LEMJMcC

I'm trying to put together a UDP schedule for our upcoming cruise in February. Given these Specialty Restaurants from which to choose, which would you recommend for lunch on Embarkation Day and Sea Days? Which for Supper on all nights? 150 Central Park Chops Grille Giovanni Hooked Izumi Johnny Rockets Mason Jar Park Café Wonderland Thanks.

Same thing for me. Drink package doesn't show in purchase history, nor did I receive an email confirmation, but by golly it hit my credit card already!

Sailing Wonder of the Seas, we arrive in St. Thomas (Crown Bay, I think) at 7:30 AM on 2/9/2023 and depart at 3:00 PM. We'd like to do some snorkeling and some sightseeing. We've never been to either island. Are there any snorkeling excursions out of St. Thomas that would allow us to snorkel off St. John and still have time to get back to Charlotte Amalie for some walking around? Who would you recommend? Or should we just confine our excursion(s) to St. Thomas for time's sake? Thanks.

I made the final payment yesterday, even though it wasn't due until 11/7; now it's done and I have nothing to worry about except losing the weight I will likely gain on the seven-night cruise with the UDP!😁 I do appreciate the comments about having a secondary, back-up credit card. I think I'll dig around for a good cashback card. Thanks all!

What!, no gluttony? Kidding, I appreciate that advice as I do have a tendency to want to try many things. I wish they offered a sampler platter of some sort. Thanks.

Looks like it's still down. I just checked and our upcoming cruise is not listed.

Yeah, I called last week to check and the price of our cabin class dramatically increased! I mean like two-fold! Though I was able to take advantage of some price drops in the previous months!

Did a quick search on the forum and too many results to filter though. RCI's site was no better. So, is room service included in the unlimited dining plan? Thanks.

Thanks. How do I know what night is formal night on a 7-night cruise on Wonder of the Seas?

Thanks all. Those responses are right in line with what I typically do. I, too, am one who does not carry over a balance on my credit card, and I only have the one. Though sometimes I wonder if I ought to have a second as a back up in case my primary quits working...

Any options for crab legs on Wonder of the Seas?

What! No tasting salts at 150 Central Park?! We really enjoyed those on Oasis! Nuts.

My final payment due date is just around the corner. I normally pay the remaining balance a few days ahead of the deadline. How long do you folks wait?

We did both Blue Hole and Dunns River Falls back in 2016 but went with a private tour guide, Courtney Taylor Tours. Courtney himself was our driver. We told him where we wanted to go and he took care it of it - of course we had to pay for the admission to the attractions. He also gave us a lot of information about Jamaica, its history, and culture, which we really liked. He took us to a locals' favorite restaurant for some very authentic Jamaican food after we finished with DRF and still got us back to port in time for some shopping in Falmouth. I'd highly recommend him. As for Blue Hole & DRF, both were really cool and not overly crowded when we were there. A lot of fun and the water was wonderful in mid-February! With him we were able to do both, though there was a fair amount of driving time.

For those who have done the UDP, what's the best strategy to get the restaurants you want on the days you want at the times you want? I thought about making a schedule ahead of time that my wife & I could fill in with our first and second restaurant choices for the days & times we want and have that ready to hand to one of the hosts/hostesses at one of the specialty restaurants on embarkation day. What times tend to be the most popular for specialty dining in the evening? I'm thinking 7:30-ish... Thanks.

Does the same apply for lunch on Sea Days?

We've eaten at a couple of specialty joints on past cruises, but it's been a while and I can't remember if we made reservations or just walked up - we did NOT have the UDP. For a seven night cruise on Wonder with the UDP, are reservations required for places like Wonderland, Izumi, Park Cafe, 150 Central Park, Hooked, etc. or would two people be able to walk up and wait a reasonable time to be seated? On one hand I like planning ahead so as to avoid wasting time waiting on a table, but on the other hand I like the flexibility to just show up whenever the stomach prompts... Thanks.

