MNfamilycruiser

Did you do a whale watch excursion, looking to do one in Juneau but so many to choose from any suggestions.

We did one in Icy Straight Point because there is not much else to do there. It was a very small boat, only 6 of us onboard. Glacier Wind Charters.

Thanks! We did not book the cruise tour...and it looks like they might be full. I'm not sure what we are doing...booked adjoining ocean views(the ship was 90% full at time of booking and no balcony/near inside available) but we are finding ourselves a little discouraged...ALaska land is proving to be more expensive than we expected, the train to Seward will be almost $400 for the family and the small hotel in Seward is quite a bit...and the more I look around at Anchorage area and Denali I am honestly not that excited. TO really see Denali and wildlife you have to do a 10 hour bus tour (and friends that did that last summer actually saw no bears, moose, etc.) The cruise looks fabulous but main state Alaska...not so much. My husband already has his work booked off so we are solid on our dates. We are actually looking and penciling out a trip to Norway instead.Norwegian Air flies out nearby and the rates are good... hotels are cheaper there and things to see and do cheaper...however renting a car, gas, and food are much more expensive. But we can get transportation and lodging in Norway for that time period for the amount of just our cruise..over $6000. Wondering if we should cancel and book that same cruise for 2017 when the rooms are first put up for sale.

Yes, I would wait to go in 2017. We booked the day the Alaskan cruises were released. The prices only went up after we booked. We were booking all of our private excursions in December and January before our May cruise because the best private tours fill up. If you could possibly go a different time prices will be cheaper also. We went the last week in May/beginning of June - Memorial Day was in that week. My husband couldn't take that much time off work - so we just went a few days early and spent the time in Anchorage. We had the first southbound trip from Seward to Vancouver. Remember about the time change - by the time we arrived in Anchorage we had been travelling for nearly 20 hours. The next day we were pretty tired and didn't do much until late afternoon.

I just wanted to bring this thread to the front since an older version apparently got resurrected.;)

But I am starting to consider some transportation questions. We will have approximately 2 days pre-cruise, we are staying at The Square. Going from airport to hotel, hotel to ship, ship to airport after cruise - my main concern is that we will have 5 people with luggage. Everyone can handle their own luggage, but I think it might not be that easy to get a taxi that can hold all of us plus luggage, and that it might be difficult for all of us to be getting on a bus together.

Are there any suggestions, recommendations for transportation for us?

Yes - It sure is the famous PDF.

Thank you so so much for posting this.

I will have s go at posting this in my siggy. Hopefully I get a chance soon. Way to much going on at the moment.

Lars

When I click on that link in your siggy, I get an error, page not found. I used the world with the little chain link on it. But originally I had to google it, and just copy and paste the link address without opening it. Because as soon as I clicked the link it downloaded the pdf, then I couldn't figure out how to post that.

This one I just copied the link address and pasted: http://www.visitalesund-geiranger.com/ImageVault/Images/id_5084/scope_512/ImageVaultHandler.aspx

This one I used the insert link from the top of the message box: http://www.visitalesund-geiranger.com/ImageVault/Images/id_5084/scope_512/ImageVaultHandler.aspx

Pdf sent:-)

 

If anyone reading this thred knows how to post the PDF as a link I would appreciate the help.

Is this the pdf you are sharing?:

http://www.visitalesund-geiranger.com/ImageVault/Images/id_5084/scope_512/ImageVaultHandler.aspx

I think that worked. I googled it, copied the link address, then inserted the link here. It seems to contain the same walking tours that you have described and posted before. If this is correct, you might be able to copy the link into your signature.

By the way, thank you so much for all the effort and help you have done for those visiting your lovely country! I think I have read all the pages and have also made a word document for the ports we will visit. When I get a chance to review, I might have some questions.

