ptf2009

We are traveling with our cruise buddies, 8 to be proper, on the Freedom in May. Cannot wait to see this vessel. How is Port Canaveral? :cool:

We just returned from our FOS cruise last week. We were in a balcony and had a nice think pad on the mattress so the bed was very comfy. Port Canaveral was very nice. As many have said embarkation was a breeze and we carried our own luggage off before 7:30a.m. We took the Cortrans 8:00 shuttle back to MCO.

The ports were great because we love the beaches with the beautiful blue water! Our favorite show was the "Marquee" show with the singers and dancers with all the songs on Broadway..The Phantom of the Opera part was the best! Plus the orchestra didn't drown out the fabulous singers. The Ice show is great and we enjoyed the comedians. We love all the entertainment. Our only disappointment was the Murder Mystery dinner. This was our first time going to it and it was really "hokey" and very expensive for what you got. We should have saved 80 dollars and just gone to Giovanni's for dinner and ordered exactly what we wanted. It's fun to try new things, so now we know not to do that again.

Happy cruising...we now have 24 weeks to wait for our next cruise!

This is very concerning that the ship has to make a special stop at T & C. Prayers are with the sick passenger and his/her family.

We are Diamond and have never been to an M & M. When I tried to sign up, CC wanted all of my personal information, even though RCCL has it. Why does CC need anything more that my confirmation #, our last name, ship name and date? So I guess no M & M's for us...but that's okay, we like to just be with each other. We just check out CC for information and ideas to receive and share. Unfortunately, our roll call for our next cruise is the most inactive than any of our other roll calls.

Happy Cruising!

Made love to my shower curtain one last time. ;)

ooooh..gross!:(

So happy for you that you had a wonderful time. Will you please post the movies that were played at the pool and in the theater/ Thanks so much!

No one is answering me...if you have been on the FOS recently, what were the movies, including 3D played? Our roll call for next week is having "scavenger hunt" on CC to find the answer:) Thanks for your help!

Thanks for the posiitve words! Our roll call is having a "scavenger hunt": what movies are playing on FOS...at pool deck and in the main theater (3D, also)?Please tell me what they are and if they are going to be the same next week:) Thank you!

Happy Cruising and have lots of fun!

I feel sooo badly for you. I just can't imagine how you are feeling right now. I'm sure in the future you will fly in the day before. We used to fly in the day of the cruise, but had a very close call one time...and that was it. We now fly in the day before.

I'm so very sorry about your loss...that is a lot of money, plus like all of us, you had looked so forward to your vacation!

It is at least 45 minutes each way to from the Falmouth Port with no traffic. Your stay at the resort will depend on how long your ship is in port. For us it was about a 4 1/2 - 5 hour stay. There was a small group we were on our way about 20-30 minutes after we got off the ship. I purchased this excursion privately through the Resorts for a Day website. The local company is Jamaica Tours Limited (JTL). JTL handles the transportation and will send you a "pass" with specific instructions. Recommend you check out the Resorts for a day website.

Hi Tommy,

Yes, I now see on the pass that we met JamaicaTours reps. 45 min. after our ship arrives. It's supposed to arrive at 10:00a...but if it arrives early, so we base it on that time?

And I see the tour is on Jamaica time.

It is at least 45 minutes each way to from the Falmouth Port with no traffic. Your stay at the resort will depend on how long your ship is in port. For us it was about a 4 1/2 - 5 hour stay. There was a small group we were on our way about 20-30 minutes after we got off the ship. I purchased this excursion privately through the Resorts for a Day website. The local company is Jamaica Tours Limited (JTL). JTL handles the transportation and will send you a "pass" with specific instructions. Recommend you check out the Resorts for a day website.

We just reserved Jewel Paradise Cove through resortsforaday! We'll be there in two weeks! Will there be a sign when we get off the ship or will we ride the bus or van with the RCCL excursions folks? We are in port from 10a-7p. Also, will we be on ship time or don't we have to worry about that?

Thanks for your info...can't wait! Hope we have as much fun as you did!

I know this thread is really old but I have the same question and looking for an update. Would really like to go to a beach break with hobiecat sailing. I know Playa Mia has them, I was wondering what other beach resorts have boats included in the AI package. Any information would be much appreciated. Thank you!

We are going to be in Cozumel in a couple of weeks on the FOS and we found that you can find info on resortforaday. We are going to the Occidental AI resort and plan to use their hobie cats while we are there. Other AI resorts may also offer them. In Falmouth, we are going to the Jewel Beach and they have hobie cats included also.

