coordinator23

Most of the information I am accessing is older. I am cruising in April with my 90 year old parents. We are driving to port and need a hotel/motel with a shuttle and parking for the duration of the 10 day cruise. I have been on the web, but am still having problems finding a place that's decent, reasonably priced and offers two way shuttle service. (What's with this we'll drop you off, but not pick you up business some hotels offer?) (Or we only do airport shuttle, but bill ourselves as a port hotel?) I was leaning toward Roadway Inn at one point, but have not read very good reviews. My father has mobility issues and cannot climb stairs.

Help please!

We have stayed there three times. They have a good shuttle, decent parking (unpaved), and breakfast in the morning. More reasonably priced than other hotels with shuttles. Must register for shuttle time when you check in.

You were all very helpful. I hope we can board by 12. I was unaware that there was staggered boarding with Princess.

Our last Princess cruise was 2-3 years ago on Ruby. We are Booking the Coral Princess Panama Canal partial transit leaving from Ft. Lauderdale. What choices do we have for lunch on embarkation day? I know on Ruby we were able to partake a light lunch in the main dining room - which was wonderful. Due to mobility issues, it is difficult to fight the crowds in the buffet area. Any input would be appreciated.

Good to know where he can smoke. Now we can decide if we want to cruise on either ship for our Anniversary.

I would like to book an eastern Caribbean cruise on either the Oasis or Allure. My husband is a smoker (and has been for over 50+ years) so I need to know where he can smoke. I can then plot out a good spot to look for a cabin. No lectures, etc. when he started, smoking was considered healthy. Now it's just a habit/addiction he can't break. Our 45 Anniversary is coming up, and I'd like to cruise again.

Have you checked the prices for Jan-March 2016? No decrease, only increases. I'm sure they're using the fuel price decreases to help fund the new ships (along with the price hikes).

As I see it, they hiked prices up for BOGO sale, then kept them the same (as in "we didn't up prices - see") and are taking advantage of lower fuel costs, and anything else they can get their hands on (including possibly not giving the crew all of the gratuities collected) to fund all the gee-wiz stuff for the new ships. I like Royal, but I am looking more seriously at HAL right now.

Note to Royal: If you want to compete with Norwegian and Carnival, you can't charge higher prices (like you did when Princess and Celebrity cruisers were your target market).

I have stayed in the RFS on Freedom and it was wonderful. Two bathrooms, master bath has tub/shower combo (lots of room to shower in. Three TV's so the six of us could watch news, cartoons, and movies without conflict. Four teens could fit in the second bedroom (bunks) or two could sleep in the living room. Balcony -- HUGE! We had 4 (yes FOUR) lounge chairs IN Addition to a decent size table and four chairs to go around it. When the main dining room is open, ANYTHING on that menu is available for room service. To th couple thinking of moving up, can you picture yourselves dining on th balcony at sunset on lobster or prime rib and skipping the main dining room? Loved our aft RFS. We also were traveling with another couple in the adjoining room. They had some soot, but we did not. When we opened the door between the rooms, we had a three bedroom suite::)

I find that I like just hanging around the balcony or roaming around the ship. One thing I would change, if I could, would be the shops on the ship. It seems like it is always the same old stuff. I would buy more "stuff" if there was more variety. Rotate inventory in and out of shops. I miss the private diamond dining areas for breakfast where we connected with many interesting people, but do enjoy some good conversation at the concierge or diamond lounges. We enjoy the shows after dinner and various lounges. We always enjoy the ports, but don't care for labadee anymore. Liked it when it was more like coco cay. Like the freedom to enjoy my vacation my way.

When we began cruising, the filet on the menu was not an up charge; it was the "default" if you did not like was on the daily menu. I would pay more to avoid additional charges on board. Charge me more for a bundle. Give me onboard credit to use for shore excursions or a specialty restaurant. So many of us travel to get to port. Please continue to provide robes for us. Rethink some of the cutbacks. it's nice to have a pen and paper handy to leave a note for the steward ( or someone else you are traveling with). A plastic bags is great for use when you have a wet swim suit ( or need to carry something). I could go on but I won't .

