MsOne

The word reasoning doesn’t belong in quotes. People have their reasons for purchasing FTTF. Those reasons are sometimes different than other’s. It’s no different than someone’s reason to decide to buy anything. Just because some people don’t want it doesn’t make the reasons of the ones who do any less legitimate. It’s value is subjective. Just like, for example, Cheers. Many don’t think that’s worth it. The difference being, those people don’t run around these boards insulting everyone who does buy it.

 

You don’t have to own a business to know people will buy just about anything (e.g. The Pet Rock). Purchasing FTTF doesn’t make them stupid, like a few here love to claim, nor does it make them gullible. They are getting a handful of perks and, to many, it’s well worth the cost, even after the price hike.

 

Carnival isn’t just “saying” FTTF is limited, it actually is limited. They only sell so many. So as a business owner, you should be aware of the law of supply and demand and how it affects prices. Please be sure to inform your customers that you think they’re gullible idiots who will buy anything and let us know how that turns out.

Hmmm...are you unfamiliar with the American use of air quotes as sarcasm or unfamiliar with the definition of reason: Reason is the capacity for consciously making sense of things.

In either case, your sensitivity to the discussion caused you to ignore the fact that the other poster and I were laughing at the idea of Faster to the Fun. And in the act of making fun of the premise and those who buy into it, I poked fun at the so called "reasoning," in other words, "making sense of the idea of purchasing the service." So next time you are so hurt or embarrassed because someone called you a sucker that corporations love to see coming, just suck it up and move on instead of trying to find grammar errors. :'):'):')

As has been known since the FTTF program started, it is $90 max PER CABIN, not per person.

 

For our group of three sailing together, it would be a maximum of $30 each -- and that's only if it was priced at $90; some shorter sailings are still $50 and $60 per cabin. $30 each is, frankly, peanuts. We have no problem paying it, but we realize that every person's price-point is different.

Yeah, I meant to change that right after I posted to "per cabin." But like I said before, I didn't want to do it $45 so not going to do it at $90 especially when there was no delay for us. Unless they include rocket jet shoes we couldn't have been "to the fun," any faster.

While I do not like to agree with my friend on any Carnival post, I cannot think of any cost for FTTF (I have said in the past, whoever thought of it should have gotten a raise). Have they hired more help to get the room ready? no Have they increased shore side staff? no (just the opposite actually) Does someone have to manage the program and allotment of slots? no Where is the increased cost?

Yes, if you let several hundred people onboard hours earlier and allow them to start consuming unlimited amounts of food, using water, electricity, etc.....that costs. People with unlimited drink packages get an extra hour or two of that as well. Time is money.

WHOA!!!

I was NOT expecting that! I had to think long and hard about $40....decided against it and glad I did because once we arrived there was no way we could've gotten "to the fun" any faster than we did. WOW! $90 a person is ridiculous :O

This is supposed to be German Chocolate cake? Whoever made this needs to go back to cooking school for more training. Or, use Google to find out what a true German Chocolate cake should look like.

NONE of the cakes that popped up from doing a search looked like that unevenly cut thing with the oatmeal cookie on top :D:D

I was on Carnival Breeze in January and there were a lot of desserts out at lunch....but not much looked appetizing. The cheesecake at dinner (in Blush) was pitiful - like some creamy icing mixture. BUT the cheesecake at the coffee shop was 4 STAR! (Lost a star from the rude girl at the counter...did not realize "gratuity" was added for her to hand me a slice).

By the way. Our party of 14 reserves only 2 chairs part of the day for the 2 disabled members of our group who will come out later. They are actually using the chairs while reserving them- so are not chair hogs. This is the way our family has chosen to deal with the chair hog situation. The chairs are constantly occupied by someone (even a child may want to sit a while) till the 2 disabled come out. The other adults in group, make do sitting on the ground or around pool and are busy with kids. I do not disagree with those of you moving towels sitting for long periods from real chair hogs. This is just the way we feel best about dealing with situation. If you do not like our way of dealing I DO NOT CARE. We feel more Christian about doing it this way. In reality it is once or twice during a 7 day cruise that we have any need of doing this. If people obeyed the rules and did not CHAIR HOG my son and son in law would not get their peaceful quiet time by the pool, where someone takes their order and hand delivers their breakfast to them. Likely the most peace they get the entire cruise. Traveling with kids in your cabin can get stressful. Son in law falls asleep w/i 5 minutes of sitting in the chair.

I do not understand why you keep bringing up the length of time of chair was abandoned vs others. If I wait around for 30 minutes, I'm going to pick a spot....not try to figure out which chairs were unattended for 30-45 minutes and which one for 2 hours. I don't know, all I know is there is no where for me to sit and I'd like to lounge around too. But like others have said, I don't think anyone is considering people in the pool as hogging a chair...so in that case your scenario doesn't apply.

