mbk999

yet another vote for switching to the Mariner

On 7/17/2017 at 10:42 PM, Floski said:

 

I agree.  I love eating in the MDR.  IMO (which with a fiver will get you a nouveau cup o' joe), it's a great venue - the food is excellent, and if I get something I don't like, I just get something else.  The waiters do their damndest to please you (I still can't get my wife to put a clean, cloth napkin in my lap and call me "sir").  My wife thinks that I grill the best steak she's ever had by far, so why go to a steak place?

 

That said, we will probably do First Night Done Right, and also hit up Sabor for lunch.

 

 

We also prefer eating at MDR with the same wait staff who can start to anticipate your needs, we just think that adds to the overall vibe.    The MDR food is usually very good (imo) though I've had some clunkers here and there.   But if you don't like, get something else.   We tried Chops first time on the Enchantment in April and the service was fantastic too  The food was a step up from the MDR but to be honest, I wasn't blown away by it.  It wasn't at a Ruth's Chris or Morton's level.   But in the interest of science, we'll give it another go on our next trip, as one specialty dining is included for us.   We'll  hit Sabor and/or Giovannis once too, probably for lunch.  My two cents....

I too heard that the refurb is in Nov/Dec of 2017 but I don't know what that will include.   My guess would be a good general cleaning and painting.  The exterior definitely needs some of that imo.  The refurb should address the normal wear and tear and it should look great coming out of it.    We sailed on her in April and it was as expected, a nice relaxing cruise, albeit w/o all the bells and whistles of the newer ships.  For the most part, we thought the main dining room food was good, Chops was good and actually the Windjammer was probably the best of any Windjammer experience we've had.  I thought the O/V cabin was fine, we had a connecting room but really didn't hear much noise at all.  Hope you have a good cruise (and we too are constantly thinking about our next cruise which is still 15 months out).

23 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I'm suddenly reminded of the "Bruces" sketch from Monty Python (albeit kind of in reverse):

Bruce #1: "Right, let me introduce you to the other faculty. Michael Borwin, Bruce. Michael Borwin, Bruce. Michael Borwin, Bruce."

Bruce #2: "Is your name not Bruce?"

Michael: "No, it's Michael."

Bruce #2: "Well, that's going to cause a little confusion. Mind if we call you Bruce just to keep it clear?"

I almost spit out my first side of Spam.......

Same 1st world problem here...   Michael Brian, go by Brian  and I'm not a jr don't know why my folks did that to me.    It's not just RCI, employee and building badges get Michael stamped on it automatically and they won't change it due to "policy"   I just shrug it off as well.  I should have done a clean break in college and switched to Michael but woulda, coulda, shoulda.... 

Does she remember Magic Kingdom?  It's different enough from DisneyLand.  If you do a Disney park, I'd avoid Hollywood Studios right now as it's under major construction.  You can go to Epcot and eat with the Princesses and ride the new Frozen ride.  That might be an option too.  

On 7/12/2017 at 11:10 AM, Mrsbeaker1127 said:

Has anyone done the land and sea package to Universal Orlando before their cruise?  If so, would you recommend it for a 5 year old?  We are looking at either doing this through Royal Caribbean or trying to plan a trip to Disney World on our own.  Any feedback would be welcome.  

 5 yrs old is too young for a full day at Universal Orlando imo. Seuss Land in Islands of Adventure is great for kids but it's really it for that park.  There are also some kid friendly rides in Universal Studios but in general 75% of those two parks are for older kids and adults.  Think paying to go to Magic Kingdom and really only doing about half of what they have in Fantasyland   I agree with Ocalarnd's thought on Sea World, that's a good option for younger kids and tends to be less crowded than Universal and Disney.  Have not been to Legoland so I can't comment.  

For transportation, doing two one way rental cars is a good option.  All the major rental cars will shuttle you from Cocoa Beach to the terminal.

4 minutes ago, rjac said:

4 minutes ago, rjac said:

Having been on both itineraries, I highly recommend the Eastern Caribbean (Bahamas, St. Thomas & St. Kitts). The port in Jamaica is Falmouth. Great shopping, Margaritaville, couple of nice places for food & drink. But, this is all within the fenced shopping area. Going outside of the fence is risky. The port in Haiti is Labadee, which is owned by Royal Caribbean. Nice beaches, the food and drink actually comes off of the cruise ship and is prepared in a huge barbecue area. Cozumel is great for shopping and Mexican food. We really enjoy the Eastern Caribbean. Cleaner islands & better beaches.

I agree, we like the Eastern swing better, for the reasons rjac stated, the islands and beaches seemed cleaner to us. 

20 hours ago, Mushroom said:

Thanks mbk999. Do you know how late I can stay on the ship? I have only done DCL and we usually stay in the room till 8 (the latest we have to vacate it) and then go to buffet for breakfast. We would be among the last people to leave the ship around 9 am. Not sure what is the policy with RCL.

