Hotel CA

Actually they can and should provide you with the reference number so you can link it to "my cruises" on Royal website but you will not be able to book dining reservations etc until after final payment I believe-- we have 2 reservations booked -- Nov 2016 and March 2017 but cannot reserve MTD times nor others except drink package and paid for items (on my CC) until after final payment in August (for the first cruise).

I received my Royal reservation number as soon as the deposit was processed from my TA -- they can get it for you.

yes you can purchase a cake in advance-- or you can also make arrangements on board which will be easier if you want the cake delivered to your dining table (as opposed to your cabin which is the default if you order online)

Seattle is a terrific albeit slightly chilly city-- you can ferry over to Bainbridge island and ride bikes or scooters there--restaurant scene in Seattle is vibrant--everything from terrific cajun/New Orleans style to the best and freshest seafood anywhere is available and the nightlife/club scene is good.

What could be better than friends from Aussie land and Spain meeting up for a long weekend in Seattle and 4 day cruise?

I see a pizza war starting. :eek::D

Pizza war is over before it started-- absolutely no contest hands down Princess wins--sort of like the New England Patriots playing football against U Mass-- Not pretty, not fair and over after the first play

we loved Truluck's great seafood and wonderful stone crab (not to be missed) appetizer

Or send it to hotel if you are staying at a hotel the nigh before

 

 

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This is definitely the best idea with "Hold for Guest <Name> " written in big black letters on the outside. Hotels get documentation and shipments for business travelers all the time so will be normal for them and UPS/FedX deliver to hotels all the time so no worries there.

Best idea yet-- send to hotel for pick up the night before the cruise.

Hopes were dashed when I saw the uniforms.;)

Bob-- Barbara Eden would (in her prime) have perked up even those Uni's

The Labadee souvenir market is obnoxious. Honestly I'd probably go up there and buy stuff just to inject money into the economy if the shopkeepers didn't pester people so incessantly.

 

If you must get a souvenir there, it's best to confine your shopping to the building down below, and stay away from the open-air market.

 

Actually your son learned a good lesson in a relatively safe place (one heads up to the ship would have ended the incident since RCCL controls who gets access there). You'll find similar money-grabbing trickery in the New Orleans French Quarter, but there's much less protection around you when you refuse to give the guy who squirts Windex on your shoe any money.

 

Always good to learn the "politely and firmly say no" lesson as early as possible.

Well said -- Agree

following too

taxi is easy. Uber is not free and may not be able to accommodate 5 with luggage

Absolutely NOT true-- UberX can easily accommodate 5 with luggage

Welcome to cruise critic Ethan and good for you doing this research!

We prefer the Freedom class ships as they are large enough to have the amenities (Flowrider, ice skating rink, Promenade, etc.) but not so large as to be cruising with 6,000 friends (windjammer area a little less crowded etc). But others will say they rather prefer the Oasis class ships because of all the additional venues.

Bottom line is that you would enjoy both classes of Ships I expect so I would encourage you to continue with your 'investigations' and pay particular attention to the Oasis & Allure (Oasis class) and Freedom, Independence and Liberty (Freedom class) blogs at the top of the cc message board for RCCL

Good luck

another vote for Orient Beach

Clarea in stretchy pants??? Scary image, me thinks.

Its all the same--cigarettes or cruises-- take the Marlboro man-- he was Mobile, Virile and agile in the ads but in reality he was slowly withering away from his various cancers and treatments.

If they showed the reality no one would want to do it- sort of like the Expert on Youtube--have a look

this is the story of my business (Tech consulting)

• CSI: Windjammer
  
• Undercover cruiser
  
• The 10-56 Club (might need to change this, apparently it's sometimes used for suicide attempt and not intoxicated person.)
  
• Bacon in the sun (if they have a sense of humor about the term.)
  
• Hot Fuzz
  
• Caribbean Five-O
  

Bacon in the Sun???? ROTFLMAO

gotta admit it I am pretty fond of FOCUP

Since there are so many creative people on this site I thought I'd get some suggestions from you. We are looking for a group name for our group. We are sailing on FOS next February, Western Caribbean. Going to Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. There are 8 couples all ranging in age from 45-55. The men (and 1 woman) are Police Officers but would rather not draw attention to that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

sorry-- NOT draw attention to Police--

how about FOSPO (Fraternal Organization of Sailing Police Officers) or

FOCUP (Fraternal Organization of Cruising Uniformed Police) pronounced

Pho Cup

Officers of the Seas ? Constables of the Seas ? Peace Officers of the Seas??

Cops-in-Flip-FLops ?

INDY all the way-

-prefer everything about it over Brilliance--and as Clarea said-- Flowrider.................................

I am planning to skip this because there are better hibachi places around my house.

Izumi is not an "Hibachi" house-- more resembles real Jappanese food than the Americanized (actual Hawaii invented) Hibachi concept first put forth at Bennihana

what are 'Gap' points?

its really a shame they do not have a more aggressive schedule on getting their ships up to snuff with Voom. The older technology is barely (if at all) tolerable and with the advances in technology it seems a little silly not to outfit all ships aggressively with the newest technology-- especially if you intend to charge for the service.

I am sailing on the Indy TA on 1st May. Stops are San Juan, St Maartin and Bahamas. I am also going to be spending 5 weeks in the US before we board. I will be in Las Vegas then travelling through the southern states ending up in Florida. Whilst on this trip I want to buy myself a new IPad and a watch. ( something like Fossil). Could you please advise on the best place to make my purchases. If in the US, any particular store?

Thank you in advance.

In either Vegas or Fort Lauderdale/Miami (probably Vegas) I would investigate 3 options--

1. Apple store will have all you want but be the most expensive but real goods and they help get everything set up

2. Best buy store -- go online and check for sales (bestbuy.com)--right now they are discounting apple $200

3. Go online with Apple and look for a refurbished (by the Apple factory) iPad and watch-- I know they have iPad not sure about watches-- they can ship what you want to the Apple store in Vegas or Florida and you can pick it up and get everything setup when you get there

Hope this helps-- good luck

Nice review-- Thank you Karen

Don't even bother ... even the service in their own Internet Café area stunk ... took us a ridiculous amount of time just to check in for our flight home ...

 

Don't waste your money .. and RC should be embarrassed for even charging people for this crap service.

Think in terms of 10/15 year ago dial up speeds-- My wife says the internet speeds on the non Vroom ships is just like teaching a Pig To sing--

It is tough to do and irritates the Pig!