emmad1973

We booked for this, I'm so excited, we did the Allure TA in 2015 and fell in love with the ship.

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We have one because they cost nothing and if it makes life easier during a crisis then it's worth having.

When I had that problem, clearing my history and cookies fixed it.

Don't do it, you will never want a midship cabin again!! The balconies are bigger, the views are amazing and I really don't notice any extra motion (but that could just be me).

It didn't seem any noisier and did I mention the views?

Isn't today changeover day for FOS?

Someone on another thread said they had trouble booking through a US TA because they didn't have a US address - did you have any trouble with this?

 

 

 

And how did you pick a TA?

I did some research online and spoke to a couple of different travel agents and then picked the one I liked best. The rules say I can't tell you which one I use.

I book with my UK address using my C&A number and English debit card and have not had any problem. I've just booked my third cruise this way and I am more than happy with how it's turned out.

We are in a family cabin on the Allure of the Seas TA in October, it's about £1500 cheaper (from memory), I have $300 onboard credit from the agent and can take advantage of any price drops.

I booked (and then changed my mind and cancelled with a full deposit refund) a 2 week Mediterranean cruise for July on the Explorer in 2 interconnecting cabins on the hump. The saving was £2500!! I also had $300 OBC per cabin.

I hope that this helps.

Emma

Yes they were the same ones as before and took ages to dry my thick shoulder length hair. I normally take a dryer but forgot to pack it so I had to put up with it - I would say definitely take your own x

I now book through an American travel agent so that I can take advantage of the price drops and all of the other cool

Incentives and the flexibility that our friends over the ocean get compared to us here in the UK.

The Grande is formal every night so you can choose to dine there when you want and dress up on those nights. We really enjoyed it on the Quantum, it was nice to choose what nights we wanted to dress up :-)

I would never expect that from them and no I do not ask for personal experiences. I've asked things like time it leaves when it gets back. The reason for this is to possibly do 2 while at port depending on timing. Does it usually come back on time. What dock will the boat be at which is good to know for doing research of where you will be in relation to everything else. Excursions listed on their website that can't be booked online why is that will they be available on board, what night is formal night is there more then one, what other activities are on the boat that are considered paid activities, how do we reserver a table at the specialty resturant (since website doesn't work). Are there any events in the casino like poker tournaments etc.

 

 

 

All stuff I consider general basic information that they should know but they don't know. I've asked them why there is only < 5 reviews of any of the excursions but I've never expected them to have been on them.

Some of this stuff they really can't answer, but we can.

What time does it leave - that will depend on so many things, what time the ship docks (it may be late), how long it takes for the ship to get clearance for passengers to leave the ship and so on. All of this has a knock on to whether they come back on time and so on.

You can reserve a table on the website, or onboard through your television or guest services.

Yes there are poker tournaments, I believe you can win a cruise (I don't play so I've never paid much attention - someone else will have).

Depending on the ship, there are other paid for activities such as the cupcake making workshop. These will be listed under onboard activities on the website.

There are also activities that appear in cruise compass that are either free or low cost. I have made jewellery for instance (it was fun).

There are also quizzes and trivia, dance classes and other fun things.

I am sure if you do a search of the royal Caribbean board on here someone will have put up some sample cruise compasses for your ship/itinerary so you can see for yourself the kind of thing on offer.

Emma

My best website tip for not encountering the frustrating "your booking is being modified" message. You have to leave your booking properly by returning to the my cruises page and clicking yes when it asks if you want to leave the booking. If you just hop off to another page it locks your booking for 15 minutes. Once I realised this I spent much less time shouting at my computer [emoji16].

I have booked excursions in advance and on the ship and have never had a problem finding what I want available on the ship, so if it comes to it and you can't decide before it should be ok to wait.

Most importantly, have a great trip!!

I am so glad you got your luggage back!!

I got that you weren't ranting and we're seeing the funny side.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

I would not be comfortable with that at all, it is far too close to the cut off for embarkation to allow for any delays. You could be setting yourself up for some major hassle.

I have a rule that I like to arrive the day before to allow for any problems we may encounter, that way if there is a problem I have time to deal with it without it affecting the main part of my trip.

I hope that helps

Emma :-)

We are in cabin 6140 it's a D0 and is lovely.

Apologies for the poor photography :-).

The solarium is beautiful

I can't wait to sit in a hot tub tomorrow!

We are off to eat at Chic shortly - I will let you know how it is.

Emma

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Hi guys,

Well we are here on board and I can tell you the ship is stunning! Boarding was not as smooth as it could have been but it was ok - we came straight to our cabin and have the bands as well as our cards - the crew seem to prefer the cards so far, but we will see.

I will update more later

Emma x

I may have to make a change to our upcoming cruise - my husband may not be able to come as he is working on a new project - anyway it's on the Quantum, does anyone know if changing a name will mean I lose all of my dynamic dining and entertainment bookings?

Thanks in advance

Emma x

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The normal deposit in the UK is £300pp so. Guess the £50 was for the kids. We also pay more for our cruises. I saved £3000 by booking through a US travel agent on a 14 night cruise for 4 of us for next July. I also saved £600 on our upcoming Quantum cruise from Southampton next

month. The price difference and terms are so different that I just won't book in the UK any more.

Emma

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We has that cabin on freedom and loved it x

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I've just booked a cruise on the November Quantum of the Seas Transatlantic maiden voyage in an inside guarantee through an American agent. I saved £450 plus I got some OBC. I am about to book 2 balcony cabins on explorer for next summer, the saving by booking through an American travel agents is around £2500 plus I get OBC for each cabin and all of the same terms and conditions as out friends in the USA. To say I was shocked is an understatement!!

Emma

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Well with the premium package only my husband had it, and I didn't have one. They even let us switch the package from my husbands account to my account midweek when he got sick.

That is great, thanks for the info :)

Does anyone have experience of only one person in the cabin who drinks buying the select package?

My husband drinks alcohol but I do not, I would really like to buy the replenish package as I love the non alcoholic cocktails and the select package would suit my husband, but the terms say we would both have to have the select package, which makes it cost prohibitive for us.

Do you know if there is any wiggle room on this rule, as I don't drink for religious reasons and am not planning to start any time soon :D - I realise that the rules are there for a reason, and I can't just change them to suit me, but if any of you have had experience of this I would really appreciate your insights?

Thanks

Emma

I love the royal Caribbean product, so will travel with them again, but I do think that they hide behind the differences in the travel industry line. Most of the things we don't get over here have nothing to do with the way they have to do business, but the way they choose to do business. We pay more, we don't have the flexibility, we don't get the same offers and so on. After all, if one cruise line can offer changes with no charges in the uk then it shouldn't be a problem for another because of legislation (which is what they allude to).

I am just booking next year's cruise and I've decided to look at using a US travel agent to see if I can get a better deal/ a few perks and a bit more flexibility.

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The differences between what RCCL UK and USA really annoys me. Did you know if we book a guarantee in the UK we can't change the cabin, we have to take what is assigned to us. Fortunately I found this out before I booked last time. I really think we should get the same as our friends across the pond when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Emma

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This really is a first world problem! You know, most of the staff on the ship would consider you to be extremely affluent, their backgrounds are generally much poorer than people who can afford to go on a cruise.

I know it's upsetting if your cruise date gets cancelled, but it is far enough out that you can change it without to much hassle.

As others have said, most of those blocks of unavailable time will be for dry dock. This not only keeps the ship looking great, it's a safety thing.

I hope you get another cruise booked that you will enjoy just as much as your original one.

Emma

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I often buy one for myself as I don't drink alcohol - I would have thought there are lots of people like me

Emma x