recogneyes

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Re-reading this is making me think I need to make sure my wife understands that, lol.

Her final answer to Paradise Beach was that she would try it but it was up to me and she really didn't care. After 21 years of marriage, I have learned that this phrasing sometimes means she truly doesn't care and other times it means I may want to do what I think she'd prefer even if she doesn't realize it. A beach club itself isn't a huge draw, she's being honest when she says she doesn't care, not playing mind games, but I'm not sure she realizes that she really may want to get off the ship a 2nd time that week once we're onboard.

I think you will be happy if you plan to visit Paradise Beach.  We've been twice and recommended to numerous friends who have all loved it.  I would definitely book a daybed (we prefer the beach ones to the ones around the pool but both are great).  The drinks are terrific, the food is as good or better as on the ship and the service is wonderful.  

Our family can totally relate to your consideration of two flowriders.  In a nutshell, my crew prefers that we sail on the Oasis class ships so that they have a dedicated stand up flowrider (except Wonder as only has one).  We did just sail on a B2B on Explorer but it was a cruise of the Greek Isles so we were focussed on the itinerary more than the ship.  The crew was outstanding and while the ship is older, we had no complaints in relation to how the ship looked and felt. 

In relation to flowrider, there were few dedicated stand up times in relation to boogie and mixed wave...most days dedicated stand up was at most 2 hours per day (and usually split between morning and afternoon).  That was not ideal but we made the most of it.   Of course, there's always the option to rent out the flowrider for a private hour of time to use how you like it but that does get costly.  If itinerary is more important...perhaps you have more port than sea days.. and you don't feel that limited stand up times will dampen your vacation then you should go for it.  

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Odyssey breaks the mold. I love so many of the changes they made to her compared to other Quantum Class ships.

Your video has us even more excited to sail on her!!

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I actually just watched the video that you linked. I think I'm going to like Odyssey quite a bit. Remember how I always have said I don't like Anthem, yet I've sailed it 3 times lol...anyway, Odyssey still has some things that I don't like (for example the weird promenade), but the restaurant options are way better, and the pool deck just looks a whole lot better. You can tell from the North Star shots. Anthem is so blah (sorry for the poor word choice), and Odyssey has a bit more life.

I'm pretty excited to try her out in a few months. I'll still always be #teamOAclass, but I have hopes for Odyssey.

I agree - after four Anthem sailings, Odyssey looks like a nicer ship overall.  We are partial to Oasis class but looking forward to seeing you on Odyssey!!

8 hours ago, JasonL said:

Cruising is our families favorite vacation, but the prices are soaring. Used to always be able to find the value cruise for a family of 5 on an older Oasis or Freedom/Voyager. It seems those days are gone. Anyone else feeling the pinch on cruise prices recently? I know demand is up and with that comes higher prices, but I can't even find reasonable Freedom/Voyager sailing anymore. Sadly I think we need to look elsewhere for our family vacations for a while. 

Might even have to try dipping my toes in the C word and see how the pricing compares

Have you considered looking for group rates through a travel agency?  I have found some much better pricing with Harr Travel and Vacations to go with their group rates.  Service has been amazing and most times the rates are refundable and come with OBC.  We have booked Oasis and Quantam class cruises and none are directly through Royal.

We've sailed on Anthem a few times in the past couple of years and required reservations for Spectra's Cabaret and We Will Rock You.  However, when we sailed earlier this year no reservations for WWRY opened up before sailing.  Once on board they advised that reservations were no longer required for this show.  Just get there early and you will get seats.  I believe they showed it twice in the evenings and once as a matinee.  It's a fantastic show.  Enjoy.

We sailed on Explorer out of Ravenna in August.  I contact Royal's main number and they booked us on the airport shuttle for $45pp.  We were at the airport for 1030 am and our bus left at 11.  There were lots of buses there and I believe when we booked they said buses would be leaving from 11am-1pm.  They did not ask for confirmation of airport arrival (we were already in Venice so took a water taxi to the airport the morning of the cruise).  Enjoy your cruise!

