ZambiniGold

yes, you can. I noticed i can use my OBC to pay for excursions for my cruise in October. Depending on the OBC and the cost of the tour, you might have to pay for the any additional balances due. Like if the tour is 100 dollars and you only have 75 dollars OBC, you have to pay for the extra 25 dollars

Great thanks! How far in advance can you book excursions?

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First time cruising on Princess, going to Alaska! Just put down our deposit, and got some OBC based on the current offer. First time having OBC.

Question: can the OBC be used for shore excursion reservations prior to boarding or do I have to wait until we board?

Secondary question: the OBC is for my spouse and I (in our names, not the room). Can the OBC be used for my child’s gratuity?

Thanks!

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Just got back from Nassau yesterday. First time to Junkanoo, decent beach (for free). Water nice and clear, but very helpful to have water shoes. Beach has large rocks (helpful for weighing down blankets). The initial surf has rough shells for a couple of feet, unlike say Bermuda. We had 6 year old daughter with us, walk is safe. Can also walk a block in off the pier then turn right, walking thru shops on way to Junkanoo.

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It varies. Sometimes they can go to another port. Sometimes they can try again later in the cruise.

Grandeur had to skip CocoCay. Went early to Nassau after securing early berth. Docked overnight. Disappointing to miss.

Perhaps try another TA. I used a TA for my Anthem cruise, coordinating 3 cabins. She was able to link the reservations, and I could manage all 3 afterwards. I have a future cruise on Anthem, and she was able to reprice one of 2 cabins when KSF promo came out.

Seems to me that RCI runs the Kids Sail Free promo a couple times a year...but I have not tracked this to see if it is at a particular time each year.

I am on the Grandeur right now, and MTD is not chaotic and no waiting at all the entire cruise. The waiters were not stressed and it ran smoothly.

 

 

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Just got off Grandeur, and I found the MDR (late seating) to be very pleasant and the food enjoyable. Smooth and efficient.

Had WJ for lunch a couple times...meh. WJ has more options for breakfast tho.

Fountains is that old? Heh, debut...

 

 

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LOL, "world premiere" indeed... Mike was an awesome CD!

This subject seems to change frequently.

 

Sailing Allure in June. Have four "young men" 7--17!

 

Are nice, no whole blue jeans allowed in the main Dining Room for dinner? I know shorts are not allowed.:confused:

Just got off 9 day on Grandeur. I wore jeans except on formal nights, switched to black dress pants. Fair portion of people wore jeans. I think suggested attire was casual for at least 5 of the nights.

Tonight’s show is the Production show All Access. I know i’ve seen this before. Some things are familiar and others aren’t. Does anyone known if content is shuffled to present a unique product or is my memory faulty? I KNOW All Access was still here 15 months ago and even then, i had seen it before.

 

 

 

 

There was a huge Madonna set, but it was weird because some of the songs were good and others were horrible. Usually they just messed up the entire singer set or the set is amazing.

 

It was a decent show. However, when i left the theater, I walked out into this...

 

 

I could not have planned it better, But this was pure luck.

 

 

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Yup agree the sunset was a bonus. Show was decent until the madonna set. Supposed to be 50s n 60s I thought lol.

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The taxi ride could be an adventure in itself if it is anything like ride we had one year to the Atlantis. The cab driver literally drove down the sidewalk to get around cars, then blew through a toll booth yelling out the window that we did not have time to stop and pay a toll:eek:

The ride back to the ship was not nearly as exciting.

Oh my ...

Do you have to pay to get onto Atlantis property? Can one just walk around?

Checked out the other thread, some good ideas there and here as well, thanks. Charleston seems like a great town to walk through, and that was our plan. Orlando / Canaveral we have the excursion transport to SeaWorld. Miami we are on the 4 hour tour through Miami / South Beach. Hoping for Coco Cay beach time, and also at Nassau (I was eyeing Junkanoo Beach, so good to hear others have been there).

I'll see what the deal is on Fort Fincastle...we have 2 generations traveling together, so maybe just the beach :) - can't go wrong with that!

Realize that the ship board water is as pure as, or purer than, most bottled water.

 

It is either distilled or reverse osmosis purified.

Has this always been the case or just recently? On my 2016 AoTS trip, the water was decent (but I had brought bottled water regardless with no issues). On the 2010 ExoTS trip, I detected a slight taste but it was decent enough.

Looks interesting, thanks Bob!

FYI - I have some ideas mapped out, was just looking for additional ideas for places to visit or things to do in those areas, in case there are some "wow" things to do or see.

Has anyone checked out Fort Fincastle or Fort Charlotte in Nassau?

Taking the 9 day from Baltimore to Charleston, Orlando, Miami, Coco Cay, and Nassau. Open to ideas on what to see in Charleston, Miami, and Nassau! Orlando is slated for SeaWorld :)

Only 4 more days!

"Royal Caribbean cruises booked between August 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017 12:00 AM EST on sailings departing on or after September 1, 2017 are valid for this promotion (excluding China departures)."

The details on the Kids Free offer says August 4 - August 7 (12:00AM) which I interpret as midnight tonight. Are you sure about Aug 1 - 31?

UPDATE: I called RCI: Benjamin from RCI said August 31.

