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Grenouille21
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Posts posted by Grenouille21
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1 hour ago, seanjulz said:
Those hours are terrible the orginal hours they were giving people were much better and skipping the line is not the answer, just open the stuff up earlier or later for key members to use it simple no one gets upset with people jumping the queue, the only reason i have purchased the key is for "extra sessions of the flow rider for my family" i really dont want it to be at someone else's expense , i spent alot to get it but if it is going to be like this i will probably cancel it.
Yep. it was disappointing. We ended up not even doing most of the activities anyway, so I'm not sure we would have used the extra hours. But seeing that schedule was kind of a shock after seeing the others from previous sailings.
1 hour ago, Ralphinsc said:Thank you so much for the Teen club compasses! I know mine will enjoy the gaming setups and the activities. Awesome review thus far, loving every post!
Thanks for reading! DS did love the gaming in the club. I think that's how he was able to make friends so quickly. Gaming brings the kids together.
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Day 1 continued:So Deck 15 is a busy place. Not only is the Teen Club there, but also the pools, water slides, El Loco Fresh (will get to that), several bars, the arcade, the Solarium (will get to that as well), several hot tubs, The Abyss, and the Flow Rider.Oh and this GENIUS room that should be not only on every cruise ship but in every hotel and on every corner. All of the Starbucks that opened up 5-10 years ago are closing and THIS is what should replace them.I call it The Room of Requirement.Let's start with the best part. It's happened to everyone. You're trying not to use your phone that much, because you're on vacation, and you want to unplug, but you can't stop taking photos because you want to remember everything and then share it with internet strangers, and your DD is texting you non stop because apparently the Teen Club is The Worst And Please Can I Leave Now. So your phone is down to 15%, and your room is alllllllll the way aft, and you have finally found a seat in the sun, and it isn't near those people who sit far away from each other even though they are together so they can yell their entire conversation so everyone around them hears it, so you don't want to leave for toooooo long....Royal's got you covered in the Room of Requirement. You Harry Potter fans know what the Room of Requirement is. It's a secret room in Hogwarts that only becomes available to you when you need something, and to access it you think of what you need while walking past its location and the room appears.Royal made it happen.You're walking back to your room thinking "If only I could charge my phone without having to go allllll the way back to my room!" and bam. The sliding door opens and you see THIS:
These. Should. Be. Everywhere.You touch the screen, you choose a cubby, you enter a pass key, you confirm it, you plug in your phone, close the door, it locks, and your phone charges. You can go get lunch at El Loco, you can go spy on your Teen (the one who loves the club or the one who hates, it; take your pick), you can go get some ice cream, or walk past the crazy intense game of dodge ball on the sport court with people screaming on the sidelines as you walk by and you wonder when dodge ball became such a popular spectator sport.And like 15 minutes later your phone is charged.But wait, there's more.A charged phone is not the only thing you need on a vacation.Those people I mentioned earlier, the ones who sit far away from each other and it seems like the only reason they did was so they could yell their entire conversation so everyone around them has to listen to it. You sat in their vicinity and now you have a headache. You don't want to go down to the Promenade (because they don't have it there anyway, I don't think) for some Motrin. Just walk past the Room of Requirement thinking about Motrin and bam, the glass door opens and you see THIS:
The Health vending machine has a little of everything. Feeling seasick? Health has you covered. Had too much garlic sauce on your pizza? Health has you covered. Aunt Flo got you by surprise and you weren't prepared? Health has you covered.Health has some friends.Meet Splash. Splash has everything you need for both sun and fun. Sunscreen? Yup. Goggles? Go see Splash. Ray Bans? Splash has them.
Health and Splash are the kind, nurturing caregivers of the Room of Requirement. They make sure you don't get too sunburned, too sick, or too gross, and they make sure you look cool at all times. They take care of your needs.And then there is Tech. Tech takes care of your wants. Tech has all of the things you probably do not need on a vacation, but there they are. I was going to say that batteries are the exception, but what do you even have on vacation that requires batteries any more? A Walkman? Probably not. But if you do, we should talk.So what DOES Tech have? Well the batteries, for the luddites and their Walkmen. Tech also has a Nintendo DS game. Hmmm, Ok. Not really a NEED, and oddly specific. I mean, what if you already have that game? Ok moving on. Is that an iPod Shuffle? I think it is. Ok, that could be useful, I guess, especially if you're thinking about giving up that Walkman. Wait is that an iPad? Yep. An iPad. From a vending machine. On a cruise ship. It just makes me laugh. It shouldn't, I guess, but it does.
So there you go. You thought the Room of Requirement was just a fantasy, invented by JK Rowling. But no: its real, and its fantastic.-
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5 minutes ago, VictorSinclair said:
Just thought I'd help by cross posting from a wonder long form review being written right now by @Grenouille21 about her experience with the KEY on Symphony.
It would appear that the KEY reserved activities hours vary vastly. BBW
Thank you for tagging me in this. I knew others had more reserved hours on their cruises but to see it laid out like this is really awful. I've been thinking about sending an email to someone at Royal, not one of those "I demand compensation!" emails, just a "Hey, you gotta figure this out and stop changing things around" email.
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Day 1 continued:I actually have the Adventure Ocean activities, but it is a LOT of pages and I would rather not post all of them. So I'll share a few, just so you have an idea of what's going on there.Here's one for a day at sea:
I can't be the only one who laughs at the name of the morning activity. I mean come ON!!!
And here is an example of the schedule for a day in port:
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Day 1 continued:The photos are still showing up huge on my end, so let me know if this is bothering anyone and I will work on fixing it.I believe we received our first Cruise Compass in our room.
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Sometimes there was an insert with evening entertainment, sometimes that wasn't included. I'm not sure if we were supposed to get that every night, or if it was only occasional. The Royal Caribbean app also had the shows and activities listed. The app is great for some things, like having a map of the ship, or checking what time an activity is. But sometimes the times are wrong. That happened to us more than once, and it was really annoying. I wish the app had texting capacity so we wouldn't have needed VOOM internet. But right now only Harmony and Allure have texting turned on in the Royal app.The Key: I've already shared our letters from The Key, outlining the program and the private hours for activities. We also had our internet access codes in our room.Since The Key included one VOOM Surf and Stream access code for each person who had purchased The Key, we were able to text each other on the ship. We were also able to receive texts and emails from home, and use the internet as we would at home. We didn't try to watch movies or anything, it was mostly for social media and so I could do some work. I know some people say they can't imagine carrying their phone around a ship blah blah blah and back in my day we just left notes in the room to tell each other where we were going... yeah well when you know better you do better. With our room being all the way on the far end of the ship, if we had to go back to the room every time we changed location, we would have spent so much time walking back to the room. That seems so silly! Sure, I would have preferred that DD couldn't text me every 5 seconds when she wasn't with me. But my son was allowed to go places with his friends as long as he let me know where he was going. He could do it discreetly on his phone, vs saying "Hey guys, I have to walk back to my room and leave a note for my mom" then showing up 20 minutes later to find his friends have already moved on to the next thing. This was definitely a worthwhile perk for us, and we definitely benefitted from being able to text each other.Later on I found this helpful page that listed all of the shows. I remember having this on HAL and it was really helpful in planning our week. This was helpful as well, and I wish I had found it earlier in the week.
