melinda0222

I am a mother of 3 boys age 11 and under. We have cruised on DCL 3 times in last few years, NCL last year, and will be on Independence in 3 weeks. My previous experience with RCL was 2003. We have also done celebrity and carnival at some point in time. I can't compare DCL to RCL yet, but will be doing that when we come back. I can compare DCL to NCL which might help you a little. We have also strayed from DCL due to rising cost. I will tell you there are a few things DCL does better than most. The biggest is service. DCL just seems to know how to do customer service. It isn't that NCL is bad, they extra steps just aren't there. The other thing has to do with young kids and parents. DCL does a better job at helping parents relax by taking care of their kids. This doesn't apply to you so probably doesn't matter. I will say that as much as we enjoyed the Dream the NCL Getaway was a way better ship with more activities especially for adults and older children. I am guessing that RCL is the same. I will say we went on Celebrity a long time ago and it is the closest cruise line to DCL as far as customer service. I think you find some things you like more on RCL and some things you miss from DCL. I can't imagine you having a bad time at all. The only cruise line we would not go back on is Carnival. Just didn't like the experience, the ship, the people. Hope this helps.

Robyn can you tell me if ship time and Cozumel time are the same. Just wanting to know for my sisters wedding. Thanks.

Robyn

Thanks so much for your live report. My family and I will be on Indy in Feb so my sister can get married in Cozumel. I haven't been on RCCL since 2003 so I am excited to be back. I have been trying to find the salon manager's email address. I have googled, sent messages to RCCL with no luck. If you are in the salon and happen to see the manager or information that would have his/her email address, I would be very grateful for the information. Please don't go out of your way. It is your vacation so you should enjoy it and any extra's you throw in for cruise critic is a bonus. I can tell you are already enjoying. Have fun and thanks for all the live reports. It helps so much in the planning process.

Funny you say that because I had considered doing the Freedom then Disney Dream or Magic or the Allure and Disney Wonder, but the prices are so high on the Disney ships, and the rate exchange just kills me cause I'm Canadian.

I've never sailed any other line, but I don't know if I want to try Carnival. NCL, maybe...I'm not good with change..lol

 

My kids prefer water slides as well, so I'm looking at the Harmony of he Seas for next Oct or Nov.

We took our boys on the Getaway on NCL. The ship is awesome. We all loved the obstacle course and the ship has a ton of water slides. Just throwing that one out. After my cruise in Feb on Independence I am going to compare Disney Dream, NCL Getaway, and Independence as I will have been on the three of them within 15 month of each other. I can already compare Disney and NCL and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Depends on your priorities.

They will love the Disney ships! I got hooked after my first one, but being Canadian means Disney is beginning to price me out! With the exchange rate I can't justify the prices of their cruises. RCL I can pay in Canadian dollars and save thousands! Plus, we want to switch it up and try something new!

Just wanted to point out a big difference between RCCL and Disney. I have 3 boys and we went on NCL in Jan. We are set to RCCL in Feb and I have discovered that both NCL and RCCL have closing times throughout the day for their kids club. One of my favorite things about Disney is the ability to take the kids to the club and come back and get them when we are ready or when Disney called us to say they were ready. My husband and I noticed that on NCL we would drop the boys off and get settled in for some relaxing or gym time. By the time we were really enjoying ourselves, boom one of us would have to leave to get the kids. They weren't ready to leave either. RCCL is the same as NCL in this regards. Also they charge after 10pm. Just something I wanted to point out to you as a big difference from Disney. Don't want to discourage you. We loved our NCL and the ship was way better than the Disney ships as far as activities for our boys. We are excited about our upcoming RCL trip. I just wish I had realized this fact, before getting on board. Enjoy, I am sure your boys will. One other thing, they divide their kids club by ages. Ages 6,8 and together, but 9 year olds are in a different club. Don't know when your boys birthdays are, but something else to think about that is different than Disney.

I typically use Hotwire for booking car rentals but I can't get port everglades to come up in their system for a return. I just tried sixt site and it doesn't show port everglades as a return location (says the closest is Hollywood at 9km). Is there some other name for the port rental area? I'm trying to rent a car for my pre-cruise stay and then just drive it to the port on the day we sail and drop it off. I can cab to the airport after the cruise. Any thoughts or advise is appreciated.

I found if you put in Fort Lauderdale city several locations come up and then you choose the one that says port Everglades.

I was under the impression that only Dollar had a shuttle in Ft. Lauderdale :confused: Dollar is who we booked with and would love to compare prices if someone else indeed picks up at the port. All I could find was offsite locations for other car rental agencies.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

I can verify that Hertz does as I took it last January when we got off NCL Getaway.

Following as I am on the Indy in Feb with a large group of people and we are all under the impression that there is no cork fee. So I am curious what others find out.

Can anyone verify that the following are the only car rental places that have a shuttle to port everglades.

Hertz, Avis, Alamo, Sixt.

We are needing to rent a car at Miami airport and then return to port to board our ship, Independence of the Seas. We are arriving 2 days before we leave so renting a car seemed like the best idea.

If anyone can verify that these are the only 4 car rental I have to choose from, this would be helpful in booking.

Thank you

So if I am reading everyone's responses correctly, the following are the only car rental places that have a shuttle to port everglades.

Hertz, Avis, Alamo, Sixt.

We are needing to rent a car at Miami airport and then return to port to board our ship, Independence of the Seas. We are arriving 2 days before we leave so renting a car seemed like the best idea.

