griffy116

What a great review! It's been MANY MANY years since we traveled with a little one. The once, almost 4 year old, on his first cruise is now 24 and still cruising with us. I'm the grandmother and we still go on a family cruise every year. I would have been doing the same as you...car, train, airplane...whatever it took to GET ME TO THE SHIP! In spite of the set-backs and obstacles, it looks like you made the best of it and had a great family vacation. I love hearing the family stories. Brings back some wonderful memories.My Grandson has managed to see so many wonderful places around the world on these cruises. Enjoy all the memories and your next cruise.

Saw a passenger take a bun with her hands and put it on her plate. She must have decided not to get a burger because she then took the bun, with her hand and put it back in the tray for someone else to take. One of the servers saw it, grabbed the tray with the rest of the buns, dumped them and replaced them. They really do try hard to keep any germs from getting on the food. There's no way they see everything, but I'm sure a better idea would be to alert one of the staff, rather than thinking about taking a fellow passenger outside for a physical confrontation. We were in the MDR one morning for breakfast when the pastry tray was being offered by the waiter. A table with a Mother and her two sons were offered the pastry. She reached right past the waiter, grabbed a couple of different pastries and offered them to her sons. When they nodded no, she slapped them back on the tray before the waiter could do anything. The look on the waiter's face told it all. He raised himself up, went to the station, dumped the remaining pastries and went to get a fresh tray. She later went on a tirade heard all over the dining room because she said she ordered LARGE OJ for her sons and he brought two small glasses. He explained that he would be bringing refills which did nothing to satisfy her. He finally left and came back with a large glass, filled it with several of the small glasses and returned to her table where she continued to call him stupid and unhelpful. The wait staff on these ships are amazing to put up with what they do without a sharp word from any of them.

We were always ready to get off the gangway when the ship docked and we were cleared to get off the ship. We booked with private drivers and tours and they were able to tell when the ship started letting passengers off. The reliable tour operators and private drivers are familiar with the process and they'll be sitting waiting on you or standing with a sign with your name on it, so really it's not a problem. They wanted us to get off as quickly as possible so they could get away from the port area with us quickly to beat the cruise line tours.

We're all Diamond but just went ahead and got the combo package. We reap very few benefits from our status anymore. You can't count on any of the perks being there for you, even if you know what the perks were the day before you board the ship.

Hawaii isn't a foreign port but they will not let you off the ship with any food except prepackaged and don't even think about bringing fruit off the ship. Australia and NZ will fine you immediately, without exception or excuse. It's just not worth trying to guess which port you can bring your lunch off the ship. Buy lunch in the port or take a short morning excursion and come back to the ship to have your lunch.

I don't know how to respond without making assumptions because your post doesn't give a lot of details about your father's condition when you arrived. It would have helped to know if your father was in a wheelchair and your requested assistance getting him onboard or if he was not in a wheelchair and you requested a wheelchair and assistance for boarding. Where you able to assist in getting him onboard or did you need RC staff to help? We traveled with my elderly, disabled parents on several cruises with RC and found the staff to be extremely accomodating and helpful. In fact, we've sent many e-mails to RC over the years complimenting the staff on their kindness to my parents. Over the years, we've carried everything from canes to walkers to wheelchairs between the two of them. We've always carried our own wheelchair so that we had a guarantee that one would be available. Whenever possible, we push the wheelchair ourselves. We realize that if we require someone from RC staff to assist us in getting him up the steep ramp, we will wait until they have staff available because embarkation is busy and we don't expect them to be immediately available to the number of people waiting on assistance. I'm extremely grateful for any assistance since it's not always provided when we take a land-based vacation. We do try to anticipate what we need as far as equipment and assistance and try to have patience waiting because having someone with a disability doesn't mean you get to be boarded ahead of everyone, it just means they will assist while continuing to process the other passengers boarding.

We're pretty self-sufficient cruisers and don't require a lot. We keep the cabin clean, neat and tidy. I'm usually so exhausted at night that you can barely tell the bed has been slept in. We put the little tab in the door as we leave in the morning and we've never come back to our cabin without it having been made up. The main reason I do is that I want clean linens. Give me some clean towels and wash clothes and I'm pretty happy. We usually eat in the MDR for lunch on sea days, but we do eat lunch there several days. We always find something to eat, whether it's a sandwich or a salad or a meat and a vegetable. Incidentally, we sailed on both RC and Celebrity last year. There are differences in the lines but I honestly didn't feel that Celebrity was better with the food or the service. Maybe we are just to easy to please????

