PeeBee2

In a few weeks time we are sailing on the NOS out of Southampton in a GS suite. The views in this thread have been very interesting and I am considering an ultimate package. However I wonder if some kind soul could advise me if we are able to decide which restaurants we eat in nightly ?, for instance can we elect to eat in Chops and Giovani's only during our 7 night cruise ?. Also how would we choose the first nights restaurant as I am under the impression it is chosen for us and we dont wish to eat in Izumi.

I called Royal Caribbean about this...my husband cannot drink post transplant. They were very accomodating, said I could get the deluxe package for me and the non alcoholic package for him. Both were 30% off that day, so it worked out just fine.

Same here. My wife cannot drink alcohol for medical reasons, I emailed RCI and they telephoned me. I explained the situation and was allowed to purchase the deluxe for me and just the refreshment package for my wife, And at a discount as the prices had dropped a couple of days before :).

I am looking at booking a suite on Azura in 2020 and 2 travel agents tell me that P&O have scrapped gratuities as of next year. I know a number of cruisers on this site have been suggesting this should be done but I wonder if it will affect service ?.

We use Grandma`s Secret Wrinkle Remover which I think is similar to the Downy product. You will find it on Amazon UK or E bay UK

Thanks Muirm0710, found it and the Downey's as well.

Downy Wrinkle Free works great !

I have ironed most of our clothes on Princess cruises ( laundry rooms) and NCL ( irons and boards provided on request). I know... I am on vacation,but stil, neatness counts IMHO !

We took a Celebrity cruise this Summer,where ironing was not available. I followed advice on CC about the Downy product,but was doubtful that it would work.

I was pleasantly surprised and I will not do ironing again on any cruise.:D

Anyone know what the equivalent of 'Downy Product' is in the UK please ?..

If you were old enough you probably would have used the term at some time in the distant past. No one who says it means it as a racial slur.

I agree !. I am from the UK and its a saying my Mother used to use as far back as the 1950's that I can recall. ;) . I'm 75 !.

As far as the OP's feeling of 'injustice' is concerned I am sympathetic with what has happened to her although it is clear that RCI havent broken rules etc. To be advised you have been allocated a Grand Suite to then be told that it has been changed to a JS has got to be a disappointment to put it mildly. A situation that would typically have been described as 'Indian Giving' by my Mom and she came from an era where she wouldnt have known what racism was or even what the term meant.

Having second thoughts about booking Anthem after reading the Navigator thread on hard mattresses and those that are taking bed toppers to try and overcome the reportedly hard mattresses. I would be interested in your opinion of how you are finding the comfort of the beds on Anthem.

We have a GS on the Navigator sailing from Southampton coming up and we had been wondering about the mattress situation. My wife has had major spinal surgery and had two metal rods inserted in her back some years ago. She is in constant discomfort and a hard bed will really cause her a lot of pain. As a result I have been considering this topper to take with us.

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-synthetic-soft-touch-washable-dual-layer-mattress-topper/p1519431?size=single-90-x-190cm

We have considered memory foam but apart from it needing to be left a day or two to 'inflate' itself, my wife finds she sinks into memory foam to such a degree it holds her so she cant turn over easily. I love it but had to send back a memory foam mattress we bought some years ago because of this.

The problem will be it will have to be removed on the last night so that it can be packed in a suitcase and left outside the cabin for appropriate collection. I suppose we will have to ask for an RCI topper for that last night:(. I think I would rather do this than risk the consequences if we dont and I am so glad that the OP started this thread because we would never have given it a thought..

I wonder of the curved shape of the RCI mattress is likely to cause a problem with fitting the topper I have in mind ?.

Not sure where you are leaving from but I have never boarded that early. 10:30 is very early to be on board.

GrannyBush ???. Sorry GrandmaDazzles, I dont know where that came from !. We are embarking from Southampton and the setsail pass indicates embark from 1030am. I wasnt initially planning on an early start as that, perhaps around 1pm but then thought the earlier we are on the ship then the earlier our cruise starts:D:D

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. I am fairly confident now that we will receive our sea pass as we board and so wont have any problem.

Paul

I'd try knocking on the door. Unless they have installed bar code scanners on the CL door, I don't know how one would get in before they have their SeaPass card.

Hi Bob, I'm sure I saw in a posting on here somewhere that a poster said he had actually gone and knocked on the door to gain access and yet another poster said a member of staff in a nearby bar gained access for him. Sorry I dont know what ship or when this was. But of course all this is academic if you are given your sea pass at check in as that solves the question I posed and other queries like making purchases.

You’ll be given your seapass in the terminal before you board the ship and this will give you access to the Lounge until your can get in your suite

Oh,right. I was under the impression that the sea passes would be in our suite when we got there.

Paul

Put your seapass in the access slot.

