Spurschick

I'm considering a cruise on Liberty next March 27th leaving from Galveston Texas, stopping in Honduras, Belize and Cozumel.

 

This is going to be my Honeymoon and I was wondering since it is leaving on Easter, and is Spring Break for most American schools, if the ship going to be over run with small children? (Under the age of 16)

 

Has anyone have and experience cruising this week? Is there a considerable difference in the amount of children aboard?

 

We wouldn't normally mind children aboard, but since this is our honeymoon, the last thing we would want is more children then usual running around! Or at least to the point where it would make a difference in our cruise.

 

Thank you!

Texas schools are on spring break next year week of 13th and the colleges are the week of the 20th.

You will be sailing the week after spring break is pretty much finished in texas and over half the people out of galveston are Texans normally.

I have tried to find the answer to this - but failed so apologies if I have missed it. I have purchased quite a bit of OBC to take advantage of RCI exchange rates :D. All of the obc is on one of our 2 rooms can I buy drinks packages for our adult girls who will be in a different cabin or do I need to put OBC onto their cabin to do this.

 

Also I plan to cash out any excess for future USA trips (at 1.67 to the £ how can I not!) - Can someone please go through how I do this - what is and how do I set up a cash account do I need to do this on line before travel - first Royal cruise.

Curious where you are getting 1.67 to £ at the moment. Or was that what you bought oBC at?

At that rate I could do with some:D

update - I got them to phone me for round 2 - they say it is all now sorted however, they have once again failed to send me any updated invoice which shows what I have paid (even although it was promised). My payment date is soon and I still have nothing to show that the old deposit id to be transfered over so not owed. So I will have to sit it out and see what happens on that day. I will await my dreaded phone bill but if bad I plan to claim the money back and will also then claim for my time (lawyers in the family so a wee letter via from one of them may help :rolleyes:)

So why didn't you make them stay on the phone until you received the email and check it was correct before ending the call?

I get the service hasn't been great, and I am not excusing it in any form, but common sense would have been to get confirmed in righting (email) before they left.

I would get them to ring you back again and make sure you are getting the emails whilst they are on the phone. I never end a call without making sure the email is received my end first so I can check and fix any spelling errors etc there and then without the need for getting back in touch. Otherwise you have no idea if there is a mistake in email address they are sending it to and hence why you are not receiving. I assume you have been checking your spam folder?

Just spoke to the D+ desk and you only need to have added MTD or pre-paid gratuities to any booking you may have by June 1, 2015 to lock in the old gratuity rate.

You were correct I meant add:D

Thanks for reporting back.

Thank you. I live cruise critic since otherwise wouldn't have known about the increase and wouldn't have bothered pre paying until final payment next January.

Will be giving Royal a call this week or next and pay it off.

You don't need to pay it off until final payment, you just need to make sure it is added to the invoice before June 1st

I'm curious if simply adding prepaid gratuities to a booking (i.e., only increasing the amount owed) is enough to fix the price, or must we actually pay the gratuities before June 1.

I would say provided added and then no further changes to booking that would make it a new booking then adding before that date would suffice.

If you think about it, When you make a deposit there are no specifications how much goes to port fees, taxes, gratuities etc. (although that is probably why if you cancel it gets refunded in multiple random amounts!) I have seen changes to port fees after booking, they remain locked in at the price when purchased. Technically if you add they you are entering a contract to buy at that rate. Hence why I think entering contract to buy at that rate should lock it in, just like adding after that date would kick in the new rate

Forgot to add, thinking back we always book quite far out normally, so when last increases happened I don't recall it changing our amount due.

So to clarify, our cruise is April 2016. If we pre pay our gratuities tomorrow (i.e. before the increase), then we will lock on at the old rate? Or will we owe the difference of the increase?

Correct. The increase goes into effect for sailings on or after July 1st, and can be avoided if you prepay gratuities by June 1st

Glad prepaid for next year already:D

http://loyaltoyoualways.com/newsletter/

 

It's the third button.

Thanks

The new policy will take effect June 1 for sailings after July 1. The announcement says that gratuities can be prepaid prior to the effective date at the old rate. So I take it that they must be paid by June 1 even though the increase will be on sailings after July 1. I think the key will be the effective date.

 

Suite gratuities will increase from 14.25 per person per day to $15.95 per person per day.

Any links to the announcement?

Where can I find either where to print the luggage tags or where to request them ( junior suite). I am a first time RCCL client.

Thanks.

