TheHawk1

I am also a Buffalo, New York native. I agree completely with what you said. I have never found a beef on weck sandwich as good as we can get in Buffalo. If it's a choice between eating a good sandwich in Buffalo or a mediocre sandwich on a cruise ship, I know which one I would choose.

Clutch pearls, then inhale smelling salts... what is the world coming to? I don't see how someone else chooses to dress impacts the quality of your vacation? They paid the same fare as you did, perhaps even more. They should be entitled to enjoy themselves as they see fit.

If RCI's IT team would just re-enable booking show reservations through the cruise planner web site prior to boarding your actual cruise, then this wouldn't be an issue for anyone. That's the way it used to work pre-pandemic.

You mean there are young people out there who don't care about anyone besides themselves? I'm shocked!

Assuming you will be on Wonder, which I will be on in September? I have been reading reports from that other social media site that CC doesn't let us mention, because there isn't much information here. It appears that while the ship docks at 7:00am, many people are reporting they're not getting off until 7:30am. So I think the chances of making the 7:44 regional train are very slim. I'm hoping to make the 7:58 train, but have also adjusted my plans in case I miss that and have to wait for next train at 8:44 (not sure why there's such a long gap), which gets into Rome at 9:30. Because of that, I have picked a Colosseum tour group that starts at 10:00 to be safe. If I'm early, so be it, but better than missing the start.

So basically not worth the upgrade just to get to Emerald status. Got it.

I booked a cruise last year for this September when Royal was offering double points on all bookings. So I'm already entitled to 14 points for a seven day cruise. Now I've received the RoyalUp email offer. If I were to bid on a Junior Suite and get it, that would normally be double points for a suite. Would Royal also honour the doubling from the original booking on top of that, so that I'd end up with 28 points total?

Still trying to decide between the BIRG ticket or just paying separately for the regional train and metro. I don't plan to use the metro that much in Rome. I've noticed you can purchase regional train tickets in advance from the Trenitalia web site, but it looks like you need to pick a specific date/time? Do you know if these tickets are only good for the train time specified? I'd like to buy the ticket in advance, as it would save time of having to purchase one that morning. But, since I can't be sure that I can get off the ship in time to make the 7:44am train and may need to catch the 7:58am train instead, perhaps it would be better to flexible and wait to buy the ticket at the station?

Driving isn't the only way to get to Rome. The trains run very frequently and take less than hour. Once in Rome, there are several highly rated day tours (Walks of Italy, City Wonders) that are less than half of what the cruise lines charge for the same thing (or better). That's what I'm planning on doing this September.

I sent them an email yesterday inquiring about an excursion for September. Received what looked like an auto reply today that they are very busy, short-staffed and could take up to 7 days to respond back unless your tour request is for the next month or so.

Jumping in on someone else's question. I looked for ferry operator sites to purchase tickets directly. There appear to be two, SNAV and NLG. Are they essentially the same in terms of service?

In another thread, someone mentioned purchasing a BIRG ticket, which would allow you to take both the regional train and the metro on the same fare, for the route you have suggested above. Is that helpful in terms of saving time? If so, do you know if you can purchase them in advance?

Have booked SV on Deck 11 of Apex... unfortunately have to wait until Feb. 2024, but got my choice of cabins. Thanks for all the advice.

Looking at a future cruise on either Beyond or Apex and planning to book a SV to avoid the dreaded Infinite Veranda. Just wondering the pros/cons of being on a higher or lower deck... e.g. a Deck 12 cabin would mean no one above you looking down at you sitting on your balcony and probably great views. However, do you have the noise to contend with from the Oceanview Cafe above you, as well as more soot on your balcony from smokestacks? On the other hand, by picking a lower deck, say 7 or 8, do you feel the vibration more of the engines or the motion of the ship if it's rough seas? Just curious what others have experienced or how they choose?

