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Lovetocruise2002

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Posts posted by Lovetocruise2002

  4. Behind the scenes tour- Is it worth the $

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    1 minute ago, twangster said:

    Same with the US site.  IT strikes again.

    The Google translation is interesting: 

    Six (6) Children under the age of age are not allowed to attend, and children aged 6 to 18 years of age require at least one guard É

    I just used "Parent translation" about 20min ago.  Texted a pic to my dad, and asked him to read and translate for me. :12_slight_smile:

    @twangster since you've been on this tour before, I was just wondering how large each group is?  I remember on the Allure my husband and I went on a complimentary galley tour and the group was so large it was hard to see anything.

  8. When dietary restrictions get complicated...

    in Royal Caribbean Dining

    Posted

    6 hours ago, guittech said:

    Received a response pretty quickly, asking what specifically she "could" eat.   I understand, the need for clarity, but it's a lot easier to list what she can't!!!   The dairy thing isn't a big issue, as she doesn't drink it.  But finding alternative things like Pasta Sauce that don't have cream or cheese was looking problematic on menus.  My missus does also have some other food allergies, not life threatening, but very unpleasant for her.  I was friend;y and polite in my request and they were friendly and polite back!  YAY for RCCL!

     

    We will be spending some time with the MDR Head waiter on arrival day, we are hoping to be onboard earlier in the boarding process so it isn't crazy busy getting their time.  Have to settle that, book our specialty restaurants, hope that the specialty restaurants can work around my wife's issues, and plan it all out with our family!  PHEW!  ONE WEEK AWAY THOUGH! 

     

    @guittech...Do you think you would be able to post a review of your experience after you get back?  I am really curious to see how RC handles your wife's dietary needs.  I don't have any experience dealing with RC and allergies but we are going on a family Disney cruise in one month and my sister and my nephew both have severe allergies.  My sister has a nut allergy and my nephew has a wheat and dairy allergy.  Both carry Epi-pens.  Needless to say, she is extremely nervous about this, not really for herself but for her son.  Disney has been great so far.  We booked this cruise almost a year and a half ago and right after booking they contact her and provided her with a detailed form to fill out.  Then, they also had their special needs dept. contact my sister to assure her and answer questions about their medical facilities on board.  She has been asked to head the the MDR right away after embarkation to discuss all their dietary needs and she has also been asked to dine in the MDR only for all meals because as @DocLC posted, they can cook and modify as needed for my nephew.

    Anyway, I'm curious because my sister and I are both RC fans at heart and I know she would love to take her kids on RC one day.  So it would be so much appreciated if you could post your experience with them when you are done.  Thanks!  And good luck!

  9. Behind the scenes tour- Is it worth the $

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    16 hours ago, Floski said:

    Still can't find it.  Maybe my Oasis trip doesn't have it?

    They make it so freaking hard sometimes.

    I've looked everywhere for weeks now and my cruise planner doesn't have it.  We are 133 days out.  I've always ignored these things in the past but this time we are bringing the kiddies and after a few cruises it's probably a good opportunity for them to see how it works behind the scenes.  Hopefully they will appreciate more all the behind the scenes work it takes for them to have a good vacation.  And if I can get it for $99 like @twangster then that would be a great deal.  It's been around $120 on my last couple cruises.

  10. Options - Thinking about a Celebrity Cruise

    in Celebrity & SilverSea

    Posted

    33 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

    I thought about booking a Celebrity cruise..and I finally did last nite! I couldn't say no to the resident rate it was offering me...so its a quick 3 day Bahamas cruise on the Equinox, but I figured that's a good way for a quick comparison and see if I would like to cruise more on Celebrity or stick with Royal!

     

    Wondering what the biggest differences I should expect after 9 cruises with Royal? Love to hear some thoughts and feedback. One of my concerns is that it would be a quiet laid back cruise on Celebrity tends to cater to an older crowd that Royal or am I wrong? Perhaps being a 3 day cruise to Nassau will make it a little more lively?

    @monctonguy Canadian Resident rate?? What's the date range?  Now you have me interested....going to look now....

  12. First time on Royal Carribean - Questions

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    47 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

    Important note -- If you do bring your smartphones onboard, make sure they're put in Airplane Mode as soon as you board, then just turn wifi back on to connect to VOOM if you're using that. Without airplane mode enabled, your phones will fall back on cellular data if they lose their VOOM connection, and then you'll be paying a ton for data roaming.

