Reigert2008

On 12/6/2022 at 9:38 AM, britinbrooklyn said:

Does anyone know if the freestyle machines offer Vitamin Water Zero? I know they have the full sugar kind, but I am not a fan of that.

this was on Harmony in November 2022, I don’t remember them having Vitamin Water Zero, but they did have Powerade Zero. The two that are blurry are Dasani and Sparkling Dasani.  Hope it helps a bit.  Good luck!
 

5 hours ago, Ticca said:

My family is about to take our first cruise.  We are so excited, we would like to start looking for our next one.  We used a MEI travel agent that responded to my request for a quote on this blog (thank you to everyone who recommended MEI).  She helped me book our cruise and seems very nice.  However, I had to find the cruise and do most of the planning myself by calling RC several times to get the information I needed.   Not to complain, but I didn't get any discount, other incentives, or advice from my TA.  She merely booked the cruise I found through my research.  I even had to call RC to find cabins that were open for us to choose from.  I would like to use MEI again, but I think I need to find a different agent.  Because I am so new to cruising, I really would like more help with the next one.  So, any advice on how to politely request a new TA from MEI?  I appreciate any help.

I’d be curious as to what information you initially provided to the TA.  When I contact my MEI TA there’s. It much for them to do other than book the cruise.  I’ve already selected the ship, date, cabin (or at least category).  I think it would be weird to contact them and say “ I want to cruise in 2024” and then wait for them to find options.  
 

I think the real value of the TA comes when you need to make changes, if a problem occurs (like COVID), or when you have specific questions about itineraries, ports, cruise line options, etc.  

it also,takes time for the TA to get to know you and what you’re interested in.  We are an “easy” client where I do a lot of background work on. Y own since I enjoy it, but I know my TA is there for me when I have questions.

good luck!

1 hour ago, volpellc said:

I am booked for a cruise at the end of January I am currently ambassador level member with Marriott (there highest) will royal match my status? 

Unfortunately Royal does not have a match program with Marriott.

On 11/27/2022 at 7:57 AM, twangster said:

I don't have a problem with this and often tell my cabin attendant not to service the cabin in the morning.  

When you lose $43B USD there are bound to be service adjustments.  It's well known they've had a hard time recruiting crew so yes, gratuity has increased as they've had to entice recruits with higher compensation.  

I agree, I've always thought the "morning service" was a waste of time.  We keep our room basically spotless and the only reason we "need" the service is to get new towels, which you can request extra anytime.  We don't make our bed at home except for once a week when we change the sheets, so no need for it each day.  I could seem them going to evening only service so they can do any additional bed work that may be needed and deliver the compass and other paperwork.

I agree with @tonyfsu21, when we were there recently on Harmony, there were more than enough non-pay seating available. We even stayed on the ship until close to lunchtime and most of the beach area was empty.  
 

for us, we’d honestly prefer an extra sea day rather than the stop at Labadee.  Perfect Day has ruined us!

In some of the inside rooms, it feels like you have more space when the beds are apart.  The wife and I are going to try the apart config the next time our room is tight.  We were going to try it on Harmony a few weeks ago, but that room felt huge and had lots of room on the sides of the bed,so we left it together.

14 hours ago, twangster said:

It's not a big deal but I routinely seem to get a rideshare driver that has never done it.  Many times I get rideshare drivers with few english skills

this was our situation as well, our driver didn’t have a “laminated” license but had a paper much like what we got in KY when we upgraded to RealIDs and had to wait.the first person wasn’t going to let them in but a supervisor let us through.  Our driver had only been with Lyft a month and had little English and we had to help translate a bit.  It was weird and odd enough that we made a report to Lyft to hopefully improve services in the future.

For what it’s worth our Lyft ride a couple of weeks ago did have to present driver’s license and open their trunk in order to enter the port so we could get to Harmony and right up to the terminal.  Wasn’t a huge deal, but it wasn’t like other ports we’ve visited.

Here’s the link from Royal’s site.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/notices/travel-updates

We’ve on,ynever done two dinners at a specialty restaurant, so we’ve nearly always eaten in the MDR. We’ve done early seating, late seating, and my t8me and have never had a 2 hour dining experience.  Sure, we’re a party of two,  it we’ve never asked for faster service.  
 

