TheHobbys

wait - aren't those the 'same' towels you use - lol

4 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

2) There's the kid's club 'Adventure Ocean ', pool, kids' pool, sports court, rock climbing wall, games arcade (for an extra charge) and there'll be things in tbe cruise compass aimed at kids so should be plenty for them to do. 

We took our kids on their first cruise in 2017 and had a blast.  They were both worried they would get bored, but our 12yr daughter made some cool friends in the teen area and our 10yr son always wanted to go to adventure ocean to hang out with new friends.  We also encouraged them to go 'play', but would also have strict check-in times and rules.  The Adventure Ocean will have a lot of things planned - have them take a highlighter and at breakfast go over the cruise compass and have the highlight things they would like to do or make sure they don't want to miss.  Hope ya'll have a great time - kids might be a little older in 3019, eh  

It'll be hard for someone to tell you to bring $x amount - because there are so many different scenarios.  For, it will range between $2k - 4k - depending on the cruise length

* Make sure bring some small bills so you will have some for tipping on the spot - if you need.  I usually have 20-40 in small bills.  this covers tipping at the airport, porters with your luggage and tipping for excursions - oh, make sure to save some for the return trip also. 

* Also, you might want to factor in maybe another $100/200 to give as an over-and-beyond tip.  if you spend a lot of time at a specific bar, and the bartender takes awesome care of ya'll - toss them an extra tip. 

* Another thing I do is hide about $100.  When walking around at ports, IF you happen to not have enough cash for something - this will come in handy if they don't take cards  

* Also, try to keep a dedicated card for all your purchases at port.  This will make it easier to review later.   

* Keep an eye on your on board spending - it's extremely easy to rack up a hefty after cruise bill - make sure to try and stay within a budget. 

* As for the casino, we budget about $100-200 a night.  If it goes fast, it's an early evening, if we win we get to keep staying out late - lol.  

Have a great cruise!

Gratz on going through the adoption process.  The birth certificate should work.  Wouldn't hurt to also bring a copy of the parental rights just as a backup.  

9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

It is always easier to book refundable and pull one out than add one in, unless you have 3 or more. 

+1 to this - OR - you could just add your MIL to say in your room  

 (i can tease on this one, because my MIL and SIL stayed in our room - BUT it was the AT2BR on Oasis)

24 minutes ago, SweetHomeLady said:

My husband likes to sip on coffee all morning long so I bring an insulated mug from home for him so he can carry it around with him wherever we go.  

This is a good one - we did this one year and brought some insulated cups for our coffee - but we got sorta held up at the security scanner while the guy looked at them.  Of course, they were both empty - but still.  Make sure to have them handy before you get to the security bag check   will save you a little time from someone question what those thing are, if they are still in your bag.

5 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I'm far more likely to forget our anniversary than my husband is (forgot to take our 25th wedding anniversary off from work this week - he did not forget), and we usually forget birthdays. But forgetting to pay off the cruise in time .... unacceptable!!

Birthday (morning hunny, happy birthday), anniversary (morning hunny, happy anniversary), future cruise - book it 16+ months in advance (every morning,  hunny, did you make a cruise payment this month? - is it final payment?  we'll eat on the boat, pay the bill!  #Don'tMessWithMyCruise )

I believe balconies are max occupancy of 4, so with your 5, you would need to find a larger room that would allow that many.  The Ultra Spacious Room seems to have 2 pullman beds (aren't those the dropdown from the ceiling?), couch bed and then then king size bed (2 twins that are mushed together).  Think these are only on the front of the ship. 

You could look into 2 balconies with an adjoining door - but then price that against a larger suite to see which option saves you the most money.

On 4/10/2019 at 5:22 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I think the ambiance and service in the CK has as much to do with the enjoyment as the food itself. So glad you enjoyed it. I agree with you....having options outside of the MDR and the WJ along with the other wonderful suite perks are what make the suites worth the extra cost.

Totally agree with this one.  The ambiance / service we experience in the CK has us making sure to always have a room that include the CK all day access.

Just now, JennyB said:

yes, but what if we are still intending on going?  is it difficult to get it all back? 

 

It may all depend on if you are using a TA or not.  If you have a really good TA, they should be able to help you figure out what options you have available.  If you don't have a TA - then you'll need to call RCL to figure out what options are available

Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said:

From my understanding, if you miss final payment, they automatically cancel your reservation.