After we quickly unpacked, we headed up to Deck 15 to check out the pool and the Teen Club. On Deck 15 just outside our elevator bank we found the musical staircase. You have to try this out, both alone and with other people. It was funny to watch people use the staircase when they didn't know how it worked. They would just go up or down as usual, then suddenly realize there was music playing, and that it was coming from their movements.[MEDIA=vimeo]326485567[/MEDIA]I'll start with the Teen Club and the surrounding area. I'm afraid we never set foot in Adventure Ocean on Deck 14, so I don't have photos of that area. I do have the activity pages for Adventure Ocean, though, and I will share those.The Teen Club is technically called The Living Room. When you first walk in, you see these game chairs to the right.
Then there are all kinds of seating areas.
I think these were the chairs DD later referred to as The Tim Burton Chairs.
They had some events up on the wall here, so I assume this was sort of the announcement board. They also had a bunch of the Teen Compasses lying here so I grabbed one for each age group (12-14 and 15-17).
There was a foosball table, and another seating area. The counselor desk was just over to the left where the people are standing. That's where they kept the ball for the foosball table, and some other items. Kids had to leave their Sea Pass cards if they wanted to check out items like the ball, or some video games. DS left his card there on more than one occasion and had to go back to retrieve it so he could get off the ship in port.
The teens have their own outdoor area as well, under shade.
And then there is the Teen Disco, called Fuel. They had a bar type setup, and a dance floor. I know they had dance parties in here a few times. They had a Silent Disco party, and something else. Neither of my kids had interest in that though.
These are the teen compasses, with the activities for the week. Now, I am not sure how many of those activities happened, because as I have mentioned DD refused to go t the club and DS went, but I am pretty sure he just played video games and foosball, or left and played mini golf with friends, or went and ate pizza 1 hour before dinner and then claimed he wasn't hungry for dinner so could he just go back to the club. Um, no. You're coming to dinner with us, buddy.
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3 hours ago, ShillyShally said:
Sorry about the sleeping situation - I completely get that feeling like a bummer but happy it wasn't a big deal - love your attitude!!
Thanks! It takes a lot more than an unexpected bed arrangement to ruin my vacation :).
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Day 1 continued:Lunch was great, and now the rooms were ready.We headed up to Deck 10 to check out our room. I had booked an Ocean View Balcony Guarantee room, which means I did not get to choose the room, but would be guaranteed an Ocean View Balcony (as opposed to a Central Park or Boardwalk Balcony). Booking a Guarantee room is a great way to save money, but you have to be careful. I had checked out the available staterooms and determined that there were only a few that were somewhat undesirable, due to being near night clubs or restaurants, or in high traffic areas. I took my chances and it worked out well for us. Some ships have obstructed view balconies, and some of the obstructed views are more obstructed than others. Sometimes it is just a pole in the way, but sometimes it is a whole lifeboat, so you have to be careful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it were less expensive and if there were no undesirable rooms in that category.About 30 days before we sailed we were assigned a room. Actually, before that, I had checked out my Set Sail Pass (kind of like a boarding pass) and saw that it said Deck 10 but the room number said GTY (guarantee). I wasn't sure whether the deck was just a placeholder or the actual deck, but it turned out to be the actual deck.Our stateroom was 10330, which was allllllllll the way aft on the port side.
This was both good and bad. It was good (GREAT, actually) because it was super quiet. Since the hallway ended with a door to the Aqua Theater Suite 1 door over, the only people who would be passing us would be the people in the suite and the people next to us. The people in the suite seemed to have teenagers, and the people next to us were a couple. So that means no kids running down the hallway screaming in the early morning, and it was likely there wouldn't be kids running above us either since again, the hall ends just 1 door down so anyone running would slam into the door.It was also nice because it meant we had to walk a lot, which meant we could eat more pizza ;).It was, however, a loooooooooong walk to the front of the ship. So when I was going or coming from the Solarium (will get to that) or the theater, it was a long walk.But it was totally fine and I have no complaints about the room location.Now, I had heard that the sofa bed on the Symphony is actually 2 beds, and one pulls out from the bottom as a trundle. I thought this would be great, and the kids could sleep there and I'd have the big bed all to myself. Perfect, right? Except that on rooms that are configured with the bed near the window, the sofa bed doesn't have the trundle. So this room only holds 3 people. I had no idea this was even possible, as I had only heard that the sofa bed had 2 separate sleeping areas! So we ended up having our Room Attendant, Rodolfo, who was awesome, separate the big bed into twins. It was disappointing, but again not a huge deal since I had saved a lot by not choosing my own room.The room was still really pretty, though I don't like having the bed by the window all that much.
This is where the fridge was, and a few drawers for clothing etc. The hair dryer and 2 boxes of Kleenex were in the top drawer over the fridge. The fridge was empty, and had a lock on it (it was unlocked). The cups you see are the refillable soda cups. All of the cups looked the same, so we used a Sharpie to write our names on them. That rubbed off a few times so eventually I put a Sea Band on mine so I could identify it.
The Key: Our carry on luggage was already in the room, and since that was all we had brought we began unpacking. This was a great benefit, since we would have otherwise been dragging our suitcases around until the room was available.There are two closets. One has hanging space only, and one has some hanging space and some shelves, as well as the safe. I forgot to photograph that side.
Our safe was locked, and we couldn't unlock it, so we had to call housekeeping. They came and unlocked it, and we didn't have any issues with it the rest of the trip. But let me warn you, it is SMALL. You cannot even fit an iPad in there. I fit my wallet and our Passports in there and could probably have put our phones in there, and that is all that would fit.Speaking of small, here is the bathroom. I know, it is a cruise ship, what do I expect? But it is a small bathroom, with a small shower. I will say that over the week I noticed a mildew smell in there as well. Kind of crazy for an almost brand new ship!