Sorry, I don't know but I'm guessing it's probably about the same or a  bit longer due to the size.  we tend to do the self-assist.  

48 minutes ago, Mushroom said:

Out of Fort Lauderdale, my choices right now are 11 am or 2:50 pm. I think 11 am is doable, just want to know how tight. I don't like feeling rushed in the morning. :)

If I take the 2:50 pm one, is there anything to do at the airport?

Thx!!

 

You'll have to do the self-assist luggage at a minimum and hope that customs and airport check-in don't have any issue.  The airport is right next to the port so in theory you could be there by 9:00   But as  Matt said, it might be tight to make the 11.  If the ship's late or there's an issue, then you'll be looking at the watch.   However there's nothing to do at the airport so multiple hours waiting at the terminal would be like watching paint dry.  If you do the 2:50, just stay on the ship a little longer and let them take your luggage off.

Nassau:  I agree with several others with Nassau not being a great port.  While I've heard that Atlantis can be a lot of fun, for the cost and short duration you're in port it's not worth it.  A snorkeling excursion would be good.  We did a self-guided walking tour the last time we were there.

Balcony:  for me, it's totally worth the upgrade.  My relaxation is watching the water go by so I enjoy a balcony.  You mentioned vaping?  Smoking is not allowed in the cabins or the balconies and is only allowed in designated areas and vaping/e-cigarettes are considered the same.  From the RCI site:  Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are only permitted within the designated smoking areas. 

Drink package:  If you're drinking lots of bottled water a day and a few sodas, it's worth the drink package.   We pre-paid the drink package for my wife and I on our last cruise and while we probably would have saved some money had we done a la carte for my wife's drinks, in the end the savings wouldn't have been that great.  I just thought of it as a convenience factor not to have to worry about another bill at the end of the trip.  

Specialty Dining: Haven't not been on an Oasis class ship (yet), so I can't comment on how easy it is to get dining reservations once on-board.  All I can tell you is that when we go on the Allure, we'll do two specialty restaurants and I'll pre-book at least one.  We have a AAA package that includes one specialty dining but that has to be reserved on the ship.  I know there's a lot of good specialty dining but we still like the Main Dining room experience where the waiters get to know you.

52 minutes ago, MoBrien said:

Flights out of Miami airport are also late evening. I'm looking at flights now out of FLL with a short layover - do you think if we took our own luggage off the ship that we could make a 10:40am flight with Southwest Airline or should we go with a later flight at either 11:25am (Southwest Airlines) or 12:00 with United

I'm not familiar with the turnaround time from hitting port to clearing the Allure.  The airport is a 10 min cab ride (if that).  So if you're clear of the ship and customs by 0830-0900, shouldn't be a problem to make the 1040 but if there's a hiccup then you never know.  I'd be looking at layovers and cost and what time it gets you to your next stop.  If the 1040 flight is the cheapest and gets you there the fastest, I'd just be sure to carry the luggage and be one of the firsts at the meeting point on the ship.  For short domestic flights, I'd probably pick Southwest first over United.  but that's just my opinion.

On 6/5/2017 at 11:48 AM, jqueen said:

We are a family of 4 who will be cruising for the first time (sons ages 24 and 18).  We are hoping to go in the week beginning August 19th

We cannot decide on which ship, which ports etc.

whether to it is worth to take the beverage package;

what excursions to do etc.

It is so overwhelming that I am almost ready to chicken out and go to an all-inclusive instead.. 

Any help would be most appreciated.

I would agree with what everyone is saying:  the bigger ships would be better for the 18 year old and work with a travel agent.  They'll help with everything including the shore excursions, but that's fun to research as well.  We did the drink package on our last sailing and it was worth it for me, not my wife.  I got the alcohol package and even with drinking a few mixed drinks during the day and wine at dinner, it was well worth it.  I liked being able to try the drink of the day and if I didn't like it, I didn't feel the need to drink it.  My wife got the package above soda but without the alcohol and the value was borderline.  She did have a few non-alcoholic drinks, had fresh oj every morning, and we both had a lot of bottled water.  It would have been a little cheaper for her to do ala carte but everything was already prepaid and to me that's worth some convenienc .   Two  other things to consider:  1)  beer or mixed drinks?  If you're only drinking 4-5 beers a day, no mixed drinks or wine, it's not worth it.  2)  Southern Cruise out of Puerto Rico?  someone else brought up drinking in ports (off the ship) and if you're on a Southern cruise that hits 5 ports during the week, that's a lot of time off the ship and less time to utilize the drink package since you'll really only have one day at sea.  But a western or eastern cruise with a stop at either Labadee or Coco Cay?, then that's probably three days at sea plus the RCI island where the drink package would be applicable too.  So you'll have a lot more time to make use of the package.

Don't stress too much, it'll be fun.

1 hour ago, MoBrien said:

Thanks all for your responses. Seems like as a newbie to cruising I've made a big blunder/mistake with our flights on disembarkation day. I thought because the ship docks early morning people would avail of breakfast before disembarking the ship and we could have gotten off straight away & through customs all within an hour. 

