metachal

3 hours ago, willoL said:

Thanks for those specifics, @Wendy-Europe. My teen was just musing last night, preparatory for our August cruise, about whether he should plan to spend his pocket money on gelato, or if there would be "enough" ice cream available at meals to satisfy his sweet tooth.

 

He's at that age when he seems to grow an inch overnight, and lately he's requiring not one but two full servings of dinner to be satisfied. How I look forward to sending him to the Lido buffet to feed himself for a few weeks! 😆

I know someone who enjoys what she calls "ice cream salad." It involves taking one of the big bowls from the Lido salad station over to the dessert bar for a much larger sundae than the usual ice cream bowls can fit 😁

I don't know if there would be much difference in party crowd, but I do know that it is much quicker to get from the airport to the port in Miami than Canaveral. 

All the vaxxed passengers (regardless of age) get wristbands, so that's how they'll differentiate vaxxed and unvaxxed kids. And all vaxxed passengers follow the same pre-cruise testing rules.

1 hour ago, CruzDayz said:

Yes, I have T-Mobile and I had cell service in Catalina on the ship. 

2 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

Yes, AT&T, able to use internet on and off the ship.

Thanks!

Has anyone who's stopped at Catalina noticed if the ship is close enough to shore to get cell service? Since that stop is nicely mid-week, I'm hoping to skip paying for internet and just check email and things there, but I'm wondering if I can do it onboard or if I have to wait until I've tendered over.

Was Day 2 a dressier dinner night, or have they all been Casual/Resort Casual? 

Ive done some digging it and it seems they may be increasing the 21st cruise by one day and cutting the 29th cruise by a day but this isn't confirmed yet

Looks like it. The 8 night May 21 had disappeared and now there is a 9 night May 21 cruise with an additional port: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/9NightSpainFrancePortugalCruise-NV09Q003?

If you click on the "Find out more" button on the website BOGO ad, you'll see that the OBC and reduced deposit are for June-August 2016 Caribbean or Europe only. All others are still just the basic BOGO.

On our last cruise, we didn't get any envelopes. So, I went to the purser's desk and added gratuities to what we had already prepaid.

I often have to stop by guest relations and ask for envelopes since they don't give them out automatically any more.

Hello. We have cruised on the Majesty a few years ago (our first cruise) with a 4 day itinerary and we loved it. We have since been on a larger, newer cruise and liked or Majesty experience more... It felt like everyone knew us and knew exactly what we wanted... We are going on her again end of the Summer. Cannot let her go w/o one last cruise :rolleyes:.

 

 

Having said that, I have a question for those who have been on Majesty recently (after it was docked).... Expedia description lists "Adults-only Solarium" as one of the features of the ship.... Really?!?!? I could have sworn there wasn't one... Did they add one or is expedia wrong :confused:? Thanks!

I just finished the Majesty's 4 day itinerary yesterday. No, they have not found a way to squeeze in an adults-only solarium, so expedia is wrong. There is just the one big main pool area that was pictured in earlier posts.

Since this in an Explorer specific thread, and not just a general Nursery thread, I did pop over the the RCL website to look at the Explorer. They don't list the Nursery as a ship feature, and it is not on the May 2015-Sept 2016 deck plans (the Nursery usually replaces the teen disco on deck 12). So it looks like the Explorer does not have a Nursery right now. They list the Royal Babies and Royal Tots program as a kid's highlight, but that is just scheduled parent/kid activities and not the nursery.

(And, just to reiterate, those details I gave were from my cruise on the Independence. I assume the basic Nursery policies are the same fleet-wide.)

I actually have my welcome letter from last year handy, so let me just type in some of the useful details for everyone.

There were open house and registration hours on embarkation day (with childcare open from 8pm-midnight) for checking out the facilities and filling out registration details. As of February 2014, the hourly fee was $6 before 6pm and $8 after 6pm. We did do 1 1/2 hours during the day for $9, so they were at least pro-rating for half hours.

On sea days, the nursery was open 9am-midnight. On port days, the nursery was open from docking until 1pm and 5pm-midnight (with a note that "If you have booked a Royal Caribbean shore excursion and need care for your child outside of our port day opening hours, please contact the nursery staff 24 hours in advance, if possible we will try and accommodate your request").

Registration and Booking details: "Once we have gathered medical information, child specific likes/dislikes and authorized family members and friends to pick up your child, you may begin to book requested hours in the Nursery. On Day 1 and 2, we will offer each family a set number of booking hours and later in the voyage we will open up all left over hours to be given away on a first come first serve basis. Once a Nursery session has begun, any remaining time slots will be given away at the door. However, we do highly recommend booking in advance to guarantee your child a place." (We would just called ahead or talked to them when we were already there for drop-off/pick-up to add/change later reservation hours.)

Additional Nursery Information:

"What must I bring with my child? -- The Nursery will stock a small supply of essential childcare items, however parents are required to provide any personal items their child may need during their stay including: diapers, wipes, bottles and milk, food or snack, sippy cups, extra set of clothes and personal comfort items. Please note: the Nursery cannot hold any fresh food or milk for longer than four hours." (They give you a bag when you register to bring back with supplies when you drop the kid off. They can get meals delivered for lunch or dinner in the Nursery.)

"Can I get off the ship? -- Parents are welcome to leave the ship while their child is being cared for in the Nursery. However, please note pagers will not work off the ship. We can take cellular phone numbers at a parent's request, but cannot guarantee we will be able to get hold of parents should we need to. Please check any shore excursions match with the Nursery opening hours." (When you drop off your child, you are given a pager phone so they can reach you on the ship. As noted here, that pager only works if you stay on the ship.)

"Cancellation Policy -- We require 1 hours' notice to cancel a reservation and avoid paying a fee. A charge of 50% will be charged if less than 1 hours' notice is given prior to the scheduled session."

"Late pick up policy -- Guests will be charged a $1 late fee each minute late per child starting at minute 16. However, guests will not be charged if a shipboard activity or shipboard purchased shore excursion runs late."

"Child behavior policy -- Behavior deemed inappropriate by Royal Babies and Royal Tots will not be permitted withing the facilities. We require complete family cooperation, up to and including the dismissal of any child from activities if behavior continues to be inappropriate after continued communication with the family."

"Infant Evacuation Plan -- In the unlikely event of an emergency, do not go to the Nursery as your child will already be en route to their assembly station. The Nursery staff will deliver your child and meet you at you assembly station." (When the child enters the nursery, they put a sticker on the back of their shirt with their name, age, room #, pager #, and muster station.)

I don't know about the Explorer's update, but they have been adding them on all the old ships when they've been in dry dock so I'd be very surprised if they skipped that advertised addition.

We used the nursery last year on the Independence with our 2 1/2 year old. It was great! I seem to remember a limit to the number of hours you can reserve in advance on the 1st day, but we had no trouble adding/changing hours later in the week.

I'm curious as well since I'll be going in a couple of weeks. If no one responds soon, I'll try to get mine scanned when I get back in mid-May :)

Another milk location that I happily noticed when cruising with my toddler on the Independence last year: the promenade cafe has milk dispensers near the self-serve coffee.

I can also confirm that the in-room fridges are cool but not cold. It's okay for keeping it cool for an hour or two, but any longer than that and you'll want to put it in an ice bucket.