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Is there a list of the onboard offers that are preloaded onto the Sea Pass card (used to be a coupon book) by Crown and Anchor Level? Does it change that much between itineraries or is it pretty standard across the fleet?

I suggest also looking at other options like Mr. Sanchos or Nachi Cocum for a beach break. We will be trying Mr. Sanchos for the first time in November. We did the dolphin encounter last time and they were significantly cheaper than other ports. 

You can definitely withdraw at the casino for a fee. If you don't have cash on hand for chips, you give your seapass card to the dealer or floor manager and they will withdraw the amount you want in chips. You should be able to also get chips using your seapass card at the casino cashier. 

I have taken cash out at Guest Services when I was in Europe for Euros when we ran out of $ to exchange at the ports.   

On Oasis there will be lots of photo ops on the ship especially during formal nights. There will be different options of backdrops at the Royal Promenade area, as well as a spot on the grand stairs. There is also a photo op at the classic car in the Royal Promenade. There are photographers who go around dinner time and take photos of your tables. There is also a couple of photo ops in Central Park, however, I do not remember if there is any photo ops at the Boardwalk. At embarkation/checkin, there are a couple of photo ops before entering the ship. Photographers will be around during some of the other activities on the ship as well. Back when there were Dreamworks Characters on board there were also photo ops with the characters such as Po and Tigress from Kungfu Panda, Trolls, Madagascar and Penguins, etc. There are also photo ops at all the ports by the gangways during arrival and sail away. We are planning to get the digital photo package for our cruise in November. One of the tips given was to take a few minutes every night to check the photos that were taken either that day or the day before - since sometimes what you may remember that a photo was taken, it may not show up or someone else's photo shows up in your gallery. One of the technologies they use is face recognition which is not always reliable-hence the missing and additional photos. Let the crew at the photo center know right away that there is a photo of people not in your party or if there was a photo you expected to see but its not there. If you are super intentional, you should be able to get at least 150 digital photos for the week as a couple which is worth it vs paying the prices for prints on board.  

I believe with the refreshment package the bottled water is also included. That may be an option.

There is lots of construction at LGA and who knows for how long. Departing from there can easily turn into a nightmare with the construction and having to come from Jersey - add the possibility of traffic. 

On 8/21/2019 at 3:16 PM, ChessE4 said:

Whether in Europe or not, I don't carry my passport off the ship unless instructed by Royal -- too much risk of being stolen.  I am also talking business trips.  I keep the passport locked up.  With that in mind, I like the travel card as an ID just because it is federal and a driver's license is state-based.  For some places in the Med Royal actually collects the passports (I believe for Turkey) so that they can be processed by immigration.  I am with @Flacruiser99 ,who also commented on passports being collected on the ship at times....

I remember the same, our passports were collected by Royal for the Turkey ports since they are not part of the EU, so you could not go of the ship with them anyways. They were returned to us for Alexandria Egypt and we were instructed to have our passport books with us the whole time. 

To answer the question - in general, you should be fine with having the card as your photo ID and paired with your sea pass for most ports in Europe. However, I would defer to the cruise compass and captain's instructions at each port. There are alway's risks in losing your passport book if you bring it with you at ports in Europe. There is also always a risk of missing your ship, and how much of a hassle will it be to be left behind without your passport book. Either way there are trade offs.  

For My Time, I believe they only seat you with your own party. If you show up early before your reservation they may not have any tables available to seat you and you will have to wait. Its just like any typical restaurant with reservations - if they can accommodate you they will but you may have to wait if its busy.

I don't think RCI has any interest in that. One of the cruise industry's foundation is being able to avoid local labor laws in most countries to capitalize on cheap labor. Having hotels in the departure ports i.e. US, Europe, Australia, goes against that. I don't know if any other major cruise lines that have a hotel line attached other than Disney, which is a class by itself. The Ritz launched a Yacht collection recently. RCI does not even have "preferred" hotel partners that I know of that give passengers any RCI perks while staying there before or after cruising.  However, I could be wrong.

I agree with what people have said so far. If you are targeting something specific, I would canvas pricing of the item where you live and determine if the pricing in the Caribbean is worth it. You can get good deals but it doesn't mean cheap. 

My first cruise was on Legend of the Seas

Also, make sure to be specific with the liquor - name the rum, the gin, whiskey, etc you want. I like BBCs as well while in the caribbean. You can ask the bartenders to make you a surprise drink by giving them the flavor profiles you like. 

