Newbie with lost of questions

[sharpasice]

I am new (today) to this board and don't quite understand some of the lingo. What is the "hump" people so often refer to when speaking about staterooms? We will be cruising on the Mariner Oct 19th (first cruise in 12 yrs!) and I am unfamiliar with almost everything "cruising" LOL We will be in cabin 9586. I seem to remember the RCCL cruise specialist saying the balcony was bigger on this room, how do I find out? Also, does anyone know anything about theme night? I called RCCL and was told they aren't decided till the week of the cruise ...so how do you know what to pack? (ie: 70's night, masqarade night etc) Any info would be greatly appreciated. :D Oh, and one last question...I keep reading about ppl saying they have a "suite guarantee" or an "oceanview guarantee" what is that, we were never told by our cruise specialist at RCCL about these. Thanks again.

[aloha of the seas]

I think some of your questions can be answered if you go to their website. Ship layouts can be found there and that would give you a good idea where the term "hump" comes from. Also if you start but do not complete a reservation you will see the guarantees. They are not always available. I usually jusy type RCCL.com when I want to go to RCI's website. Hope it helps. Good Sailing, murf

[Coralc]

Welcome to cruise critic. If you look at the deck plans of certain RCCL ships you will see that there are "bulges" along the sides of the ship. On the Radiance class, some of these cabins have larger balconies than others. On the Voyager class (which Mariner is member of) there are bulges, but the balconies are the same size as others. These hump cabins are conveniently located to the elevators though. :)

 

I don't know anything about theme nights. We don't participate.

 

Guarantee pricing is only available on some sailings. You can check if they might be available by "pretending" to book your crruise on the Royal Caribbean website. Sometimes the cost for a guarantee is less than that of an assigned cabin. For a lower price...you let the cruise line decide where to place you. Your cabin might be anywhere on the ship in the categoory that you book. :D Enjoy your cruise!

[Gonzo70]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Stateroom 9586 does not appear to have a larger than normal balcony on the deck plan. It is near the middle of the ship so it has the advantages of being closely located to most public areas and is more stable than a room near the front or back of the ship (you tend to feel less motion near the middle). It also has the advantage of having a stateroom directly above and below, so no problems with noise from a club/lounge, restaurant, pool etc.

 

A little more information about guarantees. As the other posted mentioned, when you book a gaurantee the cruise line picks your particular stateroom (sometimes soon after you book, sometime not until you arrive at the pier or anytime in between). It has the advantage of generally being cheaper and it also increases your chances of an upgrade. However, you are far from gauranteed an upgrade and often end up with undesireable staterooms (i.e. an oceanview with portholes instead of a window, a stateroom right under the nightclub etc.). If you book a guaranteed oceanview it means you will be assigned to an oceanview stateroom or higher category - they would not downgrade you to an inside, but might upgrade you to a balcony if you are very lucky). A guaranteed suite means you are sure to get a suite, but they will choose which one.

 

Feel free to ask any other questions and have a great cruise. :)

[alcpa1]

I too remember when theme night was the best night of the cruise but RCI does not really do it anymore. It went the way of the passenger talent show and the bridge tour.

If I am looking at your cabin correctly, you have a standard E1 cabin. It is no bigger or smaller than any cabin in its class. You must upgrade to a D or higher to get a larger balcony and cabin. It will be comfortable but if your TA told you it was bigger she/he is mistaken. Just take a good look at a deck plan and you will clearly see this.

Another explanation of the guarantee is: the cruiseline will guarantee you a cabin in the class you are booking or if you are really lucky an available cabin in a higher class. You will never be booked in a lower class cabin. The cruiseline will assign your cabin and you have no choice of location. It's a toss up on a ship this large. For example if you were booking an E guarantee you could end up in a cabin from decks 6 through 10. You could be fore or aft or midships...anywhere.

Enjoy your cruise.

[sharpasice]

Actually the class IS D1.....and we booked on the phone about a year ago through RCCL...strange thing, is I can no longer get hold of the specialist who set this up for us though I have spoken to others there who are ver nice but no one ever mentioned the "guarantee" thing. There are no real problems, just questions. I want to thank all of you who responded...I appreciate all your comments.

