CookieDiva

I was able to reserve one online for my recent Majesty cruise. They are called "beach loungers" on the website. In the past, I would just go to the excursions desk as soon as I got on and I was able to reserve one.

Thanks. For whatever reason they are not available to book before the cruise for our sailing. Don't know why it differs

from ship to ship, from sailing to sailing.

Hoping that we'll get there to book before they are no longer available.

They were pre booked. About two weeks before every cruise the suite concierge emails suite guests if they want a cabana, and if so which one .

Ok. This sounds like it is possible. But I think that you are talking about the $200 plus cabanas. I'm talking about the $59 Cabanettes - the clamshell looking tents and loungers. Is it the same with them?

Just read a review of a cruiser who said that they were one of the first on board and that they went directly to the excursion desk and yet the Cabanettes were already sold out. They were unable to be booked pre cruise.

Have you ever planned on renting one of these and found them already sold out before you got to the excursion desk?

Thanks for your review!

Thanks for your review. We are first time cruisers who'll be on this ship with this itinerary 4 WEEKS FROM TODAY BABY! [emoji14][emoji16][emoji6]

Anyway, it's nice to read the perspective from another first time cruiser.

So I'm a bit concerned about how much you felt the ship movement. I see that your cabin was on the front of the ship. Do you think that influenced how much you felt the motion, or did you feel it throughout the ship?

Not a specific travel card, but we've been very happy with our Citibank Double Cash Back card. You get 1% when you buy and then another 1% when you pay. Good for cash which can be used anywhere. [emoji4]

Interesting review. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

The My Time Dining was not very flexible, but we managed to game the system.

Could you give some details on how you were able to do this?

We were on Freedom 2 weeks ago. The beds are like rocks. My husband loved it. I thought it would bother me but after a full day and a couple of drinks I slept great. I love being rocked to bed on a ship.

Good to know. We've already requested a mattress topper and am hoping for the best.

We just came back from Freedom this past Sunday too. To answer the mattress question. The mattress had an egg crate pad on it, and it was fine.

Thank for the info!

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!!! Very important question - how were the mattresses? [emoji16]

We tried to do a bit of everything, and loved Paradise Pier Skyway on St. Thomas, as well as the beautiful BBQ lunch on Coco Cay and the airplanes landing over Maho Beach on Sint Maarten.!

Thank you to you and the OP for these reports on the FOS. Will be on the same April 3rd sailing as silvermcs.

Could you give a few details on the excursions that you mentioned above?

Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention I was no longer on that cruise. Switched it to Vision.

No problem! Hope that you have a great time.

Do you recall if you could reserve both cabanas and cabinettes (clamshells) online?

Hey Bob - when you have a minute, could you look on your Cruise Planner for FOS April sailing and see if it tells you that you have to book the cabanettes on board?

TIA

Very obvious here that the OP is NOT asking about alcoholic beverages.

 

 

 

We usually ask the waiter or assistant that we want a specific beverage (in my case iced tea) with every meal and replenished before it runs out! Works every time without giving a tip up front.

Thank you! Yes, you're right, I'm not speaking of alcoholic beverages. My husband doesn't expect bottomless beer,

wine or mixed drinks at dinner.

To the rest of you, thank you so much for your suggestions. I'm sure that employing one or more of these tips will ensure a filled glass without pre tipping or using an endless supply of singles.

Why prepay your gratuities if the beverage refill service can make or break a server's gratuity?

Well, when we first booked we had no option. Traditional Dining was not offered and not accepting a wait list. And at that time - 16 months ago - you HAD to prepay gratuities with MTD - so we had no choice. Guess that I should have made that known in my OP.

And since this is our first cruise, I was speaking of regular restaurant experiences.

I would tip at least $1 after each drink.

Really Bob? For water? Or a soft drink that we've already paid a gratuity on? Wow. Maybe the MDR just won't be for us. [emoji53]

One of the things that can make or break a server's gratuity for my husband is a drink - be it pop, water, iced tea, etc. - - that is never empty.

I believe that I've read that it can be difficult getting drink refills in the main dining room.

What do you suggest? We have MTD. Should we just tell our servers each evening that we appreciate drinks being refilled often? Should we pre tip with a little extra cash - even though we have prepaid gratuities? Thoughts?

Greetings,

 

We on the Enchantment in May and I went under the shore excursions and reserved one.

 

Roy

Lucky you! We are on the FOS in April and ours says "online booking unavailable." We really want to get one of these!

How much are they?

On our Cruise Planner currently it says $59.

Last report I saw said $50, but with the way Royal is raising prices these days, it could be more.

Very true! Have been looking at these for a couple of months. They were $52. Today I looked and they're $59. [emoji36]

Just seems so odd that there would not be a wait list that far out.

You're right. It was (is) odd. Our TA was taking care of our reservation for us and was surprised too. As was the RCI agent that she was working with. I still have the emails where we were discussing it.

In the end it's really a blessing because MTD is our preference. But odd none the less.

When we booked in Oct 2014 for our upcoming cruise on the FOS, we could not book traditional nor could we be waitlisted.

Will be sailing on FOS with friends in just 5 weeks (Yeah! and Yikes!) and we have MTD. This being our first cruise, we are not "used to" the traditional dining with others, so will not feel like we've missed anything by sitting with just the 4 of us. And we are not used to eating at the same time each evening on vacation (and not - we have work schedules that differ each day.) So the flexibility is appealing to us.

What has been your experience with wait times with parties of 4 just showing up to MTD on the FOS? How can we know what time we will want to eat when we have no idea what we'll be doing any given day?

I'm with Carol, Capital One, no foreign transaction fees and ATM fees reimbursed up to $30 per month.

Yep. Like I said previously, we have that card and that's the one that we'll be using if we needed to be concerned about the currency conversion. Which it sounds like we will.

Thanks all!

Thanks everyone!

Royal Caribbean Visa Card

We prefer our Citibank Double Cash Back. 2% cash back that can be used anywhere.

 

 

 

I always have a currency conversion fee-free credit card. (Capital One Visa)

That's the card we will use too if we will

need to have currency converted. I believe that Discover does not charge

too, but is not as widely accepted.

 

St Maarten uses the Netherlands Antilles Guilder on the Dutch side and the Euro on the French side, but takes US Dollars everywhere we've been.

So say we make a CC purchase in St. Maartin? Would they charge us in US dollars? Or would they use the local currency and the CC would convert?