Florida 1

OnTheJourney - thank you for the post! I may copy and post on FB as well. I'm having a hard time with people feeling that expressing their rights is more important than lives that may be lost due to exposure.

Today is Mother's Day, and instead of a family pool party or luncheon out, my DH and I met my mom and step-dad on the side of the highway halfway between our homes and exchanged supplies and goodies. Setting them down midway and moving back so they can pick up.

Mom loves to cruise with RCI, but is afraid to make any plans and I don't blame her. I hope our cruise industry can get on top of this and find a way for everyone to cruise/vacation safely (and feel safe!) while we're still looking for a vaccine. I know Mom would love to be able to get back on a Royal Caribbean ship - and into the casinos!

We take our temps regularly so that we can limit exposure to everyone around us even more if necessary at the slightest elevation in temp if needed.  

We have a short RCI cruise booked for December and really hope we can take it since our 3 week anniversary trip to Australia in September can't happen now.

After posting, I realized that the option to pay them was either on Carnival or NCL that I was on earlier this year. Sorry for the confusion.

You should be able to do this in your cruise planner area if I'm not mistaken. I tend to let it be deducted from any onboard credit if I didn't have it prepaid by my TA.

Hi All!

We will be an extended family of 11 from 7 yr old to 75 on our December cruise. It doesn't look like RCI has family cabanas for daily rental like NCL does on their private island. So what do you recommend for being a great spot? What tips do you have?

Did you frequent the Serenity area on Paradise? Your thoughts?

I am one that always has to drive wherever we go. However, Puerto Rico (2000) scared me way too much to drive there! People driving on 6 -8 lanes with speeds like it's the autobahn then someone in the center lane slams on the brakes to pick up a hitchhiker? Uh, uh! I kept my eyes closed on all the major roads which is what we had to take to get to El Yunque. (Funny you say that Pete98 - my experience in Mexico (2006) was that the drivers were incredibly accommodating and easy going.)

We were there on our honeymoon in 2000 and found when we went off the beaten path driving & looking for non-touristy beaches we found some really neat outdoor bar/restaurants. All the locals we encountered were incredibly nice though we usually weren't able to converse with each other too well.

You are usually able to get extra perks on top of the cruise line's pricing, so there is a definite advantage there. I'll be using ours when we book on the POA as well. When we cruise RCI, we get discounts through the casino program so book directly with them. I would not pay in full in advance regardless, but I'm not sure how/if it affects your ability to get credit for a price drop. I know you cannot after the ship's required final payment date. I would call NCL and ask them directly or the travel agent you're considering using for the extra perks.

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We were on the Jewel last year in Alaska. We have never encountered such great service on board! We were not thrilled with the MDR, but we only tried it once. O'Sheehan's was a favorite of mine for breakfast when the hubby was sleeping in, and we enjoyed lunch there a time or two as well. Cagney's was fantastic, as was Moderno. We enjoyed the dinner/show at Teppanyaki (sp?) and LaCucina was fine. As you can tell, we had a dining package. If you're foodies, I would recommend it. Again, we only gave the MDR one chance and didn't like the setting, etc. as compared to Royal where we enjoy meeting new people at a large shared table. The buffet was a buffet which was just fine as I'm not picky. Great french fries if I remember correctly!

We were fortunate to be able to upgrade/upsell at the last minute to an Aft Penthouse Suite which was incredible about 350 sq ft and since we ended up in an unneeded handicap accessible room - a huge bathroom and shower. There were mini-suites on either side of us that were about the same size as their standard balcony (I don't know if all of them are or if the size varies) so I'm not sure how comfortable you'll all be in the same room. Most likely everyone will be coming and going at different times and it won't be an issue?

Have fun - she has the best crew we've come across by far!

We used independent excursions last year as well as the price differences were quite significant. In Skagway we used Alaska Excursions for the sled dog adventure (a lot of fun), and in Juneau used Coastal Helicopter to fly us to a glacier where we were able to walk around a learn a lot from our pilot. It was amazing!

I was wondering if this was unusual. I called Club Royale to transfer/re-book and apply cert to a Feb 2018 Aus/NZ cruise on Ovation. She checked and re-checked and there were no casino rates for that sailing or the other two around the same time period. There were, however, for Radiance for a similar sailing around the same time.

She has emailed her supervisor to find out if it's a mistake in the system or if for some reason casino rates aren't offered yet for Ovation in 2018.

Has anyone heard of this? Is it normal? Should we expect it to change and offer casino rates?

We can change to the Radiance sailing for a better cabin for significantly less money with the casino rate but the itinerary is not as good for what will be a once-in-a-lifetime cruise destination.

The Boardwalk Dog House - best hot dogs out there! We found it by accident on our first Oasis cruise while waiting for the rest of our party to board. Kind of a food truck feel and really tasty. Coney Island, German, Big Apple, Sicilian and diy varieties. Only potato salad as a side if I remember correctly, but perfect to tide one over until dinner. The boardwalk will be a neat place to explore before everyone else discovers it!

