Tara619

I just booked a Freedom cruise for March 2017 today. I got the 30% off and $100'OBC, but I don't know if my deposit was 50% because I don't know what is normal. This is our first RCI cruise. The deposit was $750 for a 6 night $2600 cruise for 2 adults and 1 kid. Is that the reduced deposit or full one?

They're not necessary. We did a 7 day Fantasy Western Caribbean from Port Canaveral in 2013 without passports.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm leaning toward just doing the DCL Rum Point beach excursion for peace of mind. I may still email Native Way to confirm the times of their tours. They have very good reviews on trip advisor.

What you need to do is take the time to read the information on the Native Way website.

If you read it then you will see the little * next to the times.

 

That denotes there is information that includes or excludes things. outside of the stated information is provided.

When you scroll down it mentions:

 

 

 

ex techie

There are 3 different tours on that page and the times you pasted were for the third one we're not interested in. I'm very educated and can recognize what an asterisk means.

Thanks. I wonder if there's a time zone difference between what Disney's time in port says and what the times of the tours are. either way, I don't think it's worth the risk.

I'm researching excursions for our 7 day Fantasy in June. Has anyone used Native Way Watersports for the Stingray and Island Tour or the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point? http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/about-our-tours

I'm really worried to book it because we're only in GC 10:30 am-5:30 pm per the Disney site. But the NW tours are 10am-2pm (Stingray & Island) or 11:15-4:30 (R, R, RP).

I've read elsewhere that the last tender back to the ship is at 4 pm and there's a lot of traffic which may delay your return to port. We have the early dinner.

Can anyone offer advice or suggestions on if this will work? I'm very risk adverse, so I worry we'll miss the boat.

If it's a closed loop cruise, you don't need it for the Bahamas. They don't ask for your passport to get off the ship for the day.

We had an awesome server on the Carnival Glory who cut our daughters' steak!! One evening my daughter was sitting there after her dinner was served and not touching her food, I asked her if everything was okay, she said "Yes, I am just waiting for them to come and cut my steak for me". LOL.

Our waiter on the Fantasy this summer cut up MY food! I am in my early 30s but have an arthritis like disease that has wreaked havoc on my hands. He saw me struggling or asking DH to help and he swooped right in and cut my food every night-steak, pasta, shrimp, whatever. He was awesome, as was every other single CM we encountered.

Even if there is no drift, the stale smoke smell is in many places. Have you considered Celebrity? We love Royal Caribbean, and are Diamond, but went over to Celebrity a couple of years ago because of the smoke smell. If they will just get rid of smoking in the casino, we'll be back!

I don't think Celebrity is for our demographic. :). We're a young family of 3 and Disney cruisers. Just looking for an alternative due to DCL's outrageous price increases.

Bear in mind that there made be "drift" from the casino, depending on the ship/ship design. On our Allure cruise last week, there was a heavy smoke smell in the one aft stairwell all the way up as far as deck 7, and the smoke smell poured into the main dining room and its foyer areas during lunches and dinners.

That's my fear. The smoke smell makes me want to vomit, literally (not an exaggeration). We're not casino people so we won't be using that space but if the smoke fills surrounding spaces, I'm not sure that's within my tolerance level. I'm still crossing my fingers DCL's prices for July 2015 won't be out of reach.

Thanks! That's good news for me.

Are there specific smoking areas on the ship or is it anywhere? We're considering a RC cruise but I'm extremely sensitive to smoke and it's a deal breaker for me. We've never cruised on RC, only Disney. I assume there's smoking in the casino. What about restaurants and other common areas?

Thanks for all the input! I appreciate it!

RCI is also sailing year-round from Galveston, Texas (Navigator of the Seas). But if you fly getting from Houston to Galveston is a challenge.

Where do you live? Can you drive to a port?

 

I give up? What is OBB? I doubt it is any of these: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=OBB

OBB is on board booking. Disney gives a 10% discount and on board credit if you book your next cruise while on the current one. But now they say it has to be taken within 18 months and that's too often for our budget.

Do you have a preferred area of departure? Are you looking for a lot of things to do (I know you mentioned a restriction for yourself physically, but do your husband and son like physical activities?).

We don't care about departure location. We're from Ohio and fly instead of long drives. DS and DH do like physical activities. We're not too picky and like most things.

Eta: we would like a 7 day cruise to make the most of the $900-1000 flight cost.

Are the main dining room dinners good? We don't want to pay for a lot of extras on the ship.

Thanks so much for the help so far and the warm welcome.

We've been on 3 Disney cruises and with OBB changes and huge price increases, we may never go back unfortunately.

We are a family of 3. DS is 8. I'm not very physically active due to an arthritis-like condition (so no rock wall for me). DH is a school principal so our vacation season is limited to the last week in June and all of July. Next cruise will be 2015.

There are so many RC ships, how do we decide which one is for us? Any tips for a newbie? I'm so comfortable with DCL, switching lines makes me anxious.