cmmarch

After 10 years away, returning to Adventure May 2018. Do they still have pool deck barbeques at lunch?

On Adventure over Xmas in December. Great cruise and ship. No BBQ. They did offer a small buffet of burger and dogs at Windjammer entrance one day which was nice when got back from island and jammer was closed until dinner - kids liked it and nice snack. Hotdogs were pretty good I have to say. Straightforward but nice.

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We looked at Pelican Tours, but they don't run on Thursdays and that is the day we're in port. We've booked the full day tour with ABC Jeep Tours. As others have said, regular vehicles can't go to all locations, hence the preponderance of trike, jeep or ATV tours. We're going next month, so I can't provide a first hand review yet, but the reviews on Trip Advisor were very good. We wanted to see as much of the island as possible as well. I hope we made the right choice!!

EL Tours 1/2 day jeep tour was great! Our guide Ronald was awesome.

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We have a day stop in St. Kitts. We are considering staying in St. Kitts for a beach day or going on the Royal Caribbean

 

excursion to Nevis( A Day Trip to Nevis with Lunch). I have been considering this excursion for quite some

 

time but hesitate because of the price. If you have taken this excursion, please

 

let me know your thoughts. It looks like we will have some beach time with

 

this also, which pleases my family. Thank you in advance for your response.

We just did this excursion on Christmas Day 2017. It is pricey but we felt it was a good way to see Nevis. I did not want to risk "missing the ship" which is why I booked through ship. We had a nice water taxi ride over, quick bathroom stop when got to Nevis, then onto cab/van toured a few spots - most beautiful Montpelier Resort then onto Pinneys Beach - greeted with rum punch at beachside grill (lunch included was good grilled grouper or jerk chicken with rice, very tasty). Right on beach with chair and umbrella provided. We relaxed and took short walk up beach to right to check out Four Seasons. Had a few hours on beach and then back via provided cab to water taxi.

Very nice day and poked through St Kitts shopping before back onto cruise ship.

I did not feel we missed St Kitts but can't really do both given time frame so have to choose.

We liked the Nevis lunch. I also heard the Fan-ta-sea Catamaran excursion is fun but my crew did not want to snorkel which is why I went with the plantation/lunch/beach one.

Have fun!

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I've only seen the sample menu, which lists 1 item / course. Are there multiple choices for each course, or are you "stuck" with one menu? I'm not terribly picky, but DH is a "no fish & most vegetables" sort.

When you sit down there is a typed card style menu. As I recall the only choice was the main course - Filet or Salmon

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HI,

 

 

 

I have probably cruised 20 times, but never a Xmas Cruise.. With our kids (24-22-20) 2 still in College, we are thinking of giving it a try.. but.. so much more $$, I would like your input on the following:

 

 

 

Is it crazy crowded (but I think that most times, ships are full)

 

I presume more kids onboard,

 

Is the food, service, still the same,

 

 

 

It must be gorgeous (decorations), we once left January 2nd, and still had some decorations, but it was a quiet sailing..

 

 

 

We have only 2 good choices (well there's also the smaller ships, 4-5 nights)

 

Independence, 5 nighs

 

Oasis, 7 nights,

 

 

 

We need to fly back December 30th the latest to be back with family, so its really a xmas cruise...

 

 

 

Thanks everybody!!

 

 

 

PS Prices are reasonable right now for these 2 cruises, is there a better time to book?

 

I will be on Celebrity in less than 3 weeks, I know I can also book Royal (with our kids, Royal is better..)

 

Will I get more onboard credit? Inside cabins for them, we need 2 insides,

We just did Xmas 2017 Adventure sailing and loved it. Nice - our kids 21,19 and 16 and other family members joined the fun. We also never traveled at Xmas before - I recommend it. Ship did not feel crowded - nice flow and lots to do. Southern Caribbean great itinerary.

Have fun!

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First off, I am not a light weight. I weigh about 260, mostly muscle, and back in college I had a good tolerance for alcohol.

 

Second, I am getting the package because my brother and I are sharing a room and he wants it.

 

Third, Adventure of the Seas.

 

Fourth, I like the flavor of alcohol but I am not much of a partier so I rarely get more then beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Basically, what cocktails or liquers should I try? I know this is something of a random question but I am curious if anyone has suggestions.

 

I am thinking I will get whiskey and bourbon and try them both side by side. Ditto with types of rum and tequila. Thinking about trying some of the classic like a long island iced tea, mudslide, whiskey sour, ect. I like most of the sweet tropical cocktails (mojitos, ect.) and I am very willing to experiment.

Enjoy! Just off Adventure in December. Liked the Caribbean Cooler (vodka plus juices - nice poolside). Adult solarium bar tenders are great. Trying drink of the day is good start

Have fun

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Hi!

 

I'm planning a big family reunion on the Allure this summer. Most of my family members never cruised with RCI, about 26 of them. One TA told me RCI does not have referral program, but I've seen some mention of $25 OBC from RCI threads. Does this program exist? If yes, how do I start the referral process?