From our recent experience on Harmony with the early seating, I think it boils down to people not showing up on time and not knowing what the want to eat.  For our cruise, early dining was at 5:15 (though they announced onboard it was moved to 5:00 and didn’t change the signs ).  The table next to us consistently showed up near 5:30 and then inspected the menu like they had never seen a menu before.  Then to top it off, they ordered items from the classic section most nights. This table had cruised with Royal before and were Diamond/Diamond+ (they referenced their vouchers repeatedly).

meanwhile we would show up by 5:15 with an idea of what we wanted, maybe ask a question or two and order items from the regular menu, the vegetarian menu, and the “secret curries” each night.   Never were we there longer than 6:15 and one night was even done by 6:00.  We never asked for expedited anything and never felt rushed.  Actually, our server brought me extra things each night because he saw how much I enjoyed the Indian food.  
 

i wonder if people who feel the time is too long are also making a lot of customizations to their items and maybe those are being handled differently and takes extra time.  I remember once I asked for poached eggs at breakfast in the MDR and they let me know it may take extra time. It was weird since the Benedict has poached eggs and didn’t take extra time, but they let me know it may.  
 

Well,this is a bummer. We had a 2020 cruise canceled because , you know. In 2021 we took a land trip to recreate much of the cruise and we enjoyed Bar Harbor for several days. We’d like to go back, but don’t need longer than a day there so a cruise would be perfect.  Bar harbor is kinda hard to get to and there’s not much else around, so I guess we won’t be back.

If anyone wants it, here are the cruise compasses from the cruise.  It was a great one.  @Matt or any of the Administrators are free to upload them to the site.  

The only complaint I had about the cruise was that we missed the water cannon show as we came into port(s).  We had no idea it was the first time the Harmony visited these locations (or maybe the first in a while?).  I wish they had announced it more since if they did, i missed it. 

Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11122022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11132022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11142022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11152022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11162022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11172022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11172022_CuracaoShoppingGuide.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11182022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11192022.pdf Harmony_CC_8N_SouthernCaribbean_11192022_DebarkationFlyer.pdf

4 hours ago, bretts173 said:

Why does noone just drink the shops water?

People certainly do drink the ship water and it’s great!  For people who spend port days entirely off the ship, the bottles are an easy way to get water off the ship for the day and not have to lug multiple reusable bottles back to refill.  We always take a few bottles off with us to have on those hot days while wandering around.  It really depends on the port and what we have planned, but most days we’re back on the ship before lunch,so a bottle each works for us.  While on the ship we get water and use the provided plastic cups at the station since we don’t like to carry a lot of things on the ship. 

On 11/16/2022 at 11:10 AM, smokeybandit said:

I would think Disney would have the resources to create their own version that would work around licensing.

I guess I need to go and trademark “Mouster” before Iger beats me to it.

1 hour ago, jbrinkm said:

This was us last year. Made an extra stop at a grocery with our Uber to pick up soda and water for the room (we used the reusable bottles on the ship but wanted to have some for excursions). I won't ever do it again. It was a pain to stop and a pain to get them onboard and we didn't end up even drinking them all - there were so many other beverage options on the ship that were free. But that was my experience - I wouldn't criticize someone who chooses to bring it on, especially because there are so many reasons why one might (baby bottles, ship doesn't carry your favorites, you live nearby or you drive to port, etc...).

I agree, just let people do what they want since it doesn't affect you and is within the policies of the line. 

we've been going back and forth on our decision for the next cruise.  It will be our first cruise as Diamond members, so we are just getting the soda package this time and not the refreshment package.  We kept trying to decide if we want to take a 6 pack of bottled water for days in port, but we should get 4 waters in the room on embarkation day and can take them off the ship as needed and then refill them, using cups of course, to have water for other days.  We've come to the conclusion that, for us, we don't need to carry the water on and even if we had to buy a few bottles, we're still way ahead price wise.  

I already have to lug my CPAP on board and adding water would be extra weight to carry up and down the steps the first day when the elevators are packed.

Of course, after this one we may change our minds  

16 minutes ago, Sunny_D said:

Thanks! So then are they still able to do their own check-in even though everything came to your email?

This may be a time to use a good TA, they can manage everything and work it through so that you meet your goals. 

Good Luck!

I personally would not book something like this as a surprise since you never know what they may already have planned in thier life and haven't shared, maybe they want to "surprise" you on your cruise.  In my opinion, it is best to just communicate things out and then everyone is on the same page from the beginning.  

