MyNameIsGermy
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Posts posted by MyNameIsGermy
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26 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:
Try asking in the general "ask a cruise question" open forum. This really isn't RCCL related.
Good point. I'll ask a mod to move it to the correct forum. Thanks.
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Hi,
One of our inlaws is considering traveling with us on an upcoming cruise. Right now, they sleep in a recliner because of some significant back issues. There are no recliners in any of the rooms, so that's not an option for them. Anyone here that have similar back problems can share what they did to be comfortable while cruising?
Thanks.
-germ
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Let me first apologize for starting another Covid thread. I've tried searching but I keep getting a "gateway timeout" error when I search.
Here's my scenario. We are looking at booking a 7 night cruise in early March out of Florida. We are all just getting getting over a recent battle with Covid (this cruise is our reward!) and I'm concerned about the testing for my littlest of dudes. My 2 year old is unvaccinated and we've been told that he could still test positive on the PCR test for a few months. My 8 year old won't be fully vaccinated by the time we board. He had a delta variant battle earlier in the year and tested positive on the PCR test for close to 4 months post exposure. My husband and I are both vaccinated and recently boosted.
I can't find information on how RCCL would handle my 2 year old, given that he's unvaccinated and his PCR test is likely to show positive even though his battle was from early January.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
-germ
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9 minutes ago, Biker19 said:
Nope, I tried it between two ships- granted it was more than a year apart and RCI changed styles of cups in that time but it didn’t work.
While I can appreciate your experience, it is completely anecdotal.
The "authentication" platform in these machines recognizes a new cup as never having been activated. It serializes it, adds an "acceptable use" time based on the configuration of that specific voyage and walah, works like magic. If you don't use the cup on that voyage, it is never activated and will work on any ship with the freestyle machines. The cups are never tied back to a voyage or ship before they are activated.
Now, as you've pointed out above, if they swap our the vendors for the delivery medium, then YMMV.
-germ
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16 minutes ago, Biker19 said:
On a single ship maybe, but not across other ships.
They are absolutely interchangeable amongst any ships that have the Freestyle machines. They are not ship specific.
-germ
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4 minutes ago, Honeyroastedmelnut said:
If you purchase a zoom package is the WiFi just on the ships or will it also be available at Coco Cay and/or Labadee?
As Bob said above, no Voom on any of the islands. We did find that you could connect on Labadee from Barefoot Beach (the suite beach) though the connection was pretty spotty.
-germ
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16 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:
Let’s say I have a soda cup I never even open, on Symphony. Could I give it to a friend on Indy, to use for his cruise the next month, if he doesn’t have a drink package?
Yes. The RFID chips that are in the bottom of the cup are activated at the Freestyle machines based upon the length of that voyage. There is no "lifespan" of an unused cup. They are not preactivated nor preprogrammed with any information, other than their ID number. If you don't use it during one voyage, you can (in theory, as to not upset the morality police here) use it on another voyage.
-germ
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On 12/19/2018 at 12:49 PM, stringbean10 said:
Yay! I knew there were more like-minded folks out there!
Did your son have fun in adventure ocean? My kids love it!
This was our first time trying it and he went there for a few hours on two nights... after that, he just wanted to hang with us, which was cool by us.
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On 12/18/2018 at 7:30 AM, stringbean10 said:
So interesting to read these replies.
Background on us: Husband & I 40s with 2 little kids (4&5) - taking them on their 3rd cruise in Feb (our 10th or so? - I don't keep track) -
I find the specialty restaurants worth every extra penny. (and it's not even that much!) It is amazing to have 7 nice date nights with or without the children. Thanks free childcare!!!
We buy the "Ultimate dining package" and eat in a specialty restaurant every night and every lunch opportunity - I paid 150 pp for our next cruise. We could easily spend that on one equivalent fine dining meal in our city. Heck - even going out to a Hibachi here would cost us $100 for our family.
The food is always very good to excellent and the service is fantastic. We recently gave the MDR another shot and were very disappointed. The MDR may be 'fine' for y'all but I want 'good to excellent' food and I am willing to pay for it.
I find the MDR food to be equivalent to meh convention buffet food.
I don't care about a waiter 'knowing' me or having the same service team - at all. The MDR is hectic, crowded and loud. I really enjoy the fine dining experience the specialty restaurants provide to us. Chefs table, 150 and chops are fantastic. We eat at Izumi several times each cruise - the only weak link I can think of is Sabor - but they have wonderful margaritas!
People like different things. I am not interested in spending a dime at any of the 'stores' on board, buying 'art,' getting a haircut or teeth whitening on board. We do not do excursions through the cruise line. I do however enjoy long leisurely dinners. The money is worth it to me. I have a hard time understanding how it is not worth it to more folks!
Great post.... we are basically in the same demographics (2 dads and our 5-year-old son) and we do the same thing. We just got off Harmony a bit ago and we did the Ultimat Dining Package and it was great. Food and service were fantastic and didn't have to deal with the cattle call MDR.
Well worth the additional cost!
As for the comments I've seen about it being empty, definitely was not the case on Harmony. We ate mostly at Chops and Jamies and they were always full.
-germ
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You should worry about what you do.
Let others worry about what they do.