And please, don't blaspheme Christianity by trying to use it as a way to get others to show you mercy for breaking the rules. WOW! I can't believe you said that. You go on and on about how "mad" having your towel moved would make you...and adding that you DO NOT CARE about how others feel. Does that sound like the answer to WWJD?

The majority of hotels have a 3pm or 4pm check-in time....meaning that's the earliest you can check in for that night. Of course people may show up around 1 or 2pm and get a room, but you're talking about 12 hours in advance. With that early of an arrival, your options are to find a hotel that offers a Day Rate, or book it for Friday night also.

There are some hotels that have "day rates," and they are usually near the airport for issues just like this. Day Rate hours are for times around 9am-4pm (could be an hour or two earlier/later). For arrivals before that timeframe, it is usually just booked as the night before with a 11am or noon check out. But since you will be staying again that night, you shouldn't have to worry about the checkout time. Day Rates can be a flat fee (probably under $100), or 1/2 nightly rate or even full night's rate.

The other option is to reserve Friday night also and have it noted that it's late arrival. That way, whatever time you arrive, the room is yours! You can go check-in and not have to wait around or hope they have an early check in room available. Because calling and requesting early check-in is just that, a request! If they end up selling out the night before, you will have to wait on someone to check out and for the room to be cleaned and ready. So it's a chance you take. When you book it for the night and they know it's a late arrival, they will just charge the card on file... so make sure the card you book with is the one you actually want to pay with.

If you're trying to go the most economical route, I'd say search for a hotel with a decently priced day rate.

If you don't want to start your vacation off feeling drained, I'd say take the earlier flight and reserve the 2 nights. At least then you can check in at somewhat of a normal hour and be in bed by 1am instead of flying through the night and dragging bags trying to settle in as the sun is coming up lol.

Or go all the way frugal and take either flight then go to a discoteca that's open when you arrive! Hotel will hold your bags and you hang out on the dancefloor until check in time!

I think a lot of these things are subjective, food being number one. I've always enjoyed the food and thought it was good regardless of the venue (I've never eaten anywhere but the MDR for dinner) and the pizza is better than people give it credit for. There's definitely free soft serve.

 

You obviously saw the classes they advertise most with all the latest things to do. I guess there isn't a way to know it's not on your ship if you're new to Royal unless you do some digging. The employee saying you had a virtual balcony is really strange though.

 

I can't speak for the Liberty slides specifically, but I did the Adventure slides a number of times which I believe are the same thing. If you listen to the crew and don't sling yourself at all, I could see them being slower. But I thought they were a blast and my buddies and I would have races. From looking at recent Cruise Compases that people have posted, it doesn't look like they have a Scratch Academy DJ onboard but that doesn't mean the DJ isn't great. We've had both ends where we couldn't get into much that they were playing and then the other end where I never wanted to get off the dancefloor because everything they were mixing was fire.

 

I normally don't do the extra-cost items just because there's so much to do that doesn't cost a dime and is tons of fun (we do get the drink package though and definitely make use of it ;p). All I can say is keep an open mind, don't go looking for the bad things, and you'll have a great time. I know it's obvious but sometimes people need to be reminded! I know I cannot wait for our cruise on the Liberty - she's going to be a blast.

Thank you so much for the response and for addressing everything. I did some research and several publications listed Liberty as top 5 in the Royal ships, others had it pretty high among several cruise lines. So, again, I thought a lot of things were just kind of part of the brand.

As far as the "Scratch Academy DJ," it is supposed to be a fun class in a club-type atmosphere to learn how to DJ and it's geared towards teens/tweens. I think it started at age 12 and our son will be 11 on the cruise, but I thought maybe the kids club would take them and he'd really enjoy that. Who knows, after this cruise we might be some new loyals to royal (already love my KC Royals) and then I'll book on one of the other ships in the future. I really like Anthem and love that it stays in Bermuda for up to 3 days so I was already looking at that. I guess it was good I didn't realize all of this until after I booked otherwise I would've went for Anthem next January, not realizing until a few days ago as I read another thread that cruising out of NYC during the harshest winter months does not make for the most pleasant cruise. So another blessing in disguise.

Also nice to see that you say there is an element of fun concerning dancing. I wasn't sure what to expect there either. I saw one venue was more of a makeshift club...common area by day, club at night. And then the others were noted as restaurant/lounges. The restaurant/lounge is good for groups or couples, but not so much if solo.

