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Posts posted by VillainsGin
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4 minutes ago, TXcruzer said:
Yet people complain about it endlessly, as if $9.38 is highway robbery and a reason to “never cruise again!!”
tbh i was preparing my mental state to pay per item ordered and was just hoping it would be reasonable.
this already exceeded my expectations, i guess it helps to have expectations low sometimes haha!
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2 minutes ago, kuruczpa said:
Room service is $7.95 + 18% gratuity - you can order 1 thing or 20 things, it costs the exact same.
That's not bad at all. I was hoping it would not be a charge per item order.
Since it's just a flat rate + gratuity that is such a deal!
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On 10/17/2019 at 6:03 AM, Matt said:
Ever since Royal Caribbean changed to charging for room service, the time it takes to get an order has gotten much better, IMO.
When you say charge do you mean just the tip or do they charge per item ordered?
I remember reading somewhere that room service was free on symphony of the seas but you just have to tip now?
Could you confirm this?
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Where are you from Chris, your place of residency when you're not on the ship?
Does this affect or hinder your ability to have a relationship with your significant other?
How does paying rent work for your house/apartment if you're working on a ship for half a year at a time? (Does someone watch your place and belongings?)
How do you make it work with your family and friends since you're gone for such a long duration?
Once hired by royal caribbean is there job security or can they terminate at will?
Thanks in advance!
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On 10/12/2019 at 3:41 AM, Tim B. said:
If you decide to work with NextCruise on the ship go to their office on the first - third day of the cruise as they will not be busy. If you wait later in the cruise it will get more hectic as the week progresses. On my last cruise I went to NextCruise on the first day with a plan already of what I was looking for and I was the only one in the office. It worked out well and was carefree as can be.
I've googled their next cruise feature and it states you can even go through your personal TA so they get credit for it.
Would I contact my TA or let my TA take care of my nextcruise?
I'm curious to how I would provide them all the information for our next cruise if we do not know our sailing dates or cruise yet until after we've decided with the staff on-board.
Would I just let me TA know after we made our deposit and booking and pass over the torch?
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You have all been amazing!
Thank you so much for providing me details in depth for my very first cruise.
I don't know how far I would have gotten without royal caribbean blog!
I have been using this site for everything and anything involving royal caribbean and it has never let me down!
We've already had a "crazy" idea of booking our next cruise and possibly many more while on our first one haha!
- Alibou3193, KristiZ, IRMO12HD and 2 others
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2 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:
These will be part of your eDocs. Luggage tags won't show up until 40-45 days out I believe.
Where does one find the eDocs?
Do I have to check in again online around 40-45 days out or is there a notification?
Through the online website will there be a section provided to obtain luggage tag?
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5 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:
Thanks Ashley! I have no idea this is how you set your dining reservations.
I was over here wondering how on earth is everyone else doing it.
This is a very peculiar/interesting way to do it.
If I set a time and was unable to make it but came earlier or later how would that work?
Much appreciated.
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I am sailing on Symphony of the Seas (first cruise ever!) and I have officially checked in online . Stalked the countdown timer until it hit the 90 day mark before sailing and checked in. My sail date is Jan 4th, 2020.
They only thing I received from the check in was my set sail pass, where they asked me to confirm my documents (used passport book) and my personal information.
Aside from that I was not required to do anything else, felt a bit empty or if something was missing.
My question is:
Where do I get my luggage tags, plane ticket information (booked through RCI), hotel reservation information for the night before embarkation and anything else that is required or needed?
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On 10/10/2019 at 5:48 AM, Jolly Ogre said:
Get your dinner reservations in now. Then you can plan your shows around your schedule when they come available.
I am on the Oasis Dec 2020 and I already have my reservations made.
How do you make reservations ahead of time for MDR?
I use the cruise planner and I'm sailing on symphony of the seas in Jan 2020.
Officially checked in online but it only provided us with our set sail pass nothing else available.
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7 minutes ago, KJones said:
You can't ever fully prevent an airline from losing luggage. It helps to not check your bags in too close to departure time - runs the risk of the bags not having enough time to make it onto the plane. And making sure there is plenty of time in between connecting flights. I've had luggage not make it on the 2nd flight because the turnaround of it getting off one plane and on to the other was too short (1st flight was delayed, so ended up being only 25min to change terminals at LAX).
