jean87510

13 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Pinns still have to use a voucher for drinks unless they are in a full suite, so that’s the reason the servers might ask to see your Seapass card….if they don’t know who the Pinns are.  Yes, if you are staying in a suite they should not be using a voucher for drinks in the CK/SL. I guess the single exception to this rule would be if you wanted a cocktail during non-Happy hour hours…then they might want to use a voucher.

That makes sense.  However on this cruise the servers definitely knew who the Pinnacles were by the pins and they addressed them by name (server to Pinn). My husband reminded me that the one night we were in there they asked for it 2x as we both got 2 Coke zeros.  We remarked to each other how Royal was a little cheap with their suite guests by using vouchers for Coke Zero.  I think we stopped going after that as 1.  Our room was much more comfortable and 2.  Too many Pinnacles thus not allowing places to really sit and relax without hearing the war stories. Our only other time was when we were on the Voyager 7 months prior and it was a much nicer quieter experience.  When we just did MSC YC we were just blown away by the Top Sail lounge and the service so thinking back compared to RCCL suite, it was so much nicer.  Moving forward we do have an OS on the Radiance in September, a GS next year on the Grandeur again 2x and I believe a GS on the Brilliance.  I will definitely pay more attention as we do use our now 5 vouchers to stock room with sodas.  May have been just a fluke plus us not knowing much as we were pretty new to suites.

4 hours ago, puckliny said:

No need to wait. Since it’s my 2 kids that would be left on the dock (joking) there was no chance I wanted to take a huge risk like that.  So I made an appt with a State Passport Agency had to drive 3 hours this AM and pick up Thursday, another 3 hour drive.  But now we have no worries.  I just can’t take the risk some stickler dock person decides to enforce this rule which doesn’t apply.  

Good.  This was one of my suggestions.  Glad you did this.  Better safe then sorry.

54 minutes ago, George C said:

No vouchers should be used during happy hour , maybe they wanted to confirm you were in a suite . If they attempt to use your diamond drinks just go to concierge and complain.

It was a strange experience.  Because I needed my card to get into the suite lounge so obviously not sneaking in.  I think 2 drink vouchers were charged 1 night then the other night 1 drink voucher was charged.  We were new to suites and it was our 2nd time as a suite guest.  

So I know now no vouchers to be charged between 5 and 8 in SL, correct?

So if I am in a GS and above, during the suitr happy hour 5 to 8, the server should not ask for my card and use one of the Diamond vouchers?  Because it did happen to my husband and I more than once last July on the Grandeur.  

2 hours ago, wrg said:

Should we bring our passports with us while in port or leave them in the cabin safe?

leave them in safe and keep track of the time.

6 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Royal doesn't care what state.

The point is it shouldn't be a copy.  The raised seal obviously is not a copy.  But whatever.  

6 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Raised seal has nothing to do with a BC being official or not

it does in my state.

4 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

What use would a birth certificate be on an open-loop cruise?
 

The OP already acknowledges that passports are required.

Ok 

On 4/7/2024 at 8:51 PM, smokeybandit said:

I always get asked. And the drinks go on my folio (at $0). But that's more to find out who's in a suite and who's just a Pinnacle who has to use vouchers.

I have been asked as well and my card was taken.  More than 1x on same cruise.

On 4/12/2024 at 10:37 PM, puckliny said:

Hi folks, going on Rhapsody next Saturday, during check in I just saw my kids' passports expire within 6 months, has any gone on the Ft Lauderdale ending in San Juan cruise with this issue?  They "strongly recommend" but is it really necessary?  I'll only have 5 days to get passports for my kids if I have to comply with this 6 month rule.  None of the islands require this from cruisers, but it is technically an open loop cruise.

Are their passports expiring in 1 week or closer to the 6 month date?  Bring birth certificates with raised seal just in case.  I think you should be fine.  If not, based on experience with a sister traveling to England and never checked her passport date, you can renew in person at a regional office if travel is less than 10 days.  

