Marylandteachergirl

Oh so cant you use Coastal kitchen, is it worth it then for just the space ?

I thought JS qualifies to use Coastal Kitchen at dinner. Maybe that's just on Oasis class?

We found a pretty good rate for Best Western Airport. Prices ARE high. Maybe I better book it now.

Thanks!!!

I don't think we will do Rodeway, though.

Good Morning!

My son has decided to join us for our Freedom cruise in January. BUT, he will have to fly to FLL Saturday night and we will meet him Sunday morning and go to the ship together (work schedules- ugh!).

He is 22, so I know he can stay in a hotel alone, but I am looking for recommendations for something at or very close to the airport that does have a shuttle. We will drop our rental car off that morning at FLL airport and we will pick him up.

Clean, safe, very easy access to/from airport. A place to eat nearby - or something on site would be great, too.

Most ships do have black duffel and large rolling tote bags with the RCI logo on them. I overpacked on out last cruise :o and had to buy on of the rolling totes. It was $26. I bought it in the shop that has all the logo items, ornaments, and ship type gifts. This was in January.

I did not see full luggage sets though.

And RC has some fine print policies that they do not have to honor pricing errors.

The prices for the Oasis class sailings just released for 2017 and 2018 are also VERY high. Hopefully a REAL sale will come along, but who knows. As long as cabins are selling at current prices, RC has no need to have a sale or drop prices.

I have tried that before - sometimes it works! On this cruise, I am part of a group that is booked through a TA. Usually I book directly. I was looking to upgrade to a JS, and the difference was about $459 - which I was prepared to pay. BUT, my TA spent over an hour on the phone arguing with RC, and they finally conceded with an offer of pay the higher tier of $850 to upgrade and lose all $400 in OBC. Needless to say, I stayed with the balcony cabin. I have only ever sailed Royal (turning Emerald this cruise), but this left me slightly irritated. No loyalty to returning customers at all.

I am still looking forward to sailing on Allure, but I have also booked a Princess cruise for fall just to experience another line.

Unless they sale is stipulated for new bookings only - which I just ran into. You have to cancel and rebook, and risk losing any OBC or promotions you may have/had. In the case of this current sale, there isn't any, but on my Allure sailing for this May, I tried to take advantage of new lower prices, and was told NO by RC. I was even going to hand over more $$ for an upgrade. So, it depends.

I would say book with what you are comfortable with.

The prices look high to me, as well. Who knows when or what their next sale will be though. I also look for a t least reduced deposit or OBC, and there is neither under this current promotion or "sale".

I just want to say WELCOME as well!

Hope you have a great first cruise.

I checked our D5 price last Thursday for our Oasis April 30th sailing and saw a huge price drop. Our TA called RC and changed our reservation to a JS for $515 more (C&A and senior discount). We kept our same reservation ID and there was no cancellation fee and rebooking. We lost our OBC. Our friends were able to do the same and did a JS guarantee. We were already past the final payment date so no refunds.

Maybe I will try again this week or next. Seems there are still a good number of JS available. I understand losing the OBC from a specific promotion, but not really the cancellation penalty and having to rebook at a price higher than that shown on RC's website.

What happens if this sailing appears in the going, going, gone sale in a week or two?

Are Central Park balcony cabins fairly quiet if sitting outside?

We normally sail in OV balconies , but may be booking (and paying for) three cabins, so watching prices as well. Considering Jan. 2018 - a long way off still!

It appears these prices are for NEW bookings only. At least through March 20. I am booked in a balcony on May 29 Allure and saw that a JS was only about $450 more. I had my TA call, and after she spent an hour on the phone with RC, they stated that I would lose all my OBC ($300) and have to pay cancellation penalty to cancel and rebook, and pay a higher tier pricing of $850 plus the cancellation fee and lost OBC. I just stayed where I am. Perhaps the next "sale" will allow for re-booking. I was so excited - but now just sad and disappointed.

That's great just to have a ballpark idea. Thank you so much!

We are interested in this, too. We have previously only sailed Royal, but willing to try other lines now. I am looking for December 2017. Is there a general time frame NCL typically releases those itineraries? This summer, maybe?

Thank you in advance!

Just booked Adventure for holiday 2017. Not crazy about the crazy high prices, so hoping for a sale to come along.

This will be our 4th time on Adventure - looking forward to the upgrades and reading about them to help pass the time.

Yep, shell shock for me on the pricing so far, used to booking on day one and getting a good deal then watching the sales for 18+ months just in case .... instead I'm typing NCL and Carnival into my browser and checking on alternatives.

I didn't type Carnival, but I did take a look at NCL. We really want to do a holiday 2017 cruise, and our son has a "real" job now and that is the only week he can take off. I booked Adventure from San Juan, but it's very high too. Seems NCL hasn't released sailings that far out yet.

