SmashatSea

6 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

After 24 hours of travel I think the biggest attraction for you will be a shower and a sleep.

When traveling, I'm quite determined. We've done a similar schedule on past trips.

Yes to clarify we are coming straight from Florida which will be around 24 hours of travel and losing a whole day. Thankfully our flight to Sydney is a red eye so we should sleep a little. We know we will be pretty but but thankfully the first two days of the cruise are at sea so we can recuperate then!

We are thinking of dropping off the bags when we arrive and doing the zoo that day. We want to do a behind the scene tour that apparently only has 2 start times trophies the day. Normally we get on the ship pretty early but this time around we may just drop the bags off and continue to explore. I think it’s safe to say the private car is NOT the best option! 

Okay so a bit more information about what we’re wanting to see/do. Definitely don’t want to be stuck in traffic all day so I’m open to some different suggestions! We’re from a Florida and this is our first international trip so figuring out the local transportation is a bit intimidating.

As I said, we’re arriving the day before our cruise around 8am. We won’t be able to check into our hotel until after 1pm and we will be at the Travelodge Martin Place. So we also have our luggage to figure out what to do with until we can check in. As it gets closer so will check with the hotel to see if they can just hold our luggage until the room is ready.

Theres a few shops in the Rocks we want to stop in and we also want to go to Taronga Zoo and perhaps the botanic gardens. We also have tickets to the Nutcracker at the opera house the evening of the the day we arrive.  When I look at a map, it feels all over the place. We plan to make the most of our limited time so we will probably being going going from when we land to when our heads hit the pillow!

5 hours ago, banzaii said:

Just thinking about your thread title and wanted to let you know that the words Sydney and transportation had a whole different meaning in the late 18th century.  This was actually the sentence handed down to our convict ancestors!

 

I agree with others that you might regret both the cost of a limo and driver and the time spent in traffic.  Roads are really not the best way to get around Sydney.  There are usually other options depending on what you want to do.

 

With only the 1 day to see the best Sydney has to offer, I completely understand why you want to make the most of it.  The experts here just might be able to help you find alternate destinations and better options to achieve your goals.

Well good thing we aren’t in the 18th Century. Also can’t really think of another word for transportation. Thanks for the fact though...

42 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Not an answer to your question but, why a car and driver?

 

To see Sydney all you need to do is catch the ferry from Circular Quay. The same place your cruise leaves from. It's really not that much trouble to drop off your bags at the hotel. Although I suppose it depends on how far outside the CBD your hotel is located.

Because from what we’ve looked at, the places we want to see are all over the place. We don’t just want to stay in Circular Quay. Also it’s our one big vacation we take every two years so I would prefer the ease if it was a reasonable price. 

Mulling over the idea of getting a private car and driver for the day we arrive in Sydney. We have just the one day before our cruise and would rather not waste time having to drop bags off at hotel and trying to Uber or walk everywhere. I'm from the states so where is the best place to look for a service like this?

We did this on our Alaska trip in 2017. I cannot remember the ship. I want to say Explorer? The tour was great but the group seemed bigger than the space allowed. Very small parts of the galley at times but we really enjoyed the information.

The food was plentiful! Really did get bottomless champagne and the food was set up as a buffet for us. They had anything from steak, potatoes, veggies to breakfast stuff like poached eggs and pastries. I think they even had a whole fresh sushi section.

7 minutes ago, CruisinCrow said:

 

Not bungee jumping but bungee trampolines (like they have in some malls).  I'm not sure of all the ships it is on but definitely Enchantment of the Seas.

 

I think you should start another thread on the Royal Caribbean board and title it "Favorite Onboard Activities on *** of the Seas".  Then maybe the mods won't move it again.  

Good idea! DONE! ☺️

I've always been a 7 day cruiser but this year we have our first 12 day coming up on Ovation to NZ. I Iike the leisure of a cruise but with the extra time, I'm curious to try out more on board activities. It will be just me and my husband sailing.

 That being said, what are your favorite onboard activities that RCC offers? Both free and paid?  I know it can vary based on the cruise but still would love to hear! 

8 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Reminds me of a news story this morning: a Royal Caribbean passenger is suing the line for injuries suffered while bungee jumping.  He commented that the line is trying too hard to come up with activities to keep passengers entertained - without properly training their staff.   

 

 

Is there a ship with bungee jumping onboard? Or are they referring to an excurion? 

We aren't big thrill seekers so I don't think we'll have to worry about that either way.

Yeah definitely specific to Royal. Not sure why it was moved either!

We have our first ship tour booked on this one! Very excited!

I've always been a 7 day cruiser but this year we have our first 12 day coming up. I Iike the leisure of a cruise but with the extra time, I'm curious to try out more on board activities. It will be just me and my husband sailing.

That being said, what are your favorite onboard activities? Both free and paid?  I know it can vary based on the cruise but still would love to hear!

5 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

Yep. I bought it 5 times. The first three times, no problem. The last two they tried that per shot nonsense. I had to show the beverage manager online that it says ANY. Both times they honored it, by alerting the staff at the shop that it applied.  hey changed it for me... but what about everyone else on board that had the card? Nope. As long as I purchase and it says ANY when I purchase, I will hold them to it on board. Interestingly enough, they had no problem with left over cards from previous cruises. 🙄

 

I have complained both times to RCI, and I now believe they like the ambiguity. 

