pattle66

I've decided I'm opting for the ship-based shuttle (probably train) between Rome and the port and doing my own exploring mainly because the one thing I DON'T want to do is the Vatican, and pretty much every ship-based tour (and private tour I've found) includes that.

Have you asked on your role call if anyone else wants to do a private tour that does not cover Vatican? A private tour can be tailored to suit you.

For me the right time will be:

1. When we can afford it

2. When the kids are old enough not to come or pay for themselves :roll eyes:

It is certainly on our bucket list. I only wish RCI did a world cruise so we can take advantage of the benefits. We may have to start cruising Princess to gain loyalty points with them.

There are mixed reports. I guess we will find out for ourselves...

I was in 8102 on Radiance in 2014. We had no problems with sound. :)

Thank you, this gives me hope.

Can you please tell me about the room configuration? We have 2 kids with us. Is there a pullman and small sofa or just a double sofa bed? Did you have a lounger on the balcony? Thank you.

Does RomeInLimo have any guarantees to get you back to the ship on time?

I don't know about a guarantee but they said they have never not made a ship on time. All the reviews on Tripadvisor and the threads in this forum all point to this being true.

I usually do RCI tours because I do not like to take the risk of missing the ship. In the instance of Italy I thought about where the next port was and how hard/expensive it would be to catch the ship in the next port. Our next port was Florence and I figure if we missed the ship Rome In Limo could drive us to Florence :D This didn't happen and we were back in plenty of time. At no time during the tour was I worried about getting back to the ship.

The smaller tours are well worth it. You can tailor the tour to your liking and the van can get a lot closer to attractions leaving you more time to actually see things. We were parked just around the corner from Trevi fountain and the colosseum. Tour buses were dropping off much further away.

When we go overseas we buy a prepaid sim. You can pick them up for $2 at Safeway or Woolworths.

Would she agree to putting the phone in the safe when leaving each port with it switched off or in airport mode? Can you ask the provider to put a cap on the plan for the time you are away? If it exceeds the included data then it is disabled. Might be worth asking...

You could probably put the cushions from the sofa on the floor. Just ask your room attendant for an extra sheet and pillow for your room in case your youngest needs you at night.

Does the PR have a sofa bed or pullman? If it has a pullman I suggest one of the older kids sleeps up there and your youngest would be in a twin bed. If it has a sofa bed they are lower to the ground. We have found the small sofas are like pull out futons and very low to the ground. This would be suitable for your youngest. We found we didn't need to pull it all the way out which left a walkway to the bathroom.

Enjoy your cruise.

Had the show already started? If it had, I can understand people may stand in the wc space rather than leaving it empty. In this case I would politely ask if you could use the spot. If the show hadn't started I would ask a member of the crew to assist you in finding an appropriate spot.

If I am waiting for an elevator with someone in a wheelchair or mobility aide I would always hold the door while they entered first and then I would enter after. But on the other hand if there is a large queue for an elevator I don't think they should get priority to be in the first arriving elevator. As others have noted just because they look able bodied doesn't mean they are and the assumption should not be 'they can take the stairs'.

Great review thank you.

I was given a fancy DSLR camera for my birthday last year. I quickly learnt that an expensive camera does not make a great photographer:D

I would also suggest a change in time for dinner. We have 11 year old twins and find MTD works for us. After the first night the Maitre D remembers us and gives us the same table so we have the same servers each night. As we leave he asks us if he'll see us the same time the next night. If we have an excursion we may make it a bit later but generally we eat about 6.30/7pm.

We are currently in this cabin on Radiance of the Seas, love it!

You do hear the music from the Centrum but not loud enough to identify the songs! We go off to bed around 10.00pm and it doesn't keep us awake.

We love that it is so close to the lifts and stairs, the balcony is amazing, you can ask for a sun lounge and with the small table and two chairs there is still lots of room. The bed is at the balcony end, feel free to ask any more questions.

 

Marina

I am so glad to hear this. We have 8102 on Radiance booked in September. There was another thread today saying how horrible it was being on the hump because the music from the centrum was so loud and doesn't stop before 1am.

We would normally be in bed by 11pm and can sleep with some noise so we hopefully won't have an issue.

