skiiergirl

I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere. I searched but no results came up. 
If you had redeemed Visa points for OBC and RC then cancelled the cruise....what happened to your OBC / points? 
I just realized that our recently cancelled cruise had Visa redemption OBC on it.  Not sure how to trace what happened/happens to it. 
Thanks to all in advance! 

Great information! 
Thank you everyone! 

Thanks again to all! 

Thanks so much to all for your advice/experiences!

Yes, we prefer to go "direct" from a US connection but some of the cruises we are looking at for next year do not allow that option in the air travel so must look at and consider the alternative options. 

Thanks again! 

When booking flights that have a "transfer" in Europe....how much time should we allow between flights?

If coming from US and connecting in Europe to another European city how much time should we allow for the connection?

Same question on the return...coming from European city connecting in another European city back to the US?

Specifically Amsterdam and Paris...but curious about all. 

Thanks so much. 

(I did a search and didn't find any threads on the topic.  Couldn't find a specific forum for it so hoping my RCCL friends can help me out!)

What are the various methods/companies to get from Madrid to Barcelona? 
I know the train is an option for others but it won’t work for us as we will have too much luggage.

(We can’t travel with less luggage for personal reasons.) 

Please list any methods/companies, etc you have experience with or researched. 
please list method, company, cost, time of departure, amount of transit times, etc. 

Any and all info greatly appreciated!!! 
 

rhank you! 

20 hours ago, seanjulz said:

Just wondering what board you ended up going with and whether you were happy with what you got? , I'm looking at purchasing one want one that carves hard but I'm just starting to learn how to Ollie and want one that will be good at going down that path as well

15 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

So, I bought an Outlaw 39 with channels at the rear.  It turns and never wants to stop turning.  I am sure if I did tricks it would be happy to do tricks.  I just carve.  A perfect run for me would be back and forth and back at forth at the top of the wave without ever losing balance and having to use my hands to get back under control for 2 minutes.  I have done this maybe one time.  I do it mostly but then catch an edge or get my weight wrong and have to restart building up the wave.  I carve pretty well, but I am no trickster.  If you want to see a bunch of good riders do a TA on a new ship with two flowriders, you will feel completely average in no time.  Graham built his own board, but I think he didn’t like it, and is going to build a better.  When I first road my board it bit me hard, as it would keep turning after I was trying to make it go the other way.  I had to learn to transition better.  I think this is the effect of the channels on the rear compared to the Outlaws RCI provides.  I now like my board very much, and it is a short board, which I like and which RCI is not providing with any degree of certainty.

 

Here is a pic from the flowrider web page.

 

this is the graphic on my board.  I have the black diamond top.  Funny on the TA last October/November a very nice guy named Richard from the UK had the same board.  

 

JC

Great info JC! 
 

Mr Ski ended up with 39 inch Outlaw (no channels).  He uses it to carve and spin (360) and it has turned out to be a good board to come from the top.  He doesn’t attempt many “tricks”.  He isn’t fond of channels.  He takes it each trip as RC  May or May not have 39 inch a available.  It is a very quick board and changes direction fairly easily. He likes it since it is relatively new the edges aren’t “worn” like some of the RC boards.  

10 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Would it be possible for you to travel with only half the luggage to your destination, while shipping your other luggage ahead to your destination.

Shipping is expensive, but sometimes the "experience" justifies the end costs.

We're going 3 weeks pre-cruise, then jumping on a ship for 2 weeks. I'm shipping a couple of bags to the hotel we're staying at before we jump on the cruise.

Thanks for the idea but I checked. To ship the bags would be about $700.  That would defeat the purpose of going in to a different airport (to save on cost / air miles). 
 

Thanks to all for the comments, thoughts, and sharing of experience! 

18 hours ago, Hlitner said:

A basic rule for European trains (including Spain) is that you will need to handle all of your own luggage while also maintaining good security over your belongings.  Porters are almost non existent and it can even be difficult finding any luggage carts at many train stations.   Another issue is the cost of European trains which has really increased in the past few years.  In fact, it is now often much less expensive to fly then use trains.  We recently faced just such a situation when trying to plan a land trip after we finish a cruise in Southampton.  My original idea was to use some decent trains (including the Eurostar), but as we looked at the cost of our possible itineraries we quickly realized that flying made a lot more sense and was far less expensive.  And handling luggage at airports is actually a lot easier then many train stations.    While we still like trains for shorter distances they are sometimes lousy options for longer runs.