1 hour ago, David Ulrich said:

I have never let RCCL pick my cabin - too paranoid I'll get one under a pool or near a club or something. But I found a CRAZY good 7-night med cruise but the different of picking own and them picking it is $800. I wonder if the crazy good base price is due to the particular sailiing never filling? It's the last week in May so US schools are still in session. It's the first sailing in the Med of the season for this ship. If they pick it, you hate it...if there are cabins left, can you switch? 

 

Another option is to compare Royal's let them pick / guarantee cabin and that of a travel agency with a group rate.  I've found much lower rates and amazing service with Harr Travel.  Many times their group rates are much lower and also offer a refundable deposit.  

My preference would be hibachi for two reasons - firstly, you can have chops on most of Royal's ships vs hibachi being only available on some.  Secondly, you get the built in entertainment factor with hibachi assuming your chef puts on a good show (which has been our experience)

24 minutes ago, KJ777 said:

Room has been changed!  Special thanks to @recogneyes for giving us a simple solution!  Thanks all that answered, truly appreciated!

I'm so happy it all worked out.  Have a wonderful vacation.

3 hours ago, KJ777 said:

@Pattycruise Thank you! 

And thank you to all of you that commented.  He's also Diamond level, not that it should make a difference.  Yes, I understand different decks aren't going to make a difference, but it's more the principle of the matter.  No, he didn't use a TA this time but plans to use ours next time.   

I just did a mock booking and there are still 4 JS's on deck 14 and 2 on dec 10 (they are category J4).  One suggestion if for your BIL to contact Royal without any back story and just ask for his room to be switched to deck 14 - as of now the cabins available are 14236, 14248, 14626 and 14650.  Alternatively, you could call and ask to be moved to deck 10 - either cabin 10230 or 10236.  This works assuming that's the category of room you originally booked.  Otherwise you would have to pay the fare difference which likely won't make it worthwhile.  Good luck.

4 hours ago, Kelli said:

We are arriving 2 day’s early so we can’t take the bus from the airport.

If you are staying in Venice, Royal also offers transportation from the city centre - or, you can head back to the airport the morning of the cruise and take the bus from there.  That's what we did last month and it worked great.

19 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

What?! You are on this sailing? How did I not know that? We need to meet up for a drink. Me, you, and @WannaCruise. Canadian blog members meetup lol

I had no idea your family was on this sailing either.  For sure we need to meet up for a drink -  I will look forward to meeting you and @WannaCruise

We sailed on Explorer in August and found that booking transportation directly through Royal was the easiest  Note that they only provide this on the day of the cruise.  If you want to travel to Ravenna earlier the  you will have to find your own way there.  You phone the reservation line and they will add the $45 pp fee to your reservation.  At the arrivals area, you will find reps with RCCL signs and they check your name and then you get in line to be walked out to where the buses are.  It takes about 2-2.5 hours to get to the cruise port and they stop for a quick stretch and bathroom break after about 1.5 hours.  I recommend putting your luggage tags on your suitcases before boarding the bus as your luggage is taken directly from the bus to the ship (you can do it when you exit the bus but much easier to do before).

We did most of our tours through Royal and all were fine.  In Athens we booked a half day tour through PK Travel Greece.  It was fantastic so I would highly recommend looking at their website and considering booking through them.  Have a great cruise.

We are looking forward to this sailing as well!!

16 hours ago, Kal said:

FYI

We are going on the Enchantment of the Seas (venice to Barcelona) 18 Sep 2023.

Booked shuttle from Venice Marco Polo (VCE) airport to Ravenna Cruise port from Royalcaribbean customer service: 1800 327 6700. $45 per person

They gave me 2 options: from VCE or Tranchetta city center. we chose the VCE shuttle departs at 11.30-12.30 pm 

Told location and directions will be in e-docs but the cruise receipt I received after payment did not have the details.

 

 

We sailed on Explorer last month and booked Royal's shuttle from Marco Polo.  Super easy to find - at the arrivals area you will see reps holding RCCL signs.  Approach and give your name and you will be put in a line up and then walked to the buses.  We were there for 11AM and boarded our bus shortly after.  There were lots of buses so I imagine this goes on for a good hour.  We stopped to stretch our legs and use the washroom if needed (bring euros to pay to use - less 1 euro).  Then we carried on to Ravenna - your luggage is taken from the bus right to the ship so make sure you put your luggage tags on before boarding the bus.  Enjoy your cruise!