It is also beneficial to arrive at port the day before cruise departure (or even earlier). It allows for extra time for the airline to find your luggage and get it to you before you become unavailable/ unreachable at sea. Not sure if they would hold the luggage until you're back on land and can pick up at the airport, or if they would ship it to your home while you're away.
In my LAX case, the airline reimbursed me for up to $ X amount/day I was without luggage ( I don't recall what the amount was), provided I submitted receipts for toiletries/ clothes/ etc. Since it wasn't permanently "lost, there wasn't a flat reimbursement fee. The airline was responsible for delivering it to where I was staying.
Travel insurance policies will also offer options on lost baggage coverage.
This is great information as well, thank you!
Knowing my luck I better make sure I play the odds and cover everything I can on my end.
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4 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:
For the trip in question American Airlines messed up our flight arrangements and delayed our luggage. We eventually got it day 4. We filed our airline claim at the airport (Auckland, NZ), and they actually have an allowance for personal items, about $75 per person. We then notified RCI which has a team that manages lost/delayed luggage. They provide a little toiletry kit and a white T-shirt. They also allowed us a free laundry bag. They followed up regularly on our delayed luggage and when it showed up in Auckland, the Royal team had it forwarded to an upcoming port. We used our NZ funds to purchase a few items in Auckland, but my wife and son had trouble finding their sizes. So the first formal night we were informally dressed, but no worries as we had informed our wait staff of the problem. We had travel insurance, so upon our return home we sent Allianz a detailed breakout of our expenses for the 4 days we didn't have luggage. They reimbursed the full amount. Allianz did everything online.
On a different trip, Royal lost my wife's suitcase getting off the ship in Southampton. We prevent that now by carrying everything off. We miss breakfast (we grab a snack on the promenade), but we get off the ship quickly and on our way.
The only way to avoid airline problems is to have good luck and assure ample time in between legs of your flight. On short cruises, use only carry-on luggage. Then you don't have checked bags (though you may be asked to check your bag curbside).
Always get trip insurance. It's cheap when your are young. Some credit cards have travel coverage, especially for luggage.
Royal doesn't give you much if they lose your luggage. If you don't have their (Arch) travel insurance, you're lucky to get $300. We pressed the point and got another $200 on board credit from an executive whose name we obtained from another blog. They want receipts for everything. Who keeps clothing receipts unless the clothes are brand new? So take pictures of your suitcase and contents (for identification purposes), always keep a few spare items in carry on, have some type of trip insurance, and play the odds. Most luggage isn't lost.
This was amazing information thank you!
I don't have receipts for anything in my luggage and it's extremely hard to prove the value. For example I love watches and put a few in my suit case along with some favorite brands that fit me well. I can't imagine going on a cruise happy without all my personal belongings.
Especially when you mentioned most clothes did not fit for your family and you basically have to settle for looking like a gift shop.
I will definitely take pictures of everything and I know I purchases travel insurance with my TA at MEI Travels along with my credit card travel insurance.
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2 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:
That you could make special requests in the MDR, and that you could have more than one serving of anything!
When you say special request what does that mean?
Could I order something off the menu but also isn't so far-fetched?
For example if they did not have burger, hotdog, or pasta on the menu could I still tell them exactly how I want it made?
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3 hours ago, Cruisegirl1976 said:
How much weight I would gain.. lol
I've been doing my best to get on a diet before my Jan, 2020 sail date. I got about 3 months or so to lose 40 lbs ideally.
It would be great for pictures and stuffing my face haha
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4 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:
My technique is to wash a few white items in my state room as needed, but we did use the laundry service on a 14 night cruise, mostly because the airline lost our luggage. We had only a few items to wear and therefore, needed laundry service. There was no damage to our clothes, which were casual wash and wear blends. (RCI knew about our luggage problem and gave us each one free bag of wash & dry laundry.) Basically, my advice is to pack for about 8 or 9 nights, see what is still clean, and then use the laundry service. I have found I can wear walking shorts multiple times, T-shirts can be purchased almost anywhere, so only my "dinner out" clothes require some thought and careful packing. I seem to have at least one shirt or pair of slacks that is clean when I return (7-8 night trips). Have a great cruise!
