Traveler

Maybe the Icon class ??

As I understand , first they are not publishing any packages in the cruise planner (well thy have not published anything in mine anyway). From the other board , someone was sailing the Q of the seas on the same route , (I think @twangster shared the useful link on another message) , she described that they were offered the packages and being explained that "special dining packages being offered to Westerners only" , but I guess if someone ask to get this package they will still sell it to him , better wording might be , "they are not offering it automatically to people who book the cruise in China", sorry as English is not my first language . Not sure how it is done , might know once I will be on this cruise. Anyway there other different things once you are cruising out of China , for example you need to pay for some of the on ship activities that you do not usually pay .

I think you are missing the point of traveling in star class , one phone call to Derick and the Captain would have aligned the ship to resolve this issue, after all it was sunny somewhere so why not over your balcony ?

Sure , In the worse case scenario I will have internet connection while in port (with the T mobile roaming program which works well on most of the places and should work in Japan) but I also think I will need to get the WIFI due work (otherwise I will not be able to do 3 cruises in 5 month).

I read on the other place that they offer some packages only to non Chinese people , but anyway there are so much other complimentary interesting food so I am not sure I need a package. For sure we will try one or two special restaurants. I will try to have a live blog , trying to see if the internet will go down from 18! $ per day. I will also need to find a week or two between travels to have the Chinese Visa (should be less than a week to get one).

They are not offering dining packages in the cruise planner ? I guess its due to the market they are serving , I can not even book most of the restaurants ahead of time , I heard that they might offer some packages on board.

I am, going on June , will try to send the compasses to this site , you will be able to find them under the cruise compass section.

The disembark will be max around 9 AM , which meant that from 9 AM until late night you will need to roam around. I would consider to rent a car , take an hotel , put the suitcases at the hotel (which you can check in max at 3 PM), do a tour , rest for few hours in the hotel and go to the airport. yes it will cost extra money but I think this day going to be not easy.

There are many types of insurance (although you can combine them). 1. Travel health insurance which to my opinion is a must as it comes to cover unexpected expense which can be very big. 2. Travel cancellation insurance - This one comes to protect your investment for what you already paid , each one should think if it makes sense to him or not, if someone going to do his once of a lifetime cruise and invest allot in it I would for sure add this insurance just to make sure if something happens you can still do you dream cruise just on another date. for someone that cruise allot I guess you need to do the math , cost of cruise , number of cruises , cost of insurance and chance that it will happen . for example , if you are going on 10 cruise a year, cost of the insurance is 200 $ , cost of flights and cruise is 3000 $ , statistic says you will need to cancel every 30 cruise - 200*30 = 6000 $ to insure 3000$ .... But cost can can be reduce with annual insurance and other options. Its all about doing the math.

Also if you press 1 you will wait at least *3 time than if you choose 2 ...

If you have AirBNB the one of the first things I would do is to find where is the nearest big Carrefour (the supermarket chain) and buy groceries , they are quite cheap in Barcelona (well maybe comparing to the US they are the same) and they have lots of varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables/cheese . Also check were is the nearest subway as they have a very good subway , you can buy 10 tickets packages it will be cheaper.

Regarding Rome , if you want to save some money and just get to Rome you can use the train (12 $ each direction). Regarding Florence , I am not sure you will be able to visit Uffizi as it will be very crowded (depends on the day) if you want to see it try to take excursion which includes it. You can visit many other museums which are also very nice and much less crowded. For Cannes , I might try to visit Monte Carlos as the way to the city/state pass in very nice landscape.

Oh , as long as she eats cheese and she like to taste new things I am sure she can enjoy many tapas dishes in Barcelona for example : Patatas Bravas - its fried cube potatoes with tomato spicy sauce - I usually try this first simple tapas , if it is done good , the tapas bar is a good place to eat in. Pebrotes the padres - It fried non spicy green chili papers. Brie Ala Planxa - fried brie. Asparagus. Olives with cheese. Croquetes com fromatage - this are basically potatoes puree balls filed with cheese and fried (yes they like fried things) Beside that you will find many fresh salads with or without cheese (try the goat cheese). Also , just in case, you can always go to the local supermarket and buy fresh fruits another fresh food. If you will go to la boqueria market you will find many stands with fresh cut tropical fruits and fruit drinks.

I guess you will be on the Ovation of the seas , than yes you are going to have for sure more than one show , you will have a show or two in the 270 and in at least one production on the main theater + one or two headliner shows. You might get some idea by looking on this cruise compass from previous sail of Ovation : https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/ovation-of-the-seas/sat-2019-03-30-0000 Maybe you can send them a tweet or send the question in face book , they tend to answer faster over there

Yes , that is the best way to do it ? , by the way , the real price should be about 0.6 - 0.7 Euros but 1 Euro is also OK. I am not a big coffee drinker but every time I am going to Italy I enjoy the espresso over there. will check it again in few days.

