Vee2525

Just now, JLMoran said:

Cool! If you play craps I'll be happy to meet up at some point one night. The slots gods are never happy with my offerings, but the dice deities seem to be OK with my play style. 

Will have to find a time slot my wife doesn't mind me slipping away for a little, since this is our extended date getaway and secondary 20th anniversary trip.

Happy anniversary! 

Yea not so much craps but blackjack. But. My boyfriend loves craps! Maybe he'll play with u at craps.....

@coneyraven sorry it's the 13th out of nj. Was gonna go out of tampa with a diff iteniary but found same price range closer to a driving distance port.

@JLMoran and @ellcee how cool!!! Mini group cruise! Let's meet in the casino!

So this just happened. Casino Bonus from casino royal. 50$ for my boyfriend and 100$ for me. 

Just in time to book our Oct 2018 Bermuda cruise.

happy cruising.

Going to sail her this Oct 11, 2018 out of Tampa for 4 night western Caribbean Cruise with my boyfriend. So excited! 

Happy cruising.

I'm excited. 

So I never used a travel agent before. That being said I went to MEI site last week for a quote on a 2019 cruise my boyfriend and me wanna take. With in a day Cathy from MEI contacted me. Going back and forth by emails Cathy answered all my questions! Instead of booking a cruise directly from RC I decided a TA is the way to go this time. And so far not disappointed, in fact never using a TA, I'm very impressed with MEI. Going to put a deposit down for the cruise Thursday June 7 2018. (Payday)

I did a mock booking on RC website to see a price range on the cruise we wanted and when Cathy from MEI came back to me with a price, it was the exact same price as the mock booking! No fees! I'm amazed. 

Also can use the casino certificates my bf and I got on the cruise we just took in May. SCORE. Wanted to book a 2020 cruise as well but decided to wait and see if we get casino certificates from our future cruise in May 2019. 

Happy cruising.

Hello ALL, 

Cruising May 9, 2019 on Athem of the Seas. The ports will be Kings Wharf, Burmuda; Philipsburg, St Maarten; San Juan Puerto Rico; and Labadee, Haiti. 

My question is do any of you know of any casinos at these ports?? If so please advise. So far we have an excursion for each port, but if there is a casino we can get to we would opt for that option. 

Our excursions are: Kings Wharf, Burmuda - Aquarium & Crystal Caves 4 hours and 30 mins. Philipsburg, St Maarten - St Maarten Island Charm 3 hours and 30 minutes. San Juan Puerto Rico - Mofongo and Mojitos 3 hours and 30 minutes.  and  for Labadee, Haiti - yacht experience 3 hours.

If anyone has done any of these excursions I would love your input. Thanks in advance...

Happy cruising.

On 5/29/2018 at 9:30 AM, Matt said:

Here's an overview and guide to Labadee: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/06/16/labadee-guide-tips

Thanks Matt! Great article! Good read, can't wait to get a cabana for the day and try a Labadoozie in Labadee. May 2019. So excitedddddddd. 

love your podcast as well as your articles.

Hello all,

Just came back from a 7 night Bahamas cruise leaving from NJ. We went May 11 to May 18 2018. During the cruise me and my boyfriend both got casino certificates on the second to last night to use for future cruise. I got 300$ and my boyfriend got 100$. 

 we played alot of money in the casino this trip between the both of us. Just wondering what's the norm on these certificates? Has anyone got them before? How much do they usually give? What's the highest amount you ever got? 

happy cruising.

Hello all,

Just came back from a 7 night Bahamas cruise leaving from NJ. We went May 11 to May 18 2018. During the cruise our only shore excursion was a cabana at cococay. Although the weather was not as hot as we wanted, it was still a great experience and would do again 100%.

side note me and my boyfriend are going to a 9 night cruise may 2019 and one of the stops is labadee. Would appreciate any feedback to whats it like there? Is it the same feel as cococay? Anything in particular to expect?

happy cruising.

Hello all,

Just came back from a 7 night Bahamas cruise leaving from NJ. Wanted to let all you guys know that the Starbucks on Adventure of the seas was included in the deluxe package (My boyfriend had the deluxe package) and even in the refreshment package (I had the refreshment package). We enjoyed many coffees at no extra charge other then the packages we had ordered before cruise. I Think I read somewhere that Starbucks was not included even with packages so I though to share my experience, and we went May 11 to May 18 2018 and it was included in the drink packages. 

On another note this was my first RC cruise with my boyfriend (we both have done other cruise seperate on other cruise lines) and we loved it. Not only was it our first cruise together, when we got back we decided to book 9 night May 2019 cruise leaving from NJ again. We are so excited to see Athem of the seas ship for the first time in 2019. 

