Dinkachu

Does anyone have any experience with having to cancel your cruise just a few days prior to sailing? I'm just curious because I have a family emergency that could possibly affect my ability to continue with the trip. :(

Yes, we've got travel insurance...I'd just like to hear about how others have dealt with unexpected emergencies. Thanks.

 

As 7 members of our family boarded Mariner of the Seas, an ambulance was racing me to the emergency room with a ruptured appendix. I had seen a doctor earlier in the week who thought I had irritable bowel syndrome. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, including Christmas.

 

We filed all of our hospital bills, doctor diagnosis and paperwork with the insurance we purchased through RCI, and within 2 weeks we had a check. We did lose the taxes and port fees paid for the cruise, and we chose to let the crew keep their tips, though we had been told they could be returned.

 

I hope you make your cruise!

 

As cruising evolves and changes, I often find myself waxing nostalgic over cruising in the past. Direct TV is showing a LOVE BOAT marathon today. Once I quit laughing at the overacting, especially by 'Captain Stubing', I realized that even though I miss some of the grand traditions of cruising past, there are many aspects of modern cruising that I would not trade for the midnight buffet, mints on my pillow and theme dinners in the dining room. The ships were very small, mostly white painted steel. You boarded the ships by walking up an uncovered ramp after standing in long lines. Views were limited, mostly on deck. There were very few balconies. I remember being excited to have a round porthole on the Emerald Seas back in 1973. Our view was the waterline, until the porthole became encrusted with dry sea spray, and then we had no view. We slept in narrow bunks, two that folded down from the wall. We now travel with a wheelchair and a walker. That would have been impossible back then. I remember that one ship we went on had one small elevator, but most in the late 60's and 70's had only stairs. We have more choices of food today, and if you choose, you can find healthy options onboard. I do still miss the flaming Baked Alaska parade, but the dessert was not as good as the spectacle of its delivery. I also realized that some of the changes, even though I may not like them, are necessary. Non-sailing guest were allowed aboard the ship to wish passengers 'bon-voyage', leaving only when the ship's horn sounded that it was time to go. There were no security checks and metal detectors to deal with. Necessary evils, and I would not want to give them up in today's world. All in all, watching "The Love Boat" made me appreciate modern cruising more than it made me miss cruising in the past.

When I booked our cruise on Grandeur, the agent asked if we had any special dietary restrictions. I responded that my Dad is on a low sodium diet. The agent said she would put the request into our reservation. Does RCI really provide special menus for dietary restrictions, including low salt?

 

 

We travel with two people with severe shellfish allergies.

On each of our RCI cruises, the head-waiter, and one time the chef, visited our table the first night to point out appropriate choices.

 

At the end of the first meal, they brought us the menu for the second night and let us pre-order meals that would be safe.

 

This is one reason we are a bit nervous about Dynamic Dining and not having the same waiters each evening.

 

All in all, we have found RCI to be very accommodating to our special dietary needs.

[quote name='shipshape sam']Not sure of the percentages. I can only say that for our last cruise we were put on a 'wait' list for main/early dining. Now how can that be?!!!

It is because the cruise line is pushing/promoting the decision they have made to promote alternative dining options including Speciality restaurants for an additional charge and I believe eliminate over time fixed dining.

For sure many do not like fixed dining and we all have read/heard/experienced bad table mates and thus less than a great cruise. I fully understand cruise lines concern and agree they should try to provide alternative dining for those who do not want to socialize with others over the course of a cruise / who want to dine privately / who do not want to dress up for dinner / (fill in the reason).

We will go with the flow, but we also no longer bring formal attire, no longer get many pictures. I firmly believe that some of the changes will hurt cruising in the long term. I personally do not want a land type vacation on a ship. I sailed again after first cruise because it was different.

Each to their own and I also believe that the passengers the cruise lines are now courting will be less loyal in general.[/QUOTE]

My son, who is 22 and just finished an aerospace engineering degree, has been cruising since he was a baby. He has always thought he would cruise all of his life. Now, he said the exact same thing you did. If he wanted to stay at a resort for vacation, there are better ones on land. He loved the feel of cruising. Mints on his pillow, towel animals, formal nights, horse races, dressing for theme nights in the dining room. He said, "Mom, my kids will never see a spectacular midnight buffet". We have 2 more cruises booked, but the next big family vacation after that, we are trying Gatlinburg. I guess he is not the customer RCI is looking for in the future.

We learned years ago that you must plan for the unexpected. We travel from just south of Tampa. A brush fire closed part of the interstate between here and Port Canaveral one year and we nearly missed the boat.

 

Now, we travel to port the night before and stay in a close motel with free breakfast (and in the case of Ft Lauderdale) parking for our car while we travel and a shuttle to the boat.

