sk8erguy1978

1 hour ago, StephanieH said:

If you aren't paid in full, I would wait to use it.  If another offer comes out that's a better deal and doesn't include an OBC, it will fall off.  You'll have 24 hours to make payment on the cruise planner to keep your purchase from cancelling.

 

I feel like I had more than 24 hours (like a week?) but it was only $75 dollars and they emailed me EVERYDAY so by the third day I paid. 

For a cruise that begins in the United States (only cruises I've taken) I tip a little extra to cabin attendant ($5-$10 per day) cocktail servers and bartenders ($1-$5 per order) at restaurants (specialty & sometimes included restaurants $20 or more) and other miscellaneous things (like room service or a crew member goes above and beyond). These numbers aren't set in stone ... We've given more, we've given less (although by accident) and these numbers are in addition to what's added as a tip (prepaid gratuities, drink package included tips, specialty restaurant included tip etc).

With all that confusion said, you're under no obligation to tip extra. Royal Caribbean is good about adding 18% to situations where you'd tip and of course the prepaid gratuities. Anything above that is to recognize excellent service.

Personally we don't get too dressy for formal night anymore (she'll wear a dress, I'll have shirt/tie dress pants - no suit); We also have not been to the main dining room on formal night in years. It's a few reason, one is to respect passengers who dress to the nines, the other is we aren't into the dining room experience. We've booked specialty restaurants or just gone to the windjammer. With two Oasis class sailings in 2020 the odds of seeing the inside of the dining room are very low.

With that, I do notice some people are very vocal (on the internet) about those not following the rules. I get why (kinda) but it's just energy not needing to be spent. Enjoy the company you're around, it's vacation after all.

On 12/15/2019 at 2:12 AM, GMusick said:

Hello,

Due to a new job I need to cancel an upcoming cruise. Harmony of the Seas Departing December 22 Western Caribbean Cruise. Cabin 9201. Only my name is on the reservation, so the best option is for a single to purchase this reservation and we'll just add your name. I already paid $3500 for 2. Reservation is attached.

Not to get too personal, but when did you start the new job where you're listing it for sale a week away? Has your manager outright mentioned not being able to honor previous vacations? Might not be too late to go that route as well.

Good luck.

7 hours ago, twangster said:

"Who are you and what are you doing in my cabin?"... "Excuse me but this is my cabin".  Try sorting that out on board.

In the same pice of advice as not trying to do everything, don't stop a fun time just because some silly trivia or karaoke is going on that seems great on the cruise planner. This isn't work where you need to abruptly stop what you're doing and run off to a meeting. If you miss Seinfeld trivia, you'll be okay :). 

Example from my last cruise: I noticed Jeff Trachta was a headline act in the cruise planner and was super excited as I loved his American's Got Talent skits. Even though our friends were running off to karaoke in the music hall, I asked my wife if she'd join me. I said something like "we will just stick our heads in for a minute." We ended up staying the entire show and loved every second of it.

Know what. Our friends were still in the Music Hall and we caught the last person doing karaoke. Win-win.  

4 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

That "wall of glass with one open window in the kid's play area"  has been on the Freedom of the Seas since its maiden voyage in 2006.  In all those 13 years, we have heard of NO ONE falling off that window... UNTIL a color blind grandfather put his 18-month old granddaughter on the railing to "bang the glass like she does at hockey games".

I said something similar to a friend, just over 13 years without an incident.

19 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Exactly. As of now. But the rest is just impossible for me to decipher.  As far as I can tell, Delta isn't included, so it's pretty much useless to me personally.

Delta isn't a travel partner, I did a screenshot above, I'll edit and tag you.

Check out American Express.

22 hours ago, Steve L said:

I'll check mine at the beginning of next year. I think lots of people would jump ship if they hiked the fee...me included.

I've only had the card a year, hate to close it for credit score purposes LOL.

1 hour ago, Steve L said:

Not true.....as of now it's $450....but yeah the rumor is out there. from The Chase Sapphire reserve web page.

At a glance Exceptional travel rewards and benefits 3X Points on Travel and Dining from airfare and hotels to fine dining and cafés* Same page link to Offer Details

APR 18.49%–25.49% variable APR.^{† Same page link to Pricing and Terms}

ANNUAL FEE $450 annual fee^{† Same page link to Pricing and Terms}; $75 for each authorized user^{† Same page link to Pricing and Terms}

 

I can say my annual membership just hit and it was $450.

