The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, And Me!

[2Long2NxtCrz]

@flcruising89 We went on the Harmony last June and the Escape room was bookable in advance in the Cruise Planner.  But, it booked up really fast.  I was looking a couple of months before our sailing and we didn't have that many choices of days and times.  We were trying to book for six of us so that may have been the reason, but it could be completely booked by now.

 

I'd definitely suggest checking on it when you first get on board.  I think even with the charge people don't show up, so you might be able to get in on a "standby" basis.  

[Marbel69]

Awesome review - I would like to know more about the credit card thing - that’s scary - did you check your statement once you got home?

[Grenouille21]

16 hours ago, Missusdubbya said:

Fantastic review, really enjoyed it.

 

Thank you!  It was fun typing it up.

 

14 hours ago, perfect match said:

Grenouille21, thank you very much for a wonderful, well written, entertaining, and informative review! Great pictures, too!  I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! I’ve been waiting for a long time for our turn on Symphony. I keep pinching myself now because I can hardly believe that in a few short weeks it will finally be our turn! 

 

Thank you!  So glad you enjoyed it.  So exciting that your cruise is coming up!  That pre-vacation excitement is awesome.  Report back after your cruise!  

 

6 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Oh I totally remember the bath scenes and all the ways Calgon was supposed to take me away - lol, still a phrase I'll utter 🙂

 

Calgon has not yet taken me away from anything. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

 

6 hours ago, MrFunInTheSun said:

Such a super review. Thanks again, looking forward to your next cruise. 😀

 

Thank you!  Me too!

 

6 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Oh and GRRRRR on the card issues and the whole Discover card debacle, *****?!?!?!  I'd definitely follow up with them on that!

 

Yeah, I need to follow up for sure.  I typed up an overview of our Key experience vs expectations (based on communication from RCI and others' experience) and now I need to type up something about the payment.  I have to be careful and be unemotional about it.  I mostly am concerned that it was able to happen at all, as that shouldn't be possible.  I don't want it to sound like I am seeking some sort of compensation.  I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to others.

 

5 hours ago, brillohead said:

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but if you leave the shrink-wrap on your cups, you can exchange them for a different color design at a bar or kiosk selling the drink package.


As for the mildew smell, I'd be willing to bet that someone in a neighboring cabin overflowed a toilet on a previous cruise, since you smelled the mildew in the hall, too.  I was on the week before you in an inside room, and had no mildew smell whatsoever.  

 

I thought about getting different colors, but both of my kids had Sharpies (I am still not sure how or why they had them, but that is another story) and I thought it would be enough to write our names on them.  Of course they rubbed off.  By then we had already had many drinks from them, so we couldn't trade.  Perhaps next time.  It is a good idea.  Better than using a Sharpie.  

 

I was certain the mildew smell was an isolated thing.  We walked all up and down the hallway many times, and it was only one spot that smelled.  And it was our bathroom, as well, but with no ventilation that wasn't a surprise.  I tried to leave the bathroom door open as much as possible but when we were rocking and rolling the door would swing shut and open and that was annoying.  

 

5 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

Regarding your billing debacle... This may sound too obvious....but

 

 

" I said to go ahead and pay with the Visa on my account, and we headed to breakfast."

  

 Couldn't you have just shown them your paid receipt?? I'm pretty certain it shows the last 4 digits of the card you used to settle the account. 

 

The thing is, I don't think they paid it then.  I don't remember what happened but I feel like it was sort of...

 

"Ok, then just go ahead and use the Visa to pay the bill then."

 

"Ok, thanks.  Have a great day."

 

And we walked away.  They didn't say "Here's your receipt" or "Hold on and let me get you a receipt".  I am pretty sure I just walked away.  Then later when we got dinged trying to get off the ship, that was when I paid and got a receipt (after the whole Discover card thing).  

