Jessie2013

I have a few questions regarding a modified/alternative muster drill location & procedure.

My dh & I have cruised several times before. We are sailing on the Freedom of the Seas in December with our 4 year old son & my in-laws (who have never cruised before). This is our retirement gift to them so both cabins are under the same reservation. However, it was most cost effective to put my dh & I in separate cabins since we had past guest discounts. Since booking the cruise in January of this year, I've been diagnosed with something that will prevent me from being able to do the standard muster drill. I understand that I can get a dr note to request an alternative. My questions are:

Can anyone explain/describe the non-standard muster drill?

Will our party be split up & the rest of my group be required to do the standard muster drill? I ask because I prefer not to be separated from my dh & young son during that process (I've always found it the most chaotic part of cruising) and my in-laws will not feel comfortable (having never cruised before) doing it on their own. They are easily overwhelmed by the crowds, instructions, etc. Given that my dh is technically assigned to a different cabin, I didn't know if we'd need to be apart for the drill if I receive a modified muster drill accommodation.

In a related question, I am needing to drink 32 oz of Gatorade everyday for medical reasons, will I be allowed to bring a case of unopened Gatorade onto the ship with us? Thank you!

We are cruising (Royal Caribbean) in December. It will be myself, hubby, 4 year old son, and my in-laws. My in-laws have never cruised before. It's our first time cruising out of Port Canaveral. We live out of state, but have a vacation home 3 miles from Disney World. We would like to extend our cruise vacation by adding on a few days before/after at our vacation home (in-laws would enjoy time at WDW & a longer trip).

Ship leaves on Sunday, December 14. We would fly in on the 10th, get a rental car from MCO & drive to the house. I was thinking we could then drop off the rental car on the 14th in the a.m. at the cruise port rental agency (is this possible? How far away is this?) and board the ship.

When we dock on the 21st, how easy will it be to get a rental car for a day/few hours & then drop that back off at MCO before our flight that evening? I haven't booked flights yet- would it be better to just try to book a early flight? I'm trying to avoid a long day of waiting for our flight with nothing to do (and a young child). So far, there are really early flights & later afternoon flights...nothing at the ideal 12:00 time or so that I would love :)

What would you do? Any advice would be really helpful!

My hubby and I are frequent travelers, along with our 4 year old son. We've cruised a few times and always enjoyed it and my in-laws have made comments about wanting to cruise. They both retired this year and have a modest retirement budget so we knew that a cruise wouldn't be possible for them unless we paid for it. For their retirement gift, we booked the FOS for a 7 day Eastern itinerary (St. Thomas, Coco Cay, and St. Maarten).

We just returned with them from a trip to Disney (i *know* cruising & WDW are totally different- but just hear me out). My MIL has had hip replacement surgery 2 years ago & honestly never followed through with her physical therapy & as a result is very unsteady and stiff when she walks. I could recognize this at home but whenever we see her it's usually for big gatherings (where I assume she's exhausted & that's why she wants to sit and rest) or if she comes over & is slow moving around, I thought it was because she was just stiff because she just got moving & had been sitting too long. We went to Disney & we planned for 2 1/2 days in the parks with them (it ended up being 4 hours in one park and 2.5 in the other). Before we left she said she'd need a wheelchair, so we rented one. On the other days, we did very little except go to a resort for dinner and that lack of activity seemed to please her quite well. I should note that my in-laws are in their mid 60's, so not old at all.

We're home now & I am genuinely concerned about the cruise & my gut instinct is that it will be a waste of a trip. She doesn't like the idea of being in a wheelchair so she only wants a manual one that someone has to push her but yet she simply does not want to get up and move, almost ever. She just wants to sit (I now know that this is a lifestyle choice that existed well before hip issues). I think walking from the cabin to deck 4 for dinner will be all that she'll really want to do. The effort needed to get off the ship will probably not be worth it to her & that doesn't even consider what is needed to actually navigate around the island.

My hubby and I are not rock-climbing kind of active people and we do enjoy plenty of uninterrupted time sitting on our balconies. I know she will WANT to explore the ship, see the islands, etc. but will likely choose to remain pretty sedentary (but feel upset because she's missing out). Can someone help me understand if a cruise will still be worth it. I know that plenty of people go on a ship and spend 7 days on their balcony or in a bar or relaxing somewhere, but these circumstances are different because that's not what she WANTS to go on a ship to do.

Specifically-

Is a cruise ship a poor vacation to gift to them if she chooses/can't/won't move around a lot but yet will want to?

How do those in manual wheelchairs navigate around the ship? How difficult is it?