 

We find it makes the entire vacation more relaxed and we don't have to panic if we have flat tire, get into heavy traffic, etc.

 

Yes, it costs us an extra night in a motel. If you are spending thousands for a vacation, an extra hundred to buy peace of mind is money well spent.

 

Hoping your friend makes the cruise! Let us know.

Also, shame on the customers who only insist upon cheaper and cheaper rates.

 

Customers do not insist on cheaper and cheaper rates. We don't mind paying for quality service, food, entertainment, accommodations, etc.

 

We've seen prices increase and service, quality of food decrease. We used to feel like 'royalty' on RCI. Now, we feel like we pay for more add ons if we want something other than bargain brand food and services.

 

Where are the savings going? Certainly not fuel prices. They dropped dramatically, yet we are still charged a fuel surcharge. A few flashy additions to bigger ships? (Like that 4 second zip line (yes we timed it), bumper cars, ice skating rinks that only a small percent of the passengers enjoy? Perhaps they are looking to pay bigger dividends to stockholders. I imagine those at the top of RCI do pretty well.

 

The customers are NOT the problem here. It is a shame that people will lose their jobs, but it is also sad that we pay more and get less.

Those are sample menus and not necessarily what you'll get on board. For instance, when they released menu for American Icon Grille, surf & turf was listed on the menu every nite--Never appeared--Only at Grande. It reminded me of when escargot were on the RCL's menus for every nite and for a long period of time simply were not available. Also, got a pleasant surprise on the last nite of our 2/2/16 cruise at Silk--Lobster tails were on the special menu.

 

When we compared the classic menus from previous cruises, where each night was a different themed menu, to the current ones listed on RCI's website, we found the new sample menus lacking. They offered fewer options than the traditional menus with simpler, less varied dishes. There was some broiled fish, grilled chicken and strip steak on every menu except Silk. Did you find the actual menus a pleasant surprise or disappointing compared to the sample menus, and in what way were they different? I understand they change the menu 1/2 way through a 7 day cruise, instead of every night as they do now.

 

One reason I think newer cruisers are pleased with the new menus is because the don't have memories from the 'golden days' of cruising to compare it to.

 

We are hoping to be pleasantly surprised on our upcoming Allure (post dry dock) cruise. I would love to come back singing praises of the 'new' dining arrangements on Allure.

I am just off Anthem, and attended a press briefing with the CEO's and they said they have introduced traditional dining times, and set table, and waiters for those who prefer the 'old way' heres the twist (which I love) - you will rotate around the four dining rooms allocated to dynamic - Grande, Silk, Icon and Chic.

 

I dined in Chic, it was a beautiful room, so elegant, with amazing table ware, and fabulous food.

 

I think they have a great new concept to be honest.

 

Rotating dining rooms is NOT a new concept. We first encountered this on Disney Wonder back in 1999. You keep he same waiters and table assignment and rotate each night. We enjoyed that on Disney and will be glad to see how it works on RCI.

I'd love some advice here!

 

We are on Independence in June and have St Maarten as a stop. I would LOOOOOVE to stop at Maho Beach for a while to watch the planes coming in (serious aviation geek here ... my partner not so much) ..

 

But rather than spending the whole day sniffing the jet fuel, I would still love to see the island too, as its a first for us.

 

I can't really tell from the RC shore excursions listed for our cruise if there are any like this that will include a stay at Maho.

 

Any ideas of whats a good way to get all this in during our stop there? An outside tour?

 

Thanks folks!

 

There is a boat tour with RCI that does a snorkel, swim and you can see the planes from the boat. Our college aerospace engineer son wants to be closer to the planes this time, so we too are looking for a tour to the actual beach.

Oceanaria was always in the evenings on our two Allure trips. They use the deep pools for practice, diving lessons and cover it for parties during the day.

 

I would suggest you go early in the cruise. On one of our cruises the seas became rough and the last 2 dive shows were cancelled for the safety of the divers.

 

The same was true for the ice skating shows. Rough seas, the shows are cancelled.

 

So, we book them early with hopes that if they get cancelled we still have a chance to see them during the week.

[quote name='son3cruisers']15, 16 and 17 year old boys[/QUOTE]

We traveled on Vision with 3 teenagers and they were so bored that one evening we were waiting for the elevator and an elderly couple told us it was the only ship they had ever been on with elevator attendants to punch the buttons and hold the doors open - it was our kids pretending they were elevator attendants. They also went to the art auctions and watched the 2 movies shown about 3 times each. They were so bored they drove us nuts.

We've been on Allure twice and have it booked again in Dec. The teens and the 80 year olds all love Allure. So much to do we never once heard 'I'm bored'.

I sure Anthem is a unbelievable ship , but not interested in any ship where I cannot get same table same time same waiter, like I have been doing for over 30 years. Should try another RCCL ship

 

We like classic cruise ship meals, and with two people with sever shellfish allergies, knowing our dining room staff is helpful.

