bluegirlum

OP, not sure where you're from, but most like the weather in the Bahamas in October will be much nicer than where you're from. As others have said, don't sweat it because there is nothing you can do about it. If you are that worried, then you should probably cancel/reschedule because then you won't be able to enjoy yourself if you're completely set on doing certain things. Just go and have a great time! Most likely you'll make it to Coco Cay and will be able to do everything. If not, make the best of it and enjoy the time away. Coco Cay is my favorite "port" so I sure hope you make it. Have a great time!!!

I'm not sure on whether she can get there on her scooter. I think it's paved, but not totally sure. Maybe you can contact RC and ask them? I'm sure you're not the first person to ask.

Just so you know, the whole thing will take about 45 minutes--at least. I would go pretty early in the day if you want to do other things on Labadee. You have to try on the gear, do a test run, go up to the top, etc. She won't be able to tell it's you guys coming down until you're most of the way down. It's a lot of fun. Enjoy!

I'm ready for the size difference. I have been on all sizes except Quantum. I just did Liberty last month, so I know what to expect. I actually enjoy the smaller ships overall. On Allure we had the last Aqua Balcony room and man, was that a hike and a half several times a day. View was amazing, but that walk in heels nearly killed me.

Ha--I bet! Our cabin was on the same deck as the dining room on Brilliance so thankfully my walk in heels wasn't very far. :D I think you'll have a lot of fun. Hope you have a great trip!

There are seperate areas for each group, yes. But my point was gold doesn't get first priority. It starts with pinnacle and suites and then diamond plus and then diamonds. They get priority from the priority list;) I was referring to actuaL priority departure opposed to a waiting area and breakfast;)

 

I was responding to a comment referring to getting off before everyone else. As gold, you are unlikely to be getting off before too many people was the point I was trying to make.

 

I am aware that every level has a breakfast and so called priority departure lounge, however given the percentage of passengers that are gold or above, that's like saying the whole shop gets priority to disembark:D

Oh, ok. My bad. Sorry for the confusion. :eek: I'm going to still let myself feel kind of special that I'm not the last one off the ship. :D

My understanding is priority departure is for diamond and above and suite guests. Op is gold. I doubt they will be high on the early departure list.:)

As someone else said, I also used it when I was platinum. There may be a different, more "special" place for D/D+ and suites. :)

I find it helpful now with the change to people being able to carry off their bags instead of only leaving them out overnight and picking them up based on their color. There is always a long line of people waiting to get off the ship when we clear customs, and I have been able to go ahead of the non-CA cruisers every time. To me, it's worth it to get ahead of the crowd; I don't care about the breakfast. It just depends on what you need.

It is unacceptable that you have had to waste so many calls without any luck. It is also downright embarrassing that you thought this was a relevant issue that needed the attention of the CEO of a publicly traded, multi billion dollar, international company.

 

People need a serious reality check. This could easily have been resolved onboard. I wholeheartedly hope that people who contact the CEO for issues like this are ashamed and embarrassed for themselves.

You've obviously been lucky enough to have perfect service everywhere you've ever been. There are several companies that I have dealt with where the only way I received a response is by contacting the CEO's office. Good on you for always getting what you need right away. Please share your secrets with us so we can stop embarrassing ourselves.

Some of the horror stories Ive read of accidents happening onboard and the cruiselines dumping these people in foreign countries with subpar healthcare scare me to death.

 

I understand they cant treat major things onboard but they should put a little more thought into where they take their passengers. Once they get you off that ship, they absolutely could not care less what happens to you from everything Ive read.

If it were me and I had a medical emergency, I'd rather be in Grand Cayman than Jamaica!

Yeah, it is scary. That's why I always get trip insurance. You have to look out for yourself.

Hope the passenger is ok.

Your roomkey/charge card is called your "Seapass" and the daily planner is called the "Compass." I know each line has a different name for each.

Thanks for the reply Blue. I guess we will have to go for dinner. Their lunch on Allure was just so relaxed and comfortable.

It will probably be kind of a shock for you going from Allure's size down to Brilliance. I thought I would hate going back to Majesty after Oasis, but I didn't at all. Obviously there are less food options on Brilliance (as you've already seen), but hopefully you'll enjoy your cruise. I think just knowing it's going to be a lot different--not bad, just different--will help you going into it. Hope you have a great time!

