lakelorain

Love the experience.

Rodeway Inn and suites near the airport has a park and fly package. We are staying there in February.

Topi is a lot of fun. He has a great sense of humor. Very friendly and visible around the ship.

Our Royal Caribbean Visa has a chip as does our USAA debit card. By the way USAA is not only for military. There are some select government agencies that are eligible. We are non-military.

We've hit afternoon showers there several times. Most people headed back to the ship when it started so there was a line getting on the ship. We've learned to get off the ship early and head back early to avoid the rush.

When I started cruising, I contacted RC and they gave me suggested travel agents based on where I lived. I've been very happy with the one they recommended.

Re tea and coffee making facilities - I had them on the JS, sailing out of Asia, Dubai and Australia. On X, I was in a CC cabin and did not have tea/coffee making facilities in the room.

 

Hi Lakelorain,

 

We have done multigenerational cruising on Celebrity's Silhouette as well as on the Legend of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas an Brilliance of the Seas.

 

On X Silhouette, there were 2800 passengers, of which 41 were between the ages of 0 and 18. As you would imagine, I've never seen more than 10 kids at the Fun Factory, whereas on RCCL, you can expect hundreds of kids every sailing, and Adventure Ocean almost always has a good number of kids.

 

Fun Factory vs Adventure Ocean. AO has more complimentary hours than FF. For port days, if you choose to leave your kids at FF, you have to pay $6 per hour per child from 12 noon to 2pm. I don't recall having to pay this for AO. If your kids like the pirates night on AO, FF does not have this either.

 

The staff to kid ratio is obviously better on FF. In terms of actual space devoted to FF/AO, they are both comparable. FF has excellent facilities too as there is a tie up with XBox 360/kinect. Because there were fewer kids in FF, there was only one group from 3-12 yrs. The teen group was almost non existant.

 

FF talent shows are a non-event, whereas AO's talent shows are pretty public - played on instateroom TV and held in public venues.

 

In terms of activities, my kids are more familiar with AO and they look at the daily cruise compass for kids, and look forward to activities like Dodge Ball, (they don't like Mummy Wrap), and I am not sure what else. Whereas for FF, the activities are slightly more sedate (not necc a bad thing), with more watching of TV shows. FF has nice story telling sessions.

 

Beyond FF/AO, as far as the ship goes, there's more going for the kids onboard RCCL, especially if your kids are into rock climbing and activities. Mine aren't, so we didn't miss that aspect. We don't eat at Johnny Rockets either, so we didn't miss that either.

Thanks, so much, for your insight. I'll have my daughter look at your comments so she can decide which cruise line would be best for her kids.

The Explorer doesn't dock until 8:00am. As a result disembarkation runs later than other ships. It is spread out so there is no back up at the buses.

Boarding starts at different times depending on whether or not there is a wedding scheduled while in port. If there is, the wedding party and guests board first(they aren't always on time). Then, usually, those needing assistance(handicapped, strollers etc.) board. This is followed by suites and high level C&A.

As for your friends boarding with you. Sometimes they let you and sometimes they don't. On my last Explorer cruise, I was allowed to take 5 new cruisers with me to priority boarding.

Enjoy your cruise.

The hotels in Isla Verde(near the airport) are generally less expensive than the other areas. We stayed at the Verdanza Hotel. $149 total. 1 block from the beach. Great restaurants in hotel and in surrounding area.

There are handicap accessible buses. The staff in the boarding area will help you to get on board. If you get there early, you may be able to board early.

Chocolate Breakfast in the MDR.

Thanks, doodbug, for your comparison. How did the children like Celebrity? We are planning a multi-generational family cruise and are torn between RCI and Celebrity. I think RCI is more kid friendly but Celebrity has the itinerary we prefer. Did the kids like Celebrity? Did they attend the kids activities? Any insight would be appreciated.

Besides the RCCL OBC for booking early onboard, the rest is RCCL VISA points that we have cashed in... I actually forgot about the original $100...may have to have a few extra beers...

 

David:D

We combine the OBC for booking on board or from a next cruise certificate and Visa points on every cruise and get the excess credited back to the credit card we use on a regular basis. Guest services does this automatically. I tend to over estimate the amount we need.

We pass the luggage drop off and park in the lot directly across the street from the terminal. We then walk across the street with our luggage and give it to the 1st porter we see with a generous tip. He then takes it to the other end of the terminal for us while we go directly inside the building. It saves a lot of time. My DH has lung problems and can't be out in the cold very long and this system works great for us.

We had a large OBC from RC that we only used part of and they offered us cash or a credit on our credit card for the balance. It may depend on why you received the OBC.

We've seen a couple who were great dancers also. The were always dressed to the nines in matching outfits. She told me that she made all their clothes.

There is a 3 day WOW sale going on right now.

We were in group 3 getting off the Jewel in October(not a walk off). We were at the airport by 8am. It wasn't crowded. There were no lines anywhere. Unfortunately our flight wasn't until 2:45pm.

I got the same email. Never been on the Independence of the Seas. Never even considered going on her.

Like it! However if you are only listening to TV and not watching it you will miss it, I have the thing on as background at times. It makes cruising seem very exciting not newlywed or nearly dead.

I agree with this post. The first few times it was on, I was busy doing something else and not watching the TV. It needs some words. So many people are multi-tasking and not always watching what is on the TV screen. If you aren't watching, it has no effect on you.

Thanks for doing this report. Haven't been on the Legend before but have 3 cruises booked on her in the next 6 months. Looking forward to your impressions of her.

The videos are a nice touch.

We will be on the Legend in February for a Caribbean cruise. In May we will be doing a b2b on her. First cruise is from Copenhagen through the Norwegian fjords. Second goes to the Baltics.

We were on that cruise last month. Hadn't been to St. Croix in 43 year so we took an island tour. Boring. Not much to see. I'd go with a beach trip, boat trip or some type of active tour.

It's interesting that the two itineraries had such different passengers. I wonder if it's just because of the weeks on which they fell or because of the itinerary. :confused: Our Jewel cruise in March is close to being sold out so there won't likely be an last-minute specials for locals.

I think you are correct in assuming the itineraries drive the crowd. The shorter itinerary is less expensive and is more affordable for many. Also, the specific week appealed to a large number of people from Arizona(school vacation). I assume there were some state discounts as the states with the largest number of people on the first cruise were California and Tennessee.

Do you recall the dates for your itinerary?

 

• Formal nights?
  
• 70s party?
  
• Quest?
  

Sorry I don't. First formal night was day 2 but the 2nd formal night was different on each cruise. Other activities were also at different times and days. Even the menu was switched around.