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just returned from serenade where a friend's luggage never arrived for a 10 day cruise... no flying so the airline couldn't be blamed.. we watched as the van unloaded all of the luggage,, all bags were properly tagged, we tipped the porter and checked in... her luggage never arrived.. rci insisted it had to be on the ship somewhere.. they searched and researched in fact all cabins were searched.. finally on the6 th day they told her her luggage was found on the dock, with all tags in tact.. RCI supplied her with clothing from the shop and from a special closet plus told her to go shopping in the ports and bring them the receipts.also to purchase a suitcase... unfortunately most of her port time was spent shopping.. she only had the flip flops she boarded with and the underwear she boarded with.and the clothes she boardedw ith . she is a different size than the rest of us and we gave her what might fit.....even tho her cruise was not spent the way she wanted or expected it to be her attitude was good we had to cancel a snorkel trip , etc) rci was exceptional in giving her carte blanche for whatever she needed.. also they were very generous with the compensation for her and her cabinmate.. they will be taking another makeup cruise!.... so if rci deems it is their fault they do the right thing.. I don't know if the porters work for the pier or whatever but in this case RCI took the blame.. as the suitcase was discovered in their warehouse on the dock

was on serenade two weeks ago and we had shrimp cocktail in the MD also escargot every nite

thanks for posting!!... we leave next week!!.. I"v been on Allure and was also wondering how I would feel going back to a smaller ship without the extravagant entertainment

there used to be long lines on RCI for Johnny Rockets.. since they started charging..except for free breakfast.. there is no problem getting in.....it does eliminate the long lines

count me as one of the ones that would someday like to use my stockholders benefit...

Those are all my photos. I guess somebody decided to take my pictures and make an album with them.

pixie dust .. do you want us to delete the link to your photos or leave it up..you may email me at my cruise critic email address

Question has been answered and too much clean up. Thread is closed...there are many threads on tipping already

this smoking thread has gone up in smoke and is now closed.. but open for reading only

Hi everyone! We are staying at the Hyatt Place 17th Street on the night of December 12th for our cruise the next morning. I just realized that is the night of the boat parade. We have never seen it and would love to watch. Is there any place nearby that we could park and walk to a bridge or some place to watch it? Any thoughts?

We will have a car, but don't mind walking after parking someplace.

We appreciate any ideas or thoughts about this.

Thanks!

Holly :)

you will be in a great location for the boat parade... plenty of places to walk to to get a spot for watching...

First time got aft cabin assignment. Should I worry about being at the back of the ship?

love love love the direct aft cabins.... the balcony should be larger, depends what ship you are on... they are normally larger... the walk to the elevator is good exercise0 :)

Yup... here's what the screen will look like:

 

that screen never was there on my sign and sail form I printed out...there definitely was no option for luggage tags

A taxi will take about 20 minutes or so. The Surf Club is great. Many, many people love it. I've never stayed there, but have been by there many times. People rave about it's lazy river. There are vendors right there where you can rent chairs and umbrellas, and there are lots of places to eat. You can easily do this with just a few hours. They can call you a taxi when you are ready to leave. Just make sure that you leave in plenty of time to get back to the ship. Traffic gets heavy in the afternoons. You can take the bus back, but I don't recommend it in your situation, because it will take a lot longer. Have fun!

did you have a day pass for the surf club or use any of their facilities?

great thread.. keep it going and have fun!

Just received an E Mail from RCCL telling me my Set Sail Pass is ready for printing. Logged in and went to print my pass but message said could not print pass, try later. I called and the rep. told me, "Oh that hasn't been working for weeks". How stupid to send me a message and the system does not work. She said IT has been working on it for weeks. RCCL strikes again. Management better get its act together, they are quick enough to take your money but it seems like that's where their service ends. I have a friend sailing with me and they are having the same problem. Anyone else having a problem?

 

Richard

no problem... printed mine and my friend;s out last nite

It is not far from the port, but will probably take you about 15 - 20 minutes to get there, depending on the traffic, it you take a taxi. The bus is longer because it makes frequent stops.

is it true there is a water taxi that takes you from the cruise dock to the pier at palm beach??

