JIA2000

Hello. Last year, I was on Harmony of the Seas. In a few weeks, I will be on Symphony.

When I was on Harmony I put my gratuities of $101.50 on my credit card. I like this convenience. I don't want to have to deal with cash. Please forgive me if I sound cynical. I have heard a few people say that if you put the tips on your credit card, Royal Caribbean may keep some of it and not give 100% of it to the staff who earned it. Does anyone know if this is true? I want the hard-working staff members who serve me to get what they earn. If the reports of staff not getting their tips that filter through RCL are accurate, then I will accept the inconvenience of paying tips in cash. Thanks in advance for your input on this.

Justin

On 1/15/2019 at 11:47 PM, charlesbl said:

me and my friend poky will be sailing on the symphony of the seas western Caribbean 09/28/19

@charlesbl My partner and I will be on Symphony on 9/28/19 (same cruise as you) with his mother and sister. We were on Harmony last year. Are you going to any of the LGBT meet and greet events? I know they had one official one last year that was announced in the cruise compass.

3 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Is this something I could take my 5 and 7 year old on? They both know how to swim and I am a strong swimmer.

I contacted them with my concern about my poor swimming skills and they told me that they have kids come through there. My suggestion would be:

1. Contact them and ask them

2. Search the trip advisor reviews and search for kids or children to see if anyone else has brought their kids

Wish I could offer you more specific help but I haven't  been there... yet

5 hours ago, casone said:

We were there in May. Great experience! Yes, they provide life jackets and water shoes. They also provide free lockers. 

Thank you for your reply. Someone in my party has expressed concern about the water being dirty. Is that the case? My thought is that if it is underground the water is clean.

Hello. The Lost Mayan Kingdom water park looks like fun.

1. A big issue for us is that we don't like fast water slides. I watched a couple of YouTube videos on this water park and it said there are different "levels" of water slides. Are most of their water slides fast? Are there enough options for people like us who don't like fast rides?

2. I have a question about their lockers. Some lockers you have to pay every time you open them. Other lockers give you a key and you can retrieve stuff from your locker and put stuff in your locker as much as you want during the day for one fixed price. Does anyone remember which category their lockers fall under?

Thanks!

Justin

I have read rave reviews about the Amazing Secret River in Cozumel. I have a couple of questions.

1. I'm a terrible swimmer. I read a review on a cruise line's Web site saying that they provide life jackets. Can someone please confirm this? Also, it is easy to navigate through the waters if you're not a swimmer?

2. I also read that the lockers are provided and are free. Is this true since you are not allowed to bring watches, cameras, etc.?

3. (Edit - forgot something) I wear eyeglasses because I'm nearsighted. I have prescription water goggles for going in pools, going on water slides, etc. I read they are restrictive on what I can bring in. Does anyone know if they will let me wear my water goggles so I can see well in there?

Thanks!

Justin

I cruised on Royal Caribbean last year to the eastern Caribbean and loved it. Now I'm thinking of going on a Royal Caribbean European cruise. It leaves from Barcelona and goes to these ports of call:

Palma de Mallorca, Spain | Provence (Marseilles), France | Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy | Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy | Naples (Capri), Italy

Here is why I am posting here. I have been to Europe three times. (My previous trips to Europe were land trips with no cruise involved.) If I remember correctly we spent two or three days in major cities to fully see everything. When I was on the Caribbean cruise on Harmony, the ship was excellent. However I rate the shore excursions as mediocre to good. Has anyone sailed to these ports? Do the shore excursions that the cruise line offers do the cities justice? Do you feel like you see a lot of stuff? If I spend the money to for the flight to Europe (which costs more than the cruise) and deal with the red eye flight from Atlanta, would it be worth it?

Thanks in advance for replies. The people on this forum are so helpful.

Justin

Hello. I think it's important to buy trip insurance in case you have to cancel the cruise due to illness or if you get sick on the cruise. Has anyone had any experience buying the insurance through Royal Caribbean? How does their insurance compare to third party companies like Travel Guard (which I have always used in the past) or Generali Global? Thanks in advance.

Justin

Thanks for the replies everyone

Hello. We will be leaving the Fort Lauderdale port for Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas. We will be driving to the terminal.

How does checking in luggage work? Is it like the airport where you give your luggage to the worker at the counter when you check in? Or is there are a porter outside the terminal taking your luggage? Or are both of these an option? If given the choice I would rather take my luggage directly to the counter. That's what I always do at the airport to minimize the chance of something happening to my luggage or it ending up in the wrong place.

Thanks.

Justin

Hello. I have two suitcases:

28 inch X 21 inch X 13 inch

26 inch X 18 inch X 10 inch

My cabin mate will have a suitcase similar in size to the smaller suitcase. Will these three suitcases fit under the bed in a Harmony of the Seas cabin? We are OK if they stick out a little bit. My concern is probably more the height of the suitcase fitting under the mattress frame. Thanks in advance.

I read rave reviews of Bernard's Tours on Trip Advisor and on here. Is anyone familiar with the difference between Island Tour 1 and Island Tour 2? The descriptions on the Web site are similar. Island Tour 1 is 4 1/2 hours. Island Tour 2 is 5 hours. I sent them my question on Facebook. I got a very brief reply saying that on tour 1, there is no swimming. On tour 2, you swim two hours at Grand Case Beach.

That tells me that on tour 1 there is 4 1/2 hours of non beach sightseeing and on tour 2 there is 3 hours of non beach sightseeing. What sights will I be missing out on if I take tour 2? I've called their number in Florida several times but cannot get an answer and the voice mail I left was not returned.

Thanks.

