Tampaite

Atlantis - Discover Atlantis Tour 
Nassau, Bahamas / Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes 

Where should we buy tickets? Now before the cruise? On the ship? once we Disembark?

Currently, Royal Carribean website shows price as $49 per person(Adult and Child) but it doesn't state if they charge Infants. Does anyone know if Infants(below 12 months) are charged as well?

We are travelling as a group of 5, 3 adults and 2 kids(4 year and <1 year)

Thanks

Decided to get the larger 8 pack ones for $10.99

Link: http://amzn.to/2zsUBe8

17 minutes ago, arebee said:

We actually went with the larger Carnival tag holders.  That way we can use them on any cruise line we choose (and easier to put them in).  Also, never happened to me but I've read that you need to take the tag out of the plastic as soon as  you can because it could leave ink on the inside of the holder.  Just a thought...

I was thinking the same as the Royal Caribbean ones were narrow. Wasn't sure  if we purchased the larger one, how good/bad the Royal Carribean tag would look like in them?

We checked in online and were able to print the eTag.

I wasn't sure if Cruise-lines still provide you a complimentary luggage tags or should we buy one online or at the cruise-ship?

Looks like there are couple varieties online - will the below fit all Royal Caribbean ships eTags?

Link: http://amzn.to/2yHdE5d

11/01 - Update. Called RC customer service, no suites available.

However, price to upgrade 1 interior room to Oceanview came down to $200. Still holding out for $100ish.

Will the price be cheaper on the day of the sail? Am assuming it would be unless RC wants those cabins empty when we set sail.

13 hours ago, Hannah said:

I'm sailing with minor / grandchildren. Do I need permission documents from both parents or can I just have one parent sign/notarized paper - along with birth certificate and state ID. I do have a document signed by one parent but not both. Will this keep me from sailing?

Best to have document from both parents.

Talking about children - not to hijack the thread - do we need additional vaccinations? they currently do get the recommended immunizations.

10 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

Same way I handle people that wear to much perfume or eat stinky food or don't shower as often as they should..lol....

Anyways...point is...parents and kids talking, yelling, screaming into walkie talkies(or cell phones for that matter) is annoying and maddening and disrespectful of other peoples space and vacation imho. And lets be honest, no one whispers into these things.

At the end of the day, they aren't going to work effectively and probably not at all really for what you were hoping.

 Guess there isn't anything one can do about those smokers, perfume overdosers and people yapping on walkies or cell phones. If they are annoying, the only solution is to walk away unless you want to get into argument and ruin your vacation. lol

52 minutes ago, JBC said:

I have considered walkie talkies in the past, but have never brought them and have never had a problem.  I am not sure how well they would work anyways, unless they were like police or military grade walkie talkies.  The ships are just so big.  A multi device internet package works so well with the texting.  I know it sucks paying for it, but in my opinion it is worth it.   

We looked into the internet package and it's not worth the cost so will forgo it.  Perhaps, when the kids are older, we may consider paying for them.

1 hour ago, monctonguy said:

Well if you could only use the walkie talkies in certain limited areas on the ship that others could totally avoid, similar to the deal with smokers.....than sure..lol.

Point is...even if they did work well or were effective, they are annoying. Hopefully if you and your kids do use them, its done in a considerate and respectful manner.

We aren' t sure we will use them but may try it out but will be considerate and respectful. That said, I hope smokers are considerate and respectful and don't wander around the ship after smoking in certain areas and carrying that smell around...lol.. How do you deal with that stink ?

59 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

You aren't going to find a surcharge free ATM anywhere when travelling that I know of.

As for the walkie talkies..it would be very annoying and people always tend to talk so loudly on them..and at the end of the day, are your kids really going to listen to you anyways?!...lol

Thanks. We will plan accordingly.

LOL on walkie-takies - they are annoying yes similar to smokers on-board but you put up with them. Don't you? We really don't plan on using them but its an option when it comes to safety of our children.

Another silly Question:  I hope there are ATMs on Majesty of Seas. Are there surcharge-free ATMs on-board as well? If not, does anyone know the cost of withdrawing money.

The FAQ says ATMs are available and there is a fee for withdrawal but the website search doesn't show anything about cost of withdrawing money nor daily limits for withdrawal.

10/30 - Update. Called RC customer service, no suites available.

However, price to upgrade 1 interior room to Oceanview jumped to $300 and it was slightly lower at the time of booking. I was hoping for a price increase of about $100ish so will wait for another week and call them.

14 minutes ago, Matt said:

You can, but there are better alternatives.  You can read about those here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

Thanks Matt but I don't think they are better alternatives unless you don't mind paying. Don't want to sign up for international phone service for a 4 night trip plus calling via cell-phone or even texting costs an arm and a leg.

To stay in touch on the ship, looks like walkie-talkie are an option but am not seeing any reviews or someone who may have used them in the past.

