NJCruisers

1 hour ago, Zacharius said:

 

Does she have a business visa or a work visa? I'm guessing it's the former...they're quite different (business visas allow you to conduct business trips to China; work visa allows you to hold employment in China). I was always able to get a business visa without going, but my work visa required me actually going. That being said, I worked in China almost 10 years ago, so that may have changed too.

She has a work visa.  She was just there for 10 days earlier this month.  

My daughter just started traveling to China for business and although she has a work visa good for the next 10 years now, she never had to go in person to get it.  I do know there was a fee, but her company obviously covered it. 

13 hours ago, Tmsmith said:

Word of caution. We rented tux package on a B2B cruises and neither fit. Pants were 5 in too short and jacket too small.  Sent measurements from tuxedo shop so sent professional measurements.  Ruined 4 formal nights. We would not chance it for a 25th anniversary. 

Wow, and they didn't have anything else on board to make it right?  DH pants are generally average size - he does have wide shoulders so the jacket would be my main concern for him.  

10 minutes ago, ama537621 said:

I would get the rental then,  I gently laid my suit coat as the last item in my suitcase. Who knows what it will look like when I take it out on the boat. 

Yes, $99 + $12 (shoes) + tax is reasonable for him to use both nights. (Edited because he would prefer the vest)

I was already thinking of packing it in the suit case and then getting it ironed once on the ship but since formal night is day 2 I wasn't sure if it was going to be doable.  

35 minutes ago, ama537621 said:

I can bring a suit along instead of paying that much money. I could see getting it for a very special occasion. 

True, but since we have to fly to San Juan I would have to forgo one of our suitcases for a garment bag in order to bring it & his dress shoes.  Also, it's our 25th Anniversary, hence 25 years since he's had to wear one, lol. 

1 hour ago, VinceC said:

The less I have to bring the better.  Does anyone have any idea what they charge for Tuxedo Rentals onboard the ships and is Tuxedos all they have (Suits, Blazers, Dresses, Gowns)?

That's actually a great idea.  

42 minutes ago, Matt said:

Prices here: https://tuxedorentals.rccl.com/tuxedo/tuxrental.nsf

Do you know if these prices are for one or both formal nights?  I read it but it didn't say.

8 minutes ago, CruiseLife72 said:

According to the most recent Cruise Compass for Freedom of the Seas, MTD is located on Deck 3.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/freedom-of-the-seas/sun-2019-04-07-0000

Thank you - I didn't realize it would have been on there.  I need to start looking at those.  I've been hesitant because none of them have our itinerary.  

As I sit here an look at cruise videos instead of working I was wondering which one is used for MTD.  

It's definitely a personal preference.  We aren't booking any specialty dining - but we haven't cruised in years.  I guess an exception would be Sabor but we booked the guacamole class and it includes lunch.  

I know some people say it's a must, but then again some people love Olive Garden, so it's all subjective.  

4 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

We stayed at the San Juan Marriott Stellaris Casino, which is also on Candado beach, we ate at the Oceano restaurant and would highly recommend it, great food and service, we were able to walk to it from the Marriott.

Also the beach at the Marriott was awesome,

The only reason I booked the Condado Hilton was because I had enough Hilton Honors points to get a free large balcony room. I couldn't pass that up!  I'll have to check it out.  Thank you.

On 4/18/2019 at 2:37 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I wish I could help...but it's been a number of years since we were in SJ and I am TERRIBLE with names of restaurants.  I know we took a bus somewhere....and just wandered around and found somewhere.  We've been there 3 times but not in a few years.  I believe that you are in the hotel that we stayed at the first time we were in PR.  The second time we stayed at the Ritz Carlton and the last time we stayed at the Intercontinental.  I know there are restaurants within walking distance of both the Ritz and IC but for the life of me I cannot remember what is around the Condado.  I just remember that while there was a beautiful ocean view, the beach really sucked.

Well you made me feel better about not spending some extra time there!  I know it's under renovation and should be completed way before we go.  

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We usually just do taxis in PR but it's been a few years since we were in PR. We usually stay in the Condado area; this will be our first time in OSJ.  I have no idea how far it is to the port from OSJ but figure we will just do a taxi and leave it at that.

We are staying at the Hilton in Condado, do you have any restaurant recommendations in that area?  

We are doing the ABC Islands on FOS in November.  In Aruba I booked this:  https://trikes-aruba.com/

I have not been on it yet, but they have answered all of my questions by email & they are active on their FB page so you can see all the tours they are doing.  It looks like so much fun!

I'm a Disney fanatic and I wouldn't do it.  I've been several times (even had a kid working there) and STILL haven't seen/done it all.  With such a short amount of time actually at the park & the cost to do so just doesn't do it justice and I feel may be overwhelming for a 5 year old.  Also, not sure when your trip is but they are opening the new Star Wars land there at the end of August and crowds will be insane.

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I hope you have a nice beach at Condado.  One of the times we stayed in Condado all we had was a rocky outcropping (it was beautiful though !).  We are leaving for SJ on April 27 and this time we are staying at the Sheraton Old San Juan.  It will be our first time to stay in OSJ.

I wouldn't worry about it.  If they tell you to book 3:30 or later and you are booked at 3:15 I would say you're golden !

We are staying at the Hilton Condando Plaza - I got a great Ocean view room for free with my Hilton Honors points.  Also, I need to medicate to fly & it just knocks me out so just being able to sit on a lounge on the sand will be enough for me.  

