NewlyMrs.Kilday

Antigua- would probably be your best bet for your “beach-bar day”. I will second Valley Church Beach. Beautiful and open, bar and food nearby. 
St. Lucia- we did a tour with zip lining and touring the island through Cosol Tours. It was awesome. If we go again I’d like to do the Pitons.

St. Thomas- We had a wonderful snorkeling excursion. Swam with sea turtles and many other beautiful sea life. Then they took us to a private beach for lunch and relaxing. It was through RCI, on one of the “pirate boats” 
 

Valley Church Beach

Beach from St Thomas excursion. 

Never been to Baha Mar specifically..but vacationed in the Bahamas frequently and have cruised pretty often too. If “visiting/seeing the Bahamas” is the goal, I would do the resort. Especially if you want to have more relaxation time. We are going on Navigator in September but the short cruise is more about exploring the ship that happens to go to an island in the Bahamas, rather than actually visiting the bahamas. Not sure if that makes sense, just my 2 cents 🙂

1 hour ago, BoozinNCruisin said:

Is the pricing per visit or is it per hour?  Wasn't sure exactly how the program worked for 2 year olds.

It is per hour (per child)

8 minutes ago, klmxt4 said:

So, I meant to post here again right after our trip, but it’s been a couple of months. We used Royal Babies and Tots on the Navigator of the Seas in May and had a great experience! Our 2 year old was being very clingy, and so we only really used them one night, but they were great! The first night onboard we stopped by and checked out a big bag of toys. We got to look through a catalog and my son could point to the toy bag he wanted! Too cute! (Just make sure you don’t lose or break them, because they have some crazy steep replacement fees!) The first night we attempted to use the nursery, my son wouldn’t settle down, and they called the deck phone they gave me to see if we wanted to pick him up. I gave them some suggestions and they tried them, but eventually I ended up picking him up. They were very patient and kind and didn’t even charge us for that night, despite him being in the nursery about an hour. The second try went better and he settled down. They gave us a list of food options for him, and there were plenty of foods he likes. It was all basic “kid” foods, from the regular Windjammer menu.

 

Also, I like their booking system—I was worried they wouldn’t have the openings we wanted, but they were able to book all the time slots we wanted. (We had another evening booked, but ended up canceling midday because we stayed on CocoCay literally until the last minute possible! 😂)

Thanks so much for sharing this info! We are also going on the Navigator with our 2 year old in September so I’ve been trying to read everything I can to help plan. Do you remember if there were times during the day available to bring them to the nursery? We aren’t planning on getting off the ship in Nassau and it might be nice to have an hour or two to just relax by the pool kid-free 🙂

Also, how does it work for bringing them there at night and bedtime? Do they put them in something to sleep or what are the sleeping arrangements like? I can’t imagine my daughter sleeping anywhere that’s not dark and with her sound machine lol Thanks for your help! 

4 hours ago, oceanblue33 said:

Just do wondering how this excursion was for other people. It's still listed on the cruise planners excursions.  Thanks for your reply

 

We did this excursion in 2016 actually so I’m assuming it’s the same one. It was awesome, we snorkeled with a bunch of sea turtles, the crew was awesome, the food on the beach was good too. I do remember getting a little sea sick because a storm was coming in and we rocked a little but it didn’t last long. 

I’m not sure I understand your question...but my husband did this excursion and we loved it! Were you asking if you could find* it? Or has anyone done* it? 

Thanks for the help. After exploring a little turns out this section is more pertinent to my question: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/minor-identification-forms

(Sharing in case someone else needs the info) 

Looks like just her birth certificate (no ID or passport) will be fine.

I tried searching but couldn’t find the answer. Cruising on RCI to Bahamas (closed loop) with 2 year old. Obviously she doesn’t have a drivers license, so the only thing we need is her birth certificate? Is that correct? 

Loved your review! I am a former dancer and we did a similar cruise and performed with our dance studio when I was younger. (2005 on Empress) Such a great memory! I’m doing this itinerary in September. Do you know what time the skating shows were the first evening? I know you mentioned not making the first one, we also have early dinner seating so just trying to think ahead. Thanks so much! 🙂

If we bring our own snorkel gear, do they make you wear one of their vests? 

Man apparently I need a new TA for more ways than one! I had no idea about some of the perks you all are talking about. We booked 6 cabins with this agent and got ZERO anything. Same price I found online, to the dollar. Zero OBC, no specialty dining or anything. I thought those kind of perks were done away with years ago and nowadays TA’s are more just for convenience. I will be doing more searching for sure. 

Update: I heard back this morning. She said she had already “got us” the price drop (??) and it will show when we make final payment. All things considered, I will still be looking for a new TA. Thanks everyone for the input 

28 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

If your reservation is refundable just book a new reservation directly through Royal at the lower rate.  Then have them transfer it to current (or new)  ta for additional percs.  When current ta calls back have them cancel the original booking

I’m nervous about cancelling or changing the TA as this is part of a group, we all booked with current TA (6 cabins I think) 

19 minutes ago, cruisinfanatic said:

and you tried to get anyone?

How did you get someone to book your cruise?

Yes called the main number and left voicemail. Also emailed. They were available when booking.

7 minutes ago, cruisinfanatic said:

good grief, give the TA a little leeway. It's lunch hr

👍🏻 I reached out 2 days ago 

3 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Royal will not deal with you directly on this. I would call another agent in the office of your TA and have them handle. 

FWIW I find it irresponsible that your TA doesn’t have their emails and phone line auto forwarded to someone to assist you when they are out of town. 

I know I’m a little bummed 😞 I will keep trying. 

3 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

Can you contact anyone else in the same travel agency?

 

I have to learn to type faster.

I called and left a voicemail, waiting to hear back.

Hello,

I have noticed a price drop on our upcoming Sept cruise, we are less than a week before final payment is due. I contacted our TA and received back an automated reply that she is “out of the office and will reply when she returns.” I’m worried I might not hear back from her before final payment is due and lose out on the savings. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should I call Royal directly or will they not be able to do anything since it’s a TA booking? 

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

You can change at the pier and then again on board, if needed, regardless of what you do online pre-cruise.

Ok good to know. Thanks!

Does anyone know if I choose cash account while checking in online, can this be changed later to credit card online? I don’t want to be stuck once I finalize the check-in process. 

On 5/13/2019 at 3:23 PM, CindyLovesTravel said:

Thank you so much. Hope you have a wonderful cruise. 

Just want to bump this post as I’m also interested in the 4 night Bahamas compasses :)

As a resident of Florida, an OB nurse, and a new Mom myself, I would probably keep the vacation as planned and stay on the ship while in the Caribbean (if it were me). All you can do is protect yourself as best you can and use bug spray as needed. Plenty of women in Florida that are pregnant :) As far as Zika risk, while there is always a risk, there have been no cases of the virus originating here, only from either someone that recently traveled to another country or had relations with someone that did.

All that being said, PLEASE contact your physician. Their opinion is what matters 😊 Congratulations!!

Thanks everyone, you all reminded me that my passport IS expiring this year as well! So to renew in my new name it is. Thanks again

I tried searching but couldn’t find anything, is there a thread about RC’s current ships-where each is located and their current itinerary?

We saw the ice show on Adventure in 2016, and there were no reservations for it or anything but you do need to go early to get a seat because it will be completely full. Can’t say if they have added a reservation requirement since then.

PS the show is really really amazing, so don’t miss it!