KJ1231

We booked our first RCCL cruise through RCCL and got the offer for the credit card. We have it and my wife uses it for her "stuff" and together for the RCCL cruises. We have used it for the On Board Credit for multiple cruises now. We just booked another cruise next summer and will have about 40K points which converts to $400 in OBC. What I haven't done is look into cruises, companion fares, etc. to see if they are a better deal than just OBC....

On 10/23/2018 at 1:02 PM, JLMoran said:

They have both chairs and loungers. IIRC, loungers were going for $18 each when my wife and I were there last week, while chairs were either $12 or $15. I know they had a bundle that would get you two loungers and an umbrella for $45, which did save you a few bucks. Another bundle that was a smidge over $100 got you four chairs, two umbrellas, and a bucket of bottled waters with ice in the bucket to keep it all cold. 

Taking the whole family to Bermuda on the same cruise @rjac. With little grandkids was wondering if we could arrange for rentals ahead of time so as not to wait in a line or for setup. Rum Bum Beach Bar has the "bundle" @JLMoran mentions for $150. Looks like I can contact them through their website. Is there a better option?

On 11/8/2018 at 5:05 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Might I interest you in the Anthem GC July 2019? Many of us are going, and many of us have kids.  The more the merrier!  And it goes to Bermuda.  That's one big reason why we booked.  That and we finally get to meet the great @Matt 

I have never sailed Lady G, and I have 2 kids.  I would not hesitate to sail Lady G but would never dream of taking the kids on her.  Anthem hands down with kids.

We opted for Anthem on 7/13. While I would like to do the GC, daddy is splurging for kids and grandkids and the extra 4 days put it out of my price range.

Book your cruise with MEI Travel and let them pay your gratuities If you don't plan to spend alot on board paying at the end may not be a big deal....

3 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

  It's just nice to have a good TA on your side ! 

Thanks! We booked our Alaska cruise directly with RCCL. Our next two coming in December and March were through MEI and already talking to Michelle about Bermuda. Didn't know if "Next Cruise" was worth the wait. 3 cabins x 5 nights x 2 gratuities ($29) = $435...not too shabby

Forgot to mention the train ride from Anchorage to Seward! so, yes, Radiance and Southbound!  (vs. northbound)

We are near Philly so just a couple hours from Baltimore or Bayonne.

I'm getting a little bonus at the end of the year and thinking about taking the family to Bermuda next July. Looking at a 5-night cruise to Bermuda on either Grandeur (Baltimore) or Anthem (Bayonne) next July. I'm about halfway between the 2 ports so either is fine.

There are 9 of us. My wife and I; 3 single 20-somethings that would share a stateroom; and my daughter's family - husband and 2 kids that will be 3 and 2 when we sail.

Grandeur looks less expensive, Anthem has more for kids (?).

Anything else to consider?

We are cruising at the end of December - wait for Next Cruise or book now? Free gratuities through MEI  if we book now.

Based only on itinerary as I've never been on Sereade.

Radiance - Icy Strait Pointe and Hubbard were highlights of our Alaska cruise.

On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 3:02 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Never is for summer or holiday sailings.

Just notice this...have grandkids 3 and 2 and looking at Bermuda next July...school doesn't impact them but it does for my wife.... should have different categories, like KSF4 for kids 4 and under who either don't go to school or can afford to miss a few days....

No new ports

I want to go back but was hoping for at least one new port....

Just in case - Did you book through a travel agent, by chance? I think if you book through a TA, then payments need to be made through the TA.

7 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

How did you handle the late muster drill and dining the first night? Had you made dinner reservations? Or do people just leave their food on the MDR and come back 30 minutes later? Can you post your URL for your liveblog, too?

Live blog is here:

Our reservation for MDR was before muster completed so we went directly from muster to the MDR. There were quite a few people in line ahead of us but we were seated within about 15 minutes or so. I'm not sure if they started serving before muster knowing that everyone would have to get up and leave....

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 5:15 PM, twangster said:

Wrinkle release but I also loosely roll my wrinkle prone clothes when packing.  

Also, crank the shower on hot and with some dressy clothes hanging in the bathroom let the steam of the shower assist the wrinkle release.  

When I traveled every week for work I would get extra plastic sheeting from the dry cleaner, put it over individual garments and roll them up. Was great for slacks, sport coats, etc.

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 2:16 PM, Baked Alaska said:

Yes! I think I read it (the first time ) the day it was posted. Thank you! Did you enjoy the Radiance?

Our cruise on Radiance was our first and only cruise so nothing to compare it to. Like twangster, I did a "live" blog of our cruise if you want more details.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Based on what I've read here, it was good for us because it's a smaller ship so we had no problem finding things. We enjoyed it enough to book 2 more cruises in the next 6 months!

I posted mine from June back in July

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/radiance-of-the-seas/fri-2018-06-22-0000

We just made the final payment on our December cruise last week. Am I correct in thinking you can't rebook after final payment?