4 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I know there's more out there than this, but this is what we have on the most up to date list 

August 2023

3 - Sweety (Vision)

13 - Rackham (Allure)

20 - Waaaytooo (Mariner)

24 - Lovetocruise2002 (Liberty)

26 - Kimmy Anne (Mariner)

We are doing a B2B on Explorer 6th and 13th

15 hours ago, Jaylee said:

Ah thank you I thought there might have been a set schedule, it's quite late so I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Thanks 

We are sailing from Ravenna earlier in August and were told that there would only be one shuttle from Marco Polo to Ravenna on the day of the cruise and that it would leave between 11:30am - 12:30pm ($45pp). The City Centre option was at 9 or 11am or 12:30pm ($58pp). 

22 hours ago, Mary B said:

We did not. All my information on how to get to the ship has come from this forum! I have also since learned the reason they won't offer ground transportation from anywhere other than the airport for our specific cruise is because there is a Marathon taking place the day we board the ship. Now I'm really worried how we are going to get from Venice to Ravenna!

It is still a bit early so that letter could be coming - but assuming it's not it sounds like your only option would be to head back to the airport from the city centre to catch Royal's shuttle (unless you prefer to arrange your own transportation).  We have the option of both but are choosing to go back to the airport vs taking shuttle from tronchetta area.  I would suggest looking at Hyatt Centric Murano - they offer a water taxi from the airport to their property and then you can check in / or at least drop your luggage and take the water taxi into the heart of venice.  The morning of your cruise you can take the water taxi back to the airport.  I'm hoping things go smooth for us with this plan but we are looking forward to staying at this property and the reviews for location are really good.

15 hours ago, Mary B said:

I really wish they did provide this shuttle for us but they will not provide this for our cruise. I have called, messaged, and emailed and I have gotten the same answer 3 times. The only transportation that will provide is to/from the airports. Very frustrating especially since I see that they do provide this for other cruises.

Did you receive an email from Royal regarding transportation options?  We received ours a few months before our upcoming cruise and in the email it specifically outlines the two options and to contact Royal if interested in booking either.

2 hours ago, MLH said:

They provide a paid shuttle service from Tronchetto/Venice city center.  You have to call air to sea to book or have your travel agent book for you.

I can confirm this - we were given options for our August cruise both the day of the cruise: 1) from Marco Polo airport $45 pp or 2) from Venice city centre $58pp.  I spoke with someone at the regular RCCL booking number and while they initially said transportation is only from the airport, when I pushed back they put me on hold and came and confirmed both options and we booked accordingly.  Call back until you get someone who can give you correct information.

We booked the same for our August cruise and while we haven't received any vouchers yet we were told the airport shuttle would start to board between 1130 and 1230.  

On 7/3/2023 at 12:04 PM, Jodi said:

I wanted some opinions on the beach beds at South Beach. I hear there are plenty of regular chairs and umbrellas all around the island. Do you think it’s worth getting a beach bed for the day? It’s my first time to CocoCay. Do you think a beach bed limits you because it’s just in one area or are people moving around a lot throughout the day. 

We've rented beach beds in different parts of the island.  At Chill and Breezy Bay I would probably book a beach bed again.  At South Beach I don't really feel the need.  There are lots of chairs and the food, drinks and bathrooms are so close.  There are umbrellas everywhere so no need to worry about shade.  The beach beds certainly provide more comfort than the regular chairs but if you get off the ship first thing and take the tram to south beach you should have no trouble getting chairs in the first few rows along the water.  We don't tend to move around once we have our spot but you certainly can do so and come back to your spot. Being that it's your first time to CocoCay a walk around the island is certainly worth doing.  Enjoy!

12 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The port is longer than a 10 minute walk.  You'd have to take the water taxi (which many do).

Yes - I should have clarified it is a short walk from where the ferry docks in town.  Getting dropped off in town as suggested by @FionaMG would be the best option 

Holland House hotel is a great choice.  When exiting from the ferry it is to the right and definitely less than a 10 minute walk.  Beautiful covered patio facing the water.  We were 8 of us there in April and everyone enjoyed their lunch.