DH and I are both introverts and I do understand your point. This I suppose is at the heart of the matter, whether you cruise to meet other people from different backgrounds or not. We do. We describe ourselves as destination cruisers. But the people are part of the destination. Our last cruise was a back to back from Southampton and one of the more interesting discussion points at dinner concerned the Royal family. As Canadians we have the Queen but it would be fair to say she's not as big a part of our world view as if we were British. Cruising out of Southampton first dinner table was all for deposing the rights of the Prince of Wales. First thing we were asked as we sat down was whether we were 'right thinking' on this matter! Second cruise were all from Cornwall, adored the Duchess of Cornwall and were serious Prince Charles supporters. So interesting to hear the difference.

 

As introverts, we also need that cabin time to recover from extensive bouts of chit chat but I have been dining out on those discussions ever since. Both tables had very mixed economic classes. One fellow who described himself as a 'carpet fitter' next to a lady from Beverly Hills with diamonds so big they could only be described as "rocks" (and pretty sparkly ones too). We found that really really interesting. If the ships move more and more to association spaces by socioeconomic lines, I would miss that opportunity. But it does add conversational challenges, stress and, sometimes difficult social moments as someone firmly puts foot in mouth through lack of social understanding.

 

So you make a good point about what folks hope to get from the cruise. Not having to engage is as important as engagement. Having the choice as to which you want is important too. I suppose there is some sense by many that the opportunity to meet a broad spectrum of people is being limited as the ships reconfigure.

Interesting! We usually cruise with our children - so even if we ask to be put at a bigger table....we aren't :rolleyes: By the time of our next cruise they will be 17 and 18 - so we will see. I would love it, but am guessing it won't happen until they are over 21. The fact that we are travelling as a family of 4 has probably made more difference in our experience than anything else.

Thank you all. I think this will work out well. So to use an example, there's a Serenade cruise for 11 nights and the price of the ocean view cabin before discounts and port tax and fees is $1819. The price of a balcony after the 30% off sale is $1818. So I can book, for 125K points, a balcony companion fare and have only to pay $18 overage for it. That looks okay to me. :D

Everything must be based on the same pricing. If you are using the 30% off for the balcony, they will use the 30% off for the price of the min available ocean view. But you can wait to redeem your points to see if the min ocean view price goes higher. It is easiest just to call and let them give you the correct prices they will be using. You don't have to book at that time - they will just tell you how it would work for the particular sailing you are looking at.

Hi Everyone,

We are think of sailing to Alaska this year and can get a balcony aft cabin on deck ten. We also have a choice of a JS, but towards the back and not an aft cabin. We love the JS on RC, but can't decide if we want to give up the extra room of a JS to go for the aft balcony room. We have always wanted an aft cabin so this will be our first. It is only a seven day cruise.

Thanks

We had an aft balcony cabin on Radiance in Alaska - we really liked it because of less wind. I had shorts on for a little while when we were viewing Hubbard Glacier - then the sun went behind a cloud ;)

When I posted earlier about my childhood experience with cruise classes I think the thing that most made an impression on me and my friends was that if we followed the rules, we children would not have met each other.

 

Regardless of the financial status of each family we enjoyed each other and thought it was stupid we weren't supposed to play together. Play was play and fun was fun. That was important to us.

 

I offer this to the discussion. If as a suite passenger you have your own restaurant, sun lounge and drinks bar, when do you meet the community of passengers?

Maybe we are introverts and not really interested in meeting the community of passengers ;) Actually - I have never been on one of the bigger ships with all the private areas, so I am kidding.

But the point about being introverted is true - we cruise for the ports and tend to spend more time in our cabin than many people.

Suite perks now: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/enhanced-program-for-suites-guests-v7.pdf

 

 

Suite perks after May 2016: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/RoyalSuiteClass

If you are not on an Oasis or Harmony class ship - will the suite benefits be unchanged after May? They must be....otherwise :eek::eek:

The day before I was due to fly out I received an email from my TA with an attached letter from Celebrity with regards to the 2nd leg of this B2B:

 

We are writing to you today to provide some important information for this mutual guests forthcoming cruise on board Celebrity Solstice departing 3rd March 2016.

