NCL Cruiser Doing RC for the First Time ?s

[flyingpirate]

Hi Kids -

 

I'm very excited and a little frightened...experienced and satisfied Freestyler going for our first "traditional" cruise on the Serenade for the shorty Mexico cruise on Monday.

 

I know things are different, but we shall adapt :D

 

NCL has autotip - we tip everyone (DIning, bar) here at the end of the cruise, correct? Room service upon delivery. How about the concierge? Anyone else?

 

We have formal night down, how about the other nights, do we "dress" for dinner. If so, "California Casual", "Steakhouse", "Dinner Party" ?

 

NCL gets the bags up straightaway, how's RC? Should we bring a change to get through the day?

 

Any other tricks or hints to make our first Royal experience better would be sincerely appreciated.;)

 

Thanks in advance and apologies for previously asked and answered questions.

[vmom]

Tip room service. Mid week you'll get a sheet delivered to your stateroom explaining tipping and giving you the choice to have all the tips put on your cruise card account along with envelopes. Its pretty self explanitory. Dress for dinner I would call more country club casual. Sundress, nice slacks or dockers with a nice shirt or polo sort of look. There will be a variety of interpretations as to what this means. Some will be more casual than others.

 

We've always gotten our luggage pretty quickly.

[wrp96]

Tipping: you can either tip your room steward, waiter, assistant waiter, and headwaiter in cash at the end of the cruise, or once you are onboard you can sign up to have the tips added to your SeaPass account. You need to tip room service a few dollars when they deliver items to you. If you order a drink, there will automatically be a 15% tip added to the bill (there will be a line to add more but you don't have to).

 

Dress code: Other than the formal nights, the dress is casual which is no shorts and no tank tops. In general I would say that a pair of Dockers and a polo shirt would be perfect for men. For ladies, sundresses, capris, etc.

 

How soon you get the bags just depends on the workers in the port, how many people got there before you, and how busy your room stewards are. If you think you will want to change throughout the day, then definitely bring a change of clothes in your carry on, because the 2nd you don't that will be when you don't get your bags until after dinner.

[bettye1]

Sounds like you are English. Straighaway. Uh-huh!!! Welcome. On the 7 night cruises there are two formal nights. Many of the ladies dress formally - long dress and all the fluff, just as many dress as you would going to church or to an upscale restaurant. Never too casual - it is frowned upon. The bulletin the night before always tells you what the dress is for the next day. There is a Main Seating at 6 and a Second Seating at 8 PM. Take your pick but that is selected when making the reservation. I went NCL once and the Freestyle was okay but I prefer designated seating. I have met too many great people that way.

 

Usually, the luggage is in your room by 2 PM if you boarded around noon or thereabout, but be prepared for anything to happen. I always have my jewelry and medications with me at all times, and now I take a toothbrush. You just never know.

 

We're going out from Galveston on November 5 on the Rhapsody of the Seas, which happens to be my favorite ship of those I have sailed. The food, the crew, the ambiance, everything is just great. This is my 4th trip on the Rhapsody - same itinerary - I like being at sea. I have just today heard they are bringing in a new ship in Dec 2007 and there is a repositioning of the new ship from Barcelona at that time. I would love to take that cruise and am going to look into it.

 

Happy sailing.:)

[RDeagazio]

Laurel-- You can always skip the formal dress and dine in Chops or Portofino in casual attire. A few in our group are doing this as to not have to pack so much for a 5 nighter.

 

Also, just found out today while on the Summit-- Connie and Stan just got off the Serenade last week, and Capt. George told them the ship would not be in SAN until 1pm. Apparently, there are 20 Canadians that have been on the ship since Vancouver, and because they boarded in a foreign port they don't have to get off in Mexico and will instead be leaving the ship in SAN, which means they will all have to clear Customs etc before we can board. I wouldn't get to the port until 1pm or so. I'm going to watch the port webcam and when I see the ship I'll hop in the car and head down.

[little britain]

I'm very excited and a little frightened...experienced and satisfied Freestyler going for our first "traditional" cruise on the Serenade for the shorty Mexico cruise on Monday.

 

I know things are different, but we shall adapt :D.

Hi Laurel - we are fellow NCL Star passengers and you were kind enough to offer me some good LA tips when we were there a few months back! Anyway we too are taking our first RCL in 2 weeks time - we have prepaid our tips [to make it feel more like NCL!!!] beforehand so no need to worry about that [and as we are Brits we don't tip anyway!!]. Perhaps you can do that too.

I am also dreading being forced to eat at set meal times ....but will board with an 'open' mind!!! We can compare notes afterwards [and decide if we are fleeing back to NCL..!!!] Have a good cruise!

[Pisti]

Little Britain: I just met you on the Roll Call for Bermuda Oct.29, right?

I am doing the opposite of you with some trepidation. Have always cruised traditional style ie. the Explorer but the rest of the family wants to try freestyle so we are booked on the Dawn for Dec. 29. I keep telling myself it's going to be ok but the truth is, since I always wind up being the "organizer" traditional cruising is waaay easier. You know exactly what you're doing every night. No negotiating which dining room and what time tonight. Besides which, I really like dressing for dinner (sigh) I must be getting

old.:rolleyes:

[flyingpirate]

Hi Leslie!

 

So nice to see you again! That's a great idea about the pre-pay, and if anyone is exceptional, we can slip them a little more, then. Good, one less worry. Usually on NCL, it's just the butler, concierge and cabin attendants.

 

This should be fun, an experiment, actually to make my fabulous travel agent happy. And he's leading the group so it should be a blast to travel with him, too:D

 

I'm hoping to do a comparison blog onboard, if not I'll come back and let you know how it went. Probably post it on the NCL board, or maybe here, who knows!

 

Pisti - Don't worry, go with an open mind, Freestyle CAN be easy and fun! And if you want to dress to the twelves, you just go right ahead and you'll look MAHVELOUS!

[flyingpirate]

Bettye - Thanks for all the tips! No, I'm not English...I was an English major in shcool... North American, Californian to boot, dudette! :D I just try to use our common language as was meant;)

 

Bababalu - Even we Freestylers can dress up :p! I actually packed something semi sparkly...sorry about the inconvenient late arrival of the ship, but we shall sleep a tad later, then hit the Evil Highway.

[KillaFee]

I'm interested to hear your comparisons between the two lines when you return. Perhaps you could post one on this board as well?

Also, if you really decide you hate eating at the same time every night you could always skip it and have dinner at the Windjammer. Or, as posted previously, you can eat at Chops or Portofinos. Let us know what you think when you return!

Laura

[little britain]

Little Britain: I just met you on the Roll Call for Bermuda Oct.29, right?

Pisti - yes that is right! I will sit you down with a glass of wine and explain all about Freestyle to you somewhere between NY and Bermuda !!!!! As Flying Pirate says - on their formal night you can get dressed up and on our last cruise I would say 70% did - I wore a long dress..if you follow the links in my sign off to the webshots photos you can see!!!

SYOB [see you on board!]