petesweet

Yeah... umm... gotta say that was a little bit more than I needed to know. :(

 

.

 

Think of it as just another salad ingredient.:D:p

 

Kathy

I guess I'd stay away from salads.......:eek::rolleyes:

I do! Except for this lovely Tutti salad. Solves my problem.

 

Kathy

Oooooh yes. She and Allure are my favorite ships.:)

 

Have a wonderful cruise, and thanks for sharing with us.

 

Kathy

Or, you could just factor in the cost of gratuities when planning your cruise.

This is what I do, and I really don't understand comments about just raising the price of the cruise. To me, the price of the cruise is the $___ for the cabin AS WELL AS the $12/day gratuity. What is so hard about that? There you have it - the price of the cruise.

 

One thing that has been mentioned before is that if it is simply added to the price of the cruise, then the commission to travel agents increases accordingly, so your actual cost is going to creep up a bit over time.

 

Happy sails.:)

 

Kathy

I generally HATE eating salads. I usually bite a chunk out of my inside cheek. But the tutti salad is great. The guys who prepare it chop it up with a neat little device they have and mix the dressing (if you want them to) with it, so it is so easy to eat. Makes my salad-eating painless.

 

That's why I like it.:) (NOTE: If the chopping is important to you, keep an eye on the last step of the salad bar. Once they skipped the chopping.)

 

 

Happy sails.

 

Kathy

Here's a WRONA for you. Maybe she is the one who ordered the shell.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1969975&highlight=wrona

 

Kathy

Look to make sure that there are passenger cabins above-below and around you. You don't want to have the galley,theater,clubs, etc. above or below you because of noise from those venue's.

That's the advice I would give as well. One more thing: The lower cabins are pretty nice. I used to feel as you do (and like you, I didn't know why), but give the lower deck a try. Especially nice when you come back from shore excursions and the elevators are busy but you can just walk to your cabin.

 

Happy sails.

 

Kathy

Please tell me about the free lanyard you mentioned. I always encourage any new cruisers who go with me to buy one and bring it along.

 

Thanks.

 

Kathy

It appears to be a mistake from the price watcher. Hmmm..always watching for good cruise fares but that did seem too good to be true. Darn, I was hoping some of my fellow CC'ers could take advantage!

Lauri

 

Nice of you to try. Thanks.:)

 

Kathy

 

As for your roll call, please ask questions . . . .

 

This is what I was going to suggest. Ask who has visited one of your ports and what is there to enjoy there. That sort of thing.

 

I think the reason there is so much unrelated chatter is that there so far has been nothing about the cruise itself to talk about.

 

Another subject: What cabin are you in? What experience has someone on the roll call had with that cabin?

 

Have a great cruise. I know you will!:)

 

Kathy

Last October we applied $800 to our Sign and Sail account in plastic Gift Cards we had purchased. When we checked our balance there they were. We were able to remove funds from our S&S account anytime we wanted for anything we wanted. No restrictions.

 

Can you get cash back if you do not use it all?

 

Kathy

[SIZE="4"]I posted this on another thread (comparing RCI with Carnival). Three of us friends are going on Brilliance (inside cabin), and it has been refitted with three (only) single cabins - no single supplement. I'm thinking her sister ships have the same deal. It doesn't show up in the category listings, so I guess you have to work through RCI. (Look for the gray category on deck 4 just near the dining room.)

With the BOGOHO sale going on, these singles still end up just a bit higher than if you shared a cabin with someone, but once that sale is over, I believe the price will be the same.

I loved the location of the cabins.

Kathy[/SIZE]

The big draw for me on Carnival was NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT on the 3 cruises I did. You don't find that on RCCL..EVER!

 

Ahhh, Royal Caribbean is catching up JUST A BIT here. There are three single cabins on the Brilliance that my friends and I are planning to enjoy in 2016. I think perhaps on all of that class ship, and maybe other ships will be refitted for this. Interior only, but that's what we always get anyway.

 

There is no single supplement; however, at the present time it does come a little more expensive because the BOGOHO sale brings down the per-person charge when a cabin is shared. Once that sale is over, it should even out.

 

Kathy

Can the gift cards be applied through an on-line travel agent to Carnival or do I somehow have to get the travel agent to work with Carnival to receive the payments?

