paulfoel

I see there no real limit but in terms of storage Im guessing its best not to take many because, I assume storage space is very limited?

Got balcony room on wonder of the seas....

ah ignore me £30 PER DAY so £800+

£30 per person at the moment..... Which doesnt seem bad since it includes one VOOM internet access right?

So £120 for 4 of us. VOOM is coming out as £110....

Is it too good to be true?

thats ok not boarding till 130pm

so do you all have to create a login for the app? How do you actually link them together?

yeh ok thanks all.....

Must admit I do think its a bit too much for a 10 year old. Looks like her 19 year old brother will be going to get her and taking her around - he'll be pleased about that!

Not so sure. Its a big boat (Wonder of the Seas).....

Shes keen but not sure if I let her go back and forth to kids club to the room etc.

Or how safe it is?

Although what the messenger app like?

can you connect one android phone and then use this as a hotspot?

So is it easy to switch devices?

Does it just kick out the other device if you log in with a new one?

Wonder if a travel modem will work? I.e. log in with this and use to share

Ok so say we're onboard at 1pm is there food available?

Or do we have to wait until the evening?

eh?

sorry it is indeed Port Canaveral. Specifically Royal Caribb

Can you go and drop your bags first and then go off and park and come back?

Or do you have to park, get the bus etc and do it all in one go?

There's 4 of us (I see on the deck map ours is * as for 4 people). Will the 2nd bed the sofa bed be a double or split into 2 singles?

Hope so - got a 20 year old and 10 year old!

On 6/5/2023 at 9:37 PM, kruzgal said:

Royal Caribbean should just pay their staff properly. Tips should be an extra for good service not what the staff need to live. 

Jeez don't embarrass us Brits please - we're not all like that.

I don't care if you never tip at home, how many times YOU'RE IN SOMEONE ELSES COUNTRY. RESPECT THAT.

Its not hard. It does my chunk in when people from the UK go to the USA and try and tell them how it should work. 360 million people in the US do this all the time, let we visit from the UK and want to tell them how wrong there are.

We might think its strange or weird but hard luck. If you'd like it don't visit.

11 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

By "official", do you mean ship-sponsored excursions?  A couple things to understand: 

- Be sure you understand what they're guaranteeing:  they promise they'll get you back to the ship on time to re-board.  A whole lot of people don't return to the ship immediately; instead, a lot of people shop or drink in the shadow of the ship ... and those are the people who tend to be left behind.  

- It's easy to watch You Tube videos and get the idea that being left behind is common ... that it happens to a couple people at every stop!  No, in reality the vast majority of cruisers make it back welllll within the time limit.  Pier runners aren't even common.  

- Private excursions are definitely better.  They tend to be small groups led by tour guides who are motivated to please you (and to earn tips).  They ask what you want and give your group choices, whereas ship-sponsored excursions tend to crawl at the speed of the slowest old lady ... they make you stop for an hour in a straw market that doesn't interest you, then they hurry you past a cute little bar (or bathroom!).  

- Having said that, there's a time and place for ship's excursions:  If you're going on a tour that's more than an hour from the port and/or requires multiple forms of transportation (especially in a country where you don't speak the language), it might be wise to go on the ship's excursion ... or make a different choice for that port.  

Two hours is my personal comfort level.  If you aim to be back with at least two hours to spare, then you're safe if something happens (getting lost, twisting an ankle, bad traffic).  I also make a point to know where I'm going (not trusting blindly in other people) and to have cash for a taxi, if necessary.  And don't let your group break up.    

Make that ALL private guides.  On these boards we hear people who are afraid of being left behind, but you won't read a whole lot about people to whom it's happened ... and I've never read a story about someone who was left behind by a tour guide.  

I think this is what most people do ... and it's very easy to schedule your day this way.  Personally, we tend to be back on the ship for a late lunch, and I think we're in the majority.  I don't think a whole lot of people are pushing their limits.

Thanks. Well the trip in question with the official tour guide of the mayan ruins in question is half the price of the "boat sponsored" one. Apparently though they're not allowed inside the port.