 

Due to the latest BVK regulations from the Indonesian Government, it has been advised that all UK visitors arriving into Bali on a cruise ship, through the port of Benoa, will be required to purchase a VOA (Visit on Arrival Visa), irrespective of whether guests are disembarking the ship or not.

The cost is $35.00 per person and will be automatically applied to the guests Sea Pass Account on board. Should guests already have a passport with the appropriate Visa or, due to nationality, not require one, then this fee will be waived.

 

Further details can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Website through the following link.

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/indonesia/entry-requirements

 

Just love the bit where I’d get charged whether I go ashore or not. None of the other Brits on the roll call had been made aware of this.

:D Looking forward to reading your blog....someday we will be able to take a trip like this!

Thanks, that's what I thought. The non-discount (pre-BOGHO) rate for my current cabin was a ridiculously inflated $1,800 per person for an E3. We booked it for about $1,250 per person with the "discount". I think at this point I am going to redeem $150,000 points for $1,500 off our balance due. Disappointing to get less value for more points! I guess all good things must come to an end eventually! They were probably losing too much revenue under the advertised system, had to figure a way around it.

Yes - we used our points and just cancelled the card. Just not worth it any more.

Can you tell me your process for finding a qualifying rate? I have tried every angle I can think of to get a free cruise without luck! We cashed in points for a free cruise 2 years ago and it was so simple--we booked a balcony cabin and paid the upgrade difference plus taxes. I was so excited as we neared the 125,000 point mark this spring...nothing but frustration since as I try to figure out the best way to apply my points! :mad:

You can use the points - they just have to price it without the BOGOHO, and that not-discounted price has to be under the price limit set for the points.

In our case it was a free 3-4 day cruise in an oceanview room (50,000 pts) , we applied the value of that category of room to the JS we actually booked. It was only a few dollars less than getting the $500 off.

So while you can do it, the value is just not what it used to be - it used to be that you could get a value of nearly double the points - spend 50,000 points and get a stateroom valued at nearly $1000 - but it just doesn't work out that way anymore. That is why many are switching to cards that do offer 2% or 3% back.

I am talk about the status class system which seems to exist. As said previously it may not be as evident on the ship as it is here. I hope not.

I have never found it evident on the ship. People are willing to say things online that they would rarely say in person, and it is easy to misunderstand the tone of online conversations as well.

Hi MNfamilycruiser, lucky you going away in 2 days. If you can let us know when you get back about prices of drinks that would be awesome and if they have any specials during your cruise. Thanks heaps and happy holidays

I asked about the soda cans - they were $2.66 with gratuity.

No specials - if you mean sales - but they really wouldn't have needed to. This was a 3 day Halloween cruise and they sold PLENTY without and special sales ;)

Hi MNfamilycruiser

I found the price on page 2 of this thread. We are not drinkers and mainly drink cordial, water or occassionaly soft drink. Thanks for your reply

I couldn't figure out which it was, but I will be on in 2 days - I'll look and report back. :cool:

Hi Gunters Oma

First time cruiser so just a couple of questions regarding drinks. What drinks are included on a cruise? Are the soft drinks $2.25 a can plus gratuities (which I believe is 18%) or if I have prepaid tips and gratuities are the cans just $2.25. Totally confused as to how this works. Any information you have will be helpful. Thanks

Water (not bottled), lemonade, ice tea, regular coffee, hot tea are included for free.

Your tips and gratuities that you paid are for the housekeeping staff and the dining staff that will be serving you throughout the cruise. I believe the cost of most drinks listed includes the tip for the bar staff.

I don't know about the exact price of a soft drink can that you listed - so I don't know if it includes the tip already in that price or not. Where did you find that price?

