Royal Caribbean The Key program not worth it unless it’s just a couple of dollars more per day over the internet price

 This is my first time getting the Key on RCL. It was only $32 cdn more than the price for the 16 days of the internet. So here’s my recommendations

- only get the key if you are definitely getting the internet package 

- watch for a sale for it when you book your cruise … RCL does surge pricing so the earlier you book your cruise the better the key and internet price will be

- only book it if the daily rate is $2 or less more than the standard alone internet price per day.

- you get a special lunch day one, free carry on bags to your cabin, special seating area for shows and preferred times for flow rider,etc. also a special breakfast on the last day. The chops grill lunch is 30 dollars value and the special seating area is great at shows as it’s hard to get a good seat on the mega ships

- only do it on the oasis or quantum class ships that are always crowded and over booked. You do not need it on the older and smaller ships

Hope this helps

Marcia

Nassau Bahamas is more cruise passenger friendly. Some tips for walking around on your own

 I have been to Nassau many times. But I began avoiding it as it was not safe or cruise passenger friendly. The last time was about 10 years ago, so when I saw the new port area I was impressed. 

It’s clean, fresh with stalls/stores as you exit. There is a taxi kiosk if you want  to go to paradise island, cable beach etc. farther afield. Use this for safety and a guaranteed fare price.

A straw market building just outside the port fence is still packed with vendors but few selling anything with straw. It’s much cheaper here for t shirts and hats. So within a 5 minute walk you can shop til you drop. However for a little bit of culture walk for 5 minutes up to king street to Christ church. It free and quite beautiful inside. 

walk another 5 minutes up the hill to the government building and turn right at the lights. You will see a sign post with Graycliffe hotel. You can’t miss the street with the colourful umbrellas overhead. There is the hotel with security but they let me walk in and look around. There is also a winery and chocolate factory and shops and restaurants. It’s a cute, safe area, but with the better quality goods more expensive.

I then walked back down to the main shopping street just one street up parallel to the port. It’s a flat area with many different types of shops. It’s worth a bit of window shopping but the best prices are at the straw market… haggle the vendors down to 65% of their first price. 

I spent 3 hours doing this at a slow pace talking to locals, enjoying the church and, graycliffe area. All of the locals I came in contact with were friendly and quite humorous.

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Harmony of the Seas…Shabby, in desperate need of repair and crowded

 Harmony of the Seas - one word describes its appearance Shabby. Yes it is due to go into dry dock for amplification but there is no excuse for all the scuffs, peeling paint, and general ugliness of the ship, the cabins, and the chairs.  All the white paint on the ship is a greyish tone with scuff marks and general disrepair everywhere. My first cabin didn’t have hot water for six days in the mornings. The plumbers would come each day and then by the next morning it was cold again. After calling maintenance, customer service and the house keeping supervisor with a desperate letter to the hotel director it was finally fixed. I received a FCC for 20% of the cruise price I paid and they upgraded my cabin. 

The paint around my cabin window has peeled off. And even the mattress topper is no longer a help as the the mattress is caved in on one side. In the new balcony cabin it is very difficult to open the balcony door and I have a ghost in the toilet as it flushes by itself night and day. 

All venues on the promenade are packed with people at all times. You have to get to morning trivia 45 minutes ahead for a seat. It doesn’t help that the weather has been cold on the transatlantic crossing. 

While staff are generally polite and nice, they are prone to lip service versus genuine helpfulness. Only the hotel housekeeper management has been responsive.

 I know I am painting an awful picture but there are some great things about this ship. Below is my list:

Food has been hot when it’s supposed to be, always fresh and the service in the dining venues excellent except for chops grille where they hurried us thru our meal. The food is repetitive in all venues. 

Windjammer their buffet has not been overly crowded for breakfast as I have gotten a table by the window each day.

My cabins are clean however the first day I needed 6 Lysol wipes as the window and desks needed sanitization.

The shows have many repeat acts from their other ships. Voices, the ice shows, the aqua show all require reservations. Reserve before you board.

Tips:

When Rcl cancels shows in the aqua theatre, they automatically schedule you for another day same time

Rcl changes the time going east to Europe at 2 pm each day.

When I missed the key lunch the first day due to their Rcl shuttle being delayed by over an hour, customer service rescheduled another lunch for me and gave me a choice of venue. It may be better to miss this first day key lunch and go another day

The park cafe and mini bites are less busy for lunch

Exiting and boarding the ship in port has been quick, just bring a picture id

Passengers have been very friendly and no political discussions, so don’t raise political topics 

Am I enjoying myself? It’s ok but not great.

