melski94

As for flights, look at RC air2sea program. While not competitive within the U.S, I’ve read about people getting very good deals for overseas flights. Another option is to check out the Hopper app. It tells you if the price quoted is expected to go down and when is a good time to buy.

One thing you could do is switch the adult so both adults are in the same room. You can switch names on the reservation without forcing a reprice assuming at least 1 name on the reservation stays the same. Then the keys to the rooms are accurate and you don't have to deal with getting another key, etc. Also, it is highly unlikely that RC will move the kids since they won't be next to you. Good luck!

You have to call RC or if you used a TA then they have to change it for you assuming it is still available.

I'm not sure the age of your kids and how the staterooms were booked...2 adults in one or did they make you put 1 adult in each room? I book with the kids in 1 room and 2 adults in the other however I've seen lazy TAs who wanted to put 1 adult in each room to make things easy so they didn't have to sit on the phone with Royal. The RC rule is no guest under 21 is allowed their own stateroom unless that stateroom is connecting, adjoining or directly across from the adult (21+) stateroom. If all the kids are under 21 and in their own room, then they shouldn't be moved unless they can also move your room to meet that requirement. If 1 adult in each room then it could be a different story. In that case, do as others have said and reach out to special needs. Have you made final payment? If you have made final payment, then let the 3rd person be a no show as others have said. If you are looking for a refund, then your room may be repriced. Did you use a travel agent or are you going directly through RC? USAA travel insurance has a clause that covers military personnel deployments. Not sure if you have insurance but that might be one to look into for future vacations.

Check their website to see if anything opens up or email them rather than just showing up. They do turn people away if they are sold out and this is a really popular week.

Are you looking at it for this week? Its website is showing sold out except for Thursday and Saturday of this week.

Did Hubby set up the travel router? Work ok? Did you set it up at home first or do it all on the ship? Any tips on what to name your network? Setting this up is my DH's job today. Great job on the blog. I really enjoyed reading it and you've inspired me to try my own next week. Have a safe trip home!

Yes! I completely agree but I see that I am in the minority here. I think they are making CoCoCay just for me and my very active family. Typically our excursions are more of an "active" nature, if I just wanted a beach I could (and do) drive a few hours to be there. If I only wanted a week long quiet beach trip, I'd fly to an all inclusive resort. We want an adventure! I think RC is appealing to families like mine with their ships and now CoCoCay. My family would love this and now I want to look at cruises that will take me to CoCoCay! I know it won't be free but I don't want it crazy expensive...I do have to buy 6 of everything.

I hired a private driver, Winston, with Tour Jamaica Today to take my family of 6 to Blue Hole. I don't remember what it cost but we had him the entire day but we mostly wanted to go to Blue Hole and lunch. The best thing about Winston was that he was a safe and slow driver. We were constantly being passed by other taxis. We were able to keep our stuff in the van while we did our excursion and everything was very safe. I will use him again for our Thanksgiving cruise.

With kids, I would look at Mr. Sanchos or Playa Mia. Like I said in a previous post, we've been to Playa Mia 3 times with kids. Great time. Aqua park, snorkeling off the beach (not great snorkeling but its easy), pools, waterslides, etc. Love the grounds but not the food...not a great buffet but we go there for the stuff. It was always kept very clean. While it used to be offered as an RC excursion, we always booked directly online to pay less and took a taxi over. Good luck and have a great trip with your kids!

We've been to Playa Mia 3 times (first time my kids were 15, 11, 8 and 3). It is great for the included aqua park plus there are very nice kiddie pirate themed splash pools and larger waterslides where my then 3 yo could even go down. Also they have very basic and easy snorkeling there (we bring our gear). The downside is the food. It is buffet and I am not crazy about it but if you go to the buffet early and it would be fine. While the RC excursion goes there, I buy discounted tickets online and take a taxi over. Our last time there they wanted full payment for the first time which I wasn't crazy about. We did it and it wasn't a problem. We don't have an upcoming cruise to Cozumel but if I did I would probably try Mr. Sanchos mostly due to the food. I like the sound of Nachi for adults but looks like little to do for the kids.