Hi GrannyBush,thanks for the reply but I am looking at the scenerio where I will have boarded as soon as possible (1030am) and I assume our suite will not be available and so wont be able to immediately collect the sea pass /key for the lounge.

By way of celebration for our 55th wedding anniversary and as a surprise for my wife, I have just paid for an upgrade to a GS on NOS. I note that the Navigator has a Concierge Lounge and wondered how you gain access to it if you have managed to board early and are not able to immediately go to your suite to collect your sea pass to gain access ?.

I have seen reference to this exact situation on this site but cant find the post now.

You will have access to coneirge lounge (navigator does not have suite lounge) which has free drinks from 4:30 to 8pm , I really loved reserved pool seating which is close to pools, concierge will walk you off the ship at disembarkation. Concierge can make reservations at restaurants, you also get a made to order breakfast at chops and limited lunch also at chops. Reserved seats for all the shows including ice show which can be crowded. We have done suites on navigator 3 times and always loved it. I sure I forgot something

That sounds wonderful !. We have a J3 Suite for the first time on Navigator and from replies I have seen on this site it would appear that a J3 Suite does not qualify for any of the above 'perks'.

to clarify: the people at the security stations are NOT Cruise line employees.

Yes, sorry. You are right. They no doubt are security employees of the Port Authority or 'rent a cop' as an earlier poster indicated :). But they do a valuable job for our safety even if we do find it irksome at times.

Why don't you call Royal Caribbean special needs and ask this question?

Hi Homosassa. Good question but I tend to look at the replies on this notice board to be more realistic, by people who are actually sailing and experiencing the effects of 'rules' implemented by the travel companies and accordingly I have more faith in the answers that we tend to get here. The number of times I have seen posts on this board indicating that phone calls to the 'powers that be' have resulted in different answers on the same subject. And have you noted the number of people who are indicating that RCI staff at different ports seem to be interpreting the 'confiscation' rule differently. There are obviously some questions that only the travel companies could answer but I thought this particular question was better suited for here :).

I notice that there has been a fair amount on the notice boards recently about the seemingly new enforcement of 'power strip' lead confiscation and in particular any extension lead that has a surge protector system, which is probably most of them nowadays. We are sailing on the NOS this October from Southampton and I shall have to take my wife's mobility scooter charging pack. Has anyone had any recent experience with such a charger which has two 3 or 4 foot leads and the unit itself is approx 6 x 4 inches. I wonder if this will show up as a 'banned' power strip and not wishing to suffer the inconvenience of going to the 'naughty room' I am considering adding it my ever growing carry on case size.

Thanks Livylotte, as the general consensus is that there will be a 1st sitting, even if its re-scheduled slightly, answers my question with the WJ as a fall back.

Thanks also Grandma Dazzles, I didnt know that passengers with mobility issues are catered for at a separate Muster if necessary. I dont think though that it will cause us a problem as my wife will have her scooter to sit on and could walk a short distance before having to sit down.

Thank you all for your very re-assuring replies. We have only ever sailed with RCI once before (IOS) in 2011. I was aware of the WJ but wasnt sure whether it is open for meals on a sail day. However, as has been pointed out, as the WJ is open then we could use it in the absence of the MDR being available. We are really looking forward to this now, our first suite !

We are sailing on the 19th October on the NOS from Southampton in a J3 suite and we are not experienced sailors, are both in our mid 70’s and my wife has a mobility issue where she uses a scooter. Accordingly I wonder if the more experienced RCI travellers might be able to offer us some advice please.

The ship is shown as departing at 7pm, we have elected 1st sitting. As there will be a ‘muster drill’ just prior to sailing I assume there wont be a 1st sitting meal time in the MDR available on the day ?.

I am concerned about this because my wife is insulin dependent and as a result of travelling that day to join the ship, the 6pm meal time would have been her main meal. In an effort to avoid likely consequences of her missing this meal resulting in it disturbing her insulin injection regime I need to be planning now on how and where we will be able to obtain a meal. Could we just turn up in the MDR after muster drill and try and get a meal I wonder ?.

I hadnt thought about Muster Drill re my upcoming cruise. We are sailing on the Navigator from Southampton on the 19th October which is shown as departing at 7pm. Now I am hoping that as we are first sitting that I will be eating dinner as we sail. What time are they likely to do the Muster Drill with a 7pm sailing ?.

I now realise that this must be an old sticky and thats why Laura is asking for help to create a new one looking at some of the 8 year old postings..

This FAQ is in the process of being created by our Royal Caribbean Community members. It should contain answers to the most commonly asked questions about cruising on Royal Caribbean ships.

 

This sticky is an excellent idea BUT have you noticed some of the dates that the information was (I assume) originally posted on the first page ?, or am I misinterpreting the posting dates ?. The information appears to be years out of date and thus unreliable !.