 

And there is another possibility.  Those who have followed my posts here on CC know that we are big fans of having rental cars in Europe.  Besides giving us the most flexibility to go wherever we please, when we please, a car really makes it easier to deal with luggage (although one needs to be cautious about leaving unattended valuables in a car).

 

Hank

Thanks but we are not comfortable driving outside the US. 

17 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

We have taken a number of cruises from Barcelona.  We have the option of flying or a 6 hour train. 

 

The fast inter-city trains from Barcelona are really well organised and efficient, however it is more expensive than a flight if you book ahead.  We usually opt for it because delays are not likely, we don’t have to worry about the weight of our luggage (but in our early 60s we can manage our own luggage), and we do not have to check in 2 hours early.  

 

I think if you are travelling you should really think about making sure that you can handle your luggage even if that means finding a laundry half way through your journey.  

Thanks. No way can we handle our own luggage. It is not possible for us to travel with limited luggage. 
 

I appreciate everyone’s info.  It has told me what I needed to know. 
No way can we do the train. 

12 hours ago, Twickenham said:

I have never actually taken the train to Barcelona, but I have taken the train from Barcelona twice - once to Paris and once to Madrid. Some random thoughts:

 

-I'm a huge fan of train travel in Europe, but the number 1 rule is that you need to be self-sufficient: no checked bags, and I have rarely seen a porter (you will see the occasional luggage cart - can't remember if Barcelona Sants has any). As long as you can handle your luggage yourself, it's quite easy...

 

-Both trips were quite reasonably priced; I even remember we went 1st class to Paris as the price difference was quite minimal (10 or 20 euros IIRC). Check the Renfe website for inter-Spain travel, or OUI.sncf for the TGV to France

 

-I have yet to see a major train station in Europe that does not have a large number of taxis waiting

 

-For info on train travel, look at seat61.com

 

From where are you looking to travel?

Thanks for the great info!  I am thinking that while we would love the train, it won’t work. We will definitely have too much luggage to handle ourselves. We would need to “check” luggage and need porter! Thanks again! 

JC....he says “hello” back!
 

Thanks to everyone for the info!  You pretty much told him what he thought he had heard from others. I guess I had better plan on moving the Liberty booking I had made. He had heard it was horrible and based on your comments....sounds like he would hate it. 

Who has flown in to another airport and then take a train or car service to Barcelona? How did you like it? What was the cost? Are there porters available at the train stations? Taxis waiting when you arrive? Pros /cons based on your experience.  
all info greatly appreciated! 

Mr. Ski is addicted to the stand-up surfing on the Flowrider. We are creatures of habit and repeat the same few ships over and over. I am trying to get him to “expand his horizon” and sail other ships.  He wants to know how everyone thinks the “wave” on the Flowrider on various ships compare.  He is specifically interested in how the Liberty and Allure compare to the Adventure, Freedom, and Symphony.   If you are experienced on the stand-up surfing on the Flowrider.....please list your comparison of each ship you have “surfed”. (List specific ship(s).) 

Thank you in advance!🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️

What is the newest “release date” for Odyssey Med bookings? 

On 12/9/2019 at 10:09 PM, denamo said:

The last three cruises we've been on, luggage has just been lined up in the hallway.  Cruisers have had to go and hunt down their luggage.  The first time this happened just thought maybe they were short on staff or running behind.  However, seeing this on two subsequent cruises, just wondered if this is the "new normal"?

That has been our experience on Freedom this week and last.  Also, not necessarily delivered to correct section of ship. (Correct deck but starboard rather than port) 

We have heard there is a new policy fleet wide that requires any wanting to do the stand up surfing must do the boogie board first.  
You are required to get a white band and do the boogie board once and then they will give you the blue band for stand up.

Has anyone else heard this?  Apparently new policy recently implemented.   
 

It is in effect on FR. 
 

Anyone else on another ship now that can confirm (or deny) that this new policy is felt wide? 

1 hour ago, Jack McGowan said:

Is there not normally a ship in San Juan at the time she is in NJ then?

There have been a few summers over the last 20 years that RC left SJU without a ship.  Most years there is one ship there during the summer...but not always!

1 hour ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

We switched from a San Juan sailing to a Miami sailing just this year.