 

 

 

HD

I called RCCL to put in for our recent credit. as long as you have booking number, email and birth dates for the friends family you can get credit for up to 5 (5 times $25 for max credit of $125). It appears about one week before sailing.

It was pretty easy - nice perk! Friends/family have to be 1st time cruisers. You can do it on-line but did not work for me so I just called.

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I know hair dryers are provided, but from past experience my thick hair takes forever to dry using the one in the cabin. Has anyone taken their own hair dryer? Were you able to use it or was it sent to the naughty room? Thanks!

I have very thick hair and used the provided dryer recently on Adventure of Seas cruise. It worked fine - not as powerful as my own but OK to dry/style my hair.

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It'll be a few folded up duvets. My advice is to bring your own. Amazon sells the Klymit which is what I have - it weighs less than a pound and works perfectly. Good Luck!

Costco.com also sells Klymit

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Sailing on the Adventure next month and I was wondering if this is still offered midway through the cruise?

On Adventure of Seas 12/23 sailing and drink card was advertised and offered on Day 4

:halo:first time cruising with RCI , haven’t cruised in about 6 years . So I’m not sure if want to get my kids the vroom package . I feel as if the kids should disconnect for the “social media “ world while on vacation. My kids are 12 & 13 and they are afraid they will be bored and will be missing life back at home.

 

Also the beverage package..... should I get it for the kids ? I mean no soda is probably a good thing

Just back from Xmas cruise and got the 16 yo the soda package. The 19 yo did not want it and found water and free drinks fine on board. The 21yo got the Bev pkg as of age. Got one vroom but added 2 more on board as can't text without it so was hard to connect in our group of 6 iPhone /iMessage users plus other family members on board. We did not use the screens a lot but glad we added it on simply to find each other around the ship.

Have a nice cruise - you and kids will love it!

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Hi,

 

 

 

There are 7 of us cruising next Sat on the Freedom. We already prepaid our tips and we all have a beverage package. I want to cover any other miscellaneous tipping for all 7 of us.

 

 

 

I'm trying to figure out how much cash to bring for tips for following. Is there anything else I need to tip extra?

 

 

 

1) 5 of us from FLL airport to Embassy Suites - not sure if we can use Uber XL or 2 Uber's.

 

2) 7 of us from Embassy Suites to port - I think we will need 2 Uber's.

 

3) 7 of us from port to FLL airport - I think we will need 2 Uber's.

 

4) Porters helping with suit cases

 

5) 6 of us on St. Kitt Volcano Hike

 

6) 7 of us on Captain Bob Excursion

 

8) 5 of us on San Juan ATV

 

9) 5 of us on Labadee Zipline

 

10) helping with chairs on Labadee

I brought $1000 in cash for fees and tips for 5 of us. Broke down into smaller bills - 1's, 5's, 10's, 20's and 50's. It is amazing how the cab fees/transportation fees etc add up. $10pp to Magen's Bay each way plus tip. 10-15% tip to tour guide on excursions etc.

Did not spend it all but with 7 people you will need some cash for sure. Have fun!

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I was on the Navigator of the Seas for the Christmas cruise with the drink package and I was not asked to sign for a drink the entire cruise.... It was a huge pleasant surprise that I wasn't being asked to tip on top of my tip for each and every drink.

 

 

 

After making friends with my bartender for the trip I finally asked him about the change. He was disappointed and said it absolutely hurt his income but that a friend of the CEO's had taken a cruise and was angry about the receipts for every drink and that caused RCI to make the change.

 

 

 

I have no idea if this is really what happened but I can say that at least on the Navigator they no longer present you with a slip for every drink if you have the package. I felt no pressure to tip extra but I did tip the Schooner Bar team on the last night of the cruise.

 

 

 

Can anyone confirm if this was a fleet wide change and had it been discussed here already? I did a quick search but didn't see anything.

On Adventure of the Seas over Christmas and had the deluxe package. We were never asked to sign. They took sea pass. card and checked it and that was it. This was case in dining room, schooner, lounge, theater, pool bars and all venues we ordered drinks at.

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Who does that??? LOL? Never in a million years would I ever even think to photograph my receipt.

Ha! No copy. Sommelier handed us typical restaurant type of black leather check holder - I opened to $0 balance receipt and there was tip area add on. I did place tip amount which was added to my sea pass account.

We enjoyed Chefs table experience and would do it again.

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I have questions for those who took cruises on Royal during December 2017 other than cruises that included Christmas Day. Was there a snow flurry event? Tree lighting? Carol singing?

 

 

 

The promotional materials sound like these things are done throughout December but some posts suggest they happen only on cruises that include Christmas Day.

 

 

 

Also, do any of you know on the ships with promenade view cabins which ones would overlook the tree? I am not sure which ship yet. Adventure OTS and Oasis OTS are in the running. There may be others.

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Vicki

On Adventure of the Seas over Christmas just last week. There was a tree lighting and also Christmas caroling. Other "theme" events and some crew with elf type of "wear" - bingo, trivia, etc. not too much but just enough in my opinion. Tree was on promenade deck toward back - outside of Cafe Promenade ( nice for photos)

Never traveled over Christmas but we really enjoyed the Xmas cruise and recommend it highly!

