lajbec

Just prepay or charge your account automatically daily. Easy no brainer. Everybody gets tipped. Zero stress. Zero need to get cash or change. Yes. You can opt out but why stress about it and mess with it? Seriously. Not worth it!

We didn't as we weren't paying the fare (Maya Chan paid).

You should have received very detailed instructions from them as an email attachment. You walk through the port to the taxi stand. Someone will be there from maya chan. Tell them your name and number in party. They check your name from their list, they get you a cab, tell the driver where to go (sometimes they put another party with you depending on vehicle size) and off you go.

The instructions include the best route through the port.

I sleep at night with a fan going, not only for air circulation but also as background/white noise.

 

I'm taking my first cruise on NCL, and I've come across a few posts of people mentioning they've had electrical fans taken away from them upon boarding. Would I be better off buying a battery-operated fan, and bringing that? It would be a small table fan; not a large floor fan :-). As long as it makes noise and pushes the air around a bit, I think I'll be fine.

Hi,

 

We are sailing on Allure of thr sea in January, 2019. We have booked the Ultimate dinning package and Ultimate drink package. Do you still have to tip the wait staff?

 

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Great. And they don't max out with people? I'd hate to take a taxi there and have it be full.

I was planning on doing Playa Mia on our own, seems a lot more reasonably priced that way.

 

What happens if it rains? Can you get refunded? Or do you not pre-purchase your entry?

Hubby and I sail in <7 days! and I'm not sure whether or not to buy binoculars for the trip. It would be nice to see some marine life from our balcony or out on the ship somewhere, but I doubt we'd use them much.

 

 

What do y'all do? Do you pack them? or not even bother?

If you do bring them, what would you recommend I get?

 

 

Thanks.

Our daughter enjoyed both. We did Med when she was 7.5 and Alaska when she was 12.5. She really enjoyed the Vatican and Valencia. Alaska she said our best day was in Glacier Bay just sitting on our balcony and looking at nature through binoculars. Of course, our child is very quite and reserved and is content, most days, reading a book or drawing. If your child is outdoorsy and very active, hiking in Alaska would be more their speed.

Try reading this thread that covered this exact topic a while back. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2595004

Thanks, we definitely plan to go it on our own and not do an excursion. With so many ships in port do you think that at the height of the day it'd be too crowded? y daughter (age 6) really wants to do the inflatables but I think I'd be worried if there were too many people on them..

The kid section is close to the bathrooms, food, and a bar so we chill over there. It is also not as loud as out by the beach and that pool.

I know Nachi and Mr Sanchos only sell a certain number of tickets to avoid over crowding. Is Playa Mia the same or do they let it get super crowded?

 

I ask because there are 432526 ships in port that day (well , not quite but there are a LOT - 29,000 pax) Thank you!

 

Passengers: 29787 (Carnival dream, MSC armonia, Costa Deliziosa, NCL getaway, Regal Princess, Carnival Vista, Harmony of the seas, empress of the seas, nieuw statendam)

Playa Mia is pretty big. We get there early. Stake our claim by one of the pools, make friends with our waiter, and enjoy our stay while watching our daughter play in the pool.

Also, going on your own, you have many choices of tickets to choose (all inclusive, ala carte).

Our next cruise takes us to Amber Cove and Grand Turk. I was wondering when you are in these ports can you use your Ship Card to pay for things like the zipline at Amber Cove or renting a snorkel and mask in Grand Turk or a pool float, umbrella etc. What about the Pool Bars at these ports. I imagine Margaritaville in Grand Turk would not take your cruise card but what about the pool bar at Amber Cove? Thanks in advance for any info.

Any chance of getting a balcony cabin because there will be a fridge in there.

I will be cruising with msc in october with my husband and my 2 years old.

Should I choose an higher deck?

Front, middle, back of the ship?

Thank you

I will be cruising with msc in october with my husband and my 2 years old.

Should I choose an higher deck?

Front, middle, back of the ship?

Thank you

We used an extension cord for cpaps (2) and used the USB ports next to each side of our bed to charge our electronics.

I was just reading a post about pay toilets, and someone talked about about being on a ship excursion in Bruges where the guide moved so fast it was hard to keep up. I didn't want to hijack that thread, but it reminded me about the number of times we've been in that situation. We are "senior citizens" who try to keep active and do a lot of walking. But we can't move as fast as a 20 something guide. And there are always several other older people in the same boat. Once in Pisa we had a long distance from the bus parking lot into the walled old city. We practically ran. Then, after our tour we only had a short break to take pictures, then were to meet outside the wall. We almost didn't make it back in time, and then the busload took off at a trot back to the bus behind our flag-waving guide. Once we got on the bus the guide remarked casually that "almost everyone" was there. She went on to say that it "happened every time". Didn't that tell her something!?! When some of us protested, worrying about the people left behind, she assured us that they could take a taxi or something to get back to the ship on their own! Of course, we complained to HAL, but I doubt if anything changed.

Forget about points when traveling abroad. Find a credit card with no FX fees. The credit card companies charge about 2.5-3.0% to exchange foreign currency to your own. Some cards have no added exchange fees. Just pay the prevailing bank rate. Always choose to pay your credit card purchase in the local currency of where you are. Sometimes the merchants also try to make the exchange spread. The 2.5% is better than any point rewards but then some of these cards offer decent points too.

All of these cards (except capital one) deposit their points directly into my hotel and airline accounts so when I go to book a flight or room at those sites. I click "use miles or use points). Easy.

Capital one, you redeem the points on their website as rebates to your purchase (for the card I have).

