Kesali

That's super kind of you to offer! We just found out that my husband will be attending a conference in orlando in September so he plans to pick some up there but thanks for the offer!

You're welcome. We're on the April 15th cruise if something changes.

You mentioned Ontario. Are you anywhere in the GTA area? We're staying overnight before flying home. Maybe I can buy it and meet up with you.

Thank you Bob.

Our cruise is April 15th. A friend invited us and we booked in 2016 but believe we paid-in-full November 2017. We had to book through a TA as we used the majority of our Air Miles for the cruise. Two cabins for us. One for him.

Is he able to claim the "refer a friend" for our cabins or did this have to be done before/shortly after our paid-in-full date?

That's what I'm hoping. Thanks!

I plan on purchasing rum or other liquors while in ports to bring home. From what I've read, I have to hand them over when I board the ship but will get them back the morning we disembark in FLL. Hmm.. I just realized I don't know where to pick up the bottles the day we leave. Can someone please let me know?

Originally we had 1 adult and 1 minor per stateroom (2 females, 2 males) booked with the intention of putting both kids in 1 stateroom once we were on the ship. Then one of the minors decided not to go on the cruise so another adult joined. Somehow people got shuffled around when that change was made so my 14 year son & I are booked in one stateroom, and my husband & Dad in the other.

I'm not going to try and have the TA call RCL to change anything. I had a heck of a time getting everyone's genders correct. We'll switch my son & husband once we're on board.

However, I'm debating getting the drink package. Because a minor is in the room with me, I know I will only be billed for one drink package right now.

What about once we are on the ship when my husband joins me and we swap our son to my Dad's stateroom? Will Royal at that point, say hey - now you have 2 adults and need to purchase another drink package? Or will it not even be noticed/cared?

Thank you Bob

When I log-in to my cruises, under the vacation summary/reservation summary, it shows the genders of each person fixed. However, the fields titled HOME, CITY, EMAIL, CITIZENSHIP are blank.

Is this information I fill out when I do the online check-in? Or should it already be filled in?

The 'cruisecal' site was the best, until much of its features were put behind a paywall. However, the 'Itinerary Lookup' feature is still free.

 

 

 

Type in your ship name, select your itinerary, and a full list of what ships are in port with yours during a cruise will come up.

Thanks!!

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Mine is all messed up too. I called once to get it fixed and some got fixed but guy on phone didn't seem to want to be bothered. I have to call again. Been putting it off.

Fixed! Hope you get yours corrected as well.

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Our cruse is this April. We PIF November 2016 through Air Miles' travel agency.

 

Air Miles did not forward an e-mail regarding an increase in gratuities.

 

Am I still allowed to contact the TA and pay the gratuities at the old rate since it's before our sail date? Or because I'm PIF I cannot?

You can still add gratuities at the old rate.

Have you heard from anyone that has successfully done it after the date the new rates started? Just curious (and skeptical)

I did not call my TA that week and then had a further delay with my CC being cancelled after my husband's xbox account was hacked.

Today I phoned Air Miles and yes, I was able to pay the old gratuity rate of $13.50 US.

$13.50 US x 7 days x 4 people = $378 US converted to $488.44 CAN

My RBC app said it would convert to $487.47 so close enough.

Now we just need to get everyone's genders correct. :confused:

I just noticed they have myself down as Mr. and male (I'm Mrs. and female).

They have my husband as Mrs. and female instead of Mr. and male.

My son is correct,

But my Dad is Miss and female instead of Mr. and male.

:rolleyes:

On the phone with the TA (who does have us correct on their paperwork).

Interesting. Thanks for the info!

at a stupidly ridiculous markup and the candy bars will almost certainly be stale. just by them at the airport Newspaper shops( also a mark up but not as bad as on the ship) or if you are coming in a day early, get a taxi and head to a drug store(chemist) like Walgreens or CVS candy there is plentiful and not heavily overpriced.

 

 

 

or, better yet, go on your room call and arrange a trade. I would love to trade some American candy for REAL Cadbury's or a Jammy Dodger.

 

 

 

I recommend Reeces Pieces and peanut butter cups. I also have an Aussie friend who begs me for boxes of Twinkies every so often.

Awesome idea! I think I'll see about a candy trade on my roll call. Thanks!

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Thanks!

I do have that app already, thank you. I thought there was another app I was not aware of.

When I google the app to see what features are in it, this article https://www.******************.com/category/category/smart-phone-app says it allows for text communications with your friends & family aboard the ship. No additional charge to use the texting feature in the app.

However, doesn't that mean everyone who wants to use the app needs to have an internet package first in order to use it?

