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Everything posted by Airbear232
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Need help. Renewing wedding vows.
Airbear232 replied to bullsh's topic in Royal Caribbean International
So, what's included with the wedding package for $1995? Curious. -
Sounds good, we have a large family cruise for New Year’s and this sounds like a great option for everyone. Thanks.
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In 30 plus cruises we've never done teppanyaki at sea. Is it good?
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Completing check-in on the website?
Airbear232 replied to surgie's topic in Royal Caribbean International
We had a similar issue in December with my sister-in-law. In our case, we weren't able to resolve until we were embarking at port. Good luck! -
Just returned from Oasis in Med
Airbear232 replied to West Windsor girl's topic in Royal Caribbean International
We love Oasis class ships. On Med cruises, we don't get to really enjoy the ship fully as we're go go go on port days. Completely agree with you on the food. Glad you had a great time. I hope all of the Oasis class ships are around for many years to come. -
My DW and I love all the live music onboard. It would seriously take away from the experience if it were to go away.
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Booking a Cruise with Royal Caribbean
Airbear232 replied to Dalton51's topic in Royal Caribbean International
We go with that big white box superstore out of Washington state. Their travel service dominates now, we get great rates and a cash card when we go home. -
Cruise Planner Purchases Disappear
Airbear232 replied to Chot50s's topic in Royal Caribbean International
We always take a screenshot showing purchases completed. A picture can still be worth a thousand words. -
No Lobster Sharing Allowed
Airbear232 replied to PhillyFan33579's topic in Royal Caribbean International
I agree, getting the good survey is paramount, then tips. It’s very difficult for them and it seems the survey score is the ultimate driver of behaviour. -
No Lobster Sharing Allowed
Airbear232 replied to PhillyFan33579's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Aren’t you contradicting yourself in saying you weren’t able to order multiple entrees AND had to finish one before ordering another? You got me wondering. On most cruises the Captain, HD or CD will say how much food (eggs, milk, fruit, veggies blah blah blah) is used each week onboard. I wonder what percentage of that is waste? This is not a criticism of you, it just got me thinking (and I’m someone apt to order more than one dessert). -
RCL food has gone downhill fast
Airbear232 replied to Bullet100's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Everything in life within reason. Yes, costs have gone up and one would expect them to go up over time. However, when you are selling a customer experience, you expect a consistency of product. IMHO, the changes in pricing are not aligned with the quality of the product. Again, this is my opinion, YMMV. -
Shopping for watches while on shore in Bahamas
Airbear232 replied to Eternal Menace's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Provided you are not buying multiples of the same watch, I don’t believe you have an issue other than duty. What you spend your money on is your business. -
RCL food has gone downhill fast
Airbear232 replied to Bullet100's topic in Royal Caribbean International
All true, but it has never been cook to order. It was always “institutional” cooking. Nonetheless, they did produce a very good product, the only problem is that they’ve taken too many short cuts and cut back on the quality of ingredients. Right now all cruise lines have tried to maximize profits as much as possible with little regard for customer experience. Eventually the market will even out as other options for travel become more competitive. For us, we’re nearing our tipping point with Royal due to drops in food quality, price increases on fares and tips, and boring itineraries. -
New class being possibly revealed “very soon”
Airbear232 replied to TheBucketLister's topic in Royal Caribbean International
But, if smaller ships mean better itineraries, new ports and more world cruises then a lot of us are happy. -
Sorry, read your reply and had to reply. I think it’s everyone’s personal choice what they tip. I wouldn’t call anyone out. If it was that critical to the health of the corporation, it would be baked into the fare. [we always tip extra but I don’t believe anyone has a right to call anyone out on tipping]. My apologies if I’ve hijacked the conversation.
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A cruise filled with Broadway shows?