I agree with Bob

 

Lions Dive in Curacao and Palm Beach in Aruba.

 

Palm beach is dominated by major hotels, however there is a public beach situated between Marriot's Surf Club and the Holiday Inn.

 

Though a small beach, they do have chaises and umbrellas, as well as a bar/restaurant.

 

All the beaches are public in Aruba, so you could just take your towels and go to any beach you want. Marriot's beach has the most depth and the Radisson's is the longest (used to bring in 100 tons of white sand yearly).

 

Before I started cruising in 2012, I vacationed for 20 years in Aruba on Palm Beach, believing it was the closest thing to heaven on earth.

how long a taxi ride is it to the Hyatt in Palm Beach??.. I can find the fare but not how long it takes.. thank you

I noticed chaise loungers and palapas.. where were you able to rent them?...thanks for sharing your photos

we are looking at the hyatt regency to try and rent chairs.. are they next to the Rui and Hilton?.. I didn't see the Hyatt in the photo with the walk to the pier..

We booked almost a year ago. Paid $2375 for a D8 - it now pricing @ $2075 for a D6 on GGG

most travel agents collect final payment earlier than the crusielines deadline for final payment... for example I paid final payment last week.. few days later my cabin dropped 500.00 I called ta and told them I new final was not due to the cruiseline yet so I would like a credit... they said my final hadn't been processed yet so they would bill me at the new lower rate.. so from my experience I would find out when the agent sent in (if they even did it yet) the final payment...

are there any hotels that welcome cruise passesngers that are not 99 per peron that charge for chaise and use of facilities but do not need an all inclusive with drinks and food?

I have a relative with an autistic older child and the entire family did a family cruise in Alaska on Princess and everyone enjoyed seeing the special needs person excited to see the wonders of Alaska and the wildlife... enjoy your cruise

Why call them cheapskates ? If they tip in cash, at least they know where their money is going, and NCL is purposely vague about how the DSC is distributed.

 

The people you are calling cheapskates may give much more in cash than the DSC

 

BTW -- Name calling is not acceptable on CC per Laura.

Swedish weave.. I am unable to reply to the email you sent to me because you have me blocked.. sorry, but this is not my board to moderate if you direct your email to hosts ann or host Sheila, perhaps they can help you.. at the bottom of the first page of each forum you will see the name or names of the moderators..

I just sent the following email to Princess Customer Relations. I think the age restrictions for diving at Bonaire are offensive.

 

I am booked on the Royal departing November 10 for the Caribbean. Booking reference ....

 

I have cruised the Caribbean many times with Princess. What brings me back for multiple cruises over the same patch of ocean is the diving excursions at the ports of call. Especially Bonaire. The diving in the park there is fantastic. I last dove there on a Princess excursion two years ago at age 67. Lovely shallow dives, great visbility, no currents, easy access in and out of the dive boat. No stress, easy diving. (I should also remark that I am extremely fit and quite capable of higher stress, more difficult diving.)

 

I tried to reserve this excursion of my upcoming cruise but was rejected due to my age being over 65 (now 69). This is outrageous and I intend to give this issue as much visibility as I can muster until you reverse this discriminatory policy. Do not try to pass the responsibility on to the dive operators seeking protection from the fact that they are not an American company and not bound by American views on the issue of discrimination based up age. Do not blame the insurance companies. Princess is acting as their agent and promoting age discrimination. While that may be legal (that remains to be seen and I will explore that consideration as well with the AARP) but it is not "smart" considering the demographics of your market.

 

It's a real slap in the face of this black card holder! And I'm mad as hell!!

 

Please take action immediately to reverse this insulting policy.

 

David Thoenen

running into the same problem on rci for their snorkel trips.. we have snorkelers in our group ranging in age from 65 to 80.. all experienced snorkelers... we had to arrange an outside company to go with vs. the ship's tours..

have not heard of sea cow but used woodwind in bonaire last march and they were fabulous.

thanks.. have a reservation with woodwind...

has anyone used Sea Cow for a snorkel excursion in bonaire...