I am still excited about going and can't wait to see the ship and get a feel for RC, the guests and the atmosphere in general. I avoided cruising for many years because I couldn't imagine subjecting myself to being in one place the size of a large hotel with thousands of other people... and even worse, only getting to spend a few hours in the other countries we visit. It didn't help that I could fly roundtrip and stay in luxury hotels for up to a week at a time and spend less than $100 for three of us. But, my son has been asking to cruise plus my perks are not as great now as they were, so we tried out cruising in January. It was Carnival Breeze and we had a fantastic time! Even enjoyed my few hours in each port and loved the people I came in contact with. This was my first time cruising in 20 years and I knew a lot of things were not going to be included any more, but the experience was sure a fun surprise for someone who avoided cruises like they're the mall the weekend before Christmas! (((shudders)))

Oh yeah, and big sigh of relief from my son knowing there is free soft-serve anytime! LOL

Shame you didn’t look for our social media page for Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas. You would hear what a great ship she is. She’s not in Oasis class, but we prefer her to ships in Quantum class, and she’s the most updated ship in the class in Freedom class. Try going with an open mind.

:D this is about as "social media" as I get, so you are correct, I definitely didn't look for another page. But given the number of results that come up when doing an internet search that point to Cruise Critic, I would expect more information to be available here. Heck, even the cruise line itself hosts a meet and greet for registered site members.

I am still going in with the attitude of having a great vacation but it was definitely an eye opener to find out from even the Royal Caribbean fans that this ship is not one of the ones people are always bragging about.

What is "most of the stuff" you've read that doesn't apply?

• I was told by the Royal Caribbean employee I booked with via phone that my inside cabin had a virtual balcony. It was not something I asked about, but she offered the information and went into great detail to describe it to me. I'd read about virtual views, but later found out that this ship doesn't even have them.
  
• I read about the Star Class, got excited about it and looked into making the most out of the vacation and going all out....only to find out it's not even an option on this ship...neither are a lot of the different types of suites.
  
• I also read about the dive act/show, just found out that isn't offered on Liberty of the Seas.
  
• So many people went on and on about the variety of food on Royal Caribbean...only to find out it's very limited without paying extra.
  
• Then a lot of price increases in the couple months since I booked it (Johnny Rockets, internet package - internet might not have increased recently but it is higher than what I was told. ).
  
• Speaking of food, was truly shocked to read the opinion on the awfulness of the pizza! As well as shocked to see "loyals to royal" say that the steakhouse on Carnival is better than Chops. So if the fanboys say it about the pizza and steakhouse, I gotta take their word for it. By the way, still can't believe there's no free ice cream unless it's offered for dessert in the main dining room.
  

• I thought for sure that this ship has the DJ Scratch Academy, but I don't see it listed any more.
  
• I read that there are a lot of things I should do far in advance in cruise planner...then found out it won't even open this far ahead (9 months).
  
• Then some cool features that I thought were standard like the zip line, I think I was seeing the rock wall and grouping them together. Thought the robotic bartender would be a cool experience as well...but not gonna see that either.
  
• Another is the waterslide, I can't believe how many people post about how slow and pointless it is LOL. It sounds like they want to be very very safe for all ages so I understand...but still I was surprised to hear it.
  
• Lots of difficulty on applying a gift card to payment and taking advantage of a better promotion.
  

These are just things I was surprised to read...obviously I have not cancelled so it it didn't make me jump ship (see what I did there ;)

But again, things that I didn't expect given a lot of the pompous comments I'd seen about why other lines are sub-par. So many rankings put Royal Caribbean as the absolute best overall cruise experience since it has the fun family aspect as well as luxury (according to the articles, blogs, etc.).

Agree with you and basically that is what I said in my post.

 

“Business, housing complexes etc by law must follow the ADA act. If they don't they can/will suffer the consequences, in the forms of fines etc. However, the average business owner doesn't know the differences between the two and would rather welcome all pets than face the consequences. This is where people have taken advantage of the ESA system and over time it has gotten worse over the last few years.”

The irony is by law cannot ask for proof as my understanding. So all those kits seem to be getting people from there money, I don't have an issue. The problem is it is almost impossible to tell if it's a ESA vs "real" service animal. Unless they brag that it's just to take Fido on the cruise. Is my overall point.

 

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For service animals they are allowed to ask "is it a service animal," and "what service does it perform." Emotional support you can ask and deny access.

On Carnival Vista last fall we were able to order cans of soda delivered to our statement precruise for $10 a 12 pack. Does RCI offer anything like this? Scheduled for my first RCI cruise in August on Adventure.

Yes, it's $12 for a 6 pack, $22 for 12....and also a 24 pack option. A guy posted the menu from a ship he was on last week. I think it was a door tag like the room service menu.

There was also a bottled juice option, the prices were different though (higher of course).