This is another great instance where a good TA would be able to resolve this for you. I’d recommend using a TA if possible for this reservation and for future reservations.

good luck!

3 hours ago, Noah Alsamman said:

My closed loop cruise (Miami to Bahamas to Miami) on Royal Caribbean is coming up next week and I was planning to use my birth certificate and Florida drivers license for my documents. I have a “Consular report of birth abroad” which as far as I've researched acts like a normal birth certificate. From their website, the only mention of a CRBA is saying an under 16 minor can use it but nothing about someone over 18. Has anyone here traveled on a closed loop Cruise using a Drivers license and Consular Report of Birth Abroad? I have called the cruise line 3 times and each support agent said it is acceptable, but I am still feeling nervous because I haven't seen anyone say from experience they have used it.Thank you I really appreciate the response!

 

You should contact Royal directly or your travel agent. They will be able to provide the best answer on such a short lead time.

Guess I've been out of the loop, but heard a news story about how there is still some unrest in Haiti and wondered if Royal was still stopping there.  Has anyone with cruises in the near futre (or recent past) had any changes?  The state department has hadit as a Leve4: Do not travel.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Haiti.html

23 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait said:

I'll bite. How do you know you will be on deck 10?

I was wondering the same thing!

43 minutes ago, teddy said:

For those that are interested 

 

I tried to write the info down when they told us but missed some of the numbers.  The screenshot comes from the Facebook group my wife is in  

 

We've never heard them say the stats!  When and where would this usually occur?  Thanks!

37 minutes ago, JNS123 said:

We are sailing on our first Royal cruise, this November. We are going as a family of four. However, my wife has a different last name than me and my kids. Does this mean that we will need to bring any extra documentation to the port? Thanks

It may be too late for this one, but I would recommend working with a good travel agent in the future.  They can assist in this type of thing and make sure everyone has the right documents.  Good Luck!

If you don't have a travel agent currently, i'd recommend MEI travel (blog sponsor).  In this case, you should contact Royal directly to ensure that you have the information from the source.  While i trust many things on this site, it's worth it to verify some things with Royal, just to make sure something with your trip doesn't require changes.

30 minutes ago, wannabecruiseexpert said:

We are cruising out of San Juan in April and I'm trying to nail down our hotel. Will have a 7 year old with us. We prefer something in the city so we can walk around easily. I'm not looking for fancy amenities, and would prefer more historical type rooms. Hotel El Convento seems like a good choice but before I pull the trigger, I'd like to get some opinions. I have searched on here and read several great reviews, but most were pre covid/hurricanes.

We really enjoyed the Sheraton in Old San Juan.  It's centrally located and easy to walk everywhere, plus close enough for restroom breaks as you are passing by on to your next location.

Note that the hotel is NOT across from where you will board the ship!  We thought we would walk across the street to board, but you actually board across the way when embarking in San Juan.

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sjuol-sheraton-old-san-juan-hotel/overview/

11 hours ago, BMW Hoosier said:

I thank you all for for this resource. I have seriously stalked this forum for a couple of months and watched all of the videos and feel like I am way more prepared than I would otherwise be as a newbie. 

 

So, the sometimes girlfriend is being a little flaky on dates for January and February. I am willing to do it as a solo. I understand the single supplement thing. I do have a question as to why the rate is more than double (and in some cases a LOT more than double) for a solo. So, I have read about booking someone that never has any intention of going. Are there any risks with this? I read that you get the taxes and port fees back when the other person doesn't show up. Is half of the amount of the taxes and fees shown? Specificallly, I am looking at the Oasis of the Seas four day sailing next week. The fare for two  is showing $568 - 172 for a total of $396 plus $204.14 in taxes and fees. Would I basically get exactly $102.07 back in this case? The cheapest single person rate I see is $765. 

i recommend that you work with a good travel agent.   Many of us here, use MEI travel (a sponsor of this blog) and have had great success with many “odd” booking situations .  If you go to the main page of the blog, there’s a box you can complete and someone will contact you shortly.

using a good travel agent doesn’t cost you anything and then you have someone who will go to bat for you in all types of situations.

good luck!

We've always had our amazing agent make the request for a table of two and then just confirm when we board by walking through the MDR and finding our table.  We've never seen what our table was before we boarded and I'm not sure how much that would help unless it says how many people are at your table?  If you tell me table 203, i'm still going to have to look.

Can anyone tell me what information you get ahead of time?  

Thanks!