TennisCruiser62

7 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If like other ports, Key can probably use the suite line at any time. 

Folks in the Roll Call thread might have some info. 

Thanks Biker19, I will check

Has anyone purchased The Key for this cruise on April 30, 2024? Do you know what time they let you check in with The Key?

Thank you irishgal432 for your quick response. Do you happen to know what time check-in is if you have The Key? Right now my check in time is 4:30pm and I wanted to check in (possibly have lunch on board) and leave the ship to explore  Oahu. I can't believe The Key does not allow special times for the North Star and iFly. Bumper Cars special The Key time sounds good though. 

Does anyone for this Ovation cruise in April 2024, if you can check in on embarkation day, leave your luggage and leave the ship to explore Oahu until 8pm? Since the ship does not leave port until 9pm?

Also, does anyone know The Key special times for RipCord by iFly & North Star? Looks like reservations for these activities are only paid reservations, I thought if I buy The Key that it will be included. 

Sorry if these are repetitive questions. I could not find answers.

Also, if you're interested the ship was at 80% capacity. 5065 passengers the concierge in the Diamond Lounge told us. 

On 4/24/2022 at 7:54 PM, baelor said:

Tangential, but great to see another BSG fan.

Sorry this only for Day 4-7. I didn't think to ask for printed copies until Day 4! Hope it helps.

Just off Symphony.  Hiro, iSkate 2.0, 1977: A Thrilling Adventure on Ice, Flight...Dare to Dream and impressionist Jeff Tracta were all very good. Comedians and Magician were a bit forgettable to me, sorry performers. Hiro performed on Day 4, but due to weather the Day 5 performance was cancelled and later rescheduled to Day 7. I would suggest signing up for the first performance in case they get cancelled you may have a chance to get into another performance. 

We had laser tag on Day 5 only. No reservations were required but they take 15 people at a time and you have to wait in line. Groups of 15 wait inside and gear up inside Studio B until your turn is called. Very fun!

Just off SOS on 5/7, this was our schedule. No sign of Hairspray on our cruise, BUT don't miss HIRO, iSkate 2.0, 1977:"A Thrilling Adventure on Ice", Flight Dare to Dream and Jeff Tracta Impressionist. The comedians weren't great and I don't remember much about Jamie Allen the magician (sorry to those performers!). 

Due to weather conditions Hiro played on Tues, but Wed performance was rescheduled for Day 7. I suggest booking the first show in case the second show gets cancelled and not able to reschedule. Book as soon as you board the ship!

Just off of Symphony 5/7/22 and no, they are NOT being delivered to your cabin every night. Nor were they printed and left at the Customer Service area. I asked our Stateroom attendant & the Customer Service Staff and they all said it's on the app (check your phone). Finally, went to the Diamond lounge and the concierge printed them for me  when he saw me come in. I found looking at the paper copy I had less chance of messing things I wanted to do. 

Just off of Symphony and I thought the hot food in Windjammer looked unappetizing. The salads, desserts looked good. 

On 5/7/2022 at 2:42 PM, JordanAndJJ said:

We just got off symphony and are positive. 

When did you test? After you got off the ship? We were on Symphony and flew home last night. Tested negative so far. Hope you get better soon.

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Some have reported that even on the ship the shows are not available to book in the app - this seems to be a Symphony only thing, works on other ships. You may need to use another method to book.

Thanks for the heads up Biker19! Looks like I will be going to the Box Office as soon as I board.

Sorry if this question is out there already. I couldn't find it.

Does anyone know if I can reserve show times on Symphony of the Seas using the RCCL App? or do I need to go to The Box Office once on board? How about for activities like Waterslides, Abyss, Laser Tag, Escape Room? Can I reserve times using the App also? Thanks for your help anyone!

On 4/24/2022 at 5:03 AM, cruizzing said:

We bought the photo package on Odyssey recently. Printing at the kiosk allowed you to enter the number of copies for each photo. So we were able to get say 5 of 1 shot, none of another, etc. I preferred having the prepay because I found I didn't spend a ton of time there really deciding which ones I wanted. Specialty restaurants have their own photographer and aren't included as well as iFly (which is a little misleading IMO when the picture on the website for the photo package is iFly, but I was aware of this prior thanks to CC!). I would purchase again, but I could see where others wouldn't find value in it.

 

Edited to add: In my situation,  the person who had the package didn't have to be in the photo. Ex - I purchased in DD's name, and was able to get individual photos of DS. (Though they were in the same cabin).

Thanks for the heads up. Had no idea specialty dining wasn't included anymore. On our Spain cruise, we had photos from Chops Grill in our package. 

On 4/22/2022 at 1:45 AM, trey420 said:

I'm going on a family cruise. I'm thinking about one of the photo packages. The 100 shot one.  If I get this can I take pics as a family and get as many prints as I want?  I know I have to be in them.  I don't see a lot of opportunities to take pics besides embarkation and formal nights, is it worth having this?  Just looking for info from anyone who may have used the service. 

For our family cruise, I was the only one who bought the photo package. Some photographers take several photos of the one sitting. If you can get everyone to keep that same smile, you may get 10 very similar photos you can divide up if you want the printed copies. Otherwise I'm with most of the people here where I like the digital version so I can make books digitally when I get home.

Also, just an FYI... we took a cruise to Spain, Italy, etc on RCCL and they charge a VAT tax of some sort. They said we can get that back once we arrive at the airport. Take note in Barcelona, you need to do this before going through security and you must show them your photos! We packed them all in our luggage and checked it all in, so no VAT refund for us! 