Bob has given great advice on printing. Ours became avaialable at 48 1/2 days:o

You can request to be mailed free only if in GS or above. Otherwise if you select to have mailed you will get billed $35:eek:

You can book cruises via USA travel agents (they are often called travel concierges over there) without having to move to the USA. I have used one a couple of times [not sure if I can name them here] and they can often beat the UK prices.

 

Possible downsides:

They bill you in USD so you are exposed to currency fluctuations until you have fully paid

Your card company might charge to convert USD to your local currency.

You are not ABTA covered.

It could be a scam artist.

 

Possible upsides:

The USA don't add on a surcharge for paying by credit card.

It can be really cheap to call your agent in the USA (way cheaper than 0844 in the UK).

Medical insurance can be a lot cheaper (strange but true) - ask the agent for a quote.

There was another thread recently about this. Someone said their US TA could no longer book them on US rates as they had cracked down on residency restrictions for offers. They could still book the cruise through them but they couldn't quaify for the same rates.

I am guessing RC caught up with the loophole and are trying to close it.

Can you use your on board credit for laundry?

Yes. Anything that goes on your room bill you can use OBC for.

"Hump" might have a different meaning in this context.....:D

Lol:D

OK how I do that? When I booked I choose my country witch is Cyprus. Prices were in US dollars. I think you only get prices in euro if you choose Spain, Germany, France or Italy.

Yes final payment is in 2 weeks but even I change now currency in euro it will be the exchange rate of today witch is 25% higher. Right?

Is there a TA near you that can do a mock booking and give you a price in euros?

Not sure which part of Cyprus you are in, but I am sure I saw several TA's in Limassol the last time I was there.

At least then you can compare the euro price to the dollar price and see which works best.

Oops, my bad. We sailed on the Allure last sumner. I think I'm still shell shocked. LOL. I do realize that this has been discussed on here in recent weeks. I just wanted to share my experience. There are many onboard changes, and they aren't good.

What other changes are there?

I have to admit if you knew about the recent drink price discussions on here, I am confused why you are dumbfounded as you sound like you read about them?

Fyi hump is middle part of ship where ship bulges out. Back part of ship where WJ seating area is is aft. You had me worried for a second about my upcoming cabin location:D

We had early seating in the dining room and they were very slow. Had to tell them every night what we wanted to drink which was the same every night. Servers never interacted with us until the last two nights. People at other tables told us they had very prompt servers.

Even the breakfast service in the dining room was slow. We were on the Vision last Sept. and they were on the ball on that ship. One of the best of our royal cruises. Debarkation on the Oasis was much more organized that our Indy cruise. We felt that our dining room assistant server was not helping the head server very much.

Whilst some people like to have the same to drink every night others don't. Our drinks waiter last year assumed DD wanted the same mocktail the second night she had the first night and was trying to be helpful by giving us the service you sound like you were expecting. But she hadn't actually enjoyed it that much the first night and was looking forward to something different but they didn't check first what she wanted. We had to reorder a new drink which wasted the time of the waitress. From there on out they checked what the order was first. Even though I have preferences, it doesn't mean I want the same thing day after day.

If they bring it assuming you want the same every night they could be wrong, if they don't bring it they aren't doing their job:rolleyes: Some people want variety, others don't.

Personally I would never think it was poor service unless I had specifically said I wanted the same drink every night. I don't consider asking what drink you want as poor service.

Whilst you say restaurant was slow, how slow is slow?

Generally first night runs closer to 1:45 mins

Always slow first night.

After that can normally run at 1hour 30 if not longer. If you want it faster all you have to do is ask, but they generally try to work on serving all the tables in their section at the same time. So if there is a slower table in your section, service will generally be slower.

BTW how slow is debarkation?

I have had slow in the past but nothing as slow as sailing into galveston;)

You can choose currency on Rccl site? I didn’t know that.:confused:

Probably not but you can book in your own country. We usually check UK and US prices unless we need flights included in the package.

 

If we book in US$ then it's a gamble.

Exactly.

You should be able to book in Euros if booking in an Eu country.not sure where or how you booked, but surprised you got price in dollars. If you are outside final payment date may be well worth looking at repricing in euros.

I guess a good reason to pay it off early

Or another reason to book it in your own currency!!!!!

Just curious for future reference; is it considered rude and would it offend someone if a person were to tip a porter or waiter etc in Europe? I know it isn't generally done there and it isn't necessary since those workers are paid better wages, but if someone from America goes there and just feels better tipping because it's culturally drilled in to us, would it be offensive?

