MNfamilycruiser

I still prefer paper books, and so does my 16 yo, she sat in the library quite a few times the last couple of cruises.

But I have discovered that checking out e-books from my local library is VERY nice - a few clicks instead of a trip. And they have books that aren't available at the physical location. Still have not invested in a reader though, maybe some day.

We are sailing on the Allure on Dec. 13th. I am having such a hard time deciding on the drink package to get. While the Ultimate is outrageously priced I like the idea of being able to order anything and not be charged. I like to get a specialty coffee in the morning, and being able to get bottled water is essential. My travel agent suggested the select package due to price and while I do drink mainly beer and wine, sometimes I do venture with other things. Anyone have a breakdown of how much you would have to drink to make it worth while for each package? I'm sure someone must have posted it on here but I can't seem to find it.

The difference between the Ultimate and the Premium is $10 per day - and the only difference in what you can get is the fresh squeezed orange juice and the specialty coffees. For me it was easy to say, I don't need the orange juice, and I am unlikely to have more than 1 coffee a day - so no need for the Ultimate.

As far as breaking it down even more, it all depends on what you normally drink and how much that costs. The Premium is $15 per day more than the Select. There are lots of threads here that discuss how much an average drink is. I remember around $6-8 for a plain cocktail and $12-14 for a fancy special one. So average it out for your cruise - how many would you need to drink in addition to the wine and beer to make it worthwhile to you.

Plain bottled water is included in all of the plans that include alcohol.

Thanks everyone.

 

I don't mind there being some extra kids on board, we are brining our own after all. I'll see what I can tell from the current school calendars for San Juan since I suspect most kids on board would be from Puerto Rico. There may be a lot of quinceaneras on board if it's a school vacation week.

That was our experience the last cruise from San Juan - in November. The kids club had things in both Spanish and English - but the Puerto Rico kids didn't really do things in the kids club - they tended to stay with their families more. All the dresses though!! Really fun to see.

I am guilty of performing all the resurrections. Every time we book a cruise, I come back to it and post what my dinner seating is.

 

Plus, I started the poll back in 2005....wow, I've been on Cruise Critic for a LONG TIME!

That's funny :D Its like your own little tradition while waiting.

My goodness - I just looked at my own date - 2003!

Chilled soups - the fruity ones :D

Best always varies by person.

 

If this was me I would read about each island and things that I could do.

 

A good source for this is the ports of call board on Cruuise Critic.

 

Keith

I was thinking this same thing - I have never seen a thread where someone was asking about the "Best" of anything and got a definitive answer. I don't even know if I could pick the "best" for myself, let alone for someone else. It all depends....:confused:

But then I find it difficult to identify the "Best" of anything - apparently that isn't just the way I think.

Main - we are from the midwest and tend to eat, and go to bed earlier.

Also, frequently have travelled with our children - not so easy for them to handle a late dinner.

Wow this poll is from 2005!! Funny how it got resurrected at different times over the years.

Thanks for the replies but I guess I didn't explain it correctly. I have 2 $100. gift cards that I received. One is a Mastercard and the other is a Visa. I can redeem (purchase) them for OBC (done it before) but I can't find the number to call. This is NOT the BofA Visa card points. It might have been gifts and gear but I can't remember.

 

Anyone???

Sorry - I just didn't read carefully enough:o

I am waiting for my statement to close to see if I have enough points to get $100 OBC - so that is what was on my mind.

So, in your experience, instead of cruising spring 2017 (our proposed time frame), we should look at fall 2016--just for an idea of what *could* happen. And then as soon as fall 2017 dates are released, POUNCE!?

I have done some of each...the first time we just happened to get that room with 6 of us. For Alaska, I didn't get it immediately, but still pretty far ahead...just under a year maybe. For our upcoming Norwegian Fjords, we were limited on the weeks we could sail, and I knew that stateroom was wonderful for us, so I booked the day it was released.

It depends on how flexible you are in timing, whether the time is very popular with families etc.

No, we don't have to leave Tampa. In my brief search on the RCI website, that was all I could find.

 

Galveston was a headache for my husband and I. Flying in, getting to Galveston, accommodations while there...I felt as if it was a "gotcha" moment. Perhaps our experience was rare, but it remains recent and still a bit raw. I won't go into it more, as I would like to try to stay positive. Galveston is a fun city, but we're hoping to try a different port.

