HtownHolly

36 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

If you have booked it yourself and are not transferring the booking to a travel agent, you'll want to check the price of your sailing every time a new promotion comes out. @Matt posts to the main blog whenever a new promo starts, so you'll always know. The more zealous among us check the prices daily, because sometimes a random drop happens. To check the price, go to the site using a private browsing window, so that your login isn't picked up by the site, and do a mock booking -- select the same cruise, same number of cabins / passengers, and as close to the same cabin selection as you can (e.g., if you booked a 4D balcony, pick another one close to what you have). At that point, see what the final price is (including port taxes and fees); if it's lower than your current booking price, call Royal and ask them to rebook new at the new rate.

If you have transferred your booking to a travel agent, he or she should do all of that for you with every new promotion, and will handle calling Royal to rebook for you. Several of us here regularly get emails from our TAs with savings they've gotten us every so often. But keep in mind that a travel agent typically just looks for the lowest overall price, which will include any on-board credit in the promo. If you prefer to simply have the lowest possible booking price, regardless of OBC offered, be sure to let them know so they take that into account whenever they do a price check.

Awesome, thanks! Yeah we had them set the booking up "through" MEI, so I'll let them know that we are only interested in lowest booking price rather than any total including OBC (I'll rabidly track excursion package prices on my own... rather than look for OBC to apply towards them). Thanks :)

Just now, islandgrandma said:

I contact guest services about a month before departure date and ask for an extra mattress topper.  One has always been provided when I do this. 

OK that sounds like a good idea. Hopefully it's not just another one of those thin quilt-like mattress protectors they put on top of the mattress. That wouldn't make any difference, lol.

Thanks :)

On 12/27/2018 at 11:40 AM, KLA said:

Just checked again - price for the Enchantment sailing went down another $75!! I've NEVER had such good luck with price drops. The only other one I can compare to was also on Enchantment, moving from an interior to an OV for $7 - and then having them give us $50 obc... paid to upgrade!

So... we have put down a deposit for a Thanksgiving cruise, we booked while onboard last week (NextCruise). How do price drops work?

Both Houston airports have flights pretty much around the clock. What day and where would they be flying to? I assume y'all are sailing from Galveston...

OK, so I'm a somewhat picky sleeper. The beds we had on the Navigator (ocean view, deck 2) were just way too hard, and I wound up sleeping propped up on the couch in the room (which led to morning sausage feet, but that went away after walking around for a few minutes). Are the mattresses the same on all the ships? We sail on the Harmony next Thanksgiving (balcony, deck 9), and I am hoping the mattresses are more uh... soft? Anyone ever bring their own mattress topper (or even an inflatable)? We'll be pulling the king apart into two twins, so wouldn't take much to pack an inflatable twin to stick on top, if need be. If not, maybe I can drag in one of those curved deck chairs and just sleep on the balcony (noticed they are comfy enough for me, and didn't make my feet puff up, when I fell asleep in one on the pool deck).

This was my only complaint about the trip. Gotta say, I was so happy to sleep horizontally when we got home yesterday. 10 days on a couch is not that great.

We rolled into a "formal" night dressed like normal. Nobody batted an eye. I think they are "recommended" attires.

Thanks all! Man, I am glad for porters. The rooms weren't ready until 1pm, and having to babysit our luggage for 3 hours would have been a PITA, haha. Terrific cruise - we already put a deposit down for Harmony for this next Thanksgiving. SO excited to see one of the big ships with the bells and whistles :)

Just now, tiny260 said:

As soon as you get on board head start to the Windjammer and pig out. Deck 5 where you should get on will have Sorrento's pizza also.

LOL, now you're talking! My 10YO will be a bottomless pit by the time we get onboard :)

Thanks all :) Sounds like we'll just pack some snacks and head straight over to the ship!

Hm. The cruise summary I got indicated checkin between noon and 4pm.