 

The deal works just fine through a TA. If it is the first time your TA has dealt with this' date=' it might take some time as he/she learns the system, but there will be no problem. That was my experience.

 

Kathy[/size']

Thought I would share. If it hadn't been for kind folks on the forums I would never have known about the offer. Thanks to all of you for posting for us newbies!

Hi, Cathysue. Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I wholeheartedly second your thanks for this tip (that's how I learned about the gift cards) and for the many others that I continue to learn through Cruise Critic. These folks have a wealth of information that they generously share. They are the best!

 

Happy sails.

 

Kathy

From what I remember about weather reports, you would be safer on a cruise ship than in Wilmington!!:eek:

That said, we always try to book in the fall. Never had a problem yet.

Happy sails.

Kathy

Still no luck.. I thought it may be an iPad thing but the computer won't open either. I'll try tomorrow at work I guess...work priorities, lol!

 

This is just a stab in the dark, but are you using Internet Explorer? I have found that I cannot do Carnival stuff on IE but must use Chrome. You might try that.

 

NOTE: I wrote that before reading to the end where I see you had success. You might still look into the Chrome thing, though.

 

Kathy

Some good information here. Thanks!

 

Kathy

Why not call your insurance company?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I won't have an insurance company until I decide how to handle this. In the past, we have used many different kinds.

 

Kathy

It is not too hard to figure out. I know the BOGOHO pricing was screwy but I always approach it from what is it costing me PER PERSON. For two people in a room, take your total - taxes and fees / 2. If the cruise base price drops below that (it may take some calculating to figure that out based on what kind of sale RC is doing) then you have a price drop.

 

I also do it that way because my cruise price tracking website posts prices that way. It makes it simple to check the site and if the per person base fare is lower, then I have a price drop.

Sigh - it used to be so easy to watch for price drops.

 

Kathy

Think about it; what are the two coveted perks/freebies, the heavy hitters? Balcony discounts and free drinks. Sure there are other benefits people enjoy, but those are the two big ones.

 

I am Diamond (getting close to Diamond+) and don't use my balcony discount, drinks, or free Internet. (I get a free photo on each cruise.:D) How about I rent out my status??

 

Kathy

While I usually have one or more cruises booked in the future, I am am now booked on more cruises than usual (ain't life hard!!?:D) and am wondering about the best way to purchase insurance.

 

First of all, I do not have to worry about preexisting conditions. Second, my main concern is evacuation in case of an emergency.

 

So my question is this: Is there a good way to insure several cruises at a time? or shall I continue to insure them one at a time?

 

Many thanks.

 

Kathy

[SIZE="4"]A friend and I travel a lot together, and we always seem to bump into a single who looks lonely. When that happens, we invite her to join us for meals, activities, etc.--usually for the remainder of the trip/cruise. We've met many nice people that way.

Well, on one cruise we saw this lady in the dining room sitting by herself; and from our nearby table, we struck up a conversation. Found out that she was part of a large traveling group (yet she was all alone:confused:) Because we were so nice to her, she invited herself to join us, and we quickly discovered why she was alone. We were embarrassed to sit at a meal with her because of the way she treated the wait staff. She complained about EVERYTHING on the ship.

This was many years ago, but I believe we "disinvited" her from our company and told her why. I hated the fact that I had to apologize to the wonderful staff after she drifted on to the next victim.

We haven't learned our lesson about taking in "strays," however, we have never again experienced someone like her. That's just not the way we live.:)

Happy sails.

Kathy [/SIZE]

I've booked 4585(middle one) on Brilliance for the Baltics next year. Was cheaper than an interior - on other ships with them noticed they are usually higher for some unknown reason! They are on level 4 which I always like. Pull up ship plans on RCI web site - you will see them.

 

I finally found them, thanks for help here on CC. Even the RCI agent who booked me could not find them. Now I have to figure out how to track the price to watch for price drops. This category is not listed.

 

For someone with mobility issues, this is a WONDERFUL location.

 

Kathy

They are on the deck plans.

They are interior cabins, not oceanview.

They are on Deck 4.

Just look right above where it says "Minstrel Dining Room"

Why could I not see that before??! Thank you so much. I LOVE that location.

 

Kathy