 

4 hours ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

@flcruising89 We went on the Harmony last June and the Escape room was bookable in advance in the Cruise Planner.  But, it booked up really fast.  I was looking a couple of months before our sailing and we didn't have that many choices of days and times.  We were trying to book for six of us so that may have been the reason, but it could be completely booked by now.

 

I'd definitely suggest checking on it when you first get on board.  I think even with the charge people don't show up, so you might be able to get in on a "standby" basis.  

 

And you have people like us, who book it and pay for it and STILL don't show up, because the teens are tormenting each other in the stateroom.  

 

But yes, check at GS when you board.  

 

1 hour ago, Marbel69 said:

Awesome review - I would like to know more about the credit card thing - that’s scary - did you check your statement once you got home?

 

I did, and there is only one charge from RCI in the amount that was on the bill, so it wasn't paid twice.  So the Discover card must have been linked already, and they tried running it after we walked away, and they dinged our account so we couldn't leave the ship.  I do need to find out what happened.

 

Does anyone know who I would email about The Key and the card thing?

[blueridgemama]

I just wrote a post on the Key thread about emailing RCI with questions about the Key(post #2164). They responded about a post cruise satisfaction survey that you are supposed to get on the last day of your cruise. Did you receive such a survey? 

[Grenouille21]

4 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

I just wrote a post on the Key thread about emailing RCI with questions about the Key(post #2164). They responded about a post cruise satisfaction survey that you are supposed to get on the last day of your cruise. Did you receive such a survey? 

 

I did, but there was nothing Key-specific in the survey, and there weren't really any questions that addressed it.  I didn't think a survey would be the best way to communicate the issues, but maybe I was mistaken.  

[brillohead]

6 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

Does anyone know who I would email about The Key and the card thing?

I would start with RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com and then if you haven't heard anything back within a week, send an email to the first of the company contacts listed at the bottom of this page, starting with the first person, give them a week to respond, then move on to the next person. 

 

DO NOT email them all at once, and start with the generic address first, only moving on to the next person if you haven't heard anything after a week, and only emailing one at a time.


 

[brillohead]

On 3/27/2019 at 2:47 PM, 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've been taking my small magnetic hooks on all my cruises for a couple years now.  Never had them noticed at all by security.  

Could have just been the way they were up against something else in your bag -- made them hard to "decipher" on the screen.  But as you said, once they saw what they were, they didn't care... there's nothing problematic about bringing magnetic hooks.

I like hanging damp things on a hanger or from the clips on a pants/skirt hanger and putting the hook near the air vent.  The extra air movement really decreases drying time.

Edited April 8, 2019 by brillohead

[Grenouille21]

12 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I would start with RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com and then if you haven't heard anything back within a week, send an email to the first of the company contacts listed at the bottom of this page, starting with the first person, give them a week to respond, then move on to the next person. 

 

DO NOT email them all at once, and start with the generic address first, only moving on to the next person if you haven't heard anything after a week, and only emailing one at a time.


 

 

Thank you.  I will email the Guest Relations email first and escalate only if necessary.  I will update here when I hear back.  

[brillohead]

Just now, Grenouille21 said:

 

Thank you.  I will email the Guest Relations email first and escalate only if necessary.  I will update here when I hear back.  

  
We had the "towel deposit" problem on our cruise (pretty much everyone on our Roll Call did), and I didn't want to wait in line to deal with it on board, so I just forwarded my emailed statement to the Guest Relations email with an explanation, got a standard response within 24 hours that they would follow up in 48-72 hours, and a couple days later I got an email that it had been taken care of.  

The whole thing took me maybe two minutes... others spent time on the phone to deal with it, but I hate people, and preferred the email route!  Plus, with email, you have a virtual paper trail of who said what and when.

 

[Grenouille21]

6 minutes ago, brillohead said:

  
We had the "towel deposit" problem on our cruise (pretty much everyone on our Roll Call did), and I didn't want to wait in line to deal with it on board, so I just forwarded my emailed statement to the Guest Relations email with an explanation, got a standard response within 24 hours that they would follow up in 48-72 hours, and a couple days later I got an email that it had been taken care of.  

