ksmcdonald

To the OP, what ship are you talking about? Oasis, Allure and soon Harmony have dedicated Comedy Clubs with nightly shows. Any passenger can make reservations for their Comedy Club shows and you should because on Oasis and Allure the clubs are small so fill up fast. On Harmony the club will take over what is now the BLaze lounge on Oasis and Allure. The capacity may be greater then.

 

As for other ships. I don't know. On Independence od the Seas last September there was no Comedy Club per se , but a comedian was the Headliner act one night only in the main theater.

We will be on the Independence of the Seas next month. Good to know that they still have a comedy show, even though I can't reserve a spot. The comedy show is our favorite entertainment on the ship!

Thanks Bob! I'm assuming, if comedy shows are available on my ship, (Independence of the Seas) it will show up in "Cruise Planner"? I don't seem to see any shows in my planner.

Can anyone make reservations online for the comedy shows on board? Or is that only for Suite people? If I can't make them online, can I make them day 1 when I board the ship? We always seem to miss out on the comedy shows because we don't plan ahead of time.

I remember back in the late 1970's my uncle, who lived in Miami, was a salesman to the cruise lines (phones and electronics etc.) We would go visit him and just for something to do, we would go down to the docks and actually board the cruise boats to look around before they would sail. No ticket needed to get on the boat! They just blew a warning whistle to get off the boat before it set sail. I remember we were even served little sandwiches on the pool deck!

We then sometimes got discounted cruise through my uncle. First cruise was the Sunward II. I remember the slot machines were in the hallway, and they only had a few! I was only 16 years old and played the 10 cent machine and won $100!

No Lido buffet back then, if you didn't get up for breakfast at your assigned time, you missed breakfast! They served a half of pineapple every morning with breakfast. The sweetest most ripe pineapple I've every had! Loved the lobster newburg they served at dinner! It was actually prepared then filled into an empty lobster tail shell. Very fancy!

Also, remember being invited "below decks" to party with the deck hands! They had a special bar that was nowhere near as nice as above deck, but much more fun! Also, it was a bonus that my parents could not monitor us, they looked everywhere on the boat but couldn't locate us!

Miss those days!

My sister and I are wracking our brains trying to remember my first cruise celebrating her MBA graduation on Royal.

 

We left at the end of May, 1990 out of San Juan. The itinerary was going through the Panama Canal with stops in Costa Rica, Cartagena , and Aruba, (almost missed the ship at this stop, first and only time. Boy did I learn a lesson.

 

But, we cant remember the exact name of the Ship? We had a wonderful time, I especially remember the great staff, officers, and emeralds! As well as a lot of Champagne.

 

cj

How about Song of America? I sailed that boat in 1982. It is no longer in service.

Sorry if I seem to be confusing taxes and VAT.... I am more interested in gratuity since it doesn't say anything about VAT so I'm assuming that will probably not be added onboard for anything pre-bought because I bought it from the states.

 

Regarding gratuity, I got to the final page where I enter my payment info and then "confirm order" and it is still showing my total as $399, which is a total of $57 per day with no tip added. And it states something different that what yours said, specifically no additional gratuity added, so a difference of about $70 per package.

 

Gratuity has already been included in the price of each package.

Please note: Orders cannot be modified once they're added to your shopping cart. To change an order, you'll need to first cancel the order, and then make your purchase(s) again.

 

I don't know if it makes a difference of where the cruise originates, but I guess I might as well pre-buy two of drink packages and use the OBC for the others. It will be interesting to see if the other two get charged additional gratuity when we purchase it on board.

Hmm...that is very strange! Maybe different ships have different charges, although I can't believe they would do that. My message was definitely different than yours.....very interesting!

(I did get the "To change an order, you'll need to first cancel the order, and then make your purchase(s) again.)But it did say gratuities will be added.

If I were you, I'd book now! It will save you a little money!

You pay the gratuity either way, but cindivan was asking about taxes (like VAT) that are additional to the 18% gratuity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retired LEO

It seems if you purchase online it's $57.00 per day total (includes gratuity) for the premium package.

If you purchase onboard it's $57.00 per day plus gratuity.

That is exactly what I am wondering!!! Does anyone have any proof of this?? I might after our Harmony cruise. I will probably prebuy DH and me and buy our kids on board using OBC which will about wipe that out. Compare prices, Wa la - experiment done.

Unless someone has recent personal experience.

I was referring to cindivan's post that I copied above. She was asking for proof of the quote from Retired LEO. I meant to say gratuities are charged either way, not tax. I've edited my post.

That is exactly what I am wondering!!! Does anyone have any proof of this?? I might after our Harmony cruise. I will probably prebuy DH and me and buy our kids on board using OBC which will about wipe that out. Compare prices, Wa la - experiment done.

 

Unless someone has recent personal experience.

I'm leaving in a few weeks and when I went on "Cruise Planner" just now this is what it said after I put the beverage package in my Cart. (I copied and pasted their exact words):

• A 18% gratuity charge will be added to each package price listed above.
  
• Please note: Orders cannot be modified once they're added to your shopping cart. To change an order, you'll need to first cancel the order, and then make your purchase(s) again.
  

So, you pay the gratuity whether you buy it on board or per-purchase it online.

Very informative! Thank you so much for keeping to the facts and not complaining like so many others. Like you said, blame is not important, just that nobody was hurt and Royal is trying to make things right!

Good info people! It gives me somewhere to start. Thank you.

I know from the past that we have to use the stairs instead of elevator before and after muster drill. Can people in wheelchairs use elevators? Is there a different drill for wheelchair users?

Does anyone know if they have Raspberry Vodka on the ships?

Thanks! That is what I was thinking! ....:p

Does anyone know if the bar tenders will put vodka in my own personal tumbler at a bar? I have been informed that the bars do not serve ice tea and my drink of choice is ice tea and vodka. I will have to fill up my tumbler my self at the buffet, then proceed to a bar for my vodka. With no limits on how many drinks per day, would they put in two shots at one time due to the larger size of my tumbler?

Has anyone every tried this?

Havana cabana with hammocks on your balcony, that is gonna be hard to beat! Love the idea of walking right out of your balcony onto the wooden deck of Deck 5! With the Havana Bar, pool and hot tubs just feet away!

where I come from Arnold Palmers are sans vodka.

 

and by that I mean several states ranging from CA to MD to TX to NY

I guess it's technically called a John Daily, an Arnold Palmer spiked with vodka! I always ask for Arnold Palmer with a shot of vodka.

:(. Darn! Hard to believe, what about people that drink Arnold Palmers? Tea/lemonade/vodka? That is a popular drink where we live! (Kind of lol)

I was wondering if you could get ice tea at the bars on board. I know they provide it in the WJ and Main Dining room. My drink of choice is Raspberry Vodka and ice tea. On the Carnival last year, I had to go to the Lido deck, get a glass of ice tea, then go to the bar and get a shot of vodka because they didn't have ice tea at the bar.

I'm planning on getting the alcohol drink package, but not if I can't order my drink from a waiter and get it delivered.

Has anyone every received ice tea from the bars?