firegal2539

There is a site called royalonboardsales.com that gives you the run down on what promotion is running right now if you book your cruise on board the ship, how much deposit, OBC you can earn, etc. Look at that site it is updated when new promotions go in to effect.

I would use my credit card because of the security of knowing the credit card company backs me. Small bills for tipping as jticarruthers said.

A 10 oz Filet Mignon and two, yes I said two, Creme Brulees for dessert from Chops Grille.

BigBurlyJohn,

I am so sorry you are not having the cruise you wanted and deserved and paid for. Like you I am not demanding but I always say I want what I paid for and you certainly aren't getting it. Hopefully to make you smile I will tell you I took a cruise on RCCL last spring and I had a problem with toe nails all over my bathroom floor, the toilet not working properly and being filthy and then I got bitten by bed bugs or fleas, (RCCL wasn't sure what they were), I asked for another room and was refused. I showed them my legs, rash and blisters and they still refused. They came in and changed the mattress and linens out, it took two days for the toilet to be fixed. I remembered to document everything, pictures of my legs, the toilet and when I got home I was busy writing emails to everyone at RCCL. It worked I got a 100% refund but my point was I should have been moved, given another room.

Remember to document so when you get home you can send emails.

Hopefully everything will be fine moving forward on the cruise.

Candie

firemedic1560,

I wish you good look. Everything posted on cruisecritic said it is going to sale but like you I was booked and was cancelled and still haven't seen a refund of all my money yet. I wish you the best.

Jerel,

Question, was the $649 per person? I looked up the cruise, because I want to do something in December, and I am a single cruiser, that cruise for an interior, virtual balcony would cost $2200. I am glad you got this great deal but I think being a solo cruiser really ups the price of every cruise.

Candie

Greater49er,

I don't know whether you have heard of the site tripadvisor.com, which I believe owns half of the travel sites, Viator.com for tours, cruisecritic.com for message boards, etc. You can look on Trip Advisor and put in Tours and the city, state or country and it will bring up all of their highly reviewed tours. In Astoria, I do know there is a Port Trolley, that I believe is free. You get to see the small city and port area for the price of a tip.

I have taken three Pacific Coastal cruises and what I found is about half of the people on board are from California because it doesn't cost a plane ticket and they love the ports, get off in every one of them, Santa Barbara, Catalina, Los Angeles, San Francisco.

I think you need to just look to Trip Advisor, Viator and Cruise Critic and you will find too many things to do in port.

Candie

There is no way that San Francisco is boring, it is amazing. The number 1 tourist destination in the United States. Peruse the excursions that the ship offers. Do you have kids traveling with you? A good way to see a city is to do the Hop On Hop Off Tour Bus and San Francisco has one. It takes about 2 hours to do the whole route, but you can get off anywhere, ChinaTown, Union Square, Lombardy Street, etc. so you can see alot and the cost was only around $30 for an all day pass.You dock within walking distance of Pier 39, (Fisherman's Wharf), which is worth seeing. The sea lion colony is really cool.

I have never been to Astoria but have been to Victoria and I just loved walking around the city. There is Royal Canadian Mounted Police Store and Museum in town that is worth seeing. Also when walking around always look up in the trees, there are beautiful bald eagles in them.

Candie

Since reading this post I went and applied for GE. I have the PreCheck but this will be better. My airport, DFW, has a kiosk so that is helpful.  Thanks for all of the good information.

Raye,

If he was flying out of Phoenix, it was sitting in a parking lot at the airport for over 3 hours before several airlines decided to rent trucks and drive it to the closest airport. On the news they talked about many people were cruise passengers going out of San Diego, Los Angeles, etc. and might not see their luggage until halfway through the cruise.

I always take my meds with me in a carry on, clearly labeled, in the original bottles.

Tony, 

We have had many discussions about buying anything, with the exception of liquor, in the Caribbean. You will find it is a shot in the dark. Almost everyone on here recommends buying local with a jeweler you know. Don't buy from the ship.

Children 12 and under can go through with their parents TSA PreCheck. I looked on TSA site and that it what it said. I have never been happier with anything than precheck. I never wait at the airport for more than 5 to 10 minutes and watch people stand for 30 minutes to an hour to get through. I wish I could say I feel bad when I get to go by everybody but maybe for only 10 seconds.

I carry 5 prescriptions with me at all time and have been told by customs that they have to be in the original bottle, dated within the last six months. I tried to carry a pill caddy and customs said it was fine as long as the pills were in the original bottle, DUH, why would I take a caddy if I have to take the bottles.

No Paul you can't leave Texas what will we do without you? I know for a fact if I could I would move to upper Florida. Much easier to cruise and I plan to cruise until I die, better weather than Texas.

