RomanceMama

Sorry don't mean to high jack post. We are coming two days before and staying near a hotel close to Disney springs . Will shuttles pick us up and get us to port day of cruise ?

We are staying in Disney Springs before our cruise. We did a one way rental through Avis (They are in the hotel) and will return at Cruise Port location and then take shuttle to pier. The price was less than other alternatives. There are other car rental companies in the Disney Springs area.

We are taking a 7 night northbound Alaskan cruise this June. After the cruise we are spending 5 extra days exploring Alaska. I know we can get a car seat from the rental car company but we would prefer to bring our own. If we chose to bring our own is that something that can be stored somewhere in the ship or would we have to make room in our cabin for it?

Years ago when my youngest was 6 months we took a cruise on Mariner and spent time at Universal first. I had two strollers with me - a full size one for Universal and a smaller one for the ship. Our room steward took the full size one and stored for me while we were on the ship and brought back to me the last night. Not sure if this is still possible, but I would ask room steward when you get to room. Can't hurt to ask.

Royal Caribbean isn't included in their selections

Has anyone had a good experience through this? It would be amazing to get some cash back after the cruise but I would prefer to hear about others experiences before pulling the trigger.

 

 

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Yes, my husband and I have used it. The cash back afterwards was very nice after booking two cabins.;)

Royal Caribbean isn't included in their selections

Using a travel site it is availabe.

I'm really torn right now.

 

I have the choice of a ship/class I'd love to go on (Oasis - I've never been on an Oasis class before) with an itinerary that I could take or leave (Eastern Caribbean)

or a boat I've been on before (Explorer) with an itinerary I've always wanted to do (Pacific Northwest).

 

What's the deciding factor for you? What's more important? The ship or the stops?

On cruises like that which are so different with starting ports we take airfare into consideration.

Go to the current roll call and ask if someone is online from the ship. See if they will check at the bar for you. Have a great cruise.

We've been cruising with and without our kids for years. Our youngest (13 now) was 6 months on his first cruise. It's not hard to cruise with an infant, you just need to be flexible and be prepared. I'm an over packer to begin. Take plenty of diapers and formula. On that voyage we were face with Hurricane Jean. It was great listening to the cruise director making announcements to see if anyone had extra diapers for families than ran out. We were out at see for three extra days. One of the chefs came out to our table in the dining room one night during our extra days and offered to puree food for us if needed.

I found a small style stroller worked best. We brought our own pack and play. We usually request a table just for our family. Our wait staff was great in the dini ng room. The assistant waiter saw that the baby liked playing with the spoons. By the third night there were 7 spoons lined up on the table in front of his high chair. You can still do shows. Sit in the back or near a door in case the baby starts to fuss and one of you can take a walk. You can buy Tide small packets for washing in a sink. Target usually has them in their travel size section. These are perfect for washing baby items in the sink if needed. (or grown up items)

Just remember to take things in stride. Don't worry if other passengers think you're crazy taking an infant. Be willing to take a walk if the baby gets fussy. We've cruised with the kids since they were toddlers and infant. They are 21, 19 and 13 now all seasoned cruisers and great travellers. Enjoy.

We were on a Carnival (never again) cruise last September and there were 5 medical emergencies including 2 deaths on board. We were met by helicopters and boats. Last one was the final night while cruising up the river to New Orleans. Stopped for a helicopter. We've had cruises with emergencies before but never that many in one cruise.

For those of you who've always wondered what happens when you have a medical problem while on board, let me give you a rundown of what happened to me.

 

On the first day (a sea day) of my solo voyage to the Western Caribbean on Rhapsody of the seas, I began to see these huge spider-like floaters in my left eye. No big deal, since I've had them before, but boy these were bigger than I remember.

 

In the evening I started to get pin-pricks of lights flash down the left periphery of the eye like extremely tiny shooting stars. Remembering back to a previous conversation with a friend who had eye surgery, "Flashes of light are bad."

 

The next morning while docked in Roatan I went to the ships hospital right when it opened at 8AM. If you've not been there, it's a little larger and better stocked than most primary care physician's office, with two waiting rooms - one for the passengers and the other for the crew. In this case it was staffed by 2 doctors and 3 nurses.