Hope this helps

Marcia

United Airlines to Houston from Toronto.. it’s risky to go on a same day as a cruise

 I recently took United airlines from Toronto to Houston the same day as my cruise was leaving. Big mistake.  The cruises leave from Galveston which is a 90 minute drives from IAH airport. The only direct flight leaves at 6:10 am on UA. It’s supposed to take 4 hours and get you there at 9 am cst. I arrived at 11:20 am with an unscheduled stop at college town airport for refueling due to a slow down at the airport due to high winds. I am told the high winds are frequent. What I was mad at was UA not having sufficient fuel given this is a regular occurrence. 

I then almost missed the last RCL shuttle at noon but it was delayed to 12:45pm due to other passengers delays.  I arrived at the port at 2:45 pm.

The pilot and flight attendants were great and kept us informed, but I wouldn’t take a chance again by leaving same day.  The RCL emergency hotline stated it was a 30 minute wait time to speak to an agent. Not good either. I was lucky to get aboard as the porters were finishing up so they said take your own luggage. 

I missed the Key lunch but customer service has rescheduled it for me. 

Go a day before. It will cost you about a 40usd for the shuttle from the airport and another $150usd for an airport hotel but it’s probably worth it.

Hope this helps

Marcia

5 things cruise lines do to annoy solo travellers and how to mitigate them

 I always travel solo. While often friends are travelling on the same ship, I like my own cabin.  Cruiselines don’t cater or like solo travellers and I say this after more than 50 cruises. Below are my top 5 annoyances with all cruise lines. 

1. The price is always more for a solo. At worst 200%  of the double rate, and at best at least 20% more for the solo cabins. To reduce this, I wait for sales, book at least 9 months out, and have stopped taking cruises like norwegian that are always 100% or more . Always compare the rate they are offering for a solo to the double rate.  Interestingly hotels especially in Europe offer solos better pricing than doubles. 

2. Solo cabins are tiny and usually inside. and  very few cruise lines offer balcony or ocean view ones. I have yet to find a solo cabin that includes a comfortable chair or sofa.  Even the solo balcony on Rcl only has a stool.  You’re better to get a regular cabin on sale. I typically get an obstructed ocean view or regular ocean view as I find them quiet versus balcony.  Also they have very few solo cabins on a ships and even a year out, they are all booked. 

3. Seating in the main dining room is typically a large shared table in the middle of the dining room..no window views for solos. If you ask for early dining you will get the 5 pm vs 5:30 or 6pm regular early seating. They give the regular seatings and best placement to couples., regardless of your loyalty status. I go to the maître de on the first day after checking the seating and am willing to sit alone for better tables. 

4. Response times to issues has been slower for a solo. On Cunard I was told I was not a priority to get the phone and air con fixed. I always have to try multiple times to get things fixed on all cruise lines. . I have had to escalate to managers and the hotel director. Be polite but persistent until they help you. 

5. When booking a cabin for 1 especially on RCL and MSC, you will often get a message that states this type of cabin is not available, but if you change it to 2 people you will see cabins still available. The cruise lines try to limit the number of cabins offered to solos. You have to call or better yet have your travel agent call to get them to release the cabin for a solo. Note especially on msc, they would rather not have the booking unless it’s very close to departure. 

I hate to be a Debbie downer but this is what it is for solos.

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Buyer Beware when booking a WestJet Flight to the USA

 I booked a WestJet flight for October 2026 when I booked my Carribean cruise.  Because the cruise is departing from Cape Canaveral and disembarking in Fort Lauderdale I needed a multi city flight. The only convenient flights were WestJet in at 7 am and returning at noon. Great... so I was going in a day early to relax before the cruise. That’s fortunate as i would have missed the cruise if they did this to me on the day of the cruise.  The only thing they would do for an earlier flight was a connecting one with delta but the elapsed time was 9 hours.  To say I hate WestJet is an understatement. I had issues years ago so stopped booking them and now again. Just beware of them as they have horrible practices and customer service.

Buyer beware

Hope this helps

Marcia

How to check the view of an obstructed ocean view cabin

I was surprised when my travel agent asked why I was so specific with my obstructed ocean view picks .

I told her I have a process that I use to see how obstructed the view really is.  For you use, go to 

cruisedeckplans.com ,  and enter the cruise line, cruise ship and then go to the deck with obstructed cabins.  Most of the time you will see a link to a picture or a video.  It will show the view from the window, particularly for Princess cruises

If a picture is not available I check sister ships with the same layout as often the view is identical.  You can search the web for sister ships of the one you're going to be sailing on.  I also check to see if there are any reviews or separate videos available on line, but my first choice is Cruise deck plans site.

I have been fortunate to find cabins with minimal obstruction as usually they appear in the middle of what looks like a life boat. The ends of life boats are usually more obstructed with wires and lifts. 

I hope this helps

Marcia