EDIT: I found the thread/post that lists the individual prices. I thought it was interesting because I had only seen the 4 cokes with a 375ml of liquor before. Also, the soft drinks are $2 or less with this package vs. the $3.50 a can any where else on the ship. Here's the link

Of course, that's what they advise people who miss boarding to do.

I was anxious and awake our last morning so I went and got light food and put it in the cabin. So I guess that's room service... minus the gratuity charge lol

I'll keep the money in my pocket (or spend it on "doing"). Besides, half the ship is a balcony and ocean view.

LOL @ give somebody a tip because someone didn't show up!! I will have to remember that next time one of my friends don't meet up with us for dinner...."hey, our waiter was Ron...stop by and give him some money for tips that he would've gotten if you came!" LOL

Thank you both for the information! Yes, Mom is actually quite versatile and can pick it up. She's doing well for 90 but I wouldn't want to book the flow rider for her! LOL!

LOL, well if she surprises you and starts "hanging 10" PLEASE VIDEO RECORD IT!

Oh my gosh! I've realized over the past week or so that most of the stuff I've read about Royal Caribbean doesn't apply to Liberty of the Seas. It's like the red-headed stepchild. It's the best of Royal Caribbean going out of Galveston and seemed pretty upgraded to me so imagine my surprise when 85% of the other threads are referring to the newest "class" of ships, or only mention Liberty of the Seas to say that the feature mentioned isn't included.

I actually did a search for "Liberty of the Seas," just so I could find info specific to the ship. Unfortunately not very many threads at all, and only a couple recent ones.

Anyway, thanks again to all contributing to this thread. It will be a good place for info but I must admit, my excitement has surely dwindled.

First time I've ever seen the ice cream menu - thanks so much!

I guess I will have my first ever taste of Ben & Jerry's....I've never seen flavors without chocolate or cherry (in person). The two flavors I avoid at all costs, so seeing strawberry offered and I'll finally see what all the hoopla is about....25 years later lol

Thanks for the info...was more than I wanted to pay for 2 people to participate in casual game anyway.

I would definitely check with your physician and/or dietician for guidance. Clearly, you would need to stay away from frozen drinks, as those have a ton of sugar. I would also recommend avoiding juice-based or mix-based drinks. I tend to go for vodka with seltzer, lime and a splash of cranberry. I'm not diabetic, but the sugary drinks tend to make me ill. Diet soda and rum, vodka, what-have-you, might also be good options. However, you still need to keep in mind that alcohol in any form has carbs, which can affect your blood sugar.

Absolutely incorrect. Plain vodka, rum, gin (and other distilled liquors) have calories but NO CARBS. If it is flavored then beware!

Wow, they are out of order for that! LOL! I am sorry to laugh but as others have stated, I driver license doesn't cost a thing to mail. No one special needs to pick it up either. It goes with outgoing mail, doesn't even need an envelope. Now, if they want to cover their butts and get proof of delivery, that's where FedEX or someone similar would come in hand. But really, it'd be better to just say "we are not responsible for items lost in mail."

I had a somewhat similar experience with Southwest airlines. Left a $17 souvenir I'd just picked up at the check in counter. I told the flight attendant, she said they found it and gave me a phone number. I called the number and was told they'd send it fedex. I was like, it's ok, I only live 3 miles from the airport, I'll come and get it. I'd seen their lost and found room and it was always lots of stuff in there, so in my mind this is where my item would end up. They insisted I MUST use FedEX, and asked for my account #...set up the account...gave them the number, then they asked for credit card to charge the $28. I was like huh? Did you not put it on the plane? Even if you didn't, it's something the size of a to-go box weighing 1.5lbs.

It was such a surprise because the flight attendant and I talked about it for a long time, she was like, no big deal. Then said, great news, I found it for you and will get if for you..blah blah blah. So yeah, I'd been to this city no less than 10 times but never wanted to pay that much for this type of souvenir....I finally bought one but in the end it ended up costing me $45..... then my 4 year old broke it lol!

Being from NE I never eat seafood outside of NE. And paying $30 for a lobster tail - oh heck no!!

Where are those periods when you need them lol! (NE vs N.E.)

I was like, Nebraska? Somebody will only eat seafood they get in Nebraska???

More like a giant shrimp.

 

 

 

 

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Oh wow! That does look like shrimp. The ones I see even frozen in Aldi would take up half the plate.

How is the age restriction controlled?

Hilarious for you because you'll never see it. Like our national debt just passing it on to our great great grandchildren, HAHAHAHA!!

Thank you for quoting me for yet another laugh!! I forgot about the thread and it's silliness! The confusion over erosion...and the obvious misconception of a handful of sands versus entire worldwide billion dollar industries using sand for concrete, glass, etc. Wow! This absolutely amazes me :o:D