vacation_mommy

Rome in Limo has a HUGE thread of recommendations...just down the board. I don't think there is an issue with reliability. Certainly hasn't been with the 8 time we have used them.

 

Your hotel is just using some other vendor, probably one frequently mentioned here.

Yep - only considering Rome in Limo and Miles because of all the reviews and recommendations. I guess my question is probably more along the lines of is there an advantage of booking with the hotel instead of a private company.

We are arranging transfer from the port of Civittechia to our hotel in rome, then later in the week from the hotel to the airport. For a fee, our hotel will arrange a driver for us, but they would coordinate the entire thing. Or - we could arrange a private transfer on our own with Rome in Limo or Miles & Miles for about 10 Euros less each way. What would you do? Not sure which would be more reliable....

You could use the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) to see the sights plus they use double decker buses. There are 2 HOHO bus companies. They each have 3 routes.

 

Buckingham Palace staterooms may be open when you are there www.royalcollection.org.uk

Do you think that the HOHO would be better on the Tower of London day or the palace day?

Hello,

We are travelling to London for a few days before heading to our Mediterranean cruise. We will be travelling with our 3 children (8,11,13). I am not planning on any real activites for arrival day due to jet lag, but want to make the most of the the remaining 2 days. The first day one of our major "must sees" is Buckingham palace and changing of the guard. The second day our "must do" is Tower of London. Here's my question - the kids all want to ride a double decker bus as well - would you say is better planned for the day with Buckingham Palace or Tower of London? We under no false pretense that we will see everything - and plan to return to London in the future - we really just want to get the kids a feel of it. If it matters - we will be staying near Trafalgar square.

Thank you!

You'll be in Rome early, how early depends on the arrival time of your ship, how quickly you want to get off, and how you are getting to Rome from Civitavecchia. In any event it will be mid to late morning.

 

As you think about the Colosseum tour, keep in mind that the ticket also includes the Forum and Palatine Hill. The ticket is good for two days so you don't have to see them all at the same time, but the two days are consecutive.

 

Also note that the historic center of Rome is pretty small, the two furthest common points are the entrance to the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum and they are only two and a half miles apart, so a little back and forth to accommodate your kids won't horribly impact your available time.

 

As an aside, when I took our oldest to Rome for the first time he was 13. I let/made him do a lot of the research for the trip and he decided that we should see things in historical order, the way he was taught them in school. Now that made for a lot of back and forth and crisscrossing town!

That's a great idea! Although - not sure the youngest will appreciat the back and forth!

Thank you for all the tips to all the posters - it is making this short stay a little ledss intimidating.

We are spending 2 and a half days in Rome post cruise with our family (2 adults, 3 kids) and I am trying to arrange our tours. We will travel from Civittechia to Rome on a Saturday, then stay in Rome on Sunday and Monday full days. What time would you plan as the "starting" time the Saturday we arrive? I am thinking we might do a Colosseum tour the first afternoon around 2, then on Sunday just a general "Rome sights" tour, then Monday the Vatican. My kids really want to wait for the Papal blessing on Sunday but I am not sure I am up for the waiting - as well as 2 part days spent at the Vatican when there is so much to see in Rome. Thoughts - does this plan sound reasonable or would you move things around? What would the best schedule be? Thank you!

I am not trying to rely solely on an anonymous forum. I am just trying to figure out as I search the comparison sites how important the Primary / Secondary coverage is. The majority of what is coming up as options for my trip are showing as secondary (I think because I have passed a certain amount of time since paying the deposit? Not sure why). The closet compartive plan with primary position is $200 more. It isn't a deal breaker - but if it was just a matter of "headache" and "paperwork" and not an difference in how much I am really out of pocket I wouldn't mind saving that extra amount.

What does it say in the specific policy you are considering, about coverage paying what is not paid by primary?

 

Does the secondary state it pays what the primary hasn't paid, or does it go into things like deductibles and co-pays for the primary?

 

And if this is troublesome, why not get primary coverage on the trip insurance?

For some policies, that is the type of coverage; for others, making the travel insurance primary might only cost $25 more.