If you book almost 2 years out, can you get your $$ back from RC if you cancel? They keep $100 pp as a penalty?

For fall 2017, Oasis, Allure, and Harmony are all released now. The prices start high with Oasis and climb from there. :confused: An interior stateroom on Oasis is no lower than $937 CAD pp, which after port fees/taxes, is $2,154 CAD or $154 per person, per night (double-occupancy). :eek: That is about 50% more than my target price.

 

Apparently the conventional wisdom of newly-released itineraries being the best price is wrong, unless RCI is starting high and going up even further towards the sail date.

 

I have to say I'm quite disappointed. This is the first time I've watched the deployment schedule and eagerly awaited the release of itineraries...and I'm very underwhelmed. :(

I agree. Prices are high and no OBC. Will have to monitor these prices. Hoping a real "sale" may come along, but who knows.

I booked a holiday 2017 on Adventure from San Juan. Not loving the price, but I booked the day it came out. I was hoping for Allure, but it hasn't been released yet. I may switch... we will see.

I hope it works better than the last 2 weeks. Both weeks C and A members received an email saying they would get advance bookings and both weeks it opened to the general public at the same time

And...do bookings open at midnight or 6am or.....whatever RC decides?

There are some drawbacks to being in CA. We have the ever danger of earthquakes - unlike storms where you know days ahead of time it's coming. With earthquakes, it could be any minute in time.

 

Then there's the drought that has plagued us the past few years. All our grass are brown here as we are not allowed to water them.

 

Only advantage is the snow - for the most part, the snow doesn't come to us. We go to the snow in the mountains.

Oh, I remember the earthquakes! Esp. the one when Mt. St. Helens erupted. And the earthquake drills at school. The sad thing is...here we don't practice for that, but rather active shooters and shelter in place. We had a VERY small earthquake here a few years ago, and I thought it was the heavy equipment working next to our school building. It was that slight! Turns out it was a small earthquake. Being from California, I was very unimpressed.

Snow is not as fun when you are an adult and have to shovel it and still go to work AND deal with the crazy people on the roads who can't drive in it. I liked it a lot more as a child when school was closed for the day. It's lost some of it's allure now.

I am ready to move to Florida!!!!!!

Royal Princess is a beautiful ship. I haven't done a full report. The entertainers were fabulous and there were always so many activities to choose from in the evenings. They have a great buffet. Dining room food and service was nothing special on anytime dining. Alfredos (free) was very good as was the steakhouse. We had a regular veranda cabin and it had a very large tv right across from the bed with lots of free on-demand movies (I love that!). I am 50 and was one of the youngest people on the ship. The wine bar tends to get a younger crowd but when I say younger I mean 50s. If you sail November through February this seems to be the demographic...it may be much different in the spring and summer.

We are just a year or two from 50 - so I think we will be okay.

We sailed on Grandeur of the Seas to NE/Canada from Baltimore a few years ago, and were the youngest on the ship by probably 25 years. It was almost eerie - we'd walk across the pool deck or through the Centrum after 9pm, and there was NO ONE out. We are sailing late October, so probably will experience that demographic too - which is fine.

Glad you liked Royal Princess. I am looking forward to trying it.

«Wake up to your favorite brew prepared exactly how you like it! Save 20% and enjoy 15 hot or cold specialty coffee drinks along with unlimited brewed coffee and premium tea for the duration of your cruise.»

 

 

Hard to say (from the way the text is written) if the «... for the duration of your cruise» part relates to everything or just the brewed coffee and the premium tea. :confused:

New Princess cruiser also. I see in my cruise planner that I can purchase a coffee card that says (I think) 10 specialty coffee drinks for about 50/55 dollars. Is this a different type of card then is being discussed for the brewed coffee and tea?

Trying to figure this out. I am definitely a coffee girl!

Thanks all!!

Sure if you are up to the distance. From Gallery One it is about 1.5 miles - and once on A1A (4 blocks after crossing the intra-coastal bridge) you can walk along the wide sidewalks on the beach side or the inland side (with restaurants, hotels, condos, etc.). From the Hilton Marina it is longer - 2.7 miles - all with sidewalks but the beach section of the walk is the last mile only. You also have a much taller bridge to cross (17th Street Bridge) over the intra-coastal walking from the Hilton Marina than the Sunrise Blvd Bridge over the intra-coastal next to the Gallery One. Don't forget that during the day both routes are accessible via the Sun Trolley.

I think GalleryOne is pulling into the lead! We like to walk after dinner - just walked back from dinner to our hotel in San Juan, PR - about 2 miles. We are happy to use the water taxi and/or Sun Trolley for one way maybe - unless it's raining. Just trying to get some extra steps in for each day.

Thank you!!!

If the weather is nice, can I walk from Hilton FLL Marina OR GalleryOne Doubletree to Lulu's Bait Shack? Is that where there is a big, curving sidewalk?