Shippy

...now that we have Diamond status :O)

Royal has one of the best loyalty programs around. I love the perks.

Also, we are gamblers and belong to Club Royale, the Royal Caribbean casino club so we get lots of perks through them.

& we do not use the brand name rum runners, just similar large plastic flasks bought at the local beverage store. They are MUCH cheaper.

My husband has used them for years. This last summer he was called to the 'naughty room'.We were sure he got caught but they just asked him to take out the bottle of wine from his suitcase & said nothing about the 2 flasks which he left in !

There are no 'usage' charges.

I think it was on deck 3 where you get them. They can tell you at the guest services desk. I have no idea why we had to wait until 1:00 to get them. There were not a lot of people in line to get them. I think that is because you could get the regular phones when you first boarded at the guest services desk & perhaps people did not know you could wait for the other kind.

Do get in line a bit early though. It takes about 10 minutes to get them because you have to sign a bunch of different papers in case you loose them. They have to explain everything to you. Then they have to program them for use only between your family/friends.

So you can see if you are way back in line it would take awhile.

There is NO comparison between the I-phone and a walkie talkie. For one thing...people seem to shout into their walkie talkies & everyone around you can hear both conversations wether they want to or not.

I loved the gps feature. It saved me from making a call most of the time.

The cruise compass is loaded every day so you can always see what is happening without carrying the paper around.

The reception is good anywhere on the ship but you MUST charge them every night.

They do NOT work off the ship.

Are the chocolate breakfasts only held during the Character breakfasts? I like the chocolate breakfast but am not really interested in seeing the Characters, but if I have to I will.

It was in the main dining room on the regular menu. I think it was Friday morning.

Chocolate waffles, milkshake, etc.

This was on the regular side NOT the character breakfast side !

Hi there

 

We are grandparents travelling without any of the kids (hurrah!!;)) We are sailing on the Liberty TA and don't expect a lot of kids onboard from previous experience. We booked' date=' with 4 friends, the character breakfast for my birthday. I think it will be a hoot. I would be mortified though, if by booking I had excluded a child from enjoying this activity. Perhaps a way of allowing parents with children to book first by a certain cut off date, and then throwing it open to all would be a good idea. As for the CL question, not sure during cocktail hour but definitely ok during the rest of the day.

 

Sue [/size']

We have 6 grandkids but traveled without them & enjoyed the character breakfast. DO IT & DO NOT FEEL GUILTY ! Seniors are just as deserving !

Just 2 older adults deciding to go. We had made our show reservations weeks before.

Since there was still availability for the breakfast shortly before we sailed, the assumption would be that families chose not to make their reservations.

Royal sent enough emails to remind us to make reservations. If you choose not to make reservations .......you take your chances. There are enough postings on these boards warning people of this.

As I said in an earlier posting....if you try immediately to make reservations with no luck, call Royal & they will help you.

If you have trouble with the online reservations they will help you. Just call the main number & they will transfer you. They have a department that just helps with that type of thing. They helped me with my show schedules.

Sometimes the online thing has limitations. I am sure they could have arranged for you whole family to attend the breakfast.

My husband & I did attend the character breakfast by ourselves & totally enjoyed it.

The only annoying thing I saw was 'late' people with or without children. I do understand it is a bit early for kids. You are suppose to be there at 7:45 am & it starts at 8am.

They need to get all the orders in as everytime a character comes in, the waiters stop & dance with them. It is very hard on them if people are lagging.

I think the lounge is ok for kids EXCEPT the cocktail hour. It would be like bringing them to any other cocktail lounge. There is also a lot of adult type conversations going on that children should not be around.

They are $25. a week. For $5. more you can rent the I-Phones. They have the capability to call, text or GPS. Plus have the daily activity schedule.

Also......they made the best eggs benedict in the main dining room. They are not listed on the menu. Just ask for them.

Has anyone been able to book a character breakfast online recently? We're sailing next month on FOS and I haven't seen this as an option online to book. I haven't called C&A yet to ask them, was hoping I'd see it one of these days.

 

Anyone else been able to do this? Am I just computer illiterate? Thanks!

Our cruise is in September. It was not offered everyday & the time was 7:45 am !

Pretty early....just me & hubby, both in our 60's. I am forcing him to go :O)

We are on the Oasis. Perhaps it is not offered on your ship.

I was to surprised to hear this. We store our luggage under the bed. Will there still be any room there ?

We are leaving next week & have a room next to yours. The report of noise does not bother me but the lack of storage space does. We have never been on a Cunard ship before but I just assumed with an A1 catagory that you would have enough space in the room & in the bathroom to store your things.

We just got back from a cruise on Azamara....I find it impossible to believe that there is a ship with a smaller shower than theirs !

Not everyone realizes that they do 'toga ' night in the Caribbean.

We found out about it by reading these boards before our last cruise on Costa. They leave a sheet on your bed and thats it ! you are suppose to tie it on you like a toga. They give you some vauge instructions. About a third of the ship participated. It was a hoot.

Since we knew in advance, we went to a costume store and brought our own accessories.

Roman jewely, belts, an olive leaf wreath for my husbands head. He looked like Ceasar !

Be a sport & participate ! It was a load of fun.

Also, like MSC cruiseline, they had carafes of house wine at dinner. Great buy, I think it was $8.00. We each got 2 glasses out of it. On the whole, all liquor is cheaper than american ships and they did not add 15% gratuity !