ARandomTraveler

I've also read that if it's really important to you to be able to go to a specific restaurant on a specific day at a specific time, you can pay out of pocket to make the a-La-carte (non package) reservation in your cruise planner in order to lock it in, and then once you're on the ship, cancel the reservation and swap it out for a reservation using your UDP. I'm not sure if that's fool proof though.

➕1️⃣ What he said. Using it for lunch makes the discount for buying the package negligible.

I'm pretty sure they were talking in hypothetical terms, meaning that one person may be willing to wait until the very last minute to accept the upgrade, while another person isn't. So notifying the cruiseline as soon as possible when one knows they'd like to back out makes it easier and quicker for everyone because it takes the extra person out of the equation. Their use of the words "your" and "your friend" confused things because it implied they were talking about you personally, when they really intended to speak in generic terms (and therefore should have used generic terminology). ...I think anyway

A waste of money.

I guess we can at least agree that the minimum age is definitely not 5 😂

Copy and paste?

I've read that on here too, it sounds like there are some holiday meals at specialty restaurants that have an upcharge. I don't know if someone using the UDP pays less of an upcharge, or if they pay the same cost as everyone else. It also seems to be only for Christmas and New Years (from what I've read). I'm on a Thanksgiving sailing next month and there's no special holiday meal black out dates on my cruise, from what I can tell. Of course Thanksgiving is an American holiday so that might be why it doesn't count.

If that's the only specialty restaurant, I would say no. How many times would you go back and eat at the same restaurant with the same menu? If not everyday, then it's a terrible deal. The lowest price I've seen for my Symphony cruise is $207.99, and Symphony has at least 7 specialty restaurants. I wouldn't pay $183.99 for one restaurant.

I did a little more investigating into my own refunds because I haven't gotten them yet, and I realized there's a website on the envelope that you can go to, and input the numbers from your barcode on your paperwork. This will tell you where your refund is. The receipt in my photo above was from a purchase where I was able to get my refund at the point of sale, probably because it was a really small amount ($16). I still had to validate it at the airport though. I looked into all my other refunds and they all say that the refunds are still in process and that they take up to 30 days. I'm at 34 days and haven't received them yet, but assume I'll get them eventually. Here's the link to track your refund, assuming that the paperwork the store gave you has the barcode, you can check yours. If you didn't go to the kiosk at the airport though, I don't think your paperwork will have been processed, unless the cruise ships do it differently. Either way, go to this link and put in the numbers and you should have your answer. https://www.planetpayment.com/en/home/#

Are you talking about the VAT tax refund? There's a minimum purchase you have to make in order to qualify for it, but if you make that minimum purchase, you can request the VAT tax to be refunded at the airport before you fly home. In order to do that, you have to get some paperwork from the store when you make your purchase. There's 2 ways they can do it. One is the easy way (which requires you to have your passport with you), and the other is the "hard" way. If you have your passport with you, the store will fill out some paperwork and give it to you in an envelope that looks something like this (below), which contains your purchase receipt as well as a form they filled out containing the amount of your purchase and how much of it was tax, your passport info etc., and it has a barcode on it. When you leave the country, there are kiosks at the airport where you scan the barcode on the top of the form, and you'll eventually get the VAT tax refunded to the credit card you paid with. If you didn't give your passport to the store, there's a bit more work that you need to do at the airport. You still need to have gotten this paperwork from the store, but since the paperwork won't contain your passport information, I think you have to fill out some extra stuff at the kiosk, perhaps show documents to someone in person, and then drop the envelope in a mailbox of some sort. I'm not sure how that process works because I did it the passport way. If you look at the bottom left of the envelope, you'll see the English instructions for using the kiosk. It says that if you scan your barcode and get a green screen with "ok. Form valid" then you don't need to do anything further (this is how it worked for me). If you get the red screen, it's because the store didn't do all the paperwork with your passport, and you have to go see someone (the instructions say you have to see someone at customs, but I recall there being someone on hand around the kiosks who could do whatever it is they do, and then after you see that person, you have to drop your envelope in a box for further processing). The store was mistaken, it's not automatic unless you gave them your passport and they filled out the form on your behalf. And even then, you still have to scan the barcode at the kiosk. If you didn't do that, you didn't complete the process, and I wouldn't expect the refund. Some stores can give you the VAT tax refund at the time of purchase (that's how this purchase in my photo below worked). I guess scanning the barcode is just for validation purposes.