It is harder when you are looking for a specific week, many of the ships alternate itineraries. I don't know how you searched, but if you put in a specific port stop you wanted to make you might have also limited results.

Did someone say, "AFT," ?!?!:D

Yes, every 2 room suite or royal family suite we have been in has been an aft balcony...BUT we book very early. I booked our future Norwegian Fjord cruise the day it came out :D We have a corner aft 2 room suite.

With my next 3 cruises ill be at 137 so this would put me at 140 which was my next goal.But i bought my drink packages already i wonder if i should cancel and buy on board.

I don't think it is being offered on all ships, all sailings yet. Looks like they are just trying it out on Freedom?

I wish it were - we will be on a 3 day on Enchantment, and after that cruise we will be 1 point away from Diamond. I would spend the money to get Diamond before our longer cruise next year.

The family suites that have one bathroom are interior, oceanview and Promenade.

 

The "true" family suites are the Royal Family Suites, or RFS. Some ships have renamed them Two Room Suites or TS. Same accommodations.

Yes - we have booked these same suites 3 times. The first time, on Adventure I believe, it was called a Royal Family Suite. The exact same room, same layout was called a Two Room Suite on Radiance and Serenade.

We are a family of 3 with an 11 year old son. We have done one cruise just to try it out, 3 night Carnival cruise from Long Beach to Ensenada. Didn't enjoy it all that much, too much of a party boat, not the best food, but it was a good introduction to cruising and we want to try a longer cruise to more exotic locales.

 

We are looking at Eastern Carribean over Thanksgiving week, choosing between RC, NCL, Princess, Celebrity, and maybe HAL??

 

I think RC is just too big, don't like the idea of a floating mall. Celebrity is where we are leaning...advice please! Thank you

RC does have different sized ships...they aren't all giant malls ;)

Thanksgiving week you will find lots of kids on all lines - but in general my impression is that Celebrity and HAL would usually have less families than the others. Slightly older passengers, a little less for kids to do on the ship. I could be wrong - I am not up on all the newest ships for each line.

CruiserBruce is correct. The Alaska Ports Of Call Board has a lot of great information on Alaska.

 

With that said in my opinion and as someone who has sailed Alaska several times from April (very early in the season) thru September (late in the season) I found there are pluses with various times of the season and also history means nothing. In other words on year June could have great weather and another year it could have rainy weather. Things can change day to day anytime you sail.

 

I like early in the season in say April and May as the ports are less crowded and there are less families there and you still see quite a bit of snow on the mountains but personally I would go anytime.

 

Keith

From my research this is exactly right - you are making trade-offs and you just have to decide what is most important to you.

We went at the end of May - the first southbound trip for RCI. The negatives for May were: colder, less wildlife. The positives: less bugs, less rain, less crowded. We didn't mind the cold, and less bugs and less crowded were important to us - so we chose May.

I know this can be done because I did it for my last cruise. The only problem is that I can't remember the department or the phone number to call to do this. :eek: Can someone please post it? :D

Thank you in advance!

Do it online. From the RC web page at the bottom is a link that says Royal Caribbean Signature Visa - click that - then choose to redeem rewards.

You have to log into your visa account.

Here is the link

https://www.managerewardsonline.com/RMSapp/Ctl/entry?pid=grprwd&mc=RCCL

We were in a Royal Family Suite just recently. It sounds like what you are looking for. It has 2 bedrooms with a huge balcony. We only had 3 in our room but it worked well for us. There was lots of storage too. We enjoyed the suite benefits as well.

 

 

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Yes, it was called a Royal Family Suite on one of the ships we were on, a Two Room Suite on the Radiance and Serenade

Thanks for the heads up on the style of rooms and bedrooms. I was looking for a two bedroom style (master, 2nd, and use the sofa for the kiddos). We want a balcony (obviously, the bigger the better). Wondering if booking two balcony rooms would be better for space, privacy, and balconies.

 

We are paying for my MIL, so splitting costs doesn't matter this trip ;)

 

She is wanting to see Mayan ruins, so I looked at Caribbean sailings that had the family, two-bedroom suites. All that I could find were sailings out of Tampa for 5 nights that included Cozumel, Mexico. If my search has excluded possible opportunities, don't hesitate to point me in the right direction!

With the current BOGO half off you might be better off getting two rooms. With all in one room only the 2nd adult gets half off - the 3rd, 4th and 5th all pay the same rate. But you would have to list one of the kids as being in your mil's room and you would have to get a room that could sleep 4 of you.