I now see it's pointless to have these debates on a forum like this. But, for the record, the current strain of Covid is as infectious as measles. That's nowhere near the same as the common cold or the flu, which is probably the worst thing you would have caught on a cruise "pre-covid". It would be nice if people would stop comparing them, but I know that's never going to happen.

Keeping people who are currently positive from getting on the ship in the first place is one step towards reducing overall risk for passengers and crew. Hardly Covid theatre. And no, testing won't be forever, as new and improved vaccine boosters should be coming later this year which would improve immunity to the very contagious Omicron variants.

Even with everyone testing negative pre-boarding now, lots of people are still catching Covid onboard. Just imagine being on a cruise with no testing, with Covid zombies walking through the ship infecting everyone. Sounds like a fun vacation.

For people who like to plan their vacation in advance so that everything goes smoothly, waiting until the last minute to do something stresses me out. And it is an inconvenience, since Royal took away something that used to work just fine.

This is a dumb system that is only recently in place. Prior to the restart after Covid, you could easily pre-book your show reservations on the cruise planner for any Oasis class ship and some others as well. It was no different than pre-booking your MTD times, so that you wouldn’t be left with choices you didn’t want once you got on board. For some reason, the brain trust at Royal think it’s ok to now inconvenience passengers and have them waste part of their boarding day booking shows, whether on the app or in person. The old system was much better and there has been no explanation forthcoming as to why they just don’t revert to the way it used to be.

I have looked at a couple of those options as well. It does reduce the stress of worrying about being back on time and making your own train connections. But I'm not sure if their guides would be as knowledgeable as some of the other tour companies that focus just on Rome day tours? But they are still a better price than the cruise line option.

I really appreciate your detailed response with all the suggestions. I'll be on Wonder of the Seas, so a large ship make take some time to get people off quickly in the morning. I have been reading about the changes at the port and a shuttle bus to the train station, so hopefully those won't change too much (for the worse) by September. The tour (Walks of Italy) says it ends the day at the Sistine Chapel and then gives you some time to spend in the Vatican museums. So I could skip out after the Chapel and start heading for the station to ensure I make the earlier train.

Thank your for the advice, especially the part about getting off at the Ostiense train station. Looking at a map that makes more sense.

I'm trying to figure out how risky it is to plan my own itinerary for a 13 hour port stop vs paying for an overpriced shore excursion. I know cruise lines promote the fear of missing the ship's departure time and I realize you shouldn't underestimate that problem. By the same token, is it worth paying more than double for an excursion that doesn't look as good as what I can get from a private tour group? Our ship arrives in port at 7:00 am. This will be in mid-September, so hopefully the tourist crowds are somewhat less that time of year. There is a local train that leaves Civitavecchia train stations at 7:45 and would get me to Rome Termini station at 8:50. The one day Rome tour I'm looking at starts at 9:30 at the Colosseum. Is that sufficient time to make the tour once getting off the train? How great is the chance the train could be late getting into Rome? The Rome tour lasts 7.5 hours, so it ends at 5:00 pm at the Vatican. There is a 5:30 train leaving S. Pietro station that arrives at the Port station at 6:15 or as backup another one that leaves 5:45 and gets to Port at 6:45. In either case, that should be plenty of time to be back on board before the ship departs at 8:00 pm? I've never been to Rome, so need to factor in the time it takes to find out where I'm going or stopping and asking directions. But I am a fairly seasoned traveler in other European cities and always prefer making my own travel arrangements. Would really appreciate feedback from others on whether this is reasonable or risky?

You should go on a cruise with Computer Nerd and then the two of you can dress up to your heart's content and make fun of those that don't. The rest of us will just dress comfortably and enjoy the vacation that we paid a lot of money for, in order to do whatever we choose to do.

You are absolutely right. I have booked all my MTD reservations months in advance for a Wonder of the Seas cruise in September. But without being able to make show reservations ahead, I have no idea whether those dining times are compatible with being able to see a show on the same night. This is clearly a step backwards in terms of what pre-planning services used to be offered to guests.