jasper15

They definitely had jumbo scallops as an appetizer in Chops. I had them the first night, delicious.

I didn't see any sushi, and I was looking for it.

There is a bar inside the Windjammer, not sure what the name of it was though but we had bloody marys there with breakfast one morning.

Vintages on independence serves most mixed drinks, beer and wine. The only thing they don't do are frozen drinks as they don't have a blender.

DH and I had the drink package on both Independence and Anthem. We dined at specialty restaurants most nights. DH drinks most kinds of red wine and he was very happy with the options available by the glass.

I only drink chardonnay and there was always one available. I've found the drink package to be excellent value. We have always found drinks within the price limit.

We did the Walking Food & Culture tour in Old San Juan and it was the best excursion we have done. Really enjoyed it. Booked through Royal.

Loving your review. We are going on Allure next year, wish it was sooner!

I'm not sure about the details of these appliances but if you plugged them into the US sockets they might not work because the voltage is only 110 volts. Did you try them plugged into the European socket which is much closer to the Australian voltage (220 volts / 240 volts). When I charge devices on board, I believe the European sockets are quicker.

Yes I did try them with European adaptors. They worked everywhere else overseas except on the ships which was very strange

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Toom my GHD hair straighteners on Anthem last year and they wouldn't work. This year I bought new ones made by MUK and they worked fine on Independence. I took my Dyson hair dryer with me this time too and it wouldn't work. Wish I had known beforehand. The hair dryers on Royal lack power and it takes ages to dry long hair.

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I booked out 1st Cruise Today

16th Jan 2019 8 Night on Carnival Legend

Sydney, Noumea, Lifou Isle, Melbourne

 

Where in Melb so will need to fly up (happy it debarks in Melb so no flight to get home)

Do we arrive the night before and stay or do a morning flight on the day of embarking?

We are a family of 6 (2 Adults 4 kids) its the middle of summer school holidays

Will accommodation be hard to get or be pricey to get that time of year??

 

Any recommendations for places to stay that are reasonably priced, close to OPT

 

and that will fit all 6 of us if we decided to fly in the night before would be helpful too

 

Thanks

Sydney Wattle Hotel have family rooms for around $240. They are 2.5km from the port. There may be other transport options but an Uber XL shouldn't cost too much to get you there.

Personally I would never fly in the morning of the cruise no matter where I was coming from. Flight delays seem to be the norm these days and cancellations are always possible. When there are 6 of you, if the flight is cancelled it could be hard to get on another plane altogether.

Most restaurants take credit cards. Some restaurants and all taxis (in Melbourne anyway) charge you extra for using a credit card. Not sure how much the surcharge is in taxis at the moment but in restaurants it can be as much as 2.5%.

If you go to any markets you will need cash. And for incidentals like bottles of water etc it will be cheaper to pay cash. Most convenience stores have a minimum amount you need to spend in order to pay by card. There is also a minimum spend in most bars (usually $20) if you want to pay by card.

You can get cash at the Sydney airport however the exchange rate won't be the best available.

I would look at purchasing some from home and bringing it with you.

As for tipping, as the other poster mentioned it isn't a requirement. However taxi drivers often expect it, especially if they have helped you with your bags. Tipping is always appreciated and I always tip if I get very good service in restaurants.

When is the cruise? A couple of weeks ago we were told to be at the airport one hour earlier than required by the airlines due to increased security because of terrorist threats. This has been lifted for the time being but could be put back in place at any time.

So for international flights they were telling you to be at the airport 4 hours prior to departure time! The queues to get through security were enormous.

Can you get on a later flight without penalty if you are late to the airport?

If you book through the Australian RC website or a travel agent the price includes gratitudes. This changed a couple of years ago. Just think of the gratitudes as a service charge. It's so much better just to see the advertised price as the total price you will pay. For excellent service you can still get envelopes from guest services to tip additionally.

 

 

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I never knew this. Perhaps it is why the drink packages are priced a lot higher than they are on the US cruises?

I've yet to cruise on Ovation but my husband and I usually do a Junior suite when we sail with Royal and they are very good. I wouldn't book a lower category again unless Junior had sold out and I really wanted to do a particular cruise.

We always stay in a mid-ship cabin and have never had a problem with feeling the boat move. Mid ship is a good location.