Happy cruising.

Hello, 

My boyfriend and I are going on adventure of the seas on May 11, 2018. To Orlando, coco cay, and Nassau Bahamas. We like to gamble and would love to go to Atlantis in Bahamas to visit The casino. Does anyone know how far the cab ride is from ship to Atlantis? And about how much money to keep aside for cab going and coming back? Please advise. 

I think the convenience of the drink package pays for itself. 

Specifically I would love to know if I put 500$ cash deposit and spend 100$ will they freeze my on board expense account until I put another 100$. Is 500$ minimum balance needed everyday and you can't go below 500$ during the duration of the Cruise? My boyfriend has the unlimited alcohol package and I have the refreshment package. We also booked a cabana at cococay as an excursion. And paid for a couples message for a sea day. Just wondering in case we want to buy something on the boat will they call us to guest services if you go below 500$??

Hello,

Going on a cruise soon! In May 2018. So excited but wanted to know has anyone used cash deposit for onboard expense account, and how does that work? Is there a minimum amount needed for a 7 day cruise? Also any insight into on board expense account and anything u think I should know before cruising would be appreciated.

Thanks so much! 

@rjac

1 minute ago, rjac said:

Nice! A lot of happy cruisers here that LOVE the Adventure of the Seas. Pretty sure you'll enjoy the itinerary. Book anything and everything (excursions, shows, specialty dining, etc) you can on line before you leave home. Trying to do that once you get on board is a crap shoot. Excursions fill up quick and you may find yourselves standing in line for maybe 30 minutes, or more, only to find it's booked. That's 30 minutes you could have been exploring the ship or sitting by the pool. You're on your FIRST CRUISE! Enjoy it, do what you can head of time on line! 

Thanks! Yea we booked drink packages, a cabana in cococay, and a message. Well see what else comes up. 

Just now, rjac said:

Can't help you with a debit card, sorry, never had one. Best to call/visit your bank and talk to a specialist there. I'm sure some other folks will chime in here tonight. 

So, which ship & itinerary?

Adventure of the seas Bahamas cruise may 11, 2018. ?

15 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

The holds are placed per purchase and aren’t applied until disembarkation (in case you dispute anything or have any credits applied). For this reason, you want to be sure to use a credit card and not a debit card when setting up the account.

You can ask to make it a cash-only account if you would rather not have a bunch of holds on your card, but you then need to be sure to have enough cash to pre-load it when you board. If you run out, you won’t be able to buy anything more on the ship until you put more cash on your Sea Pass card.

What are u saying? That the hold for purchases can't be used to pay for the bill at the end of the cruise?

11 minutes ago, rjac said:

Welcome aboard Vee! Feel free to ask any and all questions you may have, there is a wealth of experienced and knowledgeable cruisers here! 

The on board expense account is an accrual of your daily expenses from 12:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. It will show you all of your on board charges for the day and totals from day to day. The best way to handle payment at the end of the cruise is to set up auto payment with a credit card of your choice and that can very easily be done when you do your on line registration. Just be sure to indicate whose charges your on board account will also pay (like a wife, friend, etc). There is no hold on your credit card. Some folks like to pay cash at the end of the  cruise, but that will mean standing in line (which will be long) to pay off your on board account so you can disembark. And, no, claiming you do not have enough money so you'll just have to stay on board and clean dishes won't work. I know, it's been tried!

Let us know which ship, the itinerary and how many and who (wife, friend, kids, parents, etc) will be with you. You will get a LOT of info that way! 

Oh yeah, be sure to call your credit card folks and give them a travel notification (where your going and when), that way they won't deny any charges you make with it when you're off the ship! 

So it's me and my boyfriend and we plan on using a debit card if that makes a difference? But, we plan on having atleast 1k on the debit card.

Hello,

Going on a cruise soon! In May 2018. So excited but a Little confused on how the on board expense account works. In particular I would like to know if they put a hold on the credit card in the beginnng of the cruise or is the hold as u spend? Also any insight into on board expense account and anything u think I should know before cruising would be appreciated.

Thank you all for your insight. Sounds like a far trip to make without a private journey - a risk I doubt we will take.

Hello,

My boyfriend and I are going on a RC cruise in May 2018 to the Bahamas on Adventure of the Seas. One of the ports is Orlando Florida. My question is: would we be close enough to visit The Hard Rock Cafe while in port from 12 am to 9 pm.? We are casino fanatics and would like to go there on our own accord, not with a private journey. Any thoughts and/or info would be greatly appreciated.