 

 

This helps me to remember to bring a print out of the terms on my future cruise if they haven't changed the language by then! Only purchased it once so far and definitely had multiple punches for larger sizes.

2 hours ago, COCKYMARK said:

Is it delivered to your stateroom?

 In my past experience we recieved a letter directing us to pick it up at the coffee shop in the promenade. They had our name down on a list and issued it to us there.

14 hours ago, ZandZ said:

Hi.  Wait, it sounds like you actually baked the cupcakes vs. just decorated?  I mean, either will be great, but also baking them is a bonus.

 

I have this planned for me and my boys next month on the Briliance, will come back with feedback.

Sorry about that, we did not bake the cupcakes. They had different premade flavors we could pick and then a couple designs they walked us through. 

I did the cupcake class on Allure. We made a few rather large cupcakes and learned how to make some pretty unique, intricate cupcakes. Worth it once but would rather put it toward a full dining experience looking back on it now.

We did an Alaska cruise in August of 2017 on Explorer, much smaller than Ovation. It was my first cold weather cruise. We LOVED it. The excursions and scenery are so unique compared to those of warm weather cruises. It felt like much more of an active, adventure vacation than the leisurely tropical cruises we have taken.

Our ship was very simple but actually didn't find ourselves wanting to do a ton because it was so great to be out on the deck or balcony just reading a book or playing cards. The glaciers and mountains we were going through were just amazing. The cruise for us was much more about the destination than the ship. We hope to take another and include a land tour portion because we loved Alaska so much.

6 hours ago, Kbrauchle said:

Has anyone done the sushi making class? Opinions? It's my boyfriends first cruise and he LOVES sushi. Thought this might be a fun thing to try.

 

I'm vegetarian and do not eat fish. Can they accommodate this? Or can I go and just observe? 

 

Thanks!

We did this on Explorer during our Alaska cruise. It was hosted through Izumi so I assume they're relatively the same. We really enjoyed ours. Got a free shot of sake (or juice if you prefer) at the start of the class and the teacher was very fun. We made 3 or 4 basic rolls and got to-go containers to take them with us. We just found a good place to camp out and eat them on the ship but I do think you can opt to eat them right there in Izumi. They also showcase a few different sakes you can purchase to pair with the sushi. I didn't see any vegetarian option during our class but that's not to say they couldn't accommodate.

Do you have any more info you can share about the tour to the Symbio Wildlife Park? We're staying in Sydney before our departure and would love to find a driving tour option that would allow us to visit there. We'll just be relying on cabs/Uber in the city. 😏

We went last August and stayed at The Belltown Inn. The Belltown area had a lot of great stuff within walking distance and we were able to take an Uber to the cruise port for cheap!

The hotel has a rooftop deck you can get some great views from too! They have a retro look but its a very clean up to date hotel and we would definitely book again if going back to Seattle.

https://www.belltown-inn.com/en-us

Can't really give much advice about when to book. I always book before hand because I'm a crazy planner. I'm sure people book on board and make it in the classes still. BUT the sushi class was definitely worth it. We did it on Explorer. Was hosted in Izumi. We made a really good portion of sushi but it is more of simple selection since they can't put out a ton of stuff. Still a great value and they gave us a good shot of sake!

I did the cupcake class many years ago when it was in the Cupcake Cupbard on Allure of the Seas so I am not sure how it has changed now. This was great too but it was quite a crowded class. It was fun to do with family but for the price it does seem like a lot just to pay for a couple cupcakes when it all comes down to it.

When I cruise I always like to try new things so if you can spare it I would still say try it if you have the time and wiggle room in the wallet! At least once!

We have always checked in as early as we can and carried on the rolling luggage...can't remember the exact size but its the kind you can fit in the overhead compartment on the airplane. It hasn't ever felt like a hindrance for us. Honestly we haven't ever had to wait as long as we thought either! And LOTS of people do this so it's not like anyone is looking at you like you're the people in the way with their bags. Usually since we travel as a couple we can pack it into just one small rolling bag and then my husband will have a backpack with just some minor things. If you have wine I would put it in a backpack if you have the option but we have done both and never had any breakage.

I bought this card on Explorer in August prior to sailing in the Cruise Planner and in that instance they did not offer any additional discount if you bought on board. Its generally one of the lower price "packages" so I don't think they tend to drop the price. I am a big coffee drinker and just managed to use it up by the last day of our Alaska cruise. I think they might have gotten firm with the 1 punch per shot though so sounds like you would blow through it pretty quickly.

When I read the price guarantee policy on the RCC website it says they only do this within 48 hours after booking? Or is this something different? Noticing a small drop in our cruise fare for Ovation booked in Dec 2019 so trying to find out if I can take advantage of this or not. We did book about two months ago. Never tried before!

I was spoiled by having my first RCC experience on Allure but I just recently sailed on Explorer. It definitely is a different experience. We took advantage more of the scheduled activities and booked more of the onboard extras like galley tours, mixology classes, etc. and did not feel disappointed at all.

We did not find the Solarium lacking anything in our opinion, either. Nor did it seem crowded being that it was naturally smaller.

In regards to shows, we did choose to skip out on those as nothing seemed to peak our interest.

There were just a couple specialty dining options to choose from so yes if you do tend to go for several of those during your cruise vacation than you will probably be a little bored with the options.

Again though, I know Explorer tends to be able to go to some great locations. Ours was Alaska so it was well worth it! Would do it again in a heartbeat!