KelJ

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

It's happened to us at FLL once, flying Southwest.  They said they have limited space at the gates.

This happened to us at FLL years ago also.  I don't remember what airline we flew or what our flight time was, but we got to the airport at 9:30 a.m. and hung out in a lounge (big room with lots of furniture and nothing else) with our luggage for quite a while because the earliest we could check in was three hours before our flight.

We sailed on Anthem over Christmas 2017.  It was a gift to our children and their significant others (all are in their twenties) and my parents.  It was fabulous to not stress about shopping and wrapping gifts for everyone (other than some OBC and a cruise-related gift bag for each) and to not decorate.  

The ship was beautifully decorated.  Santa gave gifts to all children on Christmas morning.  There was a special Christmas dinner menu (although I don't have a picture of it).  We loved sailing over Christmas and would love to do it again (but sailing over Christmas is VERY expensive).

We have sailed the week before Christmas a few times, and the ships were of course beautifully decorated then as well.

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

The port that Royal calls Orlando is actually Port Canaveral, about an hour from Orlando.  Not many shops near the cruise port.  However, if you dock at Terminal 1, you are walking distance from some restaurants.

Bob, now that you point this out, I believe we have docked two different places on our two port stops there.  The first time, we walked and walked and walked through a neighborhood (lots of peacocks everywhere, in yards, on porches) just to get to a Seven Eleven to buy snacks to take back on board.  The second time we docked elsewhere and, as I stated above, it was desolate except for the crew store.  That was Christmas day, which probably added to the ghost town feel.

5 minutes ago, Nessa1dc said:

We are Diamond Plus Cruisers with RCCL.  We have done embarkation from every Florida Port, Jersey, Baltimore, and Puerto Rico....

 

What we have never done, is have a US port of call.  So we will be on the Grandeur in exactly 16 DAYS (can you tell I'm ready?)....

 

2 of our ports are Miami and Orlando...so are the ships in the spots that we would do embarkation? or are they in spots close to shops, etc...

 

I would appreciate any photos or anything at this point...just interested to know.

We've had port stops twice at Port Canaveral.  It sucks as a port stop unless you book an excursion.  There is absolutely nothing to do or see or walk to except a crew store (where all of the crew will be hanging out, eating, sending money back home, and using the internet).

I've sailed to/from Miami, but I honestly can't remember how close the port is to anything walkable.

On 11/24/2018 at 9:02 AM, Ken Greco said:

Can a Diamond member bring a non member to a free cocktail party?

Are you referring to a top-tier event? We have been asked to show our invitations at top-tier events.  

19 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

As most say, if your needs are basically bottled water and the occasional coffee only the water package seems to be of value for you, and perhaps a coffee card if all of you reach 15 coffee drinks. For the occasional remaining items you'll be absolutely better a la carte!...

 

Well: To each his own really, but I'm on the likes of the ones whom will only drink bottled water aboard. I know: Drinks, speciality coffees and the likes do use ship water, but I also hope that those machines to have a filter at least... To drink direct tap water from the ship... That is a no-no!... Psychological barrier? Maybe, but no thanks! Nor even from the bar!..

 

Have a nice day!... 🙂

Do you get ice in your drinks at the bar?

1 hour ago, drneal said:

I will be on Mariner of the Seas on Christmas.

Does anyone know if there is a special dinner in the dining room 

or maybe prime rib carving station in Windjammer ?

I can’t answer your Windjammer question, but on Christmas day last year on the Anthem there was a special Christmas dinner menu in the MDR. I have to look to see if I took a picture of it. 

Edit to add:  I don’t seem to have a picture of the menu. I remember one of the entrees being beef brisket. 

I have been having a lot of trouble getting into my cruise planner, but I finally was able to look at everything I had previously booked for the 1/6/19 Liberty of the Seas.  Nothing is a lower price today than what I already paid. If anyone is on this cruise and is having problems getting into their cruise planners, here are some prices that I checked today:

Deluxe beverage with voom $55

Deluxe beverage $47

Chops $34.39  (I paid $31.20)

Playa Mia cooking, tasting & beach break $75 (I paid $71)

On 11/18/2018 at 5:33 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

Freedom.   The same ship where THIS was spotted:  

Well, Carol, to be fair, it's only partially spotted. 

I fixed it.

You are always on the ball, Bob!:)

I don''t remember the details but when RCI raised the gratuities you had a certain deadline to prepay or add them at the old rate.

