carnival03

Credit card, if you are putting one on your account. (I don't; I use a cash account)

Got it! We'll be sailing RC for the first time, are guest accounts set up during online check-in? Can you have two accounts per stateroom (for the kids)? If you do a cash account, you can either put cash on at guest services or charge a certain amount and then pay via CC or cash, correct?

What documents do you have to have available for the check-in agent? Just set sail pass and passport?

I've seen it on several ships.

Ahh, good. Thanks!

You mentioned that this is your first time on one of the larger ships. We sailed on Anthem in 2016, after sailing on Explorer the year before. DH complained about the crowds on Explorer, so I never told him how big Anthem was until we got to the port. He loved it. He felt it was very efficiently designed. We could always get some seating around the pool. Sometimes it took a little longer to get four seats, but we almost always did. On Serenade in February, we had trouble getting a lounger, no matter what deck we tried.

 

When you do your on-line check-in, you'll be given an opportunity to choose your boarding time. Pick the earliest you can get and then get there earlier. I think we got to the port around 10:30 and were sitting at the pool looking at the looonnnggg line of cars waiting to get the ship. It's NJ=it's crowded. If you do get there early, chec-in is very quick and efficient so I don't think "priority" boarding is much of an inducement.

 

It is my personal opinion that a nine-day cruise is two days better than a 7-day cruise. I love this itinerary. You just have 1.5 days on the ship before your first port, then a sea day to relax, then three port days and then two days to unwind before you get home. It's mixed up enough that we never get bored.

 

Hope you enjoy your first RC voyage.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We were thinking the same thing with the way the itinerary is set up, we're hopeful we won't get bored. We live in Maryland so the port is a good 3.5-4 hour drive for us. I think we're planning on leaving around 5:45 AM, so hopefully we'll be there early enough.

I'm glad you loved the Anthem, and sounds like we will too! Thanks again for sharing. :cool:

Can anyone tell me if RC offers Angry Orchard on their ships? I've seen two menus, both from the Schooner Bar, one with it listed and one without.

I'm unable to access Cruise Planner, is anyone else having this issue? Was just able to access it yesterday.

The table was just the four of us, although once we got a table for four in one of the traditional dining rooms that was stuffed into a space that should not have a table at all. It was right where the waiters brought out the food carts and my husband had his chair bumped through the whole meal. I really hope some poor family was not assigned that table as their regular table!

That sounds awful! Thanks for the info!

We had My Time dining on Anthem. There are three lines for those with reservations and one line for those without. The actual time of your reservation seems to be irrelevant, although we were generally close to our reserved time. Getting a table is crazy to watch - there are a bunch of people with headsets/phones trying to figure out the tables. It was amazingly disorganized. Depending on when you show up, you may be seated in one of the traditional dining rooms or in one of the my time dining rooms. Once we were seated, it was fine, although we seemed to get better service in the actual my time dining rooms.

If you were seated in a traditional dining room, were you still given a table big enough, or small enough, for just your party? In other words, did you have to sit with others?

We had 4 in our party and had my time dining. We did not make reservations and arrived for dinner between 5:30 and 6:15 and never had to wait. Dinner with dessert took an average of 1 1/2 hours.

 

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Thanks for the info!

Both close around 10 pm....

Thanks! :cool:

What are the typical hours for the pools and fitness centers? I know Carnival closes both early in the evening. I've been looking at the cruise compass, but it looks like the hours aren't listed.

RC typically serves lobster once per cruise, on those cruises based out of the US that are 5-days or longer. On 7-day cruises, this usually happens on the second formal night.

Thank you!

Question: Does RC serve lobster on formal nights?

Also, it's a good idea to let your waiter know about any time contraints. They will do their best.

That's what I've heard. I'm allowing 1 hour and 45 mins. for dinner, so I'm hoping we'll be okay. Thanks!

Dinner in the MDR is usually around 1-1/2 hours. This is for a table of perhaps 6-10 people who are enjoying a full dinner, e.g appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, dessert, coffee. The staff will serve each course and try to keep it so that everyone gets their entrée at the same time even if you are not having one of the courses.

 

It's meant to be a leisurely dinner with ample time for conversation.

 

If you want something quicker you can go to the buffet (Windjammer). You can also still eat in the MDR, but it's better to request a 2-person table and let the waiters know you want a speedy meal.

 

You will have requested traditional dining or My Time Dining when making your cruise booking. Traditional dining means the two standard dining times; early or late with the same table each evening. My Time you can just show up, or make a specific time reservation each evening.