We had paid a fee with Jet Blue to use the facility of express security etc so we thought this would get us through security check quickly.

i must now re-look at flights as JetBlue don't have any other flights out of FLL that day & the next direct flight with another airline is not till after 5pm that day.

Sorry about the change in plans but there's almost zero chance of making that original flight.  Did you check flying  out of Miami?  If you take your own luggage off the ship, you should be able to make an early afternoon flight out of Miami.  If not, there's always the beaches in Lauderdale and/or you can do an excursion on disembarkation day.  We flew into FLL and sailed out of Miami.  We rented a car but others can chime in with additional transportation options.

Yep.  Go up grab breakfast first and then come back and pick up your luggage from your room.  I'm assuming time and deck will vary by ship but the last night's compass will tell you when/where to start the departure.  On our last Enchantment cruise we started the line in the theater and exited by 7:30 (can't remember which exact deck number).

Love getting off the ship and just walking around Key West.  There's no need to book an excursion, you can walk off the ship and get the Conch Train if you wanted, rent bikes, or just walk around.  Like others have mentioned, great bars to stop in and get a drink or just look around.  It's well worth getting off the ship.

We've always done a one-way rental (usually via Avis) and repeat on the way back.  Drop off at the rental car place in Cocoa Beach and the shuttle vans will load up and take you to the port.   Depending on how many people in your party, that can be the cheapest option (plus you're on your own schedule).  National has rental car locations on WDW property and it looks like they have  a location very close to Port Canaveral.

We've done MTD back in April and I varied the reservations from 6:00 to 6:30.  We had the same table for two each night which allowed us the same wait staff which I like.  

On 5/12/2017 at 6:07 AM, arebee said:

To me its not worth it... Once we pass the sea buoy my phone gets turned off and put into the safe.  I'm on the cruise for a reason, to get away.  I won't be able to do much of anything anyway so I don't want to worry about it until we return.   Now my wife, shes a different story.  

This is pretty much spot-on with us.  One of the best things about a cruise is the ability to get away from the news and stress.  If you know about something and can't do anything about it, just stresses me out more.  However, on our next cruise, we will "have" to purchase for one device so my wife can ensure a connection to our daughter at school.  Much cheaper than our '06 Enchantment cruise where I saw $350+ in ship to shore calls to check in on our then 10 year old.  

Yep, you get the umbrella (provided you pay for the pineapple!).   My wife had the mid-range drink package (sodas, fresh oj, coffees, non-alcoholic drinks) but we did have to purchase the pineapple drink.  I forget how much it was, something like $12.  Perfect sail-a-way drink.....

St. Thomas:  we took a cab to Coral World where I had booked a Sea Lion Encounter (change of pace from the dolphin encounter).  15 min in the water, 15 min out.  It was a lot of fun but not cheap.  And, if there's only two of you, you'll likely be with another group.  After that we caught another cab for an island tour.

Ocalarnd referenced a key point about the age for kids (9+)  Universal parks are fantastic but they are geared more towards the older kids.   For pre-school and early elementary school age kids, other than Seussland (which is great BTW),  there's a just a few other things geared towards little ones.   If you've got teenagers or adrenaline junkie kids, you can't go wrong with Universal.     

I think it was $20 for partial (flippers and life vest) and either $27 or $37 for everything.   I just rented the partial set-up (I had a full face snorkel with me) and I did the snorkeling beach  Since I tried out snorkeling for the first time and the wind was blowing pretty good, I'm not a good judge to rate the snorkeling.  There's a sunken boat and plane to explore out there.    Other than that we sat on the beach and enjoyed the near perfect weather.   On a previous trip, my daughter/nephew/I did the aqua park and water slide.  More a kid/teenager thing.  Hope your weather is as good as ours was.  Breezy but very sunny.

There's plenty of other excursions for Nassau (dolphin swim, snorkeling etc), we just choose to do our own thing and hang out on the ship while it was less crowded.  

Just got off the Enchantment.  At Coco Cay, he can rent a jet ski and/or do snorkeling while you sit at the beach.  There's a large snorkel beach area there and one can do that w/o signing up for an excursion.  You'd have to bring your own gear and rent a life vest or rent the gear from RCI (a booth on the island).   At Nassau, we followed a Frommer's walking tour which should take about 2 hours.  

Did this a few years back and it was great.  We started with two days at Universal and than followed up with a 7 day eastern out of Canaveral, booked separately.  I liked doing the parks first then following it up with the cruise.    If you're staying at Universal double check to see which hotels offer the Universal Express pass, generally well worth the extra $.  I know the newer hotels don't offer that perk.   We have stayed at Royal Pacific and Hard Rock and both are great.  The walk from Hard Rock Hotel to the entrance to Universal Studios is < 10 min.   

To get from Orlando to Port Canaveral and back, we did two one-way car rentals via Avis and that worked fine.