Itchy&Scratchy

I just booked my 5th RCCL cruise, and it was the first time I booked it online directly with the RCCL. I had no problem looking at the small signs on the deck plan that explained what kind of a bed situation was happening in the room I was about to choose. Actually, I found RCCL's deck plans to be a lot more clear than Princess', because they had a legend/description of all the signs displayed right under the deck plan, while Princess site doesn't.

 

P.S. By the way, on Regal Princess I found a single sofa bed to be more comfortable than their regular single beds. They are called "twin" but they really aren't and it's beside the point. It was just so much better than a regular bed.

The only potential problem is if the child does not have the same last name. Then RCCL requires proof of family connection with the parent whether it is a birth or adoption certificate. If all names match, no problemo, passport card is fine for Caribbean cruises.

the child is adopted. Surely, she got the same last name as at least one of the parents. At least that would be my assumption - I haven't met a single family who adopted a kid from overseas and didn't change their last name to theirs. And why wouldn't they?

I have two citizenships as well - Russia and the US. So do my parents. We always come back to the US using only the US passport. Our Russian birth certificates don't even travel with us - they stay in a safe at home. We bring Russian passports with us only when we travel to Russia or countries that don't require a visa for Russian citizens, but require them for US citizens.

 

When your DD reenters the US, she reenters as a US citizen only and needs to only show a US passport/card. The fact that she was adopted from Russia or has another citizenship has nothing to do with her reentry from a cruise. It won't even come up. For all intents and purposes, she is a US citizen who is coming back from a trip.

 

This is going to be our child's 4th cruise - and NOT ONCE was his US citizenship questioned at the border. Not a single question asked of him. You are overthinking this greatly.

 

All of us have a passport book, not a card, just in case we ever need to interrupt the cruise in an emergency and come back to the US by air.

Seems to be RCI marketing at it's best. On their site it will show 1 or 2 cabins available, but on another online cruise agency might show 15 as being available.

 

Then there have been times we called RCI about a certain cabin and surprisingly, it was available, though not being shown on any website we tried.

to my knowledge, a lot of cruise lines do that with cabins - they give some of them to the travel agencies. After the final payment day, these cabins are released back to the cruise line and are now available to general public to purchase directly through the cruise line.

 

I had a different experience some years ago - I went with a TA and they told me that all the cabins in that price category were sold out and I had to go a level higher (more $$$). I went directly on the cruise line's website and lo and behold, the category was not sold out and I got it.

doesn't the booking screen on 'plan your cruise' on the rccl website not show the times/choices of shows?

this information is not available for our March 2019 sailing as of this moment.

 

 

Recent Compass:

 

thanks! I did a search with a word Patter, but I guess on RCCL it's called Compass. :)

does anyone know when the shows usually start?

For example, the first night on the Allure - when would it usually have the Aqua show?

FYI, RCCL is running their Kids Sail Free promotion right now on select cruises. I just booked our Spring Break 2019 on Allure of the Seas cheaper than on MSC and Princess. I am very excited. We haven't sailed on RCCL since 2014 and haven' been on their Oasis or bigger ships.

There is no set time for various reservations to open. They (excursions, dining, entertainment, etc.) can open at different times. Keep checking your Cruise Planner on Royal's website.

My March 2019 Allure cruise doesn't have any entertainment options open at this time.

I'll keep checking - I had no idea one should reserve the shows.

my son has been" the boy" for most of his life.

 

My son is "the offspring". My dear husband is usually referred to as "my sweet husband" or "that stinker", since he has an unpronounceable name. My sweet husband sometimes refers to me as "the Mrs" which makes me laugh every time.

Earlier this year they had a promo where the 3rd and 4th guests were $1. That is what prompted my wife and I to book our first Princess cruise.

I've checked EVERY DAY since Jan 1... The Thanksgiving cruises I am interested in didn't have the $1 sale. Or the $99. The sale might have been for the next years' cruising.

That, and he probably figured out we kept taking it off because #theboy had recurring nose bleeds. Which, sadly, is very normal for him. Much to the dismay of the waiters at Johnny Rockets. They kept insisting he go to medical.

May I suggest always carrying a bottle of Afrin with you (well, for #theboy)? My DH has had prolific multi-hour nosebleeds that required ER visits, and his ENT finally taught him a trick of spraying Afrin into the nostrils to cut off the blood supply and clot it. It takes several sprays, but it does now stop within an hour.

If #theboy doesn't have waterfall like nosebleeds, then his should stop even quicker and you will not need as much toilet paper.

he told me in no uncertain terms that while in most ports, including Roatan, it is fine to plan tours directly and not through the cruise line, do NOT do that in Belize. He made me promise him that I would ONLY book through the cruise line next year. Has anyone reading this had any experiences in Belize to share?

back in 2009 we booked a cave tubing tour with Coral Breeze Tours in Belize, and it was wonderful. Cheaper than booking through RCCL, and much more intimate as the group was only about 12 people, as opposed to RCCL's group of 60. After the tour, the guide took us to a local eatery, where my DH and our friend enjoyed a local meal, which they liked very much. The guide (Ivan) was great, and we would totally book though them again if we ever go back to Belize.

the total for a 7 night cruise came to $82.xx, so the 18% tax was added to the $9.99 per day price.