I do wonder if you'd end up on the same bus anyway?

Its 60 mins away, 2 hours at the place, hour back - plan to be back at the boat 2 hours before it goes so there is slack there.

Thinking about it - and read somewhere else - if these tours ever did not get someone back, it'd be all over the internet, and they're business would fall apart overnight. I guess its in their interest of course to make sure nothing happens!

I did read about a story about a trip where there was a landslide or something and the road back was blocked. The boat even went without people on the "boat" trip. Thinking about it as well - if theres a major road incident, even the official "boat" trip bus is going to get stuck as well.

I think in this case the cruise company paid for hotels/onward travel (which would not happen on the private trip I guess) but I can imagine they made every effort to wait for everyone.

£152 for us end Aug 23 - not a chance....

I guess with the official ones there is no chance of the boat leaving without you?

Whereas if you go it alone - its hard luck?

Just looking - its pretty much 2x the price.....

What do people do? Not sure if I could relax if I'm looking at my watch the whole time....

OP

Give cruising another chance. Get a new TA!!.

I see you are from the UK -- flying all that distance for a short cruise -- I would never do that. Select a 7 day or longer cruise.

We did 10 days Orlando, 4 days Cruise, then 4 days back in Orlando. So cruise was like an add-on to give it a try.

No probs all. 1st time cruise and all and we didn't know so like I said we do now.

We did see a fair bit of rowdiness but nothing too over the top but it wasn't really great for families. Like I said, it was obvious that carnival wanted the booze crowd for this cruise because of the way they constantly tried to push the drinks etc.

The smoking thing was crazy though. Everyone smoked where they wanted and no-one told them otherwise. This is not acceptable of course.

I think next time we might pay the extra (a lot extra) and go for disney cruise.

You picked a booze cruise . A short cruise (less then 6 days) on a holiday weekend with a low price . That is the perfect mix to come up with the sort of cruise you got . I am glad you recognize that you "picked the wrong sort of cruise i.e. 4 days around a holiday weekend." .

I hope you will give cruising another chance .:)

Fair enough - it wasnt that cheap though. My mistake not realising it was a holiday weekend though.

Kids still liked it though.

Cruising is definitely one experience where "you get what you pay for."

Find a good "cruise specialist" travel agent who will consider your means, desires, preferences in recommending a far better experience than a "booze cruise."

Yes. A bit disappointed that the agent didn't tell us this. cruise.co.uk is where I booked it.

They even tried to fob us off with mid deck rooms when I booked saying that was all that was left. Luckily, I checked on carnival web site and saw the spa deck rooms were available. Then they said "oh yes didnt see those" - not sure what they were playing at there.

Luckily this was a quiet area on top deck at front so we had no issues. I dread to think how bad it could have been.

I can see we maybe picked the wrong type of cruise of course.

3 days are always like that if your not looking for something like that its best to take a 5 night or longer cruise

I guess you live and learn...... :):)

Just got back off 3 night Labour day weekend. Bad idea.

Yes you can move to different parts of the boat but it is a booze cruise to be honest. Very annoying - lots of drunk people on board.

Our 1st ever cruise and some good points and some bad points.... Not sure if some of these are normal.

We went Labour day weekend (thurs-sun) 4 days out of Port Canaveral to Bahamas.

- Seemed to be a LOT of hen parties/stag parties etc. The entire cruise seemed to be focused on alcohol to be honest.

- Childrens club was "OK" but VERY limited. Some days there were no children in there.

- Smoking on board. EVERYWHERE. And no-one seemed to stop anyone.

- Again, alcohol. I'm with my family I really don't want to be cajoled into having a shot or having "something extra" in my Dr Pepper I've ordered with my meal.

- Pool on board was awful. Way too small.

-Service was variable. One night the waiter was good - the next night could not be more awful.

- On the plus side, the cabin was good, the food was good, as was the entertainment.

I'm hoping that we possibly picked the wrong sort of cruise i.e. 4 days around a holiday weekend.

Would definitely not do this cruise again or on this boat (Carnival Liberty).