You can't book the 2 room suites online, so it can be difficult to see if any are really even available unless you call RC or a TA.

Other considerations- the 2 room suite counts as a suite - so you all get double cruise points and you get all the benefits of being in the suite - concierge lounge and the rest. You can search the boards here to find out what that all includes.

Also - the 2 room suite is BIG! It has a big balcony, dining table, the whole sitting/sofa area gives lots of space to spread out. It really is nice if you want to be able to spend time all together rather than in 2 separate rooms/balconies - the dividers between can't be opened on many (most?) of the ships even if adjacent.

Sea days are more relaxing, can be cheaper (depending on how much you might drink and if you are getting a drink package if available).

Port days - It also makes a difference WHERE the stops are - is one of the stops a private island? Those are also relaxing "beach" days. Not all ports are equal - if you research the ports from each different cruise a little you might find your decision is easier.

We have been in the two room suites several times. The two rooms are NOT equal - the "master" bedroom has a much bigger closet, its own dressing table, and its own bathroom. The other bedroom can hold up to 4 people but they need to use the bathroom that is out in the main sitting area, and the dressing table/mirror out there too.

The sofa bed is out in the sitting area as well.

We did it once with 6 people, my parents, my 2 kids and my husband and I. It did not feel as though the people using the 2nd bedroom should pay an equal amount if that makes sense?

We have also done it with just my family of 4 and it was wonderful - since we were paying for the kids - they didn't complain and didn't mind the bathroom and the closet.

...and I'm perfectly fine with thoughts about MDR attire. I'm enjoying the responses, whatever they are. It's not a huge deal.

Yes, I am too. I like to know the why...it helps me think ahead to possible scenarios for future cruises.

I didn't even answer, because my answer would be it depends.....

How long of a cruise is it? 3 day? 12 day?

How big of a group am I with - 10 people? Just my family of 4? Just my husband?

What was the day in port like? Did we get back late from a tour? Did we just spend 6+ hours hiking up to and on a glacier? (Alaska - we skipped that formal night!)

How much OBC do we have to spend on alternatives?

Same menus, but they shuffle them depending on ports. For example on Oasis and Freedom, the Eastern and Western itineraries change the order of the menus, and that alters which night is formal

Thanks, that clears up my confusion.

I was just interested in hearing some opinions from other RCI cruisers after having a discussion with some friends. Do any of you go to the MDR for both formal nights, one night, or none of them? For me even though formal nights don't appear to be really FORMAL these days, the only time I typically get to eat lobster and my key lime pie is on formal night #2. My friends say they don't really care about it anymore and would opt for specialty or Windjammer. What are your thoughts?

BECAUSE I was only asking about the 2 designated nights, not the attire. Reading is fundamental. :rolleyes:

Don't worry, I am relaxed, and I can read :D

To me, it seemed like you were asking if it was worth it to people to dress up "more" (even if not really FORMAL) to eat in the MDR on formal nights to get the special menu items available on those nights. To you it is worth it, to your friends it is not.

You didn't ask about attire, but it is not surprising to me at all that when you asked people for their thoughts on the matter they automatically included information about attire. Because that is part of the decision making process on whether it is worth it or they opt for specialty or Windjammer.

Maybe with a poll - How many formal nights do you visit the MDR? - 0, 1 or 2. But even then, the words formal nights would probably bring out discussion. :rolleyes:

Different menus on formal night. Some may consider them more "traditional" and either want them (like me) or not (like some others). Dress wasn't mentioned so I didn't address it in my initial response.

 

I go to the MDR because of the following:

-I have paid for it

-I have paid for the services

-The food is usually very good

 

As I noted, whether or not I go depends on if WJ has an enticing theme. If that happens to be on formal night, I go. If a different night, same answer.

Now I am confused - I thought I remembered reading here that the menus were the same across the fleet - like the day 1 menu is always the same, day 2 and so on. But Formal nights are not always on the same night from itinerary to itinerary?

This is only a vague memory about the menus, so it might not be right, or isn't right any longer.

LOL...OP here! :D

You're right I didn't say ANYTHING about attire, however, I've been chuckling a bit as I've read the responses. I kinda knew that it would be brought into the discussion at some point...I just braced myself for the shift in the conversation. We knew it was coming! This IS Cruise Critic, right?!? ;)

It was brought into the discussion because you asked about MDR on FORMAL nights - if it wasn't about dress at all why mention Formal nights?