Once we factored flight costs - 9 nights out of Miami is saving us $1500 - $2000 above the 7 night out of San Juan........ 

 

Agree.  Flight prices have increased dramatically over the last 3 or 4 years.  We are looking at switching our 2020 and 2021 sailings to depart FL rather than SJU for that very reason. Sad because we love SJU and much prefer the islands you get to from there....but comparing airfare/cruise fare we can do FL cheaper and have a newer ship! 

21 minutes ago, pamela27 said:

Which ship will be in San Juan between May and November 2021? Freedom is not listed as being there. I see that Indy is on St Marteen port schedule every Wednesday between these dates. Would that indicate she is going from San Juan?.

From  all of the posts here and the press releases, it looks like SJU won’t have a ship over the summer.  That is  very sad news if it is true.  St. Maarten is usually early or late in a sailing from SJU so Weds doesn’t sound likely for ship out of SJU.

4 hours ago, MADflyer said:

About 25 port authorities, cruise terminals or shipping agents have schedules of ship calls that are posted and available. They are always subject to change. 

 

In the past month, Explorer appeared at Gibraltar in a pattern that indicated she would be the second ship at Southampton. 

Jewel appeared at Grand Cayman indicating a Caribbean season. Brilliance visits Key West from a Miami home port indicating a move to Miami. Independence appears at St. Maarten in the summer indicating she is not going to Europe and so on.... all port scheduling gives clues to future deployment. 

Thank you so much for the fabulous info you always provide.  Does Venice have any 2021 schedules out yet? 

1 hour ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

The opening schedule has been updated again, with Europe now being split into two phases: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/19069859_Deployment_Opening_Schedule_20212022.pdf

 

I'm thinking Odyssey Phase 1 to keep up with recent media buzz, and the remaining will come out in Phase 2.

Wow! Thanks for the update!!!!

Has anyone done the “Eggfast”? I had never even heard of it until this week.  

If you have done it, how much did you  lose?  How often did you repeat it? 

What was your favorite “egg recipe”? 

8 hours ago, Jan_In_Maine said:

Thanks for the chuckle this morning Belle!   I am still yo-yoing ... I'm down 0.6# this morning ... but, its the same every other week.  I can live with it.

 

I will try to post next Thursday before we leave.  Hope everyone has a good week.  Jan

Jan....I am the same...down 0.6 this week and down 0.6 last week. Wish it were more but happy it is a down. 

It it has been awhile since I have checked in,   As of this date last year, I had lost 70+ lbs (over a 2 year period I think).  Then we hit cruise season, holiday season, other travel season....and I gained. I had gained 17 lbs back by August.   So mid-September I decided I had to get back seriously on program! (Since all of my “seasons” start again at Thanksgiving. ) So, I have lost 6 of the 17.  I am still struggling with the food demons but trying to take each meal one at a time! 

Thanks for letting me “be accountable”. 

Belle....always great to see your creative writing! 

Even when I can/could do them online, they rarely showed up,on the ship. Mr. Ski almost always had to them onboard again even though we had done them online.

We have never paid attention to the RC Black Friday sales as we are usually traveling.  

What is typically included?

Just beverage packages?

Dining packages, shores, spa, etc? 

Actual cruise fares? 

For the “Cruise Planner” type items, is it typically all cruises or just ones within a certain timeframe? 

What has has been your experience / memory? 

Thanks. 

13 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

If they come up with such new itineraries they would not put it on the deployment schedule before...

Agree

13 hours ago, Phamer55 said:

Do you have an example of a "new itinerary" (i.e. new part of the world) that was announced without giving travel agents advanced noticed about in their deployment schedules?  I've never seen that happen; the whole point is to give travel agents info of when new itineraries are expected to be released.

11 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

All such news anout new deployments have come out with a marketing information by Royal that of course give travel agents and customers an advanced notice to be prepared. However, it never came out as part of the general deployment schedule. 

Royal is famous for not putting info out timely.  There have been numerous occasions where I read info here on CC and pass it on to my TA before RC sends it to her.   She MIGHT get a 24 hour or 20 minute heads up on new releases but most of the time NOT.

RC might announce new ports/itinerary briefly before opening bookings but not much ahead of time.  It can happen....but you can’t count on it!  

I agree the TAs “should be alerted” but it just doesn’t usually happen.