Just remember to renew when you return!

8 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

The "bushwhacker" has drawn a bit of a following with our group. Somewhat akin to a creamy chocolate Pina Colada.

 

We found the bars at the Spice and Buffet were not very consistent with making drinks.  The bar on 8 midship had excellent friendly bartenders.  

We rented a Roadster at Moorea to explore on our own.  When we were at Belvedere, we actually saw a giant tour bus park at the car park!.  

13 hours ago, Burncox said:

This sounds great!  Does Fagasa have a sandy beach as well?  Thanks!

not where we were.  Usually good snorkeling does not have decent beach or any.

9 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

There is only one lounge ... Air Tahiti Nui. However, under certain types of booking categories and/or airlines you can access the lounge ... 

Or you can purchase a lounge pass which was what we did about 2 months out using Air Tahiti Nui.  The website had it on their a la carte menu.

On 4/9/2024 at 10:48 PM, MattInFLL said:

Arriving on Celebrity Reflection late in June on a Sunday.  The ship only offers Resorts World and the “Sapono” snorkeling as excursions.  I have heard there are golf cart rentals available.  I assume this is a tender port.  Is there a golf cart rental place near where the tenders dock?  What is a ballpark price.  If google maps is correct, it would seem that the most interesting part (in terms of things to do) of the island is south of where the cruise ships are, in Alice Town.  We are not big beach people.  I don’t need to lounge on a beach or play slots in yet another casino 🙂

 

Thanks for any tips.

This is not a tender port.

Golf carts are about .25 mile walk.  You can reserve or get when you arrive.  Price is ridiculous imo $150 and they are not well maintained.  There is bike rental available.  Taxis are $5.

Bimini is not a favorite port of mine but there are snorkeling excursions separate from ship.  Only thing is they are expensive as the Bahamas always is but you don't have the hordes of inexperienced ship snorkelers who don't know what they are doing.

12 hours ago, Patcap38 said:

We are booked on the Brilliance of the Seas for an Alaskan cruise.  The Port of Vancouver BC is the only port in the world that the online check in must be completed on the Royal Caribbean App, which is sizing up to be totally useless.  The check in process starts just fine until you get to the add a card for onboard charges.  I enter the information and when I click the button for add card it will not add the card, which is ironic because this whole process is about RC squeezing every dollar out of us they can, or allow me to move forward with the process.  I've called Royal Caribbean and they've "created a ticket".  First it was 3-5 days to wait, until I spoke with a supervisor, who assured me she would expedite the ticket and she would call me back in 24 hours.  I have yet to receive such call and when I call back I'm told they cannot contact the supervisor.  I ask to speak with someone in management and I'm told the best that particular person can do is give me another supervisor who is just going to give me the same line I've been getting.  I did get another number to call for their department that handles feedback after the cruise, but that was a complete dead end as well.  Everyone I spoke with at Royal Caribbean was polite and as helpful as I think they could be especially since dealing with someone like me in situations like this can be challenging.  We've spent a lot of money on this cruise and I expect better from a company that expects me to fork over that much money.  If you're going to force me to use the app to check in and forbid me to use the web site YOU NEED TO HAVE THE APP WORKING PROPERLY!  It further irritates me that every single person I spoke with at Royal Caribbean had no idea that I couldn't use the web site to check in for a cruise sailing out of Vancouver BC.  I actually had to argue with one of them a little bit to convince them.  And, yes, I know I have 45 days to check in, but the reason I wanted to check in so early is because I wanted a specific time.  So hurry up and wait.  This may sound petty to some, but when I pay this kind of money for something I expect better service.  

Is this new?  Because normally I have selected a time then gone back in later to add my other info.  Both on app and tablet.

Try updating app or reinstalling app. 