Has anyone here done the St. Kitt's railway excursion? All comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

Rick and Deirdra

We enjoyed it so much that we have done it twice. Once with the bus ride back and once with the catamaran (sp??) around the rest of the island. Wonderful views of the island. Well worth the price

I have noticed/experienced dress codes/suggestions over the years in a variety of places. When I was teaching, I noticed that students dressed better and behaved better on "picture" day or any day that they "had" to get dressed up. I have noticed in church those who are dressed for the "beach" have children who act differently than the kids who are dressed a little nicer. Same can be said for the theater where people who come dressed a little nicer for the performance are not the ones talking or playing with their electronic (usually smart phones) equipment. When my rough and tumble four year old, rough and tumble grandson, puts on his fancy pants, vest, shirt and bow tie he is a completely different child. He knows it is no longer play time, but is now time to sit quietly and color/eat.

That said, over the years we have evolved into a self-absorbed, self-important entitled society. I know that many of you feel it is "your" vacation and you can do whatever you want. After all it's all about "YOU". That's fine with me, but I will continue to dress appropriately. We are all on the same boat, so I will try to look the other way, as usual, when you dress like a slob and let your kids annoy others with electronic games blasting away or playing tag in the MDR. (I must admit I did take some satisfaction when a very hairy man sitting at the table next to us was asked to leave and come back. He looked like he had just left the gym . Sweaty, "wife beater" shirt and gym like shorts, and totally out of place for dinner in the MDR. He was muttering something about his vacation and windjammer - his wife looked lovely and embarrassed.)

It would have taken 4 weeks to get a new birth certificate from the state of California. BUT....

 

He found his passport!!!! It was in his computer bag at work.

So happy to hear this. Now take a deep breath and relax.

I saw it on Facebook yesterday and reposted the list with the comment - "I think I have cruised with some of these people." I was glad to see that you posted it for the people who do not do Facebook or other social media. Having dealt with the "public" for many years, I do believe that these comments may be true. (For example, if you are use to a rocky beach, a very sandy one is a very different one - and I might add a nicer one!)

Family of 23. My parents had a balcony cabin, we had inside cabins nearby or upgraded ourselves to balconies. (We have been on 5 cruises together) The youngest was 9 mos; the oldest two were 82. The teen cousins shared inside cabins, so their parents were on their own. We had a girls and boys cabin. Decide what you want to do for your crew and get a travel agent. I planned it out and chose cabins. Your parents may want/need a jr. suite or above for visitors; we got together nightly before dinner.

Family Royal Suites and Family Promenade rooms are great for families of 5-8 people. You will not find them listed; you have to call in for the info. or your ta needs to do it. They have lots of space and are also great for gathering. The RFS has two full bathrooms, two bedrooms, and a living room and balcony.

I like Freedom because of the water park & character breakfast for the younger kids. Plenty of things for the older ones also. Voyager class is also very nice for all age groups.

We all did our own thing pretty much during the day, and then got together at dinner to share. The only requirement on the cruise is that we all ate together. We also rotated between the adjoining tables so we all had time during the week to spend with my parents. TA can get them linked up through the reservations. You can also look into group rates, but once when we did that we found that somehow our rooms were switched around and not where we had originally picked them to be.

Is there a schedule posted somewhere where I can find out when and where dynamic dining will be introduced to ships in the future? I want to book cruises on ships but am afraid that I will book on a ship that has this by mistake. I have looked at the dynamic dining menus and do not like what is being offered (picky eater)

Most hotels charge a shuttle fee if you do not have a park and cruise. My son and daughter-in-law paid $5 for a shuttle to port from our hotel while we had a park and cruise room. They flew in and took a shuttle from Orlando Coco Beach? shuttle $$ to the hotel. Call them and ask

Enchantment of the Seas

Deck 8

Room 8166

Aft - Port side

Quiet room located under the Spa. Non connecting room, but the cabin does have two bedrooms, two bathrooms - master has a tub/shower combo, and a large living room. Very large balcony with a four seat table located under an overhang. The balcony can be accessed by sliders in the master bedroom or living room. The cabin accommodates 8. Two in master bedroom, four in the inside bedroom, and two on the sofa bed. We have been in this cabin twice and never encountered. A wind or soot problem. The overhang area does allow use of part of the balcony when it is raining. Balcony also has two lounge chairs (easy to fall asleep on), but has enough room for two additional if needed, and a side table.

One specific problem is the coffee/tea service located in the living room. There is no place to plug in. You have to move it to the vanity in the hallway to use it. You also have to unplug the TV in the small, interior bedroom if you want to use a nightlight. Second bathroom has a curtain (clothes pins on the bottom of the curtain can be used to keep it from clinging if you want to pack them).

