BTHodgeman

The travel agent site shows them in the dropdown search menu, but they all come up as unavailable. First available sailing is December 12. 

We are 15 days out from sailing right now. People in our Role Call/FB group have been mentioning getting upgrades for the last two days. I have not heard anything on mine yet. 

Had that issue yesterday afternoon. Seems to be back to normal for me today, on Edge and Chrome. 

For our sailing in a couple weeks, Voom Surf and Stream has held steady for the last several months at $15.99 for one device and $28.49 for two devices. None of the previous "sales" ever lowered Voom pricing. Just yesterday, Voom Surf and Stream finally dropped to $11.99 for one and $20.99 for two. 

We were considering just getting The Key ($15.99 per person) when the prices were so high, but since they dropped, we have booked a two device package.

I'm not sure if this is specific to Serenade, which is our next ship, but pricing in general has been pretty steady since we booked the cruise last fall. Deluxe beverage package has been between $48-53, internet didn't budge, and the dining packages haven't changed either. 3 day - $79, 5 day - $119, UDP (10 days) - $199. We haven't seen pricing like this for prior RC cruises where a lot of the prices in the cruise planner change every single day.

1 hour ago, Tulsacoker said:

You cannot however use points or get points on Royal Starbucks 

Slight clarification - you do earn Stars, but you cannot redeem Stars for free drinks, and purchases on the ship do not count for other Starbucks promotions (Star Dash, happy hour, etc.). 

5 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes on embarkation day and FWIW worth I have worn shorts to Chops on numerous occasions on other days as well.

I can't say I am surprised anymore by inconsistent policies across the ships. 😛

On 2/6/2020 at 12:01 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

Absolutely OK

 

You can wear shorts at dinner as well.

On embarkation day? I ask because they were strictly enforcing no shorts at Chops during dinner time on my last two RC cruise (Mar 2019 - Navigator and Oct 2019 - Harmony). 

Chops was around $50 on our Harmony sailing. To us, it was a no brainer to get UDP - it was only $175 for our 7 day cruise. 150 and Wonderland were a little higher than Chops - I want to say around $55 or $65, but don't remember the exact pricing because we bought UDP. 

Adding that in mid-April of this year, you will be awarded your annual interior cruise certificate. You should get an e-mail saying something like "Welcome to Prime," and you'll also be able to see the promo code online at clubroyaleoffers dot com. 

Your points will reset to 0 on April 1, 2020, and you'll have until March 31, 2021 to re-earn Prime for the following year. 

This isn't scientific, of course, and may be a bit dated, but is based on receiving the same type of bounce back offer in the past... You will likely see offers for Premiers, Getaways, and other random casino offers. Pack and Play can be really good - they usually have very low (or comp) fares, but are usually within 2-3 months of the sail date. 

For the first 12-18 months after sailing, my Premier offers were comp sailings with $1000 free play. Haven't sailed on Carnival in the past couple years, and the offers in my account have downgraded a bit. Still between $500 and $1000 free play, but definitely not comp cabins. (Not sure if that is a function of my time away from Carnival or an overall reduction in Premier offers. From what I recall, the promo code is the same: P3C or PC3... something like that.) 

15 hours ago, nolimits said:

When I asked for pt count. I mentioned my handle at tables to host  because I felt my pts should of been higher ,host said your up aren’t you. 

So I walked off ship 1300 -+ pts  Didn’t get last Nts points 

Host did give instant free inside cruise 500$ value.

Are you sure about your point total? How did you get a free inside without earning 2400 points? I ask because you say you were up. The only time I have heard about certificates being upgraded is when someone has lost quite a bit more than expected for their amount of play.

I have heard that the cruise lines tend to be more lax than Customs. Here is the recommendation from Customs and Border Protection, from this link: 

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that unless the child is accompanied by both parents, the adult have a note from the child's other parent..."

There is another article on the CPB website that talks about what the letter should contain, and it says, "having the letter notarized is not necessary but highly recommended."

3 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

Thank you. So considering what happens if you are trying to use cellular on the ship (costs can skyrocket) it is better to use Wifi.

Absolutely. And if using Skype, WhatsApp, or another similar messaging/call application, you can avoid the carrier long distance fees as well. 

Just now, Tatka said:

 

Do you need cellular data to use Skype calls (not Skype application via internet, but Skype calls)?

You need some sort of internet connection - cellular or WiFi. 

1 minute ago, Tatka said:

 

If you only need 1 VOOM you are better of just buying it, unless you need several VOOMs and other features that Key provides for every member.

👍 We wanted two separate Voom accounts anyway. We're traveling with some others and will share internet if they want to post some pictures, check in with people at home, etc.

There is a slight discount ($1.50 per day) for buying two vs. one, but the embarkation day Chops lunch alone more than makes up for that. 🙂

19 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Definitely would not recommend anything other than surf and stream on Serenade.  We had lots of issues with wifi on Serenade.

