Jump to content

Stay awhile program


Recommended Posts

Hi we are cruising this weekend on Oasis from Barcelona. We are staying a few days afterwards in Barcelona and are considering booking the stay awhile program for the last day as our hotel check in isn’t until 3pm. 

My question is has anyone done it and what do they do with your luggage? Is it free to store it while you “Stay awhile” and collect them when you decide to leave? 

Any thoughts on whether it is good value? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a charge for the stay awhile option and while it could be a convenient option for someone flying out later the same day I would say it might be a waste of money for you. You have to vacate your cabin at around 8 am so after that you only have the public areas of the ship at your disposal.

I would suggest checking with your hotel if they will store your luggage for until check-in time. If so, it could be a better option for you to just get off the ship at the normal time and head straight to the hotel. Hotels don't usually charge for this service and once you have left your bags with them you can get out and about to explore Barcelona. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, suna said:

Can anyone tell me more about the stay awhile program, I didn't know it exist. How much and is it offer on every ship?

It's sold as an excursion so if it's going to be available it will show up in the cruise planner.

Description here, applicable to Barcelona: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=BRC7&DestinationCode=

Availability depends not only on the ship but also where the ship is sailing. For example, as I understand it, US law prevents it from being offered in US ports.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, suna said:

Can anyone tell me more about the stay awhile program, I didn't know it exist. How much and is it offer on every ship?

It seems to show up in Europe...never seen it on a Caribbean cruise.  You can stay on the ship rather than head to the airport and kill time.  You are only allowed in the public areas open.  We decided against it and did an excursion to Montserrat the last day because our deluxe bev pkg turns into refreshment, we would still have to pay for airport transfer and mostly IT WOULD BE HUGELY DEPRESSING to stay on a ship knowing you have to get off and all the happy people would be boarding!!!  Jane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, FionaMG said:

There is a charge for the stay awhile option and while it could be a convenient option for someone flying out later the same day I would say it might be a waste of money for you. You have to vacate your cabin at around 8 am so after that you only have the public areas of the ship at your disposal.

I would suggest checking with your hotel if they will store your luggage for until check-in time. If so, it could be a better option for you to just get off the ship at the normal time and head straight to the hotel. Hotels don't usually charge for this service and once you have left your bags with them you can get out and about to explore Barcelona. 

 

This would be my advice also, I did it in Barcelona in 2016, got off the ship, went to the hotel (Hilton) they stored our luggage while we went sight seeing and then returned later and checked in to the hotel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/29/2019 at 9:24 PM, David Bennett said:

Hi we are cruising this weekend on Oasis from Barcelona. We are staying a few days afterwards in Barcelona and are considering booking the stay awhile program for the last day as our hotel check in isn’t until 3pm. 

My question is has anyone done it and what do they do with your luggage? Is it free to store it while you “Stay awhile” and collect them when you decide to leave? 

Any thoughts on whether it is good value? 

Definitely check with your hotel as many will let you drop bags off before you check in.

 

Another good option is bag drop services such as Nanny Bag. Essentially you pay hotels a small fee and they keep your bag for you while you explore/travel. I did this last time I was in Paris and it was only 15euros for two bags for a day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

How long can you actually stay?

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was until 4 pm or thereabouts, but I can't be sure and it may possibly depend on the time the ship is due to depart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the replies. We took the plunge and booked it. Hate the fact of leaving the ship really early with no hotel room available. We will have breakfast and lunch, sunbathe for a while and then leave the ship for our hotel where our room will be ready. Our view is it’s worth it to spend an extra 7 hours on one of our favourite ships! ?. That’s only £5 ($7 dollars per hour)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, David Bennett said:

Thanks for all the replies. We took the plunge and booked it. Hate the fact of leaving the ship really early with no hotel room available. We will have breakfast and lunch, sunbathe for a while and then leave the ship for our hotel where our room will be ready. Our view is it’s worth it to spend an extra 7 hours on one of our favourite ships! ?. That’s only £5 ($7 dollars per hour)

One thing for sure is that if you're going to stay awhile the Oasis class ships are the ones to do it on! ☺️

Perhaps afterwards you could come back and post your impressions? I'm sure it would be helpful for others thinking about it too.

Have a great cruise. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

One thing for sure is that if you're going to stay awhile the Oasis class ships are the ones to do it on! ☺️

Perhaps afterwards you could come back and post your impressions? I'm sure it would be helpful for others thinking about it too.

Have a great cruise. 

Yes I will definitely do that. Super excited as we sail this Sunday. ?Thank you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...