The whole thing took me maybe two minutes... others spent time on the phone to deal with it, but I hate people, and preferred the email route!  Plus, with email, you have a virtual paper trail of who said what and when.

 

 

Ah yes, the towels.  I had them check on my last night, when I returned my last towel, and I checked my bill again that last morning.  Thankfully I was spared the towel charge, but I am glad I was prepared and knew to look for it.  I remember getting upset on our excursion in St. Thomas because someone took my towel on the catamaran.  As we were leaving, someone else on the cat had apparently heard me (probably the whole island of St. Thomas had heard me) complaining to DD and DS about it, and he pointed out an abandoned towel to me.  I mean, it must have belonged to whoever took mine, but even so I still felt like a thief when I took it.  

[brillohead]

On 4/1/2019 at 10:38 AM, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

From our experience (my daughter was almost 17 the first time we cruised and her 3 friends were already 17) the girls loathed the teen club.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but high school girls are just so self-conscious and it seems even with a group of them that they couldn't enjoy themselves.  And honestly?  I'm not sure my son who was 17 on the Harmony bothered with the teen club, either.  It's just a hard age, not quite an adult so they can't go to the disco and yet they feel like they're "too old" for the teen club.

My son loved the teen club.  He always went the first night to the Meet and Greet event, so he made some friends right off the bat.  From there, they'd break off and do various things throughout the day... soccer, basketball, Flowrider, etc.  Sometimes they'd do the organized teen club events, sometimes they'd do their own thing, just depending on what interested them.  

They don't have to use the teen club as JUST a disco/nightclub at night -- it's their adult-free area to make their own, but they have to have the self-confidence to be able to talk to a stranger, or it's just not going to work.  

[brillohead]

13 minutes ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

Ah yes, the towels.  I had them check on my last night, when I returned my last towel, and I checked my bill again that last morning.  Thankfully I was spared the towel charge, but I am glad I was prepared and knew to look for it.  I remember getting upset on our excursion in St. Thomas because someone took my towel on the catamaran.  As we were leaving, someone else on the cat had apparently heard me (probably the whole island of St. Thomas had heard me) complaining to DD and DS about it, and he pointed out an abandoned towel to me.  I mean, it must have belonged to whoever took mine, but even so I still felt like a thief when I took it.  

Our roll call was fuming over the towels thing... we ALL had the person double and triple check that our balance was at zero on Friday night, and then Saturday morning we all had charges for all of our towels!  

On my Cozumel snorkel excursion (booked privately, with only five passengers), one of the crew started to pick up my towel, and I told him it was mine.  He looked surprised, then glanced up and saw where "theirs" was hanging on the boat.... a blue RCI towel from some long-ago cruiser!  LOL

Edited April 8, 2019 by brillohead

[brillohead]

On 4/1/2019 at 5:11 PM, zooma said:

(Wonder if all airtight enough around the eyes to keep contacts from floating away.)

Snorkeling with contacts is fine, just like showering with contacts.  Close your eyes when jumping in or going under without the mask.

Any properly-fitting mask is going to keep the water out (otherwise, what's the point of wearing a mask?).  

As for contact recommendations, if you're not looking to wear them long-term, I'd suggest DAILY DISPOSABLE contacts.  When you're done with them, you take them out and throw them away -- no cleaning solutions, no worrying about ripping one, etc.  

Because there are no cleaning solutions to worry about, there's less chance of having an allergic-type reaction to the chemicals in the cleaning solutions.  (This is my problem, due to using contact cleaning solutions back in the 1980s that weren't as eye-friendly as current solutions.  As a result, I can't even use regular saline solution, because it has preservatives in it and my eyes will revolt.)

Daily disposable contacts are available from a variety of companies, and they are even available in "multi-focus" (like bifocals, for the old farts like me who need reading glasses).  I've used DAILIES AquaComfort Plus Multifocal lenses (and prior to that I used the non-multifocal version of the same lens), and *knock wood* I haven't had any symptoms of my prior reactions since I switched to the daily disposable.  