Good to know - thanks! We board Serenade in three weeks. We'll probably just get "The Key," since it's currently priced the same as Surf and Stream ($15.99), and Voom hasn't has any sales for our sailing in the last couple months...

1 hour ago, gold said:

Thxs all.- So what do they mean when they say I can use the RCL app via WiFi for free on board?

You can use the Royal Caribbean app as long as you are connected to the ship's WiFi, even if you did not purchase Voom. 

The RC app provides access to the daily schedules, ship maps, and your folio. On some ships, the app can be used to chat with others on the ship who have the app, but I am not sure if Serenade is one of those ships yet.

From what you posted above (using your phone for e-mail and browsing), you will want either Voom or Voom Surf and Stream. Those are the different tiers of internet service. Voom is slower, but would likely work effectively or e-mails and basic browsing. Voom Surf and Stream is faster and generally supports streaming (Netflix, Apple Music, FaceTime phone calls, etc.). 

26 minutes ago, Denverdonkeys said:

to clarify the cruise casual dress code for men allows "long shorts" i dont know what that really means, but I believe that golf shorts (of various colors/styles) with a polo is appropriate/allowed.

You'll probably find 10 different definitions, but I would consider "long shorts" to be anything that hits right at the knee or below. 

If you use the app to check in, and you take a picture of your passport (vs. manually entering the details), you may receive "Expedited Arrival." There are a few posts about this, with varying experiences, but it probably saved us 10-15 minutes when we got to the port since we didn't have to go through the main security line. 

Our upcoming RC cruise (in 3 weeks) is sold out for balcony and suites. Interior and OV seem to be the same as when we booked, prior to the CV stuff.

However, we have a late fall cruise on Carnival, and that one has been dropping by about $20 every few days for the past couple weeks. Overall, our rate has dropped $120 since we booked it. 

I'd say there isn't any single type of dress that most men wear. The 'average' is probably somewhere between jeans and slacks and a button-down shirt. 

Like others have said, you will see everything from shorts and t-shirts all the way up to full tuxes and formal wear. I personally don't like to get super dressy, so I usually go with a nice pair of jeans, button-down dress shirt, and a pair of dress shoes. For regular nights, pretty much the same except I may swap the button-down shirt for a polo or more casual shirt. 

49 minutes ago, Bobal said:

 

This is correct. However, we always have at least the 3 night dining package and have never had a problem getting reservations. However, I would suggest you do it as soon as you board to ensure you get the times you want, particularly if you are hoping for a peak time which seems to be around 7 pm. They will have a desk set up at one of the speciality restaurants and also somewhere on one of the main decks to take bookings

Exactly this; except, in my experience, you can go to any specialty restaurant and book everything you want. Usually if you go to one of the people at the desk on promenade, they will simply escort you to a specialty restaurant to book your selections.

We had UDB on Harmony last October and went immediately to Chops. There was no line and they were able to book all of the restaurants/times we wanted without issue. We were in and out in less than 10 minutes. 

Side note - I suspect that even with UDP and the other packages, the specialty restaurants still are not completely full. We made several changes during the week and did not have any issues getting the times we wanted at an alternate restaurant except for Izumi Hibachi, which is understandable since there are such a limited number of seats per evening.  

Nice to see you here on CC! In my experience, yes, you will continue to get additional offers after anything you earned on board expires. We haven't sailed Carnival since 2017, but just booked a cruise for this coming Thanksgiving using a casino offer. The rate wasn't a huge discount, but it was a casino offer that includes $500 free play and Drinks on Us for me +1. 

For probably 12-18 months, I got offers via e-mail and mail. Now, they come primarily via e-mail, but there is always some sort of casino offer in my account.

You can always logon to carnival.com, click "My Profile," and then "My Offers," and you will see anything you have out there. Your casino offers will show up at the top in a section called "VIFP Club Members-Only Offers." I attached what my offers look like - and again, I haven't sailed on Carnival for nearly 3 years. 

Brent

5 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

Plenty of vendors on a Market Days, being Friday or Saturday, but not 100% shure how many are there during the rest of the week.  A contact with The Tourist Board will give you all the answers.

Thanks! I checked my prior itinerary, and we were there on a Friday. We are there on a Friday again for the upcoming trip, so I am hopeful! 

Hello! We visited St. Kitts around three years ago and after doing a cruise ship excursion wandered around just outside of the cruise port. We stumbled upon some delicious BBQ food that was being cooked right on the street in what looked like giant old oil drums. I recall that if you were walking from the cruise ship past the cruise port area, it was maybe 1-2 blocks to the left of the cruise port.

Does anyone have any details about this BBQ vendor? Does it still exist? We are visiting again in about a month and would really like to eat it again! Here's a picture of what it looked like if that helps anyone.