Daisy P

I would also like to know the answers to these questions!

RC stopped paying for hotels between back to back cruises some years ago.

Thank you for the info! Guess I was right not to have my hopes up then :)

Yes they will. If you booked through a TA, then they can find out for you. If you booked direct, call RCI Reservations and ask for the B2B desk.

Do they still do this? I tried to find some newer information but couldn't find anything. We booked a 4 night cruise on Enchantment from Miami and 7 nights on Harmony from Fort Lauderdale, one night in between. Does RCI really pay for the hotel (and transportation)?

Sounds almost too good to be true :)

Liberty tours is a great choice.

Do they also offer "Transportation only" or just tour packages?

I'm interested in the different options recarding Dunn's River Falls from Falmouth, too!

Usually we always DIY, but it seems like this time it would be better to go for a some kind of tour. The idea of a ship excursion where you have to walk hand in hand with your group does not, however, sound very appealing. It would be a lot nicer to experience the falls at your own pace. Even the RCCL ship excursion that's called Dunn's River Transfer, seems to include certain activities as a group and the climbing hand in hand.

Any recommendations on where to book only the transfer to the falls and back, so that you'd be completely free to explore the area on your own?

This is what it looked like in the Solarium on Mariner a few weeks ago almost every day of the cruise!!:D

I'm guessing this was due to the fact that most Asians don't seem to enjoy spending time in the sun, but also there was always someone in the deck patrol duty, and they were super effective!! They were always going around and collecting all the towels from the chairs that had nothing else on them. One time, after DH and I had spend about an hour reading on our loungers, I went to the pool and DH went to use the restroom before he would join me, his towel had been removed when he got back (even though our chairs were pretty much the only ones being used around the pool anyaway).

But even though there were not any chair hogs to be seen on the pool decks, unfotunately the same cannot be said about the Windjammer! It was nearly impossible to find seats at breakfast some mornings. One time DH ended up eating standing up next to me at one of the bar tables, because we were told that the chair next to me was reserved. However, we had finished our breakfast before anyone had come to sit at the chair next to me.

One morning, we took the staff's advice and decided to take our breakfast to the pooldeck, but that wasn't such a good idea. There was such a heavy wind that my waffles flew across the deck as soon as we stepped outside :eek:.

Anyway, we really enjoyed the cruise :)

 

Is there a ballet bar in the Fitness center?

 

Answering to myself here, after three cruises:

No ballet barre on Liberty, however, there is one on Brilliance and on Mariner :)

Nothing very strenuous! Maybe the treadmill, static bike and cross trainer. I do have trainers (sneakers? I'm from the UK) but don't want to bring them with me just for the gym.

I love my Sketchers Go Walks, they are super light and comfy and great for walking! I usually pack a pair of "proper running shoes" if I plan to go jogging a lot, but for only occasional visits to the gym and mainly walking like you described, I could well imagine packing only Sketchers Go Walks to save some space! :)

2. Despite advice against it by the Shore Excursion reps onboard, I chose to walk up the donkey trail. By now it was 8:00a, and all of the donkeys were at the bottom of the trail, awaiting passengers. That meant that I had to navigate around them initially, but I did not have to deal with them on the way up. I had the trail to myself, it took 20 minutes, and it was exhilarating. I hiked Masada two summers ago, and this was cake by comparison.

So glad to hear that! DH and I are planning to walk up as well, but were a bit put off by all the warnings about the donkeys...

Did you walk back down as well or did you take the cable cars?

Thanks for your comment! Kusadasi is our first and only stop in Turkey.

For our day in Kusadasi on our Brilliance sailing later this June, we've booked a taxi service to take us first to Ephesus, then to Adaland water park and back to the port at the end of the day.

At what time would you suggest we should arrange for the driver to meet us near the port, when the ship is scheduled to arrive at 8am?

It seems that euros are accepted in most places around Kusadasi? According to my research, in Adaland there is a 5tl deposit for the money card that you load money to, to be used inside the park instead of cash. Can this deposit (and the money you load to it) be in euros? If you get it back at the end of the day, will it be in tl?

If we don't plan to eat anything inside the park (according to reviews the food is bad quality), do we actually need to spend money on anything inside? Is there a charge for the lockers in the changing rooms (that you would need to pay with the moneycard)? We don't want to take part in any extra activities like rafting etc., we just wanna swim, relax in the sun and enjoy the more relaxing water slides :).

We'd really appreciate the input of anyone who's been to Adaland recently! Any tips?

Where would you recommend to grab a bite to eat between Ephesus and Adaland? Is there anything around the south entrance of Ephesus or near Adaland?