Hope this info helps!

And....happy cruising!

We just returned from our cruise on RCI AoS with a stop in Fallmouth. We booked a day and Jewel Paradise Cove, through Resort for a Day. We had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed the all inclusive resort. Adults only, great food and drinks, great beaches and best of all not too crowded. The resort is about a 45-60 minute van ride from Fallmouth.

 

I highly recommend Resort for a Day and Jewel Paradise Cove.

We are thinking of going there next month when we are on the FOS, but didn't think the Jewel resort was that far away. How long did you get to actually stay at the resort? Did you have to wait a long time at port for everyone to show up or was there a specific time to meet when getting off the ship? Are you also with those who purchased the pass through the cruiselines?

Sorry for so many questions, but we are trying to finalize our plans. Thanks for your time answering my ???

Am considering a resort-for-a-day option for our day in Falmouth. These are our two options. We have 3 40-somethings, a near 80-year-old and 2 ten year olds.

We went to Rose Hall last year and it was really nice, but the day we went it was really crowded. Apparently it was "teachers" day and the teachers in Jamaica were there with their children so the lazy river where the swim up bar is located was very crowded. Oh and the drinks were much better than the food.

Next month we are going to try the Jewel Runaway...there are two "jewel" resorts, one with a water park for kids and the other for adults. The prices through the cruise line are very expensive so we will go through resortforaday or a shoreexcursions site.

Happy cruising!

We stayed at the Intercontinental years back for $135! We bidded for the room and got a great price and a fantastic hotel!!

We stayed at the Intercontinental last Oct. The prices are very high now and most of the hotels add a pretty hefty "resort fee."

If the ship is docked in Old San Juan, people can save the taxi fare by walking to the pier.

Like the airfare, hotels in San Juan are very expensive for what they give you.

They still have Open Bookings with the reduced deposit but low OBC.

 

Yes, you can make a NC Booking and change it once without losing your OBC. However, when changing it, it may be repriced at the higher cruise fare for the new cruise.

Is this combinable with with your C and A ranking? (balcony discount, etc.)

Hi I was wondering what is in the cruise documentation? I have already done online check-in and I don't need luggage tags(will get at port). Is there anything else in there that I will need? I have read on RC website that I just need to bring Seapass, passports and credit card to the terminal, but doesn't mention anything about cruise docs. Am i missing something?

Please do everyone a favor and print your luggage tags. It really holds up the line when you have to get the luggage tags from the porter and then attach to your luggage. It's so easy to print and write your name on them. Then borrow the stapler from the hotel and attach to your luggage before you get to the pier. And have your sail pass and passport very accessible.

Looks like I have stirred up strong feelings judging from one or two replies to my post.

 

I can see why people avoid getting into a discussion about tipping. Sensitive subject. I will now go and hide :)

I used to tip in the DL at the end of the cruise, but now with the vouchers etc., I've changed to $1 per drink when served, no matter where I got the free drink.

To OP, it won't be awkward to hand your server a folded bill, these guys are pros at this!

My pet peeve: people that order ice water from a server, and then don't tip - for that trip the server earned nothing!

okay, now I feel really stupid. We were new diamonds on our last cruise and we didn't even think of tipping in the lounge. I guess because we just walked in 10 minutes before we had to go to dinner to get our glass of wine for dinner. We were very disappointed in the appetizers that we saw. We aren't really big drinkers so sometimes we went to a bar after dinner for another drink and did tip a dollar if they gave us a receipt. If they didn't, we didn't have any cash on us. On our next cruise we will have some bills on us.

Thanks for the good idea!

I saved a WHOLE $10 on a couple of sailings. The actual price we will pay went down $60 and lost $50 OBC (it was $100 OBC but went down to $50)

 

Net savings $10- I can probably get 1/2 pina colada with my savings:p:p

 

I probably should not have bothered calling but it is easy to get thru to them early in the morning

Where do you see OBC amount? When I tried to book Allure in March '17, I didn't see any OBC. Would it have should up if I went through the complete booking process? It showed 225 off for Diamond, but no OBC.

Please advise.

Smoking on the Adventure

 

The 2 places to smoke with a roof over your head is at the casino (deck 4) & the Connoisseur Club (deck 5 - cigar bar).

 

Note however, in Dec. 2015 smoking was suspended in the casino for the 2nd formal night. (This was also done on the Navigator the 3rd week of Jan. 2016 - seems to be a test that RCL is running to stop smoking in the casino, since the new CEO is highly averse to smoking.)