 

But what *matters* is how the policy is worded, including any fine print.

Or you could ask the insurer directly in advance. That would be far more reliable than asking for answers that really matter to you, from anonymous internet forum participants.

 

Or use an insurance broker such as TripInsuranceStore, and ask them about the specific concern.

 

GC

I have read through so many threads on the Primary / Secondary medical coverage. I understand that with secondary it kicks in AFTEr you have submitted claims to your regular insurance for unpaid. This is what I don't understand... Will the secondary also pay any deductible that I have to pay under my "normal" insurance - or do they only pay after that amount? Example to illustrate: $25,000 in overseas medical expense, "Normal" insurance will pay 20% after I have met my $5000 deductible. So, normal insurance pays $4,000. I then submit claim to secondary trip insurance for remainder. Would that remainder be $16,000 (so $25k - $5k deductible - $4k) or would the remainder I submit be $21,000 ($25K - $4k paid by normal insurance)? I don't know why this is so hard for me to understand.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo. It is about a block walk to the ferry which takes you across the lake to Bellagio. Stayed there a week many years ago and dream of going back!

was the last time we cruised on Oasis, also had them on Allure.

We were on the oasis 2 weeks ago, had 2 connecting rooms. No clotheslines, but a few "hooks" in the shower and in the bathroom. When we really needed more space to hang wet suits I used clothespins and clipped them to our chairs on our balcony.

No it is not. It was scheduled to be put on during her last dry dock and then cancelled, the Diamond lounge is in that space.

The funny thing is on the maps of the ship in each of the elevator banks it shows "wonderland" as a space. Confused me when we sailed last week!

We will be traveling on the Oasis next June with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, who will be 7 and 10 at the time. This will be our first cruise on the Oasis, although we are Diamond on RCCL and Elite Plus on Celebrity.

We have severak questions we have not seen answered on the Oasis threads, so we are hoping some of you can help out.

1. We have not seen many reviews of the kids' program for these age groups. Have your kids had positive experiences with these activities? Problems?

2. My daughter's family has been on Disney cruises and they were totally enthusiastic. Any idea how the Oasis kids stuff compares? Are there specific times for interactions with the DreamWorks characters as there are on the Disney ships? If so, which characters are involved?

3. Also, on the Disney ships there were ship smartphones that the family could use to keep in touch with one another on the big ship. Is there any similar arrangement on the Oasis? The 10-year-old at least could certainly be responsible for using something like that.

4. Aside from the children's program, what activities are particularly appealing for kids of these ages?

5. Anything else we should be thinking to ask?

Thanks in advance! :confused:

We are just got off the Oasis last week with our kids, aged 11, 9 and 5 (one month shy of 6). The two older kids were in the 9-11 age group, and the young one was in the 3-5 age group. My kids only went to the kids club 4 nights, for about an hour or 2 after dinner - it was obvious however there were some kids that were there MUCH more. We have also sailed with Disney in the past.

From our experience, RC is a much more structured kids program. Every night there was a theme to the club (which you are told about in the kids navigator), and GROUP activities based around that theme. Unlike on the Disney cruise, they did not have the option of opting out and doing the computer or watch a movie if they didn't like the activity. At first, my kids really loved that aspect, since the first 2 nights they really liked the group activity. However, the last two nights they came back and were upset that the activities weren't that fun (their words, not mine) or the "team" they were on wasn't great. They both said they wished that there was an option to something else those nights. However, my youngest LOVED that the activities were all group things. For a child who likes to go off and do their own thing they might not have as much fun as on the Disney. One point though - even though my kids never complained about the Disney club - they never were thrilled to go, either - and when they did go to Disney they never interacted with the other kids, just went off and did their own things. I felt better knowing that they were being "forced" to do group activities, and not just by themselves.

Second - there is no Wave phone like on the DCL. However, we did see a lot of families with walkie talkies on board that they packed to use. They also sold walkie talkies in the gift store onboard. For us, we never really needed it - since we were either all together, or the kids were in the kid's club. I didn't let them venture out on the ship alone since there were so many people and it just didn't feel as intimate as the DCL cruises in the past.