Is it doable ? yes it is , I think @twangster done it many times , but there is also a risk if the ship is late to dock (Due to sea condition) , custom is late in releasing the ship or simple lines in custom. To reduce the risk you should due the self carry option which will allow to be one of the first that will disembark , also i would check what will be the cost to change in the last minute to the later flight. I am going to try something like that in my Barcelona cruise. IF you want to be on the safe side you can always take the 1 PM flight , come early to the airport and try to change it to the early flight (check first if they allow to do it with no cost or minimal cost)

Naples - The ship dock very near the city and everything is in walking distance , just stroll street , drink real espresso while standing (as Italian do) and eat excellent Pizza.

Regarding were to eat , I guess its depends what do you like ? are you coming with children ,if yes , how old they are ? Barcelona has so many options , on every mall you will find a decent tapas bar (although not the real authentic once), we are visiting a tapas chain call Tapa Tapa , we found it very easy to order from, the waiters speak some English and the tapas are nice http://www.tapataparestaurant.com/ , its a chain so easy to find. There was another area with nice local restaurants, I need to find it and will share it. Athens , there are good restaurants in the Plaka area , we just wondered around and went to one of the restaurants which we saw enough people enjoying there food there , anyway you should try at least once the Moussaka. I will be again at the end of June at Athens , will check it again and let you know the name (or if I find something better). Cannes/Monte Carlo - I ashamed to say that the only thing we eat over there were Macrons at , wait for it , yap MacDonald , in general everything is very expensive over there and we went back to the ship to eat at the WJ between two shore excursions :-). Florence , we tried a restaurant in Pizza di Santa Croce , I need to check for the name but if you like a pizza its not a bad place at all , here is the picture of the restaurants https://www.google.com/maps/@43.7689498,11.2620575,3a,75y,0.32h,92.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s03Mqf5_f1F0cC700JInExg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 They also have good deserts. I got also good recommendations for this place : http://www.cibreo.com/en/cibreo-trattoria/

Well the Dude always right

Its around 40 M and between 45- to one hour on Friday 9 AM traffic , I guess it is better on Saturday , will check tomorrow. When RC say the end time of a tour it means the time it will drop you in the airport . The roads should be Ok.

Well , I guess its an algorithm written by the same famous RC department that brought us highlights like new web site that was not function for few month after its roll out , new wonderful application that do not capable to present activities which were booked on the site cruise planner (well at least for me) and lets not forget the magic dispiriting of the ability to choose your C&A free drinking preference.

As always its all about how much they sell. If on a certain cruise they see decline in selling the discount might be bigger

Well , first you will find out that Barcelona cruise port is one of the easiest port to disembark from as it dose not have any immigration or custom. The travel time from the cruise port to the airport is 20-30 minutes on Sundays , can be more on weekdays if you have traffic. for sure if you have 3:55 PM flight and you will have allot of wait time in the airport and if you are flying direct to the US most of the chance the counters will be closed until 12:30 PM if not more. You will find yourself seating in the airport with the suitcase , for sure not the best way to end a cruise. I think the sure excursions should be safe for you to take and they will handle your suitcases also . if you will take the extra stay on the ship mind you will be require to pay for the suitcase to be stores (its an hidden fee of this option). I do think you will find Taxis in the port as many will still arrive at the last minute to board the ship. Just to be on the same side you might want to install a taxi application (My Taxi is working well in Barcelona and you can pay them cache). Not sure if you can leave the ship and come back to it or not , but take into consideration that although the city is quite near its still a very long walk to get from the terminal so you should use a Taxi anyway. regarding the time to leave the ship I am sure you can coordinate it with guest services , in your case , leaving the ship at 1 should be more than in enough (and will let you time to eat in the WJ for one last time). Remember that the ship will also have people that embark at Rome so the ship will not be empty and there will be many venues open even between 9 to 11 PM. Anyway , I am planning to be on the Oasis at June so I can ask some of the questions and let you know

Maybe it will be Europe/Australia ? .

For shirts you want to bring and keep them without wrinkles - A week before the travel , I give some shirts to the dry cleaning , ask them to iron it , fold it and pack it in nylon bag with the tick paper inside. Yes it cost money but it saves allot of time later on. Shampoo - bring with you small bottle of your favorite Shampoo/conditioner the one they have on most of the rooms are OK to use but not everyone like them (its one dispenser which being used for all three functions) But the best tip I can give is to remember . you are on vacation , do not rush (well maybe only when its close to all aboard and you are still on the peer) , do not get mad on other people behavior and just let yourself enjoy the cruise.