Diesel

October 26, 2026 - Brilliance

If only in Barcelona for one night, Sagrada Familia is a must see. Be sure to book your tickets to Sagrada Familia well in advance. We were there about a year ago. We booked our tickets to Sagrada Familia about 45 days in advance and were already limited to what days and times were available. Something else we really enjoyed in Barcelona was the Barcelona Tapas, Taverns & History Tour which we booked through Devour Tours. A guide took us throughout the Gothic Quarter on a very informative and interesting history and architecture tour. We also stopped in 4-5 different family-owned restaurants to try different dishes and drinks which were all included in the tour fare. We've decided we will be looking for Devour Tours options in other cities we visit in the future.

As noted above, it is $50/person to do Chef's Table if you have the UDP. It allows you to make the reservation in the Cruise Planner. I believe there is a message when making the reservation that reminds of the $50 upcharge. 

I am sure I am wasting my time by responding to this one-time poster, but I will anyway in case anyone else reads this that hasn't seen or been a part of the Quest show. First, the Crazy Quest game is advertised as "Adults-Only". You don't need to use your imagination much to figure out what that means. Yes, there will be some self-humiliation, some sexual references, etc. If you're not comfortable with any of that, you should probably avoid. However, knowing that this is an "Adults-Only" event that is held later in the evening, the majority of attendees know what direction the game might go and have a very fun time interacting and laughing with other guests.

19 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

What’s a cruise globe ?  Where is it found ?

I just found the website: https://thecruiseglobe.com/. This looks like a lot of fun. I can't wait to get started on mine and see from others. Great idea, Thumper44!!

We also took a cab from hotel to Barcelona port last summer. Our hotel front desk ordered the cab for us. If you let the hotel desk your number of passengers and luggage situation, they should be able to determine what you’ll need (i.e. - 2 car cabs or one larger vehicle).

I can's speak for Cabo but the casino closed during our previous overnights in Oslo and Havana. We had a double-overnight in Bermuda. The casino did open late at night (9pm-ish) during those overnights.

I can’t say for certain if UDP is available on every cruise, but my upcoming cruise had the UDP available. Then, there was a short period  of time a few months before sailing where it wasn’t available. It didn’t say “sold out”. It just wasn’t available. A few days later it returned. I’m sure it had something to do with the algorithms they use to maximize revenue. I would just keep checking back. 

5 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

I voted Voyager Class in deference to Mrs Geezer's love of Mariner (which I very much enjoyed), but I'll give a nod to Radiance Class (Jewel) as well, which I believe was our finest cruise and itinerary (8 nights/ABC Islands).

We are boarding Jewel in eleven days for the first time and are really looking forward to it. My vote for this poll also went to Voyager Class. Mariner and Navigator have been our favorite ships thus far.

8 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

Make sure they send a new booking confirmation showing that OBC.

Yes, we received the booking confirmation showing the new OBC. It has been printed and placed with our other travel docs. 

15 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

Fly into LHR, spend those 2 nights in London, and take the train to Southampton on the morning of your cruise. You can thank me later.

I will second this option. We stayed at the Hilton London Bankside which is somewhat near Waterloo Station. Direct train ride from Waterloo Station to Southampton the morning of the cruise. After the cruise, we took a taxi from Southampton back to Heathrow. There was no direct train from Southampton to Heathrow at that time (I believe that is still the case) and would have involved a couple train changes. Taxi cost a little more but was a direct ride and comfortable. We slept most of the ride.

Just wanted to provide a quick update on this. I called and spoke with customer service last evening. They also were unable to cancel the packages I had already reserved. However, they did offer an OBC that covers the savings I could have received by cancelling and rebooking. I'm satisfied with that as we'll use the OBC for additional tipping for outstanding service or entry into a slot tournament.

I have an opportunity to cancel a beverage package and a Zoom package on an upcoming cruise and rebook them each at a lower rate. However, when I try to do this in the Cruise Planner, I get a message that says "Cancellation failed, so please try again". I repeatedly get the same message. Has anyone else encountered this? The cruise is in 30 days. Is there any sort of maximum number of days before the cruise that you're allowed to do this? I have previously cancelled and rebooked some other items already for this cruise. Is there a limit to the number of cancellations and rebooks you're allowed to do? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Depending on your boarding time, I would strongly recommend spending a couple hours touring the USS Iowa. It far exceeded my expectations with how many areas of the battleship you’re allowed to explore. There are guided tours, but we did a self-guided tour to allow us to get to Navigator OTS at our designated boarding time and start taking advantage of our drink package. 