The shower was fine. You could adjust the water pressure, and the water got VERY hot if you wanted it to. One thing is, the door would close automatically, so if we were hanging wet bathing suits they didn't really get much air. In fact there just didn't seem to be much ventilation in the bathroom at all, which I am sure it what is causing the mildew smell. I had noticed the smell in one section of the hallway, too.Let me just say, this did not ruin the trip, nor would it deter me from sailing on the Symphony again. It is just something I noticed, and wanted to comment on. The ship isn't perfect, but it is darn close. If an occasional mildew smell is the worst thing that I can say about it, that's pretty good.Our balcony had 2 chairs and 2 footstools, and a little table. The chair could recline completely flat, so technically you could lay out there if you used the foot stool as well.
This was our view, and it would again be our view a week later. The traffic looked horrible going in one direction, and at no point did it look like it improved. Yuck!
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1 hour ago, tcmagnum said:
Thank you for the clarification. We are still debating about the key. And the carry on luggage drop off is something we would like. Not to worried about the priority access to activities. Great review!!
I agree with blueridgemama that you should buy it, especially if you see it for $19.99. You can always cancel it up to 3 days before you sail. But if it sells out, you won't have the option if you later decide you want it.
42 minutes ago, Nrfd191 said:What time did you arrive at the Port?
Not sure if this question was meant for me, but I think we arrived around 11:00. I know I timed it and checked my watch but I forgot to write anything down.
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6 hours ago, blueridgemama said:
Thank you for including your experience with the Key benefits in each part of your review. This will be very helpful to future cruisers as to purchase it or not. Your review is very thorough and your pictures are beautiful.
Thank you!
5 hours ago, gatour said:Ooh goody, in May we have the same intinery as yours except we are going to Coco Cay instead of Nassau.
I am with you on having a sea day on the final day. We have a system where mid-afternoon on the last day, I return to the cabin and pack my suitcase(s). Then I leave for pre-dinner drinks while she packs
I am very curious to see/hear about Coco Cay! And I like your system for packing! That's my kind of system! 🍻
4 hours ago, gatour said:Love it so far.
You must know my wife. Seems like everytime we take a cruise, we end up at a CVS because my wife has forgotten something. Last time it was some needed prescriptions. Luckily the pharmacist was able get the necessary info to fill. Plus he worked in such a way, that we wouldn't be dinged by high charges because she was getting the pills out of cycle.
In regards to Key and skipping the line and lack of signs. There have been reports that they have been going up. One that I remember was mid-cruise. They should have be there on day one when they implemented the key program. I would be irked if someone "jumped" the line. However if there was a sign, I would understand, that they paid for the privalege.
So nice to see the "how to carve a carousel horse" are back. Missed them on the Harmony last year.
I really like the Royal Promenade on the Oasis and Freedom class ships. When I did a Voyager class cruise (the first time we did a cruise with a RP), I felt it was mall like. I think the extra space makes the differenc on Freedom/Oasis
Your wife and I must be long lost relatives. I always forget *something*. CVS and Publix have saved me so many times!
I feel the same as you about the signs. If they had them up, it would make sense. Otherwise you just look and feel like a jerk for going ahead of people who have been waiting. Plus my son made friends in the line, and got to watch other kids (and a few adults) trying out the boogie board. As someone who had never done that before, I think it helped him figure it out, and I know he enjoyed talking to others in the line.
We are sailing on a Voyager class ship next, and I am very curious to see how it compares to SotS and the other ships we have been on.
4 hours ago, watson61 said:Following and loving this review. I'll be on Symphony in September and can't wait. I also appreciate your Key reports. I've been wondering about that, in particular how it works out in reality as opposed to on the website.
Thanks for following along! You'll love the Symphony! I will be very curious to see what happens with The Key. Obviously they are changing things. It will be interesting to see where they land with it.
32 minutes ago, nbp said:I know you packed light but you feel you would bring the magnetic hooks next time? Is it for bathing suits to dry?
I wonder why you had trouble at check in with them?
Seems to be the thing you need when you read theses boards so a lot of people must bring them.
We ordered some and just came in yesterday (gong to leave them in its original package) with a collapsible shoe rack. 3 of us in cabin and want to make sure we have enough space for things.
I will definitely bring the hooks, as we used them for more than bathing suits. We washed some clothing in the sink (some workout type shirts that dry quickly, some other things we didn't want to send in the laundry, some clothing we had work to the animal shelter where we volunteered) and it was crucial to have a place to hang things since there is no clothesline in the bathroom like there has been on other ships/in hotels. Since all of the walls and the ceiling are magnetic, we could hang things in the shower until they stopped dripping, then hang them around the room until they were fully dry. I also use the towel clips or clothespins to attach clothing to the balcony furniture to dry, so it doesn't blow away.
13 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:Not OP but we didn't have any problem with ours in scanned bags and they were terrific to hang up extra clothes when we all got stuck in the rain in Costa Maya and had more than just wet bathing suits!
I have no idea why they dinged the scanner! and of course they were at the very bottom of my backpack! the guy had no problem with them once he pulled them out and saw what they were. I can't imagine what he thought they were on the X-ray machine??
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8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:
The executives must think that they exell at their lack of consistency.
At least they are consistent in their inconsistency.
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Day 1 continued:Ok, we've moved on from Deck 6. I'm going to go a bit out of sequence and stick with Deck 8, even though we had walked around Deck 8, then explored the higher decks, then returned to Deck 8. Don't hate me for it.Deck 8 has Central Park and Dazzles. I'll get to Central Park in a minute.Dazzles is a nightclub that is on Deck 8 and Deck 9.
They had parties here every night but I did not get to attend any of them because *someone* would not go to the Teen Club.
They had a great view of the Boardwalk. Bet it looked even better at night. Not that I would know... 
Central Park is a very pretty area of the ship. Here you will find the Park Cafe, which is home of the famous Kummelweck sandwich which I did not try. They have a late breakfast, and the food is included in your cruise fare. There is also the Trellis bar, which I did not visit once, and Jamie's, 150 Central Park, and Chops. All three of those are an additional charge.The Key: Key guests can have lunch at Chops or Jamie's on embarkation day as part of the benefits of the program. We chose to dine at Chops, as we all like filet mignon (snobs? I guess?) and the menu at Jamie's wasn't appealing. First we had to wait 10 minutes behind some woman who was complaining about all of her dining reservations. Finally we were seated, and we ordered from the Key menu (a scaled down version of the regular lunch menu).
