emilygrace

I would definitely buy the bottled water if it was offered on RCL at a comparable price. As long as it isn't Evian.

Another thing SWA will do is give you the lower price if your fare drops. The difference in price is saved for you to use for a future flight. As the poster said, you do have to use theses credits (meaning you have actually travel, not just book) within a year from your original purchase date. I just did this the other day and now I have a nice credit to use for our yearly flight to Portland, OR next year. And you don't even have to call them. You can do it all online.

I used to hate Southwest because of their bare bones service (no meals, etc.), but now that all the airlines are like that I LOVE Southwest. If they fly to my destination I will always choose them. They sometimes are not the cheapest, but if you factor in having to pay for checked bags on other airlines it will come out the same or cheaper.

As for seat selection, I just make sure to check in exactly 24 hours prior to my flight, get in at the tail end of the A group or the beginning of the B group, and I always get a seat I am happy with.

Thank you for that link.

 

If you book using choice air, is that considered booking through RC?

Yes, when I talked to the airline the woman there told me that if there was a strike I would have to do everything through Choice Air.

We just went through this in May. The French air traffic controllers had called for a strike the weekend we were getting off the Allure. They chose this weekend because it was a holiday weekend in Europe. And of course our flight home was through Paris. I was on pins and needles for weeks. I called Choice Air, our airlines, etc. They all assured me they would do the best they could to get us home. As it turned out they called off the strike right before we left for the cruise. But it was nerve wracking for a while there.

You can bookmark this page and keep checking it, which is what I did:

http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/

On a side note, do we need New Zealand dollars for there, or will they accept AUD?

Swansnz, was the noise a constant, steady thing? I do not know what you are used to, but where we live I sleep with the bedroom window (by my head) open, year round, and there is a constant freeway noise, a steady hum. So I am used to some noise.

We are booked in 6240 next February and I will be sure to bring my earplugs, just in case.

We have been on all the Radiance class ships and the Jewel is my absolute favorite. In fact, it is my favorite of ALL the ships I have been on. I just returned from the Transatlantic on the Allure and once on that ship is enough for me. That felt more like a shopping mall if you were inside and walking between apartment buildings if you were outside in Central Park or the Boardwalk. Where was the ocean?????

As for the poster that commented that the Jewel looked old, I doubt if it looks worn, but it is more in the traditional, classy style of cruise ships.

Highjacking here.....hey, Ellen! I see you are on our Jewel cruise (9/18)!!! You should come over to the roll call. There are several Sourdoughs on board!

Carol H.

As I said, we were on deck 6, but we lucked out and had a cabin in the spot that didn't have a lifeboat below us. I was surprised until I got off the ship and looked at the approximate location of our cabin and saw that it was the one spot along the side that did not have a lifeboat.

Don't get me wrong, the Allure is an amazing ship. It just wasn't for me. I like being able to see the ocean from more places on the ship than my balcony.

Just got off the Allure and had cabin 6678. GREAT location. Close to elevators and stairs. Come out of the cabin, walk a short way, turn into the elevator lobby and turn left again and you are on the Boardwalk. Never heard any noise from there. Schooner Bar is right across the ship on the same deck, one deck down the the promenade, two decks up to Central Park.

Didn't much care for the Allure over all (I guess I am a true Radiance class fan), but loved the location of the cabin.

I usually cruise with my spouse so we only get one D gift basket with one each of our drink choices. This time I am sailing with a friend who is also Diamond. Will we each get our own basket?

re Really don't understand why X does not use RCI software/IT.

Believe me, you do NOT want this! Have you tried using the RCI website lately?

Thank goodness! I thought it was just me having so much trouble with finding a cruise! I was trying to look for an Alaskan cruise for a friend and all it kept showing me was Caribbean cruises. I just gave up entirely. I ended up telling her she might like Celebrity better.

We booked a gty on the April Allure transatlantic two weeks ago and had our cabin # that same day. I was even able to get our TA to change cabins for us since there were a few of the same category that were not connecting, which our original assigned cabin was.

Wow, was on Princess last week and their drink prices are very reasonable.

Keeps me sailing with them;)

yes, but from my experiences on Princess (only 3 cruises so far with them) they don't put any booze in their drinks! Or at least a minimal amount. Could never taste it or feel it. I guess the only way to actually get alcohol in your drinks on Princess is to order whatever you want straight up.

Now HAL, those are some drinks with a punch!

The full size sofas are in the category D cabins and suites. None of the E cabins have a full size sofa.

We did this several years ago, when Choice Air was fairly new. We needed a one way flight to London. The CA price was $1200 pp cheaper than the airline site, so I booked through CA and then went to the airline site and upgraded to Economy Plus for a small fee. Well worth it on those long flights.

I know here in the US Costco sells it over the counter in their pharmacies. Just another thought, since there are Costcos in Canada too. Not that you could walk in and buy it there, but maybe order it online.

You can just go to guest relations on board and ask for some. They will give you a couple of packets with 2 tablets in each one, so you may have to go back in a few days and ask for more. I just take one every 24 hours and it's enough for me.

Sometimes if you go down to the medical unit when they are open (look in your Compass for the hours) there will be a big bowl or basket of these packets and you can take what you need. Or at least it was like that on our last Royal Caribbean cruise.

Be glad you are sailing on a cruise line that DOES give these out for free. I know for a fact that Princess does not.

We have done 24 cruises and 12 of those were with RCI. We started on Royal but got curious as to what else was out there. We have been on NCL (twice, that's enough), Cunard (a bit formal for us, but I was curious about the ships, QM2 and Queen Victoria), Princess (3 times, I'm pretty much done with Princess unless the itinerary is fantastic and unique), twice on Celebrity (loved the Solstice) and 3 times on HAL (our particular cruises were not leaning toward the elderly, unless you count us).

But the most were on Royal because we really liked the product. We will be on the Jewel this fall and I am really looking forward to feeling at home. But we have not sailed with them in a while because for the most part their itineraries basically do not interest us anymore.

Thank you so much for the great photos of the new balcony furniture. We will be on the Jewel (my ALL time favorite ship) next September. I had to get in one more cruise on her before all the changes. But I'm glad they have already replaced the old furniture. I like that table....now it is possible to eat breakfast out there in comfort. And since we have one of the corner of the hump balconies, we might even have a lounge chair!

I don't know what 2012 deck plan you were looking at, but 1062-66 have always been category D cabins on the Jewel, and they are on the port side. I am looking at a 2006 travel agent guide (with deck plans of all the ships at that time) and also at a current website showing deck plans. No change whatsoever in those 8 years as far as these cabins.

On the Brilliance and Radiance (the first 2 ships in this class), there are 3 owners suites in a row on the port side and those are their numbers. On the Serenade and Jewel there are only 2 OS and then a row of D cabins, with those numbers.

Hope this helps. In any case, these are all on the port side.

We ate there once last year on the Solstice and I loved it. I like savory crepes and I thought these were very good. I don't know how a crepe could be pre-made. The filling maybe, but not the crepe itself.

Never tried breakfast there but we are looking at the Solstice for a cruise down under, so I will get my chance.

Next Oct, my husband & I and our adult daughter will be in a JS on the Serenade. The daughter & I might have to share drawer space but not even thinking of that really.

This really won't be a problem. We have been in a JS on the Serenade and there is TONS of storage space! There were only two of us and we had cupboards and shelves we didn't even use! And this was on an Alaskan cruise, which meant more clothing.