We were just able to get 10:30 for Jewel out of Galveston next month. As cdixon22 stated, I'm guessing it varies depending on ship and port.  

October 31, 2025 - Jewel

You could look up hundreds of blogs on what first-time cruisers should expect and/or plan for on a cruise. Almost every single one of those blogs is going to mention "Be Flexible". Cruise itineraries change often for a number of different reasons. As a seasoned cruiser, you should know this.

Also, 2 of the 3 countries you were re-directed to may have had travel advisories, but there certainly were not any travel bans for the area where the ship ported. Mexico, The Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, and many other countries in the Caribbean all have travel advisories. Most of the reasons for these advisories do not pertain to the areas that RCI calls on. 

"2 days in the sea without moving"?? I'm going to need a picture from the back of the ship showing there's no wake, because I highly doubt she wasn't moving. 

These boards are full of people that love cruising and talking about how awesome cruising is. Your rant here isn't going to scare anyone away from cruising with RCI. 

On 1/17/2025 at 7:40 AM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Forgive me if I’m acting like an older person technically challenged…because I am exactly that! 
is there an actual list I can look at for these upcoming cruises?

Thank you

I had to ask this question myself a few months ago so glad to help with this one. 

There is a thread title "Master Member Cruise List" at the top of the conversation list under the "People Connect" forum. You are not able to add anything to the Master Member Cruise List. If you post the ship, year, month, and day into this thread, moderators will add the information to the Master Member Cruise List.

Wondering if anyone has stayed on Deck 10 right below the Windjammer on Jewel of the Seas. Considering a future cruise and the room-type we prefer is currently only available in that location. Concerned about noise bleed from the Windjammer, especially in the mornings. We like to sleep in on our cruises. Would like to hear from anyone who has stayed directly below the Windjammer on Jewel or other Radiance Class ships.

On 12/2/2024 at 8:48 AM, Thom J said:

Thanks all..... looks like there is general agreement that it is no longer offered.   Unfortunate, but I am sure there are plenty of other things to do to keep me busy.  Safe travels.

We've done a sushi making class onboard and still see that as an option on many cruises. We really enjoyed it. You will not leave hungry!

This doesn't apply anymore, but my biggest fear when cruising re-opened after COVID was testing positive on the COVID test you were required to take within 24 hours of embarkation. Living in the Midwest means I had already flown to whichever city we were sailing out of by the time I took the test. Didn't have to miss a cruise due to a positive test, but there was definitely a few nervous minutes waiting for the test results.

On 11/3/2024 at 2:02 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Next Update: end of November

Please remember to include: Sail date (including your year) and ship or you won't be added to the list.

Also, please check the list before posting and there is no need to repost your sailing if it's already on the list.

@Lovetocruise2002 I've been on the message boards for a couple years but first time on this feed. Is there somewhere I can see existing list?

3/29/2025 - Jewel of the Seas

This past week I've been cancelling beverage and dining packages and rebooking at the Black Friday rates. As I was rebooking a Deluxe Beverage Package, I saw that I could do the Deluxe Beverage Package plus VOOM for only $12/day more which is significantly less than we typically pay for VOOM. So, I booked that for my wife and I. In my haste to acquire additional deals, I overlooked the fact that I was actually paying $24/day because I booked it for both of us. We typically only get VOOM for one device as my wife needs to do some remote work while we travel, and I just need to set my fantasy football lineup once in awhile . I understand we both need to have the Deluxe Beverage Package if one of us has it, and we wouldn't consider cruising without it. Yes, we're those people. My question: Is it possible for one of us to have the Deluxe Beverage Package and one of us have the Deluxe Beverage Package plus VOOM? Thanks in advance for any input/advice.

16 hours ago, Willem said:

yh overcrowded was an understatement we had an excursion to one o the islands at naples and could barely get back in time cause all ferries were booked out.
we actualy booked a private charter with 16 people from the ship to be sure to get back on board in time...
And on  the island it was also overcrowded, a real bad experience....

 

But tnx for sharing, glad to hear that it might not be as bad as my first reaction on seeing 6 ships at the same time..

You shouldn't be concerned about overcrowding in Nassau. It is typical for them to have 5-6 ships in port. Keep in mind that Nassau is the port that probably sees the smallest percentage of guests go ashore. Many frequent cruisers have likely been to Nassau several times and choose to stay on the ship. Whereas, the majority of cruisers to Naples are going to go ashore regardless of how many times they've been there as there are so many different experiences in the Naples area such as downtown Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Capri, etc.