wordell1

On 4/20/2023 at 6:52 PM, Mr.Cruiser said:

Hi all,

the shore excursions are bookable since November and all that I can see, I could also book so far. This is the good news.
For Rome I am shown none at all and for Barcelona there are only very few half day excursions, so I will have to book my own.

Drink packages could be booked early as always, but I still don't see any dining options for the cruise in June. I hope these will also be visible to me very soon...

@Vincent
Can you book dining options on the website yet?

@ChessE4
How was your experience with Viator in Barcelona actually? Did you guys get to see Gaudi's architecture?

I am still checking various excursion operators as I am interested in Gaudi's buildings and would like to see Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and maybe others. However, there is not really time for a full day tour in Barcelona as the ship leaves at 5pm.

If you want to visit several sights in one tour, most tour agencies seem to offer only the expensive private tours. Anyway, does anyone know of any other good tour operators?

 

Thank you!

 

You could easily do all of that from one of the hop on/hop off busses.  Use Viator if you want to spend a little more for a guided tour which would better maximize your time.

Also I do not think that the Ultimate Dining Package was ever available pre cruise for us last year.  I seem to remember that the 3 day package was available but I am not sure as we had decided to stick to the MDR for that cruise.

Just checked in 45 days to go!

Yes please!

Maya Chan has closed in July in the past (2022).  I'm not sure what they are doing this year.

I always confirm the rate with the driver before I get in the cab to eliminate any issues.  The rates are regulated in Cozumel as stated above so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

There is really very little difference up to the Diamond level.  There will be a few added on board offers but they also don't amount to much.

I agree that it would be nice to have added a few more perks at each level but I will say that the Diamond rewards are worth working towards.

We were able to order an extra entree at both on Allure.  In fact, the waiter suggested it.  My wife and I order 1 extra entree to share between us.

11 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Actually this isn't true. It's $10 for the first phone, then $5 for any other phone on that plan turned on in that 24 hour period after the first

I checked and you are correct.  I did notice that I did not get charged at all for my use in Roatan in January.  It was listed as "Latin American Roam" and showed a $0 charge.  

ATT has an international plan that is free to add to your plan.  You will be charged $10 per day to use it in most countries.  The $10 will cover all phones on your plan.

It looks like the Central Park foliage has made a comeback since January.  

The place is nice and the meal is really good.  I have been twice but agree with the post above that it is not worth more than $100 per person.

You could easily get off the ship early and stake out a great spot on one of the free beaches and have just as good a time - minus the steak and lobster meal.

The Vatican is a big place and the bus will most likely drop off/ pick up outside the walls.  The exact location will probably vary by availability of Parking that day.

I used Google maps to navigate Rome very successfully, there is a walking directions setting.  Rome is a great walking city and you can easily walk from the Vatican to many of the other attractions in Rome.  Be prepared for hills.

11 hours ago, Baker said:

I'm planning on going to Mullet beach. Does anyone know how difficult it is to take a taxi there and back? I'd rather do this on my own than ship excursion so we have longer time out. 

Taxi's are plentiful in St Maarten.  I would also set a time with your taxi driver for pick up, or get his phone number.

43 minutes ago, bronxwarrior said:

Hi all! We are sailing on April 9 on Allure. I have two rooms on different decks. One room is attached to a connecting room (on a lower deck) and the other is not. I want to reach out to the travelers and offer them a higher deck to swap with the room connecting to my children. Royal won't reach out to them, how can I ultimately arrange a swap with them?  My kids are teens and should be okay, but for piece of mind, I'd prefer them next to me. 

 

Please help! 

 

David (davidlevine08 at gmail '.' com)

You would have no way to do it before boarding and there would be a lot required to do it after. I wouldn't take your offer even for a better cabin because there would be a lot of complications as everything is tied to your room number.

If you weren't willing to be separated, you shouldn't have made the booking.

It can depend a lot on what ship you are on.  Benefits are not uniform and vary by ship class.  

This is a recent article that breaks everything down.

What are the Royal Caribbean suite perks? | Royal Caribbean Blog

We did the same last year on Wonder and just walked around with no excursion.  One thing to note is that many of the shops and the big market were closed on Sunday.  We still had a great time, but just be aware. 

There are also some hop on/hop off buses that you could buy tickets for if you get tired.  I thought they were overpriced, but served the purpose of being able to see more of the city.

12 hours ago, MRhu said:

Hello! We're a large family taking our first cruise together on Symphony of the Seas in June. My elderly dad has never been out of the country and is able-bodied - he just gets anxious in crowds. I'm trying to make it as seamless and happy as possible for him. Questions:

1. How long does it take to get off the ship in the port cities? Is it a crowded scene and are there any tips for making it less chaotic?
2. Is it worth purchasing the "key pass" so we can get off a little early with him? Is it early enough to matter?