 

Recent postings from RCI CEO indicates that Dynamic Dining is going fleet wide and will replace classic options in the future. We are looking at other cruise lines after our 2 currently booked cruises with RCI.

I have reservations for Giovanni's Table for our upcoming cruise on Oasis and noticed that much of the food contains cheese. Does anyone know if they would be able to adjust the ingredients to accommodate a couple of lactose intolerant diners or are they pretty set in the ingredients. I know the main dining room can make adjustments but not too sure specialty restaurants would be willing to adjust even if told a day ahead of time. Maybe we will have to cancel and book Chops instead as they seem to have more options that don't include cheese. Anyone with experience with this issue? Thanks!

 

Two members of our family have severe shellfish allergies and Giovanni's features many shellfish dishes. They have always been very accommodating when we eat there. They even brought individual servings to the people with allergies.

Dropping prices brought about cheap cruisers who did not spend once on the ship. They CAN afford to sail with empty staterooms. When the discounting started and the cheap cruisers came, onboard revenue went down as much as 75%.

 

He is a smart man and I for one am glad prices are going up and the discounting will come to an end!

 

 

I am in a wheelchair and can never book late - usually 1 - 1 1/2 years out to get the accessible room. On most cruises family and friends were able to join us, often using the price cuts. Many, like us, are teachers.

 

They did spend on the cruise. Photos, souvenirs, specialty restaurants, excursions. Had they paid full fare, they may not have had extra to spend.

With the discounted prices they enjoyed cruising and spent money. Most, who understood working hard for a living, were great tippers as well.

 

Enjoy your cruises with the privileged.

We love cruising and have been are larger ships - Disney, Fantasy and the Dream, RCI - Freedom, Carnival Dream and had no issues. BUT will we encounter issues on the MEGA

ships?

 

My daughter is in a wheelchair and my husband suffers from PTSD. Hubby is OK as long as he can find those little out of the way places and find some piece and quiet and or get back to the cabin and out on our balcony. My daughter's in a wheelchair and suffers from a linty of medical issues, for her we have to be able to get an elevator with ease and get from place to place is a reasonable amount of time.

 

Can I accomplish these things on the Mega Allure or Oasis?

 

Make sure you book an accessible cabin. We always get a boardwalk balcony accessible cabin (we're booked on Allure 12/15 in 14 something)

 

I traveled Allure with a Wheelchair and Rented Scooter. It is a very accessible ship - one of the better ones we've been on. It is a large ship. The scooter allowed me to go where I wanted to go without having to wait for someone to push me in the wheelchair. All ports were docked, so no problem there. My mother in law was in a push wheelchair and my hubby would get winded sometimes taking her from one end of the ship to the other.

 

Every officer on board has a key to the elevators and when we waited more than 30 minutes for an elevator, we just asked one of them for help and they would lock the elevator when it came to our floor, let us get on, then unlock it. We only had to do this twice. Once when we had waited over 40 minutes and were going to miss our dinner time and once when we had excursions booked and had waited over 30 minutes to try to get off the ship. When disembarking, get their early and they will take you in a special elevator to disembark.

 

We found the Central Park to be a very relaxing place to sit and read, except at mealtimes when diners were rushing to get to Chops or Park Cafe. There were hidden balconies that we enjoyed on levels 11, 12 and 14, but I hear they are taking them away to make more suites.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Let me know if i can answer any questions.

WE Loved our promenade room. Enjoying the parades and people watching was a lot of fun.

 

Noise was NOT a problem.

 

LIGHTS on all night were a bit distracting, just close the curtains. We took some clothespins and that helped seal the sliver of light that came through the curtain.

 

Also- PEOPLE CAN SEE IN YOUR WINDOWS. They are not tinted. WE had a lovely view of people in their PJS across the promenade. We made sure to close the curtains before undressing!

We booked CHOPS on ALLURE to celebrate our son's graduation from college (his choice). Our friend just got off of Oasis and said it was 39.00 unless you wanted a prime steak or lobster, then it was an additional 18.00 per meal, making each meal 57.00. Our local steakhouse, Bern's, is ranked 2nd in the nation by Michelin an for 49.00 you can get a fantastic prime meal Maybe we should just have his celebration dinner back on land. When we were on Allure last time it was 30.00 each. Has anyone else encountered this latest 'uncharge' at CHOPS?

We booked CHOPS on ALLURE to celebrate our son's graduation from college (his choice). Our friend just got off of Oasis and said it was 39.00 unless you wanted a prime steak or lobster, then it was an additional 18.00 per meal, making each meal 57.00. Our local steakhouse, Bern's, is ranked 2nd in the nation by Michelin an for 49.00 you can get a fantastic prime meal Maybe we should just have his celebration dinner back on land. When we were on Allure last time it was 30.00 each. Has anyone else encountered this latest 'uncharge' at CHOPS?

