markm

 Looks like a lot of people get away with bringing scissors aboard. Received my Guest Ticket Boolket a few days ago and it says, "Prohibited items: Sharp Objects, including knives and scissors. (Note: Personal grooming items such as safety razors are allowed.)."

On 9/1/2019 at 5:37 AM, FManke said:

Generally from what we've experienced they won't post the MDR menus for the next day til later in the evening the night before. On a 7 night cruise, nights 2 and 6 are usually Formal Nights with 6 lobster night if that helps.

Happy cruising!

On night 6 will will be docked overnight in Paris (Le Havre) France, in your option will they still have a Formal night that night?

Air2Sea gave us ours at the time of booking, although on British Airways its a PCB. I would call them back to make sure . Beware that some airlines have different procedures for advance seating. ie had to pay $52.00 per seat each way on British Airways, it would have been free if I waited until 24 hours prior to flight 

For those of you that bring wine aboard in your carry on, what type of wine protectors do you recommend?

Be careful about choosing a pre-paid credit card (Revolt appears good ) I bought a pre-paid visa/master card, loaded it with a couple thousand only to find out once overseas it was only good in the US.

If you have a later flight, you may want to check and see if a post cruise tour is offered that drops you off at the airport upon completion

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Once you have entered the EU you are not required to carry a passport with you.  Many well known travel sources recommend not carrying your passport.  Pickpockets are common and a damaged passport such as water damage renders a passport useless.  

Ships have process in place when a guest misses the ship.  Before leaving a guest behind they will go into the safe looking for passports and secure them with the local port agent who will give them to a guest who has missed the ship.  This is standard protocol.

I often use a passport card as my form of ID when leaving a ship.  It's small, lightweight and waterproof.   Plus if I lose it or get pickpocketed my passport book is in the safe.  

I know you have talked about your St Kitts experience before but they were just wrong that day or there was more to the story like it was required for St Kitts residents only.  Many, many guests on closed loop cruises don't use a passport and use DL/BC.  How have those people left St Kitts day after day, week after week?  I have been there a dozen times and never had to produce a passport to leave or return to the ship.  No one on my dive boat took passports on the dive boat.  We all made it back onto the ship without any issue.  A wet passport is useless because water smearing is a common counterfeiting tactic.  A passport book on a dive boat would be a disaster waiting to happen.  If your passport ever gets damp or wet just start heading to a consulate right then and there because your passport is now useless.

Once you are in the EU you don't meet any immigration or customs agents as you move between countries.  Driving from Germany into France is no different than driving from Maryland into Virginia.  Reboarding a ship will not involve immigration or customs within the EU.  It's quite pleasant actually and on a B2B you usually don't have to leave the ship because there is no immigration or customs for cruises that stay within the EU.

Excellent information about the the ships policy retrieving passports. If someone still thinks they would be more comfortable taking their passports ashore, suggest a Pacsafe Coversafe X75 neck pouch worn under your shirt. They are RFID and have a wire cable in the neck strap. I use one just to carry ID, credit card and cash when traveling abroad. Overseas a passport card only serves as a government ID and not a passport

Glad to hear you liked the entertainment, we are book aboard the Explorer in October. Went on the Oasis a few years ago and were kinda worried we may have been spoiled by her entertainment.

Same question, same ship and port. We need to catch a post cruise tour at 0830. We are a little old to do "Express walk off. Don't know if will help, but its the main reason we purchased the Key

Unfortunate you were not aware of the rules, it can make you feel pretty perturbed . From our decades of playing "land" based Bingo, it has been our experience in a non-cash grand prize with multiple winners, no one receives the grand prize, but are given a cash prize that is usually smaller than the buy in.

If you want to use your phone and take video consider a DJI Osmo Moblie 3 handheld gimbal. Its around $119 and works great with an iPhone and can be used with other phones. Zoom, stabilization, tilt, pan, slow motion, time-lapse and active tracking  

Suppose it happens, but we have never had a problem with anyone

Try not to overthink, yes Central Park can get a little warm during the day but its only a small part of the ship. During formal night spent some time the having pictures taken in a suit and was not uncomfortable

5 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I guess it depends on the airway and their policies around seat reservations. My older daughter went to Ghana for 3 weeks last month, and she few Brussels Airlines. They didn't allow you to reserve your seat until checkin, so it was very much in her interest to do the online checkin as soon as she could in order to get her preferred seat type / location.

If British Airways lets you reserve your seat at the time of booking / payment, probably less reason to worry about checking in ahead of time. Only other reason I can think of is that it saves you some time when you get there, since you'll already have your boarding pass and can even load it up on your phone (no need for a printed pass). Just check your luggage and head straight to security so you can be in the terminal lounge area that much faster.

Good info, Thank you. Only one thing, British Airways will let you pick your seats 24 hours in advance , 7 days in advance if your a member, but charges for advance seat assignment in economy,  I Paid $51.00 per person each way, and they are the cheap seats

We are sailing in October. In May we booked 5 shore excursions through Royal. As soon as we hit the 90 day mark, I noticed that the total price for all 5 excursions had gone up over $300.00

What are the advantages (if any) to checking in online before your flight. Flying on British Airways 

Flying back to the US from Heathrow. My wife is a little older and is not able to walk real fast. We are scheduled to arrive at the airport about three hours prior to the flight. Will this give its enough time or do we need to get there earlier?

On 8/5/2019 at 1:24 PM, FionaMG said:

Although some seem to be a bit more interesting than others. The ships sailing from the UK, for example, have pies and curries on some of their menus. 

Do they replace the standard menu items or are the in addition to?

Think you will enjoy Royal Caribbean

Wondering if the Cruise Compass was published prior to sailing? If so, when and where? Going on the French Dutch Aventure abroad the Explorer of the Seas out of Southampton. It appears it is not a frequent cruise and I'm not able to locate a past compass

We had a boardwalk view room (same level as Central Park) on the Oasis , never could get it cold even after maintenance tried  

,

A lot of the ports have shore excursions that are designed  for later departing flights. After disembarkation you take the shuttle bus, go on the tour and they drop you off at the airport

Do the types of coffee allowed differ ?

2 hours ago, F1guynz said:

I use the scan function built into my iPhone. It is not as good as a scanner at home but it does an alright job.

You just need a flat surface to take the scan.

 

Thanks, did not know about that

If I cancel say a refreshment package and upgrade to the deluxe drink package how long will it take for the cancelled package to be credited back? Will it go back on my credit card or?