My older kids were able to find a ton of things to do, and in the end walked away saying they liked the RC cruise more than the DCL (I preferred DCL though). We are just got off the Oasis last week with our kids, aged 11.5, 9.5 and 5 (one month shy of 6). The two older kids were in the 9-11 age group, and the young one was in the 3-5 age group. My kids only went to the kids club 4 nights, for about an hour or 2 after dinner - it was obvious however there were some kids that were there MUCH more. We have also sailed with Disney in the past.

From our experience, RC is a much more structured kids program. Every night there was a theme to the club (which you are told about in the kids navigator), and GROUP activities based around that theme. Unlike on the Disney cruise, they did not have the option of opting out and doing the computer or watch a movie if they didn't like the activity. At first, my kids really loved that aspect, since the first 2 nights they really liked the group activity. However, the last two nights they came back and were upset that the activities weren't that fun (their words, not mine) or the "team" they were on wasn't great. They both said they wished that there was an option to something else those nights. However, my youngest LOVED that the activities were all group things. For a child who likes to go off and do their own thing they might not have as much fun as on the Disney. One point though - even though my kids never complained about the Disney club - they never were thrilled to go, either - and when they did go to Disney they never interacted with the other kids, just went off and did their own things.

Second - there is no Wave phone like on the DCL. However, we did see a lot of families with walkie talkies on board that they packed to use. They also sold walkie talkies in the gift store onboard. For us, we never really needed it - since we were either all together, or the kids were in the kid's club. I didn't let them venture out on the ship alone since there were so many people and it just didn't feel as intimate as the DCL cruises in the past.

As far as character interactions, the biggest difference I saw was that unlike Disney, there wasn't massive lines to take pictures with the characters on the RC ships. This is probably because the Dreamworks Characters aren't as iconic as the Disney ones. We didn't take pics with ANY disney character when we were on the DCL cruise b/c I hated the idea of waiting in a huge line and wasting time. The trip on the Oasis we had pictures with Puss from Puss n Boots, a character from How to Train your Dragon, and a few other. We didn't seek them out (they are listed in the Navigator) but just happened to be walking by when they were out and about.

My older kids were able to find a ton of things to do, and in the end walked away saying they liked the RC cruise more than the DCL (I preferred DCL though). The additional activities the older kids could do (not the 5 year old) were the rock wall (have to be 6 years old), the ice skating (all ages), the zip line (must be 75 pounds which they just came in at), and the Flow Rider (boogie board only, not tall enough for the stand up surfing). They also preferred the pool / water area since it was much bigger than the DCL cruise and not as crowded. On the DCL you couldn't move at all in the pools and just had to stand there and watch the movie - on the Oasis the kids pool was definitely busy but still enough room to swim around, jump, etc. They also LOVED the "washing machine" - which was a small pool that had a current pushing them around in a circle. It was a huge hit with all of them.

The hardest part for me was that I compared every aspect of the cruise to our previous Disney experience. In the end - nothing will compare to DCL attention to detail and service - but DCL paled in comparison on the number of things the kids could do.

Do you mean a package that you PAID for?

 

You just cancel the first package and book the other.

 

If you mean a package that is included as a promotion, then yes, people successfully upgrade those all the time.

No - the one I paid for. I keep getting an error message when I try to cancel it - so I was curious if it was a known "issue". I will try again tomorrow, and maybe call them if I need to. Thank you!

Has anyone been successful at upgrading your drink package after you already purchased a lower level package? I know Royal Caribbean website says you can - but the online portal isn't allowing me to. So, just wondering if it is just me - or if you really need to contact them to do it for you instead of going about it online. Thank you!

This is a Fantastic little known tip about the Family Oceanview rooms. We booked our 2nd trip on a Freedom 8 day and scored room 8500.

 

Unlike all the other FO rooms that sleep 6 on the freedom class ships, the two family oceanviews at the front on the 8th floor have a bedroom seperate from the livingroom as well as a bunkroom as found in other FO rooms.

 

So you get a masterbedroom, livingroom and a bunkroom. The layouts are not widely known and most TAs and Royal reservatons are unaware of this different layout.