So we fly to Miami tomorrow morning, and arrive at the airport around 9:30. I figure we'll have 1.5 - 2 hours before we can check in at the ship. Don't want to really "explore" the area via ground transport and haul our luggage around for that timeframe, so... would it be better to kill time at the airport or at the terminal? Pretty sure we'll be hungry (getting up around 3:30 in Houston for our 6am flight - eek), so grabbing a bite would be nice.

Thanks. First time to Miami.

Yeah I've seen others mentioning that it's prohibited to take off some of the islands. The ones we are going to weren't mentioned specifically, so I'm unsure. Even if we just find some and can get nice photos, that'd be good :) Taking some home would be a bonus.

We're setting sail on Navigator this Friday, and our last port will be Bonaire. We've decided to rent a golf cart rather than take a RC excursion, so we'll be out and about at our own leisure, totally mobile. Anyone know if there are good spots to comb for sea glass on the island? How about Aruba? We have a MUCH longer stay there, so once the excursion is done, maybe we can rent a bike or something (will be there Christmas Day, so... might not be possible). Or Curacao/Labadee?

Thanks!

I've seen this mentioned a few times, but I can't quite figure out what it is. How does it differ from a drink package?

2 hours ago, KathyC aka KathLuvsGH said:

Honestly, if he enjoys a drink every now & then the drink package may not make financial sense, even if you could buy just one.  

Oh I think he could find a way to use it up, lol.

I'm kinda bummed that if one adult gets the alcohol package, all adults in the room must, but I understand why. I do not drink at all, but my husband enjoys one every now and then. Guess he'll be taking them one at a time (like me with the milkshakes, haha).

13 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

SOLUTION: Just book an aft (stern) facing balcony. I love them.

That's more than I want to spend right now, LOL! Maybe on a non-holiday cruise

12 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Welcome to the blog !  You will find so much helpful information here !

MEI is a great travel agency and they are the sponsors of this blog site.  Even if they were not, I would use them.  Using a travel agent is entirely up to you.  There are numerous blog threads highlighting the value of using a good agent.  Look for these posts if you are interested.  You should not have to pay ANYthing for the services of a travel agent so if you find one that says that there is any kind of fee, I recommend you keep looking.  MEI does not charge for their services.

Thanks :) I contacted MEI and had a couple rounds of emails with one of them yesterday at the end of the day. Waiting for them to call/email back this morning is killing me, hahah!

So I just read here that Celebrity and RC are sibling lines. We've been on two cruises before and the very FIRST one was on Celebrity, in 2001 (second was Carnival in 2013). Would it be possible to "claim" Crown & Anchor status through that old Celebrity cruise? I mean, it'd be nice to start out my first RC proper cruise with some benefits :)

32 minutes ago, Matt said:

Welcome @HtownHolly !

Thanks @Matt! I just realized that Celebrity and RC are sibling lines. Since we did actually cruise on Celebrity (a long time ago) would that mean I should be able to get a Crown & Anchor membership? Not sailed on RC proper yet. This Christmas cruise will be the first.

57 minutes ago, RCVoyager said:

If you're leaving from San Juan and you plan to be in your room as your cruise begins, you will want to be on the starboard side.  The views of El Morrow as you leave the harbor are awesome.  

Ah no, we are sailing from Miami, and PR isn't on the itinerary. That's good to know though, for future sailings!

4 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I just cancelled and re-booked VOOM today to save $4!  Every little bit counts.  Just made it before my cruise planner closes tomorrow lol.

So are most pre-cruise options something that can be booked and cancelled "at will"?

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Port or Starboard?  Yes.  There is no set side that always is against the pier.  It varies.

From an Ocean View cabin you might find it better to visit the highest deck to take a picture of each island.  Better views higher up.  

Grand Cayman tenders (Western Caribbean). 

CocoCay tenders (Bahamas,  pier is nearing completion by EOY 2018).

 

Cool thanks. Yeah I remember getting a little green in the gills at Grand Cayman... and then of course my shore excursion was a ride on a pirate ship, lol. Looks like that won't be an issue this time around

Hm. I guess I didn't realize that docks take people on both sides! Might not matter then

Related, is there a list of tender ports? I've found I get queasy on those kind of easily, but not on board the big ships.