10 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We usually book a balcony or a mini-suite when we cruise on Princess.  We booked late and the best we could scrape up (within budget) was an ocean view with "window". Nice room, a tad small. It is capable of sleeping 3...I can't imagine how anybody could cope with 3 in one of these! With just the 2 of us we have to "coordinate" our movements in the cabin! Still, a day at sea is better than a day *not* at sea!

 

We had an inside with a pull down bed from ceiling which we used to put a lot of our stuff and theirs (4 lifejackets from closet).  We did love the showers.

We were just on.  I liked the carving stations.  The PHO like soup was excellent at lunch.  Pasta station was good.  Salad station was pretty weak.  Breads were not great all the time.  At breakfast they had special K plus a lot of different granolas and bran.  

19 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We have cruised a lot with Princess, so we inevitably do some comparing between the 2 cruise lines. I understand that the Spirit has undergone a major retrofit not too long ago...it really shows. Of course, I can't give a real first-hand evaluation since this is our first time on the Spirit,  but you can just tell that there has been money spent. Everything looks "new".

That being said...it may take me the whole cruise to figure out where everything is and especially how to get where I want to go! I'm used to ships where you generally have passageways that run almost the full length of the ship. Several times already we have had to go up a deck and then fore or aft just to get somewhere on the same deck. It just seems so "chopped up" as far as the main design. I'm hoping we'll figure it out soon!

lol we were on deck 6.  We always had to go up and over!

Hint - A good short cut to Spice is deck 10.  Any elevator will get you there!

1 hour ago, kjquilts said:

 

We're enjoying the live thread because we're on the next Spirit cruise.  Would also love to hear about your cruise. 

 

 

I did post about the snorkeling in the Pacific Islands threads.  

Ship wise we were on our 2nd NCL cruise and in an inside.  On sea days we sat up on 13 in the shade.

Spice H20 was full of chair hogs.  I saw them monitor 1x.  

The tender situation (we had 5 tender ports) was ridiculous.  No one honored the numbers.  People with #14 were getting on with #3.  

We didn't do any shows or casino or any activities.  Onboard we read, worked, went to gym, watched downloads or slept.

Food wise, buffet was fine.  Did have a decent breakfast set up.  Salads and vegetables on their own were not very good.  Salad bar was pretty sparse.  We ate once in Taste and a comment was made about my husband's shorts by a fellow passenger.  We just laughed.

Ice cream was great.  There is a soft serve and real ice cream

Free coffee was not very good.  The ship always seemed to be out of ice.  Towels occasionally were out.  There is a Starbucks onboard that can be used for free only with premium drink package.

We visited Onda, Cagneys and Teppanyaki plus Silk.  Cagneys was really good the 2x we went.  Not a fan of Silk as they gave me food I have a reaction to even though I explained I couldn't have it.  Onda was ok.  

NCL air was absolutely terrible with the flights.  It was the cheapest alternative (2 for 1) but the timing was ridiculous.  Regardless, we did make it to and from.  I do have to say I will try to avoid PPT airport in the future.  

Dress code was pretty casual.  Since it was husband's birthday cruise and since he is always in suits, I said to just be comfortable.  Bring polos and dress shorts.  A lot of our fellow passengers did the same it seemed.  Except the one blowhard in Taste.

The gym was well equipped.  I was able to do my daily runs without incident.  The staff does frequent it a lot which is annoying when machines are tied up.  My husband and I enjoyed walking on the promenade in the afternoons for speed walks as there is no jogging there.  It's on deck 7 and goes around ship.  

We contemplated the thermal suite but decided not to as there is no pool.

Overall we enjoyed the islands tremendously.  The staff were really nice.  Our fellow passengers were extremely friendly.  We loved Sydney and want to go back.  

1 hour ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

Ah .... I mis-understood. I thought you meant that the Caribbean was superior ... my bad.