 

Outdoor smoking

 

Deck 4 starboard side, as well as pool deck (11) and the 12th deck, which is open air.

 

Here's the best for smokers

 

The Diamond Lounge (located on the starboard side deck 14) allows smoking out on the veranda that overlooks the BB court, miniature golf and abutting the rock wall.

 

Drinks, entertainment, appetizers and smoking all in one place.

 

This is the only ship in the fleet that allows this.

With a new adverse smoking CEO, there is hope that smoking will only be permitted outside! It's really sickening to smell gross (hair and clothes) when you return to your cabin at night especially if you've been in the casino. And yes, at least we can walk on one side of the pool deck to avoid the gross smells.

If only these people realized how badly they smelled and the effect it has on their health!

I think that most people who cruise once a year or every other year would agree with you. Most pinnacle club members cruise many times a year and tend to interact with the ship's staff.

I guess if you like that sort of thing. As "lowly" diamond members, the only person I want to share my meals with is my wonderful DH. With our crazy work schedules, we don't get to spend enough time together so when we cruise, we want to spend as many hours together. Of course we are nice to people we meet, but we want only to do things (eat, beach, shows, etc.) with each other. We don't care who the captain is as long as he gets us to the ports safely.

I've never really gotten the appeal of meeting the officers. I don't get on a plane and say "Oh boy! I hope I can meet the co-pilot!":confused:

Totally agree with you. When we attend the "top tier" events and the officers are lining up as we enter I just nod my head and say hello because of all the germs from shaking all the hands. We go to the events for the appetizers, free drinks and stay a little while to hear if there is anything new, i.e. ships or itineraries, etc.

Have fun cruising!

From the last time we were on RCI, LOS in Sept., if you choose MTD you had to prepay Tips on final payment. Don't remember having to make online reservations before the cruise.

We've chosen MTD for our past two cruises because we wanted the freedom to eat when we wanted to eat each night. Isn't that why people choose MTD? We never had a wait time for just the two of us...and never reserved. We just walked up and were seated--at the same table each night:)

https://www.goportcanaveral.com/services/fly-snooze-cruise.php?gclid=Cj0KEQiA5dK0BRCr49qDzILe74UBEiQA_6gA-lWWDkM1BDlnxDhIo-j2KF0lCzyH8M4-W_l_98jgj9QaAoci8P8HAQ

just checked out this website.....just an okay "deal." You can take stay in Orlando, take a shuttle to the port or even rent a car one way cheaper. Then take a shuttle back to MCO on disembarkation day. One way shuttles run 20 dollars pp.

We LOVE most everything about ALLURE. Small glitches just don't bother us - we work around them. But, these mattresses are like sleeping on slabs of concrete.

 

We asked for mattress pads the first day - they were put on last night and barely made a bit of difference.

 

The six of us cruising plus numerous others we've talked to all agreed that the post-dry dock mattresses are not comfortable. The 20 year olds in our party camp a lot and they said they would rather sleep on the ground with their camping pads.

 

We really try not to complain, but waking up in pain and not sleeping well does affect the quality of our vacation.

 

We are going to town in St Thomas to see if we can find some type of foam or thick mattress we can buy. Anything to make the cruise a success.

I can feel for you.....

We were on the Adventure in October and our mattress was very hard. We were told that it was just changed the night before for a new mattress. This was the first time we experienced such an uncomfortable mattress. We like firm mattresses with a pillow top. My back ached all week. It was so disappointing because I usually sleep like a baby on a cruise. I have read in on the boards that RCCL is changing all the mattresses fleetwide and will no longer offer the waffle cushion. I think we will have to change cruise lines, even though we are Diamond members.

Hello all. My wife and I are on the Jewel OTS in January, which returns on Sunday. We arrive in San Juan on Thursday, so we are spending three days pre-cruise. We are planning on spending pretty much a full day in OSJ touring/shopping/eating, etc. And then we are doing the rain forest and biobay tour the next day. We plan on boarding the ship fairly early, but will catch anything else in OSJ that we wanted to revisit the morning we get on the ship. My question is thus, our flight isn't until 4:30 out of PR post cruise, and wanted to get ideas for excursions that would take a couple of hours so we aren't sitting in the airport twiddling our thumbs for several hours. We have read on here that the Bacardi factory isn't a very good tour, so we have somewhat crossed that off our list, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

 

Thanks in advance for any responses!

If you like the beaches, you can always check out resorts for a day. They are usually available at 9:00a.m., so 5 hours of more fun in the sun may be an option. You may want to wait until debarkation day to make sure the weather is cooperating with these plans. Happy cruising!