donolog

Hi All,
 
I was talking to my TA about how some people were able to use their OBC before boarding to pay for things, excursions, grats., etc. She said she had never heard of this and proceeded to call RCCL to find out why this was taking place.
 
Here is her answer: I spoke with RCCL.  You are referring to a pilot program that was available on only Oasis and Anthem and on only specific sailings.  ETA for general rollout is unknown.  I assume the folks commenting on the blog did not know it was a pilot program.
 
As of right now she said that there are still a few sailings on these ships offering this pilot program but only a few and when those are booked the program will go away until RCCL decides if they will roll it out.

While considering your cruise itinerary and how many days you'll be ashore on this cruise ask yourself, do you fee confident you'll consume five drinks per day?
 
If your response is "hell yeah" then a drink package probably makes sense from a financial point-of-view. If your response is a definite "no" or "I'm not so sure", then I would go a la carte (which is what I personally do). There are a few other nuances that could make that "five-drink" number go up or down one, and if it does make sense, then there's a few more points to figure out which package makes sense.
 
In addition to points made in prior posts, I would add the following about wine for dinner in the main dining room:
as DocLC mentions, you can bring two (750mL) bottles of wine on the ship, and you can bring them to dinner in the main dining room where they will serve it to you free of charge (i.e. no corkage fee); if you order a bottle of wine and don't finish it, they will store it for you and serve it the next night (even if it's one of the bottles you brought on the ship); each day there is a Wine-of-the-Day that is offered at 20% off the wine list price; it's worth asking about this, there's usually a few options (although don't be surprised if the assistant waiter taking your order doesn't know the current special and has to go ask).

Royal just  upgraded me to a guaranteed suite. Santa gave me my present early.

You know you've been cruising for a long time when . . . you thought Voyager class was a big ship

I think the point of this question is, "Will my father be able to see that I had 14 lava flows before lunch?"  just give him a heads up and soften the blow a little...

You do realize that not liking Sabor is like throwing down a gantlet here, right? ;)
 
I feel the same way about Izumi. While it's good, it's no better than what we have in California, and i can usually do it for less here. If the prices were a little bit less considering I'm already paying for food in my cruise fare, then I'd be less critical.

Hello everyone!
 
I am currently 40 minutes from landing at Chicago Midway so I thought I would start my review of my Liberty cruise! I will break this down into sections as to not try and cram everything in one post, and I will even include my thoughts on being Galveston and sailing from there for the first time ever.
 
Overall I enjoyed Liberty very much. There are a few minor complaints that I will get to but they didn't even come close to impacting my enjoyment of the cruise. The voom issue is a very sore subject with me.... more on that later.
 
And before anyone asks, I ate at Sabor four times. That pretty much says it all, but I will include a full review of the restaurant :)
 
I will try to start up the first part of the review later this evening or tomorrow for sure. The first part will be Galveston and sailing from there.
 
Stay tuned.... :D

I have always done this.....even at "land" restaurants.  Love to see their reactions when I tell them they can't ask me any questions.  Servers know what is selling...what is not selling.    Friends have said they will bring you the most expensive thing on the menu....but that has never happened.   They know if they bring good food and they will get a good tip.  

The other consideration would be if there's an "experience" that could be part of the treat. For example, not just going to Izumi's, but taking a "How to Make Sushi" class at Izumi's (and then you get to eat what you make). Depending on the cruise there might be other experiences such as Indian Food Cooking class, Mystery Dinner, Wine Pairing Dinner, etc.

The other consideration would be if there's an "experience" that could be part of the treat. For example, not just going to Izumi's, but taking a "How to Make Sushi" class at Izumi's (and then you get to eat what you make). Depending on the cruise there might be other experiences such as Indian Food Cooking class, Mystery Dinner, Wine Pairing Dinner, etc.

While considering your cruise itinerary and how many days you'll be ashore on this cruise ask yourself, do you fee confident you'll consume five drinks per day?
 
If your response is "hell yeah" then a drink package probably makes sense from a financial point-of-view. If your response is a definite "no" or "I'm not so sure", then I would go a la carte (which is what I personally do). There are a few other nuances that could make that "five-drink" number go up or down one, and if it does make sense, then there's a few more points to figure out which package makes sense.
 