Thank you. None of us have been on a ship this large, so I'm having trouble visualizing the process. 

It will be hard to completely avoid crowds on an Oasis class ship.  The worst crowds are on boarding day and departure day.  Also, some of the tourist spots, especially in Rome can be crowded.

My family was up early and pretty much got off the ship as early as possible - usually around or before the stated arrival time.  I do not remember any of those times being especially crowded.

You will be able to check in at 6:45 at the reservations line and be seated.  

5 hours ago, Mike6453 said:

when yo stopped in florence and went to CInque terre did you do this on your own or throught RC?

As stated above, we did Cinque Terre and not Florence.  A lot of people do Florence from La Spezia, but it is a long trip and my opinion is that if you are doing a long trip, I would book a RC tour where you are guaranteed to make it back before the ship sails.

If you do decide to do Cinque Terre instead, this was my review.

4 hours ago, DanPorges said:

We are working on planning our day to day activities for the 7 night Mediterranean cruise leaving Barcelona on the Symphony.  Its a cruise for my wife and I as well as our 8yo and 4yo boys.  As we look at the various ports, we are trying to determine if some of the options for trains, buses, etc are feasible to do on our own instead of relying on the RC Packages that are in some cases extremely expensive.  Some of the key questions we are hoping for some guidance on:

• For the ports (Mallorca, Marseille, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples) does the Symphony dock at the port or do we require a tender?  
• Specifically in La Spezia (Florence/Pisa) - We are interested in heading to Florence to walk around in the city on my own.   We found bus tours that starts at 9:30am, goes for 8 hours and includes 4-5 hours of free time in Florence.  My concern is what time we can actually plan to be off the boat.  According to CruiseMapper, we dock in La Spezia at 8am on Wednesday, June 14th.  Is it likely we would be off the boat and to the bus at "Largo Michele Fiorillo" by the 9:30am departure time?
• If the example above is cutting it too close, does anyone know if there is an option through RCL that would ONLY be a bus to Florence that would be more directly tied to the ship's schedule?  It seems all the tours they offer are either Florence and Pisa combined or are full guided tours which we are not looking for.
• Lastly, any recommendations for Rome (Civitavecchia)?  We want to do a tour of the Coliseum, but the excursions through RCL seem again extremely overpriced.  Has anyone had specifically good luck with another provider?

Thanks in advance!!

1.  All stops are docked - no tenders on Oasis class ships.

2.  You can get off pretty early but La Spezia has a shuttle that will bring you from the ship to the small terminal area that will add extra time.  You still should be able to make a 9:30 departure. 

3. HOWEVER, Florence is not very close to La Spezia and traffic in Italy is always unpredictable.  I would be very concerned about getting back on time.  I would personally do a ship tour if I were going to do Florence.  If I had to do it on our own, I would pay extra for a private driver to give you more control of the return time.  I looked into this last year and we ended up going to Cinque Terre instead which was very easy to do on our own.

4.  There is so much to do in Rome, it is very overwhelming and depending on the day, there could be lines at all the major tourist spots.  The organized tours will get you access into places like the Colisseum. 

You could look at 3rd party tour operators like VIator for some ideas.

6 hours ago, Scott and Kelli said:

My family (wife and I and 4 girls) are going to be on this cruise.  It's our first time on Royal Caribbean and all of our daughters' first cruise ever.  We were scheduled for July of last year, but my 4-year-old tested positive at the pier and we were turned away.  (hard to watch 4 little girls in tears.)  But we're so very excited!  The second time is the charm, right? 

You will have a great time.  Welcome to Royal Caribbean and the RC Blog.  

My TA said that she expects Air to Sea to open up at the end of April. I have never done Air to Sea before, but I will definitely be interested to see the pricing and routes.  It looks like flights to Panama are limited.

I needed to cancel and rebook a cruise for a week later.  I realized in on Saturday AM, emailed my MEI TA at 10:30am.  By 12:30 I was rebooked on the new cruise.  All communication through easy emails.

This would have required a long phone call to Royal if I had booked myself, and I can't even imagine if I had used Costco or one of the big online TA's.

Great Job MEI !

A TA can put a short hold on a room for you. I'm not sure how long. You can't do it yourself but you can book as refundable.

6 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Speaking of 1 year, has there been any discussion, official or unofficial, of a group hotel or maybe more importantly transportation to Colon from Panama City?

I would definitely be interested.