Enjoy your vacation!
-germ
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1 hour ago, DENBET30 said:
Is it possible to make a dessert request from a different restaurant menu than the one you're actually eating at as they no doubt come from a central location?
Yes. We did that a few times while dining at Giovanni's, getting a dessert from Chops!
-germ
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22 minutes ago, JBoshears said:
We're about ready for our B2B, and my husband drinks 3 protein shakes a day, in lieu of meals. He most generally eats dinner, and assorted fruit throughout the day, along with the 3 shakes. I'm wondering if I need to get these shakes approved. I was going to put 3 cases in a small suitcase and check it at the pier. Who would I even clear it with? Thoughts?
It shouldn't be an issue but I would e-mail the special needs department to give them a heads up. That will hopefully prevent any potential issues.
Have a great trip!
-germ
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We are two dads with one kid (he's 5) and we're exhausted! How do you do it??? :)
Safe travels, hope you have an awesome trip!
-germ
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Were the HDMI ports easy to access on Allure? Did you have to take a universal remote or did the channel 3 option work on Allure? Just trying to get my ducks in a row before we sail in 2 weeks. Thanks!
The HDMI ports were easily accessible but IIRC, we had to have someone from their "IT" department come change the channel. I think he left us a remote and told us to make sure we travel with a universal remote, so we do, now.
I also seem to recall an issue with getting access to a power outlet for the stick and needing an extension cord for one of them.
-germ
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Is cruise ship wifi even capable of handling a firestick? I know mine struggles at home sometimes and my internet is WAY better than anything Ive experienced on any cruise ship.
Yep. It's able to handle it with no issues. We've streamed to two TV's using our firesticks on Allure. The bandwidth is more than sufficient.
-germ
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We are taking a cruise with a bunch of elderly people in our family and want to be aware of this type of stuff. So we can stick stickers on their doors and help them make some new friends.
.... and I just spit out my water all over my desk!!
:')
-germ
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A word of caution though, once you cruise with a suite you may never want to go book another other type room! Happy cruising!
So true! I think I've told this story before but we once got a check in upgrade from a grand suite to a crown loft suite. RCI knew what the heck they were doing!!!
-germ
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Every time I book a cruise, I always look at suite price vs balcony, my finger is so close to that suite button but so far, noooo. I don’t get it, we can afford it , kids are grown and on their own but but but but why can’t I convince myself? What is truly the difference between balcony and suite life?
The only way I could ever get my husband to go on a cruise was to convince him the rooms were the size of a normal hotel room. Our first cruise, I had to quietly get the Owners Suite on the Sovereign of the Seas. Since then, we've only booked suites because we like having the space and the additional perks, based on the ship.
Going to the suite life is based purely on your preferences. If you tend to book the fancier hotel rooms and chains, you may appreciate the suites more. If you're more interested in saving money and getting a good deal, the balcony room is going to suit you just fine. At the end of the day, it's about what your expectations are.
-germ
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To them, why not pay more money for less room. After you take this upgrade, they can call again to offer you another upgrade back to the CLS. :D
Ha! Brilliant strategy!
-germ
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We've never received a call from the upgrade fairy before but did get a really nice shore-side upgrade (from a GS to a CLS) a few years ago.
This morning I got a call from a nice lady telling me about a great opportunity to upgrade to a junior suite on my upcoming 8 night trip on Harmony. She told me the total cost to upgrade would be $700.
I asked her (a bit tongue-in-cheek) how much more space I would get upgrading from my crown loft suite to a junior suite! She said, "Oh. Ohhhhhhhh. I'm not sure why you're on my list to call today!"
I laughed. She laughed. She then asked me to confirm I didn't want the junior suite upgrade. I declined. LOL.
-germ
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Thank you for this, we will be in a crown loft for the first time. We are D+ but rarely reserve a suite, just balconies. So, this experience will most definitely spoil us and will probably change our minds about future cruises, lol....
Happy sailing...
Danger! Danger!! A few cruises ago we got a free upgrade at the pier to a CLS and they must have known what they were doing, as it's been the standard going forward! :D
Have a great trip!
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Suggest using the Valet parking service. Flat $20 surcharge over DIY parking and well worth it. Quick return of car when cruise is over
Yes! This was the best money I've ever spent out of the Port of Tampa! Well worth it!
-germ
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Do RCI's ships still communicate on VHF frequencies or have they switched to cell phones? Was thinking about bringing a small scanner with me.
Onboard stuff is still the 800MHz trunked, IIRC.
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thanks, any other opinions? we usually get an OS cabin...love it..but thought we'd do CLS and be close to SL and CK....sailing w/DS in our cabin too.....concerned about TV and light noise from down stairs...such a 1st world problem to have......wish I could see a youtube vid...anyone have one on the curtains and real night life in the room
We were never big fans of the OS's. Our go-to choice of rooms is the GS... unless a CLS is available and reasonably priced. I'll take the CLS over a GS any day.
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Welp. I reported it to get it moved but no one responded to it. They must be busy.
For anyone looking, we found that Special Needs at Sea offers this. We were able to get a recliner and a scooter for the week for around $400.00. Scootaround also offers the same thing for a cheaper price but their reviews were pretty terrible.
-germ