MarlboroBell

We've brought a travel router before, but the amount of metal on the ship made it pretty hard to use beyond very close proximity of the cabin. (Last time we used it, we were in the 'Ben and Jerry's Sweet' over the promenade on Freedom, and we could use it on the promenade if we were close to our room. It meant we could use all our devices in the room, and one each outside it.)

And I was never quite sure, but it felt like the travel router and the ship's wi-fi interfered with each other. If we do it again, I'll try to use some tools to figure that out.

11 minutes ago, Tin can said:

What ever is happening during dry dock I guess is happening in the US.

... or at least on the west side of the Atlantic. I'm guessing Freeport.

There's a wrinkle though, or at least there was when we did this. (Granted, this particular time it was on Carnival rather than RCCL, but be aware)

We once got rewards from our bank in the form of seven $100 Visa gift cards. We tried to apply them to our onboard accounts. They were declined. Eventually we figured out that we could apply $80-$85 of each card, but not the whole thing. (And we had seven itty-bitty gift cards left, that got credited to Amazon or Starbucks or wherever.)

Then I realized -- when they authorize your gift card, they may authorize it for some amount (18% I think) more than the amount you're asking to pay, in order to leave room for a tip. That means that if you're paying the full balance of the card, it could be declined. 

So... if the card is declined, try again for 80% of the balance. Then put the rest into your spending account of choice (Amazon are usually the easiest...)

Well, it depends on what your priorities are. Do you want a good seat on the flight or do you want to avoid schlepping your bags to the airport? Personally, I'd rather get the good seat on the flight, so I do early-bird checkin for a cruise return. But if you have an internet package on board the ship, and the ship has real VOOM, and you're willing to stop everything and check in the exact moment (to the second) that checkin opens (assuming your last day is a sea day), then you can get a pretty good seat without early bird and spend your money on luggage valet instead.

Be aware, of course, that you can't do luggage valet for Southwest flights departing after 6pm. (I'm assuming that isn't a problem, but just in case...)

On 8/5/2019 at 5:18 PM, suzk2275a said:

We love the Caribe Hilton.  We have not stayed there since the reopening but are scheduled for another pre-cruise stay on August 24th.

 

Susan

Looks like we'll be joining you on the Freedom! We're staying at the Condado Hilton because they have a family suite that works for us... looking forward to it, see you on board!

19 hours ago, Underwatr said:

Does anyone know if credit card info can be updated after checking in? My preferred card expires in August so RCI won't let me use it for my October cruise. If I can update it later I'll check in with any old card and put my preferred card in later after I get its replacement.

You can even update it online before the cruise. I left my credit card in a restaurant and was three hours' drive away before I realized. So... new card, new number, and I managed to update it.

I am also officially an idiot.

We're going to be Platinum after our cruise next month -- the biggest perk as far as I can see is the quicker boarding line!

I assume that means you'll be on the Freedom -- which week are you doing? We'll be there the week starting August 25.

We had this problem too. If you contact RCCL via Facebook Messenger, they'll add you to the list. That worked for us this week.

We're taking the Freedom in August and we'd love to get some form of tour of San Juan and/or nearby places that picks us up from our pre-cruise hotel with bags and drops us at the pier when we're done. Problem is, we're traveling with a couple of teens whose idea of hell is going outside and seeing old and/or pretty stuff. They're going to want to sit in an air-conditioned bus all day and watch YouTube, and although we may be able to persuade them to see one or two cool things, their attention span is pretty limited. (Criticism of our parenting can be put in another thread 🙂 )

But it's our first time going to Puerto Rico and we would still like to see some of it even if they won't.

Does anyone have any good ideas for tours and/or tour operators we could use?

You must be our clones! We're also about an hour north of Manhattan, we're also going on the Freedom (in August at the end of the summer vacation), and we're also staying at the Condado Plaza beforehand! Really looking forward to hearing more about your trip... (Our kids are a bit younger though -- 15 and 12.)

There was, back in the past, but it stopped a few years ago. If you have a car, the best bet is to drive -- you don't need to go through Manhattan, there are some decent routes to get there, and parking costs are significantly less than any train fare you'd be paying.

If you don't have a car and you don't want to arrive the night before, you should take Amtrak to Newark Penn Station (NOT New York Penn Station) and take a cab/Uber from there. Obviously, go as early as you can given that there's an inherent risk in traveling the same day, but it's probably a risk I'd take. (I've driven same-day from the Boston area without worrying at all.)

