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I forgot about El Gaucho - saw him on my first cruise in 1999!

Ron Lucas has been on too many of my cruises, too. I just checked his website - his calendar hasn't been updated since 2011. Too busy cruising I guess and doesn't pay for the WiFi on the ships;););)

There was one particular male singer who was quite good, (can't recall his name) but once is enough. He ended up on 4 or 5 of my cruises and I was very disappointed with the lack of variety.

Allure

09/30/2018

$1,293.94 for 2 (includes D+ discount)

D6 oceanview balcony

$175 OBC no TA used

I always take a picture of my husband inserting the seapass card into the cabin door on one evening, typically formal night. I make sure to get the cabin # in the photo.

It started out as a joke, sort of a "Come into my room..." (complete with wiggling eyebrows ;)) but has turned into a tradition.

I appreciate your thoughtful post. We too feel that enough changes have happened with RCL that we are trying Celebrity next year.

Cruising on the same ships, we've seen the same entertainment multiple times. Tony Tillman puts on a nice show, but the 4th or 5th time, it loses its appeal. Not RCL's fault.

Perhaps we have hit a saturation point with RCL. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Enjoy your future cruises!

Thank you for all the responses. It sounds like things run smoother now, which is good to hear.

Since we are in a GS, we plan to enjoy the Suite Lounge quite a bit, but want to enjoy other venues, too. As Bob suggested, I will make sure the bar staff knows I am using a free drink voucher.

One thing remains constant - what is allowed in one bar may not be allowed in another. :rolleyes: I'm OK with that.

Hi all,

Last Oct on the Allure we had many issues receiving our complimentary drinks during the cocktail hour in the various venues around the ship. We were charged for drinks and disliked having to correct the bar staff and explain that we were permitted 3 free drinks during the posted hours. It seems there was a lot of confusion about this last year.

On our Liberty cruise in Feb we stuck to the Diamond Lounge to avoid the issue (also because we enjoyed the overflow area in the Viking Crown Lounge :D).

We will be on the Oasis soon and wondering what the experience has been like for recent cruisers?

My experience is like the others. I have had the card for 10 years, charge everything I can on this card and pay it in full each month. I have redeemed points for five 7 day cruises to get the most bang for my buck. We typically pay for our cabin and use the freebies to bring family members along. (They love it!)

The redemption is very easy.

Sadly, now that you cannot use points in conjunction with the never ending BOGO pricing, it makes it difficult to get a free cruise or companion fare. I am sitting on $200k points and want to book a freebie, but the BOGO is killing me.

We're not big spenders onboard so getting shipboard credit at 1% return is not an inducement to use the card.

We will continue to cruise and drag family members with us, but now I will be doing it with a new 2% cash back card I just recently received.

Definitely chat up the wine stewards in Vintages. Liberty serves a wine pairing dinner inside Vintages several nights during the week. You can look over the menu prior to deciding which evening you wish to attend. They have room for maybe a dozen people and it is not well publicized.

They will inform and discuss the wine they have selected for each course, etc. We have sailed Liberty many times and this year was the first we have encountered this.

The Steward said they were trying it out.

I believe direct booking and on board have the same time frame. (guessing here)

I booked direct with RCL and my 60 days lapsed. I was booking another cruise with my TA and gave her the sob story that I missed the 60 day deadline. If memory serves it was closer to 100+ days.

My TA said that many times they can still get the booking transferred when the date has passed. It worked in my case and they were able to have the cruise transferred to their agency.

Thanks for a great review. I am always interested in what first time Royal cruisers think.

This is my favorite class of ship. I love all of the dining options and entertainment venues. Glad you had a great cruise!

I LOVE to fuss over the cruise details. I scan the tags then use Publisher to add our name. I print them in color and will either use the luggage tag holders or laminate them.

WHY? Because I enjoy doing it! It cost pennies to do and takes very little time. Even if that was not the case, it wouldn't matter because I ENJOY DOING IT! For me it's part of the pre-cruise process.

Overkill? Nope - Just how I roll. :D

I would choose ocean view for all the reasons listed. We've had Boardwalk balcony Even though it was one of the closest the the Aqua Theater, we missed the privacy of our own ocean view balcony.

