Argana

Just called RCCL customer service. For some reason, the "kids sale free" was no longer showing on my reservation (I have two kids in tow). It was adding an additional $900+ per kid.

The customer service agent (David) was so helpful, and added the discount back in. It immediately updated the website, and now all is good. I hit the print button and now I have an official record of my reservation balance. whew! I was really worried there when I saw that huge balance. :)

I booked a cruise last night, paid my $1000 deposit, and now when I log into the "My Cruises" on the Royal Caribbean website, the total price has increased by $2,000??!!

I checked to see if there was a price jump based on the sale ending yesterday, but the price is still exactly the same as yesterday when I booked.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Great news, only trouble now is you will want to book another grand suite for each cruise you do. :D

 

Steven

I agree with this statement. I sailed in a GS last month and now I can't go back. :(

Bonine chewable tablets here. One a day and you are all set. The first cruise I went on I used the patch behind the ear and I was so sleepy and groggy it was horrible. The second cruise, I brought Bonine, but decided I didn't want to take it unless needed, so I skipped the first day, but quickly realized that was the wrong move because I was so nauseous. I started taking Bonine on day two, and it worked like a charm for the remainder of my 7 day cruise.

I finished my third cruise last week, and took Bonine every morning and had no problems at all. Worked wonderfully.

Each person has their own account and points just like airlines.

Okay thanks!

No, as Ken said, each person earns their own points. So each of you has 10 points.

Oh, so we can't have a "family" account? Even if you do the "enroll other household members" through their website?

Each person in the GS (regardless of age) will earn 2 points per night.

Wow, so for the 5 night cruise we just did, we now have 40 points? Cool! not sure what that means, but it sounds like a lot. LOL

How exactly are points earned? We just completed our first cruise on Indy last week in a GS. I'm wondering if you earn one point per night per stateroom, or is it per person per night? There were 2 adults and 2 children, so I wasn't sure if it would count each of us in the room??

I iron everything for all family members every day, so I was going to really have an issue with not having an iron on our cruise a week ago, but I ended up hanging up my clothes as soon as we got into the room (we were in a GS, so lots of hanging space), and I brought Downy Wrinkle Release and it worked quite well. I will say however to make sure that if you bring some of the Downy, that you make sure the lid is screwed on very tightly. I didn't check it very good before packing although I double wrapped it in a target bag, it ended up opening and leaking out into the bag, but there was enough left in the bottle to last us.

We noticed that the h2o zone was for potty trained kids only so we potty trained our 21 month old so we could enjoy the h2o zone when we go on Indy in 3 days. You have time. Potty train him and you'll be able to enjoy the pool. I only hope they don't kick us out thinking our daughter isn't potty trained due to how little she is. Will they? She won't be using a swim diaper.

 

Pro tip: tick tacks were our bribe that worked. ;-)

I actually saw kids in swim diapers using the H20 splash zone, but I'm a stickler for policy, so I wasn't going to violate the policy. I don't think they will kick your daughter out, because they didn't do it when diapers were clearly visible. FYI - we tried skittles and he still has accidents.

I was on that sailing. They had to make a slight detour towards Miami and had a helicopter come and take the patient off the ship. We made all of the ports with no problems. :)

I have a feeling this is going to be a PITA with a 5 year.old and 1 year.old that we have. Me.and husband only see eachother 1 night a week as it is. Going to be annoyed if we have be split up most the trips because the two kids can't do anything together

My 7 year old was playing in the splash pad part with my husband watching him, while I watched my 3 year old in the baby pool. We were able to stand near each other. :D The good news is that the kids get worn out after an hour or two, so then you go back to your room and put them down for a nap. Then you have some time together with just the two of you. ;)

You still have 2 months-potty train him!

If they are't ready, they aren't ready. Believe me, I tried everything to train my son before the cruise, but he still has accidents, so he is in pull-ups, so couldn't use the H20 zone. :(

We just sailed on the Indy last week, and my son is extremely allergic to eggs (we carry an epi pen for him) and he is autistic (so he is VERY picky). He usually eats cheese pizza, peanut butter and jelly and cheese quesadillas in a rotation every day. He does eat fruit though (strawberries, bananas, apples, cantaloupe, grapes) and peas and green beans are his only vegetables.

I emailed the special needs people at Royal Caribbean ahead of time to tell them about the allergy, and request a four top table because he is a handful. They got the table, but didn't pass on the allergy.

We ate in the MDR all but one night, and on the first night, I ordered him cheese pizza. When it came out, the crust looked very "thick" so I asked them if it had eggs in it, and they quickly checked before he ate any and came back to report that it did have eggs.