Can I bring a case of water on the ship? How do I accomplish it?

 

We bring a case of water every cruise. We just put a luggage tag on it and it is sent to our stateroom. We've been on Allure, Freedom, Mariner, Brilliance and Grandeur (many of them more than once) and never had a problem at all.

How do I book the all access tour on the Allure. We're booked for a cruise in September aboard the Allure and when I look on there website I don't see an option to book it. I checked in entertainment and activities but it's not there.

Our son did this tour on Allure. You go straight to Guest Services the minute you get onboard. Spots are very limited. They usually only offer this tour once, maybe twice the whole cruise. Our son is an engineering student and he really enjoyed the tour and thought it was worth the extra money. He took lots of pictures. Light refreshments are offered at different places throughout the ship.

I recently had to change from 2 rooms with 2 in each to 1 room with 2 and the other with 3. The only room in our category (Central Park Balcony) that would hold 3 was an accessible room on deck 14 (the other is on 10). They told me that we could be bumped if it was needed and I told my TA to see if they can put it in the notes that I would prefer it so that we don't keep someone who needs that kind of room from cruising. So please don't flame me for taking that room. The only other categories was an Ocean view balcony that was over $2k more:eek: and an inside that was a couple hundred more but I'm not willing to pay more and get less.

 

My question is what will be the big differences in the room. I know it's larger but that's no big deal to us, we don't spend enough time in the cabin to care about some more floor space. But I see the closet looks different and the shower in the bathroom looks like there are no walls, but just a curtain I guess to make it easier to get in and out. That just seems weird to me to just be a curtain and there's a drain in front of the door which suggests to me that when showering the water gets all over the bathroom floor:(

 

I'm really hoping that something else opens up or maybe the OV balconies come down in price before we sail so that we can switch out. Plus I'm not real happy that we went from the 10th deck to the 14th which puts us closer to the pools and all of the noise that comes with them. But I had to do what I could to allow this additional person to go.

 

Any other thoughts on these accessible rooms??

 

We were in an accessible room on Floor 14. The room is bigger. The balcony is bigger and has a ramp. the bathroom had a roll in shower and handrails. The closet has a bar you can pull down to access your clothing. If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to answer them. We could hear the zip line land right by our balcony, but it was not bad when the door was shut.

We are on the AofS soon. Someone kindly posted a probable menu. Looks great to me but not so much to the rest of my family. I called and RC rep told me only options at Main Dining are things like surf and turf for an up charge. He suggested going somewhere else if nothing looks good. Ya buffet!! Would it kill RC to offer some plain pasta or a cheese pizza as alacarte items?? Not a lot of dining options on A of S. Oh well. Guess my issue for a family of picky eaters. Just sort of makes me feel ripped off to not realy be able to enjoy the whole experience. I'm sure we will not loose too much weight though :D

 

Our Son Loved eating from the adult menu, but we traveled with a ridiculously picky 13 year old niece on Allure of the Seas. The waiters were so accommodating and brought Pizza and fries and burgers for her to serve with our meals in the MDR. The kids menu was also open to her, even though she was a teen.

I'm sure there is probably a thread somewhere on this topic, but as we prepare for 2 cruises this year, we looked through photos from past cruises and it made us long for cruise features that have disappeared over the past decade.

 

Cruising, like most of life, changes and evolves. Some of those changes are necessary - such as safety measures like required life boat seats for each passenger (my great-great uncle was Captain Smith of the Titanic). Cruisers with mobility issues can now cruise more comfortably. The variety of shipboard activities is greater. You can ice skate at sea, climb rock walls, and you can even ride on a zip line.

 

I still miss some cruise traditions from the past. For example, My family loved to dress up for 'theme nights' in the dining room. We carried outfits for 50's night, Togas, Caribbean Night. On formal nights the men would even wear their tuxedos. I now people want to be comfortable, but I miss having a dress code on formal nights. Spectacular Christmas midnight buffets are also something we miss.

The doors are metal, fleet wide, so magnets are the way to go. On our first Christmas cruise we had a nice wreath and a door decoration go missing. Our room steward found the wreath on a door down the hall and returned it. Now, we always personalize our decorations. We include the cabin number and a greeting like, "Happy Sailing from the Florida Cruisers". Sometimes, we include our first names. We haven't lost a decoration since we've begun labeling them.

Are the dividers able to open on the boardwalk balconies as well or just the outside balconies.

 

We had the room steward open our dividers to connect our 3 rooms on Allure of the Seas Boardwalk balconies. It made a nice long balcony where we could all gather to watch my 83 year old dad to the zip line and we could see the dive show.