Lovetocruise2002

2 hours ago, monctonguy said:

I cant wait for this to happen to me someday!

You need kids first. 

4 hours ago, SuZQ329 said:

Thanks for sharing this with me. I see the line of cars in one photo...

Yes.  That was @CGTLH trying to show what happens if you arrive later at the port.  Both times we have arrived at Cape Liberty between 10-10:30 am and it was very easy to check in.

2 hours ago, SuZQ329 said:

 

Do we get a special zone and guest check in at the port?

 I am a good traveler and do travel for work a few times a year but are getting anxious about embarkation day at Cape Liberty. 

Any tips? Things that we should know or do as part of the Sky Class on the ship?

If you go through the first few pages of this blog, I took some pictures of the the suites boarding area at Cape Liberty.  IMO, Cape Liberty has a very fast and efficient boarding process.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/13683-cruising-with-greatness-–-anthem-group-cruise-–-july-4-13-2019/

As far as Sky class perks, @twangster summed it up pretty well. The major ones are access to the concierge lounge and the perks in it, all day access to Coastal Kitchen and suites sun deck, no reservations needed for shows. 

9 minutes ago, 12thman said:

What about the specialty restaurants @Lovetocruise2002? Do they close during port days?

Most of them do not open. You might have the odd one that opens...Izumi, Jamie’s, Chops, Playmakers. Or some may not open until 2pm on a port day. 

I would advise checking out a cruise compass for whatever ship you are going on. That will give you an idea for what is open on port days.

1 minute ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

How did you do a mock booking if you already had the room reserved and there’s only 1 cabin in that category ?

I track all the suite prices for my sailings.  I did a mock booking using a suite that is currently available.  I go with the theory that if most of the suites dropped in price, then mine likely followed suit even though I cannot view it.  This has not failed me yet...

Just now, Nikkoo said:

They told me we were SOL when there was a £1500 price drop just before final payment. We booked direct. I got $150 OBC. With the 3 rooms we had booked it was not a big difference if you considered the 3 deposits lost. I’m still a bit salty though! I was 45 mins on the phone to get that too. Maybe it’s different in Europe?

Definitely different outside of North America.  To my knowledge, you can only re-price inside of North America.

2 minutes ago, Bean79 said:

Very nice!! I guess it pays to be a Stubborn Canadian that Lovestocruise.

Haha...I prefer to call it "persistent" lol

This topic has been discussed a bit here of late and I thought I would share my experience today.  As many of you know, I track pricing on my bookings.  Many have asked lately what happens when a cabin is "sold out" and if it would still be eligible for a re-price?  I have had very good luck with this situation in the past.  You can see how I go about doing it here. 

Yesterday I noticed that the current August promo includes KSF up until December 2020.  We have the Villa booked on Harmony with 5 kids on that reservation under the age of 12.  That cabin is obviously "sold out" as there is only one of those on the ship and we have it.  I did a mock booking yesterday morning and checked it against my records and there appeared to be a price drop on the suites overall with the KSF promo.  Later in the day, I emailed my TA and heard back this morning.  Saved an extra $1315 with KSF even with a "sold out" cabin. 

The reason why I am sharing this is not to say that this will always be the case, but it does pay off to check and ask.

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

On Sunday I took Lyft from Port of Miami to FLL.  I also took it from FLL to my hotel in Miami at 3am two weeks before.  Doing it again this Friday.

No problem finding drivers.

It does help to be specific in Lyft or Uber.  Don't just say "Port of Miami" but specify "Terminal A Port of Miami".  A lot of ride share drivers in South Florida don't speak English.  Having the exact destination in the app saves a frustrating conversation unless you speak Spanish well.

In the past year, we have taken Lyft out of FLL many times and have had no issues getting a driver.  Longest wait was about 9 minutes.

However, our last Lyft driver who took us to Terminal A, I had specified "Terminal A Port of Miami" when I requested a Lyft and even then it was quite the challenge to explain to him where we needed to go.  Like @twangster said, English was a challenge so there was a lot of pointing lol.

1 hour ago, Cruise Newbie said:

Hello - 

Ship: Navigator of the Seas 

Me and my wife is going on our first cruise together for her birthday. Due to scheduling restrictions from our jobs and the babysitter's schedule we have no choice but to fly in on the day of Departure.

We are flying direct from DTW (6:40am) into FLL (9:40am)  and taking ground Transportation (Uber or Lyft) to the Miami port Terminal A.

Any tips on making the travel as smooth as possible? I know we are taking a risk but we want to make sure we are prepared as much as possible.

 

Thanks in Advance.

Hey there...Welcome to the message boards.  Many here have already brought up really good points.  

We fly out of DTW for all our vacations.  The last few months, it has been quite busy there.  We always fly out of McNamara Terminal with Delta and baggage check and security lines have been quite long.  I would advise you to get there with plenty of time to spare.  It took us about 45 min to get our bags checked and go through security two weeks ago.   

Also, where are you coming from to DTW?  There is a some construction this summer on I-94 near the airport and that is also causing some congestion.  I am not sure if that will be over by September.  Once you get to FLL, getting Uber of Lyft should not be problem at all.  And @tonyfsu21 can tell you what traffic might be like at the time of the day.  I imagine that around 10am it should be pretty smooth because most of the morning rush should be clear by then.