Airbear232 replied to deltahog's topic in Royal Caribbean International
RC is a great place to see shows. We especially enjoyed Mamma Mia on Allure. You can’t go wrong as the show price is in your cruise fare. Enjoy whichever you choose! -
First time cruising in Europe
Airbear232 replied to SailorMan98's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Congratulations, I’m sure you’ll have an absolutely wonderful trip. We’ve done this trip several times. Here’s my 2 cents: 1- Fly in early, Barcelona is a beautiful city. If you can, I’d suggest getting a hotel on La Ramblas. You can walk to many locations from there. Barcelona is a very walkable city and has great public transportation. 2- There are picket pockets. I always use a packsafe pouch that goes over my head and under my shirt. It has a wire cable that can’t be easily cut. 3- consider booking flights and transfers with Royal’s Air2Sea. This protects you in the case of any unforeseen circumstances (once on a cruise out of Rome, my luggage didn’t reach the ship in time, Air2Sea made sure it was sent on to Athens and to the ship. I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t booked with them). 4- Most ports you can do on your own either by arranging something at port with a tour guide or getting ride into port. Or, as others have mentioned you may find an online group with your cruise and make arrangements with others for port excursions. 5- Some suggestions: Palma - a day walking about the town or taking a Taxi to the Mountain town if Valdemossa, great place to walk about, shop and have lunch. Marseille - taking a taxi to the old port and walking about is a good day, otherwise, a drive in the country is beautiful. Naples - a day trip to the Amalfi Coast or Capri is unforgettable. If you stay in port, da Michele Pizzeria is reputedly the home of pizza. It’s quite good but be prepared to wait a while to get your pizza. Naples also has great shopping, the E.Marinella tie shop is a short walk from the ship. Rome - if you’re mobile, it’s very easy to take a train from port to Rome Termini station. You can easily walk from the station to most of the major sights in the city. Alternatively, at Rome Termini you can make arrangements with a taxi driver for a tour around the city. La Spezia - you can arrange great day trips to either Cinque Terre or Florence. If going to Florence, I’d suggest skipping Pisa. It will take too much time and, IMHO, you can never have enough time in Florence. 6- These cruises are go, go, go. Pace yourself and enjoy yourself. 7- booking with Air2Sea with a transfer at the end of the cruise removed all stress at the end of the cruise. 8- lastly, if you like shopping, consider bringing an extra bag to hold you finds. Have a great trip! -
The naughty line is not that big a deal. DW and I like to dress up for evenings, much better with a steamer than without. As some others pointed out, not much risk difference between a flat iron, steamer hair dryer or even a CPAP machine. Most people in the naughty line are there for booze and not steamers.
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The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed this morning after being struck by a container ship. The bridge is part of i695 and spans the Patapsco River. There was excellent visibility at the time of collision. Multiple vehicles were on the bridge on the time of the collapse. A dreadful event. God willing there will be survivors. Cruises into Baltimore will be suspended.
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Recent cruisers - milk in cartons available?
Airbear232 replied to joyandjerry's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Yes -
How bad is Cococay with 11000 people?
Airbear232 replied to Neosophy's topic in Royal Caribbean International
As others have noted, getting off early is a big help. This is especially true with the water park, where kids can go on the slides with more ease. As well, you have a Cabana and there is a limit to the number of tickets for the waterpark, so you are good. Enjoy! -
Current Cruise Director (CD) List, starting 12-2021
Airbear232 replied to DELTABLUE's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Sorry, I know a lot of people are passionate about their CD, but does it really matter much anymore? A long time ago, the CD was integral to the trip and there was a lot of interaction. On the larger ships of today, we’ve gone through many without even seeing the CD. I know they play a role behind the scenes but we just don’t interact with them the way we once did. I’d be interested in whether anyone tracks the Hotel Directors and compares that to the overall ship experience. -
What do you think of Vision of the Seas?
Airbear232 replied to mizLORInj's topic in Royal Caribbean International
We previously enjoyed Vision for itineraries Royal’s big ships don’t do such as Arabian Gulf. It was great to be off all day exploring and then to come back in the evening for dinner and entertainment. The smaller size made it easier to get about. We really don’t mind smaller ships with great itineraries. I don’t know if we’d choose for transatlantic or Caribbean/Bahamas where you might spend more time on ship.