Here is a recent review, she posted both the compasses and the Adventure Ocean information I think.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2269176

There are some ports where airfare might be reasonable, but ground transportation can be quite expensive. Port Canaveral is one such port; another is Houston/Galveston. I'm never cruised out of either port, but I wonder if it might be one of those rare instances where it might make more sense for the OP to take the cruiseline's transfers, depending on how many are in his/her party. Driving a car on vacation is out of the question - for me - but it might be a good alternative for the OP.

Usually more expensive than the alternatives.

I Agree 100% :confused:

Some of us are quite restricted on time - comparing a quick trip to Vegas as a getaway vs. a 3 day weekend cruise - the cruise was cheaper. You have to fly either way :D

I've looked at cruises from PC, but I can't seem to put together anything that makes sense financially when I factor in the cost of the airfare and the ground transportation to and from the port. Virtually every combination I've come up with so far exceeds the cost of the cruise.

 

Is this a "Florida residents only" departure port?

That is weird - Orlando is one of the cheapest airports for us to fly into :confused:

Unless it has to do with school vacation times - you are checking flights at a time that tons of families with kids are going to Orlando?

Booking a sort of last minute 3-day getaway next month on Enchantment. I have sailed her before but only in a JS, and this time I'm looking at a D1.

 

What I have now is cabin 7594, but I'm reading that only the stretch cabins have the rocketship shower doors, and the others have the dreaded curtains. Anyone know if this is true? There is one cabin available in the stretch area which I could switch to if this is the situation. Although it's a bit farther from the elevators, I'll gladly walk a bit more to avoid that clingy curtain!

 

Also, any opinions on Port or Starboard being a better choice for port views?

 

Thanks. :)

I can't answer your question:( ...but I have one for you. What about the JS - do they have shower curtains or something else?

cruiserke;48065193']No' date=' you go to https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/ but you scroll all the way to the very bottom of the page, and in the left corner you select the country.[/quote']

 

Aha! I never saw that before :D:D Thanks for the help

cruiserke;48064988']Let me be the dissenting voice and speak about my own experience: I'd advise your friend to book online on the Royal Caribbean site' date=' with the country set to Netherlands.

 

I live in Belgium and like the Netherlands, we are too small a country to have a dedicated Royal Caribbean office. If I book via the Royal Caribbean site (set to country = Belgium) I get the best of both worlds - the same cancellation fee schedule as the US, but the payments are in my local currency, Euro.

 

This means I don't deal with the danger of currency fluctuations which can make your cruise much more expensive at final payment than you thought it would be when you booked.

 

I have on multiple occasions when booked like this and when noticing a price drop, cancelled my booking and rebooked at the new, lower price. There is no cancellation cost, and because the booking is in the currency of my credit card, no extra conversion fee.

 

And, for reasons I fail to understand, but am very happy with, the price of my next Royal cruise - Harmony o/t Seas next year August - was much, much cheaper when booked on the Belgian site than on either the UK or US one - total of 1,200 USD cheaper for two than booking via the US or UK site!

 

I just now did a mock booking of that Harmony cruise, and though the price has gone up sine I booked, on both the Dutch and Belgian site the cost of a D8 Balcony for two (with Diamond C&A discount) comes to 1,600 USD per person (but, again, quoted and to be paid in euro). Changing the country setting to US the price for the same cabins comes to 2,000 USD per person and changing to UK the prices comes to the same 2,000 USD (though quoted in GBP, natch).

 

So, I would strongly advise your friend to have a good look for the cruise he is interested in, and don't hesitate to book on the Royal Caribbean Dutch site.[/quote']

Thanks for the info

So you go through the royalcaribbean.co.uk but when the time comes to enter your personal information you are just putting in the correct country?

Ports!

With that many ports, and stuff to do in each of them - how much time is spent on the ship anyway?

My kids have always been way more excited to do things in port and to see new places. They like being on the ship, but it has been more about the friends they happen to meet or who we are cruising with than specific activities available on board.

That being said...ask them which they would prefer and how important it is to them. :D