One restaurant I haven't seen mentioned here (and it's my go-to in the Theater District, and a block from my office!) is Osteria al Doge on 44th. Great food, pleasant ambience. 

I've been to Frankie and Johnnie's -- it's pretty good but very traditional. But honestly, there's so much great food in Midtown that you'll be able to find something: just prebook on OpenTable well ahead of time for pre-theater dining.

From your history, it seems like you're in Redding... so really the best answer is Metro-North here. If Danbury branch trains are a bridge too far, get a friend (or Uber) to take you to Katonah or South Norwalk (there's long-term parking at South Norwalk but it's limited to five days max, or at least it was a few years ago when I used to park there long-term; Katonah is a pain and a half for parking) for more frequent trains. The fare will be about $12 each way to Grand Central. Then just a straight shot cab to the port.

It will be more of a pain than just parking at the port but you'll save about $300. Your choice.

Not from Cape Liberty, but you can park at Port Imperial in Weehawken and take a ferry from there. It drops you off about ten minutes' walk from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, so if you are in reasonable shape and can roll your luggage, it's quite doable -- or of course it's a quick cab ride.

Just check which terminal Brilliance is using -- I know Rhapsody of the Seas uses Terminal 6 and I got the impression that Royal Caribbean in general uses 6. (It's on the map, just a bit further north from the circled terminals.)

I stayed there many years ago and it was pretty good. Right next to Grand Central, which makes things easy if you're coming in on Metro-North. (Why would you come in on Metro-North? Well, if you're coming in from New England, cheap parking at an outlying station like West Haven would do it.)

RCCL starts boarding in Tampa around 10:30am. Peak is around noon, and by 1pm when we arrived last week, the terminal was dead and we got from the port entrance to Deck 4 in about 10-15 minutes. Make your own choice!

We were called with the last group to get off the ship, and we were in an Uber pulling away from the port at 9:40. If you tell them you have an earlier flight, they'll get you out earlier. (One caveat -- fog in Tampa Bay can wreak havoc, but I don't think it's very common.)

Yes, self-carry is fine and very doable in Tampa. And the port is right in the city with a good supply of taxis/Ubers.

Getting an extra key isn't a problem -- we've cruised a couple of times with the kids, where my son and I are booked in one room and my wife and daughter are booked in another, and then we switch and put us in one room and the kids in another. They've always been happy to give us a duplicate key at guest services.

As for cabins that accommodate a third or fourth person, they're fairly widespread: you just need to look at deck maps to figure out whether they will. I imagine your cabin steward will set up a third bed in a room equipped with it if you ask him/her and explain.

You might have a problem streaming Netflix. I would download a bunch of shows they might like to your device.

It's going to really depend on which ship you're on. If your ship has O3B Internet then it'll likely work. My kids were on YouTube morning, noon and night on Anthem. (Sigh.) I was even able to participate in a video group chat, which blew my mind.

On a ship without O3B (or out of range of their satellites) it's going to be harder.

Oh yes, definitely book Montserrat on your own. Drop your luggage off at your hotel and get yourself to Espanya station. (Honestly, you could find a hotel in that area -- it's convenient for both Montserrat, the city and the airport. We didn't explore that part of Barcelona as much as I'd have liked to when we visited last year.) The trains to Montserrat run every hour or so. There's a combo train+admission ticket for about €50 per person: that includes the rack railway in both directions. We chose to get off the train one stop early and take the cable car going up (one-way tickets are about €7) so that we would experience both.

It was a transcendent experience and you definitely want to stay at your leisure and not be constrained by someone else's schedule.

Be VERY mindful of your belongings, wallet and money. Barcelona is notorious for pickpockets.

I second that. I got pickpocketed on the Metro last August -- the only time in my life I've ever been pickpocketed. Thankfully he just dumped my wallet on the ground... but without the €200 I'd just gotten out of the ATM. It could have been a LOT worse.

But Barcelona is beautiful. If you can possibly stay more than one day, do: but for sure go to Sagrada Familia, which is breathtaking, and to La Pedrera (aka Casa Mila). And if you have time to get out to Montserrat, it's well worth it. (My personal recommendation: Sagrada Familia first thing in the morning, followed by Montserrat, fills a day quite perfectly, and because Montserrat is up in the mountains, being there in the afternoon gets you out of the heat of the day.)

Another place you can drop a car is North White Plains. There's a Hertz office directly across the street from the station, and the trains are every half-hour or so to Grand Central taking about 40 minutes. The station is about three minutes from I-287.