lhm0204

My teenage daughter loves starbucks and has tons of starbucks gift cards.  Anyone know if she can use them onboard at the Starbucks??

Thanks!!

glow sticks are a great idea!!!

I would give a bartender i intend to use a lot up a nice tip up  front ensure above and beyond service.  i would also tip here and there as earned by extra service or service for a long period of time.  It is not required, but if deserved should be given

I am bringing a Belkin on my cruise -- it has 2 electric outlets and 4 USB ports.  Should be great with plenty of room for everything we need to plug in

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/unlimited-alcohol-packages

lots of info on drink packages (including the answer above)

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/05/19/first-time-cruisers-what-you-need-know-about-gratuities-royal-caribbean

and the answers to all your gratuity questions (including the answer above)

There are tons of apps that do the same thing as well.  we always use them when travelling abroad

You cannot buy drink package for one or 2 days.  4 days (last 4) is minimum.  from the day you buy it, you must but it for all remaining days of cruise.  last day you can buy it is when there are 4 days left.  Gratuity is charged for all passengers and is the same for adults and children.

att cruise packages --- ( Quote from blog here) --- Using voice, text or data is just like using it on land.  You place calls or write texts or launch apps and they work largely the same.

Since you're at sea, you're using Royal Caribbean's cellular signal to get a connection.  For voice and plain text messages (no photos), it worked pretty quickly.  Texting photos or using data usually required signifigant waits for tasks to finish.  In some cases, text messages with photos did not go through and had to be re-sent. This isn't AT&T's fault, but rather just the way things are with Royal Caribbean's cell signal.

probably cheaper to buy a roaming package from your carrier and just use 4G

Amazon has generic ones (they do not say Royal Caribbean at bottom).  the are only $2-3

I am travelling on Explorer of the Sea to Alaska in June !!!  Yay !!   We have an ocean view cabin.  How many electric outlets are there??  where are they located?? are there any in the bathroom??  Thanks in advance !!

Always bring a hair dryer -- they are not excluded -- they are far less threatening than a curling iron or straightener and they are allowed.  Definitely bring one, the ones they provide are awful

We did wind up booking the Adventure Zipline Tour and are very excited about it.  should leave us some time before and after to walk around Victoria.  Thanks for your input

We do not have children, per se.  our "kids" are 15-23 years old.  we like active things to do, we are now looking at ziplining, but having problems since we have 15 in our group. 

Thanks, our kids are teenagers (15-23), not as easy to convince as a 5 year old.  I am also very active and not sure I can do gardens either.  but maybe if it is cheap.  can't imagine that would take more than an hour (at least that is the most I would give it), still have the rest of the day.  has anyone done the hop on / hop off bus??  it got bad reviews for having to wait too long for busses, but when looking online at Gray Line, they seem to have busses running pretty non stop.  (not sure if Royal Caribbean uses Gray Line or not)

On our summer cruise to Alaska, we are stopping in Victoria, BC.  We are there all day and we are really struggling with what to do there???   we were considering the hop on/hop off bus but it got awful reviews.  we are already doing whale watching.  any suggestions??    who has been there, what do you recommend seeing??  (and we will have kids with us, so things like walking thru gardens are probably not very appealing).  this port  is a real struggle !!  thanks in advance.

30% off everyone is a better deal than BOGO.  Just do the math!!  if your cruise was $1000 - at 30% off everyone it would be $700 each or $1400.  at BOGO it would be $1000 for first guest and $500 for second = $1500.  you save $100 using the current 30% off promotion and right now you also get room credit back.  and 30% off gets even better right now if you have a 3rd and or 4th person in your cabin because the 30% off applies to them also.

you cannot bring the 1.5l in bottles.  they are twice as big as allowed and the size difference is VERY noticeable.

 it is 750ml only (or smaller)

I love big ships!!! the more the merrier.  they have more venues, etc so the crowd is pretty spread out.  The drink package is what it is, if you drink about 6 drinks a day it cover the cost because individual drinks are pretty price also (about $12 US for a nice drink).  So, it depends on how much you plan to drink and how much you will physically be on the ship (if you will be in port for long times many of the days, may not be worth it -- you cannot select days you want to buy the package for, it is for everyday starting the day you buy the package).

That is why I am getting the Beverage Package, I plan on trying many of the drinks RCL offers on my cruise - if I don't like them -- I can throw them out and move onto the next one!!  Can't wait to get to try so many drinks without feeling pressure to finish the not so good ones because I paid $12 for them!!

We are doing Alaska this summer on Royal Caribbean - we choose RC because we had a party of diverse ages 15-50's and RC has many more activities that appeal to the broad range of ages.  we are very active and can't wait to enjoy all the sports, activities and family fun offered by RC.  The other cruise lines do not cater as much to the younger crowd.

starts tomorrow

we are sailing on Explorer of the Seas to Alaska on June24!!!  Can't wait!  we have 15 people going --- 8 adults and 7 "children" (ages 15-24).  we would love to have just us at our table(s). Don't think we can all fit at one table, but how hard would it be to get 2 tables for us next to each other in the MDR??  we did link our reservations so I think that helps.  would love any advice!!