I bought a diamond ring from Diamonds International, was given an appraisal by them for the ring, valued at $4000, paid $1900 for it. When I returned home I asked my jeweler what he thought. The grade of the diamond they represented on the appraisal was wrong, it was a lesser quality diamond, the value was about what I paid for it. I called them and requested a refund and I did get it but it took two months before I did. I bought a small pinkie right from Columbian Emeralds and the same thing happened, was given an  appraisal sheet and the value was a lot less than Columbian quoted, but I kept that ring.

I agree that if you have a good jeweler you might want to buy stateside and not from the ports. If she wears Pandora or Alex & Ani jewelry, the beaded charm bracelets, they are the same price stateside as in the islands and every once in a while you can hit a sale and get a charm or bead for 40% off. I have two Pandora bracelets and they aren't cheap, with beads and charms and the bracelet it is valued at over $500.

You are correct, you have 60 days to transfer it. One of the things I don't like is when I transfer it, if I change my mind one, two or three times, it really causes problems for my TA. I understand it is her job, but most of the time, when you book on ship you really don't know if that is the cruise you really want to take. Something bright and shiny and new might come online and then you change. As I said my Bahamas cruise has been changed a total of four times. My TA didn't take that one over because I had an AARP $100 gift certificate that I will never do again. It took me six weeks to get it credited to that booking.

toodle68,

You should get some OBC, which is worth it, if the price of the cruise doesn't increase.

I buy the NextCruise on whatever line I am sailing. As Matt said it is free money, you don't have to lock in, you can change your booking many time, which I did with my RCCL Bahamas cruises, it has been changed 4 times, different dates and price drops. I like that my TA can take it over after I book and the little extra money helps while in the casino.

Candie

I am going on an Alaskan cruise on the Explorer on May 26, 2017. Will you be joining me?

Candie

When I do a mock booking this is what it shows me:

• Cruise$2,380.00
• Taxes & Fees$158.37
• Pre-paid Gratuities$121.50
• Vacation Protection$119.00
• 60% Off Guest 2-$714.00
•  

I have sailed twice on New Year's Eve and Day. But it was a long time ago. On my cruises, New Years eve had a party in one of the lounges, but at midnight the Atrium had a champagne waterfall that the captain stood on a ladder and poured the champagne into the top glasses, then they made him get down. New Year's day was relatively quiet, we had a sea day, and there was special meal in the dining room, that was about it.

I was very disappointed on my Christmas cruise because everyone I knew that had cruised at this time of year said the ships were decorated beautifully and they had special programs for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, nothing, the ship was decorated but not elaborately, just basic decorations. Atrium had champagne on Christmas Eve and then a roasted turkey dinner in the dining rooms.

You might call the cruise line and ask what they do for New Years Eve on the ships.

Candie

First Emerson, did you book through a travel agent, if you did then you need to call them immediately and they will handle everything. If you booked through Royal you need to call them and have them do the math to see if you will save money and get OBC or just OBC. If you do they don't do a new reservation, they just amend the two that you have with the new price/OBC.

Candie

PRC and bobroo,

 

This is why I wanted to start this post, I wanted to see if other people are as upset/angry as I am about the TSA. PRC don't get off your soapbox, you made some great points.

 

bobroo, I want to get on my soapbox now about your #1 point.

 

 

1) TSA wants me to take off my shoes, belt, and empty my pockets but makes little effort providing an area for me to put myself back together. And just not the  token spare benches or extra chairs, but an area for all the folks who go through security should be provided.

 

MY COMPLAINT All of the stuff you take off is just shoved in one or two bins, your wallet, cell phone, handbag, shoes, jewelry, etc., and no one watches what happens to your stuff and you can't because you are going through the body scanner. My last trip to Las Vegas, I won a $5000 jackpot, which I tried to convert to a travelers check or cashiers check but it was Sunday and I couldn't find a bank that was open. I traveled with that money in my purse to the airport. When I got there I asked who I could speak to with TSA about a problem I had. I was directed to an office and sat for about 30 minutes before someone helped me. I was told that the purse has to go through the scanner. I didn't have a problem with that, what I had a problem with was letting that money out of my sight and go in to a scanner and I couldn't see what was happening to it. Finally a supervisor walked with my purse through the scanner and held on to it until I went through the body scanner.

 

Do you realize that money, credit cards, etc., are left for anyone to pick up from the scanning machine. It is the most unsafe practice I have ever seen. I Googled to see if people had stuff stolen from the TSA scanner and there are thousands of people that do every year. Over 400 TSA employees have lost their jobs for stealing passenger's stuff as it goes through the scanner. I think a complete revamping of the TSA is in order.

 

Candie

I reserved my dining for the different MDRs online but I think it was mainly for the ship to have any idea of what time, did I want 5:30 or 6:00 since I chose early dining. You have to reserve specialty because they are quite busy but I walked up one night at around 6:30 without a reservation and they sat me immediately.

I don't believe they do reservations for breakfast or lunch.

DocLC,

Since I am now retired, I only live about 10 minutes away from DFW International. Maybe there is a job opportunity calling to me.

Candie