markm

I found it much better to purchase Euros thru my local bank here in the US. Then last evening of cruise I used what I had left to pay my shipboard charges . We did a 7 day cruise departing rom the UK (pounds) one day in Germany, two days in the Netherlands (2 ports) and two days in France. We changed $500.00 in Euros prior to leaving and had around $375.00 left

Hope you bought travel insurance. I knew better but yielded to relatives pressure to fly the same day as cruise. Straight flight from Seattle to London ,arriving at 6AM. We arrived at airport early and were in the queue when I received email from airlines our flight was delayed 8hrs. fortunately we had RC insurance and they rescheduled on another airlines. Long story short ,we made it but were one of the last to board. Lucky, panic ,rushed just not worth it

flying in on same day as cruise

On 11/25/2019 at 6:19 AM, Va4fam said:

Thanks for suggestions everyone.   The Osmo Pocket looks like it would check a lot of boxes.   And just in time for Black Friday deals!!!

@Twangster.....any tips you have on settings on a digital camera would be great.   We were at Antelope Canyon (AZ) this summer and our guide changed the settings on our camera and it made a dramatic improvement to the pictures.   

Just did a cruise with iPhone X ,Osmo Moble 3, DLSR and Osmo Pocket. all worked great, of course bests pic were with DLSR. I used the DLSR and iPhone the most. Osmo pocket is great  but strongly suggest you practice a lot with it before hand. other expenses to consider with the Osmo pocket are Wheel, Extension rod and lenses

Keep it simple, small and good stabilization . Get a DJI Osmo mobile 3 for your phone

Just did a cruise out of Southampton 3 weeks ago.

Flying into Heathrow is very very easy now, zero wait time. As of last summer US residents can now just scan their passports upon arrival. check out the videos at Heathrow international airport.

Check out the "London. Tool Kit" it will give you ideas about transportation.

Be ready to do a lot of walking and climbing stairs in London.

We stayed at the Grosvenor Victoria Hotel, very nice and well located hotel (4 star). As mentioned by others hotels are much smaller than in the US and not very old people or handicap friendly. Staff at the hotel is excellent and will be happy to help with bags or anything else. The hotel has and entrance in to the Victoria Train Station so you don't even have to go outside. Victoria Coach station (Bus) is a three block walk.

We used International Friends  for a 3 night post cruise tour pkg

Disembarkation in Southampton couldn't be easer,  Walk off, grab your bags and walk out. no customs or border control. don't know if that will change with Brexit.

Go Seahawks

On a recent cruise aboard The Explorer of the Seas we found the food at the Windjammer to be fair at best. Its been a few years since our last cruise and hope that this was a fluke

The Key sounds like it might be a really good deal for some. Do your research. Recently cruised out of Southampton on the Explorer of the Seas. Heard the embarkation lunch was great ( we were late). October in the English Channel the key gave no advantage as very few people were outside for those activities. Priority seating at shows was no better than general admission. Disembarkation day breakfast was ok but slow and in Southampton there are no customs so you walk off with everyone else. On this particular cruise, the Key was a waste but that doesn't mean it would b e for every cruises

Recently on the Explorer off the Seas. Their drink cup order did not come in so the gave us some really cheap disposable cups (unsatisfactory) Cut the chip out of the bottom and used it with regular glass, worked fine however freestyle machines were down half the time. Easy to use your sea pass card at any bar 

I used them to:  secure ship provided extension cord to ceiling for my CPAP, hang coat, bathrobe , daypack, over the door organizer, and binoculars 

If you don't have a TA then for any questions call the Cruise Planner 800 number

1 hour ago, xnavyss said:

Curiosity Question

How many Royal Luggage Tags do you put on each piece of luggage ?

I have been putting two on each bag ( one on the top and one on the side ) as a precaution in case one of them fall off.

Joe

( Proud Military Veteran and retired Navy Submarine Sailor )

Concur with everyone . Well shipmate looks like your a skimmer now

As already stated make you reservations ahead of time. We did everything we wanted to and saw every show. Need to prioritizes what you what to do, Our number #1 was to see all the shows and entertainment, so we only did early dinning in the MDR and it worked out for us. Read the cruise compass daily.