Remember as well to write the CEO when you have an over the top fantastic cruise...and name the staff that made it that way. I did that and received a call from Richard Fain's assistant and we talked for an hour. They were delighted to receive a thank you letter.

Good point! I have had this happen as well. Apparently the staff get recognized on board and get days off, etc. as a reward.

"Private" with a few hundred of your closest friends :)

True :)

Usually it will be in the dining room or a lounge. The breakfast is pastries and coffee and juice.

What's nice about it to me is that you *usually* get to get off the ship ahead of the other folks. I appreciate this benefit because I'm usually trying to get a fairly early flight. I just get breakfast at the airport.

Thank you for this thread. There are not too many about Brilliance. We are sailing this ship for the first time in November for our daughter's college graduation gift.

On our last sailing of Allure, we had lunch at Giovanni's. We loved it and wanted to try it for this cruise, but when I go to my Cruise Planner page for RCCL, I am only able to see that they are open for dinner...is this really the case? It seems odd to have a restaurant with a captive audience and only serve one meal a day?

That sounds right. Brilliance is sooo much smaller than Allure (I laugh as I write this b/c my bf and I went on Brilliance in March and he kept getting lost--he wants to go on Allure but I don't think I'd see him for a week! :eek:). I don't think it would get much of a crowd for lunch.

Exactly.

I'd rather spend a day in Nassau than a day at work :) but- it is a port people get tired of since so many cruises go there, and the activity options are limited compared to many other ports. The water is pretty, but the other scenery is not extra special.

Agreed.

I've stopped in Nassau at least 6 times. I've stopped there a few times as a solo (female) traveler and have never felt unsafe walking around the port area. I just kept my head down and walked by the vendors and had no problems. My friend and I went to Senor Frogs and had a blast. I also did a land-based vacation there for a week with some friends and it was fine. Kind of boring, but relaxing.

My favorite ship happens to be Majesty, and all its cruises go through Nassau. It is what it is. You can certainly find something fun to do there.

Glad you got it fixed. Even though there is often debate on here about who's really reading the CEO's email, all I care about is that the issue gets fixed when I email them about something. I just appreciate the response. Good to hear you got one in this case too.

I would check the boards for each of those specific ports (this will probably be moved over there anyway). There are a lot of very helpful tips and suggestions for all 3 ports. I would look at what RC offers, then go back to those forums and see what people recommend for booking on your own for whatever you're interested in (like how to book Blue Lagoon, for example, in Nassau). Have fun!

Glad you had fun. Thanks for the report. I was on Brilliance in early March and loved it. Agreed on the dining room. I was very surprised by how casual it was. With the women, however, I found that many really did care how they looked, but they didn't have much on! :eek: But it was Spring Break, so there were a lot of college kids, so their idea of "formal" wear is a little different than mine. :)

That's funny that you posted this. My local "antenna" TV station just aired an episode of Love Boat. It was my favorite show when I was growing up--I guess I was meant to be a cruiser. But I too was thinking how different it is now. It's such a funny show to watch now!

Thank you everyone

We are fully aware of how far PC is from Miami, I'm not stressed but just interested in what everyone thought were the best options.

 

The last time we cruised we were in Orlando so it was a quick transfer.

Yes we are flying from the uk

The flights to Miami were much cheaper than to Orlando.

 

We have visited Orlando 7 times so have no interest in doing those attractions anymore

 

We are driving to cocoa beach and staying there the night before our cruise, hotel is all booked. 😃

I'm a big fan of South Beach. You can check out the Florida forum, but Collins Ave has a ton of hotels on the beach. It's a fun area, especially if you've never been to Miami.

As someone else said, if you're ok driving, renting a car from Miami to Orlando is probably the cheapest option but, again, I would check out the Florida forum to see if people have recommendations for shuttles, etc.

Have fun! 😀

Since I had the time off from work and couldn't change that, I decided to go ahead and use the flights to Fort Lauderdale. I booked my timeshare on the beach for four days. I was surprised to find availability at only two days ahead! I had not planned on renting a car but after looking at the round trip costs of a taxi from the airport to the resort (and back), I decided this morning to rent one. It is only going to be $5 more to have a car for the four days than it would be for the two trips in a taxi.

 

It is still not a cruise, but at least I will have a 2 bedroom condo on the beach in Florida for four days at no additional cost. I really can't beat that!

 

And to top that, my nephew and his wife left on the Liberty today for a 5 night cruise. I will be able to pick them up from the ship and take them to the airport on Thursday. At least that will save them the taxi fare.

