Skid

We do not have wifi calling on our phones and have successfully used an app called Voxer. You can send/receive messages in writing or in voice (kind of like a walkie-talkie but not in real time live) when connected to any wifi (which you would have by purchasing Voom. The app is free to download and use (although I think you can pay to get a "live" walkie talkie feature). We have android phones and our children have iPhones. It does work across both platforms. We used it on our last cruise on Adventure and had no issues. As others have said, make sure that your phone is in airplane mode and that wifi is turned on and test it out at home.  The website is http://www.voxer.com/

Keep looking at your Cruise Planner. From time to time, they have good deals on either just Voom or together with either the deluxe drink package or soda package. Just as a point of reference, we paid $18/day for the refreshment package and $21/day for the soda/Voom Surf and Stream package for our upcoming cruise. (we do not drink enough to make an alcohol package cost effective-we just pay as we go for those drinks). If you buy any of the packages, excursions, etc. and then see them later on for a lower price, you can cancel and rebook to take advantage of the savings.

A couple of posters on Cruise Critic that just returned from CocoCay said that they are still dredging and that they were told the pier won't be open until at least 3rd quarter of the year. 

Sorry for getting our hopes up. Don't know why the Royal site had incorrect info-gee there's a shocker!?

  The original plan I heard was that the pier at CocoCay would be ready in June.    The site I posted before about excursions(http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/), shows that for some May cruises the ships (i.e. Adventure and Enchantment) will be docked. When I try a mock booking it still shows tendered.      Do you (or anyone else) happen to know if the pier opening has been moved up or if the brochure is wrong? Thanks!

Someone on another board posted this great link and thought I'd share it here. You can search for any particular sailing and see all excursion details and list prices. I posted this on the discussion board also.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/

Someone on another board posted this great link and thought I'd share it here. You can search for any particular sailing and see all shore excursion details and list prices. I'll post this on the shore excursions forum also.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/

I agree that having a separate "vacation" account and then paying with a credit card is the way to go. Plus, the credit card may provide perks like trip insurance, cash back and other benefits. These can be valuable savings.

Someone on Cruise Critic said that Adventure CD Casey Pelter's contract is just 2 months. Can someone on board now possibly find out who will be CD after that? We are sailing in May. Thanks.                                                          

Someone on Cruise Critic said that Adventure CD Casey Pelter's contract is just 2 months. Can someone on board now possibly find out who will be CD after that? We are sailing in May. Thanks.  I will post this on the Adventure thread also.

On 1/17/2018 at 2:47 PM, Joe01 said:

Abe's the best CD I have had. 

1 hour ago, HLWIser said:

Just saw on FB that a gentleman inquired about Adventure’s cruise director via email- and RC let him know that Casey Pelter will be back with Adventure after drydock, coming back from paternity leave, starting Monday the 12th. 

I really hope that is not true. Had Casey last year on Adventure and was not a fan at all. Other than some shows, didn't see him even once all week. We are sailing Adventure again in May and was hoping for a different CD. Oh, well. 

Had Abe when he was on Anthem and absolutely loved him. I don't think he ever sleeps. Between his morning show, visibility all day and hosting at night he was amazing!

7 hours ago, Boston Babe said:

THANK YOU!! and I ordered those tags from Amazon in September! LOL Not too anxious to get cruising again am I! LOL

@Boston Babe -just a quick piece of unsolicited advice: If you are flying to get to your cruise, put the luggage tags in your carry on and then attach them at baggage claim when you arrive. That way they cannot interfere with the airline tags. I do have the same ones--they ARE great and they attach very easily and quickly.

@Boston Babe  - check your cruise planner also. Just got an email re our May cruise on Adventure. Prices are now the lowest I have seen since I bought on Cyber Monday (and then they went back up). Refreshment package dropped from it's regular $26/day to $18 and an excursion we were looking at dropped from $79 to $63. On Jan 10, I called and saved $201 on the cruise ($101 fare and and extra $100 OBC). That was the third drop since we booked last June.

Sooo... everyone--it does pay to check often! Happy cruising!

Royal Caribbean's Travel Protection has a "cancel for any reason" clause included. It is an enhancement provided by them as opposed to by the insurance company writing the policy. It is paid in the form of a 75% cruise credit that must be used within a year. The policy itself is pretty reasonable--$59 each for our May cruise on Adventure. You can see details here:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithGallery.do?pagename=cruise_insurance

The AMEX offer for Carnival and their sister lines expired yesterday (spend $500 and get $100 back). I was hoping that they would start one for Royal Caribbean now but did not see any. Not everyone gets the same offers, so I was wondering if anyone else has heard of a new offer yet. We have final payment due in February so was hoping for something before that. TIA.

On 12/19/2017 at 6:33 PM, Boston Babe said:

I just want to say my prayers for those who were on the bus in Mexico with the Equinox and Serenade passengers. My heart is going out to everyone who may have lost a loved one or injured. Many prayers going out to those families.

To all reading this: A Go Fund Me campaign has been started to help the Fritz family bring bring back the remains of Andy Fritz and his wife Jody. Should you be able to donate here is the link:   https://www.gofundme.com/andy-fritz-family-assistance

It is unimaginable and heartbreaking that, according to the story posted, the parents have now lost 2 sons in 3 years.