I thought for sure we would all order the filet.Side track: we all LOVE Benihana and go every few months. We all order the filet. No question. When I saw the menu, I assumed we would all order the filet. That did not happen. We ordered mac and cheese and mashed potatoes as sides, and cheesecake and chocolate cake as desserts. Oh and Caesar salads to begin but BORING. No, just kidding. The Caesar salads on this ship were amazing.So, I could drag this out to simulate our experience at Chops but I will spare you, because it was torture. We were in that restaurant for 1.5 hours. I watched other tables who had been seated when we were seated and they were all on the same timetable as us. Meanwhile, when we were waiting for dessert a family with young kids showed up and they were served WAY faster than us.At one point I went to the bathroom, figuring the Rule of Restaurants would apply and the food would arrive while I was in the bathroom. NOPE. But I did learn that the bathrooms all have motion sensors to open the doors.
The Casear salad was the same as the one I would get almost every night in the MDR:
Don't get me wrong. This was a GREAT salad. Seriously. I was glad to have it almost every night.DS ordered the burger and was unhappy. How are you unhappy with a burger? I don't know. But if anyone can be unhappy with a burger, one of my kids can be unhappy with a burger. Especially when he just should have ordered the filet like a normal person. Who goes to a steak house and orders a burger? Where did I go wrong as a parent? Who would be unhappy with this?
"The fries are good though!" Ok whatever. Who even orders fries at a steak house? I have so much work to do with this kid.Whatevs. DD and I did the right thing and ordered the filet. Like normal people.
Somehow they had brought an extra mac and cheese for DS. It's almost like they knew he wouldn't like the burger. "Kid, what are you DOING? Who orders a burger in a steak house? Obvi your mom has failed you but no worries, we got you, son. Eat this delicious mac and cheese and all will be well. Your mom will learn. It will take time, but she will learn. And so will you. So for now, enjoy this cheesy pasta that costs a fraction of what your mom paid. And we will be laughing at your expense in the galley."
But really, it was good. But the potatoes. Oh Em Gee! The mashed potatoes were TDF. DS had none of that with his fried and mac and cheese. Because I am not actually a horrible person I offered him some of my filet, and he enjoyed it. SEE?? GET THE FILET!!! The sauces were awesome, too. I think it was a red wine reduction and a Bearnaise? Whatever, they were great. Full stop.And then dessert. I mean, dessert is pretty much always good. And this was good. Was it worth the price? I guess? But it would have been better if it hadn't taken SO LONG.
Both of these are good, so go with your gut. Gut says chocolate? Get the chocolate cake. Gut says cheesecake? Go with it. You can't lose with those two options.The lunch was delicious but it took WAY too long. I wish we had asked to speed things up. The food was amazing but overall we could have bought lunch and had the same experience. I do recommend lunch or dinner at Chops if you like filet. Whether it is worthwhile for The Key depends on how they proceed with the other benefits.-
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1 hour ago, VictorSinclair said:
Loving your review. Thanks for sharing. Do you have a picture of "the key only" reserved times that were available on Symphony? I was made to understand that that schedule is on the backside of the welcome letter you get on board from the Key. Or is the benefit now just limited to going to the front of the line with no dedicated hours for Key members?
I do have a picture of that. I was going to add it at some point but will do so now. It was so disappointing.
The Key: These were the "priority hours" for Key guests. I had been watching closely, and all previous sailings had multiple hours per activity per week.
I had been paying very close attention to this before we sailed. This was unlike anything I had seen before. One hour per activity per week? Not worthwhile at all, IMO.
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1 hour ago, Ralphinsc said:
We are actually doing the Try Dive on the morning of our first Sea Day (at least me and my DS are). Figured it would be in the Aqua theater pool since that is the only one deep enough to dive into, but good to see confirmation of that. Thanks!
And still debating if we are going to be Key line cutter or not. lol
If they would make two lines and make it clear that Key guests would have some sort of priority, I would be OK with it. I just don't like the whole "Just flash your wristband and cut the line!" aspect of what was presented to us.
57 minutes ago, nbp said:Following!!
Thank you so much for your review!
Purchased The Key and will be on Symphony in a few weeks!!
I really want to hear about your experience. I do wonder if our experience was due to the insane amount of people on the ship. Someone told me we were over capacity. I don't know how that is possible. I did hear there were 1500 kids age 12 and under on our cruise. 1500!!! So maybe that's why our benefits were diluted? Because there were just SO MANY PEOPLE? I don't know. I really want to know if our experience was a one-off.
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Since I can't edit my post, I want to amend the portion about The Key. There were two benefits being discussed and I focused on one instead of separating the two. The paragraph should read like this:
The Key: One of the perks of The Key is that you can drop off your carry on luggage in the Royal Theater and it will be delivered to your room before any checked luggage. We went straight there when we boarded, gave them our room number/name, and dropped off our bags. This was a very nice benefit, and one that I really appreciated. Our luggage was in our stateroom when we went there, no problems at all.
The Key: Then we were given wristbands, and we were told those were for priority access to activities like the Flowrider, Rock Wall, Zipline, Abyss, etc. I hadn't heard of having priority access, so I was confused. All of the documentation I had read said we would have special hours just for Key members. I was told yes, there would be special hours, but we could also go to the front of the line any time with the wristbands. I asked again and was told no really, you just go to the front of the line and show your wristband and you get priority any time. We did not test this out as my son was not comfortable cutting in front of other kids who were waiting, and I was not about to encourage him to do so. There were NO signs ANYWHERE stating that Key guests could cut the line, nor were there separate lines (I think there was a suite/Diamond/Pinnacle line at The Abyss, but NO Key line anywhere). Some people have said they would have no problem cutting the line because they paid for the privilege and too bad for the people who didn't. I have been told "It is just like having a Fastpass or Express Pass" but I disagree. At Disney/Universal there are signs EVERYWHERE about Fastpasses/Express Pass. You get emails from Disney/Universal explaining it all to you. You see separate lines labeled "Fastpass" or "Express Pass". You wait in a different line. Imagine the chaos that would happen at Disney/Universal if there were only one line, and anyone with a Fastpass/Express Pass could just shove past everyone else and go to the front. IMO this is a terrible system and not one we were comfortable using. This was no benefit to us as Key members.