We'll be embarking Brilliance on 19 June in Barcelona! Can't wait!

I'm loving this thread! Nice to see that there are others as picky as me :D.

I won't eat:

onions, celery, beetroot, olives, pickles (or pickled anything)

ketchup, mustard, mayo, salad dressings

coffee, alcohol

liver or any other organs

I couldn't quite keep up with all the different variations in amounts of sea days and cruise lengths... :)

So is someone able to predict the formal nights for a 12 nights Mediterranean cruise (June 19 sailing) where the sea days are 5, 6, 10 & 12?

Thank you!

I would love to hear the answer to this question, too!

Anyone??

We're going to be on a Mediterranean cruise on Brilliance of the Seas when the NHL entry draft 2016 is on June 24th-25th. DH would really like to see it. Can someone confirm the channels available on Brilliance, and if any of them cover the draft live?

Did you board the Liberty in NYC? We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday July 30 and saw 2 ships in harbor - Cunard's QMII and what we thought was a Royal Caribbean (but we didn't have our binocs with us to confirm).....I forgot to check the port websites to see what it was :p

We boarded the Liberty on July 30 in Cape Liberty NJ :)

Just arrived home yesterday! It was a great vacation!!

We went to see two musicals (An American in Paris and on the Town) and I thought it was quite cold in the theaters! I was lucky I had a scarf with me. I'm really not used to the strong air-conditioning so to me it felt quite chilly also in some restaurants in NYC as well as the MDR on Liberty. It was nice and warm (well actually HOT) everywhere outside, though, :) and I loved it :D!

Is there any downside to waiting it out? We'll have our car parked at the Port and really have nothing pressing to do on Saturday, so hanging out on the ship is an option.

If the vacation is over when you're out of the cruise ship, then I'd probably want to stay on board as long as possible. But when I still have one final day of vacation in New York to look forward to, I think I want to get to it the sooner the better :).

Thanks again, Carol, for the detailed instructions. We find the NYC subway very easy to use, so instead of taking a cab to the PATH entrance, we thought we'd ride the subway from Upper west side. We've done it before with our suitcases and we've also used PATH before, so I think we'll be fine :).

Thank you, that's very useful information!

We're coming to port from Manhattan.

Thanks again for your expertise, Carol.

A couple of follow up questions:

1. Are there others cons to self disembarking, besides having to carry your bags yourself?

2. For what time should we book the car service a)if we self disembark b) if we don't, when the ship should arrive at 7am on Saturday.

3. If we would take the public transportation option (which we plan on doing on our way to the port anyway), why is it recommended to go through Hoboken rather than Newport sation, when Newport seems to be closer to Cape Liberty?

From a previous post I read that getting to the pier from this hotel is best done by booking a car service like Dial7 or Carmellimo for $55-60.

Would we do this once we arrive to the hotel or in advance? Are there toll fees (i am not familiar with these at all) on top of this?

I'd also like to hear answers to these questions. What about when you need a car service to get to Manhattan after the cruise, when are you supposed to book it? Already before the cruise?

Daisy

Which pool would be best suitable for swimming laps on Liberty?

Is there a ballet bar in the Fitness center?

15 days until my first cruise, yay!!:)

 

http://www.vionicshoes.com/women/sandals/karina-toe-post-sandal.html

Those look really nice!! And I always thought that sandals that are good for your feet and offer arch support would have to have a more sporty look and wouldn't go well with skirts or dresses. I was thinking about getting something like this:

http://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1015862&vid=1&pid=439025022

But now I realise that there are prettier options :)!

Thanks for all your help!

Packing for NYC and the Caribbean in summer is about the same! Not much variation in the weather from those places IN THE SUMMER!

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear:)

Sounds like I'm on the right track with my packing!

I always walk A LOT when I travel, so I've learned to appreciate comfy shoes and will definitely be wearing running shoes for NYC. What shoes do you guys wear for walking in ports where you're also going to the beach?

We're spending 5 nights in NYC before our 9 night Bermuda-Caribbean cruise at the end of the month, and I'm busy planning what to pack!

Can I expect NYC to be as hot as it was two years ago when I spent there two weeks in early July and never had to wear a long-sleeved shirt once? What about the ship (Liberty of the Seas)? Is the air-conditioning strong and will I be needing many long-sleeved items there?

I'm travelling from Finland so I'll be wearing long pants and a cardigan for the journey, but other than that I'm planning to take mainly shorts, tops and dresses. Will I be ok?

I'm trying to pack as lightly as possibly in order to save some room for NYC shopping as well as some port shopping!:)