Just beginning to look at Panama Canal cruises. How do you know if the cruise you're considering would go through old or new locks?

It depends on you, completely. We had a general idea ahead of time of what we expected we were going to tip but changed on the last day. We rarely utilized the services of the butler or concierge (but both equally), so gave each $50. Our room steward was already covered by pre-paid gratuities but he was so happy & fun that we gave him an extra $50. We were in an aft PH suite, and it was wonderful!

I read about upsells and decided to see if I could get a good offer. I booked through a TA but called the upsell dept. at around 30 days out. They said they had nothing to offer me, and to call back the next week. The next week I knew there were mini-suites and penthouse suites suddenly available by doing a mock booking - on a 3rd party site, they didn't show up on RCI website. I called in again and again was told nothing available. So I contacted TA, told them what I was interested in and they at first didn't see the availability until I told them it was showing on a particular competitor's website. On Hold for quite some time and offered a MUCH better deal than expected. We ended up paying in total the standard balcony price for an aft penthouse suite (because we got such a deal originally for the balcony and then $400pp to upgrade) and somehow got all the perks from our original booking plus the suite perks.

So yes, you can call the upsell dept directly, or you can work with your TA to try and get you a great deal. My TA really wasn't experienced, but because she was in training had a highly experienced person using my request as a teaching tool. Had I gotten someone else I might not have gotten the great deal I did.

I would try to call beginning 30 days out simply because some cruises are more popular than others. On my Alaskan cruise, it was completely booked and "upsold" by 2 weeks out. If I had waited I would have been out of luck.

It is fun to try - good luck!

After posting this I found a video that says it's changeable and flexible. So it sounds as though I should book a different date for the cruise I want, then book the one I want through CR when I get home and have them apply the next cruise deposit?

I guess my question is more the logistics of it. I am a CR member, would like to take advantage of the Next Cruise perk on our December cruise for a cruise we're wanting to do next summer. If I book the actual cruise I want to take at Next Cruise desk, then I won't be able to book through CR for the casino rate, correct? If I book an open-ended Next Cruise, then I don't receive OBC for the cruise I'm on (or do I?). It seems like it makes more sense not to bother with Next Cruise, but I think I'm not understanding the program if some of you are taking advantage of both. Thanks again in advance for any clarification!

I have learned so much from this thread! Question: How can you take advantage of Next Cruise and CR rates and/or certificates together? If you're booking Next Cruise, won't it be at the current C&A rates or can they tap into CR rates at that time?

For Juneau, we booked directly with Coastal Helicopters for the helicopter flight that landed on a glacier where we were able to walk around and get photos. We weren't sure if we wanted to go to the expense of this kind of excursion but decided to go for it since booking with them was less expensive than through the ship. We are SO glad we did - it was amazing! Definitely the highlight of our cruise.

Another fantastic excursion - we booked directly with Alaska Excursions for the sled dog excursion. It was a lot of fun as well.

We were able to find these excursions partly from reading CC and looking on Trip Advisor. If we were in a foreign country I probably would book only through the cruise line, but being in Alaska I felt comfortable booking with an outside company directly.

We were perfectly happy too with our original booking of a midship balcony, which we had gotten a really great rate on. But once I heard about upsells I had to research and try it for myself. I was amazed frankly to get the Aft Penthouse Suite for the price I did - our final price per person overall was about the standard rate for a balcony. However, it's now going to be difficult to go back to a cabin without robes, butlers, concierges and daily treats left for us! Not really, but it is nice to be a bit spoiled every once in a while :)

We got an upsell (if you want to call it that) 3-4 weeks before our cruise to Alaska. The upsell department "didn't have anything to offer" us, but calling my TA and telling them the suite I was interested in worked - finally. The prices were fluctuating every day it seemed and the Haven suites were just then beginning to fill up from what looked to be upsells from Penthouse and Mini-Suites that were starting to appear available. This I found from doing mock-bookings on another online TA. Good luck!

CruiserBruce - can you tell me what differences you found and which way you would go in the future? We're considering either Sun Princess or RCI Radiance of the Seas for New Zealand. I don't know if it's best to go with a ship that's always there, or a cruise line we're very familiar with.

7172 looks like it wraps around the side as well, but isn't showing as such on the website deck plan. Can anyone confirm that it currently does? It would be a nice spot for a New Zealand cruise we're considering.

Do you have to select a specific cruise to take advantage of the "next cruise" deposit perks? Or can it be a deposit to use towards a future booking?

I haven't yet called CR first to get a rate since becoming a Club Royale member (I did have TA call and get a credit for an upcoming cruise based on an email I got.)

We're looking at possibly a 2018 cruise to Australia/New Zealand and I'm thinking of the best way to get the best price/perks. Does CR give rates this far in advance? Would I be best served waiting until my upcoming cruise to do open-ended "next cruise" deposit & obc then call CR for rate & to book? And then transfer to TA for added perks?

I learn so much from these boards - thank you in advance for any helpful insight!