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packercruising got a reaction from Chaosgirl426 in How Much Annual Leave Do You Get?
365 days a year! Next year I get a bonus and get 366 days. ? I must be really good at being retired.
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packercruising got a reaction from AshleyDillo in How Much Annual Leave Do You Get?
365 days a year! Next year I get a bonus and get 366 days. ? I must be really good at being retired.
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packercruising got a reaction from Ne47 in Staying on ship in 2 ports - good idea?
We like being on the ship when it is more quiet. Nothing wrong with doing that if you choose to. We have been to most of the ports, so for you it might be fun to at least check the port out.
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packercruising reacted to Skid in Expedited Checkin and Sea Pass
You use your set sail pass that you used to board the ship. That acts as your seapass card until you get the actual card. You can get drinks, make purchases, etc.
Happy sailing!
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packercruising got a reaction from spiralqueen in Bucket List Cruise?
Indeed, the view is spectacular!
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packercruising got a reaction from Cruzinfun in Bucket List Cruise?
There are locks on both ends of the canal. If you do a round trip, you miss one of them.
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packercruising got a reaction from Cruzinfun in Bucket List Cruise?
If you get a chance to do that, try for the full canal cruise, not one where you go 1/2 in and then turn around and go back.
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packercruising reacted to Cruzinfun in Bucket List Cruise?
I would love to do the Panama canal cruise one day.
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packercruising got a reaction from ChessE4 in Disembarkation
If you carry off your own bags, they usually want you to disembark early.
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packercruising got a reaction from mom2mybugs in Cruise Director list
There have been a few that we have talked to during the cruise and told they were doing a good job.
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packercruising reacted to JLMoran in Bucket List Cruise?
Fair warning, the sailing from Bayonne is almost sold out at this point, and the prices on what's left are bananas. There is a mirror-image sailing from Dublin to Boston that hits all the same ports along the way, and I think that one hasn't been selling quite as well, so could still be an option. (and one that's more reasonably priced)
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packercruising got a reaction from Hoski in Advise how to take a good cruise compass scans and the future of the paper copies
Some people use a hand held scanner and get good results. I use the flat bed scanner at home. It is not necessary to include every page, every day. Some are basically a repeat of other days, so I will scan once for a Sea day and once for a Port day.
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packercruising got a reaction from JohnK6404 in Bucket List Cruise?
We are on our second bucket list. ? We have done the Caribbean (almost yearly), Panama Canal, Alaska (3 times), Australia/New Zealand, Baltics, and Norwegian Fjords. In October, we are doing Canada/New England. If we can find the right itinerary, we want to do Iceland.
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packercruising got a reaction from tiny260 in Miami Departure
Thanks, I will check that out! We are staying at Crowne Plaza by the airport, in February. We have stayed there before and our TA got us a really good deal.
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packercruising got a reaction from Traveler in Advise how to take a good cruise compass scans and the future of the paper copies
Some people use a hand held scanner and get good results. I use the flat bed scanner at home. It is not necessary to include every page, every day. Some are basically a repeat of other days, so I will scan once for a Sea day and once for a Port day.
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packercruising got a reaction from FManke in Bucket List Cruise?
We are on our second bucket list. ? We have done the Caribbean (almost yearly), Panama Canal, Alaska (3 times), Australia/New Zealand, Baltics, and Norwegian Fjords. In October, we are doing Canada/New England. If we can find the right itinerary, we want to do Iceland.
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packercruising reacted to tiny260 in Miami Departure
Matt has many Miami Hotel reviews if you go to the main blog page, Holiday Inn Airport, Intercontinental, DoubleTree, Holiday Inn Port of Miami.
I personally stayed at the Marriott and was pleased with it.
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packercruising got a reaction from ChessE4 in 1st time cruisers, general questions...
We always prepay gratuities, which it looks like you did too. Beyond that is at your discretion. The last couple cruises, we haven't had good MDR service (neither were RCI), but usually they get tipped extra. We get My Time Dining, so when we like wait staff we like, we stay with them. Also, we gravitate to the bars that have the bartenders we like the best and they get tipped extra toward the end of the cruise. Same with the cabin attendant. Seems everyone has a different opinion. What this will very possibly do, is get you addicted to cruising. The only known cure is to book another cruise. BTW, we are doing this cruise in reverse, in October, starting in Quebec City. Our first RCI cruise was on Adventure Of The Seas.
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packercruising reacted to ChessE4 in Does RCI have an option to book air through them?
We have booked air through them, and prices were comparable to domestic airlines. In fact, we could choose who we preferred, or we could ask for "lowest price". Since we did that in 2015, RCI has started charging an airline booking fee. I suggest verifying what they are doing now. I believe it is called Air2Sea. Others will no doubt chime in on their recent experiences.
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packercruising reacted to Bigken in Does RCI have an option to book air through them?
Yes it’scalled air to sea you can find it in there website or call them
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packercruising reacted to Vlgg in 1st time cruisers, general questions...
1. Regretfully formal nights are getting more and more informal. It is supposed to be a night the whole family dresses up and a lot of families have formal pictures taken that evening. There are has been some discussion that cruisers are seeing even shorts on formal night.
2. You take your luggage to a porter before you enter the terminal. It is really an easy process. It is recommended that you keep a bag with your jewelry, meds and electronics and maybe your bathing suit and change of clothes to carry on to the ship. Don't forget to NOT pack your passport/birth certificates on your luggage you leave with the porter. It will be delivered to your stateroom. Most evenings by 5pm. We usually only carry off one bag and get the rest from the pick up point off the ship. I just read a post that someone had their luggage stolen and was only paid $300 from Royal for their loss so it's up to you whether you carry it off.
3. Tips are included in your beverage package but I know that some cruisers tip above that to those who really provide excellent service.
4. They charge your account daily for the tips, if you didn't pre-pay them. I like to pre-pay ours so our credit card bill isn't quite as high after the cruise has ended. In fact, I try to pay as much as possible before we get on the ship. All our shore excursions are paid for, drink packages, tips on the ship and I also pay for our parking before we even get there. We are scheduled for December and our parking has been paid for a couple of months.
5. There is always something going on somewhere on the ship so she really doesn't have to spend anytime in the room except changing clothes and sleeping. I love to play trivia and play a lot of it on the ship. I love to read so I usually take a book and find a quiet place on the deck someplace and read for a while each day ( and usually fall asleep ?)
6. Dressing for specials nights is optional. It does make it more fun for you but the decision is yours.
7. There are multiple pools on most ships. The ones with the solarium have a pool and hot tubs for cruisers over 16. There will be other pools, not kiddie pools, that your children can use.
8. There are hangers in your room and if you need more ask the steward for more. There is a retractable clothesline for across the shower. I usually pack a few clothes pins to hang our wet clothes. The magnets come in handy to hand your lanyard with your card, your hat, your sweater, etc. Also, a lot of people take post it notes to leave notes for the kids to let them know where you are or they can leave a note for you.
9. I believe that 3 days is too close to sailing date to make any purchases thru the cruise planner. You could try calling RCI and see if you can sign up for Royal Up on the phone.
Hope you find this helpful. Enjoy your cruise. You are there to have fun and relax.
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packercruising reacted to mcoler18 in Rocking ship, smuggling soda, misc. topics...
We are on Adventure in October so am loving all the pics.
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packercruising got a reaction from CDunninTX in Power strips
We have a short extension cord with 3 outlets and 3 USB ports. Never had a problem with it in our carry on. Ships are starting to put in USB ports in the cabins now. The trick is to find them. ?