In addition to points made in prior posts, I would add the following about wine for dinner in the main dining room:
as DocLC mentions, you can bring two (750mL) bottles of wine on the ship, and you can bring them to dinner in the main dining room where they will serve it to you free of charge (i.e. no corkage fee); if you order a bottle of wine and don't finish it, they will store it for you and serve it the next night (even if it's one of the bottles you brought on the ship); each day there is a Wine-of-the-Day that is offered at 20% off the wine list price; it's worth asking about this, there's usually a few options (although don't be surprised if the assistant waiter taking your order doesn't know the current special and has to go ask).

CABANA PARTY! 

If you want to see them, offer to take the kids with you and leave your wife onboard for a spa day.  She may enjoy that.
 
My wife often keeps the kids onboard while I go wander around the ports by myself, or my son and I take off and leave her and my daughter on board for 'girl time'.  Everyone seems to enjoy it.  It just depends on your family situation.

Juices are largely only available in the morning.  However, you will be able to get milk, water, lemonade, iced tea, and regular coffee and hot tea at meals.  At the Windjammer, you will need to request milk at any time other than breakfast.  There's also some kind of flavored drink at the Windjammer (buffet) at most meals.
 
The minibar is just like that in a hotel room.  You pay if you consume anything within it at normal bar prices.
 
Remember that you can bring on two bottles of wine without charge and even take them to the restaurants as well.  Sodas will run about $2.50-$3 or so per can, or you can opt for the soda package.

There are few things more enjoyable than taking a European train.  
 
Dooooon't flyyyyy!

Perhaps the first RCCL customer service rep you spoke to was pre-morning coffee too.  :P
 
Happy to hear things worked out.
 
D

Perhaps the first RCCL customer service rep you spoke to was pre-morning coffee too.  :P
 
Happy to hear things worked out.
 
D

Also keep in mind that the 2 most expensive weeks to cruise (any line) are Christmas week and New Year's.  In contrast, some of the LEAST expensive weeks to cruise are those between Thanksgiving and Christmas (early Dec.).  I absolutely love cruising for Christmas but it is expensive !

Perhaps the first RCCL customer service rep you spoke to was pre-morning coffee too.  :P
 
Happy to hear things worked out.
 
D

For St Lucia my go-to guy is Spencer Ambrose.  http://spencerambrose.com  Except for the mountain climbing, we've literally taken every excursion he offers (and some he no longer does).  I enjoyed the "Spencer's Land, Sea & Beach Adventure" quite a bit.
 
For Antigua in 2015 we did the powered catamaran that circles the entire island (booked via RC) and in the past we took the helicopter flight over to Montserrat to check out the volcano.  It was pricey (we had no children at the time) but so worth it....

We had a group of folks (maybe 6 ?) one time on St. Thomas.  We walked out the gate and hired a van for the day.  No idea what the price was (sorry) but it was a lovely day.
 
Once in Coz we booked a local snorkeling trip from the vendors in the compound.  $25 PP.  It wasn't the most imaginative location - right offshore near the port, but it was definitely worth $25 PP.
 
We had a very BAD experience with a local driver in Roatan once...but that was really the only bad experience we have had with local excursions.  The roads were just SOO bad in Roatan and it had been raining so the roads were basically impassable.  We just had the driver take us back to the ship.

Ahh, makes sense. 
 
They serve a purpose. I usually do not shop/dine there, but occasionally it has worked out well for providing an easy to grab item. In St. Maarten, my wife's sunglasses broke so we stopped in quickly to grab one.
 
The authenticity of most of the establishments is far from UNESCO worthy, but I do believe it is better than just a dock and nothing around.

This is what I generally spend in cash once we leave our pre-cruise hotel. I welcome comments; cheapskate, reasonable or overboard?
 
Porters at the pier $2.50/bag ×4 bags twice = $20
Excursion guide $5.00/person × 3excursions = $30
Excursion bus driver $2.50/person × 3excursions = $15
Cab driver to and from pier $2.50/bag ×4 bags twice = $10
Cab driver at port of call $5.00 × ? To and from = $10
Room service $5.00 twice per cruise = $10
Extra for room attendant assuming fabulous friendly service $20
 
Total $115
 
Casino $yikes

Last year we did a culinary tour of Falmouth, one of the best excursions we have ever do
ne. Felt perfectly safe, all the locals know the tour guides. Learned a lot of history too, food was amazing. Here is the website:jamaicaculinarytours.com

Great post, donlog! I agree with everything you said.
 
In short, do not buy the art because of the appraisal value or as an investment. Buy it because it is something you think would like nice in your home.