grand isle joe

I ended up in the naughty room for a battery-powered fan. Once they saw how it was powered RC let me keep it. For my upcoming cruise I emailed them to see if there was a way to prevent ending up in the naughty room again. I'm a woman of a certain age, and that fan is very much necessary. :p

 

The response was that the ship will provide a fan. I've saved the email and will be sure to bring it. One less thing to pack.

.....but one thing that RCI forgot to tell you is that the fan they will provide is MANUAL......no batteries or electricity needed........:D

Are steamers actually allowed on Royal Caribbean?

We always bring our steamer. After buying local mussels we bring them back to the ship and have a little BBQ on our balcony. A little wine,garlic and thyme and we are in heaven. Next we are going to try some red snapper witH drawn butter. Oh I hope they don't go ahead and ban those steamers.

I'm going to bring a fan because we can't sleep without the noise. Brought it in the past. If they take it away, they better have one of their own to replace it!!!

.......Er.....I don"t think that an attitude like that will bode well for a pleasant cruise. They do retain the right to off load anyone they wish for almost any reason. Somehow I don't see many people these days arguing with the TSA at airports? Fire at sea is a worse case scenario on any ship so I for one can see a valid reason for strict bans on electrical equipment.

Don't all Bands smoke ? It's a rock n roll thing.

......yea.....have you ever seen Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in concert? He has a smoke hanging from his lips while playing if not there then lodged in the neck of his guitar . Now Bing Crosby use to smoke a pipe.....does that count?

Wow!......talk about a sharp left hand turn.

Anyone have any status updates on the progress of the work onboard Magic? Since we heard they cancelled today's cruise a few days ago, we decided not to tell our 3 year old, she's going on a cruise until we have more certainty that our Oct 25 sailing is a go. This situation has kind of taken the usual fun out of getting ready for a trip.

Good idea not to put your daughter through the stress. All I could think of is to have a couple "go" bags that you could grab at a moments notice. Three days? All I would need is underwear, socks and a bathing suit. Oh yea, a credit card.;)

That sounds very similar to current reports.

It reminds me of the line in the movie "Jaws"....."I think we need a bigger boat".......:D

We were on the Med. cruise in 2010 when the Magic hit a storm off the coast of France. The ship listed so much that the pools partially emptied and ran down the stairwells. Some dropped ceiling tile did drop around the ship. No one was allowed on their balconies as well as outside. There was some damage in breakage and a large number were sea sick. The laundry dept. was quite busy. it was quite a storm.

More on the Magic problems.

 

A CM has said and mentioned some flooding and collapsed ceilings. Reports elsewhere say, It didn't sound good at all.

............" What do you mean you forgot to connect the pool drain?"..........:D

Yipes - so sorry to hear that! My guess would be that these folks got only several days of notice regarding the cancellation, whereas in your case the travel is not until 2014 so there is time to make different travel plans? Still, it is quite frustrating, and tough when you need to plan your vacation in advance. Do you think you could do the trip on your own without Disney? Or with a different travel company? Perhaps an alternative trip. Hope so. Good luck!

Thanks for your good thoughts.:) We already booked a similar trip with Tauck. and dropped $14,000.00 on them. It does amaze me the arrogance that ABD has developed just in the fact that they are so sure in their product that ABD can assume the strength of the name will guarantee people will return no matter how they treat returning guests. Loyalty is the highest characteristic which brands spend millions to develop and cultivate and when a company disregards a loyal customer like this it drives them to a competitor with whom they will be loyal in the future. Just in our case because we have traveled with Tauck before, Tauck gave us a free pre-night hotel (a $715.00 value ) in a first class hotel. And the base price is less expensive than ABD. ;)

That's too bad for those who booked. We just had an Adventure By Disney in2014 cancelled and Disney gave us NOTHING.....NOTHING.... Although we already scheduled our vacation time around this vacation. Not even a few bucks off a future trip. The trip itself was sold out. Funny how different they treat their guests.:confused:

We ordered one a couple years ago on the Freedom. It was about 3 1/2 ft. tall and decorated. Really cute and fit right on the coffee table quite nicely. They are purchased through the web sight. Merry Christmas a little early.

