Mom.to.2

 

As for why this sub-section still exsists you will not get a response from the mods.

But why? It's a legitimate question/suggestion. Will the mods not read this?

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All menus are now in one location in PDF format:

 

http://www.bourkeblogs.com/aotsmenus

 

I will be updating the daily blogs on my site as well shortly, but thought it would be useful to have all the menus in one place first.

Awesome!!!! Thank you!!!!!

Btw, i'm sorry the moderators have moved your thread to the quantum subform. I was hoping the moderators would see the interest it generated on the main forum, and realize it's time to do away with the quantum subform.

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Thank you both for the recommendation! Palm Court Garden looks beautiful based on their website.

Endoallen, do a google search and check out their website. Looks like there's a different fee based on whether you want to lounge at the pool versus just tour their garden. I'm not sure which you're after.

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Wouldn't a suite with all four in it be the easiest solution? Double points and a single booking.

But unless you mean the really high end suites ($$$$) you're talking less privacy, one less bathroom, and kids wouldn't get 'real' beds. Not worth it IMHO.

OP...I had the same notion when we first started booking our family in 2 rooms instead of squeezing 4 into one room. DH & I are paying for two full price cabins, shouldn't we get double points? Alas, that is not the way it works. As has already been pointed out.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this comprehensive review!

RCCL.....if you are following (and I hope you are)....please find Jamie & Diane, and thank them with a free future cruise!

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This is great. Anyone else hate the way they lump "teens". 12 yrs old us not a teen and the difference between a 12 and a 27 year old might as well be 25 yes at that age of development. On busier cruises, does anyone know if they do a better job with this and group more appropriately?

I'm with you. We'll be sailing on Anthem in April with a 13 year old girl, and I certainly hope her Adventure Ocean age group isn't lumped in with older teens.

To put in context at the show on the first night the Cruise Director gave some stats and said there were 129 people under 18 on board.

Perhaps 129 is a lot for a TA but that's much, much lower than any sailing I've ever been on. Granted, we only sail over school break weeks.

Crossing my fingers that on future sailings that correspond with New England school break weeks, there's enough kids that ages are broken down significantly.

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Eagerly following!

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Thank you for sharing your time & pictures with us! Can't wait to see more!

That is a lot of $ for that text feature.

Seems like a deal to me. $30 (2 phones) to be able to keep in contact with my teenager at a moment's notice? Priceless.

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I wish this sub forum had more 'traffic' and therefore more feedback. I wonder when this sub forum will merge with the main RCL forum, thereby increasing visibility.

How long after the Oasis was launched, was that sub forum merged into the main?

Mods...any feedback?

Hi everybody !!

just to confirm that I booked today via a TA (for the same price as seen online), and I asked specifically for dynamic dining choices. I now have my reservation, and I have checked online, I am able to book the restaurants !

Yeah !!! Looking forward to the cruise...:D

Congrats! Terrific that the issue has been resolved to your satisfaction.

For others who may be in the same boat, try calling RCL directly as a first step. They may be able to switch you to your desired dining choice, without having to switch to a TA. It worked for me.

In order to cover "pre-existing" conditions, you do have to buy the insurance when you book the cruise....

 

It's sort of like auto insurance...you can't insure your car AFTER you have the wreck and have it paid for!

I've actually been able to buy a policy that covered preexisting conditions and cancel for any reason, just before I made final payment (which was more than a year after I first booked the cruise.)

This was through insuremytrip dot com, and I found the policy talking to an agent (not just over the internet.) I believe it was with FrontierMedEx. It cost me more for the policy than if I had bought it at the time of booking, but at a year+ out, I wasn't sure we'd keep the booking and therefore didn't want to 'waste' an insurance premium until I was sure we'd go.

RocketMan's suggesting sounds interesting. I hadn't thought about insuring just the deposit. But, I tend to look at travel insurance as coverage for evac, medical & trip interruption. The cruise fare is a pittance next to what medical bills could be, and if need be we could swallow the cruise fare without being reimbursed. Of course we're booking balcony cabins, not high end suites.

Have you talked with the friend, and asked if they want to go ahead as scheduled vs. change the date to further out vs. cancel altogether? Seems to me that's the 1st step, determine your 1st choice outcome.

For health coverage, the look-back period & preexisting conditions coverage vary greatly by the company and policy. Once you've determined that you aren't canceling the trip outright, call insuremytrip dot com and talk to an agent (don't just try to figure the policies out online yourself.) They can tell you exactly what trip health/evac insurance will best fit your situation.

However, if you're asking what travel insurance would cover the cost of canceling the trip, I doubt companies would cover this since you're after final payment date. You're likely at the mercy of RCL's cancellation policy & will simply lose the deposit if you cancel today.

Anyone????