On the islands, would you say it's still possible to enjoy them if you don't want to be on a beach AND don't want to do walking? What would some examples be of the activities to do? (We've taken the island tours before, which usually have landed somewhere of interest where you can walk & shop, I don't know if they are all like that?)

Thank you!

Royal has tables sizes of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 people. You can contact whoever booked your cruise and ask them to specify your table size preference.

So if I am sailing with a party of 5, are we most likely to be sat at a table for 6 with an empty seat or merged with another large party at a much larger table? I really prefer to sit with just our party. Thanks!

I love this! We are sailing the Freedom next December with my 4 year old and an early dinner works great for that age! We're on the December 14 sailing, does anyone know if it will be 5:30 for that time frame?

Are these fresh fruit/veggie smoothies? Will they make you a fruit/veggie smoothie if you bring them the veggies and fruit (from the buffet)?

Since you have never used a travel agent before' date=' how did you find this one? Was she recommended to you?

 

If, you just found her on the internet, you may want to do further research before transferring your booking.

 

Check with the BBB and search for complaints on the web. Hopefully, any major complaints will show up.[/quote']

 

I don't know how much I'm allowed to say here. But I used a site that allows ta's to "bid" on your cruise and there were 2 out of 4 that had the lowest price.

Are they guarantee cabins? You are booking two, is it important to be near each other, if they are guarantees?

They are not guarantees. I had picked out my specific cabins when I made my reservation through RCCL & the reservation will be transferred, which will keep those cabins as my own.

There are also no change/cancellation fees until after final payment, which are the ones imposed by the cruiseline directly. I'm emailing her now to make the change :) $740 in combined discounts & OBC is worth it to me!

Stateroom Stateroom Total $2,724.91 USD

Guest 1 Guest 2 Guest 3

Cruise Fare: $969.00 $969.00 $499.00

Taxes/Fees: $95.97 $95.97 $95.97

Per Person Total: $1,064.97 $1,064.97 $594.97

 

 

Currently available directly from RC.

When I booked a few weeks ago, the D1 cabin for 3 was $2599.58 and the cabin for 2 was $2004.72. That includes the $125 savings cert for C&A (take out the $125 credit & my prices is almost the same as what is quoted above).

The quote from the agent today is $4414.30, less the $125 per cabin C&A certificate, bringing it to $4164.30. Plus $150 OBC per cabin. So, $4,164.30 total (compared to $4604.30), *plus* $300 in obc.

Thanks for the info on directly vs. travel agent. I didn't realize it was a hot topic. I did ask about the OBC being effected by price drops & she said (in an email, so I have that for future documentation if needed) that it doesn't effect it.

$440 less than what is now on RCL's site? TA's cannot discount.

Something is not being compare right.

I haven't checked today, but $440 ($220 each cabin) less than what I booked it for on oct 31.

Do most cc members stay away from ta's so they can communicate directly with the cruise line?

You need to know things about each agent:

 

Are there change fees?

 

Are there cancellation fees?

 

Will they honor price drops?

 

Will price drops affect the amount of their OBC?

 

ASK Travel Agent #2 how they can offer a lower price. (they are likely to say that the cabins are in a group. Sometimes - not often - that can have other effects)

 

Agent #1 is going to have to agree to the transfer. Most won't.

Thank you. I did get the answers to most of those- except I didn't ask if price drops effect OBC. Good question, I will ask. There isn't an agent #1, I had booked directly with RCCL.

And they did say they are group discounts.

A few weeks ago, I booked 2 D1 category cabins for the Freedom of the Seas on December 14, 2014. The rate that was being offered at the time plus $125 per cabin crown & anchor certificate. Now, I have a travel agent that is offering the rooms for $440 less *plus* a $150 OBC per cabin.

I've never booked through a travel agent before. Is there a risk to transferring my booking to them? She said they would honor price drops up until final payment. I'm feeling a bit of 'seems to good to be true' and a bit afraid to transfer.

My dh & I are taking my in laws on a cruise for their retirement. We had originally booked a Celebrity cruise but after spending some time on the Celebrity board & doing some more research, we decided to switch to Royal. Dh & I have cruised before, in laws have not.

We booked the Freedom and wanted adjoining balcony rooms (1 room to accommodate 3, as we have a child) on an upper level deck (want to be closer to buffet, pool, etc.). We've booked 9612 and 9614. Do you think those are the 2 best rooms for what we're wanting? Any cons to those rooms that we should be aware of?

Also, my father in law is a former military- with honorable discharge & the necessary paperwork that RCCL asks for. I didn't realize he would qualify for a military discount when I booked- if I call back now- will they modify it? Can it be combined with C&A discount that we have on the room? Thanks!