    I'll second that.  A few years back, I cannot remember which cruise it was but I forgot to switch my phone to airplane mode.  We had purchased Surf and Stream and I was using my phone a lot.  Well, the cell phone bill at the end definitely showed that. 

  16. Anthem Lingering Questions

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Boston Babe said:

    It's becoming an illness.  It's like (and forgive me I forgot who had cruiseplanneritis) it's becoming a disease. LOL  furthermore, where am I getting all this money!! BLAH!!:4_joy:

     

    1 minute ago, Boston Babe said:

    It's becoming an illness.  It's like (and forgive me I forgot who had cruiseplanneritis) it's becoming a disease. LOL  furthermore, where am I getting all this money!! BLAH!!:4_joy:

    This is a direct quote from my husband on a weekly basis..."Sabrina, why are you constantly on on these cruise sites? I don't know where you think the money is coming from?!"

    My response..."I'm the Home Genie! I need time off once in a while too and when you fund our cruises that is you showing appreciation to your Home Genie" ?

  17. Options - Thinking about a Celebrity Cruise

    in Celebrity & SilverSea

    Posted

    52 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

    Thanks, Kris.  This is in line with what I have heard from others who have been on MSC as well.  I've heard lots of people complain that unless you're in a Yacht Club room, you're really treated like steerage.

    This kind of thing will not go over very well with North American cruisers.  If they hope to compete with the big boys they're going to have to make some changes to at least provide a minimal amount of acceptable amenities to everyone.

    Their prices do seem very appealing, but I'm beginning to see why....

    @WAAAYTOOO I feel the same way. We actually booked the Seaside twice. Once for March with a large group and once in July for just my husband and I. But in march I could not get the Yacht Club only an Aurea suite. In the end, I backed out and cancelled the march sailing and just kept the July one that we have in the Yacht Club.

  20. Options - Thinking about a Celebrity Cruise

    in Celebrity & SilverSea

    Posted

    24 minutes ago, DocLC said:

    Send to me that Fantastica is the experience most want to begin with. However, if they don't care when they done, don't want room service included, or drink vouchers, they may be fine with Bella. Also, the experience is different in the Caribbean, especially in the MDR where water, coffee, and trees are served unlike with the European sailings. 

    They need water, coffee, and tea.  I better look to see if that is included in their sailings out of Miami.

  21. Thoughts from my Allure B2B Honeymoon

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, KLAconQueso said:

     

    The cruise port itself at Costa Maya is massive - think like Falmouth and Cozumel cruise terminals put together. Lots of shopping, lots of bars, and even a huge free pool with a swim up bar that you can use! 

    Directly outside of the port, there's really nothing. You have to either take the shuttle or a cab to get to the beachfront or downtown areas. My huge issues is how pushy EVERYONE was outside the port (or, even inside the port if they realize you want to shop). On the shuttle, at the first drop there was a worker from a nearby beach bar that started yelling 'OKAY THIS WAY TO THE FREE BEACH!', and I think people had assumed that that was someone who worked for the cruise terminal to take them to the free beach. We were trying to go to Krazy Lobster, and they told us to go to the second stop. However, since everyone thought that that was *THE* free beach at the first stop, we were two of four people left on the shuttle. Since there were so few of us, we got yelled at (or catcalled) a lot from the shuttle, and I personally don't do well with that kind of thing and that's where I start to feel uncomfortable regardless of the situation. We got off at the second stop (and a bystander yelled at us to make sure we tipped the driver) and there was another person trying to take us to 'their' free beach. We tried asking where Krazy Lobster was, and they were like 'eh, that way' in a general direction. At that point, I realized we weren't going to get a good answer from anyone, and given that I was already uncomfortable I wasn't about to go wander around. I immediately requested a taxi, and back to port we went... where we proceeded to unsuccessfully wait 20 minutes for a margarita before giving up.

    SO - if you're going to go out in to town, either 1) take a taxi directly to where you want to be (Krazy Lobster, Maya Chan, etc) or 2) be aware that a lot of people are kind of pushy and will try and hassle you to go to their beach club. 

    Wow.  I would have been super uncomfortable in that situation too.  Seeing that we are not adventurous people that might be a "walk around the port and back relax by the pool" day for us.  Thanks for the heads up.

