Marga

I spoke to them just now. Even though I am European, I booked through an American website and my booking is not eligible.

So, not valid for cruises booked in/through the USA.

You cannot use US dollars in Europe. Most places you can pay with a card, but some cash is always a good idea. Especially in small local markets or food stands you still pay with cash mostly in Southern Europe. Mastercard is widely accepted. Visa also, American Express almost nowhere. 

Tipping is not custom here. We only tip when service is exceptional. And as said before rounding up the bill. I am sure that tipping is appreciated but it is absolutely not necessary and not customary. Staff are paid a lot more here than in the US and do not rely on tipping for their income. 

I checked in about 2 hours after check-in opened and earliest I could pick was 12 - 12.30pm

What are you're questions exactly? I am from Europe and have sailed this itinerary, maybe I can help you.

Just to add: if you are outside the USA (I'm European) the Euro-Dollar exchange rate is very bad at the moment. So if you do cancel and rebook, you get a refund in Dollars but maybe for less than you paid because of the exchange rate. I lost 38 euro on my last cancellation and rebooking.

On 3/19/2022 at 4:06 PM, RCARD said:

I tried to get info for Rome, but search defaulted to Barcelona.  Guess they need to work out bugs.  Not sure about competitiveness of rates

When you type in Rome it automatically fills in the city name. If you ignore this and keep typing manually, Rome Italy and then click on it, it gives you prices for Rome.

All their rooms seem to be without breakfast which is a deal breaker for us.

In regards to the requirements below:

I am from Europe and we have several options for a Antigen test to take at home (with an official certificate). Much like (but not the same as) the eMed tests. I says nowhere what the Antigen (or PCR) test requirements are (like what kind of certificate). Does anybody know?

If we can take the video Home test from our own country this would be much more convenient and cheaper as well.

REQUIRED TESTING FOR GUESTS SAILING FROM BARCELONA

All Guests: Required Pre-Cruise Testing 

eMed Tests Kits for Travelers   

During the Cruise

Prior to Disembarking

I doesn't state very cleary if it should be a PCR or Antigen test. Does anybody know where to find more details?

With the Deluxe beverage package; can you go to Johnny Rockets or Mason Jar etc. not eat there, but just get the shakes?

Thank you! I downloaded the app and check-in is 45 days in advance. 

My cruise is now at 90 days, but no check-in is available. 

Is the 90 days not standard?

Wow, just checked today and now it says 40% off. But the price is still exactly the same as before. And also the same when it said 35% off.

Last week there was a sale in cruise planner. It said Dining packages up to 35% off.  I ended up not booking because I thought it was too expensive.

But today I looked again. The sale has ended, but the price remains exactly the same.  Is this common practice and do I need to make so kind of note of prices so I know when something is actually on sale?

Hi,

I want to go to the Mason Jar for dinner on Wonder of the Seas. I see that the charge is 48 dollar per person. A 3-night dinner package is 118 dollar which seems like a better deal.

It says the make a courtesy reservation for day 1 or 2. Are you obliged to take this reservation? What if they make it at a restaurant I am not interested in going? 

And the first day I'd rather go to Windjammer or main dining room. 

Is it possible to make the other reservations in advance, or only when onboard the ship. Is it hard to get reservations?

Also, I saw the Mason Jar has a bar with some signature cocktails and milkshakes. Can you just visit this bar without dining in the restaurant?

Last question: if I go to dine in Giovanni's Wine Bar and Italian Kitchen. Is the wine included in the drink package? Same goes for Milkshakes at Mason Jar.

Thanks!

2 hours ago, jeffmw said:

Do you have kids? We only cruise Royal (although we've done a couple Disney cruises), but the newest Carnival ships (Mardi Gras and Celebration) look pretty amazing. They're really stepping their game up from that perspective. 

Nope, no kids. We are 40 years old. 

Carnival does not sail in Europe I think. 

We have only been on 2 cruises so far and have 2 more booked. All 4 with Rcl. We love it. 

We have learned that we like bigger and newer ships better. We were on Jewel and thought the pool area was way to noisy.  

For this year we are going on Wonder and Odessey and we are now looking at our options for 2023.

Our location is Europe and I don't fly so options with Rcl are limited if we don't want to take the same route over and over again. 

Looking at newer ships I ran into a nice cruise with NCL on Viva. It's a new ship in 2023. Has anyone here cruised with Norwegian? Is it very different from RCL?  Which do you prefer and why? 

So if I book a 3 night dining package; does this mean I can visit 3 restaurants total? Or could I go one night first to Johnny Rockets and then to Chops which would could as 1 night?

Is it nights? or restaurants?

Just curious in general about guarantee rooms. 

We have booked a guarantee balcony on Wonder of the Seas. 

Looking at our sailing all suites are sold out. If I wanted to book a balcony today I could only pick from about 20 staterooms. 

This made me wonder : I am sure they have sold more than 20 guarantee balcony rooms. So how does that work? Do they reserve a number of rooms for this that never go into normal sale? I always assumed guarantee cabins were leftover cabins that nobody had picked. 

I bought them at 50 and sold at 70 which was stupid. 

So bought again at 70 and now planning to sell at 100 dollars. 

Was expecting them to rise because they were up to 96 earlier this year. 

Just have to wait I guess. 

Any other Rcl shareholders on this board? 

For the last two weeks the shares have been going down rapidly where I would expect the opposite since Royal has started sailing again. 

Any thoughts at what's going on? 

Thank you for the advice! 

Hi,

I have never booked a dining package before and was looking at the prices today. It says on the RC site  

• For restaurants with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $35 food credit, with the exception of Port Side BBQ and Playmakers which will be $20.

So when you book a dining package you don't actually get to eat where ever you want, whatever you want? $35 per person does not sound like a lot.  Do you pay a surcharge for the rest?

Maybe I'm missing something? 

The news had an update this morning. They said 9 Covid positive crew/workers have now been removed from the ship and the ship has been 'released' and can leave the port if it wishes.

I read this today in my local news: https://www.rtvnoord.nl/nieuws/796055/Corona-uitbraak-op-cruiseschip-1000-opvarenden-vast-aan-boord

Since I am sure that you all cannot read Dutch I will summarize:

A 1000 people are unable to leave Odyssey of the Seas which is currently docked in Bremen. This is because 5 employees of Meyer Werft in Papenburg were tested positive for Covid-19.

The 5 infected staff have been taken into quarantine and are no longer on the ship. 

Last week the first 2 cases surfaced. The others have been in contact with the first 2 and were infected on the ship. 

No further cases are expected. 

Around a 1000 onboard guests and staff are stuck on the ship.

 This last part surprises me. Who are those 1000 people onboard the ship?

Thank you for the help. Our TA is lifting our cruise to October 7th as we speak (fingers crossed). We had a really low price so glad of this opportunity. 

So it would make sense to quickly pay the rest of the amount? I pay directly to my TA and officially i don't know anything about a cancellation yet