cruzgryphon

Sometimes one of the challenges with "group bookings" is when they are for groups from a certain region. Last summer on my Serenade cruise - based on the number of staterooms that weren't available a year out - it was obvious something was going but couldn't figure out what. My TA tried all sorts of inquiries to find out as well - without any luck. Got on board and found out there was a large group from Brazil and a large group from Israel. Between the two groups they had about half the ship booked. First night main dining room late seating was a mad house because of things like language they couldn't seat you in one area of the dining room. Then the other large group was in the other side of the dining room and people wanted to sit with friends to the point where at my original table a couple of people got moved without their knowing (they got to their assigned table and were told by the group who displaced them to go sit at another table). All because because two groups of friends wanted to sit together. So that's my group booking story :)

Assuming you mean St. Petersburg Russia there are lots of private tour companies that will give you a better deal and better experience than Royal Caribbean (look at the Northern Europe Ports of Call forum - lots of threads there. Given the size of your group I'm sure they will negotiate a better price with you - something Royal Caribbean won't do. When I was there last summer I was with SPB tours and found they did an excellent job - so I would definitely look into them. They are fast on the responses as well. Having said that - like I said earlier there are a few highly rate tour companies to choose from - just look at their itineraries and see what you want to visit.

Enjoy - it's a great cruise.

Can't speak to the Asian cruises, but for the European cruises (Baltic, Mediterranean) the menus are about 90% the same as the Caribbean cruises. There maybe one or two appetizers and one Entrée and perhaps a dessert being different, but the rest is pretty much the same. For example, last year at least, was no lobster tails on the European cruises that I was on/ heard of from other passengers.

I haven't been able to book it on cruise planner but my Travel Agent has been able to book them for me prior to the cruise. If you booked with Royal Caribbean - maybe give them a call. If you booked with a travel agent they can definitely do it for you. Never been able to figure out why you can't do it on cruise planner.

Generally speaking the menus are the same. There maybe one or two dishes that are different - especially when comparing Mediterranean cruises vs. Caribbean cruises.

If I remember correctly some ships that do longer itineraries will have for example a 10 days worth of menus and sometimes these ships will put a day 9 menu into the 7 day rotation.

Not sure about the new menus - but ultimately if/when they get rolled out fleet wide, then you'll have the same menus again across the fleet.

It's not unusual to see people dressed up well after dinner. I've seen people (who I know were early dinner seating) in the disco who were dressed up at 12:30am. It's really whatever you're comfortable with and what you're doing after dinner.

Royal Caribbean is between 9:30am and about 10:15am depending on how many people self disembark.

You may find you have 2 "sleep schedules" - one for sea days and one for days in port. Sea days I'll tend to sleep in late (I don't usually have breakfast at home, so missing breakfast doesn't bother me) and then go to Café Lattetudes for my morning decaf. mocha and a donut. Depending on what ship's activities I'm interested in I may or may not catch a nap later in the day (in anticipation of a late night) and also because it is great to have a nap on the balcony with the breeze and (depending) on where you are sailing the warm weather.

Port days depend on whether or not I have an excursion booked. Some of the ship's excursions will have a meeting time of like 7:45am or so (depending on what time you're docking) - so I get up earlier (and go to sleep a little "earlier" the night before). As others have mentioned it is sometimes nice to watch as you enter the port so that's another pro for getting up early on your port day.

One thing to keep in mind. If you have an inside cabin you may have to keep an eye on your morning sleeping pattern - especially if you want to get up early. Since there are no windows, it is pitch black in the cabin and it's very easy to lose track of time. My first cruise I was in an inside cabin and one day (luckily a sea day) slept in until about noon despite going to bed at around 11:30pm the night before (ordinarily I'll wake up about 8 or 9am).

No matter what your sleep pattern - you'll enjoy yourself and get into a rhythm that works for you.

I'm looking at a Royal Caribbean excursion that goes from Astoria to Cannon Beach (and some rock formation whose name eludes me right now) and Seaside. What are these places like? Is there interesting architecture or anything like that? Any feedback or observations would be great.

Thanks!!

One of the advantages of booking onboard is that you will get an On Board Credit for your next cruise and you get a reduce deposit of $100. What you can do is book now (through Royal Caribbean, not through a travel agent). Then if the rate is cheaper when you get onboard, you can cancel/ change your booking to the onboard rate and associated perks. Don't book through a travel agent as this approach won't work with them (learned that the hard way).

When I cruised out of Barcelona a couple of years ago there wasn't any luggage valet. Maybe due to the airlines flying out of there.

I thinks you're generally good 6 to 8 weeks out. Getting closer than that the chances of getting sold out is still low, but my comfort level is 6 to 8 weeks out. Also keep an eye out for potential discounts - I've noticed lately on a few (not all) sailings Royal Caribbean has been offering up to 30% off excursions, pay for dining, internet.

Agree with Bob - especially when you have multiple reservations involved. In case you're doing traditional dining suggest going to see the Maitre'd when you first get on board the ship to make sure your dining tables are set-up the way you want them to be (that's where the confirmations really come in handy).

You should have no problems posting the details here on Cruise Critic. I know of lots of people on lots of cruises that have done so. Saves your inbox a little.

If you're going to do it onboard, try and do it early in the cruise. They will quite often have a draw for a free cruise for the early bookers. Also with the OBC that you get, there is the option to apply it to your current cruise or to the cruise you've booked - so just make sure that gets set-up appropriately.

I find that the exchange rate for excursions booked online will vary leading up to the cruise. On one cruise I booked a couple of excursions then a couple of months later I noticed that the price was lower so I cancelled the original bookings and rebooked at the cheaper prices. I've also seen the reverse happens.

That being said, generally speaking it is about the same retail rate you'll get as if you were buying it in US dollars and charging it to your Canadian dollar credit card.

The only risk with booking onboard is that the excursion(s) you want may be sold out. It doesn't happen with all excursions or very often but it does happen.

In Santorini you want to go to Oia for sure. Extremely pretty and it's where the classic pictures of Greece with the blue domed churches are taken. If you can, take a private excursion because the cruise lines really pack the buses and don't give a lot of information about it - more just drop you off and let you wander around.

Also in Fira I would allow some time to stop at a café and enjoy some coffee/ tea and baklava. Wonderful views and very tasty desserts.

One thing I found the OBC useful for when I was cruising the Med was laundry. Meant I didn't have to pack as much.

Here's a link to a thread which deals with the subject:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1756569

If you want a more intimate sailing experience then you would go with the Jewel. About 1000 less passengers, doesn't take as long to get around the ship. Also the Jewel has more "glass" to see outside from.

If you want more activities, more eating options, more onboard shopping and don't mind about 1000 more passengers then it would be the Adventure.

Bob's point about the balconies is also a good one. When I was on the Adventure sitting out on the balcony it was a little claustrophobic.

I checked and couldn't find the answer to this question. Are these Roast Beef sandwiches available on the Explorer and Freedom as well? If they are, where would you go to get them?

TIA

With a sale like that you might want to give them a call as well. In Canada at least as a solo cruiser I've always gotten the reduced two person rate with sales like that. Maybe it's because I go through a travel agent. Either way that's simply not right.

Just be aware of the difference between boarding and checking in. If you arrive earlier than 11:30am you should be able to "check in" but you may have to wait a little to actually board the ship.

Also when your cruise contract becomes available your luggage tags will be on the last couple of pages so you just have to print them out, follow the instructions to fold them and there you go.

Also check out the port of calls forums for the ports you'll be visiting to find out about recommended private tour operators and their excursions. Some will let you book as far out as a year.