Then maybe you should just consider the most realistic option, which is to pay the money to bring extra luggage. What you're trying to do isn't reasonable, which is why the rest of us were trying to offer a little humor, but also a bit of a reality check. It's like those shows on HGTV where a couple says they want a 5 bedroom home in a big expensive city, with a big backyard and a man cave and a gourmet chef's kitchen, but their budget it $200,000. Sometimes we can't have what we want.

Have you considered divorce?

First off - get rid of the formal wear. All of it. Second - it's the Caribbean, it's hot, you get sweaty, makeup just runs off your face anyway. Get rid of the makeup. Swimsuits are small, bring one cover up, and bring one pair of shorts or pants, and a sundress or two. And sunscreen. And pajamas. And a toothbrush. Option 2 - scrap the spirit tickets and pay for one of you to fly on a real airline. Go southwest, and you can bring 4 bags for free (2 checked and 2 carry on).

Nothing that they reported sounds out of the ordinary in the least. In fact, when looking at the photos they used to show how crowded things were, I thought "that doesn't look that bad." I guess if people go on a cruise expecting the ship to be empty and expecting it to be quiet and peaceful rather than fun and full of activities, then they didn't do their research, and they certainly picked the wrong vacation for themselves.

Is the dining package also supposed to be listed on the set sail pass? My refreshment package is listed, but not my dining package.

I looked at midnight last night, out of curiosity to see prices, and Icon wasn't an option for ships to pick from yet. I checked just now after seeing your post and it's there. Pretty pricey, but I guess not that much more expensive than the holiday cruises. Plus it's a new ship so that's to be expected. The question is, did they set prices "low" to start getting people to book, and then if people book as expected, they'll quickly raise the price? Or will bookings be slower than expected and the price will come down? I'm contemplating making a booking just for the heck of it, but I'm also really not all that eager to sail on this ship. I'd be booking it more for the "security" of having a booking just in case I change my mind and start getting excited about it, and just in case prices go up to a point where I'd no longer consider it.

So the check-In time is just when you get to go inside the terminal and show your passport and paperwork? Then what happens? Do you stand in a line and wait for them to start letting people board? Or do you find a chair and hang out until an announcement of some sort is made? And at that point, how is it determined who gets in line first? Is it a free for all, with people knocking down old ladies and running over babies?

You mean to tell me that if I had spent an extra $6,000, I could have gotten a cold wash cloth and chips? Dang it, I can't believe I didn't book that crown loft suite when I had the chance 😂. Im kidding - I know there's more to this room than what you mentioned, but by itself just simply doesn't justify the cost so I couldn't resist. I was looking into booking one of these rooms for my upcoming trip on Symphony, but since it's Thanksgiving week, the cheapest price that I ever saw posted for one was $4500/person, not including tips and taxes. Since this is our first time on an Oasis class ship, and there's so much to do, I figure we won't be in the room often enough for me to have felt we'd enjoy the extra space and bathroom. Not for $6,000 more than I paid for our balcony room anyway. Perhaps on our next cruise, if we go on a non-holiday, cheaper week when we'll actually utilize the extra space.

I'm not sure how I feel about the rest of it, but a lazy River seems like a cool idea, although admittedly a bit "out there," which is why DirtyDawg's comment about the Vegas structures made me think of it (except I was serious and I know DirtDawg was joking).

