LibrarianBecky

Okay, maybe some of you seasoned cruisers can help. As I stated me and the significant other are booked for Feb. He has never cruised and my last was in 99. We are going to Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan. Thoughts are America Cup excursion in Cozumel. Snorkel in Belize through non-Carnival, Coral Reef and sharks. And monkies in Roatan. Since the monkies are a short excursion. I was just wondering if I needed to pick an excursion to just get some more snorkel time for me (he is not much of a swimming type.) or if I could just walk to Mahagony Bay and snorkel.

Thanks

When we went to Roatan, we did a day tour through Victor Bodden, so I can't speak to snorkeling at Mahogony Bay. However, we did the monkeys---which were really neat, but one of them bit my son. He was holding seeds in his hand, and the monkeys wanted them. It was not a bad bite, but did break the skin. He was fine (and the monkeys have their shots, according to our guide), but I think it is good for people to have a heads up.

We did snorkel on the other side of the island, and it was great.

I'm considering this very question. We have never sailed with a balcony before, but I'm sure we would love it. I've done interior room cruises and one oceanview. No complaints about the inside rooms, but I thought the oceanview room was great! The cruise that I'm currently pricing out has a $450 difference for three people....which I think is kind of a lot for a balcony vs. an inside room for a 5 day cruise.

The cruise I'm looking at is a fairly inexpensive one for us. It is from a port we can drive to, so we are saving a bunch of money by not flying. I could justify the cost of a balcony on that fact alone! I'm half tempted to book the balcony and not tell my family---let them be surprised when we board the ship! I don't think I could keep it a secret for a year....but if I could, what a fun reveal that would be!

Hi all!

I'm considering booking a 5 day Bahamas cruise out of Charleston on the Carnival Sunshine. It has been a few years since our last cruise, and I'm ready to go again! It would be myself, my husband, and our 10 year old son. Our last cruise was in 2013 on the Carnival Liberty. Overall, it was a good cruise, but we struggled to find activities to do together as a family during our time on the ship. Being a newer ship, it looks like Sunshine has many more offerings for things to do, but I wanted to get opinions from the knowledgeable people on this board before I actually pulled the trigger and put down a deposit.

Thanks for the input!

Becky

Good idea, but no dice. It gives me a message that says that due to modifications with my reservations, I can't make changes online. I'll just have to call again and see if I can find someone who knows the policy. Thanks for the help!

I have a substantial credit on Southwest from a cancelled flight earlier in the year. The credit expires on November 10, 2015 (date of original flight booking). My question is do I have to complete my travel on November 9 to use this credit, or can I travel on November 10?

I spoke with someone at SW tonight and asked this question, and the rep told me that I should use my credit by November 9 "just to be safe." It did not sound to me like he was sure on the policy, so I asked if he could double check the policy for me. He then just repeated what he said before, that I needed to use it November 9th, just to be safe.

My travel plans would allow me to come back either November 9 or 10. I would prefer to come back Nov 10, giving me one more day of vacation. However, I didn't want to argue with this guy, so I booked my return flight for Nov 9, figuring that with SW I can always change it as long as flights are available.

The fine print on my ticket confirmation says:

All travel involving funds from this Confirmation Number must be completed by the expiration date. (November 10, 2015)

Anyone know if I can travel on my credit on November 10 (travel would be completed by 2:30 pm on November 10, if that matters)? Should I just call SW back and see if I can get someone willing to check for me?

Thanks!

Wow...I came back tonight to lots more responses than I expected. Thank you all for you input, and also for your condolences. I would like to try and answer some questions people have had. The people involved are myself, my husband, and our 8 year old son. My husband and son will (happily) go along with whatever I decide. We have done a week long trip to Disney when my son was 5. We had the most wonderful time. I love Disney--it just makes me happy. I can't really explain it, but it does. We have talked about going when it was decorated for the holidays, which I'm sure we would love. The idea of waiting nearly a year for a vacation, though, is a bit hard to swallow.

I like the suggestion to possibly add a few days to our cruise and do some Disney. Flights are a big part of our vacation expenses, so that could be the best of both worlds. Or canceling April cruise and rebooking something in December. Dh and I talked today about a few day trips we could plan for the upcoming months--it may not be the Caribbean, but still something fun to look forward to.

I have been in a funk the last few days...some days are better than others. I'm going to look into a few options that people mentioned. Thank you again for the help.

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We would go first week of December, so lower crowds. We are far enough out that we won't lose money from RC, and I should be able to rebook flights from Southwest without issue.

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I have a 7 day eastern cruise scheduled on freedom of the seas for mid April. I'm thinking about canceling because my family has said they would rather do a week at Disney in December. We can't really afford to do both this year, so we need to choose. I booked this cruise last September, when I was having a very hard time. My mother was dying of stage four lung cancer, and I had some health problems that caused me to be hospitalized. I needed something to look forward to, so I booked this cruise.

So, now, my family wants to change our plans, which I am okay with...except that I've been putting off canceling the cruise. The thought of Caribbean sun, beaches, ect was what got me through some really hard days. I'm just not sure what to do, I guess. I can probably change my family's mind, if I wanted to.

