milford_cruiser

On 5/8/2023 at 5:19 PM, jamin jul said:

I am also on Rhapsody of Seas in February.  Who did you book your transfers with? Have you booked air? It is a little high.

We booked Panama on Wheels for transfers plus a day of touring.  Very responsive through WhatsApp, and price was reasonable.

Panamazing also replied with a similar price quote, but took them much longer to respond.

Looking for opinions / advice about getting around in Panama City both pre- and post- cruise in February 2024 (Rhapsody of the Seas).

I got a good quote from Panama on Wheels for airport/hotel/cruise transfers as well as a day of touring, but can't find any reviews since April 2022.  Anyone familiar with the company?  They will also pick us up in Colon at the end of the cruise and get us to PTY for our flight home.

Panamazing is the other company I'm finding. They have more recent reviews, but I don't have a price quote from them yet.

22 hours ago, link99 said:

Excellent.Thank You . We booked the same tour. Definitely looking forward to the Bake &Shark How was the Beach and Water? We’re their vendors for Chairs. 

Chair vendor met us right as we crossed the street after getting off the bus and took us to a place to sit. $20US for 2 chairs and an umbrella.  They called the water a little choppy while we were there, but we mostly swim in the ocean in Maine and it was perfect - some waves, but *WAY* warmer!

Photos below are the beach from the water and the water from the beach chair.

5 hours ago, link99 said:

 

2 Did you notice a High Security Presence in Trinidad. We have seen the State Department Warnings. Thus doing a Ship excursion. Did you have a chance to try the Bake N Shark?

 

We were on the same cruise and took the ships bus tour to Maracas Bay. No security presence to speak of but everyone felt very safe on the beach.  The Bake & Shark is good. Awesome? No. But good. $25US for a sandwich, chicken tenders, fries, and 2 beers. We went to Richard’s - the locals said they go to Annette’s which is next door. 

On 2/11/2020 at 7:51 AM, CrzGrl62569 said:

I did all that and mine doesn't say Expedited.

On 2/11/2020 at 2:38 PM, kiska said:

Not true, I literally just did my check in for Symphony out of Miami, typed in my passport info and took the crappy picture, and got "Expedited".

Aha!  Clearly the secret is "the crappy picture"!  I'm none too fond of my own 🙂

I got the tip from the Royal Caribbean Blog, and it worked for me.  Clearly, as with all things Royal IT, your mileage may vary.

10 minutes ago, BTHodgeman said:

But that's not a guarantee. That might be what it takes to be eligible, but for my cruise next month, I checked everyone in using the app on their phones, took pictures, scanned passports, etc. I got expedited, but one party we are traveling with did not. 

I stand corrected.  In my case we checked in and were NOT expedited, and then after I scanned passports it flipped.  

7 hours ago, BTHodgeman said:

Expedited Arrival seems to be randomly granted to people who check in through the app and take their picture in the app. When you get to the terminal, facial recognition identifies you in the Expedited Arrival line and your details popup on workers' tablets. They check your passport and immediately send you through security rather than waiting in the line where they have to check all your documents, scan your boarding pass, etc. 

You get "Expedited" if you have a photo and you scan your passport (instead of typing in the info).

On 5/29/2019 at 6:14 PM, AAAAmerican said:

Oh and inmjecting the Good Ole Days as it was..

 

The Tokens and / or  passes were sold to cruisers on the ships to ease the burden on the workers ashore. Oh Can Yee Hear us Now Cruise Lines, PROVING more Revenues and thusly PROfITS to the Cruise lines..., yes allowing us paying Cruisers and ease to obtain the Transportation ashore..

 

 

 

I've been looking to see if purchasing onboard is an option - can you confirm that it's not?  (Darn those "Good Ole Days"...)  We'll be on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas if it matters.

Can you only buy the passes once you arrive?  I thought I read somewhere (yes, very helpful info) that you can buy them onboard ship.  We'll be on the Anthem at the end of July - anyone bought transportation passes onboard?

This must be an Oasis thing - and we were warned that categories were changing.  We're booked on the 2/23/2020 sailing and got bumped from our Deck 12 balcony.  Found out when a new emailed invoice out of the blue showed our category as "GTY" instead of "2D".  We had booked direct, so it's not a travel agent thing.  

What they told us (3 separate phone calls gave the same answer) was that they were upgrading the category of our original stateroom to hold 3-4 guests and we were no longer qualified as a 2-guest booking. On the 3rd phone call, they also gave us a $100 OBC for the miscommunication, stating that they "should have" called us when they bumped us.

So now I'm $100 richer, booked into the balcony stateroom next door to my original, and nabbed the $18 drink package.  What could go wrong?

22 minutes ago, island lady said:

Keep in mind they work on the ceiling also.  

In fact, they work *BETTER* on the ceiling.  Whatever "weight" you buy (25 lb, 100 lb) is the strength when you pull directly away from the magnet.  Even the 100 lb version slides right down the wall if you put too much weight on them.  

We put 80 lb hooks on the ceiling and they held up a fully loaded beach bag.

We got the following email yesterday regarding changing our "Ultimate Dining" to "Unlimited Dining" on our Oasis trip February 2020:

2 hours ago, bar1068 said:

The 2 night BOGO that this Chops+1 sort of replaced, did those 2 nights have to be the first 2 nights of cruise or could be 1st night place one other?

The "rule" was first two nights.  Some people reported that their mileage varied 😉 and they were able to book different nights. 

2 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Anyone notice the new Chops + 1 dining offer?  It's offered for two of my cruises, and BOGO is now gone....and at a cost of $30 more than BOGO.

