Goodtime Cruizin

It is worth it for me for sure.

 

Here is why

 

1: Whenever I pass a bar, I get a bottle of water. I either drink it, or take it back to the room and save it for later. Comes in handy on excursions. 3 x daily = $10.50 day

 

2: I drink 1-2 soda's at breakfast, and 2-3 more during the day. But to keep things conservative I'll say 4 soda's a day = $8

 

3: It is nothing for me to drink 2-4 beers throughout the day, especially on sea days, but in the idea of staying conservative we will go with 3 x $5.75 = $17.25

 

4: I always try the "drink of the day" by the pool. $8 ??

 

5: Without question I stop to get a mixed drink on the way to dinner, usually a jack and coke. = $10

 

6: With the alcohol package, I will usually try whatever wine is paired with the entree I order. If I like it, I'll have another one. If I don't, I'll chug it or send it back, and order another one. Either way, I have two drinks with dinner = $20

 

7: By the time dinner is over we go to the evening show, or comedy center, or some other entertainment venue, and I'll have a drink. Red Bull and vodka please. $10

 

8: I've been known to wind down with a decaf Irish coffee too :)

 

 

BY my rough calculations, thats about $84 a day, give or take a couple bucks.

 

On port days, I might drink a little less. On Sea days, I may have even more out by the pool.

 

I hardly ever drink at home, so I like to enjoy myself on the cruise and the package allows me to try drinks that I probably wouldn't order if I knew I had to pay for them, even if I didn't like them.

 

All in all, it probably ends up in my favor at the end of the cruise, but I would rather know ahead of time what my bill will be.

 

Hope that helps break it down a little bit.

This is a nice breakdown. But please be reminded, the Drink of the Day will be covered on the package, but it does not include the various souvenior type glasses.

Your breakdown is pretty similar to my habits except for sea days, I enjoy a Bloody Mary at breakfast as well.

We sailed the Navigator is March of this year. A couple of things we noticed.

1. The specialy drinks on the drink menus (mostly frozen concoctions were $12)

2. The Margaritas at Sabor were all $12. Can't remember the brand, but they were, hands down the best Maragaritas on the ship.

3. I was charged the $12 once, but asked the bartender why and pointed out my premium drink pkg, he revered the charges and then charged me the difference, $2.

I also believe that the staff was a bit confused from bar to bar. My suggestiino is ask the price on each drink you order. If the price is $12, ask them to charge you only the difference & tip well. :D After a few bar visits, you & the bartenders will get to know each other and you'll get to know the drink prices as well.

Check Feb of 2016. I just looked and saw that I can get a JS for $1100pp, which is less than we've booked for regular balconies.

 

If you want to splurge, a crown loft suite is ~$2400, which is a less- this October that same cabin is $3100pp.

 

Just gotta look for them.

I just tried a mock res on this one and the price must've jumped already. JS is now 1360 :(

We booked today, for 18 months out. Thought getting the cabin we wanted would be easy, not. Almost all the upper deck gs were gone, 1 regular left and a few connecting. Prices are terrific, people are snapping the bargains up. Great sale:D

This is correct, but there might be some Cabin grabbing via TA Group bookings etc. We just booked a nice JS on the Indy that wasn't listed as available thru RCL but the TA had it! The cruise is 17 months away but it's booked and we like be all happy. :D

This person is my domestic partner. That changes things? How would I get them a C&A number before the cruise since he has never cruised before and how do I link it to my profile? :confused:

I agree. That was a bad response. You either can or you can't. Domestic partner sould have no bearring whatsoever.

I think the larger savings is for those Cruises that were previously booked. Basically with our booking, we sailing on a larger ship, same port, one month earlier for about $200 less than this past year. This new booking isn't sailing until Feb 2016. I expect the rates to be much higher then than they are today.

Larger, newer ship, $200 less is a good enough start.

Still not feeling it...

The price acrually jumps during the mock booking.

Balcony price is $1071.50 pp at the point that you select your cabin. After cabin selection, you then enter the info of the party of two and it jumps a $358.50 to a new price of $1429 pp. Reviewing the summary, you get a 1/2 price on the 2nd person of the price $1429 pp, which equates to $715.

So... while it indicates a savings of $715, the overall cost of still more than the same cruise on the same date of our last cruise. I see no savings whatsoever.

I'll keep looking though.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I see, this special is for 2015 & 2016 sailings. These same sailings had a huge increase in pricing last month (April) and the special is now adjusting these back down to the real world. So while the 1/2 price for the 2nd person is nice and saves some monies, it also appears to be a trumped up price.

