DunkelBierJay

2 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said:

That's a pretty good deal.  How come we can't get a deal like that in North America?!  All we get is the usual instant savings...blah blah blah...?

 

I can only guess that RC has less trouble selling the drink packages a la carte in North America than they are currently having in the UK, or they are trying to fill up cabins by enticing with the DP.

My Sailings:

Brilliance in January -- $15.99 (pre-purchased on promo a few weeks ago at $14.39)

Allure in June -- $15.99 (pre-purchased 4 device plan at $54.36 per day)

On a day when there is more news about the breakout of sickness on Independence, there is almost no coverage of Royal Caribbean International's Celebrity Summit rescue of six people who were stranded on a sail boat for over a month and had run out of food. It happened on December 16, and I saw it on Captain Kate McCue's (@captainkatemccue) awesome Instagram account just now. I wanted to call it out for the awesome news that it is.

I've found Google flights and the airline's booking apps to be the most competitive from where I usually fly (Nashville). I use a Southwest Visa for my kids college tuition and pay it off, so I am able to accumulate enough points to cover quite a lot of airfare on that airline down to Ft Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa and even Jacksonville for Port Canaveral sailings.

On the upper right of your screen, you should be able to see your screen name with a pull down -- click that

Under the pull down, you will see "Account Settings" -- click that

See "Signature" -- click that

You will then see a field where you can enter what you want to enter as well as options to format it however you want (ignore the screenshot below. I was not able to remove it).

I did a dummy booking for the Anthem July 4 sailing (9 night Bermuda, etc), and was only able to see Decks 9 and 10. I am guessing this has to do with the fact these itineraries were just released on the RC website rather than other decks already being sold out. I looked at refundable inside cabin fares. Frequently, I find my TA can see much more than we can, and I asked for a quote for the June sailings which I hope to get a little later today. I may see about the July sailings if that's what ends up being the group cruise. I am ok with waiting since my TA in on a cruise right now.

The idea to wait to book until the day before Cozumel brings up whether or not an excursion is cancellable on board. I assume it isn't. Can anyone clarify? I booked it during the cyber Monday deal for a January trip, and saved about $30 per person.

I keep considering cancelling and just going to Nachi instead, but I really want to see this site at some point soon. If each ship in port that day is full there will be about 20,000 people around.

Interesting info...I followed the link @JLMoran posted and found this map showing the status of each state and territory.It looks like 18 or 19 states have been granted an extension with several under review. It looks like if your state is green, you wont have any issues. It's still ideal to have a passport regardless IMO.

On 11/25/2017 at 10:52 PM, KathyC said:

I don't know if I've even seen a discount on the coffee card.  I did get a sale on the refreshment package for my 20 yr old - it was discounted to $18 from $26.  May 2018 sailing.  I think the same price was offered for my October 2018 sailing.  I did NOT see a sale for the soda package though. 

Based on the cost per drink of the coffee card verses the a la carte cost for many drinks on board combined with the hard to find nature of it on the drink package page in the cruise planner, I would be very surprised to see this card discounted.

3 hours ago, toodle68 said:

We are taking 4 kids on a cruise soon.. 17, 18, 22, 23.. told them if they wanted internet to pay for it themselves  :)

1 hour ago, KathyC said:

I hear ya!  We are taking our 18 & 20 on Adventure in May; we got 1 device for all four of us to share, and only because it was lumped in with a soda package for my 18 year old.  They will complain, but as I am paying for it they will be required to share with me so I can scope that week.  That is, of course, if VOOM cooperates.  Hoping in the upcoming refurb that issue is addressed.

I'm playing my kids by buying the 4 device plan and telling them that they are saving $35 each over the course of the cruise when I collect from them to buy the four device plan. They aren't complaining even though their cost will be about $70 each! Teaching them real world consumerism!

8 hours ago, Etabler said:

I've called the RC customer service but I haven't been able to speak to a supervisor. My birth certificate has both of my middle names and my drivers license only has my first middle name. The lady I spoke with assured me as long as my first and last name match, I can board the ship. Is this true?? I have 2 weeks until my cruise! 

I did this cruel thing to all three of my kids and have never had an issue...I just got them passports...much easier, and a great investment for future travel.

I've done Stingray City a couple of times as part of a longer scuba trip. If you are considering scuba, I recommend that because you are a little deeper, you're away from the masses of snorkelers, and the rays are all around you. Many of the dive boats provide bait, and you get a lot of attention that way. It's like being around a bunch of friendly dogs. There may be a resort course scuba offering on your sailing to make it work.

9 hours ago, toodle68 said:

Our first visit to Cozumel in January and I was surprised by the line at the taxi stand. It was hot, no shade and looked to be a 30 min wait. We totally did not expect this and had got off the ship a little later thinking we would be at NachiCocom within 20 mins. Looking at the times of the other ships, you should be ok. I think NachiCocom is open until 5pm..