The dining room director, Maria, came out and asked what he liked to eat, and made a list of things he liked. From that night forward, they had food there waiting for him...like a buffet of all of the foods he liked - green peas, cheese pizza without eggs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and a huge plate of fruit.

He LOVED that he could eat things he liked, and they were so accommodating. I couldn't even believe how accommodating they were. Every night, Maria, would come over to check on him. She also gave us her direct number so that if for some reason we wanted to change the food for that evening, we could call and tell her so they could have it ready for him when we sat down at the table.

I hope you have this same experience, because they truly went above and beyond for my son.

Here is a picture of the baby pool. Notice how my son is looking at the cool splash park in the background? I spent most of my time chasing him down to keep him in the baby pool.

Great review!

We too were on this sailing with you, in a GS (room 1256). We had our two small children with us (age 7 and 3), so we were unable to attend some of the private invitations. I just read to my husband the food that was available for the brunch and now he is sad he missed it. LOL

We were at Barefoot Beach too on Labadee, so I'm sure we saw you there, if not in the hallways some of the days.

This was our first time on RCI, and really enjoyed the trip..but are spoiled now with a GS and probably couldn't do without having it if we are traveling with kids. The expedited embarkation and debarkation was worth the extra cost, as well as the lattes in the concierge lounge. :D

 

Is internet really necessary? I would prefer not to shell out like $500 for internet for a week....

 

I heard Freedom will have VOOM by your sailing, so i would say yes...that is, if your kids are bringing their phones/tablets. We had the slow internet, which worked okay for our needs because a lot of their interactive books and games on their tablets required that initial handshake with the internet to get the book/game started.

I don't believe it will be $500 either. Just pay for one or two devices and just log in/out when not in use to share the internet.

I just got off of the Independence of the Seas (same class as Freedom) with my 7 year old and my just-turned-three son. He is not potty trained fully yet either, so we used swimmers and kept to the baby pool. The bad thing is, the huge H20 splash park for kids is right next to it, and my son wanted nothing to do with the baby pool...he wanted the splash park. So we only visited it once during our 5 night cruise.

I'm not sure what ports you are going to, but we went to Labadee and Jamaica, and he loved the beaches. In Jamaica, we went to the Rose Hall Hilton for the day, and he liked the pool and the beach there.

We were in a grand suite, so we had the bathtub, which was nice.

When we got on board, we registered him with the baby club, but we never used it. The facility and staff seemed nice, but our 7 year old (who is autistic) didn't like the club for his age group, so we just kept the kids with us the whole time.

The baby club is a pay-per-hour service, and it is based on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you are going to think about using this, go register as soon as you get on board.

Look at this website around 5 days before the cruise:

 

https://pevvesseltraffic.broward.org/webclient/public/PublicMovements.aspx

Thanks!!

Looks like you will be at terminal 25. Larger than the terminal in San Juan, but still nothing like the space that terminal 18 has. You should be OK with being able to get checked-in and finding a place to sit until they start boarding.

Where do you find out the terminal you are departing from? We are sailing on Indy April 18.

You can get tea in any eating venue and lemonade in the buffet...neither are available at the bars. If you ask a waiter to get you either, you will be charged for it! So...pick up your drink of choice before you go to your preferred destination. Iced tea is in big containers, as is lemonade.

 

Ice water IS avail. at every bar!!!!

So in the MDR you get charged for asking for iced tea or lemonade?

Is the tea actual "brewed" tea or Lipton from a machine?

This is my first RCI trip (sailing April 18 to Jamaica and Labadee), and I am curious about bringing a portable sun shade for the beach. I have a 3 and 7 year old with us, and would like the option to get out of the sun while visiting the beach locations. I have a portable beach sun shade that folds down to the size of a large umbrella, and am wondering if this is a good option. Has anyone else ever brought one?

I'm staying in a GS, so I know there are cabanas available on barefoot beach, but don't really want to pay the steep price, unless they are really worth it. Also, the pictures of the cabanas look like they are on rocks, and the kids want to play in the sand, and will want to run in and out of the water, so I want to be close to the water's edge.

Thanks!

Wow, so they pretty much confirmed it will be available for your sailing in May?! I'm sailing a month too soon. We sail out on Indy April 18, and most likely will not have it then. :(

Welcome to Cruise Critic....As soon as you board go to the nursery and sign him up....you have a very good chance of having no problem with his age. I would consider him 36 months..but the staff will decide and may take into consideration other factors...like how many 3 and under are on your cruise.

 

We have used the nursery on Radiance twice with grand children (just under 3 yrs old)...and I can tell you the staff in there is amazing.

Thanks! I will be sure to head there first thing after getting on board! I hope they accept him in. I don't plan to leave him there a lot, but would like some peaceful dinners. :D