WrittenOnYourHeart

I'm pretty familiar with the motion you tend to get at the forward part of the ship. It's typically one of my favorite things about a cruise.

That said, I keep seeing people being all about aft cabins because of the balconies. What is the movement there typically? Is it the same as at the forward section or different? And what are the vibrations I sometimes read about?

(I'm talking Radiance class if that makes a difference.)

I'm with you on this.

 

I've never understood the notion that some parents get their backs up over something labeled as Adults Only. The men's room doesn't allow women and that has nothing to do with hating women. Kid Zone areas don't allow adults and that has nothing to do with hating adults. The kitchen is where women make sammiches...

 

HAHAHA... I swear I'm just kidding! That was meant in jest only. I make dinner at our house at least 3x a week.

 

We don't have children, but we're a great uncle/aunt to not only our blood relations, but our friends' children. However, adult time is adult time. I don't care if someone's child is the best child EVER! They still aren't an adult and it peeves me when someone wants an exception.

 

"You are not an adult? Go away!"

 

"BUT I don't..."

"No buts, go away!"

 

"BUT my child is..."

"Who cares? Go away!"

 

"BUT he/she is very adult acting and..."

"NO! Go away!"

 

"BUT I don't have anywhere to take them and..."

"NO! Go away!"

 

"BUT my precious snowflake is better than all inferior children..."

"NO! Go away!"

I agree with this so much! I have nothing against children. I teach special ed and have 6 kids every day who have wormed their little ways into my heart (I'm actually heartbroken that one of them is moving and Friday will be her last day). But I definitely need and appreciate adult time and places when I'm not working. I was actually surprised to see that apparently there isn't a time at which the bars on board go to adult only - even Disney has the entertainment district 18 and over after 9pm (as well as a *GASP* adults-only beach that IS NOT about nudity at all, but a place where 18+ can relax without the younger set running around).

Oh, that's so funny. We had this exact cabin on Brilliance for our Med cruise and we LOVED it! There are several things to consider. Basically, we wanted as far forward a cabin as possible because at that time, passengers were still allowed to smoke on the balcony and we wanted to be "in front" of that. We booked 1000 and enjoyed it very much. I don't think anyone who hasn't cruised in that cabin can really give you the specifics, but it is right next to the bridge... I mean, you share a wall... you will hear the toilet flush occasionally but what are you gonna do? Cap' gotta go too. ;):p There is very little foot traffic in the hall, obviously, as anyone who is down that way has business on the bridge and even then, most of the crew/staff would use the crew stairwells and such.

 

 

 

As for the view, we felt especially privileged to see the Captain and officers every morning and they would wave to us. Yes, the wing of the bridge is right there but it's not an obstacle, IMO - it's cool!! The wings are completely glass windows all around so it's not like you can't see where you're going.

 

 

 

We would book this cabin again in a heartbeat. Mind you... it's a heckuva long way from the Windjammer!! :D:D I think that might be the only negative.

 

 

 

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Awesome! Thanks for the info. Living in NYC, walking doesn't bother me - especially not walking back and forth on the ship. :)

Your outward view will be fine....you simply won't be able to see past the front of the ship's bridge wings. Since you're not the one steering the ship, it won't matter one bit!

 

I think the aft motion is less than forward....but on Radiance class, the aft section does get some annoying vibrations...if that doesn't bother you...go for it! No matter how far back you go, you still can't see past those bridge wings!

Thanks!

Looking at booking a Brilliance cruise for next summer and am debating between E2 and D1.

I have traditionally sailed as high and as far forward as I can as I love that motion. The cruise I am looking at does currently have 1500 and its port side twin 1000 available which hits as far forward as possible - but it looks like they are on the same level as the bridge. How does that impact the view? Would I be better off going a little further down the hall?

On the opposite end of the ship, there are several D1 aft balconies open. What is the aft motion like? Is it comparable to that in the forward section or completely different? (Granted these may be a moot point as I would be solo and it seems that there are times when solos are barred from booking them from reports on here - though they are presented as options when I look to do a mock booking to look at locations on the deck plans, so maybe that is only on certain sailings.)

Thanks!