Continuing with the theme of questions: I understand cell phone reception will be limited or unavailable. Are we allowed to bring walkie-talkies onboard?

15 hours ago, Tplanav1 said:

decided to call customer service to surprise my girlfriend with a balcony when we got there, after about a 15 min convo with the customer service rep going over my reservation she goes I think you can upgrade for $4. I may have blown out her ear drums on the other end of the phone yelling Yes so loud. I go through the process and pay my new remaining $4 balance.

The question is: did you overpay when you made the initial booking? Did you go from paying $200 pp to $204 pp or from $700 pp to $704 pp(per person). a little context would help us.

21 minutes ago, toodle68 said:

Just how frustrating is it to see significant price drops after full payment?  JS on our cruise has dropped to $899 and inside cabin to $399. Would save us approx $800 for our family.  Grrrr..

 

Where do you see this? on RC website or third party sites(like Expedia etc). Also, anyway to sign up for price drops, am interested to know.

2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Do note that I didn't make all the original purchases at once. I've been budgeting about $400 a month for excursion and package purchases, so I'm spreading out the costs. When I did the cancel and repurchase, all the original purchases were returned as credits on my credit card and then the new purchases were charged. If I hadn't bought the two additional drink packages while I had this sale going, I'd have had a net credit applied to my card.

Thank you for letting me know that your original purchase was refunded. I was a bit skeptical to lock-in the prices but now feel more comfortable.

1 hour ago, monctonguy said:

There have been posts here as well on other sites about how people were booking rooms through promo's, on board incentives etc and then cancelling them or not completing the booking.....

Also, Royal changed their last min booking policy  a year or so ago saying they would NOT offer last min deals or sales or incentives to book empty cabins...they would rather charge more to those that have booked and sail with empty cabins.....

Sorry but I still don't understand how these are "games" as you called.

If people book thro' promos or incentives and then cancelled - they lost their incentives unless RC was refunding their incentives which I highly doubt.

Also, regarding last minute booking - just like airlines, we know that cruise lines are profitable with only 70% occupancy and anything more than that, is pure gravy so in either of the examples I don't see how anyone is playing games and affecting the bottom-line unless am missing something.

Anyway, we went slightly off-topic, my only concern was if there were suite cancellations, booking NOW would be comparatively lower compared to while during embarkation. 

3 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

Ditto to the above post....

Royal has found ways to cut out many games that were being played and a way to firm up their bottom line even further.

You seem to imply that games were nefarious and costing RC money - how is that even possible?

1 minute ago, twangster said:

What's you C&A level?

Starting at the bottom!

7 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Heh, took advantage when it first came out on Friday. Saved just shy of $240 on everything I'd previously purchased with them -- refreshment package for my wife, our zip line and alpine coaster tickets on Labadee, and our dolphin push/pull/swim excursion on St. Kitts. (I actually realized as I was typing this that I hadn't rebooked the coaster tickets, so just took care of that! Thank goodness they extended it another 24 hours!)

Savings were enough to let me get Refreshment Packages for my daughters and only be $100 net additional out of pocket. All that's left to buy now is our internet package, which I'll get on my next billing cycle to lock in the price, and then hope for another sale to get some back.

Only thing that I had previously bought that wasn't any better off was the Nellie's Beach over-the-water cabana (which was a crazy 40% off when I booked it). So I'm a seriously happy camper!

Saving of $240 sounds like a great deal but may I ask how much you spent on refreshment package, zip line, alpine coaster ticket and dolphin swim excursion?

I called RC twice so far inquiring about availability of suites on Majesty of Seas. Online it shows, none are available and RC customer service said none are available and I can't get on any wait-list to be notified if one becomes available - the only way to know is to call them everyday. I booked my cruise online on RC website.

Question - on cruise ships, do you see last minute cancellations? how often does that happen? I would assume since most of the cost paid is non-refundable, there would be very few cancellations unless there is an emergency situation.

Should I keep calling 2x a week or take chances on-the-day of the cruise and then inquire during embarkation? and would they be cheaper on-the-day of the cruise as opposed to 1-2 weeks out?

Can some share their experience booking a suite or any other rooms during embarkation and how much you had to pay?

Question: Smoking - Are there designated smoking areas on the ship or if it free for all? I dislike smokers(nothing personal) as am allergic to the smoke and it's nauseating.

For future cruises, Are there any cruise ships that are non-smoking only?

We didn't think about this(smoking) before booking but with an Infant in the group, this has come up now as we are reading more reviews on Majesty of the Seas ship

18 minutes ago, Spiegeje said:

There are a limited number of ocean view rooms with balconies and suites with balconies on deck ten that were added in a dry dock years ago. I believe there are around 60 of those rooms...

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/majesty-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1719/BR

 

Suites are different. We were hoping to have a regular balcony rooms like on other ships.

https://www.icruise.com/ships/royal-caribbean-cruises-majesty-of-the-seas-staterooms.html?LsID=13

Thanks Matt.