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Day 1 cont'd:So we had explored Deck 5, now it was time for Deck 6. I should add, because I think someone asked about it elsewhere and I don't think I added it here. We had left our hotel at around 10:15 or 10:30 (not really sure), I think we arrived at the port around 11, and we were on the ship by 11:15. And that was with the security check and bathroom stop, and the ride to the port. So it was really quick.Oh my goodness and I forgot that we had dropped off our bags in the theater! That's where we looked down and saw the sculpture of the lollipop!The Key: One of the perks of The Key is that you can drop off your carry on luggage in the Royal Theater and it will be delivered to your room before any checked luggage. We went straight there when we boarded, gave them our room number/name, and dropped off our bags. There we were given wristbands, and we were told those were for priority access to activities like the Flowrider, Rock Wall, Zipline, Abyss, etc. I hadn't heard of having priority access, so I was confused. All of the documentation I had read said we would have special hours just for Key members. I was told yes, there would be special hours, but we could also go to the front of the line any time with the wristbands. I asked again and was told no really, you just go to the front of the line and show your wristband and you get priority any time. We did not test this out as my son was not comfortable cutting in front of other kids who were waiting, and I was not about to encourage him to do so. There were NO signs ANYWHERE stating that Key guests could cut the line, nor were there separate lines (I think there was a suite/Diamond/Pinnacle line at The Abyss, but NO Key line anywhere). Some people have said they would have no problem cutting the line because they paid for the privilege and too bad for the people who didn't. I have been told "It is just like having a Fastpass or Express Pass" but I disagree. At Disney/Universal there are signs EVERYWHERE about Fastpasses/Express Pass. You get emails from Disney/Universal explaining it all to you. You see separate lines labeled "Fastpass" or "Express Pass". You wait in a different line. Imagine the chaos that would happen at Disney/Universal if there were only one line, and anyone with a Fastpass/Express Pass could just shove past everyone else and go to the front. IMO this is a terrible system and not one we were comfortable using. This was no benefit to us as Key members.So Deck 6 has the Boardwalk, which leads to a few dining options, the Aqua Theater, and you can access the Rock Climbing wall.
You will probably visit this area at night, for the Aqua Theater, or maybe after you descend from The Abyss, but hopefully you'll also visit during the day to eat, or just to enjoy this part of the ship.As you walk down the Boardwalk, you will see one of my favorite art installments on the ship:
It shows how carousel horses are made, with some disembodied hands (not my favorite part), and it leads to the carousel.
So yes, those pictures are from an evening, not day 1. I cheated. Sorry. But I was kind of overwhelmed on the first day, getting my bearings, and I didn't take all of the photos I wanted to that first day. Or if I did, they were kinda boring like this.
There is another art installment on the Boardwalk, but either it wasn't working properly or DD couldn't get it to work. You are supposed to wear the "hair" and hear something. She said she couldn't hear anything.
You'll also walk past Zoltar, who will yell at you, giving you flashbacks of the terminal in Miami. And also you'll remember the movie Big.
For dining, you have the Boardwalk Dog House, Sugar Beach, and Playmakers.Boardwalk Dog House is the only option of these that is included in your cruise fare. They have a few options, different types of hot dog/sausage, not much in the way of side options.
I got a regular Coney Island Dog there once, and it was good. Nothing outstanding, but it was a hot dog, and it was good.Then you have Sugar Beach, which is a candy and ice cream shop, and none of it is included in your cruise fare, which is why we did not set foot in there until the last night of our cruise, when I figured I should at least take some photos.
Next to Sugar Beach is Johnny Rockets. Johnny Rockets has a surcharge for lunch and dinner, but breakfast is included in your cruise fare. Let me repeat that, because everyone hears "Johnny Rockets has a surcharge" and dismisses it. But breakfast is included in your cruise fare. You can order from the menu, it is made a la carte, and the servers are nice, and the food is really good!
Next to Johnny Rockets is this climbing structure for little kids. We called it The Pringles Thing because it looks like a bunch of colorful Pringles. Well the kids on the ship seemed to love it!
Past The Pringles Thing is the rock wall, and the Aqua Theater. You need to make reservations for Hiro, the main Aqua Theater show, but the second show (Aqua Nation) does not require reservations. Go to both shows. I'll say it again later, but go to both shows!This is not one of the shows, btw. This is the cruise director. Oh also they show movies here, and other shows. And if you are doing scuba training this is where you will do it.
On either side of the Aqua Theater are the rock climbing walls. DD had said she would do it, but that never happened. I never really encouraged it, either. We were busy with other things.
In the middle of the Boardwalk is the exit from the Abyss slide, which is the 10 story slide down the back of the ship. I'll talk more about this later.
Then turning further to the right is Playmakers, which is basically a sports bar/arcade. The drinks are included in the beverage package, but you will pay for any food you order. We didn't eat here, but I did get bottled water and a few glasses of wine throughout the week.
And I believe that's it for Deck 6!-
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Day 1 cont'd:Sorrento's has 2 Freestyle machines, where you can fill your reusable cup that comes with the beverage package. Oh and they have pizza.
They always had cheese, pepperoni, and veggie pizza, then there was another option. Here is the menu from day 1, I think:
But one day they had barbecue chicken pizza and it was the best day ever.
Really, the pizza was all good. They also had sauces for the pizza, which was totally unnecessary, but did that stop me from getting a small bowl of garlic sauce in which I could dip my pizza crust every time I got pizza? No it did not.
Oh and the pizza is included in your cruise fare, so you can eat here as often as you like. They are open until 3am, too. Sometimes the line was like 15 people long, which was crazy. Luckily for us that happened when we were not getting pizza.Also on the Promenade is the eponymous Cafe Promenade. Here you can get lattes, cookies, doughnuts, danishes, desserts, and wraps/sandwiches. We got dessert here once or twice but that was it. The coffee line was always at least 6 people deep so we skipped it and went straight to the pizza. Did I mention the unnecessary yet oh so delicious garlic sauce?The food here at the Cafe Promenade is included in the cruise fare, but the specialty coffee (lattes, mochas, etc.) are not. They did have regular coffee you could pour for yourself off to the side, that was included in the cruise fare.
And now on to the bars! Which I just realized I only took photos of two of them! Oops! Maybe I'll borrow from Royal's webpage? Shhh, don't tell them.Boleros is a Latin club with live music and dancing. During the day I saw dance lessons happening here, which looked like a lot of fun, and they were well-attended. At night people were dancing, and the club seemed to have good attendance.
On Air is also on the Promenade. This is where the karaoke happens. Probably other things happen here too, but at night the only thing I saw as karaoke. Let me tell you, I saw some AMAZING karaoke happening here! I swear these people must have been professionals planted in the audience. There is no way there were that many talented people on our sailing! The audience was super encouraging, even toward the greener karaoke artists. It was a fun place, and was standing room only most nights.