2 hours ago, SPS said:

I've put mine in a checked bag to board each time with no issues. DO NOT bring your own extension cord, however. That can result in a naughty room visit, so I am told.

Fill out the special needs form: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do (or send an email to special_needs@rccl.com ) Below is a screenshot of the area you need to fill out.

FYI: Be prepared to have a LARGE extension cord provided. The cord I was given was a heavy gauge cord at least 50 feet in length! 

 Although I filled out the customer needs form for one cruise, the supplies needed were not in our room yet. A quick conversation with our stateroom attendant had a gallon of distilled water and an extension cord delivered during our dinner service.

Thank you. I did the special needs request and I also ordered 15 ' ac power cord to replace the 6 footer that came with my CPAP. I your opinion do you think the 15 foot power cord will be long enough to eliminate the extension cord?

Bad experience with travel agent on first cruise, so I've since done it on my own. Wish I would have known about MEI

Traveling oversea not all airlines recognize the ADA in regards to CPAP machines, so I usually put mine in checked baggage. Just wondering if anyone else has every put their CPAP in checked baggage? If so , any problems being called to the naughty room upon embarkation/debarkation?

4 minutes ago, mpoole3 said:

Having just left Jewel 9 night in Europe I tipped in US $1's the whole cruise.  I didn't see a single passenger the whole cruise tip in cash, perhaps they were giving tips on receipt.  The crew was very happy with the tips and the drinks kept coming.  

Thank you

14 hours ago, Clear Laker said:

Since the banning of extension cords and power bars and with the hope of avoiding one of Royal's '25 Orange Extension Cords I have done the following:

- For my CPAP I bought a 15' cord to replace the standard 6' cord that goes from the outlet to the power transformer block .  You can buy them on Amazon as they are the same cords used for TVs and some computers.

- I bought a 220v plug adapter with USB ports.  This allow for an additional plug at the desk for dual voltage devices as well as 2 spots for charging phone, tablets etc.

- Lastly, I went to the hardware store and bought an old fashioned 1 to 3 square block 110v adapter.  

These days as most things are USB powered … having 5 standard outlets and 2 USB outlets is all we need.  Total investment was less than $20.

Thank you for the info on the CPAP power cord (just ordered one) was dreading the "Orange Extenstion Cord"

Thank you. After thinking about it I think you are absolutely correct. It would be bummer If the crew didn't have means to exchange currency. Ship departs UK= Ponds, 4 ports= Euros, ship arrives in Miami in 3 weeks=dollars. 

I know it's fine to tip Porters, housekeeping , MDR staff, bartenders and even local tourist guides in US dollars in the Caribbean. Is it acceptable to tip extra in US dollars while cruising out of the UK and EU?

All the above is good advice, but its really depends on you. Do you want to pay off your sea pass card before departing? Starbucks, Johnny Rockets? Do gamble or what to play bingo? Do you want to buy some of the pictures  they will be taking of you? Are you going to buy anything onboard ( sundries, booze, bottled wine, art ect)  Do you plan to buy anything while in port?

Like to know the answer to that myself. We are booked on the 10 hour tour to Paris departing at 12:20 and arriving back at10:20. It will be interesting if all 8 tours into Paris depart within the first 30 minutes of docking

ReliefBand 1.5, NOT reliefBand 2.0

Received and email from Royal Caribbean that our arrival time in La Havre (Paris) would be delayed by 2 hours due to speed restrictions. Ive read that France has proposed to the International Maritime Organization a plan to set a lower Cruise Ship speed limit to reduce greenhouse emissions . Does anyone know if the IMO has adopted it, or is it just the French

Oh no, I did not see this before and don't know if you have already cruised. We did Chichen Itza, definite buckle list and well worth it. Yes its long drive (on a horrible bus)and not a lot of time at site. Our tour guide  was very knowledgable but preferred to let everyone sleep on the long ride out there. Once there he began to talk and talk and talk, fortunate I had read a lot about it before hand so we broke lose of the tour and explored on our own

I was in the US Navy for 23 years and we travel abroad every year but Chichen Itza tops the list for me