whitsmom

21 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

The day pass with unlimited open bar, food, etc., may be worth it if the price drops just a little bit (under/around $200) and you don’t already have the DBP. Otherwise, I’d probably rather stay onboard and enjoy a less crowded ship. We’ll see!

We are planning on just walking around a bit then enjoying a less crowded ship for the day.  I can't see spending that kind of money for that (use that money for go on another vacation)!

We always enjoy the 70's night!  We have been on the Harmony before and they had it.  We are sailing on Harmony in March 2026 (Transatlantic) so I hope they have it.

5 minutes ago, Noskill said:

It is.  We're on the Liberty Transatlantic (4/3-4/19/26) that drops off in Southampton before heading to dry dock.  The amplification will occur right after that cruise.

We will be on the Transatlantic cruise that is just before your cruise.

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I don't see any such coverage in my standard Allianz plan. I wonder how prevalent it is across the spectrum of travel insurance.

Allianz was what I had and it covered it.  I didn't know anything about it but when I told me TA that we missed two ports, she is the one who told me she would take care of submitting it for me.  We were in Norway in January so that may be why.

21 hours ago, jmcfarland84 said:

Hello,

Just curious if you ever received compensation for the missed port with your travel insurance? I have travel insurance through AAA as well that covers missed ports ($100 refund per port missed per person). I believe our cruise will be avoiding Haiti this year in August and my mother (who works as a travel through AAA) told me to file the claim for the compensation after the cruise and I should get the $100 per person if they miss the port or switch it with another. Our cruise line already changed one port on us due to too many ships being docked in the same port- so I'll file that one. However, due to the civil unrest in Haiti I wasn't sure if that would be paid out. 

We use AAA also and for our Trip to Norway this past January, we missed 2 ports due to weather.  We received $400 check in the mailed around 4 weeks after we got home.  This is the first time every having to use the insurance.

We will be on this cruise also!..I have a car service scheduled to pick us up at 9:00 am and take us to our hotel.  The hotel can hold your luggage until your room is available.  We are staying in Barcelona for 3 nights.  I may have to change our pick up time for earlier as I was just going off what normally happens.  I guess I will need to investigate the disembark times a little better.

I have been looking at trip advisor for excursion information.  We are traveling with another couple so we haven't discussed that stuff yet (they live in Houston, TX and we live in Kentucky).  We are flying to Houston on Saturday before and they are taking us to our first Rodeo. 

We were in Rome July 2024 and did use our Am Ex some (Hotel, and a few nice restaurants), we took Euros too that we pre-ordered from our bank.  We did have to use some coins for the restroom (some you can use your credit card).  We used our Visa card mostly.  I pre-booked our tours as well as our car service we used from airport to hotel, hotel to port, and port to airport.  We walked A LOT!  We also did two Golf Cart tours that were excellent (prepaid but we tripped in Euros).

On 5/10/2025 at 9:18 AM, Matt said:

And I REALLY appreciate it!!!  I still can't believe how simple, fast, and easy it was.  Usually, anything dealing with the government is the total opposite of simple

I want to thank whoever mentioned that renewing your passport on line was quick and easy.  My passport was expiring in October 2025 and we fly to Europe the end of December.  I went on line and had my passport back in less than 2 weeks and my hubby got his back a 7 days.  To say we are extremely pleased is a understatement!

I have learned so much in this group!

On 4/20/2025 at 3:36 PM, judgen said:

I enjoy a Buffalo Trace old fashioned. Might be running out of it soon though because a bunch was ruined in the recent flooding at the distillery.

We were by there this past weekend and they didn't have much product ruined thankfully!

1 hour ago, Burshtyyn said:

I brought a few essential oils in 10ml bottles packed in a ziplock inside my toiletry bag with no issues at all. Just don’t bring a diffuser, those aren’t allowed.