 

There's a vending machine on the wall with supplies of antacids, Ibruprofen, antibiotic ointment, bandages, and Benedryl, and a different box on the wall with seasickness pills, all self-serve and free of charge.

 

After about a half-hour wait I saw the nurse first, who filled out the paperwork and did a preliminary workup, then saw the doctor. He informed me it was best to get looked at by an ophthalmologist ASAP, but not in Roatan. They would make the arrangements for me to see a doctor the next day in Belize.

 

Sure enough, a few hours later I had a message to be at the ship's hospital at 8:30AM the next morning. I was presented with a Landing Letter that had all the necessary info on who to contact, including Royal Caribbean "Care Team" contacts, should I have to stay onshore.

 

At 8:30 the port agent met me, handed me off to another agent on the tender, then another agent when the tender docked. He walked me to a waiting cab who took me to the ophthalmologist.

 

Dr. Hoy was very competent, explained to me the problem (partially detached retina), and said that I shouldn't wait to have it fixed or it could get a lot worse. He then reattached the retina with his trusty laser and about 80 tiny laser hits to make a patch. Took about 5 minutes.

 

When it was all finished, the cab was again waiting for me, which took me back to the dock and the awaiting port agent to get me back to the ship. I could see fine (a little blurry then) and can see fine today back home, thanks to the Rhapsody hospital team and Dr. Hoy.

 

The point of this post is that if you need medical attention beyond what's available on the ship, you will be taken care of and all the arrangements will be made for you as needed.

 

No need to worry, you'll be in good hands.

 

Many thanks to everyone involved!

Thank you for sharing. So often all we hear about are the horror stories that happen to passengers. It's nice to know that more often than not the cruise line staff are extremely helpful and everything works out.

I'm pretty sure they cannot be removed. When our youngest was a toddler, (he's cruised since he was 6 months, 13 now) I had an inflatable toddler bed that we took with us. It was perfect and easy to pack. And could slide under the bed when not in use. You might want to look into one. Hope this helps.

Maria

We've had both types of staterooms on this Class. Both were great. Our Boardwork Balcony was second to the end. So we still got a "view" of the ocean. Never had problems with noise. But, I have to agree with Bob. This class of ships doesn't have as many areas to view the ocean. We prefer the outside balcony.

I've never come across this problem. Now the "shelf" or "basket" near the shower head isn't large. It normally has open slots for water to drain. I place a wash cloth in the bottom so my razor and small bottles don't slip through. Hope this helps.

Great point! Didn't think of that! :eek: Maybe they could have the kids help in the kid's club? :D

Love it!! :D

There is a dumpster under my balcony full of life jackets. I would post photos, but don't have a photo sharing account.

 

I have to say the crew has been awesome in what must be an extremely difficult situation for them. Stepping up the activities and music.

 

Guest relations is swamped with people disembarking. I am staying onboard. I am in a suite and these double (now discounted by 50%) C&A points finally get me to Diamond.

 

My wife and I agree, this cruise is now much more memorable then a trip to Nassau. :-)

LOVE your great attitude!! Thanks for keeping us posted.

Remember, you don't have to only use the machines. You can also go to any bar with the cup or just your sea pass and get your sodas that way. My husband dosen't like carrying around the cup, so he would just use his sea pass at the bars.

Has anyone here registered their valuables with the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol prior to your cruise so that your valuables don't get flagged for Duty when re-entering the U.S.?

 

Were you able to find a CBP agent to sign the form before boarding the ship - if so' date=' how did you find an agent? Or, did you get the form signed before the departure date?

 

Is it correct that only items with serial numbers can be registered? What do you do if an item has no serial number?

 

Thank you![/quote']

 

We were stopped once years ago coming through customs in one of the Florida ports. My husband has a Rolex Submariner watch that he wears alot. The customs agent saw it on his wrist and asked if we declared it. We told him it wasn't purchased on the cruise. My husband had to take it off and show him the "scratches" or "wear marks" on the band to prove it wasn't new. That's the only time we were ever questioned.