There was no taxi line last time I was there, but I am anticipating one next time, so if we end up doing Nachi , we are going to go out of the pier area to the left to Hotel El Cid where Matt has mentioned a couple times on Periscope that there are always taxis and no waiting. it is only about a minute walk.

We are seriously thinking about biting the bullet for an all day excursion to Chitzen Itza this time since it won't be the middle of summer like it will be next time we are there.

The cost per drink for the 15 drink $31 drink card comes to $2.06 per drink (before any taxes). I can't locate the menu pic of the coffee bar on Empress I took, but I recall pricing for various drinks from lattes to macchiattos, etc were over $4.00 each.

I  visited Nachi Cocom last summer and loved it. The best part was that we were in port on Empress with two other Carnival ships and the place felt empty. We will visit Cozumel again on January 9, but will be one of the last ships to dock (Brilliance)...here is what will be in port that day.

I've seen videos of the place being taken over by passengers from other ships, and am thinking that may be the case especially with three Carnival ships and Liberty in port. If the ship clears quickly, and we can get off the ship, I am thinking we may be able to get to Nachi by 11, but I am not sure. Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks

I just booked this for my June sailing on Allure and am glad I did it now because there was only one slot available on the night I wanted to do it. Jump on these quick!

I'm looking for thoughts regarding the purchase of VOOM for our 7 night Western Caribbean on Allure in June...sadly, we can't swing the Alaska group cruise that month.

• Family of Five
• We are getting two adjoining Central Park Balconies
• Stateroom 1 -- 2 people (ages -- old) -- share 1 package
• Stateroom 2 -- 3 people (ages 17, 20, 22) -- a package each for sanity
• We are contemplating getting a 4 device plan on Stateroom 1 at $39.17 per day = ~$7.83 cost per person per day (about half the single device plan) -- the cruise planner doesn't allow for purchase of plans across reservation numbers like booking dinner reservations.

I may be answering my question by writing this, but has anyone encountered issues with buying a multiple device plan and allowing others from another stateroom to use the logins? I can't think of an issue where this may be a problem, but I may not be thinking it through. It's also easier to write this than explaining it on the phone to RC.

I have only bought one-device plans on previous cruises.

I’m a little crushed Vision is leaving NOLA. She is still showing sailing from there in early 2019 that I am having MEI quote. I hope they don’t move her before then. I also hope Empress stays in the fleet. 

Tampa is the easiest port I have experienced, and none of them have been difficult. Looking forward to doing it again in January. 

Vision is still showing sailings out of New Orleans in '18-'19...

40 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

Considered but with 6 people and a boat load of luggage it wasn't liking me very much either ;) Might end up being my best option though.

Select Uber XL, Lyft Plus, or Lyft SUV, and you should be golden...

With Oasis' bow to stern revitalization, I assume she will be in dry dock somewhere in Europe after a TA and before her summer season out of Barcelona? I would love to do an east bound TA to Barcelona or Southampton...or to the dry dock location and just live on her

On 11/2/2017 at 10:04 AM, monctonguy said:

And at $1 per ounce duty being charged on anything over that, its just not worth it....Always some stupid rule being Canadian...

True, but your beer is better

C&A is kind of nice for the small perks you get as Gold, but my experience is that it is a step down in the boarding process compared to not being a member...it is almost like you're steerage...Next cruise brings us to Platinum...so I can't wait to save that extra five minutes boarding!

Being Gold is like that scene in Risky Business in the classroom when the clock goes backward...

We'll be on the Allure in June with four port stops...I am a little concerned I will need a vacation from this vacation as I am already planning every minute so I can take advantage of the ship. We are planning on Maya Chan, and I understand they pick you up near the taxi stand...I hope that's still the case. Since I will have been to Nachi twice by then, we are going into San Miguel while in Coz. We are also hitting Roatan, and the only way I could get my cruise averse oldest back on a ship was to promise a trip to the Sloth and Monkey Sanctuary so she can hug a sloth (it's very high on her bucket list), and Nassau in which I will take the fam to the Queen's Staircase and walk to Junkanoo for cheap beers and a "free" beach day. I also haven't been to Pirate Republic yet.

Did you hit Park Cafe?

Also, did you hit all the bars?

2 hours ago, Tampaite said:

We didn't know that, there weren't any balconies on Majesty of Seas and the website continues to show Balcony as "Sold Out" - I thought we missed the boat on getting a deal on a balcony but if we knew that the ship didn't have any, it would have been better upfront.

There are a limited number of ocean view rooms with balconies and suites with balconies on deck ten that were added in a dry dock years ago. I believe there are around 60 of those rooms...

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/majesty-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1719/BR

Nick Vitani frequently Periscopes from one of the balcony rooms he gets on his weekend cruises on that ship.

It may be worth calling Royal Caribbean or your travel agent to see if one opens up. It would be a good deal, but it would be quite a bit more expensive than the inside rooms you booked.