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Dined in specialty restaurant last night and noticed that gratuity was added. Found out that as of yesterday the gratuities are no longer included in quoted price.

 

 

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My experience just last week: Pre-purchased Chops Special Holiday dinner @ $79pp and no add on (don't recall getting bill slip at end of meal). Pre-purchased Chef Table @ $85pp and presented with slip at end of meal with $0 total and space to add tip if wanted which billed to my sea pass account.

Both last week on Adventure of the Seas. I purchased them through my Cruise planner in August and charged to my credit card at time of purchase.

No additional 18% add on.

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You must have walked up to the Four Seasons as there is no Ritz on Nevis.

Oops - yes I meant to type the Four Seasons.

Ritz was in Aruba. Thanks for the correction.

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We will be stopping at St. Kitts/Nevis for the first time in February 2018. Would appreciate some suggestions for excursions through Celebrity. As we have never been to the island we would like to do an excursion that gives a good overall view of the island and see the most we can in the time we have. Thank you in advance!!

We just did the RCCL excursion - Plantation, lunch and beach(Pinneys). Full day - over on water taxi, small bus tour several stops - Montpelier Plantation gorgeous and then beach time with chairs/umbrellas at Pinneys. Nice fresh grilled fish lunch. Walked up to Ritz and checked that out too! Great day

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Hello, We are looking forward to going to Mambo Beach in a couple of weeks on our carnival ship but I have a few questions. How much is the entry fee? how much are the loungers? Umbrellas? Pool? water jump toys? There is 12 of us and we will all share taxis to get there from the port. Thank you

We were there last week. $3.50 entry fee and $3.50 for chair. Just sit down and they will collect $ from you. Kids rented snorkel masks - $6 fee and I got a nice raft for $10 to float out in the water. We ate at Aloha Grill ($5 for burger, fish sandwich, fries, ham n cheese, etc - carried over to picnic table and ordered beer, soda , mojitos at Aloha bar (great bartender). Really peaceful day - we enjoyed it. Cab ride - I forget price but not bad ride.

Sat under palm tree for shade so not sure how much umbrellas/shaded huts were. Enjoy!

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I had to get my towels from guest services. It was really weird. Only time ever bad service. Can't remember ship but it was Carnival out of Charleston.

 

 

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I agree weird. We were in RCCL and service was great! I have never done Carnival - going to get your towels is unacceptable - you should have gotten a credit of some sort.

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Looking for ideas for seeing Aruba. I was all set to do the Trikes tour and found out it is booked (over 100 days before our cruise). Please share any other ideas for seeing the island. We are planning to go to the Palm Beach area in the evening. Thank you.

EL tours half day jeep tour is awesome! We booked through Costco shore excursions on-line. Lots of fun seeing the sites and off roading. Excellent guide named Ronald. We saw a lot and had fun. Bus meets you right at the terminal. We then went back to town near port for lunch and had time to hit Eagle beach for a swim, etc. great day in Aruba.

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Has anyone done El Tours' Aruba Fauna Tour? It visits the Ostrich Farm, the Donkey Sanctuary, and Philip's Animal Garden.

No but we did EL Tours half day jeep tour just last week and it was great. They are very professional - waited at pier, picked up in air conditioned bus and our guide Ronald was the best. Fantastic tour - off roading in jeeps. It seems like very reputable company!

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My attedant did not even step into my room 4 out of the 5 days. It is especially sad because it was the first (and so far only) cruise I've gotten my husband to go on. There was 4 of us in interior room, so we really needed it to be cleaned. Luckily I had brought Clorox wipes and my husband figured out how to open and close bunks.

 

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Yikes. You did not even receive fresh towels or anything? That does sound unusual. Our stateroom was made up 2 times daily - fresh towels, clean bathroom etc.

Seems like a big disconnect for which no tip should have applied if they never entered the room. I would have complained to management.

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I want to make sure I leave an additional tip for our cabin Steward. He was excellent. We had two cabins. One cabin was two adults, and the second was a cabin with kids. I want to make sure he knows we appreciated his great service, however, I don't have a ton of extra money. Whats typical? Or what do you leave? And yes we have autograt already...this will be additional.

I think it depends on service, room size and condition you leave the room but generally for a job well done $40 to $50 seems good for a 5/7 day cruise. I do think the gesture of an additional "add on" to the auto gratuity is nice to recognize hard work so whatever you can afford.

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Has anyone done the Chef's Table on Adventure of the Seas, my husband and I are going October 14-21 and our 30 year anniversary is during the cruise I was looking for a specialty restaurant for that night and didn't know if the Chef's table was worth the cost.

We did Chefs Table last week on Adventure and loved it! Nice group of about 9 or 10 at special table area in MDR. Great food, wine and conversation. It is a lot of food - starter, soup, salad, dinner, dessert etc so quite filling. Great service. Delicious roasted tomato soup and I chose the filet mignon which was cooked perfectly. It was $85pp. I think it is worth it as a special treat and you meet/dine with others from ship which is fun.

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