My Symphony cruise next month has been selling it for $72.99/day when "on sale" ($86.13/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $602.90 for the week). $77.99/day when not on sale ($92.03/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $644.20 for the week). Unless you plan to drink alcohol every day on the cruise, the other good option is to buy the refreshment (non-alcohol) package and then just pay out of pocket for the alcohol. Refreshment on my Symphony cruise next month has been $22.99/day "on sale" ($27.13/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $189.90 for the week). $29.99/day when not on sale ($35.39/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $247.72 for the week). Buying the refreshment package, even at the full, non-sale price of $247.72 gives you $396.48 of wiggle room to pay for alcoholic beverages out of pocket, which if you're not a big drinker, will save you money, especially when you multiply that by 2 passengers. For 2 passengers that's $792.97 to use for paying for drinks out of pocket. If between 2 adults you'll drink less than 52 alcoholic drinks (that cost $15) in 7 days, then do the refreshment route.

I'd love to see a lazy River that goes around the whole top deck.

And probably regretting it 😂 I'm kidding, but in all seriousness, everyone is different. I'm sure having extended family on the trip is a bonus because there's lots of help. The dynamics are different. It also depends on a person's expectations of how they'll spend their vacation, and what is relaxing and/or fun to them personally. I personally wouldn't do it again if put back in that situation, but I'm also someone who thought they wanted 4 kids and only had 1 because I realized 4 kids didn't fit into the lifestyle that I wanted to provide for my kid, or the lifestyle I wanted to live myself. And part of that was realizing that on vacation, I like to sleep in, I don't want to be constantly telling a kid to be quiet and sit still in a show so they don't disturb the adult passengers (which means I didn't get to see any shows). I want to sit down and enjoy dinner (which is hard to do when dinner takes 2 hours and you either have to entertain a kid for 2 hours so other people aren't disrupted, or you have to eat in the buffet with your kid while everyone else goes to a different dinner without you). And I like to do a lot of things that aren't conducive to having small children in tow, and it was definitely "not for me." And while toddlers can have fun anywhere, I can assure you that it was very upsetting to my child to not be allowed in the pool, and to not be allowed in the adventure ocean area where the toys were, and to not be able to run around in the big open areas of the ship because I wasn't willing to allow her to disrupt other passengers, and also didn't want her falling off the ship outside. Don't take that the wrong way to read that I didn't like being a parent. I loved it and still love it. I raised an awesome, extremely successful kid whose in the top 1% of everything she does, partly because I spent an exorbitant amount of time and money on her and her activities and her education. I made a lot of time sacrifices and personal sacrifices to raise her the way I did. I spent a TON of time with her (and still do). She attends a top 5 "Ivy League" school, and we're headed on another cruise together in a couple weeks, and we have a ton of fun together on cruises now that she's not 2 years old. We've done lots of cruises (and lots of other vacations) together over the last 18 years, and I've enjoyed every (ok not every) minute of it. But would I take another 2 year old on a cruise? Nope. I'd save my money (and save everyone the headache) and stay home. But that's the kind of parent I am. Everyone is different, and this particular poster might feel more like you do and think it's perfectly fine and they'll have fun. I'm just giving my opinion based on my experience and my parenting style (which I realize isn't for everyone).

Well, as I said, my experience was 18 years ago 😂 I just remember being on the pool deck of the Explorer and the railings were definitely wide enough for my 2 year old to fit though and it was a terrifying thought. It's not such an outlandish fear either - remember the baby that fell off the ship in Puerto Rico and died a few years ago? I know that was different since he/she fell through a window while being held by an adult, but the possibility is there, and therefore I wouldn't want a small child wandering anywhere close to the side of the ship. It's just not a fun experience, and your ability to go to shows and participate in all the ship has to offer is significantly diminished unless you can put your kid in daycare, in which case, why bring them?

Where does one get these "cruise points" that work like money?

My first time cruising 18 years ago was with my then 2 year old. My advice to everyone since then was "don't do it." It's not fun. It's not relaxing. You pay a bunch of money to take a vacation where you can't do most of the activities because they're either not kid friendly, or because kids need naps or have bedtime or just have short attention spans in general. You can't get in the adult pools with them, you have to constantly keep an eye on them so they don't run too close to the railing and fall off the ship. They aren't welcome in the kids club at that age, and any babysitting has to be done in your own stateroom. Etc etc etc. If you can leave the baby at home, and are comfortable doing that, do it. If not, my suggestion would be to save your money, and take this cruise 3-4 years from now (assuming you don't have more kids by then).