  22. Options - Thinking about a Celebrity Cruise

    in Celebrity & SilverSea

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, DocLC said:

    I'm still trying to figure that out. They're an Italian cruise line that mostly caters to European guests, especially from Spain and Italy. They also attached families because of the kids sail free and budget conscious cruisers with the Bella experience cabins, which don't include room service, choice of dining, etc. They also don't serve complimentary beverages, not even water, in the MDR unless you're on a beverage package, which are complicated, it you signed up for the free bottled water service offered to North American cruisers. Some of this doesn't seem to apply to ships sailing from Miami, but it does everywhere else. Those that seem to complain most are those that booked the Bella (no frills) experience. Unlike Royal, what you get is based on the experience you book and there are five of those, some of which are only available in the highest category cabins. 

    Yikes...I better look into this more for the Seaside for my parents.  They are booked to sail this March but with the Bella experience....

  23. Thoughts from my Allure B2B Honeymoon

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, KLAconQueso said:

    We're back! The wedding was amazing, and we had an absolutely incredible honeymoon. We both really enjoyed the Allure, and agreed that the two weeks were much needed. We didn't feel rushed to do everything on the ship, and the crew was absolutely amazing. If you're going to be boarding soon, visit Antony and Rex in the Schooner as well as Li and Marlon in the Pub! 

    A few stray thoughts I had - 

    • I was really, really impressed with the Oasis class. With most other ships that I've sailed on, they always seemed smaller in person after seeing them on YouTube. That was not the case with this ship. However, as others have mentioned, I really missed being able to see the ocean. It's easy to forget you're on a cruise ship. 
    • All of that said, unless I was cruising with family (particularly family that includes younger family members) or with a very large group, I don't know that I'd book the Oasis class again for just one week. 
    • If you are planning a honeymoon and want to sail on the Oasis class, I very highly recommend either considering sailing a B2B or sailing in a suite. 
    • Our first morning on board, we booked a spa appointment for a couples massage. 10/10 highly recommend - book early morning (8 AM appointment) to save a little bit of $$! It was the best possible way to start the cruise after a stressful day of (same day!) travel following our wedding! 
    • We dined at every specialty restaurant except for Chops (we've done it before) and Samba Grill (not big meat eaters)... and I guess Chef's Table, too, if you count that - I don't think we ever had a bad meal on board, even in the MDR and Windjammer. Our favorite specialty was Izumi (both the hibachi and sushi experiences) as well as Giovanni's Table. They still have a filet on the menu, which my husband (!!) greatly enjoyed. 150 Central Park was also a really wonderful experience and worth doing at least once. We had fun trying all the salts, and the Cucumber Martini really is as good as people have described. 
    • Don't forget the champagne bar! They have a lot of really fun and tasty martinis that are worth a try if you have the drink package! 
    • Food and drink fatigue is so, so real. 
    • Sabor guacamole also really is as good as people have mentioned, but we struggled to eat there for dinner - it's SO MUCH FOOD! We went more than once on Sea Days just to sit at the bar and have guac and margaritas, and that was our lunch! 
    • Not ship related, but port related - If you're going to do anything in Costa Maya that isn't a ship/third party excursion and you want to leave the port, just plan on taking a taxi door to door if you know specifically where  you're going. We had a pretty negative experience on the shuttle. Taxis are $2/pp whereas the shuttle is $3/pp. Walk out of the port area, and immediately there is a taxi stand. Taxis are readily available to bring you back to port as well.

    I'm sure I'll think of more, but this is off the top of my head. If you have any questions, let me know! :D

    Hey @KLAconQueso....Awesome that you had a great honeymoon!  Can you provide more details on that last point about Costa Maya?  Our cruise on Dec 2 has been re-routed there but I have never been there before.  We were not thinking of doing any excursions but we were planning just to get off the ship and maybe walk around.  Are there shops etc. in the port area?  What is that general area like? And is it safe?

  25. Anthem Lingering Questions

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    25 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

    OMG, I"m going to lose it!! Now I have to check that out too! I am going mad thinking about this! You'd think I have nothing else to do other than thinking about a cruise!! You are too funny!! 

    My life revolves around planning the next cruise....it's my happy place :16_relieved:

    24 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

    @JLMoran thank you for that heads up!!  I'm going nuts deciding what to do. Watch, I'll end up not doing anything!! LOL I guess we should all have these problems huh! :)

    You must listen to the inner cruise snob....?

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