My neighbor is a Princess snob exclusive but went on the Harmony in early May with his wife and 14 year old. They loved everything about the ship. His only complaint was the upsell places to eat. His wife thought the food was better than Princess on some nights and the same on most. He cruises twice a year and this was their first on R.C.

My friends are Princess addicts (but only Regal and Royal) because of the food and the free on demand TV. To them Princess food tops it all (they tried RCCL, Celebrity, Holland and Princess). But their kids go to kid's club and the parents are free to do whatever they want.

 

We do love Princess food and think it's better than RCCL, however, I just booked RCCL after a long break because our kid doesn't go to kid's club, and Princess doesn't offer anything for kids to do other than the kid's club. We want to have fun with our kid!

 

We sailed with RCCL from 2009 to 2014 and loved the activities, but got more and more disappointed with the food over time, and we sailed Princess from 2015 to 2017 and loved the food, but disliked lack of family friendly activities.

 

I booked the Allure, and I truly hope we are not disappointed. :)

I've seen it for $8.50 per day. However, whenever you buy, if you see a lower price, you can cancel and re-order.

I was thinking $9.99 IS the lower price.

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-deals/offers/kids-sail-free?icid=rtlfrt_conten_4th_dealsp_sec1ti_2412

 

 

keep scrolling, Anthem is definitely on the list - I filtered by 6-8 day cruises and Anthem popped up around $670 pp.

Well I got very excited when I saw this thread only to be disappointed again. I was waiting for kids sail free to show up again but I didn't see any for Anthem. RCI is brutal with these "sales".

I just bought our spring break 2019 cruise, with the KSF, on Allure. It really made a difference in the price. I priced 2 adults vs. 2 adults/1 kid, and it was spot on.

The cruise that I really wanted wasn't part of the deal.... but DH didn't want to go on an older ship anyway.

 

 

Allure, Harmony and Oasis are definitely part of the deal.

 

So is Anthem:

 

7 NIGHT BAHAMAS CRUISE

 

Leaving from: Cape Liberty, New Jersey

Onboard: Anthem of the Seas

This cruise visits 4 ports

• Cape Liberty,New Jersey
  
• Orlando (Port Canaveral),Florida
  
• CocoCay,Bahamas
  
• Nassau,Bahamas
  

 

 

Departs:

Oct 27, 2018; Apr 6, 2019

I have the same problem with the choices.... We are traveling with a 7 yo.

 

Navigator of the Seas - costs a bit more and is a much older ship, but it goes to ABC islands, which are dreamy. We absolutely fell in love with Bonaire and Aruba, and Curacao was nice. We were on the Navigator when it was much younger many years ago.

 

Allure of the Seas has a kids sale free promotion right now, is much newer, but it's going to boring destinations we are tired of. And our friends told us that due to a sheer amount of passengers on the ship, there are lines everywhere, even to the buffet.

 

ok, so we made a decision and went with Allure. In the end the Allure fare for the 3 of us ended up much lower than the Navigator. Plus, we've never been on the RCCL's bigger ships, so we are looking forward to exploring.

DH will breathe easier on a newer ship. Literally.

Got the KSF promotion which didn't apply to Navigator sailing just a couple of days earlier.

is $9.99 pp soda package a normal price, or do I have to buy it today to get this pricing?

I have the same problem with the choices.... We are traveling with a 7 yo.

 

Navigator of the Seas - costs a bit more and is a much older ship, but it goes to ABC islands, which are dreamy. We absolutely fell in love with Bonaire and Aruba, and Curacao was nice. We were on the Navigator when it was much younger many years ago.

 

Allure of the Seas has a kids sale free promotion right now, is much newer, but it's going to boring destinations we are tired of. And our friends told us that due to a sheer amount of passengers on the ship, there are lines everywhere, even to the buffet.

will they ever have a $99 sale for the 3rd and 4th passenger???? I am holding out for that.

it happened to me after the first cruise and lasted a couple of weeks. And it was a very calm cruise.

It doesn't happen anymore, even after much stormier cruises.

I'm not sure of the room configurations but beware if you get a room with pullmans, your kids aren't old enough to use them so you and your wife will be sleeping in the bunks. Be sure to get a sofa bed.

Just an FYI...Myself and my 3 girls, 16, 18 & 20 shared an interior on Independence and we were just fine. If it were me, I would choose the one room for that kind of savings.

depends on a kid. Mine's been cruising since he was 3, and he was thrilled to have the Pullman bed. He is a very sound sleeper and doesn't fall off.

Same goes for my friends' kids (also started sailing at 3).

I think Princess is a great fit, but the Bliss simply looks amazing and they had a great promotion running when we booked.

just be aware that Princess doesn't offer much to kids aside from a fantastic kid's club. I know because we have a 7 yo who doesn't do kid's club.

We go on Princess (Regal and Royal) for the food and free on-demand movies, but other Princess ships don't even have free on-demand entertainment.

Princess is definitely geared towards older crowd. Not old, just older.

 

I am also considering going on an older RCCL ship just for the itinerary and all the fun stuff to do on the ship.

On MSC KIDS SAIL FREE...always. .

nope, not always.