Thanks for the insight. We'll be doing My Time and have three in our party. I'm trying to gather everyone's experience with service time, this way I can better plan for evening entertainment.

MDR dinner consistently takes 90-120 minutes on any ship. It's for people who enjoy lingering over dinner on vacation. If you need to be out in an hour or less, visit the Windjammer.

With the new menus and a party of two in My Time, 60 minutes has been the norm for us.

Thanks for the insight. It will help me plan for evening entertainment.

We’re on the Oasis now and decided for the balance of this cruise and all future RCI cruises to forgo the MDR. Even the Windjammer has more options, quicker (self) service and more flexibility in general.

 

We’ll probably do a combination of specialty and Windjammer. But, the MDR is out for the time being.

 

It’s a shame that such mediocre or just plain bad meals are served in such nice dining rooms.

There's also talk of slow service, how long does service in the MDR usually take? Whole dinner service? (We're first time RCI cruisers.)

Depends on where and what you are doing We were out late and didn’t get out until 1pm On the pool deck and solarium lounges were all taken If you go up to the sun deck there are plenty If you are a suite guest (us) you have your own sun deck We ate at coastal kitchen for dinner food was excellent

 

 

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Deck 15, the Sun Deck, is open to all passengers, correct? Where is the suite only deck located?

Does the ship seem crowded? Is it easy to snag a sun lounger on the open decks on a sea day? Would also like to know what you think of the food, and other general thoughts about the cruise. Hope you have a blast. Safe travels!

The minibus costs $7 per person each way. It is a shared ride. You could also take a taxi. The minibuses are privately operated are seperate from the public bus system.

 

A list of some of the shops is in the link below. Those are in the Clocktower Mall. There are other shops as well. One of my favorites is the Bermuda Craft Market. There is also a Glassworks which sells nice glass pieces.

 

https://www.gotobermuda.com/article/bermuda-shopping-spree-the-clocktower-mall

Thanks for the info! :cool:

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. We just booked the Anthem for next May. Although I'm no help with activity recommendations, I would love to hear your thoughts when you return. Safe travels.

Is that one day a Saturday? I suggest not doing both Hamilton and Horseshoe Bay on a one day port call. Either one or the other. I would do Horseshoe in the morning, taking a minibus there and back and leave an hour or so for shopping at the Dockyard at the end before your ship departs.

 

 

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It is a Saturday, and from what I've researched, transportation can be limited on weekends. I understand where you're coming from and will probably do a plan similar to what you mentioned. What kind of shops are at the Dockyard? Also, is the minibus system separate from the Bermuda bus system? What is the typical cost?

Hi!

We'll be in Bermuda next May for one day, 8:00 to 4:00 to be exact. I was wondering if it's feasible to try to visit both Horseshoe Bay in the morning and Hamilton in the afternoon, or vice versa. Probably would only need an hour in Hamilton (shopping), and about 4.5 hours of beach time.

If this plan is feasible, what is the most economical and logical way about getting to both places. We've never been to Bermuda before and excited to experience all we can!

You choose the arrival time from those that are still available, which is not enforced.

2. MTD is mainly dependent on you, since your table will usually just be your party. We had some done in less than 45 minutes, however lobster night took more like 75 minutes.

 

3. 30 minutes should be fine, unless you want prime seating, as some get there really early for some shows. At 15 minutes prior, they will normally let in people that did not have reservations, so seating will get much more limited at that time.

Thanks to both of you. My main concern was not being able to make our show reservations due to dinner taking too long.

A few Anthem questions... *These questions can be answered no matter what ship, but I'll be on Anthem.

1. When completing online check-in, is the "arrival appointment" time assigned or selected by the cruiser? Are the times enforced?

2. How long does dinner in the MDR usually take? We're doing YTD...

3. How early should you arrive to reserved shows/entertainment? Would a half an hour satisfy? As you can see, questions 2 and 3 are related.

In my experience, and taking into account complimentary vs. fee offerings as well as availability times, I'd give Royal about a 3.

Much depends on the ships being compared: an Oasis-class will have more food variety than, say, an unmodernized Fantasy-class, but a Vista-class will have more complimentary offerings than Empress, Majesty or Royal's other smaller ships.

 

Caveat: my recent Royal experiences have been on a full-ship charter, and it's possible they reduced their food offerings and quality for that particular audience...whereas my Carnival experiences have been on Conquest-class ships with the FunShip 2.0 upgrades, and the Vista.

Good to know. Just booked our first RC cruise last night, and I know we'll miss the burgers and Blue Iguana tacos on Carnival, but we're going to try to go in with an open mind on RC...