Am I wrong?

this is true however from my experience it has been mostly the poorly dressed sorts that have bad table manners , you know the sort, they are loud sneeze all over and stuff rolls in their pockets for later. smh

You sound as though you're EZ target. I bet those sorts seek you out just for their dnner entertainmnet. :D

I just signed up for the discount coupon for EZ Park. Is that the same as EZ Cruise?

 

 

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I'm not sure. We've always used EZCruiseParking dot com

I will be sailing out of Galveston January 11, 2015 on Royal Caribbean's Navigator. It has been several years since I have sailed out of Galveston and would like some guidance. I will be driving from Oklahoma on interstate 45 The day before. A couple of places I have checked on in Galveston are already booked. I am not opposed to staying in the Houston area or even a little north maybe Huntsville or Conroe. I also need information on parking at the port. I wouldn't mind a park and stay situation in Galveston if I can find one under $200. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Bunches!!

 

 

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If you decide to use a parking service, I suggest EZ Cruise.

I left my wallet in the van. Drove north two hours before I realized it. I called them and the driver already had reported it and turned it over to the owner. Two hours later, the owner meets me & returns me my wallet.

He's had my bsusiness ever since.

Goodtime: This is your opinion. To some people jeans, a coat and tie is dressing poorly.

 

But I again state. Royal Caribbean is a budget line and they don't care what you wear. Go for it.

Of course it's my opinion! No arguement there.

If some people think this is poorly dressing, then they don't need to be cruising with RCCL. This is why they are relaxing the Formal Nights going forward. The two cruises I've had the pleasure of w/ RCCL, I saw a totsl of 3 men in tuxedos and less than half the men were wearing a tie. (both cruises). It's outdated. Wearing a Tux on a stateside cruise these days? I see it as a fashion pooh myself.

But seriously, I don't need your permission to do so. But you can bet I will wear what I'm comfortable with and I only hope my table mates that aren't happy will have the pleasure of my company before placing judgement. :) If not, I hope they request a different table before they decide to sit down the first night!

can you not at least wear khaki pants while climbing and use them for dinner? i dont like the idea of people dressing poorly to dinner imo . it wouldnt bother me , but i certainly would not do it. it isnt hard to bring one dress pants and a few dress shirts and tie and jacket.

But...but.. but you're clearly bothered.

Wearing a nice pair of jeans, a coat & tie is not dressing poorly.

Is that only if you stayed onboard? If you debarked why would they still charge gratuities?

I'm not quite sure. I can only speak to our party. Both couples folio showed port charges refunded for two ports and gratuities charged for the full 7 day cruise.

It was an unfortunate sail for everybody involved. RCCL, the staff and also the passengers on the ship. Everyone has different arrangements to/from the ports we disembark from and not everyone can make the same choices. Disappointment was in play throughout this entire Cruise from the get go. But it wasn't disappointment w/ RCCL. It was just a circumstance that was beyond anyone's control, and it placed an undue of amount of "this sucks" on most. Some got over it and some didn't. As far as why the other ships left before the Navigator, this was due to the inspection(s) needed and required by the Coast Guard. While stting on the balcony on early Tuesday morning, we saw a Coast Guard cutter up against the ship slowly inspecting the oil on the ship. Please keep in mind the the Navigator was the first ship (out of 100's) to be authorized to dock on that Sunday afternoon. It clearly created a pathway through the oil slicks for the other Cruise Ships to follow. I'm sure the hulls were severely covered with oil. We could visibly see the slick(s) creep by off of our balcony. There was clean up detail and inspection needed to set sail. Once given the greenlight to sail by the Coast guard, it was announced that we'd be sailing. It caught everyone off base. I'm sure for RCCL as well.

It was a difficult week for many, moreso for others than some. But all in all, RCCL did the best they could under the circumstances. We rolled with it and enjoyed the cruise the best we could. It paid off for us. I wish it did for everyone. We also rolled the refund right back into another sailing while taking advantage of the future 25% discount and OBC for using the Next Cruise desk. We're looking forward to the Mediterrean via the Liberty!

While I am glad they have taken care of the passengers in the best way possible, I am wondering how this effects the crew.

 

RCI has gratuity based and incentive based contracts with most of their crew and I wonder if they are charging the $12 a day gratuities while passengers stay onboard at least. I would guess not.

 

Maybe someone who was on the sailing could confirm how they handled that issue.

I don't know if someone has responded to your question, but here goes...