6 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

One of my son's checked bags did not make it to his destination with him.  Once the bag was delayed for 3 hours, he had a $100 credit to buy clothes to wear.  Easy process-simply send in the receipts.  

Glad to hear the experience was positive. 

We utilized a cruise to Bermuda for our wedding but separate from Royal Caribbean. Destination weddings are the way to go!

Just wanted to express congratulations.

Share your experience when you return. As mentioned by @SpeedNoodles check out that podcast episode, I enjoyed it.

21 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

Another advantage to the Chase Sapphire is that it includes excellent travel insurance.

I haven't used the travel insurance exactly, BUT, I did want to make a claim for a hotel & ride share reimbursement after a 12 hour flight delay. I was told a letter from the airline would be needed with receipts and claim form. I was also told, if the airline admits any fault, likelihood of being reimbursed was zero. The airline provided a letter but admitted fault. Sadly the letter didn't tell the entire story. Since the airline provided me $100 dollar voucher and the hotel + ride share was no more than $200, I didn't make a stink, so no claim was filed.

With all that said, on our last cruise, because of that experience and since I only booked 1/2 the cruise with Sapphire, I purchased travel insurance to supplement, just in case.

On 12/11/2019 at 2:38 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

Not a rumor, I read it on their website while checking it out. I've been looking into this one, but I find it very confusing on how to redeem any benefits, and it doesn't appear that you can use them for Delta miles, so I think the benefits just wouldn't be there for me.  But again, the whole thing makes my head spin.

@SpeedNoodles

They have a portal.

No, Delta isn't a direct travel partner, you'd have to book via portal to have a Delta flight. I'd suggest Amex, I believe they transfer to Delta, even have a Delta card that might provide better Delta direct perks. For me, JetBlue and United work (EWR / SWF / JFK - If I must). 

(Sorry the image is small, I reduced the zoom so it would fit).

Just now, JLMoran said:

This is the card I plan to apply for and switch to as primary once I'm retired and I'm traveling more frequently. The annual fee can be offset pretty nicely if you take advantage of the travel-related perks it comes with, but you definitely have to travel regularly and (IMO) at least a couple times a year to really maximize the benefits it offers.

Yes, I agree. One thing to keep in the back of your mind, it comes with an annual travel 'credit' of $300 dollars. As of right now, it's very loose EzPass, Hotels, Trains, Buses, etc, so it's pretty easy to use. With that said, it does have an annual fee of $450 so you still need to come up with $150 worth of benefits. I heard a rumor they might raise it to $550, ugh. :/.

My wife and I also go out more that we probably should, so I earn a decent amount of points in the food category. 

My wife has it and uses it for her everyday purchases. We will use it from time to time for Royal Caribbean as well, but not exclusively. My Chase Sapphire Reserve provides 3 points per dollar spent on travel (vs RCL 2) and can be transferred to various airlines/hotels/etc or used via Chase Portal to book any type of travel (including Royal Caribbean Cruise, if I wanted, which I wouldn't). I can also use the points in a variety of other ways such as, actual cash back, gift cards, etc, etc (haven't looked at all only interested in travel). The Sapphire Reserve also provides other benefits such as auto insurance, travel insurance, and more.

My 'goto' cards are the Sapphire (3% travel - and EVERYTHING is travel including EzPass Tolls - & dining), Freedom Unlimited (1.5% everything else), & Freedom (rotating 5% categories) it creates a trifecta as all the points can be combined. 

I'll usually gain a few pounds but I also crammed off a few pounds just before the cruise. Between drinks, eating a lot more than I normally do for Breakfast & Lunch and midnight pizza ... it's amazing it's just a few pounds. 

YAY! Enjoy your cruise.

On 12/6/2019 at 6:28 PM, Ken23 said:

Also to note if flying into Newark...not sure if this stat is still correct, but back in 2016 United Airlines controlled 70% of the flights into EWR.   To some people, that might make a difference.

I'm not sure about 70% but they are the only airline in Terminal C.

Which, if you have lounge via a CC or something, forget it. United Clubs only.

While rated one of the worst airports in the country, hands down another vote for EWR (Newark). Both JFK & LGA are about an hour from Cape Liberty depending on what traffic is doing. I've personally done Cape Liberty to JFK for a flight to DR after a cruise and it wasn't that bad (Thursday late morning).