Yes, I pay a few dollars more for the daily disposable lenses versus the ones that you toss after two weeks, but I don't have to buy ANY cleaning solutions, saline rinse, or eye drops, and my contacts always feel brand-new because they ARE always brand-new. 

For people who have had issues in the past with contact lenses, I always recommend trying daily disposables first.  Your optician can give you five days of free lenses to test them before you make the commitment to buying a whole box -- your only expense will be the additional eye exam (I think it costs me an extra $20-30 for a glasses-and-contacts exam versus a just-glasses exam).

For people who fly with contact solution, if TSA gives you a hard time, contact solution counts as a medication and is exempt from the 3-1-1 regulations.  You do have to package it separately from your 3-1-1 liquids, though, and "declare" it (pull it out when you pull out your 3-1-1 bag) when going through the line, but you ARE allowed to carry it on.

[brillohead]

On 3/31/2019 at 7:02 PM, exercisemama said:

I have two boys will be with us on the ship in July, one will be 17 and one will be 18.

I was hoping the two of them could hang out together in the teen lounge, especially if they want to play video games.  Is it true that the 18-year-old won’t be allowed in with his brother?

On Royal, an 18yo is an adult, and is not able to access the teen activity areas.  

It's rough, particularly when the 18yo is still in high school, but I can understand RCI's perspective from a legal standpoint.  An 18yo "man" is viewed differently than a 17yo "boy" (same for "woman" and "girl") when it comes to legal matters.   If you had a 13yo daughter, would you want her in a club alongside an 18yo college freshman?

Fortunately, there are usually a lot of older teenaged and early 20s guys hanging out at the sport court, so they should still be able to find others to hang out with even without the use of the teen center.

[zooma]

4 minutes ago, brillohead said:

For people who fly with contact solution, if TSA gives you a hard time, contact solution counts as a medication and is exempt from the 3-1-1 regulations.  You do have to package it separately from your 3-1-1 liquids, though, and "declare" it (pull it out when you pull out your 3-1-1 bag) when going through the line, but you ARE allowed to carry it on.

 

How did I never know this?? Many thanks for this important little piece of information!

[brillohead]

17 minutes ago, zooma said:

 

How did I never know this?? Many thanks for this important little piece of information!

 
You're VERY welcome!

Years ago, I used to purchase a special preservative-free saline solution, and it simply wasn't able to be purchased in a 3-ounce size.  I put my Google-Fu skills to good use, and found out that it was considered a medication, and all my problems disappeared!  (Well, all my problems related to how to fly with only carry-on luggage when I needed my specialty saline solution, at least!)

[ShillyShally]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

The whole thing took me maybe two minutes... others spent time on the phone to deal with it, but I hate people, and preferred the email route!  Plus, with email, you have a virtual paper trail of who said what and when.

 

LOL this is so me - I've been dealing with a land vendor and have blocked their calls since I have stated numerous times to ONLY email me because I want a record of everything (they're dropping all the balls lol).  I've learned the hard way too recently to document, document, clarify, and document again!

[ShillyShally]

17 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

Calgon has not yet taken me away from anything. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

 

LOL, If I'm honest, it has never been calgon that took me away - now some great trip sans kids though... 

[ShillyShally]

9 hours ago, brillohead said:

 
You're VERY welcome!

Years ago, I used to purchase a special preservative-free saline solution, and it simply wasn't able to be purchased in a 3-ounce size.  I put my Google-Fu skills to good use, and found out that it was considered a medication, and all my problems disappeared!  (Well, all my problems related to how to fly with only carry-on luggage when I needed my specialty saline solution, at least!)

Such great info, thank you!!

[ShillyShally]

12 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

I did, but there was nothing Key-specific in the survey, and there weren't really any questions that addressed it.  I didn't think a survey would be the best way to communicate the issues, but maybe I was mistaken.  