Is there a nice beach close to the ship? What would taxi fare be & how long a ride?

IMHO, get evac coverage for $50k+.

With some searching (and higher fee) you can find policies that cover pre-existing conditions even if you don't purchase the policy shortly after the first payment is made, as long as you're before final payment.

You can also find policies that do not require you to pay out-of-pocket then get reimbursed.

Know what is important to you, and call the nice people at insuremytrip. They have access to a huge database of insurance companies and policies, and can help you find the policy that matches your requirements.

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To be 100% safe, turn off cellular and data roaming, turn on airplane mode and turn on wifi and you'll be able to use the app and nothing else.

Thank you. Much appreciated.

Can you answer the OP's query and mine regarding the fee to use the Royal IQ app for texting between parties on the ship? $14.95 for entire length of sailing? Do you pay for each device or only the one sending the text (not the one receiving)?

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I believe it depends on the sailing. My upcoming cruise lists early classic seating as 6:00.

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The app wont work without WiFi. You don't need airplane mode, just turn of cellular data and you are fine. If you want to call someone on the ship, you would have to use the app instead of using the regular calling function of your phone - at least that's what I think how it works.

I'm worried about my teenage daughter receiving a thousand incoming texts (literally) and that's why I'm thinking I'd need to put her phone in airplane mode in addition to turning off cellular data.

Will the royal iq app work while the phone is in airplane mode? The app connects via wifi, but you don't need an Internet package...just pay the $14.95 per device per cruise?

Thanks for clarifying. I'm not tech savvy.

We use Verizon if that makes a difference.

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How do you make sure you're not inadvertently racking up a huge phone bill? Is turning the phone to airplane mode & turning cellular data off enough? Will the app still work with these settings?

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The excursion I'm looking at isn't a bus tour, it's "self explore St. John." $37 covers ferry round trip to St. John only and leaves adjacent to the ship (no taxi to Red Hook). Once in St. John, I'm on my own...no tour, no taxi included in the $37. Just meet back up at the pier at the designated time for the return trip to the ship (40 mins ferry ride?). So I'll be responsible for taxi to/from Trunk Bay, plus admission. From other reviewers, sounds like they had about 3:45-4:00 hours at Trunk Bay doing it this way.

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Took taxi from port to red hook ferry to go to st John's. $10 pp plus tip. Took 45 minutes get to ferry taxi make 2 other stops at beaches. Took ferry for $7 pp or $14 pp round trip, takes 20 minutes. Took taxi to trunk bay $6 pp plus tip. $4 pp to enter trunk bay. Was wonderful snorkeling. Lots colored fish all sizes. Popular snorkeling place. They do rent chairs snorkeling equipment. I heard $50 deposit for chairs that are lawn chairs and tiny umbrella. Don't know cost to rent. Have snack bar for sandwiches burgers etc. Taxi back cruise bay for ferry.. $6 took 20 minutes, ferry 20 minutes. Leaves every hour. Got there 3 minutes after the hour but could board cuz had bought round trip ticket before. Otherwise would had wait an hour. Taxi back to ship was maybe 20 minute.. no stops.

Thanks for breaking down the fees. Sounds like you don't save significant $ doing it on your own.

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That may have the gratuity already included-- thus, it should still be covered-- but perhaps someone that has been on anthem from Southhampton can confirm.

Good point. The menu I'm basing drink prices on is from UK sailings. Perhaps prices will be adjusted down once Anthem is home ported in the USA where gratuities are expected on top of the base cost.

The Ultimate package has the same exact alcoholic drink limits as the Premium package. If you order a drink that is priced over the limit, you only have to pay the difference.

Thank you. That's what I was hoping.

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Does the ultimate package have a cocktail price limit like the premium does?

Are speciality cocktails for the complimentary restaurants on Anthem included? (They seem to be ~$14/drink from the menus I've seen.)

If we order a $14 drink on the premium package, can we just pay the $2 difference, or would I have to pay $14?

TIA

We're booked on Anthem 6/16/16 - We show we're booked:

 

Dynamic()

 

so I called and asked specifically for dynamic classic. She placed us on a waiting list - the cruise is 8 months out!

 

We'd prefer dynamic classic as we always enjoy sitting with the same people and meeting them.

 

UPDATE: Just checked the booking - we are now in Dynamic (classic 1)!

Woo hoo!!!!

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Oops. We're going to St Thomas too & I got confused.

We'll be in St. Maarten on a Thursday in April. Is it safe to assume the LeGalion restaurant will be open, and therefore not to worry about finding a taxi back to the ship? (Because the restaurant will call for us, if needed)

Thank you for the link to the other thread. There are 4 of us, so sounds like ~$40 each way, and allow 40 mins travel time. Correct?

Thank you gtaylor!

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