Thanks for taking the time to submit your review. We're doing the 3-night on Enchantment in March. 

9 minutes ago, twangster said:

I doubt I'll blog those cruises though.  It's a lot of work and promotes a company that returns no value.  In other words the pay sucks  

I know how much work it is because I attempted it myself and live blogging takes a lot of time. Have you thought about starting your own blog? twangsterstravels.com has a nice ring to it.. 

What a disappointment....

Twangster is my "hero".

Earlier this year my wife and her sister decided to do an Alaska cruise on RCCL. My in-laws picked the cruise line and itinerary and even our balcony cabin. They  gave me a phone number to call to pay for our cruise and that's how we became an RCCL customer.

I am an addict - sober for 26+ years - so I do everything 110%. As soon as we were booked I started searching for info on the internet and that's how I ended up here. Twangster's live blog on the same ship/itinerary (Radiance Southbound, Seward->Vancouver) was the key to making that first cruise one of the single best experiences of my life. I don't think a day has gone by since we returned that I have not thought or talked about that cruise.

I check this blog almost every day because I found a group of people that love sharing information about their favorite cruise line. I couldn't believe the "signatures' of some folks with their long lists of past and future RCCL cruises. As a direct result of this blog we have 2 more cruises booked in the next 6 months including Enchantment next March. We're in JS 8122 but I can tell you that I just checked my reservation to make sure I wasn't in 7166!

Reading all 3 pages of this was a wake-up call for me. While I won't be doing anything regarding our upcoming cruises, I can tell you that I'm no longer concerned about my moving up the C&A ladder.

Is there anything in the "charter" for this blog that limits it to RCCL and affiliated cruise lines? Is there any reason why we can't include NCL and others? I'd hate to lose the insight and experience of some of the great folks on here because the opt to try other cruise lines and stop cruising with RCCL.

Thanks for the write-up. We're doing the same itinerary - less the cruising day -  on Enchantment in March. Lots of good information!!

We'll be there in March and doing the Tru Bahamian Food Tour which others on here have recommended. https://www.trubahamianfoodtours.com/

We were in Juneau and Skagway in June. In Juneau we did the whale watch and Mendenhall Glacier which was good. We did see a few whales. Thsi was the excursion and I would recommend it:

In Skagway we did a combo of panning for gold, salmon bake and the train ride up to the Yukon. Highly recommend the train ride but would NOT do the gold panning and our salmon bake turned into a buffet lunch at the gold panning place which wasn't that good. My "live blog" has more details.

Just saved $46 on a deluxe cabana at CocoCay for March 2019 cruise. Originally $309. Got on sale awhile back for $293. Today - $247. Check early, check often!

UPDATE: There was no advertised "sale" on the website nor an email that prompted me to check. It was $293 yesterday, $247 today.

UPDATE2: prices for Grand Cayman excursions for 2018 Holiday are back at the lowest I've seen them. Cozumel the next day still the higher price.

UPDATE3: just got the sale email...

CRUISE PLANNER PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS ONLINE CHECK-IN BEFORE YOU BOARD

UP TO 25% OFF Select Shore Excursions*   BUY NOW   10% OFF Deluxe Beverage Package*   BUY NOW   20% OFF VOOM® Internet Packages for Multiple Devices*   BUY NOW   OVER 20% OFF Deluxe Beverage Package + VOOM® 1 Device Bundle*   BUY NOW   30% OFF Refreshment Beverage Package*   BUY NOW   20% OFF Dinner at Chop’s Grille*   BUY NOW

BOOKING ID   SHIP Brilliance Of The Seas® SAILING DATE 12/29/18

14 minutes ago, mickjacket said:

Interesting, we booked our cruise with a different card but we are paying for it with the RC credit card, does it include insurance?

 

Unfortunately, no.... but you can get on board credit (OBC)

When we booked our Alaska cruise earlier this year we got the RC credit card and got the $100 OBC as a result. My wife always had store credit cards (Macy's, etc.) but she wanted "her own" Visa/MC. I download transactions from my cards on a regular basis so always saw what was being spent and where which was a real pain for her when she wanted to buy me a gift So when we got the RC card that became hers.

Well she racked up some points between the 2 cruises, a bunch of dental work that she put on the card and then got reimbursed and her regular purchases. After we pay off the upcoming cruise next week we'll have about 30K points. 

Since getting a Casino Royal discount for our Bahama cruise next March I started playing myVegas from time to time and racked up about 60K points on there.

Is it possible to use the myVegas and the credit card points on the same cruise? E.g, book the cruise using the credit card points for a partial discount and then using myVegas points for OBC? Or do you have to use one or the other? For the two cruises coming up we've already paid for our excursions and MEI is covering gratuities so I don't anticipate having much of a bill on the ships since we don't  drink much in the way of alcohol.    So we'll just have to go on another RC cruise......