We tend to use our cards for certain purposes and pay them off in full each month so I have no ide what the interest rate is on any of them. Never get a points card if you intend to carry a balance, it cancels out any benefit.

We also have almost perfect credit which means we open and close cards to obtain bonuses with little effort or effect to our scores. If your credit is below "high" YMMV.

Using points cards is a game. You have to know when to use them to maximize your benefit. Some offer supplemental travel insurance at no cost but the entire trip must be purchased using that card... a certain amount must be spent to get a sign on bonus within a certain time frame... some have annual spend requirements to get the "annual" benefit.

We generally focus on one card at a time until we have fulfilled that card's requirement. For example. My Hilton amex requires 15k in purchases to get a free weekend night annually (basically anywhere in the world). If we stay at a Hilton family property, I get bonus points for having the card, and get bc even more bonus for paying with it while I'm there. This card also provides me free lounge access at a lot of airports with free snacks and beverages.

Once that is met, we move onto the AA cards to make sure that we spend the minimums on them to get flight campanion tickets for $99(anywhere in US) , our bags fly free and earn miles on every purchase. Our Barclays card also gave us a statement credit to offset our global entry application so we now have TSA pre check and global entry when going through customs.

We put EVERYTHING on these cards and only begrudgingly carry and use cash. This includes when we travel internationally.

If your annual spend is less than 5k, getting a points card is not for you, especially. if it has an annual fee. BUT if you can get a card with no annual fee or waiver first year, do your spend. Get your bonus and close it... let the points game begin...

I was there in December with a group of six of us. Our 4th time there, The food was awesome, drinks were watered down and massages were not very good. We were disappointed. Will be back in two weeks and hoping the experience is better.

 

 

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Last trip I had maybe two drinks. The food, experience, activities is well worth it. They are checking on you every 15-30 minutes to see if you need anything. Haven't received that attention ANYWHERE on any island for what they charge. It will always be my only place to go in Costa Maya!

Between here and Trip Advisor, the reviews are stellar. It sounds like a very nice day. The question I have is that I am not a big drinker. One drink, possibly 2, would be plenty for me. Knowing that would it still be decent value to spend the $120 for 2 people?

We went in March 2017 and were a party of 6 (3 adults and 3 tweens) and only 1 person in our party drank alcohol. My husband and I are diet coke (,coke lite) drinkers and the kids slammed back at least $40 worth each of smoothies (Oreo being our daughters favorite) and virgin drinks.

The guac and chips...SO good! We had fish and pork tacos for lunch...yum! I had emailed when I reserved that the kids in are party were picky and he asked what they would like as to make sure they would enjoy their time...we asked for hot dogs and fries! They had hot dogs especially prepared for the 3 tweens!!

I used to avoid port stops in Costa maya, after being to Maya Chan, I would look for ones specifically to go there.

I'm happy to read that the roads are fixed but Ivjyst thought it added to the adventure. I grew up on rural Tennessee with pitted gravel roads were normal everyday commutes so this was nothing. The kids got a laugh out of the overly dramatic "city folk" who shared our van from the pier... it was really cool to see the ocean during our drive there and back.

Nice to get out of the touristy area. I don't think that we've ever had any better service any where EVER. My brother who went with us (the drinker) who is tight with a buck said he would have paid twice what we paid...

The kids gave it 6 thumbs up as they sipped their smoothies in the hammock or played in the sand in our little corner of the world (they will deny ever playing in the sand..)

Have fun!

C&A Benefits

how can I Change the welcome amenity ??

Earlier I was able to change if I like Coke or Juice or water, I can't find this point anymore.

I try to serach here ich CC, but maybe I use the wrong words to search ?

Pls. help.and thank you in advance

link don't work:

In addition, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members can go online to www.RoyalCaribbean. com/UpgradePreferences or call one of our Loyalty Representatives (www.RoyalCaribbean.com/ContactLoyalty) in their local offices to preselect from a list of beverages to be included with their welcome waters & snack.

Thank you. So in the MDR is that all they can get with their meal?

 

Do you know how much 1 soda (like a Sprite or Cocacola) would be?

 

Thank you

A 12 oz can of soda is going to be about $3.50 (which includes the 18% gratuity).

The soda package is unlimited soda from the fountain (doesnt include canned, although some have said they have been successful in getting cans, but dont count on it). Some ships have the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that can be used with the package but the special cup that you are provided with the package to use.

If scuba is not your thing, and if it's offered. SNUBA is an alternative. Kinda like scuba but the tanks are on a dingy and you dive with just a long hose. Grand Cayman is really awesome. I've not done snubs there but in Mexico.

We like the Turtle Farm and Hell. The dolphin encounter is across the road from the Turtle Farm.

What is the latest time A person can disembark a cruise ship? The reason I’m asking is we have a 5pm flight home

RCCL tends to get people off the ship fast but you may end up waiting to go through customs for a long time (again, it depends). You can always take an excursion from the ship to kill time as well. They pick you up from the ship, load your luggage on their bus, tour you around, and drop at the airport.

If your disembarkation city offers the service (some do, some don't), luggage valet (where cruise line works with airport & airline to convey your luggage directly to your flight) is awesome and avoid the "what yo do with my big bags" dilemma.

To those who have been to Civi station: did you see an elevator somewhere? I'm a wheelchair user, so it's critical for me. I really want to save money by taking the train, but of course, I want to avoid potential issues.

https://www.sagetraveling.com/accessible-cruise-ports-rome-civitavecchia-italy