 

The idea is that first night is Chops...then you can book another specialty on any other night (plus discount on wine,, etc).

 

I appreciate the flexibility of picking a specialty restaurant on another night but I personally prefer BOGO option for the savings.

 

Does anyone have both "Chops + 1" and BOGO offered?

You made me go look.  Chops+1 is now offered (at $75pp) on our Anthem 5-night cruise this summer.  I already have the BOGO purchased in my order history at $49.99pp.  And for reference, the 3-night package is $89pp.  The BOGO is no longer offered.

I'm going to "let it ride" on the BOGO and see what we can get for final reservations once we board.  No sense in spending an extra $25pp just to book a different night.  I also saved my email receipt in case they try to cancel me out.

2 hours ago, JudiB123 said:

What about a simple outlet expander 3 outlets plugging into one - no surge protector - like this?  Maximm Current Wall Tap (4-Pack) Easy Access With 3 Prong Outlet Cube Plug Adapter Expanding It Into 3 AC Outlets, Perfect For Travel, ETL Listed White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTPYFM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_o-iVCb0T640AF

Have to disagree with Sparks1093 on this one.  We have a very similar outlet expander (also has a couple of USB power ports) and have used it without a problem on our last 5-6 trips.  What you *CAN'T* use is anything with a surge suppressor.  And I can believe SRF's comment that they might confiscate actual extension cords.

12 minutes ago, firefox247 said:

I noticed that the price of the UDP went from $99 on the old UDP to $116 on the new UDP.  Anyone else report a similar increase?

Not for us - had previously purchased "Ultimate" for $199 on an Oasis 7-night.  Now listed as "Unlimited" for the same $199.  Which ship/nights showed an increase?

FWIW: My order history also now says "Unlimited" as others have reported, so apparently the transfer is automatic for those with a prior purchase.

52 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I think I read they have an option for 10 years😉

Wait - WHOSE option?

Here is another thread that has been discussing the updates.

No pool in the solarium, but when we were onboard (18 months ago) they had reserved the outdoor "sports pool" as ages 16+ only and we spent much of our time relaxing there.

This was the pool on the port side, farthest aft.

Thank you everyone! She drinks some kind of frappacino concoction... I dont drink coffee, so I really don't know what it all is. Thanks again!

I can guarantee that she'll be ok. We were on Adventure in December '17. EVERY morning DW went to the "serves Starbucks" location right in front of the Cafe Promenade and got a Caramel Frappacino. Every morning. They saw her coming and started mixing it up. (wearing uniforms bearing the Starbucks logo and working in front of the Starbucks logo menu).

So even though we've established that this is *NOT* a licensed location and you can't use Starbucks Gift cards or earn "star" points...

if it LOOKS like a Frappacino, and TASTES like a Frappacino, and has a Mermaid on the cup then *I* call it a Frappacino.

Any thoughts on Stainless straws vs reusable plastic straws in terms of harboring bacteria. I don’t foresee anyone running back to their room to wash out that straw the minute they finish their frozen drink.

 

 

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Well, stronger drinks have more alcohol, and alcohol kills germs. So there's that. :cool::cool:

What Bob said.

If you want to go a little farther, you can ask Verizon to add "Travel Pass" to your phone. It costs nothing on days you don't use your phone.

If you *DO* use your phone in Mexico, you pay $2 for the day and then your regular home plan is in effect (for example: unlimited texting, unlimited minutes, or whatever you have).

Other countries are mostly $10.

To the OP: Sounds like you got your answer and are looking into the right things (travel insurance, flights from AZ to FL, etc.)

I'll echo that age is nothing but a number. My wife's great-aunt joined us on her first cruise when she was 87. She even climbed up the rock wall! (ok, only about 3 feet, but still!).

And of course, once onboard the cruise you can be as active or as relaxed as you choose.

Hope this can be successful for you - a 90th birthday family cruise sounds great!

That is what is confusing about Royal's policy on the Starbucks. The only true (licensed ) Starbucks venues are on Oasis class ships, and the beverage packages cannot be used there.

True - and the root of much confusion.

As Ken said in post #2, Cafe Promenade or other venues may or may not use Starbucks beans in their beverages, and they may have Starbucks logos on the wall, but since they are not a licensed Starbucks venue, the beverages are included in the unlimited beverage package.

My assumption here (perhaps faulty) was that if they had the logo on the wall then they would be required to serve Starbucks beans / varieties as part of their licensing agreement. Perhaps that's what's different than a FRANCHISE agreement?

We're clearly drifting beyond the OP's question. I wanted to assure that you can indeed get Starbucks beverages onboard the Adventure.

For reference, I found this picture here on Cruise Critic where you can see the Starbucks counter to the right and the logo clearly displayed on the menu board:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/adventure-of-the-seas-192/cafe-promenade-363863/cafe-promenade--v16533533/

Unless they added a stand alone Starbucks during her last drydock there is no stand alone Starbucks on Adventure. The cafe which serves specialty coffees that may or may not use Starbucks coffee is included with the drink package.

 

Stand alone Starbucks on Oasis class ships are not included.

With apologies to Bob who endorsed this answer, I beg to differ.

We were on Adventure in December and enjoyed a walk down to the Starbucks booth outside the Promenade Cafe every morning for a Starbucks Caramel Frappucino and Cafe Americano.

It's very possible that this was not truly a "Starbucks" - but they had Starbucks logos everywhere, Starbucks cups, and Starbucks branded beverages. All included in our Deluxe Beverage package at no additional charge. *AND* with a great barista who saw us coming every day and started getting our drinks ready. He got a nice tip at the end of our week.