Great. Thanks, I'll check that out. Have fun on Allure. We were on her last May. Allure is my absolute favorite.

Hi All,

We just booked Oasis for Sept 10th for our 25th Anniversary. This is my favorite class of ship and needless to say I'm extremely excited. I'm sure someone knows - probably Bob or MerionMom ;) - when I'll be able to access the entertainment reservations.

Thanks,

Maria

We frequently cruise during Hurricane Season. It's all an adventure. We've had itineraries changed or reversed a few times. Our favorite was Mariner of the Seas in September 2004. Hurricane Jean paid a visit while we were on board. Traveling with our 8 yr old, 6 yr old and 6 month old kids. We were stuck at sea a few extra days because we couldn't get back into Port Canaveral. The channel had become too shallow and Mariner was the first of the "Big" ships to use the port. They ended up bringing us down to Miami. RCI was great. They gave us free phone calls to call home and change flights. One of the Chefs came out to the dining room to speak to me to offer to start pureeing food for the baby if I ran out of baby food. (I'm an "over packer" no chance of that happening.) The best part was hearing announcements by the Cruise Director requesting diapers for families that ran out. Most passengers took it all in stride. Every time the captain announced we were going to be delayed again you would hear cheering throughout the ship. Just gotta go with the flow.:D

Great. Thanks for replying. Have fun on your cruise..

When my DH and I were on Magic in '12 we purchased a Couple's Pass for the Thermal Suites in the Cloud 9 Spa.

Does anyone know if they have this pass on the Dream? I know they have single daily and week long passes. But the couple's pass was a great price for the week.

We will be on the Sept. 11th sailing but aren't booked in a Spa Balcony. I have arthritis and the Thermal Suite was wonderful last time on the Magic.

So, we decided to do a "cheap" get away, sailing out of New Orleans in August. My question for you, what is the most "rig-a-mo" you have ever done to do "cheap"? Right now, this is our plan...drive to Cincinnati (about an hour and a half away) and fly Allegient Air ($44.00 per ticket) to N.O. (there are 10 of us); rent two cars; drive to hotel in Gretna then to the ferry station and take the ferry over and walk into the French Quarters for the day; ferry back to cars; cars back to hotel. In the morning drive to cruise port drop off 8 people and drivers take the two rental cars to a drop off point near the ship (1/2 to 1 mile); drop off cars and drivers walk back to port. Following the cruise we will rent two cars to take us back to the airport; drivers will again walk to car rental pick up and drive back to port to pick up other 8 people; drop off cars and fly back to Dayton with points on Southwest. If we can't get drivers to take us to Cincinnati for the Allegient flights we will have to go back the next day to pick up the cars. We are experienced travelers and have done a lot of things to save a dime, but I am smiling as I type this because this is a lot even for us! So, can you beat this or do you just think we are crazy?

Ha Love it!! One year my DH and I had friend drive us to LI Railroad station. Took train to NYC. Change to Amtrak to go to Philly. From there friend picked us up and took us to airport. Flew to Detroit. and then flew to Miami. Believe or not cheaper than flying from NY to Miami Spring Break week. Definitely wouldn't have done with three kids in tow. But the two of us had a blast.

I'm an over packer and have vacation check lists for every type of trip. And I'm always nagging my DH to make sure he has everything. For our cruise in May I realized as we approached the airport (with no time to turn back) I forgot my percription glasses that I need to see distance and transition into sunglasses. We left on Sat (day before cruise) checked to have our son fed ex to us. No Sunday delivery. First port was Jamaica on Wednesday. Was gonna cost over $200 to send to me. Oh well, just told DH he couldn't leave my side or I'd never find him on Allure. LOL He will NEVER let me live that one down.

We just received the same upgrade offer. We took it as well. We had deck 11 on our Magic cruise a few years ago and loved the location. I was only hesitant because we have family members in an inside cabin on deck 6 across from the room we had there. But after reading many comments about the balconies on deck 6 overlooking deck 5 promenade and hot tubs I was concerned we made a bad decision when we originally picked deck 6. I was thrilled when we got the email yesterday to switch to deck 11.