We must be clones! We have 30+ cruises with Royal Caribbean and are D+.

We've never had a Captain's invitation. On December 8, we will doing our 46th wedding anniversary cruise on Independence of the Seas!

Happy anniversary!!!!!!!

The Captains do not drink alcohol. They are subject to random testing and if anything is found in their system (Drugs or alcohol) they will be arrested and booked into the County Jail like anyone else.

......only within 3miles.....after that it is up to the Bahamian officials.......and they do drink....believe me.....;)

The bars do serve non-alcoholic drinks you know ;)

....but the posters all were bragging "how the wine was flowing"......you mean to say sailors don't drink?.....shocking:eek:

.........am I the only one who gets a chill when so many recount how the Captain and guest head to the bar for drinks before dinner? It seems to me a Captain is technically "on duty" 24 hrs. At least that what was argued on the crash of the Exxon Valdez. What about passing a drug test if a crash occurs? Oh yea....the Bahamas don't test for that.....:rolleyes:

I guess you have to experience it to understand it is an honor;)

.....maybe for some but others think much like ade1982;)

I ate at the Captain's table every night for four years ....

 

I was the Captain . . .

.......boy it must be annoying answering the same questions night after night?:eek:

IMO if you don't have kids than I would avoid the larger ships in the DCL fleet. They are set up for young families and extended families. Since you stated HAL is what you have sailed in the past I think the Fantasy would overwhelm your wife. Try the Magic for she is much better sized in my opinion and we prefer after sailing the bigger DCL ships. We even find RCL Freedom of the Seas too big for our taste BUT the kids love the extra they provide for the kids. Hope it works out.:)

I don't know what your problem is ,however I find it extremely offensive for someone to call someone's home a dump! Its fine if you don't like someplace but you don't have to be rude!

I agree! A large number of passengers could not even afford to live in the greater N.Y. area.......;):)

It would be easier if that cruise went out of BALTIMORE!:D

What about going back to the airport from the ship. Is it easier (and cheaper) to get a taxi or the ships transfers?

If your flight is before 11:30 a.m. definitely use the ship transfers if you don't want to worry. The ship gets you off quickly so you get to the airport early. The taxi , which is cheaper, tends to back up and take more time. You can go to the port section on CC and get info on reserving a car service / taxi also.

Thanks everybody for your words of wisdom.

 

The only reason we are doing the RCI transfers this time is because my parents, who aren't so great on their feet anymore, are traveling with us and for their sake we want the least amount of hassle possible. I feel it will be worth paying the extra few euro's.

 

D

What a nice son. One tip that if you do use a taxi in Barcelona get a price before you get in. Some have been known to jack up the fee at the delivery zone. Have a wonderful family cruise.:)

Does anybody have experience of using RCI transfer from Barcelona airport to the ship.

 

Was it efficient?

How long did it take?

Did they look after the luggage?

Anything else we should know?

 

Thanks

 

Dave

We used RCL transfers a couple years ago and it went well. We were met right after customs by a person with a sign with our name printed upon it. Then escorted to a waiting vehicle and zoomed to the ship. It was a van type vehicle with a few fellow passengers. We had to wheel our luggage out to the van but they took it after that. Went smooth. We being from the U.S. tipped our driver. RCL has always done a great job for us all the times we used this service.Hope it helped. Have a great cruise.:)

My wife sometimes says I'm a reasonably smart guy (usually right after I do something dumb), so I volunteer to settle the issue of best river cruise company..... right after Cruise Critic sends me on a free sample cruise on each line!!!

.....she only says that for the "bennies" you get like free cruises I bet....:D