FireFishII

Here is another recommendation - take a taxi to a bagel or breakfast shop.  You can have a leisurely breakfast while you wait for your cousin to show up.  

Many many moons ago, I started with AAA.  I loved my TA and I was able to just drop in to discuss changes. Fast forward thru the years with kids.  Our only travel was to family members.  Now I am an empty nester.  For my cruises, I have been using my aunt, who only does cruises even though her company handles everything. I don't know what I will do once my aunt retires (she is in semi-retire state right now).  Maybe go back to AAA or try out MEI.  But I KNOW that I WON'T cruise without a TA!

16 hours ago, Jayhoaps said:

I too also have the photo package. I understand there will be stations where they take photos? Just wondering is it everyday on the ship? 

Now I may have missed the spots but I have only seen the stations when you are getting on or off a ship and on formal dining nights. They will also be taking pictures around the ships for special events - like for Alaska, I had my picture taken on the pool deck with a lumber jack. 

Here is an alternative I just read but I am not sure if it is true (ie: only 1 source).  I read that instead of using Royal Up, either talk to your TA or RCL directly to see how much it would cost to upgrade.  I read that this route can be cheaper than Royal Up.  

As anyone gone this route?  Is it true? Does it work?

Thanks in advance. 

Welcome to RCL's new math.  Some of us have been bitten by RCL's new math.  What happens is RCL will raise the price of something and then offer a discount.  Several times, when I check the price of something on SALE, I find that I already have it at the reduce price or lower.  So my advice is to book early and often.  LOL!  As long as you have not paid in full, you can take advance of repricing your cruise.  For shore excursions and other extras, you can book, cancel, and rebook as often as you want.  But just do the math to see if it is really cheaper.  The only negative to rebooking the extras - your CC credit may take a month to show up. Have fun on your cruise. 

On 11/1/2022 at 12:43 PM, Tony Sky said:

My kids are 15, 12 and 9. I'm thinking skip the unamped Allure and go on an amped Navigator for less, but then again I've never experienced and Oasis ship. 

With your kids in that age, I won't worry about the outside temperatures for the waterslides.  Kids will love it even if their lips go blue. 

On 11/10/2022 at 11:30 PM, TheRick said:

It’s been a busy four days cruising with 3 young grandkids. I’ll give a belated, not so live blog update tomorrow chronicling the cruise tomorrow night

As a grandmother of 5 small grandkids, I can understand why you don't have any time to yourself.  And when  you do have time for yourself, you just want to take a nap.  LOL!

On 11/10/2022 at 2:57 PM, Jayhoaps said:

Thanks so much for your reply.. Where can I find the nearest dining kiosk? Is that in the main dining area? 

Someone correct me if I am wrong.  When I was on Allure of the Seas, I entered on Deck 5.  This is the Royal Promenade deck. Along the Promenade, there will be dining kiosks set up.  There are there only for embarkation day.  I don't know if there were any in the MDR.  I stopped looking for the kiosks after I had set up my dining reservations.  There are also lots of staff around in that area that can answer any questions you have.  

9 hours ago, Jayhoaps said:

Just wanted to inquire about the 3 day dining package which I purchased. 

I understand you need to do a courtesy booking for either day 1 or Day 2?

Once I board the ship can I make the reservations all on the app? But if for some reason it doesn't work, I can make all the bookings at the specialty restaurant? 

Also can I make the reservations for dining but not on Day 1 and day 2 of the cruise? But rather for example book them day 3,4 and 5?

 

Thanks again for all your help in advance. 

Hi, I used the 3 day dining package back in June.  Yes, you have to pick either Day 1 or Day 2. But once you are on board, either go to the nearest specialty restaurant or dining kiosk.  There you can switch your courtesy booking to any day plus reserve your other 2 meals.  Since I had an 11 am boarding time, I was able to get everything I wanted. But go prepared - knowing which restaurants and what days/times you want along with a plan B, plan C, and a plan Z.

Oh yeah, you could also go the suite route and let your genie handle it. LOL!

Some have purchase the specialty restaurants individually so that they could make reservations.  Then they purchase a dining package. Once on board, they cancel their individual reservations and re-reserve using their dining package.  Lots of trouble but good for those who need to dine at a certain time. 

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is this really a typo or is it some kind of Freudian slip ?  

Typo. LOL!!!  I hate spell checker sometimes. 

20 hours ago, Shanna said:

On my shore excursions it skips day 5 of my cruise which is nausea, Bahamas. There are no excursions for me to book and the day is missing. I called royal twice and they cannot help me. They said I should have 96 excursions to pick from but I only see 12 for all my stops.  They don't have an IT office to talk too. Can anyone help?