Coming from upstate NY a bit, I do my best to avoid JFK or LGA whenever possible, it's a stressful journey. Once we got stuck in Mets traffic, ugh, luckily we gave ourselves time for dinner because we needed it for traffic. With that said, out of the two, I'd rather journey into JFK vs LGA but at that point, whichever is going to give you the best options (price, direct airlines, etc).

You might also want to check out what HPN & SWF are doing depending where you're traveling from. HPN is a small airport in Westchester County, NY and about an hour and half from port. SWF is in Orange County, NY with very limited direct flights and is just under two hours. Personally, I'd rather the ride from Westchester with less stress than dealing with NYC traffic to either JFK/LGA. (If the prices are reasonable and direct service is available).

On 12/4/2019 at 10:15 PM, WanderPam said:

The worst thing I did was consider cancelling our Explorer cruise because I took negative reviews too seriously. So glad I didn't because we had the most amazing 2 week cruise ever !

Explorer was our 1st, 2nd, 7th, & 8th Royal Caribbean cruise. We met two friends on the 1st back in 2007 who we are very close with today. It was our second cruise overall and confirmed we really enjoyed cruising and Royal Caribbean. That ship holds a special place with me for the experiences we had on-board. Glad you enjoyed her, she's a great ship.

Where do I begin?

1. First cruise ever was a 3-day country themed cruise with popular comics & country artists. Three of us booked an interior cabin and split the cost ... $3000 bucks. I can get a 7 night Caribbean, with drink package and have change left over for that price. As others have said, we did no research and had NO idea how anything worked. Drinks, food, what was included, what wasn't, etc, etc, etc. However, it's what gave us the bug so...
2. Overindulging with adult beverages on day one ... I make this mistake every cruise :).
3. Not arriving to the port as early as possible, took an NCL cruise out of NYC in 2011 and the line to check-in took probably 2 hours.
4. Booking a cruise to take us to our destination wedding (Bermuda) in September ... Ironically, we had the calmest seas I've ever encountered. 

Those come to mind immediately, I am sure there are a ton more.

On 12/2/2019 at 10:43 AM, JLMoran said:

You're looking way outside of my / my daughter's league. This two lens kit T7i package is the one I got for her and would consider upgrading to for myself. The price yesterday morning was $699, a full $100 less than the current pricing; that put it only $50 more than the kit that included onlyt the 18-55mm lens, without the carry bag or memory card.

That was a genuine bargain in my book, basically getting that second Canon lens for free after estimated retail cost of 32GB card and bag, but I was very lucky to have caught it -- I saw it at 7:30 AM Sunday morning, ordered it at 8 AM after checking the pricing on the other online retailers, and by 5 PM the price went back up to what you see today. But B&H and Adorama didn't offer that bundle for that good a price, so Best Buy won out this time.

Can't wait to see Kara's face when she unwraps it. The extended family was able to contribute enough that I could get her this one, and I'm really happy about it. It's literally going to be her only gift under the tree, and that's from the entire family, but it's also all that she wanted this year. Her photography class is all Canon-based, so she'll be set for the rest of high school and most likely all of college where she plans on being a photography major, with a minor or maybe double major in digital illustration.

She will love it! My first DSLR was the Rebel XSi with kit lens. At that time all the Canon forums were saying a great second lens is the 55-250. I ended up buying the 70-300 used from B&H and STILL have it to this day! She's taken some amazing photos in some challenging situations.

I've since upgraded recently to the 70D, got a great deal on eBay (I put in a low number assuming I'd lose) for it used/refurbished. It came from a camera shop (not a popular one) who replaced the mirror and shutter. Only downside, when they said body only they meant it. No rubber eye piece, no battery, nada. I bought two cheap no name batteries that lasted a good while; one is actually still holding an acceptable charge. I did break down recently and buy an OEM battery.

Sadly, I only use it on vacations; recently bought the Sigma 18-35 1.8 as a walk around lens and STILL don't use it much. Although, it's a great lens for walking around the ship.

I just make sure to have more underwear and socks than two times the cruise (assuming double change plus extra). If something needs to be sent to laundry to wear again or I need to purchase something so be it. However, I usually come home with extras. You'll be fine. Enjoy the cruise.

We've done it. It's fun. Even turns into a conversation with fellow cruisers.