Over all this is a great cabin! Lots of storage, quiet, three TV's - living room has DVD player - you can get DVD's from concierge, suite privileges, concierge lounge, and a lot of room to spread out.

Was charged $12 base price for a frozen strawberry daiquiri (plus gratuity) and decided I didn't need to purchase anymore drinks on board.

May I suggest two professional pictures by the "big" tree. One in beach/casual clothes and one with your dressy/formal ware. They will print Christmas cards on board that you can mail out when you get back. The casual picture was for us. The formal one we had made into cards letting friends and family know that we had celebrated our anniversary on board:D:D

Unless you go to a super posh place in the Chicago area, you can get a drink for a whole lot less than $12 (150% over what is charged in general). I can get a decent steak for around $30 at several good restaurants without paying for another meal (main dining room included in fare). We're not talking Mortons Steakhouse or the Signature room on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building, but then Royal isn't serving that steak either. I remember when the filet was standard on the MDR menu. Times change, and cruise lines will charge whatever the market will pay. I like being able to enjoy a port during the day and being able to wake up to a new port the next. Traveling while I sleep is the draw for me. We don't cruise as much as we used to. We are taking more road trips and seeing more of the country. It's expensive to travel to any port from here whether we go by air or drive. We'll continue to take the occasional cruise. Let's face it, you can't drive to St. Croix, but it's not the shiny experience it once was. The experience has been tarnished. (Even the "hotel" side has been very downgraded over the years)

We lock some things in a suitcase, stored under the bed, with the same TSA locks that we used at the airport. I'm sure the I Pad would be safe there. Luggage appears to be empty, so who would bother with it?? No one has ever bothered ours.

The Florida version is called SunPass (there is also an Orlando version called E-Pass and one down in SW FL called Lee-Way, both work seamlessly with SunPass) that we use.

 

Someone mentioned that.

 

When you check your account, you will see a list of the times and the toll booths as well as the date it was used (at least you do in Illinois). They have all the information they need to figure it out.

 

Ask a divorce lawyer if they use the records sometimes to track where people have gone.

 

 

Seriously! If they can just track anyone at any time for any reason... how do we have any criminals left on the road? No criminals use toll transponders?

 

We have hit & run accidents on our toll roads all the time. They aren't instantly busted. We have all sorts of criminals on the loose... if this is the secret way to track everyone, why aren't the jails full of people caught by toll transponders?

The transponder is only tracked as it goes through the reader at the booth.

I don't like the dynamic dining feature. I did freestyle once, on Norwegian, and once was enough. If you want to do my time dining, feel free do so. I like the same table/waiter every night. We do end up "free styling" for breakfast in the MDR, but do not enjoy it that much unless we have a small table. I know many like the Windjammer, but I hate all the noise in the morning and hunting for a table.

I have looked at the menus and do not care for most of the offerings. If I have to make reservations and/or pay for dinner nightly, I'm not interested. I might as well go on a car trip or book into a resort. I have been on 3 RCI cruises since Dec. and one X. 3 nights on X I ate the chicken breast, because I didn't care for the offerings. The night I ordered the halibut, I could have closed my eyes and told you (with all the sauce loaded on it) that I was eating some type of pasta. The dynamic dining menus look like something I would have run across on X.

Currently, we have no future cruises planned. If I want to sky dive on land, there is a place near by. If I want to attend a theater performance, I have my pick of many. If I want to "soar" into the sky, I'll go downtown and eat at the Hancock Building's Signature Room. Amusements parks/water parks - all nearby. I want a comfortable room on a ship with set seating, a variety of shows/entertainment to choose from, and an itinerary of interesting places to go and activities. I want Coco Cay for a beach day and not, not, not Labadee the way it has been changed.

Watching to see what happens before we cruise again.

(as an aside, on another line, I thought it was a joke the way people were walking around with those flashy beepers waiting to be seated for their version of my time dining. Seems everyone wanted to eat around the same time. We walked into our set dining time room and didn't have to wait)

Judging by the functionality of their website I'm sure that all this new IT advancement will work out just swell.

You forget that it will probably be the same IT department that handles the web site.

On another note, a robotic bartender - really?! Now there's the personalized service I go on a cruise for (not!). Since I like my drinks "light", I'd probably have to order a coke, jack n coke and an empty glass to remix my own at the table LOL. I think the 15% gratuity would have to go for an "oil change and lube job" at the end of each cruise. Seriously, just think of how screwed up the drinks will get when the "chip" or program goes bad. Or, how about "sorry no drinks today the network is down"..