No you're right, we had no place post cruise to review the Key, but agree you should definitely let them know how it went for you!

[brillohead]

21 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

LOL this is so me - I've been dealing with a land vendor and have blocked their calls since I have stated numerous times to ONLY email me because I want a record of everything (they're dropping all the balls lol).  I've learned the hard way too recently to document, document, clarify, and document again!

I am affiliated with a consumer advocacy group, and sooooooo often it's a case of, "Well, the customer service rep told me that they were going to......"  and there's nothing that can be done to "prove" that they were promised what they were promised over the phone or in person at the service desk.  GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!!!

And it also cracks me up that we call emails a "paper trail".... I wonder what word will end up being created to mean the same thing in the future?  A virtual paper trail?  A paper-esque trail?  Yes, these are the weird things my brain wonders about....

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

I am affiliated with a consumer advocacy group, and sooooooo often it's a case of, "Well, the customer service rep told me that they were going to......"  and there's nothing that can be done to "prove" that they were promised what they were promised over the phone or in person at the service desk.  GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!!!

And it also cracks me up that we call emails a "paper trail".... I wonder what word will end up being created to mean the same thing in the future?  A virtual paper trail?  A paper-esque trail?  Yes, these are the weird things my brain wonders about....

Ha, yep, I don't yet refer to it as a paper trail but thank goodness for email - have a case open against our deck builder with the licensing board and the only grey areas are from the he said/she said at the original design meeting, it taught me lessons and gave me ideas on how to better protect ourselves in the future.  Also why I am very careful on what I commit to in email as you have no control over where it goes once you press send. But you're so right, I wonder what it will be in the future?  

[Grenouille21]

On 4/8/2019 at 8:43 AM, ShillyShally said:

LOL this is so me - I've been dealing with a land vendor and have blocked their calls since I have stated numerous times to ONLY email me because I want a record of everything (they're dropping all the balls lol).  I've learned the hard way too recently to document, document, clarify, and document again!

 

12 hours ago, brillohead said:

I am affiliated with a consumer advocacy group, and sooooooo often it's a case of, "Well, the customer service rep told me that they were going to......"  and there's nothing that can be done to "prove" that they were promised what they were promised over the phone or in person at the service desk.  GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!!!

And it also cracks me up that we call emails a "paper trail".... I wonder what word will end up being created to mean the same thing in the future?  A virtual paper trail?  A paper-esque trail?  Yes, these are the weird things my brain wonders about....

 

As someone who is divorced from a very manipulative who apparently wrote the book on gaslighting, I have learned that a "paper trail" is essential.  It is much harder to say "I never said that" when you can screen shot and say "Yes you did".  Oddly that still doesn't stop some people from saying "Well I didn't MEAN what you think I meant...." Um, sure.  Sure.  

Edited April 9, 2019 by Grenouille21

[brillohead]

57 minutes ago, Grenouille21 said:

As someone who is divorced from a very manipulative who apparently wrote the book on gaslighting, I have learned that a "paper trail" is essential.  It is much harder to say "I never said that" when you can screen shot and say "Yes you did".  Oddly that still doesn't stop some people from saying "Well I didn't MEAN what you think I meant...." Um, sure.  Sure.  

 

Oh so you've met my mother... LOL

[Grenouille21]

1 hour ago, Grenouille21 said:

1 hour ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

 

As someone who is divorced from a very manipulative ex who apparently wrote the book on gaslighting, I have learned that a "paper trail" is essential.  It is much harder to say "I never said that" when you can screen shot and say "Yes you did".  Oddly that still doesn't stop some people from saying "Well I didn't MEAN what you think I meant...." Um, sure.  Sure.  

 

Fixed a missing word.

 

1 hour ago, Grenouille21 said:

21 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

Oh so you've met my mother... LOL

 

 

Is THAT who he learned it from?  Thanks a lot, mom!