Has anyone used it yet? Did the luggage tracking work as expected? I love the idea of being able to access all the activities in the cruise compass on the app, and not carrying a page from the CC everywhere. Did the feature of adding activities, dining, etc to your calendar work well?

Ohh, does it keep track of your onboard spending account so you can see your transactions easily?

On the weekend I remembered we have a US funds CC we rarely use. It's just for trips. Because so far I have been billed in Canadian funds, I didn't think about it.

Once we are on the Allure everything will be in US funds, correct? So if I give them the US funds CC when I do the online check-in, anything charged to our sea pass cards will be billed in US funds with no conversion necessary, correct?

Welcome drinks when you board the ship are not free either! Many people have been caught out with that one.

Where do they hand these out? As you're boarding?

What's the name of the app?

If you caught the 12:00 ferry back from Blue Lagoon, I would say there was time for a LITTLE shopping. Anything later than that and I don't think you have time. I would plan a half hour from where the Blue Lagoon tour drops you off "back at the ship" to get to where you actually get back on board your ship. Where you get dropped off is right by the straw market. In short, you really need an hour from when you get dropped off "back at the ship" to when you actually need to be boarding your ship to get in even a half hour of shopping. What I am trying to say is it is a long way from drop off to the actual ship. I don't know that it is physically that long but you have to go through "security" to get into the pier area and then walk a gauntlet of people/vendors to get back to the area where the ships are docked. Hope that makes sense.

Thanks Nevada Jen!

I wish we'd have kept ours from when we cruised on Allure over Christmas! I'm sorry I don't have them. My teens weren't super interested in the daytime activities (ping pong tournaments, etc.) and the evening activities that they did want to do were always scheduled over our dinner which was at 8 PM. On our next cruise I learned to schedule dining earlier so my kids can do the things they are interested in.

Thank you. In that respect we are lucky then. My husband & I do not like eating late as it gives us heartburn. We took MTD at 5:30 pm.

From our Western sailing on Allure last April:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nj0jmmi0nopj3w9/Allure%20Western%20Compass%20-%20Teen%20Compass.pdf?dl=0

Thanks! This will help give us an idea what to expect.

Thank you everyone! I was worried about being denied an excursion or something. I'm glad to read I should not experience any problems. I have not done online check-in yet so that's ok.

I was thinking of purchasing a couple of other items in the cruise planner since I have the option to cancel later. So glad I did not do this after all.

Yes, Visa did check with me about which charges to remove. The charges only started on Wednesday so it was easy to let them know which ones were real.

I had phoned them earlier to advise we are going away and charges from Florida hotels and a cruise company were valid. We don't use the cards often and wanted to make sure those would go through. I'll make sure to phone the CC company again just before we leave to remind them.

I'm going to keep the cancelled CC on my wallet (marked C with permanent marker) for the trip, along with the new one, just in case I need it.

E-readers are fine, especially when traveling, but will never replace a real book. Just don’t have the same “magic”!

I agree completely. I love paperbacks. I had a huge collection, and even series of kids's books/authors I treasured and wanted my children to grow up reading.

HAD being the operative word. I still love books but...

A few years ago my mother gave me a Kobo on my birthday. I didn't want to like it but discovered it was lighter and easier on my wrists. That was the first step to conversion. Then discovering I don't need to pack & haul 3 or 4 books with me when I go away. Then my Kobo broke and I purchased a Kindlepaper white with a backlight feature so I can read it at night without bothering my sleeping husband with my needing a light on in the room.

Then the day came when I went to my personal basement library to search out a book I wanted to re-read (for the umpteenth time) and discovered my eyes have betrayed me! Sad to say, most of my beloved paperbacks (especially my older sci-fi/fantasy collection of Heinlein, Asimov and others) have tiny print which now give me a headache to even try and read.

I ended up getting the books in e-format instead and a few months ago boxed up almost an entire bookcase of series and donated them to the library. It hurt to give them away but I can't read them and my kids just don't want to... Once I get another bookcase in e-format, that will be given away as well.

The one thing lacking in my e-reader is COLOR. I don't want internet access with it. But I would love to have my book covers in COLOR again. Along with the backcover.

It was MY CC on my husband's xBox account. The cruise was paid with this CC, and I just booked excursions and internet before the sale ended yesterday.

The bank cancelled my CC as over $600 in charges from Microsoft were on it. I'm getting a new CC.

But I thought I read on here once that another member had an issue upon boarding because he/she had a new CC as well.

Will I run into any trouble? Is this something I need to contact my TA and RCL about immediately? We cruise April 15th.