Gratuities were not refunded. Although port taxes were for two of the three ports.

While you will likely be admitted to the MDR, I wouldn't dress this way for dinner. You will be out of place in the formal room (white table cloths, chandaliers . . . and sneakers?), and you will be in a small minority who are "dressed down". I can't imagine feeling comfortable in this situation. Additionally, you say you're going to be hiking during the land-based portion of this trip. If you're prepared only with a couple pairs of jeans, and those are damaged (i.e., you fall and cut the knee of your jeans -- it happened to me just a few weeks ago), you may find yourself wearing "holey" jeans in the MDR.

 

You have better options:

 

Someone else suggested renting onboard. That's a good option, and it costs very little.

Another choice is to mail yourself a box of dressy clothes at your last hotel in England /Scotland.

A third option is to purchase a dress or two at the close of the land portion of your trip.

Well it's either the Latitude or the Attitude.

May I suggest that upon arriving on formal night, that you order a Grand Marnier in the form a small crystal glass. ;)

BTW, the boyfirend should create a FB fan page for his DJ service instead of using his name. Just a thought. I have to do the same and it works out well.

Post away & add a special Thank You to Johnny for house sitting and watching your beautiful but protective pit bull. :p

You won't be denied entry.

 

On my last cruise, my party of 5 was seated at a table with 2 parties of 2 (couples). Since RC had somehow dropped the ball and failed to link our dining reservations, we didn't get this table until the first formal night (2nd night of the cruise). My family and I dressed to the 9's. One of the couples wore what I would call "Sunday Best". The other couple looked as though they had just come from the beach. Sundress for her, button front shirt for him. We had a ball!!! I enjoyed dining with them every night!!!

 

I think the people who make a big deal out of it are definitely a minority.

This is a solid post. Cruising is about enjoying one's self. I've worn very nice attire and also a smart casual coat w/ tie and my best jeans on formal nights. I've also worned black dress shoes and a very nice leather style walking shoe. If someone frowned on me, well then, that's on them. At age 56, I tend to dress to impress myself and my wife.

For us, it's all about lattidues, not attitudes. ;)

Magnet Scrabble game peices. On our last cruise, a cabin just down from us did this. All the letters. They just threw them up and spelled a word. It took off from there. Everyone that walked by just added etc. Pretty amusing what cruiers would write and entertaining as well.

I recently had the Royal Replenish package, and I was not able to use it for coffee the morning we disembarked.:(

Wow. So uncool to end the cruise this way. :confused:

Would a shirt and tie and nice sundresses be acceptable?. I would probably just skip the MDR on Fancy nights if i had to rent a tux or wear a Suit jacket (I Run hot and it becomes uncomfortable 3-4 minutes after i put it on. Having to wear pants in the Bahamas will be bad enough lol)

Yes. You would be perfectly comfortable. Some still enjoy the pleasure of a nice dress up evening, while still others find that a smart casual is a great fit. As mentioned on a 7 day cruise, Mon & Fri are formal nights. I was recently on the Navigator and the number of men wearing coats was about 50%, maybe even less.

Enjoy the cruise. BTW, Friday formal night is generally lobster night.

Yes, Jack is part of the premium liqour. As far as is the pkg right for you, simply do the math.

Call drinks $10

Beer $7

Some drinks are $12, the premium pkg allows for a max of $10 charge, so you'll pay the difference on a $12 drink.

$55/day at these prices = about 6 to 7 drinks daily.

If your trip is port intensive, you may not hit these numbers.

I buy the pkg each cruise. I like the convenience, the ability to order what I want, when I want it, and also to try a various drinks. I'm on vacation. It's nothing for me to start a day w/ Bloody Marys and then just move on to beer and then liquor. To each their own!

Sharing is taboo has you've read. I'm sure it happens. But don't be surprised if you get busted for it if you try it.

I think it all comes down to how you handle the bartenders! Yes, $$$ will get their attention, but it isn't the only way. Striking up conversations with them goes a long way. I also think you can get a better drink via this route.

Buy the pkg and relax. Enjoy the cruise.

What a waist for a great ship.

I didn't of course know what ship that RCCL would assign to Galveston, but it was recently announced that the Port of Galveston & RCCL had reached a 5 year agreement that included adding another terminal for their larger ships. So I expected a larger class ship to eventually reach Galveston.

Galveston stays busy w/ RCCL these days and this is a great way to keep the rates propped up by bringing in a larger class ship. I just hope the prices stay at the Mariner/Navigator rates.