UkuleleCruiser

We are cruising Liberty starting this Sunday! Our plan for this trip is to bring two bottles of wine that are screw top. If we use them at dinner, we'll pay the corkage fee to unscrew them. Good thing: I'd hate to risk a wrist sprain from turning the twist cap! Anyway, if we drink them anywhere else on the ship, we'll just open them ourselves. We'll risk ruining our cruise with a sprained risk, in that case.

On 1/24/2018 at 11:37 AM, Cez said:

lol !

If you going to Bambo Beach Club you should rather bring water shoes - shooting at the rocks on the beach provides very little relief to your feet

Wondered about that. We were mostly going to sit in the uncomfortable beach chairs and complain to each other about the service. For that, my sandals would do. But if we venture into the sea, I will need to score some water shoes...

32 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

If it's an excursion you booked directly with Royal and not a third-party, I'd imagine that Royal is keeping an eye on the situation just like they do bad weather or other things that pose potential risk to the passengers. They already demonstrated a willingness to cancel excursions and even entire port stops with their decision to stop going to Turkey while the civil unrest is still going on. So if the situation around Montego Bay spreads to include (or even get whatever they consider "too close" to) Bamboo Beach Club, they'll most likely scrub it and send you an email with a refund notice.

That's good to know. Yes, we did book through RC. We've had that happen before on cruises just because weather prevented a particular stop. Always found a use for the credit! I will let it go, and let RC decide. 

On 1/21/2018 at 9:08 PM, Flossy said:

Just got off Liberty of the Seas and was given a $200 off next cruise certificate. I asked my TA to call number on certificate and inquire about casino rates and use of certificate for new cruise on 10/28. He stated that when he called they said that casino rates are no longer given, but they did increase my certificate to $300.

That sounds good.

OK, Here's the skivvy on how you can sort of build your own drink package without going completely broke:

I checked the wine celler on board the Liberty, and found the following available on the low end:

Cabernet -- $42

Reisling -- $38

Sparkling Wine (Cheap Champagne) -- $35

So, if you bought a mix over the course of the cruise for all seven nights, I came up with: $230 (note: we are booked into chefs table, so alcohol included that night. your mileage may vary)

If you bring on two bottles of cabernet, there will be $30 in corkage fees, but you would take $84 off the budget. New total: $176

If you brought two bottles of wine on, and bought just sparkling wine each night: $170

This is considerably cheaper then an all inclusive drink package. It also assumes you are a fairly light drinker: Maybe just a couple drinks at dinner. We would still be buying drinks at other day parts if we wanted too.

Plus, we can either buy this ahead of time if we choose, or buy a bottle each night at dinner...

I believe the answer is "no" but we are scheduled for an excursion to the bamboo Beach Club. With the travel advisory centered on Montego Bay (I believe), we should be OK. But your thoughts?

On 1/21/2018 at 7:02 AM, cwtom009 said:

I'm just wondering, due to travel advisory to Jamaica, will they divert the ships to a different port? We have a stop in Falmouth and not sure what other port could handle an Oasis class ship if they did divert? 

My wife is worried about the same thing. I believe the area we are in is safe. I think we OK. Our excursion will be to the Bamboo Beach Club. That's a drive, but it's Falmouth, not Montego Bay. I believe the violence is around Montego Bay. On the other hand, should I pack weaponry?

How about any secret on the Liberty?

I cruised on Navigator, and loved it. One of the theaters....ice rink? Not sure.... Anyway, one of the theatres has some very cool quotes on the walls.

We only used a travel agent once. That was for our first cruise on the venerable Carnival Conquest. Well, my first cruise. My wife has cruised before. I don't recall a pro/con situation back then: I just have always signed up online after that. So, I am not worried about the time or finding my way through the website: That's fine. I am just wondering if there are perks, discounts, or upgrades I might be missing out on by booking direct. Thoughts?

Are we safe? More specifically, are we safe on excursions? Has Royal Caribbean commented on this?

I've made final payment. But I'm hopeful I'll get a drink coupon....or.....something....

16 minutes ago, Gears said:

No corkage fee if it's bought on the ship.

I'm gonna take another look tonight. Maybe I'll build my own drink package! 

26 minutes ago, ellcee said:

Hmmm...that's not an awful idea. I would do it if it included some part of fun....a boat ride with punch both ways would be enough for me. I get why people wouldn't want to though.

I'd do it for a sandwich. Seriously, how about a t-shirt? I'm in! Someone call RC Brass!