Last but not least, are you going to DTW from Canada.  Cause that is always our situation.  We also leave lots of time to cross the border because on our very first cruise, when we were newbies, we flew in the day of the cruise on a 7am flight out of DTW.  We left the house at 3 am thinking we had plenty of time.  Well, traffic jam on the Ambassador bridge cause us to barely get onto our plane on time.  Always plan for the unexpected.  Especially when flying in the day of.

2 hours ago, 12thman said:

Lunch is from 12 to 1:30? That's not very convenient. 

That's what it always is.  Their lunch menu is the least appealing of the menus so you're not missing much.  And there are so many other options for lunch.

5 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

I know the suite lounge has limited beer and wine all day at no cost and cocktails at happy hour.  Do they have other beverages for purchase during non-happy hours?  

By "other beverages" are you referring to soda and other alcoholic beverages?  If so then yes, you can purchase those as long as the bar is open (11am-11pm).

If you mean juice, then I am pretty sure I have never seen that there.

10 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

Hi.  I am working on packing and will be bringing several skirts.  Are there skirt hangers in the rooms on Harmony?  We are in a GS if that makes a difference.

Many thanks.

The ones they have look like this.  And there is plenty of them.

19 hours ago, PRebecca said:

How would I find other "scopers" relating to RC to follow there?

You might also want to check out the list under "the Periscope Peeps" section here that @CruisingKat(Kathy) posts every month of those who will be planning to scope.  She has all their handles listed and you can find people to follow that way if you are interested in their ship or itinerary.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/forum/10-periscope-peeps/

There is also a RCPeriscopers FB page that you might want to join as many of those who scope are on there.  The monthly list is also posted there.

Also, keep in mind that not all the people who frequent the message boards are on Periscope.  And some are on Periscope but just watch and don't scope.  

It's a complex community but a great one.  Took me a while to figure it all out too.

8 minutes ago, PRebecca said:

@KathyC super helpful, thank you!! Great info to get me started! Is this what people mean when you refer to "live blogs"? If I am following on Periscope then I'll catch it? That's my last questions so thanks again!!

Live blogs are different from Periscope.

A scope is a live video chat basically where someone scopes and you can interact with them and they can answer you back.  Similar concept to FB live or Instagram live video.  You can also watch this back on replay but you will lose the live interaction.

A live blog is basically someone who is documenting their cruise "live time" while they are on the cruise with entries throughout the day or once a day etc.

CK opens the same hours regardless of port days or not.  The hours are usually 7-10am (+/- 30min), 12-1:30pm, and 5:30-9pm.

Suite lounge is open 24 hrs but there is nothing there when it is not attended. 

Suite concierge hours are generally from 8am-12pm (+/- 30min) and 4:30pm-8pm (+/- 30min). 

The bar in the suite lounge is open from 11am-11pm, continental breakfast usually from 7am-10am, appetizers from 4:30pm-8pm. 

I believe the specialty coffee machine is able to be used 24hrs though.

I hate the Royal app for that very reason.  On Symphony last week, it never did refresh itself.  I tried logging out/back in and I even deleted the app and re-installed it.  Nothing.  Very unreliable.  We just used it to show our set sail pass on the first day and to check our folio during the cruise.

12 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Thanks!  This is just a 4 night Navigator cruise but maybe it will be on the 'Dress Your Best' night?  

Not sure if you are on FB but there is a Royal Caribbean Dining FB page (@Matt and a few others run it).  People always post pics of the birthday cake there from various ships.  Maybe post a question there and see if anyone knows when Navigator offers it on the 4 night sailing.

9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Good.  More for me.  

I don't think they are adding Hooked on Oasis are they?  I would try it if I had UDP or Star.  I just didn't want to waste my one night complimentary dining on it.

5 minutes ago, devbak150 said:

I was looking at Cortrans and they have excellent reviews.  This will be the first time on RCC and first with alternate transportation.  We have rented a car for our DCL the last 3 times, but this time we are leaving on Labor Day so none of the car rentals are open.  Does anyone know what time I should choose for Cortrans, it is either 9:30 or 10:30.  Don't want to arrive too late, but don't want to stand in line outside of port if hot and not open yet either.  Thanks!

I would choose 9:30 am.  The ride there is approx 45min and most terminals open by 10 am if not earlier.  That should get you there with plenty of time for boarding.

Please come back and do a review of Cortran's if you end up going with them.  I would love to hear about it.  I'm thinking of using them for our cruise out of PC in December 2020.   I will have a group of 14 with me.

7 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

This is why we always walk our own bags off now (except for Luggage Valet, too).  Since we sailed out of Galveston last summer and lost our big bag we have been carrying off our own luggage even if we wait and disembark after the self assist folks are done.

It's actually your experience that I think of every time we take our own bags.  And we don't leave super early either.  Depending on our flight, we usually leave the ship between 8-9am.

If you don't pack excessively and can manage, I would keep all your luggage and self-carry it off.  That is what we always do.  We stick to the rule that each person can only pack as much as they can physically carry.  We don't leave our luggage out the night before (unless it's for luggage valet) and we take it all off with us.  We find this faster as we now don't have to stop to search for our luggage and less chance of it getting lost or taken by someone else.

34 minutes ago, Matt said:

No excuses, you must join us!

And I could say the same to you on another sailing...Allure 03/14/21 

34 minutes ago, Matt said:

No excuses, you must join us!

9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Yeah.  What he said !

I will hold that booking until I no longer can....

Most ships follow the fleet wide MDR menu these days.