Then there is the Rising Tide bar, which is technically only on the Promenade part time. Why? Well, the clue is in the name. The Rising Tide bar rises up to Central Park every 30 minutes or so. I am not sure of the exact schedule because I didn't want to be trapped on a rising bar with people I didn't know. Also I was pretty much never alone, and DD would have had to go with me. Maybe next time.
And an oddly shaky video of the bar coming back down, later in the cruise:[MEDIA=vimeo]326485662[/MEDIA]Then there is the Copper and Kettle. This place had a Bloody Mary cart out in the mornings, where you could build a custom Bloody Mary. I am not a fan, so that did not appeal to me at all. I think I went here for bottled water (also included with the beverage packages) and that's it. There was often a guitar player/singer in there, which you could hear out on the promenade. I don't mean that in a bad way. He was good! I just mean you didn't have to go into the bar to hear him; you could enjoy his music from outside the bar as well.
And then there is the Bionic Bar!
This was fun to watch! We ended up ordering a drink from here later in the cruise, so you'll hear more about it then, but to order a drink you go to an iPad, choose your drink from a menu or customize your own drink, then there is a screen off to the side that has the queue for drinks listed. When your drink is done, you scan your Sea Pass or Wow Band and the drink slides toward you. Bionic Bar in action! You can also hear the piano player from Schooner's (above the Promenade, on deck 6, which overlooks the Promenade).[MEDIA=vimeo]326485611[/MEDIA]Also on the Promenade is the Next Cruise store, where you can book your next RCI cruise. This place was always busy, and you pretty much had to have an appointment if you wanted to be seen.There are shops and kiosks here as well. There is a Royal shop, with all things Royal Caribbean/Symphony of the Seas. There is a Duty Free shop, and a few other specialty shops with expensive things that I wasn't buying. The kiosks had all kinds of watches/jewelry and had "Flash Sales" where everything was 75% off for 10 minutes, or something.Above the Promenade, on Deck 6, is the photography store, where you can buy your cruise photos, and my favorite spot to relax at night: Schooner's.
There was a guy who would play piano and sing, and it usually turned into a sing along. I didn't participate, I just sat off to the side and read or ignored texts from DD who refused to spend time in the Teen Club. Finally I just had her go to Schooner's with me. They did have these cool ship cut out things.
I am sure I am missing something from the Promenade, but you get the idea. From Deck 6, you can go out to the Boardwalk, which will by my next post... some time probably later tonight.-
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Day 1 cont'd:FYI I am also sharing this review elsewhere, where people are not as familiar with Royal Caribbean. So I apologize in advance if I seem to be over-explaining or over-selling RCI here. I am trying to take out some of the things that everyone here probably knows, but then it kind of messes with the flow of the trip report.We were finally on the ship! We entered on the Royal Promenade, where we would spend a lot of time over the next week. The Royal Promenade has food, drinks, shopping, parties, parades, and art. In many ways it is the heart of the ship. Before boarding I had sort of envisioned the Promenade as a mall. It sort of has that vibe, but it would be a fairly cool mall that throws parties and has entertainment and bars.We admired the art as we walked around.This one is actually on deck 4, I think:
And one of the elevator banks:
Another elevator bank:
I guess all of the Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis Class ships have a classic car on the Promenade. For whatever reason, this is what they did to the car on Symphony:
My son made a comment at one point that the theme of the cruise was "Big Strange Art." He's not entirely wrong.So, as I mentioned, the Promenade is home to some dining options. Sorrento's is one such option that we visited often.
I need to side track a bit here. If you are familiar with Royal, you can skip ahead to the bottom of this post or go to the next one.We had purchased beverage packages for the cruise. The beverage packages are available in your Cruise Planner, which is accessed through the Royal Caribbean page. The pricing seems to be rather fluid (see what I did there?) so check your Cruise Planner often. Pay no attention to the "% Off" fake sale and just look at the daily price. If you know you are going to buy it, just buy it and keep checking for price drops. If the price drops, cancel your package and rebook it at the new price. You can do that with excursions, spa treatments, dining, etc. too.Here is the breakdown of packages, straight from Royal's website:
My kids enjoy mocktails on vacation and mama likes her grown up drinks, so the kids got the refreshment package and I got the Deluxe. We all really like the Freestyle soda machines because they have SO many sugar-free, low/no calorie, no caffeine options. And I had thought we would be getting lattes in the morning but that never happened because the line was too long.The beverage packages were totally worthwhile for us, as I was able to order a glass of wine without stopping to think about the cost, and the kids could try different mocktails, again without me having to worry about the cost. Gratuities are added in to the package price, though you can always add more if you like.-
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9 hours ago, LuCruise said:
Love your review so far. Great sense of humor. We were on the cruise right before you and as we walked off I remember acknowledging those balloons on the promenade ready for the next group. Looking forward to hearing more.
P.S. our 13 year old sobs would get along really well as ours is also Fortnight obsessed.
YES the balloons are the happiest and saddest sight. Happy when you board and you know they are for you, sad when you are leaving and you know they are for someone else!
I don't know how my son survived a week without Fortnite.
7 hours ago, ShillyShally said:Loving this so far, can't wait for more! And mine tend to travel ok together but we recently took youngest son and his GF on a cruise and that was a DREAM compared to the one we took a couple years ago with my older 2 girls sharing a room - we had a great cruise then too but not entirely sure they appreciated their close quarters all week and I know their sisterly gripes cut into my cruise vibe 🙂
I sort of want to bring a friend for DD next time, because then she will actually try new things and have fun! Also then maybe she won't start fights with DS so much. But the logistics of bringing a friend are preventing me from moving forward with that.
5 hours ago, mrlddst said:Aww man, where is the rest......I'm sitting in the doctor's office with my kid eagerly anticipating the rest. Great humor....I'm subscribing....
:). I promise there is more to come! Thanks for reading along!
4 hours ago, tcmagnum said:Love your sense of humor and honesty.
Thank you for doing a key review as you go.
If I'm not mistaking...One bottle per adult in stateroom, but no more than two bottles in stateroom. So, if three adults in one room then only two bottles of wine. Kind of sucks...
Thanks for reading! I do think it is 2 per stateroom. I didn't try it out, but on Disney and HAL I was able to bring 2 on in my bag.
4 hours ago, Host Clarea said:Two bottles per stateroom, regardless of the number of guests in the stateroom.
That's what I thought :D.