I'm more concerned about the lost luggage!
How does that whole process work? Who reimburses you and where would you find clothes, shoes, accessories, etc before embarkation?
I'm sure the clothes you had to buy to recover did not fit or was not ideal to what you had already put so much time in packing? (off-brands or desperate to get clothes in general so it wasn't a favorite brand or fitting)
How does one prevent this nightmare from happening?
I'm sailing for the first time early Jan, 2020 and this has been the bane of my planning so far since it's always out of your control, or is it?
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On 10/4/2019 at 1:19 PM, Patricia Harris said:
Drink is Miami Vice and get the filet mignon from Chops. So tender you can cut it with a butter knife!!
I am definitely going to try the miami vice/lava flow/mudslide on the cruise and compare it to the ones I've had at vegas!
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4 hours ago, DanielB said:
Just returned from the Disney Fantasy and looking forward to my Oasis of the Seas sailing in January.
After 32 cruises with Disney I know all the ins and outs and of course am lost and not sure what to expect with RCCL.
I have a mushroom allergy and it seems that everything on Disney is now made with mushrooms or mushroom oils, it was very discouraging to say the least. What was even more troublesome for our traveling party was that we could not find a hot meal....everything was served luke warm in the main dining rooms. After 3 nights of this we gave up and just ate at Cabanas (table service "quick service") on the top deck nightly. Yes I expressed my concerns with the servers and head servers and nothing changed. Obviously this has never been an issue before on our cruises and I don't wish to stir a debate.
So please tell me the food temperature on RCCL is hot.
I believe they prepare and have food staged in large volume that it would be kept warm under the lamps. Which I understand since I can't fathom the logistics of feeding so many people by doing cook to order in MDR. I saw on another thread that you can make a request to have the dish be hot with the server/waiter.
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did you take these pictures with a camera or a phone?
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I've noticed no one mentioned the quality of the laundry.
Anyone know how it is washed, detergent, softener if any?
I'm scared it will come out really rough, wrinkly, or weird smell.
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3 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:
How is what I said rude? Paying cash means your money is gone immediately. Depending on when your credit card cycles compared to the last day of your vacation, the credit card charges won't be due until 1-2 months after the trip. As long as you pay it off in full, you get the advantages of floating your bill and earning rewards. Credit is far superior to cash as long as you aren't paying interest. A low limit on the card would be an exception because you would need to avoid hitting that limit (and in fact might need to avoid hitting the half way point due to the daily holds followed by the actual charge temporarily hitting the limit). This is why I said I don't understand why the original poster would want to add cash to a charge account.
I don't think he was talking about the features of credit card vs cash. It was the fact you would assume he/she has a low limit just because they want to load an account with cash in advance. There are plenty of reasons for loading an account with cash instead of just low limit. (e.i. great for budgeting or knowing how much you spent to gauge how you'll move forward with the remainder of the cruise) I don't think it's because you "don't understand" rather "do not want to understand" It could have been worded or phrases differently.
I read it the same way as @Jim82Mac
We're all on the same team here, no worries @Atlantix2000
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On 10/5/2019 at 6:04 PM, emsff02 said:
Its a good thing I only work 1 day that week. We are considering grabbing that suite as well!
i'm more interested in what you do!
I need to hop over to your industry haha!
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I've been using MEI as well and my TA is Kelley Hardy! Hands down best TA!
I haven't sailed on my first cruise yet but its coming in Jan, 2020.
It's my first time on a cruise and using a TA haha both going extremely smoothly and pleasant.
Are there Flies/Mosquitoes on Coco Cay or cruise?
in Royal Caribbean Discussion
Posted
Are there flies and/or mosquitoes at "perfect day at cococay"?
I've seen many of the youtube videos of cococay having all the food out with no covers so I assumed there wouldn't be any insects.
Logically I feel like the answer would be yes, there are bugs anywhere you go
BUT
thinking about it a little more:
It's almost impossible for flies and mosquitoes to migrate to a island in the middle of the ocean UNLESS the larvae or eggs were somehow introduced onto the island and they were able to thrive.
I've noticed cruise ships have food out and about in the ocean so I assume flies and mosquitoes would not be present on the cruise when sailing in the ocean.
Can anyone confirm if there are flies/mosquitoes during the cruise or on cococay?