Not sure anyone can help with this problem, but it feels good to type it out. :)

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I believe FOS will get the show "Hairspray" during dry dock. RC has also indicated that it will not get dynamic dining. Nothing else is official, at least as far as I know.

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Freedom will be going into dry dock in January 2015, so that might be something to consider. Indy also does not have the 3D movie theater.

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We were on Carnival Liberty last year. My son was 7 and enjoyed the kids club a few times. I think they watched a movie on one night, which was advertised, but for the most part they did activities (crafts, dancing, games, etc). They did not take him for ice cream, but did have a candy making activity one night in the club (a straw filled with pixie stick type sugar). Hope that helps a little.

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I agree with the poster who recommends looking at the prices and trying to upgrade for only a little more out of pocket to an OV. Not sure of the age of your kids, but my son was entertained for quite a while watching out the window on our last cruise (he was 7). If you can do OV for less than $100 out of pocket, I would take it. More than that, I wouldn't. As far as balcony goes, I'm sure they are wonderful (I've never sailed in one), but the price difference will probably be quite a bit more,so it depends on how much you can afford.

Depending on the age of your kids, I don't think 4 ppl in an inside room for 10 days is a fate worse than death. :). We have done inside rooms with our son (who is fairly young) without any trouble.

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We are so looking forward to out April Freedom OTS cruise! My 8 year old son would like to try the ice skating. He has never done it, but has been roller skating a few times and is ok at that. Neither my husband or I can ice skate (medical issues). Will one foe us be allowed on the ice in tennis shoes to help my son along for a bit?

Thank you!

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For me, paying a small amount at a time is more a mental thing than anything else. I've taken the cost of my cruise, minus deposit, and divided it by the number of paychecks I get between now and final payment. Every time I get paid, I plan on paying that amount on my cruise. Certainly I could save that same amount in an account and not pay until final payment is due, but the amount of interest I would receive is truly negligible. After final payment is due, I plan on setting aside the same amount of money each pay to cover our onboard expenses and excursions. I just find it helps me to budget my money better.

I called Royal and they took a payment over the phone without any trouble. The rep had a reason I couldn't pay on the website, but honestly it made no sense to me, so I can't even try to explain it here. :)

I just got off the phone with RC--they changed my cabin assignment from Deck 3 to Deck 9, no trouble at all. Wow! I would not have known to even ask if it wasn't for this board. Thank you so much for the information!

The cabin I was assigned is a Category K. Even with booking a guarantee, I can ask to be switched to another Cat K stateroom, without paying the difference in price between my booking (guarantee rate) and Cat K rate? Sorry if that is a dumb question. The price difference is somewhere around $450, so not insignificant (at least to me).

Well, tried to make a payment today, and it would not work. I reserved the cruise several weeks ago and paid the full deposit (not a reduced deposit sale), but now won't let me make a payment that is less than the deposit amount of $750. I guess I'll call them to make my payment, but how frustrating that their website won't take it.

I booked an interior guarantee for my upcoming Freedom of the Seas cruise. I was in my cruise planner today, and noticed that I've been assigned a room. I was wondering if I could get some opinions on the room location from people who have been on FOS or others in the class. The room I've been assigned is #3613. It is one of only a few interior cabins on deck 3. It is a low deck, which I expected with a guarantee--doesn't bother me. It is mid-ship, which I like. It's a connecting room, which are sometimes reported to be louder than regular rooms, but we would deal with that if it happened. The part that concerns me a bit is that it looks to be straight across from the karaoke bar. Can anyone comment?

Please don't take this as a complaint about my assigned room. I know the guarantee rule--you get what you get and you don't fuss a bit. :)

Thanks!

I booked over the phone, and the rep certainly made it sound like I didn't have a choice. I didn't mind--I wanted MTD--but that seems a tish bit dishonest to tell a customer they can't book early or late seating when there is availability.

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I have no inside nformation, but I will say that I booked FOS for April 2015 about 3 weeks ago, and only MTD was available, no early or late seating. To suppose it is possible for these to be full six ,on this in advance, but seems strange to me. My thought was that Royal is hedging their DD bets by not offering early or late seating assignments.

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Not sure if this would work for you, but when we were on Liberty last year, we feed my son from the buffet, took him to the kids club, and had dinner just my husband and I. It worked out well--my son would rather play than sit for a long "fancy" dinner.

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Thanks for posting the recipe! Very kind. I'm almost afraid to make it, though....I'm the only one at my house who would eat it....and I think I would eat the entire thing!

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Thanks for the input. I think we are going to try to fly down on Friday after work, then have all dat Saturday to do Legoland. Anyone have experience with hotels in Legoland area?

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My last RC cruise was in 2003 for my honeymoon. At that time, they had a fantastic dessert, maybe called Royal Cake??, that was basically a flour less chocolate cake. I loved it so much, my waiter brought me a piece every night. Does anyone else remember this? Do they still serve this dessert? I have not seen it on any menus that I've looked at.

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I would like to make smaller payments twice a month on my upcoming cruise, instead of having to pay it all at once. I know the Royal website can be a bit glitchy. Do payments made through the website generally process ok, or should I call each time I want to make a payment?

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