4 hours ago, BillOh said:I haven't been to Port of Miami since 2013, thanks for these pics.
I wish I had more, especially of the new terminal. It is so efficient, though, there really isn't time for photos.
56 minutes ago, Ralphinsc said:Love this! Following along! On the Symphony in less than twop weeks with out 14 year old son who could probably talk for hours with your about Fortnite, lol! Looking forward to the Teen club review and the Key benefits as we have a veste3d interest in both. Thanks for the embarkation review. What time did you get to the port? Wondering if general boarding had started by then so it did not matter about priority Key boarding by that time. We are flying down three days early and staying at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Planning to visit the same CVS you did. Do they have wine available to purchase there?
I am jealous of your upcoming Symphony cruise! I wish I could go back! Good luck on dealing with the Fortnite withdrawal from your son. It is brutal!
I think we left our hotel around 10? 10:30? And we were on the ship by 11:15. There weren't even any signs I saw for The Key in the terminal. I mentioned it to someone and she directed us to a set of desks on the right, where others were going left, but The Key was never mentioned and there was no sign for it anywhere.
I think we will stay at the Holiday Inn next time. Let me know what you think! I am 99% sure the CVS had wine. I had the drink package so I wasn't interested in buying wine, but I do think they had it there.
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22 minutes ago, island lady said:
Simple to cut and paste the rules stating such on the RCI website, then email to your "expert". 😉 😄
You would think that would work, right??? I did exactly that and was told "It is poorly worded, it means 1 per adult, not 2 per stateroom." It couldn't be clearer, to me, but the expert wasn't having it. I was told by the expert that people may "get away with it" but the rule is 1 per adult. Can't argue with an expert! 🤷♀️
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18 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:
If the private island were Half Moon Cay, that would be a nice new stop. Conversely, on the Western, Roatan and Belize are good snorkeling areas...Belize being excellent.
9 hours ago, OCruisers said:Agree!
If snorkeling is important to you, the Western would be my pick.
On which cruise line will you be sailing?
7 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:Have you ever been to the back side of Cozumel? Perhaps you should try that - it may provide a different perspective on the island.
Agree with you that the Southern is the best of three, however.
I have a Southern Caribbean sailing scheduled for 2020. Can't wait!
9 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:It would pretty much be a toss up, but the two new ports would tip the scales for me. BTW, the time in June or July would have no bearing on either.
Both itineraries have 2 new-to-me ports, though. Glad to hear the timing is not going to make much difference. I had heard that June is rainy and cloudy but July is not?
17 hours ago, lab_love123 said:If the private island were Half Moon Cay, that would HEAVILY favor the Eastern Caribbean itinerary for me. It's a beautiful stop. If you don't typically sail HAL or Carnival, you're not likely to make it back there; whereas, Roatan and Belize are becoming quite popular on the Western Caribbean itineraries so your chances of making it there are greater.
Private island is Princess Cays. The other stops are places we might visit on future cruises, though. I'm intrigued by Roatan and Belize, but not a fan of Cozumel. Grand Cayman was fun, but I could skip it and be fine.
18 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:If the private island were Half Moon Cay, that would be a nice new stop. Conversely, on the Western, Roatan and Belize are good snorkeling areas...Belize being excellent.
Private island is Princess Cays. I am glad to hear Roatan and Belize have good snorkeling. I definitely want to visit some day, but would be equally happy to visit with the kids (this trip would be solo).
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Day 1 cont'd:So, we had experienced 2 different cruise line embarkation procedures: DCL (Port Canaveral) and HAL (Vancouver). I had read extensively about the new terminal in Miami, but I wasn't sure what to expect.On DCL we had always arrived early to a terminal full of people who were sitting around or standing in line, waiting. We went to a person at a desk, checked in/got our KTTW cards, and then waited to be called to board. It was kind of a cluster, with everyone crowding the boarding ears waiting for their boarding group to be called, and you had to push your way through to board.On HAL we walked through endless hallways, circled back, stopped at a desk and got our info and cards, then were directed to a specific row of folding chairs lined up Musical Chairs style until someone told our row of chairs it was time to board. It was very methodical and structured.So let's talk about boarding in Terminal A in Miami. As you enter you see this:
Suites and Pinnacles to the right, everyone else up the escalators or stairs. Don't stop to take photos here, and especially don't stop to take zoomed in photos like this:
Because they will tell you to move along, and they mean it. DS stepped to the side to get a better photo angle so DD and I waited for him, and we were told "You can wait for him upstairs!" I said he was just taking a photo and we would move along in a second. She said "No, your husband, that's who you're waiting for, right?" Um, no? "I don't have a husband," I said, and I smiled like this 😃. She laughed, and by then DS was done taking his photos, so we moved along.But they mean business. Do not stop.This theme of DO NOT STOP continued all the way through the terminal. I had wanted to take photos of the process but I could not because we were constantly being shuffled along and yelled at to move along.My bag was flagged in the scanner, so we had to stop (take THAT, RCI!) while they pulled out my stuff and uncovered.... the magnetic hooks.
They had triggered the scanner, though TSA had let them through at the airport just fine. Mmmmkay.Then DS decided he had to use the bathroom, so again we had to stop. We were totally sticking it to RCI with all of this stopping, for real. I had wanted to ask someone a question, based on a debate I was having with someone, but there wasn't anyone I could ask. The question was: Are you allowed to bring on board 2 bottles of wine per stateroom or 1 bottle of wine per adult. RCI policy is pretty clear to me, 2 bottles per stateroom, but someone who claims to be very informed about all things Royal Caribbean insisted that even though the policy reads 2 per stateroom, they actually mean 1 per adult. That makes no sense, because what if there were 3 or 4 adults per stateroom?See, I ask the real questions. And I want answers. And I wasn't getting them in Terminal A.So once DS was done with his business, we moved along.There is some cool stuff to look at as you MOVE ALONG, like this:
And then... it is time... NO SITTING IN MUSICAL CHAIRS AND WAITING! MOVE ALONG! You walk through a hallway and think "THIS IS IT!!!!" but no, you turn around and walk back. See the three hallways here, as seen from below? Straight. Up. Torture.
"Am I going back to the terminal? What is happening here?" and then you turn again...
and finally...