You're joking. The food was very good on our Aug. 25th cruise. I enjoyed the diverse menus and the rotation to the 4 restaurants. What make you think that the food quality will improve with the elimination of DD. I will miss the concept due to some very vocal individuals.

I agree, just got off on Oct. 20, I thought DD was very well executed and the staff very friendly and knowledgeable about their menus. I will miss it as well, but am glad I had a chance to experience it as intended.

Trivia Loot (minus a few hats and water bottles that we gave away)

 

I need to work on my trivia skills! Nicely done :)

Many do, just as many don't.

Agreed. And when mine does act up, there is a quick trip outside so that 1. others aren't disturbed, and 2. discussion ensues concerning proper behavior.

Unfortunately, not everyone takes others' vacation into consideration...

Overall, I observed very few issues if any in this regard on the cruise I just finished. Everyone seemed well behaved, including the adults :P

So I went ahead and booked Chic for 8pm and it showed up immediately on our daily planner. Simple. The whole process only took a few minutes.

It will quite interesting to see how the cruise line industry handles different generations regarding technology. You just showed how simple it was to change a reservation. (I did not change any of my reservations, but did use the RoyalIQ app to check my calendar and text/call my travelling party). I would have to hypothesize that those who do not prefer DD were also not as comfortable making changes as you did.

That's the problem with Oasis. Small humans are allowed in the Bistro and kind of negates the tranquility of the Solarium.

 

Same for smaller ships with park Cafe in the Solarium

As someone who just had a "small human" on board, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that the "small human" behaves appropriately. My LO did just fine the entire cruise, thank you.

Why doesn't this show up on other ship reviews? I think Allure's rating is around 80, and the "S" class ships of Celebrity, which I'm more familiar with, are all in the 80s. I have not been on this ship so I can't comment on the experience one way or the other.

I believe the initial reviews and crew adjusting to DD at the same time were a contributing factor. Having just gotten off the ship a week ago, I saw few (if any) of the issues that others mentioned about DD. Hopefully the ratings will even out over time.

Were you able to take water and/or soda aboard?

I just put the luggage tag on a case of water, 24 bottles. Did it for 3 rooms. No issues with RCI ATM. No duffle bag required :)

Also, the water on AoTS tastes pretty good, and they have a lot of juices. Our next cruise (TBD but soon!) on AoTS we will probably just bring a couple of water bottles in addition to the case (good for convenience going ashore).

Overall: 9.5/10

AoTS is a beautiful ship, the crew was friendly, and makes for a wonderful vacation! Only seemed crowded on embarkation, and Windjammer for breakfast before everyone departs.

Dining: 9/10

Dynamic Dining worked for us, we had great servers in all 4 restaurants (Grande, Silk, Chic, American Icon). Making the reservations took a little effort but that will apparently no longer be a concern. Food was good to great, with perhaps only one dessert not qualifying as good. We had 1830 reservations. When we were done around 2030, there was a line outside.

Windjammer: 8/10 - decent, lot of selection. Gets tired if you go there all the time.

Café at 270: 9/10 - limited selection, but worked for us! Desserts were good here. Try a relaxing breakfast here!

Sorrentos: 8/10 - only tried one slice late at night, was good.

Café Promenade: 8/10 - very limited, but nice for snacks.

Solarium Bistro: N/A - didn't try, limited menu

Staterooms: 9/10

Had 2 balconies and one interior. The interior was spacious and I preferred it over the balconies. Plenty of storage space, good shelving in bathroom, shower was spacious, lighting was good, virtual balcony in interior was cool, stateroom attendants were very friendly and kept the rooms up nice.

Activities: 9.5/10

iFly was awesome. NorthStar was great when working (was down 1.5 hours+ on one day). Seaplex area is great for teens, with video games, bumper cars (age 6+), basketball, ping pong, DJ. Multiple pools, never seemed crowded. Toddler splashing area was fun (when not too windy).

Shows: 9/10 - if you go in not expecting to understand everything and just enjoy the visuals and singing / dancing

The Gift: 9/10

reVoiced: 10/10 - amazing voices

We Will Rock You: 9/10 (from wife)

Spectra's Cabaret: 9/10

Bermuda: 9/10

No indication of hurricane damage, people were friendly, bus drivers were helpful for the most part. :) Beautiful island, Horseshoe Bay Beach was wonderful. BAMZ is great for short stop, as is Crystal Caves. St. George's has great scenes for pictures, but ran out of time for shopping.

Areas of ship:

270: 9/10 - limited seating, especially for shows. Beautiful view and relaxing!

Esplanade: 7/10 - mostly high end stores which are empty. Beautiful though.

Royal theater: 8/10 - some seats are blocked, so get there early. Comfortable seats.

Solarium: didn't spend much time here since we had LO with us, but seemed peaceful.

Bars: N/A as we didn't partake.

Embarkation: 10/10

Very smooth for us. Port personnel and RC personnel were courteous and directed traffic well when we arrived (1045).

Exiting: 10/10

Our area was called on time, and luggage was already in assigned area. Customs was a breeze, and parking garage worked well.

Don't fancy being in 'Silk' with that decor each night.

Haha, I can understand this sentiment!