We took our daughters to the DMV and just got a state ID issued when they were younger to use on our cruises

 

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We did the same thing with my Grandson when he was cruising at four and we kept it current until he was 15 and got his learner's permit. We just wanted him to have some sort of photo ID. Can't remember the cost but far less than a driver's license. By the time he was 6, he had a passport too. It just makes sense to have one in case you have to, for whatever reason, fly from a port back to the U.S.

I do the dummy booking to check the price on our cruise, once we book. It has done nothing but go up. We normally cruise only once a year and we have to cruise during summer. We just paid our final payment and the TA said, "WOW...did you get a great price or what?" I always see all the posts about price drops and wonder why ours never goes down, but not for us. Just glad I spotted a good price and we locked in while it wasn't "on sale." :rolleyes:

On our last two cruises, one on Celebrity and one on RC, I saw very attractive, young ladies in the silk rompers that barely covered the cheeks of their butt. I don't think anyone was offended, certainly not the two young men at our table. So, is it a matter of sweat pants being considered too casual or the dress code? Personally, I'm more than happy with the fact that the dress code is more casual. I am not offended by the shorty-short rompers or the sweat pants. I don't think either of these are destroying us as a society. I sat in the MDR on formal night two years ago next to family with probably three generations. Men were in a tux, women in formal gowns that were obviously very expensive. Even the children were dressed beautifully. They were toasting with a very expensive bottle of wine as their children whipped out the rollers on the soles of their shoes, zig-zagged among waiters who did their best to dodge the kids. We watched as a small hand came out from under our table, grabbed a roll off my son-in-law's plate and crawled back out and tossed the bread back onto our table. What you wear doesn't make you any more or less classy and neither does putting down the way others dress. I have a bigger problem being seated next to someone who smells like they took a bath in perfume or after shave and I don't care what they are wearing.

Ours is there and I always offer the cabin attendant the opportunity to have them back since I don't use them, but never had them take me up on the offer. Way too heavy.

We're Diamond on RC and so through reciprocity are Elite on Celebrity. We were fortunate enough to take two cruises last year. One on RC and our first cruise on Celebrity. We travel as a family, so three generations. We were invited to the Helipad for a sail-away, which is something we had never had happen on RC. The crew is wonderful, but so is the crew on RC. The food was good, but I didn't consider it a step up from Royal's food or selections. There were things we like on Celebrity and on Royal and things we didn't like on both lines.I don't consider a 30 minute wait a deal breaker. I do see the chair hogs, but it happens on all the lines occasionally. I met nice people on both lines. I waited for elevators on both lines. I don't think the elevator carried about my status on either line. I couldn't care less about a Diamond breakfast or the free drinks if I attend some of the events. I seldom have 3 drinks in the Diamond lounge and we usually skip it because we have friends along who aren't Diamond. I'm perfectly happy with my 3 drinks on my SeaPass card. Besides, I had a drink package so the 3 drinks were useless. When we returned home and were ready to book our next cruise, we chose the Allure with RC. Don't get me wrong. I'd go on ANY cruise line and my loyalty status isn't really anything that merits bragging rights. I love spending time with people on their first cruise and hearing how excited they are instead of hearing how the food quality has dropped dramatically. I didn't cook it or have to clean up afterwards.

There is not a credit card charge ANYWHERE to ANYONE that gets refunded immediately. He's trying to find a way to carry more wine onboard to share with friends, finds a "loophole," thinks he's pretty clever and uses it. I'm pretty sure he didn't explain why he is switching names around and that he and his wife are actually going to be sharing the same cabin and hauling 4 bottles of wine into their cabin. He's breaking the rules and I don't think anyone here cares if he does this, so seriously, what is it that he's "PO'd" about?

We've done everything from interiors to OV balconies. Haven't done an interior on Oasis or Allure but did a last minute cruise and could only get an interior a couple of years ago. We were extremely concerned but had a great cruise and would not be bothered at all. We had an OV balcony on the next two cruises and afterwards talked about how little time we spent on the balcony. We got a great deal on a CP balcony on our upcoming cruise, when it was offered at same price as interior and it included wine and lunch at a specialty restaurant, so we took the CP balcony. We just don't spend enough time in the cabin to worry about the type of cabin anymore. These ships have so much to see and do!

The sofa bed on the ships is not the normal sofa bed. It's smaller and with 15 year olds, it's not going to be at all comfortable. I'd actually say more like unbearable. We've had balcony cabins with pullmans, but if you can't get that, I'd forego a balcony cabin to keep from putting two 15 year olds on a sofa bed or carrying a blow up mattress. Are you going to blow it up every night? If not, you aren't even going to be able to get to the balcony. I'd opt for two insides any day before this. Two bathrooms and everyone gets a bed they can actually sleep in, get up to go to the bathrooms,etc.