Bring on that balcony!:D:D

I have also booked 8102 on Radiance and I am so excited to have a large balcony. I have my heart set on laying on the lounger on the balcony reading my book. I guess the excitement is dampened a little bit by your news. We have 2 children so I won't be happy if they can't get to sleep before 1am. How loud is it? If you were to have your tv on low can you still hear the music?

I guess being a transpacific cruise we could just stay up and dance til 1am :D

I hope you can enjoy your cruise regardless.

I think you can cash out any left over OBC. Hopefully someone in the know can confirm this.

I would recommend a private tour in Rome. We are a family of 4 and I did not want to be on a ship tour in case the kids got bored and started playing up :roll eyes: We booked Rome In Limo. I can not recommend them highly enough. They catered the tour to our needs and provided a guide for the Vatican. The kids were never bored as the drivers and guide were so engaging.

We actually booked Rome In Limo for all 3 of our Italy stops and received a discount.

Wow, what a great surprise. :)

As others have said, it will be no problem to get your friend to drop off your luggage.

One way to ensure you don't get an astronomical bill is not to take the phone :eek:

Given your ports are all in Australia she could use her phone in port like she normally would. She will loose signal out at sea and as you leave port you can switch it to airplane mode.

I think they should be excluded from cruising in their school term. There were far too many children on Radiance of the Seas December 3rd sailing. It was not school holidays but the ship was packed with families. It detracts from the cruise experience when the numbers are so high.

 

I will probably be avoiding Royal Caribbean in the future and sticking to either Princess or Celebrity. I find the further I fly from Australia the less children there are.

Don't take the cruise from hawaii to Sydney in September as I will be taking my children out of school for this cruise!

If you want to exclude kids from cruising during their school term I suggest you do avoid Royal Caribbean as it is a family friendly cruise line. Maybe an adults only cruise would suit you better.

Having said that my kids have never been allowed to roam the ship on their own. They are not allowed to sign themselves out of kids club. We don't put them to bed and then go and party. And above all else they are polite and courteous or there are consequences. But they are kids so sometimes they talk too loud, they get excited and run up the stairs to kids club (usually with me yelling 'walk!') and they use the pool and hot tub with supervision. And probably the most controversial of all - they sometimes join us in the Diamond Lounge during Happy Hour! :eek::eek:They are 11 years old.

We are booked on the Hawaii to Sydney cruise this September with our twin 11 year olds and there are a few more kids we know about from the roll call. We have found the longer cruises have less kids but they have always found others to play with and still enjoyed Adventure Ocean.

Adventure Ocean is open the hours the ship is in port. So if the shipped docked earlier than the normal AO starting time they would open early and if the ship was docked until 6 PM they would stay open. This allows you to take all day excursions while the kids are looked after on the ship if this is what you choose.

We have left our kids on board a couple of times. Once was while in Russia. We were docked overnight and I didn't feel safe taking the kids out on the second day. They preferred to stay on board. The second time we had been on an RCI tour in the morning with the kids and they wanted to go back to AO. The went to kids club while we went back for a walk around the port shops.

You should not have to pay more because your friend can no longer take the cruise.

My mother was not able to cruise with us a few years ago due to a health issue. We had 2 adjoining cabins and on paper I was sharing one cabin with mum and my husband and the kids had the other cabin. Her insurance covered her out of pocket expenses and we still went on the cruise as planned. From an RCI perspective her cruise had been paid for so I did not have to pay any extra for being a single in the cabin.

I would advise your friend to see if she can be reimbursed via insurance as the cruise has passed final payment. In this case you will not be asked to pay more for being a single.

I hope you enjoy your cruise.

Unless of course you are booking outside the US and then I'd be reading the cancellation policy very closely.

Good Luck, let us know how you go. I fail to see what the advantage is to using a travel agent. I've not been able to negotiate a better deal and prefer to book direct through RCI now. At least that way I get to control my booking through 'My Cruises' online.

That is beautiful Trainman. I remember reading your review of that trip and it still brings a tear to my eye even though I have never met you.

Would I do it on a cruise ship in a day? No way. :eek: To travel all that way on a bus just to see the Apostles is not worth it in my opinion.

You want the whole package. The 12 Apostles are worth a visit if you take the Great Ocean Road and make scenic stops along the way. The scenery is spectacular.

What else are you considering in Melbourne?

Looking forward to following. Happy Cruising!

Does anyone have a copy of the children's menu from a specialty restaurant?