When is your cruise?  On my cruise, Nassau did not show up until 3 weeks out.  I gave up on waiting and planned my own excursion: Rented bikes (which I would not recommend), visit Ardastra Gardens & Wildlife (that was just OK), Visit John Watling's distillery (tour & tastings), Graycliff Chocolatier (missed the tour), and lunch/wine cellar tour at Graycliff Hotel (THE BEST TIME).  

For my first trip to CocoCay with my family of 5 adults, I did splurge and got a cabana.  I originally had a cabana at Chill Island but moved it to Coco Beach Club.  We LOVED it.  However, since you have 3 pre-teens, I could not recommend Coco Beach Club.  I would recommend getting them and any adults you think need to go with them passes into Thrill Waterpark. Sitting around a beach is not that exciting for 11 and 8 year olds.  Especially when they can see the slides. 

If the whole family wants to play at the waterpark, then get one cabana for 6 and snap up a few lounge chairs near by.  The cabana will come with admission to the waterpark so you will only need 4 more admissions. 

If part of your family likes the idea of drinking and soaking in a pool, then get a cabana Oasis Lagoon for 6 and grab a few lounge chairs near by.  Oasis Lagoon is not far from the waterpark. Your kids will be able to come and go.

If part of your family rather just chill out on a beach, then grab a cabana for 6 at Chill Island or other locations.  You can also look into the other types of rentals, like the bed on the beach. 

But if you are a family that could get off the ship early, then don't worry about the cabanas - just grab those beach chairs. The only thing you would need to purchase is access to the waterpark.  

Have fun!

I use a lanyard because I am always putting things down and then walking away from them.  Plus I wear my work ID on a lanyard so I am used to it. 

17 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

Wow!  This is the only place where I talked about passports and pickpockets.  Look what showed up on my FB timeline.

Someone is watching you.... Big Brother maybe?  LOL!

11 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Fun fact.  There's no such thing as "Cruise Approved".  That's purely marketing by unscrupulous vendors/manufacturers.  Almost always a unrecognizable brand from a third party seller.  You can find items claiming to be "Cruise Approved" that clearly state they have surge protectors in them.

Thanks.  I did not know that. 

20 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Can you tell if a device has surge protection by looking at it?  I'm an electrical engineer and I can't do that.  The staff at the port don't have time to look up the manuals for every device they see so it's safer to reject anything with outlets.  Literally safer.  Surge protection can cause fires on a ship because surge protection relies on electrical grounding which doesn't work the same way when you are floating on water.

I always wonder why the cruise ships would reject surge protected devices.  This makes sense.

When purchasing a device, I make sure it is labeled as cruise approved.  Other than that, I couldn't tell you how to determine if one is or is not surge protected.

1 hour ago, PG Cruiser said:

Visiting a foreign country while on a cruise is slightly different.  Passports are not required at most ports, except when an emergency arises and air travel is needed.

I guess we just want to avoid the hassles of having to replace a stolen, lost, misplaced passport while at foreign ports.

I have never taken my passport with me at ports of call.  But I admit, there's always the "what if..." at the back of my mind.

I wonder what Royal will do if the passport you need is in the safe in your room.

 

 

This make more sense to me on why you were asking the question.  What I usually do is carry my passport on me at all times (unless I am scuba diving) by wearing it in either a waist holder or around my neck on a lanyard. I usually have some emergency cash and a credit card too. Just in case. 

It may be better to contact RCL via email.  You can use this site: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/contact-us  Scroll towards the bottom of the page. 

I am a HUGH planner.  But my last cruise, I had planned TOO MUCH! I never had a chance to sit back and relax by a pool or hot tub.  So my advice, plan on what you really want to hit - if that is a shore excursion, a show, or a specialty dining.  Then save several hours in a day relaxing your way. Have fun.  Don't stress.  There is so much on a cruise ship that it is impossible to hit it all at once.  Bring back wonderful memories. 

2 hours ago, joannabanana said:

My mom always said "life sucks and then you die." 

That quote is from Pet Sematary by Stephen King. 

@AshleyDillo - could the puzzles and information be seen by someone sitting? I have been to a few puzzle rooms where you need to be standing to either look down at information or to reach levers. Also, would there be room to maneuver a wheelchair with the max number of people in a room.  I have been told that the rooms could get crowded.  

On my last cruise, my husband got the soda/VOOM package while I got the refreshment package.   We shared the VOOM package.  You can use the VOOM on different devices - just one at a time.