Same for me with no issues (also no diffuser)

6 hours ago, Matt said:

If your sister (their parents) are there, you dont need that form.  That form is only sort of necessary if you are traveling without their parents.

Just be sure to check in at the same time so the kids can point to who their parents are

This is what we do with our Grandkids as their parents are cruising also just in a different cabin.

We have our first TA on March 2026 from Galveston to Spain and I have been wondering about this too.  I bring several things (Ginger caps, Bonine and herbal patches just in case.  Hubby isn't bothered with motion but I am.  We were in the North Sea in January/February and I used only the Bonine (twice daily the entire trip from Norway to London and handled the few days that were on the rough side good.  I too am hoping for calm sailing in March but will be armed with all I can for te unknown...

On 4/13/2025 at 9:40 AM, tonyfsu21 said:

Does anyone have a recent experience regarding Odyssey arrival to port? Is the arrival time reasonably consistent? I am in the process of booking transportation to FCO for a 1:50pm flight but not sure if debark is early like we are used to in Florida or is it different? I’m considering 8:00am pick up, thoughts?

We have used Welcome Pickups and they were excellent.  We had friends that used them on their cruise.  We used them for the airport to our hotel, hotel to port, and port back to airport.  I highly recommend them.  They picked us up in a Black Suburban (big enough for three of us (one being a teenager so lots of luggage).  Very prompt and reasonable priced.

We like to prepay gratuities also.  We do give additional cash in hand to our room steward, wait staff in the main dining room, and when we use our Diamond drink vouchers.  We usually find a bartender that we like and stick with that one then we have never been disappointed with service or drinks.  We consider the extra "tip" money as part of our vacation expense and plan accordingly.  We have found that a little appreciation goes a long way in making our vacation even better.  We always use the set time for dining to have the same table and wait staff as we like the extra personal service we get. 

In July 2024, we used Welcome Pickups (suggested from friends that used them the year before).  They were wonderful!  We used them from the Rome airport to our hotel, hotel to Port, and Port back to airport.  Nice big SUV with plenty of room for our luggage and the service was excellent and very professional.

22 hours ago, FoxboroCruiser said:

Majesty of the Seas May 1, 1994 for our honeymoon. Miami to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, CoCo Cay.

We were on her in the summer of 1995

Our first cruise was on the Majesty OTS.

On 3/10/2025 at 7:24 AM, Buffet_Time said:

First time cruising on RC next year. Thank you for the information. When does The Key becomes available for purchase? And is it like other add-ons, where you can cancel/re-purchase if the price drops? 

Just keep watching for it.  I have a cruise in March 2026 and it hasn't shown up yet so I just keep checking.

2 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

Our Allianz policy has a provision of 100 for missed or changed port from original itinerary. But Royal gave us 500 when they changed Canada to Bahamas after boarding, so we didn't file a claim.

Our TA told us the same thing ($100 for missed and or changed port).

We (Burnie & Judy) have this cruise booked to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary (a few weeks early).  We have friends from Texas (Tina & Robert) that are booked also.  This will be our first transatlantic.  I hope the weather will be nice so I can put my balcony to good use.

On 11/19/2024 at 8:53 AM, ScottB said:

We just got off of Odyssey a few days ago and... yes zip ties on the chairs too

We were on the Odyssey in July of this year and they were NOT zip tied then.

On 11/3/2024 at 11:30 AM, smokeybandit said:

So basically, add zip ties to the cruise go-bag.

Same!  I will set the chair up in the correct sitting position and re-zip it!  I always pack a pair of scissors too. 

My transatlantic cruise isn't until March 2026 so nothing is available for this sale except a couple of excursions (which I am not even ready to book yet).  Oh well, I will jut keep checking....

23 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Are you finding success in getting canned Cokes with your refreshment package ?  Back when I was purchasing packages I found it to be hit-or-miss with getting a canned drink.  Wondering how it is working these days.

We we get it every time.  We just tell them we want a can (at a bar); however, at dinner it is in a glass.