Just a note: I am sooo exicted by this cruise...I have not seen my Mom who lives in FL for two years and is taking this cruise....SHE has NO idea we will be on the ship!!! They, Mom & Stepdad, Aunt and Uncle (who know we are cruising with them) are on level 7 in cabins with the same classification and I was just wondering what the difference is...I guess it must be the view from higher up ?! I am all set with disguise (!) large hat & sunglasses..same for hubby so Mom won't recognize us if she sees up on the dock prior to boarding...hoping to have a bottle of wine delivered to her room and knock on her door after muster! Again thanks all...Linda

[honeywell]

Looks like a D2 from the deck plan of Mariner...double check with your TA http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/ship/decks/deck/home.do?deckCode=09&shipCode=MA&shipProfile=1083&sailDate=1080921&hasNavigation=false

[JanineM]

...hoping to have a bottle of wine delivered to her room and knock on her door after muster! Again thanks all...Linda

 

Sounds like you are going to have a fantastic surprise for your Mom!!! We have sailed on Mariner 3 times and absolutely love it. Keep in mind when you arrive at Port Canaveral that there are two different lines through security when you enter the port, but then everyone winds up in a huge room where they check in. You may want to ask your Aunt & Uncle what time they plan to arrive so you don't run into them there. You can embark pretty much anytime from 11 am to 4 pm. Staterooms are available after 1 pm, so until then most people go to the Windjammer for lunch and just wander around the ship.

 

You can go to "Gifts and Gear" through the Royal Caribbean website and order a bottle of wine to be delivered to your mom's stateroom. You can select when it will be delivered (the day) - so you could have it delivered on embarkation day and it would be in the room when they arrive. They will also delivered glasses & an ice bucket (if appropriate).

 

There is normally a note attached saying who is sending the gift, so you might want to think of something fun to keep the secret going. If you do the Gifts & Gear you pre-pay with your credit card. Our pets are always kind enough to gift us with some wine in our stateroom :D

[ERTHDOG]

op- VERY cool arrangement you have made:) you all are gonna love it. i wish i could get my mom and aunt to go on a cruise,but they resist:(

 

dave

[Desert Cruizers]

Shar my recommendation, is if you decide on a future cruise, check you Deck Plans of the ship your going on, and pick the room you wish right away. As others mentioned, a gurantee is simply that, you will have a room somehwere on your ship in the Category you selected. Only time we saw a theme night was on our 1st RCL cruise on the BOS, we really enjoyed the evening. I don't recall knowing the theme until night before, which was Western and DH just happened to pack a Western shirt. Enjoy your Cruise.

[bobbie0253]

Oh that will be fun! We suprised my mom and dad like that once. We decided 6 days before they sailed that we wanted to go too. We called and booked the cruise then called my parents TA and had them link our resevations for dinner seating. We hid out until dinner time and then walked in after they were seated. I tapped on my moms shoulder and said "Excuse me...are these seats taken??" She turned around and screamed...then cried... then told anyone who would listen the story. LOL

 

It was mom and dad's first cruise. Now they are hooked ;)

 

Have fun it will be something you both remember for a very long time!

[hoop4321]

Oh that will be fun! We suprised my mom and dad like that once. We decided 6 days before they sailed that we wanted to go too. We called and booked the cruise then called my parents TA and had them link our resevations for dinner seating. We hid out until dinner time and then walked in after they were seated. I tapped on my moms shoulder and said "Excuse me...are these seats taken??" She turned around and screamed...then cried... then told anyone who would listen the story. LOL

 

It was mom and dad's first cruise. Now they are hooked ;)

 

Have fun it will be something you both remember for a very long time!

 

 

what a great story:)

[sharpasice]

honeywell, I think you are right D2 not D1...my mistake. I said that from memory..looks like the ol' memory ain't what it used to be LOL

[sharpasice]

Bobbie0253, How cool is that! Bet they will remember that forever! So it CAN be done. LOL Linda

[stompy]

I am new (today) to this board and don't quite understand some of the lingo. What is the "hump" people so often refer to when speaking about staterooms? We will be cruising on the Mariner Oct 19th (first cruise in 12 yrs!) and I am unfamiliar with almost everything "cruising" LOL We will be in cabin 9586. I seem to remember the RCCL cruise specialist saying the balcony was bigger on this room, how do I find out? Also, does anyone know anything about theme night? I called RCCL and was told they aren't decided till the week of the cruise ...so how do you know what to pack? (ie: 70's night, masqarade night etc) Any info would be greatly appreciated. :D Oh, and one last question...I keep reading about ppl saying they have a "suite guarantee" or an "oceanview guarantee" what is that, we were never told by our cruise specialist at RCCL about these. Thanks again.

 

We're sailing on Voyager in 9572 just down the hall from you (and on a another ship, but who's counting...?)

 

You do not have a HUMP cabin but it looks like a nice E1 cabin with a balcony

 

 

 

The guarantee cabins are somewhat less expensive - you don't get assigned your cabin # till right before sailing. They tend to have obstructed views or are in less desirable locations on the ship but they also seem to be more prone to having the upgrade fairy visit them

 

Enjoy your vacation, I'm sure you'll have a blast.