docd

Thanks again for all the suggestions. They are very helpful. I am definitely looking at flying in a day or more before the cruise, as well as after. I have no problems flying on Dec25th if it saves me some money I read its actually the least expensive day to fly during the holidays.

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Wow, you guys are awesome. Really appreciate the tips. Hadn't considered many of those options!

I am not necessarily in a rush to book, but I have read conflicting info as to the preferred time to book flights to the Caribbean from 120 to 320 days out. So knowing an acceptable target. price is really all I need. Whi h I think I now have. Missing out on saving $50 is less important to me than getting a reasonsble flight schedule. Of course working my options to save some $$ never hurts!

I do have the Kayak app and will check it out some more. Been using some other price trackers as well.

Will definitely look into booking separate flights as well as Montreal connection.

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If you're not tied to a specific airline, I would suggest trying Delta, directly on their website. Cheap flights out of Toronto and a lot cheaper on their website than the same flights on Expedia etc. (even if you're looking at Fort Lauderdale as an option).

Thanks for the tip. I normally do that for most airlines but never considered Delta for some reason. Thanks!

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Consider checking prices out of Buffalo. It might be worth the drive.

Yes, on my list of places to check along with Detroit. We flew out of Buffalo last trip. Easy drive, reasonable parking and nice airport. Would totally fly fom there again.

I think part of my price problem is because the cruise disembarks on Dec 23rd.

It sounds like $500 to 600 CDN is a typical return fare. Thats more or less what I needed to know.

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I ended up cancelling my Adventure cruise for March 2018 based on months of found mock bookings for March 2017. Too bad as I had one of the JS's that were originally priced less than a balcony. The direct flights that were available were crazy expensive and the connecting flights were 12 hour journeys.

 

I had originally booked hoping to be able to use aeroplan miles to get flights for the 4 of us. It could be done flying out of Buffalo on a partner airline but it was a 21 hour journey arriving at 3am the day we sail....no thanks.

Yes this is part of my problem. The flights are expensive right now, but the cruise is far off. So, I simply dont know what to expect. I'd like to assume flight fares will drop 30%+ but I just have no clue Ultimately we may switch to different cruise out of FL if airfare stays high.

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Thanks for the feedback. The ONLY way I would fly in the same day, especially with a connecting flight, is through Choiceair with RCCL.

I'd prefer to fly in the day before but the current prices are quite a bit higher for that flight. That could change though.

Thanks!

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I normally fly in the day before embarkation. Might not be feasible for our AoS cruise from San Juan. It embarks at 8pm I believe.

Any experience flying in the same day from Toronto? Anyone fly with a connecting arrival flight? I am considering Choiceair for this flight but not sure of the price difference compared to booking direct. Doesnt seem like there is one atm. For those that used Choiceair, if there is a

price drop can you do anything to get the new price?

Anyone suggest some ballpark prices for a December flight from Pearson to San Juan? Just want to know what is a terrible or reasonable price. Right now flights are about $600USD direct and $400USD connecting. I would guess $400USD direct would be a pretty good price.

Purchasing the flights is always the worst part of travel for me.

Thanks for your help.

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Will be doing your week 1 itinerary in December. Looking forward to your review! All new ports for us.

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Talk about tough love! Dang! Vicious crowd in here.

On one end we have the upgrade fairy, but on the other end we have the fire imp. You just got imped is all.

I feel the OP's pain though. I'd be upset and probably would call RCI, but ultimately, it's not something unexpected and sinister. Just work your way to acceptance.

Perhaps next time pick an interior or oceanview and be OK if you get stuck with it, or hope for a reasonably priced upgrade.

Ate the free guac and chips. Was great. Was similar to what we had at that popular Mexican restaurant at the ports. I'd try eating there but I am one of those that just enjoys the dining room. Why spend extra $$ ? If anything I might eat there for lunch.

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Which defeats the purpose. It is what it is. Now I know.

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well, at least that confirms the price tracking/alert service i am using is useless.

Now I am going to start checking 10x a day lol.

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I noticed on a price tracking site that I use, cruise fares took a nice price drop on Feb 1st. However it appeared to be short lived. Anyone see that and manage to secure a better price? or did it even happen?

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Yes, on my past two cruises. Did I save money? Maybe, but probably not. Was convenient though and I doubt I lost money. I am hoping for drink cards on my next cruise as it's port heavy.

My first cruise on the Freedom I asked to have what the crew was eating. He brought me a curry dish. It was really good. After that, they just started bringing it to me each night....even after I already ordered off the menu. Lol. I got fat that trip. I seem to recall it wasn't always the same curry, but the ones I had were definitely not vegetarian.

I like Vintages, but I also enjoy wine. Unfortunately, my first experience was bad as they would not accept my drink package there. Our last cruise we ate lunch at Vintages and thought it was amazing. You have to like that type of dining though. Getting more customers would not be difficult if they really wanted to do so.

Regardless, you can say the same thing about a lot of the bars and clubs. They are often empty. For me, this is probably one of the issues with RCI in general. They really want you to entertain yourself. That's fine and all, but I'd prefer some more activities. I want to have difficulty choosing what to do at a given time, not deciding if I want to go at all..if there was even a choice.

Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport

or

Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale 17th Street

Both very close and inexpensive. Walking distance to Walgreens and restaurants.

Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel is another option, but more expensive.

Thought I'd check out some TA's again for my upcoming cruise. They couldn't do anything for me with respect to price or added benefits. So, not going to bother. It's so easy to book things nowadays anyway, especially a cruise. I wish I could get some OBC or something, but nadda. They basically just make the same phone calls as I do.

Is it just better in the USA for TA's or something?

Who knows, but I have two booked that don't exist on the previous deck plans. One interior and one studio. When I originally tried to book a studio I got three different results. By the fourth phone call in a week there were four suddenly available and I booked one.

Great tour videos! Very comprehensive and a must watch for anyone wanting to sail on an Oasis class ship. Probably best to mute it and watch in 2x speed though (sorry!). It also really reminded me of why I dislike the Oasis class ships so much, :D.

RCL is a good choice but any larger family ship would work. More people = more kids. Teenagers like to hang out together. As a group they'll have fun even doing nothing as a group. My observation is that this is far more important than the ship particulars. When you sail will also matter somewhat. Summer is perfect.

Of course that all depends on the child. My own teensge daughter would rather play shuffleboard with us than participate in the teen clubs.

So big ship, Freedom/Quantum/Oasis or similar from another line, in the summer. Any one will work.

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The math will work out exactly the same as the past sale. Unless you get a discount on the first passenger some other way that wasn't able to be combined with the 30% off in the current sale. Am I wrong?

The ships are actually designed fairly well from that stand point - crowd dispersal. There will definitely be times when it's more crowded on the Oasis ships. For example, embarkation day the Buffet and Cafes are packed - it's busy on all ships though I am sure, but it was very noticeable when I was on the Allure. The cafes can be really bad considering they are relatively small. Be prepared to wait for that beef sandwich on Oasis and not be able to sit down [it wasn't really that bad though]. I've only sailed the Freedom and Oasis class ships and definitely noticed the Allure was generally more busy. However, it wasn't horribly busy everywhere all the time, but definite line ups at certain times and places, which I didn't experience on the Freedom nearly as much.

Keep in mind, my experience is one cruise on each ship in November and December.

My preference is for the Freedom class and will probably avoid sailing on the Oasis class ships in the future for the most part, partially due to the larger number of passengers. I'd still sail on one though given the right price/itinerary of course! Will be sailing a Voyager class in December.

I agree. I'll never forget what happened on our cruise two years ago. At one of the musicals, West Side Story maybe?, someone was punched in the face (fake of course). The whole cruise just went down south after that. Fist fights in the hallways. Wrestling on the pool deck. I even saw two ladies that had to be in their 80's pulling each others hair out over what looked like the last croissant! I think someone even got kicked in the groin. Total insanity.

Sound ridiculous? Yes, it certainly does.

My daughter also has a life threatening peanut allergy. We've been on two RCI cruises. I never felt that contacting Special Needs accomplished anything. They basically just tell you to ask at every location. It would be nice if they had more control or information about the products they serve, but I assume their sources are just not standardized enough.

Our experience varied a lot in terms of how confident I felt in the answers provided by serving staff. When we asked about peanuts at places like Sorrento's or Cafe Promenade we got a) blank stares b) over-confident "No Peanuts" or c) they went to get someone in charge, who usually wasn't too happy about being bothered - but they gave us the answer. I've asked to see ingredients on things too, such as the soft serve "ice cream" and cones. Do what you feel is necessary.

Overall, the main dining room is your best bet for eating [it's usually far superior anyway IMO]. Tell the Maître D' first and foremost [am I mixing up head waiter and Maître D' ?? - whoever the person is in charge of the section where you are sitting is who I am referring to]. They are the ones that usually took care of us. They went out of there way running around to make sure things were safe for our daughter. Our first cruise they were more actively involved than the second, but they were still good. Of course you must inform your head waiter and other servers . I really think it's best that you get the same servers and sit in the same section for dinner every night as well. One major thing about the MDR is that my daughter ordered her dinner for the next day every evening. Then the chef checks it over and OK's it or makes appropriate substitutions [or the head waiter comes back the next evening and tells you that you have to pick something else]. It's then prepared in the safest way they can and bring it out as a special order.

Of course what YOU do makes a difference too. Our lives revolve around avoidance, so for us it's no different on the ships. So we typically avoid getting anything from the Cafes with all the desserts for her, so no pastries or cookies etc. from there. No buffet either. We basically eat at the MDR for breakfast and dinner. Lunch on sea days was usually pizza or a burger for her. Lunch on port days, we bring whatever food we can muster from the ship [some from home] and hope she lasts until we're back for dinner. Typically she's fine. It sucks, but it's the safest choice.

We will be on the Adventure of the Seas this year and I am currently a bit concerned about getting my daughter food from Cafe Promenade (i.e, the pizza since there is no Sorrento's) because I know they serve peanut desserts. So I will probably avoid it altogether unless I am confident that cross contamination is unlikely - but I doubt it.

My biggest concern is always the desserts, even in the MDR. The wait staff/head waiter always indicate what might NOT be safe to eat and usually make something special or suggest what they consider to be safe. I am paranoid about it, especially things like ice cream, but so far we've had no problems. Unfortunately it's never been like Disney where the chef comes out and talks to you and makes the meal in a isolated part of the kitchen. I wish it were.