Wow, this is interesting to me. As an adult I've only sailed Disney and Holland America - will sail Royal Caribbean in about a month and a half. Never saw kids in the bars or lounges I was in on Holland, and Disney turns the entertainment district to 18 and over ofter 9pm (and honestly other than the "family entertainment" room, I didn't really see kids back there anyway). It never occurred to me that people might have their kids out and in the lounges and bar areas.

I can pretty much guarantee you that the running group I'm cruising with won't be curbing our conversations just because there are kids around - be it around the bar or in the lounge area. We didn't curb the conversation in non-lounge areas last year on Holland America and definitely didn't in the bars and lounges.

I would agree with you. I know I'm a crazy over-planner, but if was booking a cruise in a country that I don't travel to often and There was a message that RCL recommends you have 6 months left your on passport (which is an odd suggestion if you don't know the rule since a. RCL doesn't benefit financially if you renew your passport early, and b. why would they care since you are most likely on a 7-14 day cruise). My next step would be to google "Do I really need 6 months on my passport for a european cruise", which probably would have yielded results about the 3 month-6 month rules. RCL can't be expected to keep up with every countries custom rules, if the 6 month reminder works for most-all countries they go to, that seems sufficient. They wouldn't want to say 6 months is required, and then have someone complain because only 3 months was required on their cruise; or say 3 months min is required and then have someone complain that a 6 month min was required on their cruise. The 6 month recommendation with follow up links seems the most legally safe approach.

Pretty much this. When I am planning a vacation, especially one that is expensive AND overseas, I look into things like passport and visa regs all on my own. And then I keep checking every month or so (more often as it gets closer to the vacation) to see if there have been changes I need to be aware of. I would never depend on someone else to tell me what I needed to take responsibility for.

When I first got my passport I heard about the "at least 6 months left" rule for many places and have just automatically flagged about a month before that 6-month mark so I can renew and not have to worry about it. I just take that on as part of my responsibility as a traveler/

You pay the difference.

Thank you! :)

Nope. As others have stated, ALL alcohol-included packages now apply the package maximum as a credit to the wine price.

Not sure I'm following - especially as you seem to have quoted things that contradict each other (or else I'm just reading it wrong).

Just for clarification, I decided on the Select package because frankly I'm more likely to have wine or beer than a ton of mixed drinks, so I figured this would be the better option along with buying a bit of onboard credit to cover one or two mixed drinks and any overage on the wine if it occurred (I'm not super picky about my wine, so I'll probably be fine with the included ones as long as there are some red options.

Are you saying it would be whatever the difference was if I opted for a more expensive wine or would it be the full cost?

IMO, it's always better to use OBC (their money) instead of yours!

I don't have THEIR OBC. I would be buying my own. (And I'm pretty upset that the running cruise NEXT year is getting the packages included. GRR!!!! Wish we'd gotten that this year.)

Thanks.

It's just a matter of personal preference. I just prefer personal interaction and I'm not worried about the perfect picture of my beautiful mug. I get to see it every day in the mirror. :eek: Plus if I carried a stick around I'd probably look like I'd need darker glasses and a seeing eye dog.

Exactly.

I travel solo, but I would much rather have pictures of WHAT I AM SEEING than myself. I don't need a zillion pictures of myself. One or two will do, and those are typically at places where it's pretty easy to find someone to ask (I'm not stupid and won't go hiking by myself for example - you lose a colleague who went off hiking by himself and fell - but no one was with him or knew exactly where he was going and ended up dying, you learn that there are certain things you just don't do). Otherwise it's all about the scenery. (I'd much rather see vacation pics from someone where you see where they went as opposed to the "Here we are petting the cow. Here we are in the car. Here we are looking at the tower." thing.)

Why not bring the cash you'd like to exchange....that way, you don't incur a fee on top of the exchange rate.

 

Yes..you are allowed to cash 1 $200 personal check per cruise..that's it. Just bring what you need! Bring $100 bills..much easier to carry!

They may be easier to carry, but many places don't accept them, so you'll end up having to get them changed into smaller denominations.

Have they been doing any specials with the drink packages on board? I'm trying to decide if I should get the package ahead of time or if I'd be better off just buying myself onboard credit in the amount enough to cover the package plus a little leftover for incidentals and getting it onboard.