4 hours ago, twangster said:

You might want to find an airline that has a flight at 3:31pm in case you need too supply the flight number.  

I went ahead and booked it figuring it's only $29 each and I can cancel if necessary.  I didn't have to enter flight info - not sure if I will have to do that later.  I'll claim old age and tell them I thought 3:13 was 3:31!

3 hours ago, bcarney said:

Assuming you still have to handle your luggage at the airport, the first thing you want to do when you get there is to run it through the agricultural scanners immediately to the right and left of the doors where you enter the airport.  Lots of people skip this, and then are turned back when they try to check in.  They'll put little stickers on your luggage to indicate they've been scanned.

Yup. I have that written down in my tips I've found on here.  I definitely don't plan on cutting it close. By the time we take cabs back and forth and store our luggage somewhere the RC excursion price was reasonable.  

In a perfect world we would have been able to enjoy more time in San Juan, but that's not the case.  We will arrive the afternoon before the cruise and plan to enjoy the beach at our hotel in Condando.  Our return flight is at 3:13pm.  I am interested in doing the RC San Juan on your own w/airport drop-off because it takes care of our luggage and gets us back to the airport, but it states our flights must be 3:30 or later.  Will the 15 minutes make much difference?  Here's the link from cruise planner:  Can I book it?

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruiseplanner/category/1002/product/100000003328024419

10 hours ago, twangster said:

My concern would be fitting it into the outlets.  On many ships the outlets are located just above the desk surface like this on Explorer:

That unit might not work because the prongs are located high on the back of it so with the deck surface so close it might not actually plug into the outlet.  If it did it might cover or hit the switch next to it. 

On ships like Anthem this is less of a concern because the outlets are higher off the desk but here are also USB outlets on Anthem so would you even need it on a newer ship?

 

I didn't even think of that.  We're going on Freedom. & we aren't getting internet packages but will be using phones for pics here and there & then while off the ship to text family back home.  I will also have my camera which I plan to bring to a few excursions so that will need to be charged along with my Go Pro.  

I have had this sitting in my Amazon cart for a while - now I'm second guessing myself.  Anyone use this?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHVKPC3/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A1Z5JU5NCTQDXZ&psc=1

2 hours ago, PhantomWolf said:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch shots. Tasty but a sticky mess at the end 

Yeah, I'm not a fan.  I like them both but not together.  I prefer Fireball with diet cream soda but whiskey isn't normally my drink of choice.  I'll take a rum bucket any day!

20 hours ago, Todd W said:

any idea if they have Rumchata or any knockoff's available on LIberty?     If not, saw these "creamer cups" (its simply the same stuff from the bottles) that I may try to take onboard with us.   would work out great in the room for my wife's coffee.

Those are pretty good - daughter's college friends have left them behind, they added them to their Fireball.  

6 hours ago, brianastree said:

I am planning to attend a shore excursion that include snorkeling.

If both cannot be archived, I have to forgive snorkeling because I cannot enjoy beautiful sightseeing in the sea.

 

This will be my first time snorkeling since I am wearing glasses (progressives). I was told to ask my eye doctor for my prescription as the snorkeling company I am using may have something close to that.  My back up plan is getting daily wear contact lenses and just using them for the day - not ideal & I'm sure I'll lose a couple but it's worth a try for me.  I'm also bringing my old pair of glasses to use at all the beach stops we make and keeping my good ones back at the ship as the salt water pretty much destroys them.  

1 minute ago, tiny260 said:

If you can picture one of the pool lounge chairs on deck, the blue pool towels cover all of the lounge chair except maybe the last 6 inches of the chair where your heels would be (Loosing 6" for chair clips or tucking in). So they are not as big as a beach towel you might buy, but they are not small.

Thank you!, I'm pretty sure it will wrap around me then.... at least at the beginning of the cruise before all that food:)

18 hours ago, tiny260 said:

I'm sure there is a limit, but you can get as many as you want. Just remember though, you have to haul them around all day and turn them back in when you get back to the ship, so if you ask for 2-3 pp that is going to get heavy, especially when they are wet.

I usually get 4 for my wife and I for the pool deck and 2-3 when we go to a beach.

It's just the hubby & I & we'll both have light weight backpacks.  I like the tip about getting them earlier and packing them too! I was just worried about the size of them.  

38 minutes ago, twangster said:

Bringing towels can be a PITA.   They get full of sand and even with a balcony don’t try quickly because it’s very humid.  

I’d never bring my own.  Simply easier to use theirs and turn them in frequently for clean ones.  They are a decent size and you can ask for two.  

Thanks, didn't realize we could get more than one & was worried they wouldn't be big enough.

Our cruise leaves  out of San Juan and I wasn't really planning anything until flights were booked.  We are flying in the day before and staying at the Condando Plaza Hilton (free with points, yay!)

Unfortunately we have to leave the same day the cruise returns and our flight is at 3:13pm.  I figure that gives us some time to disembark, take a cab to Barrachina's & explore that area for a bit before heading to the airport.  Not ideal, I know San Juan has so much more to offer and hopefully we can return again some day and do that. 

I'll preface this by saying this Jersey girl was born and raised in NY and basically I have trust issues, lol.  I told hubby we could either have breakfast or lunch (& definitely one last Pina Colada) before heading to the airport and we could leave our luggage there (yes, I will tip for that separately). He thinks I'm nuts and can't believe I'm not concerned about theft, will change my mind when I get there and hence we'll be roaming the streets with our suitcases.

Can others share their experiences?