If only one of you purchases a soda card, you can't both get a soda using the card in the MDR at lunch or dinner. The one without the soda card would be charged a per drink soda on the SeaPass card. The waiter will ask for your SeaPass card and see that you don't have the soda package. Not allowed.

I tip an extra $20 and I've often tipped a $10 at the beginning, if I'm sharing a cabin with someone that asks for something extra. Same for waiter and asst waiter (each, not to share) because my (adultish) grandson will often require more than one entree or appetizer and I know that's extra work on the waitstaff.

WOW... Thanks so much for all the information and photos.:D

It's not the specific entrees, its the size. When one has gastric sleeve surgery roughly 2/3 of your stomach is removed, greatly reducing the amount of food you can consume.

 

I completely understand it's the size...like the size and portions my four your old Grandson ate when I paid on EVERY cruise the same fare, same tips as for me. I chose to take him on the cruise, knowing the fare/price was the same and that he ate like a bird. Attending a Specialty restaurant is by choice and it's a set price for adults. I just seriously don't understand making an issue of asking for a discount because you can't eat the same size as someone else but are going to a restaurant with a set price for everyone.

I've never seen such a hot subject as the way people dress in the dining room. It eclipses the smell of smoke from the casino and why you should or shouldn't wear a lanyard. I first cruised when the waiters wore white gloves and you were required to wear a long evening gown. The waiter also lit my cigarette for me and lanyards didn't even exist. Times have changed. The price of a cruise today on a ship like the Allure is less than the price we paid on our first cruise where you could literally sit on the toilet to take your shower before getting into a tux and long gown for dinner. I don't feel the least bit shamed or embarrassed when I get on the elevator with someone in a long gown or tux and they do their best to attempt to look down their nose at me in my slacks and blouse. I own long gowns, and I choose not to bring them on the cruise. We are family of 3 generations who cruise once a year together. We have dinner together each evening, enjoy a good meal that we don't have to cook or clean up and that I really don't have any complaints about. You know the dress code is "suggested" not required and you've seen people in the dining room and that they are not going to be sent away if they don't meet your particular standards before you booked the cruise and before you enter the dining room to go to your table. Live and let live, for crying out loud. Eat the food, talk about your stock portfolio, complain about the poor selection of wine, turn your nose up in the air at the way others are dressed. The cruise line isn't going to change the dress code back to required. The vast majority of the people approve of the relaxed dress code and the cruise line has moved on.

I didn’t like the new updates either but there is no way I’m canceling my cruise. I love cruising too much to give it up. Whatever I can’t do online I’ll do on the phone. Lol

My thoughts, exactly!

We always did the same with complete outfits in the large (3-gal) ziplocks which we purchased from the dollar store. When an outfit was dirty, it went back in the ziplock with a big X and was thrown into the suitcase under the bed. By the last day of the cruise, packing was a breeze and the dirty clothes didn't touch the clean clothes that weren't worn and still in the zip-locks. Always packed extra zip locks (x-tra lge sandwich size) for some snacks like crackers and cheese from the buffet. We also grabbed a box or two of cereal to have in the cabin for a quick snack. We would do this and grab a few of the reg or choc milk for the fridge in the cabin for snacks for the Grandson. Carry the towel clips. They work great out by the pool, but are also great to hang a wet swimsuit up to dry or something that got stained. We always carry a Tide Stain Stick (even for the adults) so a stain doesn't set. Carry band-aids neosporin, sunscreen and children's tylenol, etc. Buying these on the ship is expensive. If they are old enough to understand, set aside an amount of allowance or money for souvenirs. You'll be surprised how quickly they become "selective" in purchases if it's their money and they see it dwindling. Same for the arcade.

Same here. The casino was closed while in port on the 2 Med cruises we were on.

Do check with insuremytrip dot com for insurance. It is very important, especially if either of you are over 65 and on Medicare. While it may not cover pre-existing conditions, it is possible to cover many other things that could occur.

Any tips over and above the auto-gratuities is not necessary. Some people tip above this amount. Some tip the auto-amount. Up to the individual.

Laminated copy of our passport page and insurance details are all we take ashore, as suggested by one captain.

We take a scan of our passport page, insurance, credit card (front and back), DL and e-mail it to ourself. Should something happen, we always have the information. Passport, BC and one emergency credit card never leave the ship. They stay in the safe.