My kids are 4 and 8 and they've cruised multiple times. I would suggest to request a table by yourselves. I actually have never sat with other parties in the MDR in my past cruises, we've always been a party of 4 or more. We have done both My Time and early seating in the MDR. Even with My Time, we always asked for the same table - this meant that the staff got to know the kids real well to - their likes and dislikes. Kids also got food quicker and were fully fed before getting picked up or dropped of at AO.

For the most part our kids were asleep when we picked them up after 10. The latest we got them is probably midnight. After dinner is probably the longest stretch we leave them at AO - 4 hours. During cruise days we would drop them off for a morning or afternoon AO session for a few hours. We did activities and the pool together the rest of the time.  

We have never done the digital photo package. Any tips? We have two rooms and planning to buy one package tied to one person. 

First time trying the shoe organizers based on the tips from people. I got two, one for each room. This is the first I have heard about metal hooks not being allowed. Is this just on the doors? meaning, we will get on the ship without any hassle? 

Thanks. I've only played the cash games but stopped since I got turned off by the electronic table. 

How does one join the poker tournaments on board the ship? I can only see the "final" on the cruise compass.

On 8/10/2019 at 8:19 AM, CraniumDrain said:

A note about the Freestyle machines...there are not that many on the ship (at least on Harmony of the Seas). There are two side-by-side in Sorrentos Pizza, and one in the largest complimentary buffet place Windjammer (and you have to hunt for it). We asked if there were more and were told only 3 places have it and I don’t remember where the 3rd place was.

I think the 3rd location is by the sports court. 

If you need bottled still/sparking, go for the refreshment package. 

I can see they would charge per glass of soda at the bars. Is it a charge per glass at the MDR of is it free refills on soda? I've always gotten one of the packages every time we've cruised.

If you are soda drinkers, I suggest a couple, if not all of you get the soda package.

3 hours ago, KathyC said:

Congrats on Gold - welcome to Royal Caribbean!

Each one of you should have your own account and number.  You will not accrue anything faster, but there may be a situation where you don't cruise together and having your own number makes things easier.  I tend to always use my husband's number for checking prices and such, and the account I use for all Cruise Planner check-ins and purchases is tied to him, but we both do have our own.
 

Definitely, each person should get their own number - wife, husband and each kid. 

My dad is going on his first cruise in November. Does he join Crown and Anchor on the ship or can he get a number before the cruise?

Here are my suggestions:

Naples - Pompeii excursion. We also had time to get in a pizza meal.

Mykonos - walk around and explore on your own or join a walking tour, find a good restaurant and eat well. 

Corfu - beach. We didn't do it but, lots of people rented cars and drove to the beach. 

Athens - Parthenon. Hard to avoid the crowds being that its the capital.

Kushadashi, Turkey - do the ruins. 

21 hours ago, cottoncandysunsets25 said:

Hi there! I'm going on Symphony of the Seas next month and my DH & I were contemplating whether or not we should each use airplane approved carry-on size suitcases or just the standard size checked luggage. 

We like the aspect of getting off the plane quickly and also being able to hold on to everything we'll need for the cruise BUT we also would like to explore the ship and take a dip in the pool on embarkation day without having to lug around our suitcases. In the event we do go the small carry-on sized suitcase (22") route, are we allowed to give it to the porters when we get to the ship? Or do they only take really large suitcases?

 

Has anyone ever given the porters their carry-on sized suitcases? Thanks in advance!

Just have a back pack with anything you need for roaming around the ship after embarking. You should be able to check in the small luggages to be delivered directly to your room.

We are going on November. We started to put a couple of bins in the bedroom to toss in items we only take on cruises vs standard travel, as well as items we have started to order. Buying new clothes for cruise is a great excuse to shop.  Ditto on the packing list, essential.

My first cruise was 12 nights. You will have a great time. If you are going with family and your balcony rooms are next to each other, you can ask the stateroom attendant make the rooms and/or the balcony for part or the whole time. Definitely research the ports and possible excursions. As with traveling with family, set some time to have a few date nights with just you and your wife, maybe hit up a specialty restaurant.  Check out an old cruise compass on this site for your ship/itinerary to get a sense of that happens day to day.

I second people's suggestion to fly/drive in at least a day prior to embarkation. 

With an 11night cruise you will get to know your stateroom attendant and main dining room waiters well, tip them well.

I assume, the region of sailing determines the availability of ingredients as well as the typical taste profiles of the average travelers in that region. Meaning to say, most menus on Caribbean sailings would be pretty similar but different from the Mediterranean ships' typical MDR menu, which in turn would be pretty similar between the ships in that region.