There you are! Right smack in the Promenade, where you will inevitably spend a lot of time for the next week.So, from the time we exited the taxi to the time we stepped on to the ship, including the security check for the super scary magnetic hooks and DS's pit stop, it was less than 15 minutes. I timed it.The Key: As we entered the terminal I mentioned that we had The Key, because according to one of the many lists of benefits, priority boarding and check in was a perk. I was shuffled along to the escalators with the masses (OK there weren't really masses yet, but YKWIM). No Key benefit here. But it doesn't matter because I doubt we could have made it on the ship faster, plus the Suites and Pinnacles were SITTING!!! OMGWTFBBQ none of that sitting stuff for us, thank you very much! MOVE ALONG AND GET ON THE SHIP!!!-
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(BTW if any of the pics are too big, please let me know and I will try to figure out how to post smaller photos.)Day 1:Cruise day!!!We woke up bright and early, and headed to breakfast in the Club Lounge. The choices weren't that great, but we managed to find a few things we liked.
Check out was smooth, and we found a taxi and headed to the port.There wasn't anything wrong with the Intercontinental, but I'm not sure it was worth the cost, even with the discounted rate, especially since we arrived late. I think next time we will opt for something less spendy, unless we are arriving a few days in advance.The drive to the port was uneventful, until we approached the port. It can't just be me, but there is nothing quite as exciting as seeing all of those ships lined up, looking for *your* ship among the crowd, waiting for that first glimpse of your home for the next week. We passed by several ships.I don't remember which this was, maybe MSC?
Then there was the NCL Bliss. A nice looking ship, and it wasn't the last time we would see her this week.
I think this was a new NCL terminal under construction? It was near the Bliss so I assume it was for NCL.
And then. Is that it? I think it is... YES! I see The Abyss! It must be our ship! There is nothing quite like seeing your ship, or your resort, for the first time on a vacation. You've been planning, researching, looking at photos, videos, reading about other peoples' experiences or remembering the last time you were there... and then there it is, right there, and it is finally your turn. That feeling never gets old!
I had my son taking photos out the window of the taxi because I was squashed in the middle of the back seat so DS and DD didn't kill each other. Tell me I'm not the only one whose kids still can't sit next to each other because they will fight?
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Day 0 continued...Turns out we needed a few things from CVS. So we headed out and walked a few blocks to the CVS.
We spent quite a while looking around as they had some really fun stuff there. We needed an iPad charger, so we could use the iPads on the flight home, and I needed a small bottle of nail polish remover. I ended up buying this gel nail polish remover (not for removing gel nail polish, but the remover itself is gel) which I have used before. Spoiler alert: this stuff is HORRIBLE! I forgot that I had used it before and it is awful! The stuff is like super glue on your skin, plus it doesn't really get all of the nail polish off. When I used it, it made such an incredible mess. My fingers and toes looked like I had been given a manicure by an extremely energetic 3 year old. The polish was everywhere *except* my nails.We did find some cool stuff, though. DD and I are really into skin care, and sheet masks. At CVS we found some Hello Kitty sheet masks that are so cute, and so fun!
We had more, but we used them before I took this photo.Armed with our CVS purchases, we headed back to our hotel. As we approached our hotel, we could see there was a super cool projection of a person dancing on our hotel.Hmmm, I guess I can't post video here? Bummer. It was cool, let's leave it at that.We were tired, and wired, but we knew tomorrow would be a very exciting day.-
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Day 0:We pack light on our vacations. Why? Another long and boring story, but my anxiety says that traveling is easier when we don't check luggage so we don't check luggage. So far it has worked for us. Thanks, anxiety!We use packing cubes. I was skeptical about them for a while. I mean, how would it possibly help you to use packing cubes? Well, when we were on a vacation in Wyoming, where we were moving hotels every few nights, it seemed like a good idea to try the cubes since we would be living out of suitcases. It was so easy to just pull out some cubes and then fit them back into our suitcases. When we pack, we end up pulling things out and rearranging things, and cubes make that easy. They are like this puzzle pieces. They all fit perfectly in a suitcase, especially when you roll your clothing. Yes, we often end up doing laundry on vacations. Some people are astounded by this. "What??? I would NEVER want to do LAUNDRY on VACATION!!!" Well calm down buddy, no one is forcing you to do laundry on vacation. Personally I would rather throw a load of laundry into the machine while hanging out at the pool (conveniently there was a laundry room next to the pool at a hotel once), or while hanging out in the room in the evening. For me it is preferable to either losing our luggage or looking like we are moving into the hotel for a year. On our cruise we saw bags outside of the rooms that were the same bags my kids pack all of their gear in for a MONTH at summer camp. I can't fathom bringing that much stuff on vacation and then having to wash all of it when we get home.But to each his own, right?Anyway, my daughter said on this trip that cruising is like going to overnight camp. Every time you go, you figure out something that you should bring the next time, so next time you are more prepared. Here is a very small list of things we have learned to bring on cruises, some obvious, some not so obvious:Towel clipsReading materialSnorkel maskSunscreen (high spf)Laundry soapMagnetic hooksAnyway, on to the vacation.Our flight to Miami left Chicago at 2pm. This was worlds better than our usual super early 7am flight when we go to Florida! 2pm meant we didn't have to worry about traffic, or huge airport crowds. Traffic was pretty light, and we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare:
DD and I have TSA Pre Check. DS doesn't have it yet, because he was too young when DD and I signed up and I haven't taken him to get signed up yet. Luckily he had it added to his ticket anyway, so we all went through TSA Pre line. From the time we entered O'Hare to the time we reached the gate was 15 minutes, and that included going through the trippy walkway to the C gates. If you've been through the United terminal at O'Hare and you've left or arrived through a C gate, you know what I'm talking about. And if you don't, here is a visual:
I had upgraded us to Economy Plus on the plane. It was so nice having that extra space! We hadn't remembered to charge the iPads and apparently my computer needed an update in order to watch any of the United entertainment. Somehow we made it work; I think DS watched something on one iPad and DD watched on her phone and I read. In any case the flight was uneventful and soon enough we had landed in Miami.We grabbed a taxi and went to our hotel. I had found a great rate at the Intercontinental Miami in the Club Level. We had never been to Miami before, and we were only staying overnight. The hotel was maybe 20 minutes from the port, and in a good location where we could walk to restaurants/entertainment if we wanted.When we checked in we were told the club lounge was closing in 30 minutes, and we should head there if we wanted any of the appetizers and drinks. So we dropped off our bags in the room, took a few quick photos, and then headed down to the Club Lounge.
We had great views of Miami, which would have been even better without my reflection.
This was in the club lounge. I guess someone thought it would be funny to remove some letters from the sign with Breakfast and Happy Hour times. Someone else thought it would be funny to take a picture of said sign, and post it here.
Alas, vacation had begun.
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The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, And Me!
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted