabin is available after final payment, pretty much anyone is available to book the cabin. If a HC person wants to cruise they should know long before final payment they are going on a cruise. If they can't find a HC cabin once inside the final payment time, they should look for another ship and sailing date for one.

Not all HC people “know long before final payment” if they will be physically able to cruise. My mother, who is 87 and wheelchair bound, often books cruises later than the final payment date based on of her health.  Cruises booked far in advance often conflict with needed medical care when the cruise finally rolls around. Fortunately, RC has always been able to accommodate us with a handicapped cabin.

My mom, who cruises RC regularly, has lost her hair for a variety of health reasons. She uses a photo of herself in her big poofy wig (think 1960s) for her boarding pass and then mostly travels with just a little turban (as shown below from Amazon) to protect her head from sunburn. When getting off and on the ship for port days, she simply pulls the turban back a little to show a bit of her scalp and says “no wig today!” She has never been asked to completely remove her turban because she addresses the issue right away with just a little pull back of the turban. Security has always been a breeze for her with no issues. I hope that your travels go just as smoothly if you do decide to travel with your choice of head covering! 

Thanks for the advice so far! I’m really only planning to try to get her an entree from the MDR on just one or two nights. I just wasn’t sure if this was even a possibility! 

Can you get takeout from the MDR if you have ATD reservations but do not actually “show up” and eat in the MDR? I’m traveling this summer with my 87 year old mother who has suffered 2 mini strokes during the last couple of years and eating can be a messy affair.  So, she prefers not to eat in public. We do have ATD reservations, but will probably cancel those to give other guests our table. I know that we could order room service each night, but I would prefer to avoid the $7.95 charge and just pickup our food myself. She just doesn’t want WJ food every evening and would like to have some of the main dining room menu choices such as prime rib or lobster. 
This will be her first cruise since her health struggles! Thanks in advance for any advice! 

Thank you so much for these wonderful updates and photos. My last cruise was on Oasis in February 2020 (Valentine's Cruise ♥️) and I miss cruising more than anything!!

Made it in June 2019 on Harmony and loved it! Made it once in December on Mariner for another beautiful day.  We were supposed to go twice on the December Mariner cruise, but the waves and wind were too much. We actually watched the attempted “dockings” from our balcony that morning! 

I talked through the options with my spouse and know that we would enjoy the newer ship, but the additional cost just seemed a burden at this point. I spoke with RC and the credit that we would get back for the second person would be in the form of a credit back on our Future Cruise Certificate that I was given by RC after my Harmony Cruise this past summer. This is basically a “free cruise” for us, so we hate to start throwing money at it.  We are driving, but it is a two day trip for us, so we also have a hotel booked that is non refundable.  Here is a more comprehensive list of my negatives. 
We would be out a $189 hotel reservation.

We would have to repurchase onboard items such as deluxe beverage at higher offerings. ($47/ person to 60/person) 
We just sailed Mariner to Coco Cay in Dec and Harmony to Coco Cay, St Thomas, & St  Marteen in June, so the itinerary is not a big draw. 

I’m also worried that we might not get show bookings on Symphony. I tend to book those far in advance to ensure that we get the shows that we want so I have no idea what that would be like 7 days out from sailing! We just have never had this type of issue with RC before!  RC is going to be back in touch with me, so I would love to hear any more advice that anyone wants to share on this “overbooking” issue. 

Russ, that’s how I imagine this will play out!

I talked through the options with my spouse and know that we would enjoy the newer ship, but the additional cost just seemed a burden at this point. I spoke with RC and the credit that we would get back for the second person would be in the form of a credit back on our Future Cruise Certificate that I was given by RC after my Harmony Cruise this past summer. This is basically a “free cruise” for us, so we hate to start throwing money at it.  I’m also worried that we might not get show bookings on Symphony. I tend to book those far in advance to ensure that we get the shows that we want so I have no idea what that would be like 7 days out from sailing! RC is going to be back in touch with me, so I would love to hear any more advice that anyone wants to share on this “overbooking” issue. 

Because of a voucher, the second guest was free so there is really no financial incentive here.  Here is a more comprehensive list of my negatives. 
We would be out a $189 hotel reservation.

We would have to repurchase onboard items such as deluxe beverage at higher offerings. ($47/ person to 60/person) 
We just sailed Mariner to Coco Cay in Dec and Harmony to Coco Cay, St Thomas, & St  Marteen in June, so the itinerary is not a big draw. 
 

In short, I need a better financial incentive to swap! The repurchasing of onboard items like the drink package is a deal breaker!  

I’m booked in an inside stateroom on the Oasis February 9th sailing and I just got an email that my category is overbooked. They are also only offering second passenger refund but on a different sailing on a different ship! 
“If you have flexible travel plans, and you’re interested in moving to a like-for like stateroom on Symphony of the Seasdeparting February 8th , click on the link below to let us know. As a goodwill gesture, we’ll provide a full refund on the cruise fare for the second passenger in your stateroom.”

We visited CoCo Cay on Harmony in June and had no problem finding chairs in the shade around the pool area and around South Beach. There were also areas of shade in the Oasis Lagoon pool on the benches located in the pool around the small islands.  

Actually, how much coca cola can one consume during course of a day? All that needless sugar, even if the choice is sugar free. YUK![/q

 

For diabetics, the Freestyle machine will offer some nice sugar free choices such as lemonade that are not offered any other way on the ship. Being restricted to water and tea (which is often sub par) on long cruises is extremely boring!

There will be a sticker on your room card indicating you have the package. Just order from the beverage server. You won’t be charged and you do not need the cup.

Thanks for the update! My elderly diabetic mother has cruised with us before and often tires of the tea and water that are often her only beverage choices on long cruises. She is looking forward to all the sugar free options that the Freestyle machine will offer. The sticker will make it easy for her to enjoy her evening "dinner drink" of a sugar free ginger ale!

I have seen lots of posts about the Freestyle Coke machines on the Koningsdam but I am a bit confused about getting cola drinks in the main dining room. Do you have to carry your chipped cup to the dining room to have a cola if you have purchased the Unlimited Coca Cola package? That seems a bit awkward!

Thanks!