While I am routinely and normally a very casual dresser, I often wear clean jeans (without any holes, rips, or tears in them) to church, I can appreciate dressing up to enhance the specialty restaurant experience. My wife is from South America and her family was much more formal than mine. So, I try to make an effort to make her experiences on cruises as positive as I can...happy wife, very happy husband! I have no issue with wearing dress slacks and a nice Polo or button down shirt for some of the more "classy" joints on a ship, but more often I'll wear dress shorts and a Polo with shoes, not sandals. Only once did I wear a suit, that was on our very first cruise with my Mom and Dad; I'm glad I did because we have some nice pictures of the family dressed up. Second cruise, I took a suit jacket and tie, but I don't think I ever used them. Now I don't even pack them; just pack nice shirts, dressy shorts, and maybe a pair or two of dress slacks. Bottom line for me is live and let live. I'd much rather have a group of folks dressed in shorts, t-shirts , and flip-flops who act with proper decorum than someone dressed to the Ts who is loud and obnoxious and discourteous. The former doesn't impinge upon our experience, the latter most definitely does.

Just curious, do they charge "gratuity" for these types of purchases?

Where does she normally snorkel? Which beach? We'll be there in February and will have our gear on the ship (we plan to do some snorkeling off St. Thomas) and if the snorkeling is worth it, I'll tote the stuff onto the cay. Thanks.

No charge

Greetings Forum Folks, The wife & I are considering a semi-private charter with Sailing the Cosmos in St. Thomas to do a bit of sailing and snorkeling. http://Sailing The Cosmos I would be interested to hear of any experiences folks on the forum may have had with this outfit. It sounds really nice and they have been very responsive to my email inquiries. The only drawback, and it's somewhat minor, is that we will have to take a 35-minute taxi trip there and back, adding another $50+ to the total. If you've done any snorkeling with them, how did it go? Thanks.

The main reason we always book a Junior Suite is having the slightly larger balcony on which can fit a couple of lounge chairs; instead of fighting for deck chairs, we sit on the balcony. It's wonderful! On the rare occasions when we want to hit a hot tub or even the swimming pools, we may not even use a chair or we'll go when the sun-worshippers (future skin cancer patients) have had their roast for the day. I have personally removed towels from a Solarium bed-type chair after asking the folks nearby if they had seen the occupants recently. It was apparent the towels were not used. I think those who had laid them there came around much later and may have said something, but I'm not sure as I wouldn't have paid them any mind anyway. We used the chair for an hour or so then moved on to something else. The last cruise we were on over Christmas 2022 (Mariner), it seemed that all the pools closed pretty early. I don't recall this being the case on other cruises (Brilliance, Freedom, & Oasis). It would be nice if they were available at any time, except for a short time for cleaning. I remember once on Oasis, I think, we hit a hot tub at 1:00 AM, made for a really good night's sleep afterward.

Thanks for the tips! We are looking forward to this excursion as it seems a bit different than most. We like to stay physically active and I don't mind a good challenge. The workout will be great preparation for dinner that night😁. I use workout gloves anytime I'm using my hiking poles simply because I sweat A LOT and those grips can get slick. Good suggestion about a sweat band! I've added the hydration packs and all the other items (poles, shoes, gloves, compression shorts, etc.) to the trip list I use for cruises so I don't forget. That's one huge advantage of driving to port from the house; as long as I have room in the car, I can take it with me! I'll have to incorporate some steep treadmill work into my weekly routine, at least it'll help me gauge my capacity. Looking at TripAdvisor, I saw one tour that was over $300/person (Adventure Tours) while all the others are around $100/person. I don't see what the extra cost gets a person. I booked through RCI at $119/person mainly for convenience sake. Thanks much!

Jumping in on the thread. We'll be in port from 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM in February and would like to do some snorkeling, beach lounging, and shopping (mostly the dear wife). Any recommendations?