Glad that worked out. Enjoy!!

There are a number of places that now require a Rx for Sudafed. Even if the FDA doesn't require one, a number of county governments are requiring them! At least, near me they are.

 

As for the Rx, I am an allergy patient, and I take Sudafed all the time. My MD writes me a Rx every 6 months and off to the pharmacy at Sam's Club I go. The Rx means I can use my HSA, I don't have to pay sales tax, and that they don't have to do all the recording stuff behind the counter, because the Dr already approved me.

 

I do the same for my nasal spray, now that it is also OTC.

 

As for buying meds in Mexico, my sister lived there for years and got them at the pharmacy near her. For some meds, the pharmacist wanted a Rx written out, sometimes they wanted the exact medication on just a sheet of paper (no actual Rx needed) and sometimes she just went and picked up what she wanted.

 

Keep in mind, if a medication requires a prescription in the US, and you come in with more than a very small amount (a few days past arrival date), you are breaking US law. If you just have a few days worth, the assumption can be that you got sick on vacation and got one course of treatment while on vacation. More than that, you are liable to get it taken. YMMV.

Interesting...thanks.

And I do know that Sudafed is harder to get in the US, but I don't need a prescription for it. I just thought it was ironic that the one thing that I needed was basically the ONLY thing they didn't have---even if I would've had a prescription. It's cheaper for me to get everything else in the US b/c I'm very fortunate to have good insurance.

Ditto on the rumcake from Grand Cayman. It's the best. I would get the 6 pack variety pack. When you get off the ship see if you can find an island guide or coupon book. There's usually a Tortuga coupon for a few dollars off rum cakes in them.

If you cook, you might want to get some vanilla in Cozumel.

Coffee in Jamaica is good (I'm not a coffee drinker, but that's what I hear).

Personally, I like to get Christmas ornaments from every port. I used to collect magnets, then pens, but now its ornaments. (Not sure if that would fit in your case, but just a suggestion).

You will not be allowed to walk more than about 50 feet past the ship. You have to take a shuttle/trolley in and out. There is a gate that is guarded; it's an active base (there were SEALS doing training exercises when we were docked there). I think if you tried to walk up to come back, you would be turned away and instructed to go back to where the shuttle picks everyone up.

It's a pain, but if you've never been to Key West, it's a nice way to see a little bit of it. It'll add 15 minutes at most.

OP, Aquahound is the resident Key West expert, so go with whatever he says. :)

As for the trolley, I went with my parents, who are in their 70s and are somewhat limited in their mobility. They loved the Conch Train tour. If you go in the Hemingway house, there are stairs, so just keep that in mind---there aren't any if you just want to see the cats. Also, we took a cab from the Oyster House (well, the Lobster House above it) from our hotel. It's super easy.

Our shuttle from Mole was a Conch Train, and it dropped us off at its store on Duval and Front, and that's where we picked it up to go back to the ship.

As others have said, yes, it's possible to book a cabin just for yourself, either on the RC website or on another. It will usually default to 2 people, so just make sure you check; call them if it's not working. I think it's crappy that solo travelers have to pay double (I understand that RC is a business that needs to make money, but...) but I love cruising and I've found some reasonable deals and enjoy cruising by myself. Have fun!

We just got off Majesty's 4 night cruise yesterday (Friday).

Yes, there was an oil leak problem which apparently happened in CoCoCay therefore we could not dock at Key West on our last day (due to the strict environmental conditions surrounding the water at Key West as well as Royal Caribbean's 'strict environmental commitment')

They told us the ship was not leaking oil but they couldn't take a chance.

 

This announcement was made by the captain at 11:00pm on the night before we were scheduled to go there. Unfortunately, a lot of people were already in bed at that point and woke up without realizing we were not docking. We actually had breakfast in the dining room with a couple who still didn't realize it.

 

We were given a $75 per cabin refund (which I felt was fair, because they do have the option to change the itinerary at any time), plus the port fees of $13.44pp.

 

It stinks that they have to take her back to dry dock and people have to miss their cruise...

Bummer that you had to miss Key West. You have a really good attitude about it--I imagine there were some unhappy campers on board. Did you just go real slow back to Miami?

OP, sorry that your trip is cancelled. It's nice that they are giving you that compensation, but what a drag. I hope you are able to take an alternate trip to make up for it.