 

The differences between 8200 and 8500 are 8200 has a larger door to the master so has a curtain instead of a door

8200 has a larger living room

8500 has a door that latches shut on the master bedroom

8500 has 4 windows instead of 3

 

We have a family of 6 so we struggle with cost saving options when trying to book a cruise. We recently booked during the Kids Sail Free promo (ive never seen this promo with Royal before so its a rare occurrence) and got the family oceanview for 3900 taxes included. For two insides during the same promo it was about 500 more and for a balcony and an inside it was about 5200.

 

If you have the money get a balcony and an inside, and while two bathrooms with 2 insides are nice, we prefer to have windows instead of inside rooms. The gym is upstairs at the front of the ship and you can run up there to use the showers and bathrooms if you need to but we usually manage well with a single bathroom (and 3 of my 4 are teen girls).

 

It is at the front of the ship (movement) and far away from the food areas so those may be some considerations.

 

They also now have family oceanviews up top (deck 13?) with full length glass walls that sleep 6 but we have not looked into the cost or availability of these 2 rooms on a cruise.

 

As others have mentioned, you do have to call to book a family oceanview.

 

-Sean

Just Curious - How far in advance did you book this? A year? More or less? I know we made way too much for last minute booking - but this seems SO low it makes me cringe at my cost!

We are a family of 5 (kids ages 12, 9 and 6). My advice, regardless of which room type / ship you are on is to try to book as early as possible. We booked a cruise on the oasis, but because of VERY active kids sports schedules we had to wait until pretty last minute (2 1/2 months in advance). We had a few different options open to us for room type - but we are definitely paying more for them. When I read some of the prices others have quoted that they paid for similar accommodations it makes me sick - but my family really really really wanted to go on a RC cruise after all the commercials

Anything that laces up, tennis shoes are fine

Ok, thank you. That was what I was wondering - it they had to lace up, or if they could be the slip on sneaker type (like a TOMS, vans, etc.)

Hello,

I have started packing for our family cruise on Oasis next week - and am hoping someone could clarify what is and isn't allowed for shoes on the zip line. According to the waiver I signed, "DO - Wear suitable clothing, including footwear that is secure and will not fall off during flight." However, according to some threads I have read it states you must have trainers - not just secure shoes. So based on the waiver - do you think I could get away with just close toed shoes (like a TOMS shoe) - or if they have to be the traditional, lace up trainers.

Thank you!

We bought the 4 device package, no streaming , when they had a 30% off sale. I have 4 teens. Oops. That's 3 teens and a hubby ( pretty much the same). Hubby swore he wouldn't need service. On the first full day we had to upgrade to 5 devices. When we bought on sale I paid $139 for 4. In the ship it was $159for 4 and $179 for 5. A $20 difference. But.... To add the 5 th device after the fact I had to pay a per day price with a total of $35 for adding me. Buy before you go especially if there is a sale and buy for all devices or you will pay more than you should

 

Lisa

Thank you so much. I guess I just have to bite the bullet and buy ahead of time. I was hoping that the "sale" really would end up being just marketing and we could wait and see. But - with a hubby who is attached to his computer for work, and three kids (12, 9 and 6) - if one has internet on their games they ALL will want it. Thank you for the heads up on the pricing!

Thank you. Figuring out the internet packages has been the most challenging part for me :) The biggest dilemma - to let the kids log in to the internet to play some of their iPad games - or have a mandatory tech free week ;) Understanding the device packages is a good start for me though - so thank you!

Hello,

We will be cruising on Oasis in 2 weeks, and I am trying to figure out which data package to purchase. If I purchase the VOOM Surf & Stream package for 1 device - does that mean that only 1 device can be logged in at a time? Or does it mean only one device the entire week can use that package. If that doesn't make sense - can I log in with my laptop on one day, and then an iPad on a different day?

Also - do the data prices REALLY go up on the cruise - or are the pre-cruise specials just a marketing ploy?

Sorry if this has already been asked - I have tried looking through old threads and didn't see anything specific to answer this.