Justin

Thank you very much to the people who wrote back. This was very helpful. I spoke to the daughter of the elderly lady I was asking about. Based of the difficulties she will have, they have decided to either stay on the ship at these ports of call or else get off the ship and stay close by. My cabin mate and I will go on the shore excursions by ourselves. I really appreciate the time you took to give me this information.

Hello. We are going on a Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean in late November. Someone in our group is elderly. She can walk but she walks slowly and has difficulty. She usually uses a wheelchair. She is trying to decide whether or not she should go on shore excursions. Does anyone have any experience on this?

The shore excursion we are thinking about for San Juan is "Old and New San Juan." The activity level is "Mild." RC won't let me copy and paste what this means from the pop-up but it talks uneven surfaces and a limited number of steps. The tour itself is: " a guided tour on the historical landmarks in Old and New San Juan." Do you think she would be able to go on this tour?

We are thinking about doing one of Bernard's tours in St Maarten. I don't think she'll be able to go on this tour due to the beach visit.

http://www.bernardstours.com/tours/sxm-island-tour-1/

http://www.bernardstours.com/tours/sxm-island-tour-2/

Thanks in advance for the help.

Justin

Thanks for replying. I am leaning heavily toward Bernard. I called and spoke to Bernard. He said that almost always people are able to get off the ship by 9:30 but they are willing to wait until 9:45 or 10:00. I figure that if there were issues with them starting tours before people have time to get to the meeting location or if they didn't get people back to the ship on time, the reviews on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor would not be so consistently good.

Justin

Hello. I will be traveling on Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas leaving November. One of the ports of call is St. Martin. I want a tour that includes both sightseeing and beach time. The cruise line doesn't seem to offer such a combination shore excursion. I was looking at Shore Excursions Group vs. Bernard Tours. Shore Excursion Group is big and has been around a long time. I have read rave reviews of Bernard. Has anyone had any experience with Shore Excursions Group? The reviews of that company seem mixed.

- My biggest fear is not making it back to the ship on time. Shore Excursions Group offers a guarantee. Bernard does not. How common is it to literally miss the boat when do you an excursion?

- My ship arrives at 9:00 and Bernard's tour leaves at 9:30. Is it enough time to get off the ship (with thousands wanting to get off), find that yellow building, and find the tour operator within 30 minutes?

- Has Bernard's tours been around a long time? Odds of a smaller tour operator going out of business are lower than a bigger company like Shore Excursions Group going out of business in the next seven months.

- I called their number and got answers to my other questions. There are multiple tour guides so if Bernard gets sick, the tour still goes on. No minimum to a tour. So if 3 people on the whole ship sign up for Bernard's excursion, the tour still goes on.

Any recommendations on one vs the other? Thanks in advance.

Justin

Hello. We will be going on Harmony of the Seas. We have a superior ocean view stateroom on deck 8. I am planning on bringing a big suitcase with these dimensions:

Length = 28 inches

Width = 21 inches

Height = 12 inches

I am most concerned about the height. Do you think this will fit under the bed? Has anyone measured the height of the bed? I want to make sure my luggage will fit otherwise I might catch some flack for bringing such a big suitcase. :D Thanks in advance.

I'm probably going to Magen's Bay. I have googled and found some waterproof bags on Amazon so that may be what I go with. Some of them have good customer reviews. I may double protect myself by putting camera, passport, and wallet in separate ziploc bags before putting them in the waterproof bag. If I go with the beach safe option and leave it in the sand while I go in the ocean, someone could always take the whole safe.

Hello. I am going to a Royal Caribbean cruise in September that stops at St. Thomas. I am in a group of four. The three people I am going with very much prefer to relax on cruises and may stay on the ship during the ports of call. I want to do the shore excursions including a trip to the beach. Has anyone had experience going to the beach alone? I am concerned about my valuables:

- Passport (you must have photo identification when leaving the ship)

- Digital camera

- Money and credit card

I think my two choices are:

- Beach safe like they had on Shark Tank one time (Google it - posting a link might be considered advertising and against board policies)

- A waterproof sealed case (designed for a phone even though I won't have a phone) with a strap to put around your neck (again, not sure if I'm allowed to post links)

For solo beach goers, which method have you used to secure your valuables? Thanks in advance.

Justin

Hello. We will be visiting San Juan on September 27 via Royal Caribbean. I am thinking of taking the shore excursion "Old & New San Juan City Tour" offered through the cruise line's Web site. I have seen mixed opinions about San Juan shore excursions in these forums. Some say you should do a self guided walking tour. Others say an organized tour is worth the money. What do you think? My concern is that I've read when ships are in port (my ship is Harmony of the Seas, the largest in the world, and I don't know what other ships will be docked) that the trolleys are very crowded. I also want to see as much as I can. I've never been to San Juan so perhaps the tour will show me more than I can see on my own since I won't know where I am going.

One more question. The tour description says you can remain at Old San Juan for shopping at the end of your tour or elect to return the ship. It says it's a five minute taxi ride. I don't know how scrupulous taxi drivers are there. How far a walk is it from the shopping district to the port? My biggest fear is missing the ship.

Thanks,

Justin

Thanks to you both for the quick replies

Hello. I am thinking of doing the jet ski and dragon's splash water slide shore excursions at Labadee. The instructions say to bring things like cash/credit card, sun protection, and a towel. However, I may be the only person in my party doing these activities. The other people in my party might not leave the ship or might be on other parts of the island. There won't be anyone to watch my stuff while I'm engaging in these water activities. Do they have a locker I can rent at Labadee to secure my stuff?

Moderators: I read the guidelines saying that port specific questions belonged on the port specific topic area. However, I could not find a topic for the Labadee port probably because this port is Royal Caribbean owned and specific to Royal Caribbean. I apologize if I am posting this to the wrong place. This is my first post here.

Thank you.

Justin