This was why we decided not to take advantage of the specials for our upcoming cruise: The wife ONLY wants to eat at Chops. So, we pay more. We don't have to move the reservation. Why make embarkation any more stressful then it is? (It's not always stressful. But if my responsibility is only to get on board and make our way to Olive or Twist for Sailaway and alcohol, the stress level is way low!)

1 hour ago, ellcee said:

Probably not but they need the tourism $$ to build back up. St Thomas is one of my favorite islands and I'm going back this summer. They just need a little time.

Yeah. I told someone they should have "help rebuild" excursions, but my friend said no one would sign up.

2 hours ago, mguag said:

Completed my first RC cruise on Jan.14, 2017. Not sure if I am a steadfast "cruiser" yet.

Things I liked:

Staff in general outstanding, especially dining and room attendants

Food at dining excellent

Room size adequate

Shows very good

Entertainment excellent. Especially enjoyed piano player at Schooners, and Jazz guitar player.

Things I disliked:

Overwhelming feeling of too many people. Elevators often crowded, pools and hot tubs too crowded, pool area bars and restaurants too crowded. I remedied this by avoiding these areas and finding a couple of venues less popular. Used the stairs mainly to avoid elevator crowds.

My pet peeve is no way to communicate with group I was with on board ship (unless in room), unless each person purchased expensive wifi pkg. Because these ships carry thousands of people, the way to create intimate settings is to travel with a group. To enhance this experience, RC should provide texting ability free of charge to enhance the "exclusive" experience they market. Otherwise, nothing about it feels exclusive.

Did not like the constant market hustling in common areas, pushing raffle tickets and merchandise sales. In full disclosure, I did not take this cruise to shop or spend more money than I already did to buy the cruise and drink package.

Ports were overall a disappointment. San Juan was nice, could have used more time to see more of it. St Thomas not ready for cruisers. Despite the hurricane, seemed run down and not very inviting. In full disclosure, did not take any excursions.

Overall, I found ways to enjoy this cruise with my friends, but I spent a lot of money for this cruise to avoid things I did not like.

Thank you for your comments. What ship was this? (You probably have already answered this later on!)

I wore a watch that tracked my distance and mapped it. I wore it once doing time on the track: Of course it tracked the ship movement, too! Completely innacurate for distance purposes, but the ship movement made an interesting and odd route in the middle of the ocean!

We went to the "Naughty Room" once on an unrelated matter, and they had a huge stack of them that they'd pulled from luggage.

I think I'm excluded, since we sail on 2/4/18. But I'm gonna call anyway.... Maybe I'll get a free cookie or something...

On 1/17/2018 at 8:57 AM, JamesGurner said:

I’m sailing on Indy three times this year..... every drink pacakage is a different price for all 3 cruises?

The one for May is £55 per day? If I buy it onboard it’s $65 dollars which works out around £47. I may aswell wait and book onboard.

Confusing prices!

I understand the more you drink, the less confusing it is! :-)

On 1/16/2018 at 8:59 PM, Gears said:

RCL used to have that kind of wine package. I found it worked well, but as soon as the drink packages came out they disappeared. However, some of the dining packages allow you to buy bottles of wine at a discount (40% off bottles under $100 and 20% off bottles over $100) when in the specialty restaurants. I don''t believe there is a restriction on how many bottles you can buy and take them(?) with you.

There bottle prices aren't that bad. I suppose you can always "do it yourself" for a wine flight.... I imagine the corking fee is included if we buy it from RC?

Perhaps this is just me, but I don't drink near enough to make this package work. I find the drinks to be fairly inexpensive, especially compared to drinking in a restaurant. Between my wife and I, according to my math, I can't get anywhere near enough alcohol in my system to make this economical. Carnival used to have a wine flight package that we loved: You could by 5 or more bottles of wine at a "discounted" price at the beginning of the cruise, and thy would bring them out for you at dinner or in bars throughout the cruise. Then, if you had wine left over (presumably unopened: We drank all of ours) you would just take it off the ship. I haven't seen it, but a smaller "drinks with dinner" type package would appeal to people like me, too. Something like $20-$24 a day, and it covers 2 or 3 drinks with dinner.... 

33 minutes ago, twangster said:

3!

3! That's awesome!

I know this has been done before, but let's count 'em off: I am at 17 days until embarkation!

4 minutes ago, Sweety said:

I tried.

no worries, Mon. We are laid-back in the Caribbean!