Not offensive at all. Just check your bill carefully as some European major cities we have been to we have noticed they started adding gratuities to the bill automatically. Whilst not generally done, it is becoming more common, especially in tourist areas.

If you need special boarding you can get it. There's a form/email address for special needs and just let them know and you'd be accommodated for all the assistance.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/accessibleseas/home.do

 

Formal nights are pretty formal, gowns/suits/tuxes. You don't need to eat there, you can always do buffet and Windjammer instead or one of the a la carte's that are more casual if you want to skip the formal nights.

 

Quiet areas, the library area is pretty quiet. Solarium area.

 

No cash at all is accepted, your seapass card controls everything. You can put a set amount on their card so they can do their own purchasing. Ice cream/arcade tokens etc..

 

You'd need cash for tipping when you're off the ship. Any purchases etc when off the ship at the ports. Except Labadee.

Whilst solarium is quiet, only 16 and over allowed in.

Hi, we are a family of 5 going on our first cruise at the end of this month on Explorer of the Seas.

 

We have never cruised before, so competely clueless as to how things work.

 

Any tips/advice would be gratefully received, especially regarding boarding (how does this work, we have a teen with autism, is there any help with this?), dining - with 3 children worried about how 'formal' formal nights are, any less crowded areas for quiet time if needed and any other info that seasoned cruisers have, that a newbie cruiser would just not kmow.

 

On board, is cash accepted at all? Our children wanted their own spending money for little extras, such as in the shops. Can they use cash or is everything charged to our cabin?

 

We got free drinks packages when we booked, and also free gratuities - will this cover everything except for the additional activities/drinks not inc/speciality meals? Do we still need cash for anything else?

 

TIA :)

Hope you have a great cruise.

Regarding your teen here is a link to their autism at sea page.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/product.do?pagename=onboard_prod_autism_friendly_ships

Cash is not accepted on board. Either your children can have their cards activated to make purchases, or you will need to buy for them. I have read elsewhere you can set a daily limit for them, but I have never tried.

Boarding day can be quite manic in the windjammer. We normally try and get on early and eat. There will be quieter places to wait. Normally some of the lounges are pretty quiet during this time until your cabin opens up.

Forgot to mention, if you call special needs at sea, they can give you more help.

How late do they let you stay on the ship?

Early to mid morning normally.

All,

 

In a couple of weeks, our family of 4 (with 2 young kids) will be going on the Allure from Barcelona.

 

I have an issue on the last day I need some help/advice with.

 

Our flight leaving from Barcelona does not go until around 7ish, which means we don't have to be at the airport until 5pm.

 

We'll have around 6 pieces of luggage which means that doing anything in Barcelona for the last day will be very difficult due to cost and hassle of leaving luggage.

 

I know the Allure doesn't have a single start/stop point as it picks up and drops passengers in both Barcelona and Rome, so it must have people who stay onboard the ship for the day, rather than what i've seen in the past where the exit everyone and their luggage by around 9am in the morning, clean the ship with new guests coming on board from 11.

 

I'm happy to leave our cabin early in the morning, but in an ideal world we would want to stay on the ship for a few hours and then leave the ship at around 3pm. Does anyone know if that is allowed/possible?

 

Is there anyway to get Royal Caribbean to hold the luggage on ship till this time and then we can walk out with it. rather than it just been thrown out onto port first thing?

 

Many thanks in advance for your help!

I doubt they will allow you to stay on that late.

Have you looked at an excursion for late flights that takes you on a city tour. Luggage travels on the coach with you and is a good way to see the city and spend the time whilst waiting, and then drops at they airport.

I am currently on Jewel of the Seas. We were sitting in the Centrum Lobby on Deck 4 yesterday when all the people were supposedly crowding the Guest Services desk. I saw no such thing, and according to the OP, I was there when it took place. Regardless of that fact, ports of call get canceled frequently, for too many reasons to list here. It is a fact of travel that things happen that cause schedule changes.

 

There is no reason to question the decision that two governments have made regarding the travel advisories. Liability becomes an issue, and no company wants to second-guess what might or might not happen.

 

This is all a tempest in a teapot. JMO

Thank you for your info. Hope you are enjoying your cruise. I agree ports missed all the time. Never seen a protest about it either!

What I don't get from op is why if the announcement was made at 9:15 am they had the protest at 4pm? I guess everyone involved decided to enjoy their day at sea first:D