One other factor I did not see mentioned was airflow. Generally, we found the air in the Central Park area to be extremely still and humid. I would not have enjoyed my balcony under those conditions.

Good luck whit your decision.

I like to check the website to see if my cruise has dropped in price. Since this almost never happens, I then take delight in seeing how the price has increased. This allows me to mentally congratulate myself for booking at lower rate.

However, my category is sold out on my upcoming Oasis cruise and I can't see any rates. Is there any another way to check the pricing?

We have cruised during October nearly every year. The weather has been absolutely wonderful the majority of the time.

I understand your question and concern about the weather. You put a lot of time and planning into your vacation. You want the warm, beachy experience. That's what we enjoy, too.

We've had more rain and cooler temps when we've sailed in February than October.

Hope for the best and enjoy your cruise!

While the cost for 2 people is relatively the same, you will get there much more quickly and directly if you take a cab.

We fell into the hotel's spiel to use their shuttle once, which was 'waiting and ready to leave'. Fast forward 15 minutes later we finally left the hotel. Never again.

Not the best way to start a relaxing vacation.

We did this in October - 6 adults + luggage. At the taxi stand, they had us step aside and we waited about 5 minutes for a large passenger van to arrive. Driver got a nice tip.

Thanks, Bob. I was planning to use them on carry-on luggage, so 2 is plenty.

My husband received the luggage tags approx 4 weeks after we made D+ in February.

Just curious if it is one set per household? I was completely miffed it was not addressed to me, the one who actually makes every reservation, etc... :p

We were on the 2/9 Liberty sailing and had the same issue with applying the 1 hour free internet coupons - twice. Both times we had to go to GS and they applied a credit to our account for the $29.95 charges. The lines were long both times.

We were able to use the minutes intermittently throughout the cruise. No one made mention that this was a new program.

I have to say, the cynic in me wondered if the issue with not being able to apply a coupon to the purchase was intentional. I gave RCCL a pass the first time, but when it happened again 3 days later, my radar was up. Perhaps not everyone entitled to the credit made it to GS to claim theirs.

11330 is 95% complete. I got to visit the cabin. It is wonderful. Bedroom has a door so it is really private as well as a door to balcony. balcony faces both the aqua pool and on the other side is facing the ocean. Great views. the ones on deck 12 and 14 are smaller but 14 has great views. I also visited the new suite on deck 17. really awesome. I promised not to post the pictures to cruise critic. my email is cmcgarrahan@sc(dot)rr(dot)com

I emailed you too! We have 12730 next and are very anxious to see any photos! :)

 

The plan is for 2 devices and costs $350, with the 10% discount we had it was $315.

I was on the 10/12 sailing and this is quite a bit higher now! I paid $229 less the Diamond discount for unlimited on 2 devices. We never experienced any issues with connectivity. This is a 53% increase in pricing in one month. :eek:

We've been on this cruise before and even when we self-disembark it has been after 9:30 before we leave the terminal. I was thinking that using the ships transfer might eliminate the stress of missing a shuttle connection.

Are you sailing from Ft. Laud, or Miami? If Miami/Miami, a cab is your best, cheapest and fastest option. If you are sailing from Ft. Laud, and flying Miami, then check SAS Transportation. They are reliable, less expensive than the ship's transfer and yes, you can make that flight, but you'll need to be in one of the 1st groups off the ship! About midway thru the cruise, they ask those with "early" flights to let them know, so they can properly group you for departure.

We cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. I did check SAS but the website says they no longer service the Miami airport.

We are cruising on the Liberty in Feb and have a Delta free companion certificate that we would like to redeem. However, the only eligible return flight leaves FLL at 8:00AM. No can do!

We can fly in and out of Miami with a departing flight time of 12:15 PM.

I have never used RCL's ship transfer service. Anyone use this and know the cost? How do I book it? I was not able to see any option for this on the website.

Also can we make this flight with a ships transfer?

Thanks for your help!

I have always left them in the room, but I try to "organize" the dishes to make it easier for the cabin steward to remove them (empty any liquids, put all paper trash in one area, etc).

 

This is what we have always done. We condense the dishes as much as possible.

 

It does seem like quite a hazard to leave them in the hallway. There are enough carts, etc already in the hallway.

 

Depending on the time of day, it's a game of FROGGER to get down the hallway.:)