I thought you must have known. I am sure passengers are happy about that.

 

I guess that is the last 'crab shack' variation on any ships within the RCI fleet.

This passenger isn't. :( Not everyone thinks seafood is the be-all and end-all. I think it's disgusting and wish there was the cantina option.

I have never shown mind on board. I would be more worried about getting pulled over while driving and not having my license on me.

Exactly what I was thinking - if you don't have a replacement license, how are you getting to and from work? Because I don't think "I lost it and didn't want to take a day off from work" is going to get you out of a ticket.

50 days to Radiance!

Captain Bob and Soualiga Destinations are great if you want water-based.

Written - this is a tough call. I've also had a few experiences with assigned seating that hasn't gone well. 2-3 times our family was at a table with people only talked to each other, ignoring the rest of the table. We had some breakfasts in the main dining room with people who clearly weren't morning people, since they sat in stony silence. Once or twice we had people with aggressive political positions or who were so critical of the cruise that they were depressing, and once an older woman who probably had a few too many glasses of wine made a pass at one of my sons :-0. On one cruise nobody else ever showed up at our assigned large table, so the waiter hung out at our table to talk to us constantly. I guess he thought our family would be lonely! Overall, though, assigned seating has gone well for us and it had been our family's preference. I'm just stuck in My Time dining this time, since I booked last minute.

 

I've never seen anyone whip out a book or Kindle in the MDR...is it ok now for dinner if solo? My manners are 50+ years out of date.

I did it on Disney in February. I figure if parents are allowing their kids to bring iPads and so forth (which I see even in restaurants in NYC) I shouldn't feel bad at a table by myself (was able to get it changed after a VERY uncomfortable first night). That said, my servers were so fantastic I found I never needed to turn it on.

51 days to Radiance southbound!

Taking my 1st solo, and made some MyTime reservations. Does that mean they'd automatically put me at a table by myself, or that I will have to wait around and hope somebody else asks to be seated at a larger table? Darn.

I'd hope that they don't make solos wait around and will allow us to sit alone. After a couple of VERY uncomfortable dinners (just radically different views on things to the point where I was made uncomfortable and could not get out of dinner quickly enough but couldn't bail gracefully so was stuck) where I was forced to endure, I don't want to have to deal with that again and would definitely not want to be seated with others.

Along the same vein, I get that tables are close together, but I'd definitely hate for people to assume that I wanted to chat. We had that happen when cruising as a family to celebrate my parents' 45th anniversary, and getting the party at the other table to leave us alone was not fun.

The Select package has an allowance of $8 per glass of wine, and allows paying the difference for more expensive glasses. However, there is no allowance for beer or cocktails in the Select package.

When I look at the Select package it DOES include beer. Or did you mean that you can't pay the difference on beer above the set limit?

You must give them a credit card for the deposit. They will not use OBC for the deposit.

 

You can book more than one cruise. Not sure if there is a limit.

Cool, thanks :) I just like to be prepared!

I have the basics down - as a first time cruiser, I can speak with someone on board to get my C&A number so that I can book a future cruise on board. I am pretty sure I understand the deposit thing (it's equal to whatever the OBC you receive is, and if you want the OBC for your future cruise, you have to specify that) - how it works anyway.

1) Is the deposit charged to your onboard account, or do you give them a credit card for it? Either way is fine, just so I'm prepared.

2) Are you limited to only booking one cruise or can you book more than one? Like if I wanted to book one for April 2016 and July 2016, could I do that?

(I'm used to DCL where you can only book one cruise (up to 2 cabins for the same date per address) and have to use a credit card rather than charging it to your onboard account, so I'm just getting clarification for RCCL.)

Thanks!

The 20, 25 & 30 % is off the cost of the specialty restaurant. When we sailed the Quantum in February the % off was in OBC's when booked on-line, but reduced from the set price when booked on board. Don' know if these options are still offered.

Thanks - that's kind of what I suspected. I'll probably just wait in that case - another :( of traveling solo (yes, I'm with a group, but overall we don't know each other yet)...the % would be kind of ridiculously small.