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I don't really need a TA as I will usually tell the TA the exact rooms I want to book but I don't want to be on the phone with RC. The benefit to me is that I don't have to sit on the phone with RC to book, resolve a problem or deal with the RC website. Also a good TA can give you good advice about location of stateroom, ie. do you want one near your friends? Also, my TA price checks my reservation with every sale. If you chose to book now without a TA, you can transfer your reservation to a TA within 60 days or keep it and manage it yourself.

Loving the blog! Great job, not boring at all. Today looks warmer based on the number of people wearing shorts. Is it still too cold to swim? Really nice to see a different ship. I don't think I could sail out of NJ for Spring Break. Way too cold for me and I live in the South although it may snow here tonight! I need to move somewhere warmer.

You have 60 days after booking to transfer your reservation. MEI travel is a sponsor of the blog and used by many of us. I use Nancy from MEI.

One more thing, contact the special needs department about your child’s allergy. No experience but others have said RC is very good with dealing with food allergies.

I think the MDR is fine. If you are a food snob then you won’t like it. Some dishes I love and some are ok but I haven’t found anything I hated. Think of other times where you’ve been where they serve hundreds of people (weddings, conferences, etc). I think it’s a notch above that but not as good as a top restaurant. As a family of 6, we eat in the MDR and are fine with it. There are only so many rooms that have connecting doors and they tend to sell out or at least 1 if the combo is taken so it is possible. If you want to look at availability for rooms I find that Costco’s website gives you the easiest way to see available rooms. You should have a couch so maybe the 3 yo can sleep on that. There are no swim diapers allowed in the main pools. I think there is a small area for swim diapers but not sure if that’s on Allure. Adventure ocean is free for 3 and up however they do need to be potty trained. I don’t know if they would allow a pull up. As for dining, my family likes my time dining. Early is too early and late is too late. Relax it really is an easy process and it’s nice not to have to have your day planned out like Disney.

My family and I will be on this cruise too. This will be our first time on an Oasis class. I know nothing about parties but hopefully someone else can chime in. We can’t wait!

@Digmenow Wow! That is an awesome set up!

I follow Marc Walker on FB as he's currently the Harmony CD. According to his FB page, he is headed to Symphony for the TA.

@LindsayThis works to access the Cruise Planner. Just bought the internet package. Now I just realized, did not print a SetSail pass for 1 of the kids (Oops) and luggage tags for the kids room. Going to try tomorrow.

First, let me say I HATE Windjammer. Not necessarily the food but the experience and the experience with kids....help kids with food, be lucky and find a table on the first walk through, leave kids at table and go back for a plate for myself, come back kids want more, kids are done and I haven't sat down. It is a nightmare to me. In the past I've taken them to MDR, which is fine for salad options but they don't always have a kid friendly lunch menu. I want a place to get a salad for me and a burger/hot dog/fruit etc for my 2 younger kids. Would any of these work... Solarium bistro? Park cafe? Does Mini Bites have salad? I'd probably like the first 2 and the kids the last. Really hoping the WJ isn't the only option.

I just used OBC to partially pay for our internet package. With mine, it showed the total, the amount of OBC and the new due that I used my credit card. There was a button to select "Use OBC" and I had to put in the amount I wanted to use (which was all my OBC) and then I had to press "Apply". After that, the OBC reduced the total and I paid the rest by credit card. It was very clear the total was reduced before I put in my cc info. Does your cruise planner still show that you have OBC? Now that I used my OBC, it no longer gives me the option to use OBC when I pay. My suggestion is to cancel whatever you purchased and try again. OBC will be credited back to your account. Or you can call RC directly and try to cancel and rebook.

Me too. I do have a few things that I wanted to get in the cruise planner before our cruise in 16 days but it will wait. At least I printed out our Sail Passes on Monday!

Love the behind the scenes tour idea. He'd be very interested in that.