 

Many people do a pre/post cruise stay for 3 - 7 days. Some some of the best is the south pass on Fakarava it would be best to do a pre/post stay as the boat trip to the south pass is long ... 90 minutes each way so it it hard to do it when a ship is only there for a day usually 8-5.

Lol not even close!!!  Only places maybe is parts of St. John like Waterlemon Cay, Klein Bonaire, Culebra, parts of BVI and Saba.  But even they aren't even in the same ballpark.

Yes, we were speaking with folks onboard who frequently travel to the area and they said as well it's better to stay pre and/or post.  I will have to start planning with the tip you gave me re the south pass.

3 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

I'll simply say I've been to the Caribbean by ship 4 times. One time was abort a 90 passenger ship owned by PG, the Terra Moana. IMO the Caribbean does not compare to French Polynesia. The Polynesian people are nicer ... when you go into a Caribbean is can be filled with 2-4 mega ships all competing for the same space. I've read everything you said in previous post. One one thing that sticks out to me is your comparison of snorkeling ... but you did not go to the best places for such in FP. I've been to FP 32 times ... there are places that will blow your mind. The #1 location in the world for the best underwater world experience is French Polynesia. The Tuamotus of Fakarava and Rangiroa sit at the very top according to Travel and Leisure. I know other publications have difference opinions but my point is you did not go to the best places French Polynesia has to offer. Visit again ... on a smaller ship as you mentioned ... take an itinerary that includes the Tuamotus 😉

Thank you.  Yes, we knew we were just touching the edge of the snorkeling.  We definitely are coming back, just on a much smaller ship or a land vacation.  What we saw was so much more incredible than the Caribbean.

We just disembarked the Spirit for the March 28 cruise from Sydney.  I was going to post about our experience instead of a live thread.  Have fun!  

Home now and thought I'd jot some more notes.

We really enjoyed the intercontinental.  The shower is an outdoor shower though which was interesting.  The food was really good but drinks not included in the day pass.

Took cab to airport which was hell on earth.  I read many reports on this and knew what to get prior which was the priority pass for the line and the lounge pass at the airport.  Boy am I glad I did!  We were stopped at immigration and patted down which was fine, it happens.  We were in lounge by 845pm which was about 3 hrs before our flight.  The lounge does have showers and towels with shampoo and soap but I packed a sample bottles pre cruise as I knew about this.  Food was ok.  There is coffee, wine, soda, water.  Typical airport lounge food.  Places to recharge phones snd batteries.  Plus it is air conditioned.  

I did upgrade my seat to the level above economy.  Got 2 meals plus drinks from the cart.  Chair was not very comfortable but at least was roomy.  

We loved the French Polynesian islands but think when we return we are going to do a windstar or paul Gaughan.  NCL was a bit out of their league there.  We want to return to Australia and try New Zealand as well but with Royal or Celebrity.  We are hesitant about Hawaii because our son lived there and shared some stories with us about Hawaiians feelings about cruisers.  We would rather stay there then cruise.

I am afraid the underwater world has forever ruined me for the Caribbean and Bahamas!  Absolutely no comparison.

Currently at the intercontinental hotel in Tahiti.  We disembarked this am around 9.  NCL arranged for those of us who had their air to go to the Pearl resort (sorry the name is escaping me).  We thought our original day pass was here so we were happy to get a ride.  We quickly realized after at least 300 people with suitcases, that it may be better to take a cab to beat the rush.  When we got there we discovered we went tothe wrong hotel!  So we arranged a cab to the Intercontinental which was the correct resort with the day pass.  As we waited, we saw bus after bus pull up with sweaty, hot, aggravated cruisers.  

The intercontinental is very nice for the day pass.  It is $50 pp which includes a limited lunch and they will hold your luggage. Our flight is so late, I said let's just hang and relax.  If interested, do pre-book the day pass!  There were quite a few turnaways.  

They have snorkeling available here, a giant pool, showers, towels, and a place for rescued turtles and baby turtles.

It weighs 3 lbs