On 4/21/2022 at 6:48 AM, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

 

Thank you so much Cruiseguy1016!! This is awesome. Much appreciated!

Do you know what other coupons you get with being a Diamond member? Looks like you don't find out until you get in your cabin, so wondering if anyone knows? 

4 hours ago, CANTW82CRUISEAGAIN said:

 

Just got off Symphony on Saturday. Hairspray was not being shown. We were told the Hairspray performers were coming on board in May and shows would resume in June. Apparently the visa processing delays are the primary culprit.

 

The Hiro performers are new beginning this current cruise. It was great watching the previous performers bringing up and encouraging the new performers all week during rehearsals, primarily during the late afternoons/early evenings. You could really see their personalities come out and they are truly their own family, it was special to watch. I imagine the boardwalk balcony guests got tired of hearing the same rehearsal music (heavy drum beats) over and over again.

 

<Minor unsolicited rant> The entertainment staff, musicians and captains (ice captain, aerialists...) work tirelessly for us all. They clearly love what they do and are the best of the best. They are also human, can become tired or injured, and skaters may fall. I've read other reviews (different thread) mentioning skaters fell or a show was somehow lacking. Some performers are filling in for others due to injury or illness or they are making other last minute shifts so seeing the same show may be different, even on the same day. They know when they make a mistake and they also hear our applause and appreciation, so be sure to let the performers and support staff know how much you appreciate them in the moment and when you see them around the ship. <end rant>

 

BTW, last week there were 4673 pax of which 1229 were children up to age 17. There was a 20 min wait to get into the WJ for breakfast the first sea day at prime time, which was the main feeling of crowdedness felt all week. Of course, the last sea day the chair hogs were out the prime loungers all being taken by 7:30am (see attached). It truly felt like old times!

 

I also miss the cold soups from years ago and let it be known on post-cruise surveys. I felt the MDR food was fine overall, not terrible or amazing, but was okay. Overall, it was a great cruise.

 

 

Thank you so much for the info and pics. I will definitely remember how hard the performers work for all of us. Much appreciated!

19 hours ago, kpwhalen830 said:

Just got off the 4/9-4/16 sailing. 

The ship is very nice, not very crowded considering it was at 80% capacity. At times the bar waits were long due to crowds. 

The ongoing trend I am noticing with Royal Caribbean is the food going downhill. The menus have not changed much over the years, the presentation and quality reminds me of an Applebees or worse. 

The main dining room food needs a complete overhaul, it was not good. We ate there 5 nights and not a single meal was good, one night I had the braised short rib that was "ok". The service was very good, they just need a new menu with better food and presentation. 

The Windjammer had food that was expected for a cafeteria setting. My only complaint there was with the table hogs or table holders. I had a family of 5 and it was very hard to find a table. If you don't hold a table while the rest of your party gets food it will actually help the flow of tables becoming open because they are not occupied as long. 

Park Cafe was pretty good, no complaints and it was usually pretty fast. I ended up here for breakfast everyday except out first morning. I also did lunch and snack there often. Standouts were the "beef on weck" and egg, ham and swiss on ciabatta. The chips hogs wiped the place clean by Thursday. 

We did Jamies Italian for dinner on the 2nd night, it was a solid 1 out of 10. If I didn't have to pay an upcharge I would give it a 3 out of 10. Nothing was good, nothing was plated nice, it was just bad. The service again was good but that does not make the food any better. 

Cafe Promenade and Sorrento's were both good.

150 Central Park.....Well we finally had a good meal. It was exceptional! I was very apprehensive to go here after the lousy dining we were having. I don't have any complaints. Everything was plated nice, tasted good and was the proper temp. Our server did bring out the scallop appetizer that wasn't that great but everything else was fantastic. Whoever runs this place needs to run the entire food operation on the ship. 

Feel free to ask any questions.

Would you mind posting a pic of the show schedule on Symphony of the Seas if you're not too busy having fun!? I'll be on the ship soon. Thanks 

18 hours ago, alyssamma said:

I'm on Symphony now...only been one day but I'm very happy with the food. Sorrento's is the only place I'd say was average, but everyplace else has been amazing. Best as sea? No, but pretty damn good. I'd rate it an 8 out of 10.

 

Bar waits are long...and my only real complaint. They also only have strawberry and Pina colada mix...no banana or ice cream mix, so my wife isn't happy about that. But hey, def first world problems. And plastic straws are back.

 

Entertainment is top notch as always...that is def best at sea.

 

Is Hairspray being shown now?

29 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

No.  That program has been gone for a few years.

Oh, haha! Thanks RFerrington! I read about it online and thought it was too good to be true! Thanks for updating me!

Does anyone know if RCCL's Symphony of the Seas cabins 12329 & 12729 overlooking the Boardwalk and obstructed by the Abyss slide, still over the free amenities Johnny Rocket meals for 4, 2 free unlimited soda packages and exclusive Rock Climbing Wall Session?

On 4/9/2022 at 9:43 AM, jaygatsby27 said:

 

For the choice departure and getting off anytime you want, do you still have to wait in line with everyone else? Pre-pandemic we were escorted off by a crew member and bypassed all lines and were out on the street in 10 min. There were probably 200-300 people waiting in this long, long line! 

I just read the description for The Key perks on Symphony of the Seas coming up. Looks like they changed the shows to having seats in the VIP section (like a few years ago). It no longer says early access (45min prior to show). Sure hope thats true, I don't want to spend 45min sitting and waiting for a show! I don't even do that at home! Anyone been on board recently and experienced the special VIP section again?

Used to be Chris Wong, but he's now contracting on Ovation of the Seas out of Seattle.