I've read on CC that the higher the cabin is the better. I think deck 9 is the lowest we have stayed but it was great. Have a great cruise :)

They had Late departure adbertised on Indy in June but that was out of Southampton

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Thank you. I am definitely checking out Miami Beach area!

(Note: I originally posted this message on the First Time Cruisers forum, but was told that this forum was a better place for it, so here goes.)

 

My family (me, my wife, and two teenage kids) have reservations for a Southern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean later this year. I am wondering if any RCCL veterans can fill us in on dining options.

 

It's my fault for not looking into it further before we made our reservation, but I didn't realize how the dining works. From what I can see, we have four nights of casual dining, one night of "smart casual" dining, and two nights of formal dining. However, even the casual dining means khaki pants and a dress shirt ... not that it's a big issue, but especially in the Caribbean, it would be nice to wear a polo shirt and dressy shorts to dinner. And the smart casual/formal nights ... not happening. I can't remember the last time I wore a jacket and tie, and I'm definitely not going to do that on vacation.

 

Unfortunately, the only other options I can see are eating at the Windjammer buffet (my wife hates buffets) or nibbling on room service in our staterooms (which sounds depressing).

 

Is there something that I'm missing? Any truly casual options? Anyplace where we can go to grab a quick salad or sandwich?

 

From reading these forums, I'm wondering if we picked the right vacation. It seems that many/most cruise customers enjoy getting dressed up for dinners in the evening. That's not us. We didn't sign up for a cruise because we wanted a two-hour meal every evening. We signed up for a cruise because we want to visit six different islands and have great excursions on them. But I'm starting to wonder if maybe we should just eat the reservation deposit, and instead spend the entire week in Puerto Rico.

 

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

DH and I agree with you entirely. We don't go on vacation to dress up. DH wears jeans and a polo shirt every night for dinner on every cruise we go on. On formal nights, we either eat in a specialty restaurant or Windjammer. We have been to Chops, Giovannis and Izumi and have found them all to be great food. I would look at buying a BOGO dining package.

Thanks so much for the suggestions and the links. I will have a look at those. We would definitely like to see the Kennedy Space center :)

Great picture of you & Jill in front of the falls! Enjoy :)

DH and I are cruising on Allure Of The Seas in June 2018. We have never been to Florida and plan on arriving there 2 or 3 days prior to cruise (we will be driving from Atlanta). Will return the car in Miami upon arrival.

Wondering what area we should stay? We are wanting somewhere with plenty of restaurants/bars in walking distance and preferably close to the beach. Would be looking at spending around $150-$200 per night for accommodation.

I have had a look at sunny.org website but not knowing the area at all, it's a little overwhelming.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

There is also a laundry special - wash and fold items only (not press). You can fill a bag and have it done for the special price - it was $30 on Anthem last year but only $25 on Independence in June so not sure how much it costs on Mariner. But it works out a lot cheaper for items such as Tshirts, shorts and underwear

So just making sure I've got this right.... I can cancel a previously booked shore excursion, get a refund, then rebook the exact same excursion? I think it's just the Aussie dollar rising in value against the US, but it's slightly cheaper now....

 

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Yes you can also book then cancel and re-book dining options and drink packages if you see cheaper prices.

MTD is My Time Dining. It is for dining in the MDR - Main Dining Room

FNDR is First Night Done Right - a package that is sold in cruise planner for dinner in a specialty restaurant on the first night of the cruise

I had the dining package in June on Independence and it was fantastic. I will definitely book it again.

If you book it online, it might not let you select a time that you want to dine at. I think I had to choose 6pm or 8pm but once on the ship we were easily able to change it and we ate at 7pm every night. Thoroughly recommend it :)

I saw it on Independence in June for $75

Also watch the Australian/New Zealand forum as well as your cruise roll call 😊

My sailing is in January and so far, I am the only member of the roll call :confused: But I will definitely keep an eye on the Aus/Nz forum. Thanks

It's worth noting that you can buy the drinks package now and keep watching the prices in the cruise planner. If it goes down in price, you can cancel what you have paid for and that money will be returned to your credit card. Then you re-book it at the new price. This is common practice.

I will point out that when I sailed on Independence a few weeks ago out of Southampton, the prices for the drink package on-board the ship was 25% more expensive than what I had purchased mine for a few weeks earlier.

Also with the drink package, it includes unlimited bottled water, which is handy to take on shore excursions.