May everyone affected by this somehow find some comfort and may those who passed rest in peace.

3 minutes ago, UkuleleCruiser said:

That's funny! I was going to ask if you put a board across the top and made them into a table.

We never travel without a board! hehe. Oh, FYI, we usually end up using all 50 pounds the airlines allow and this luggage still rolls upright VERY easily.

1 minute ago, UkuleleCruiser said:

Thank you very much! They look darned sturdy! Do they fit under the bed? Where do you stash them?

We have never tried putting them under a bed. Usually put 1 in the closet and leave one upright next to a couch, dresser or balcony door, sometimes using it as a shelf?

1 hour ago, UkuleleCruiser said:

The old, thrift store luggage we have been using is not in good shape, so it looks like we are buying luggage for our February cruise. We do not have to fly to the port, so we have that advantage. But I need some advice: Recommendations for luggage? What would be perfect for cruising based on your experience? How about cost: What particular brand or style seems most cost effective?

After our research we went with the Lojel Octa hardside luggage and have been very happy. The 2 most appealing features to us were: There are no zippers and the wheels are replaceable should they ever break. 

No zippers mean no accidental opening and way less chance of bedbugs hitching a ride.

You can see this luggage here http://www.lojel.us but can buy them (as we did) at a MUCH lower price on eBags.com 

They have held up very well so far on both airlines and ships. The only downside is that there are no compartments or lining inside.

16 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

OMG and you're a PEN'S FAN TOO!!  I"m from Pittsburgh originally, GO PENS, GO STEELERS!!

Boston Babe-Pittsburgh, NJ and now Boston. All great places. I have a nephew from Natick and now in Somerville. When he was young I used to take him to Fenway to see the Red Sox. I was never a Yankee fan, but driving to Fenway with NY plates on the car was never fun! Couldn't convince people that I was on their side!

16 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

 

4 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said:

Ugh...I cannot imagine starting back early August.  Would rather the way we have it here and go to end of June and start back right after Labour Day in September.

That is one of my highlights...Rubbing it into all my students who are Red Wings, Blackhawks, and Leafs fans who the real champs are (Let's Go Pens!).  We project it on the big screen in June in my classroom! Lol!

OK Sabrina-I've enjoyed your posts before, but now I love them. Although being raised in NY and NJ, my daughter is a diehard Pens fan. She has made the almost 6 hour drive to Pittsburgh several times so she can see them at home. She's not a fan of the Rangers, Islanders or Devils, but does go there when the Pens are visiting and proudly wears her Pens jersey. Of course, I worry every time she does that, but that's what Dads do!

And--she is a teacher who is under contract to June 30th each year. School usually lets out mid month, but sometimes they need to add on for snow days and other unexpected closures.

6 hours ago, Boston Babe said:

Hi All, which hotels have you used prior to departing from Cape Liberty? We are only 4 hours away but want to make sure we make the ship so we will stay overnight.  It looked like Embassey Suites looks good and do hotels offer parking packages? Is it cheaper or if you know the cost at Cape Liberty let me know. thanks so much!

Try buyreservations.com They book hotels that include a night's stay, parking and round trip shuttle to the pier or airport. Prices are very reasonable for what is provided ($150-$180ish). We have used them several times (although not for NJ) with no problems.

We are booked on Adventure for May 2018 and I check the website often for possible price decreases. I've seen lower pricing but only for a guarantee cabin and we definitely want to keep the specific cabin we have. Although other websites show available cabins, Royal is showing ONLY guarantee cabin prices for this category/sailing. I called RCCL to ask if they would give us that price, but let us keep the cabin we have. Of course they said no, BUT the rep reworked our pricing and saved us $55. Not a whole lot of money, but we'll gladly take it!

This also reinforces many of the "sale" threads. I booked last June. It was 60% off second passenger and $150 instant cash off. Today is only 50% off second passenger and $126 instant savings, yet the whole package comes out to $55 less because the base cruise price is less.

Point is that you may want to call and just let them run the numbers. The whole thing took only 15 minutes from the time I dialed.

There are 3 pages about this on a Cruise Critic thread here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2468525&highlight=mattress+topper

It appears that some ships have them and some do not. Seems like they are being faded out. You can try emailing them at special_needs@rccl.com. Tell them your reservation number, ship and sail date.

Or you can submit a special needs request form  on line here: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do

They usually reply within a couple of days.

29 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

So St. Kitts was not impacted at all by Irma? I'd have thought, given how relatively close those islands are to each other vs the size of Irma, that St. Kitts would have been as wrecked as St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

St Kitts/Nevis, although not unaffected, is providing an amazing amount of help to their neighboring islands. Here is an article from their newspaper:

http://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/local-news/hurricane-affected-st-kitts-nevis-assists-neighbouring-islands/

Rayza, they do things like this all the time. When I booked my cruise last June for May 18, the internet package I wanted was listed at the regular price. Since then it's been going back and forth on the cruise planner with sale banners. Problem is that it's not a sale. They put a big banner saying 20% off on board prices (which may be true) but they try to make it appear like it's a sale price when, in fact, it's been the same price since day one whether or not they force a 20% off banner in front of your eyes.