If anyone can verify that these are the only 4 car rental I have to choose from, this would be helpful in booking.

Thank you

Thanks so much for everyone's opinions. Sounds like most prefer Giovanni's but some votes for Chops also. Looking forward to our cruise in 105 days.

We will be on board the Independence of the Seas leaving Feb 13. My sister is getting married on Cozumel. We are wanting to have our hair done in the salon prior to getting off at Cozumel. Does anyone have any idea who I need to contact prior to getting on the ship. I want to make sure we have reserved spots, since it is her wedding. Also does anyone have an experience with the salon doing up dos for weddings. What about cost? My sister is a little nervous about this and I want to get information for her.

Thank you

Melinda

Wondering which one people prefer. Would like to hear from people who have been on the independence only, because it matters who cooks the food. Only going to go to one. Love food of all kind.

Thanks

Melinda

Also following, as we have a similar situation. Hoping that we will get some answers as I bump it up.

Thanks

We are on Indy in Feb 2016. My sister is getting married in Cozumel so local time matters A LOT to us. If I am reading everything correctly, Indy will stay on EST and Cozumel is on EST as well. Since it is not DST we should have the same time. Can anyone verify that this is correct, because it does matter a lot to us.

Thanks

Thank you so much for the recommendation. I hadn't thought of the current. I will keep this in mind. I always take meclizine to prevent motion sickness. I start taking it a few days before and it helps me a lot.

Yes I realize there are several threads on snorkeling. I have read many of them, but it has gotten overwhelming. So I thought I would see if people have recommendations for my situation. We are a big group cruising together on RCCL Independence Feb 2016. There is a group of approx. 15 people who want to snorkel in Belize. We want a private charter. We want to snorkel with our group only. In addition we will have kids with us. Kids ages start at 7 and the kids have never been snorkeling before. We would like to see colorful fish, turtles, coral. I don't think we want to snorkel from the beach, due to the lack of marine life. Can anyone recommend a company and a location. I have a company in mind, but I don't want to sway anyone's opinion. Thanks again

Thanks to everyone for their answers and the email addresses. I ended up using both email address, 1 to ship and the other to RCCL dining. It worked. They have agreed to hold tables for us that night so we can eat together. They said that we would have to wait until Jan as it is too far out to reserve the tables at this time. So happy we have it all worked out. Thanks to beachnative and DonnaK for the email addresses. We had our TA try to solve this problem for us and she couldn't, so cruise critic saved the day. Thanks again for everyones help.

Sorry...no discount for multiple kids in Adventure Ocean or any of the kid clubs or nursery.

I was afraid of that. Thanks for the info.

Melinda,

 

Here are 2 email addresses you can try:

 

rcldining@rccl.com

 

in_restaurantoperationscoordinator@rccl.com (in = independence)

 

 

Good luck, and please come back and let us know how everything worked out!

Thank you so much. I will let you all know if I have success.

We will be in the Feb 13 sailing.

Can someone provide the email address for dining requests?

 

I suggest that the OP send an email for a general dining request, and not work through the travel agent or the romance department.

 

Just an idea: Independence has small overflow dining venues on the side of the restaurant. (they are on deck 3, labeled "Othello" and "Anthony and Cleopatra" on the deck plans) When we were on Explorer, someone from our roll call was able to arrange for us to have a group meal in one of those venues by writing to that email address. About 50 people participated and there was no extra cost.

Thank you to everyone who has given me suggestions. We do have a large group, approx 50 people.

1. Chops could take us but we have to rent the entire place out at $5000 or we could sit 10 people at a time 30 mins apart. So this is not an ideal option.

2. There are too many of us to reserve the main dining room at one time.

3. Thank you to Donnak for your above suggestion. That is exactly what we are looking for. If anyone knows the email or where to get the email I would greatly appreciate it. I really want my sister to have our family eating together on her wedding night. We are doing appetizers at the wedding site it the afternoon but we want dinner together.

Thanks again to everyone for all your great input.

I am sailing on the Independence of the Seas Feb 2016 and I have a few questions that are general not specific to my cruise.

1. When does RCCL allow you to book specialty restaurants online. Is it 90 days out, 180 days out? Just want to make sure I book a V-Day dinner for my husband and me.

2. When you use the kids club in the evening, after 10pm, and they are charging you, is there a multi kid discount.

3. I know the questions about the all you can drink package are numerous. I have read the literature and I was under the impression that there are unlimited alcoholic drinks. However, someone told me they just got off a cruise and they were limited to 15 drinks per day. Yes I know 15 is a lot, more than I can drink, but then it is not unlimited. I believe this person is incorrect but I am asking for verification.

4. We have a big group going for my sister's wedding. We all have the my time dining. My Mom wants to make a reservation in the main dining room on the wedding night, so we can all eat together. She has spoken to the travel agent and to the romance department and has been told no. She either has to rent out the specialty restaurant for $5000 or book a buffet for dinner at an hourly rate. We also do not want to switch to all eating at the early dining time every night. Does anyone have any other ideas on who to talk to. We would all really like to eat together this one night.

Thanks for all the help.

Where is your sister getting married in Cozumel? My Wife and I are planning a vowel renewal for our 25 and are looking for ideas.

 

Thanks!

 

JoeRum

Thanks to the wonderful people at CC, we found Mr Sanchos beachfront wedding garden. We also used the wedding planner that is linked to the website for the area. You can also look at CC for vow renewal or wedding and see lots of people who have done it already. Best of luck and congrats on the 25 years.

Thanks so much for the information.