... then they put your room up for the RoyalUp program so someone else will take it - lol - then you may have to book an interior room down by the engine   #Don'tMissTheFinalPayment

1 hour ago, whenismynextcruise said:

Why does the staff need to know you are SC when you pay for a drink or whatever else? IOther than pre-loaded discounts and freebies that are on your account does something else happen? Do they dance when you present the the card? Do bells and whistles ring? I will never be able to afford star class so its nice to know how the 10% vacation.

  drinks are included in the SC

20 minutes ago, princevaliantus said:

Splain Lucy ... share the secrets and knowledge ... is there a podcast on this topic?   

So, you pickup your xBox controller - play a hard game of 'which cruise do i take', complete it - Ding you 'leveled up' - woot - play again and book your next cruise at level 2  lol

34 minutes ago, mark52479 said:

Excellent!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post that.

 

I will start right away looking over all those posts.  Thanks again.

Oh it was nothing for @Lovetocruise2002 to do.  She's always on a cruise somewhere and have pplleeennntttyyy of time - lol

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Congrats on booking Star Class for your very first cruise.  Great way to spoil yourself forever for all future cruises! 

 

Yeah, your ruined now!  After staying in that one, our next three cruises are all SC   

Edit:

Oh, and the Coastal Kitchen will ruin you also.  The atmosphere in there is amazing.

Howdy, and welcome aboard.  If you put a deposit down and have a confirmation number, then you should be good to go.  I don't think that room would 'require' you have 5 people, so your party of 4 should be just fine.  We stayed in the exact same room with 6 people, 8330 end of May 2017 and had a blast.   Your genie will spoil you, so your NEXT cruise   will have to be the same.

you may have to wait till your next cruise.  we'll hit Diamond on our upcoming cruise but don't think the C&A will update till about 14 days after our cruise.

8 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

Off topic a little and maybe this is old news but I was over on Cruisemapper.com, went to ships and then Royal and they have two future cruise ships listed that I didn't remember seeing discussed before, the pictures next to them show a Q class but that may just be there generic picture, anyway they had Pulse OTS and Passion OTS, along with Odyssey OTS which we knew about.

Interesting, never heard of the Pulse or Passion - sure those are RCL?  Here's the list I see for ships on order:  https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-cruise-ships-order

Thanks - I'll have to watch to see where the new OA5 will port.  Looks like the one next year, Odyssey will be over in Europe running route.

Ha, seems that the DBP is something you need to check on frequently to see what the price is.  We cruise in 43 days on Anthem and here's how it shows for us.  Notice it state 'Prices Starting From'

I think it'll be overlooking the basketball court.  The image below is the same room but opposite side.

If you have a TA, make sure to bring their info (agent name / agency name / agency IATA # / agency address / agency phone) with you to NextCruise.  They should be able to assign it to your TA.  We are going to try and book out 2021 cruise during our upcoming cruise June 6 on Anthem and have our TA's info.  This info will allow your TA to service your new reservation.  As far as the commission, that may be up to the agency your TA is associated with.  Technically, if they are servicing your next cruise they might get it - but would need more info from an actual TA about that.

13 minutes ago, Bluegrass Gal said:

Is there any way to request a lower luggage tag # to ensure an earlier disembarkation time?  We are using a private transfer company to the airport, not one arranged through Royal Caribbean.  Suggestions, please!

You may be able to check with guest services to see if they can help you get a lower luggage tag # and get the earlier disembarkation time.  But, you may want to do that during your cruise and NOT on the last day   you could be in for a little wait as there may be a lot of folks in line on the last day wrapping up lose ends.

We had our honeymoon on Allure with a B2B cruise - talk about awesome and just about the perfect amount of time.  Ya'll have a blast!  We loved the ship and have a lot of fun in casino during those two weeks.  Ready to do it again (cough get kids off to college so wife and i can cruise more/longer cough)

20 minutes ago, tradercj said:

I am Platinum and I am bring someone with me that has never been on a cruise before. Can they come with me to the "Top Tier" event because they are in the same cabin as me?

You can have them just stand outside and wave at them from inside the party   show them what they are missing - heh.  #kidding