I remember that too, and I never prepaid. The prepaid gratuities showed up on my invoice out of nowhere, at the old rate, so I was just sharing my experience because I thought it was odd.

Why would you pay ahead of time? It ALL comes out of your pocket that way. Let the OBC offset it. Surely will cost you less than the $14 difference.

I never have trouble spending my OBC.

Wouldn't it be great if you could pre pay grats with OBC in the planner?

I would love having that option!

I know this is an older thread, but I wanted to provide a relevant update. On 11-5-17, I booked my upcoming 1-6-19 cruise and did not add prepaid gratuities. I booked it with Next Cruise while onboard. Today I received an email from RCCL attaching an updated "cruise vacation receipt." I have not been in contact with RCCL since I booked the cruise, so I assume I received this email because my final payment is due 10-8-18.

Upon reviewing the new cruise vacation receipt, I noticed that my new balance is approximately $230 more than shown on my original receipt. Gratuities of $115.50 per person have been added. Upon doing the math, it comes out to $16.50 per day. We are in a suite. This is obviously at the old gratuity rate which then increased in January of 2018. On the same receipt that I received today, it says that $17.50 will be added daily for suite guests (which obviously won't happen because I now have been charged for prepaid gratuities).

In summary, without my request to prepay, I was charged for prepaid gratuities at the lower rate, which I am fine with. I was going to pay the gratuities onboard with OBC, but I'll just pay it at the time of my final payment next week and save $14.

I'm curious. Has anybody else had this automatically happen?

We were on the Freedom over Halloween 2017, and the ship was decorated marvelously, and there was a huge Halloween parade consisting of crew members and guests. A lot of guests were in costume, and it was a very fun night!

Wow. So you're "that guy!" Good to know I guess.

 

I know adults who can't stick to their own budget, so I have a little trouble thinking you actually believe it's inconceivable that a teenager might stray from the plan. I think you're actually just being a d!ck.....

This!^^ :'):')

I think you are supposed to go around the islands in a clockwise direction... unless you are sailing south of the equator then directions reverse. The moment of crossing can be pretty brutal.

 

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You get the award for funniest comment of the day!

That's great! Was the one you upgraded the more recent or the first free cruise? Just trying to figure out if upgrading makes a difference if the points stick or don't stick, or if it could be a recent policy change.

I have taken two free B of A cruises and received points for both, and we did not pay to upgrade. Instead of being free, the rep I booked them with charged me one dollar per person for each cruise. That way they weren't "free" and we received the points.

Thank you to all of you who responded. We booked two nights pre-cruise at the Harbor House.

We had a bungalow in December, and I would definitely do it again. Here is the relevant portion from my review:

We were in CocoCay from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. The waters were rough today, so it was a rocky tender ride, but we had perfect beach weather. We had pre-booked a bungalow ($195 for up to six people), so tender tickets weren’t required as that is considered a shore excursion which includes priority tenders. Despite the fact that the bungalow holds six, the eight of us who got off the ship were permitted to tender together. When we got off the tender, we walked a short distance and boarded a shuttle that took all of us to the bungalow area where we checked in and were given six bracelets. The bungalow employees were watchful and didn’t hesitate to ask our non-bracelet-wearing kids to leave the bungalow.

The bungalows were great. They had curtains you could leave down or tie back, and most of the day there was a nice breeze. There was U-shaped cushioned seating and a nice table in the bungalow, and we were provided two lounge chairs as well for the beach. We were also provided four big bottles of water (in a cooler with ice) and floating mats. Our bungalow was very close to a restroom and also to a bar. Our previously ordered food was delivered to us. We also could have gone to the buffet as well, had we chosen to. The swim-up bar was lively, and there were a lot of fish, small sharks and a stingray hanging around.

We sailed this itinerary on Anthem over Christmas (though it was eight nights). In my signature below, there is a link to my review.

I don’t see why one couldn’t peruse the ship’s wine menu and purchase a bottle on the list to bring with them. Wouldn’t it appear to be an onboard purchase if opened and not on the first night?

 

 

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When you purchase a bottle of wine on the ship, they put a sticker on it to indicate that it was indeed sold on the ship.

Surprised Bob hasn't responded. May be on a cruise

I believe he’s on Adventure right now!

When we sailed out of Barcelona in October, there was no security after the duty-free shop.

OP, any news on the medical evac? Are you going to be late getting into Port Canaveral? My son and daughter-in-law are on this cruise. Was it a rocky ride last night? I hope the ill/injured passenger has a full recovery.