bsblindab

our first cruise with RCCL was on Grandeur..We have mixed feelings..We are 63 and 68..we were on deck 2 forward although we didn't have a port hole..we did have a nice window..the first night out was very choppy to the point that the water went up and over the window 🙂  Anna was our room stewart and VERY good. I have to say the service on RCCL was excellent.. The food was very good also.. If you don't like a hard (and I mean hard no give hard) bring a mattress topper..Anna did put extra quilts on the bed which helped..but not the greatest..and they were low..to the point where we couldn't put our suitcases underneath them. We had plenty of storage..the bathroom was ok..the sink was a bowl type with the faucet very close to the rim so hard to get your hands underneath..The had a nightly show some good...some were ok.. ALOT of trivia..We arent into that to much so we wernt kept busy  the TV had alot of sales/shopping/nd excursion channels. When they mention a older crowd it was OLDER..lots of scooters/walkers and canes. only like 34 kids aboard. We did My Time Dining which is a separate level from the set dining. It was nice because we did a set time reservation...the only thing about that (and I have mixed feelings on it) you got the same table every night,,,good because you didn't have to wait in line..bad you didn't get a different location in the room...but we did ask to sit somewhere else one night and they did accomodate us. they do have an enclosed pool adults only area,,get there early otherwise nothing is available...especially on those cold/rainy sea days.  We stayed at a hotel which kept our car nd transported us to the port and back...although the port is easy enough to maneuver if you drive yourself..much easier than NYC port..I would try RCCL again...maybe out of Bayonne and not the 12 day. maybe the beds would be better on a "newer" ship..but that said the service was excellent..

10 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

No.  Not on Grandeur.  I can't think of any place that you can get them at all, unless they turn up in the Windjammer by chance.

😞  NCL had them at one of their complimentary eateries (Blue Lagoon) which I guess was sorta like the Park Cafe. and they were pretty good..

thank you for the review..You sound like my husband and myself..the actual cruising is the best...the sites are extras. Sadly he can't walk to far..but I would love to explore the ports themselves.  Is there a place on board where you can get stuff like fish and chips  or chicken wings pretty much anytime of day?

good to know the mountain dew was ok...Since they offer Coke Products

1: different floor than traditional dining

2: nope, and they cannot sit with you in MTD. You’ll have to book specialty dining if you want to eat together

3: technically, nothing. We usually get the same waitstaff if not the exact table location with MTD

 

 

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We've been sailing with NCL which has MTD only..so I guess separate dining rooms would make sense for the set dining as they have a set table/set time. where as the MTD can come and go

If your friends have set time dining it would most likely be 8 or 8:30. There are only 2 options for traditional dining. Early 5:00 or 5:30 or late.

I think you are right...maybe it was the show at 7pm?

Yes, you can make reservations with your friends so you are at the same table.

guess I need to clarify: if I made a reservation for 5pm each night..along with that reservation can I request the same table? I realize waitstaff may change due to schedules.

1) Yes, either a different dining room or aidfferent deck.

2) No

3) With traditional fixed dining, you eat at the same time, at the same table, with the same dining staff. No flexibility in time.

 

Your options to eat wth your friends would be to either switch to same dining plan, Windjammer, or a specialty restaurant.

are you able to request the same table if you reserve a specific time? our friends eat at 7:00-7:30 and that's to late for me to eat. think I'll be falling asleep in my salad as I know they kind of draw out the meals :)

We've signed up for my time dining because we eat between 4-6pm..Our friends have signed up for a later set time...

1) do people with my time dining,,eat in a different dining room?

2) Can we on occasion sit with our friends during their set dining time?

3) What would be the difference for signing up for a specific dining time vs anytime dining with a set reservation time.

This will be our first time sailing with RCCL an we normally go for Anytime .

To answer your question "has anyone taken advantage of kids sail free?" Yes. We took my kids and their families on Oasis in 2017. It was my retirement cruise and we had 6 adults and 5 kids 12 and under. I splurged on a really good deal for 3 Crown Lofts. Then one day the Kids Sail Free promotion came up. Each adult fare went up about $200 per person, but all 5 kids were free. Additionally, I get insurance through RCCL. Since the kids were free, they were covered under the Insurance Policy for no charge since there was no fare for their cabin, but it gave them medical and all the other items free! Anyway, my NET Savings was just over $2000! So yes, I was able to take a very good advantage of the Kids Sail Free promotion.

Kids...thats for 12 and under right? I would like to take advantage of that but my grandsons are 13 and 14 :(

;pActually. Kinda. Yes. Normally we do 7day cruises. This is a 12 day one. Longer cruise more $. Just saying

Correct, per person, per day.

wow,,,another 360.00 for us..

If you booked through a T/A you shouldn't be able to pay direct

I booked through a TA and tried to make payment on the web site and it looked like it would go throught...then at the last minute..NOPE

Any response from them yet? I submitted the information on 8/20 and haven't heard anything yet :(

yes,,they wouldn't honor mine, and returned them with a explanation :( Said because it was from some type of promotion and they should have been used when the booking was first made and NOT with a travel agent

they wouldn't be honored,, I should have stuck with Carnival..

Not to mention I filled in the certicates with all the sailing information and signed them...now they are pretty much useless unless I use white out to eliminate all the info I put in there

Final update! Got a call from my TA tonight. RC has credited my account for the full $1900.00 ($400 + $1500) of AARP certificates. There is an over-payment of $462.64 which RC said they will refund to my credit card used to pay for the cruise. However, it may take 45 to 60 days for it to post. I'm happy. I thought they would apply it to my set sail account or give me a FCC.

 

This would have been so much easier if I had not run out of time or if AARP had ecards. I'm still happy as I saved 10% that almost paid for the scooter rental. It is worth it.

Sent my orignals in on 8/11 and still waiting.. I paid all but the amount of the GC to my reservation..so HOPEFULLY as soon as mine come through my cruise will be paid..then possibly will add the gratuties and Travel Insurance

Hooray! I received an email yesterday from RC saying they received & credited my account for the last 15 $100 AARP certificates. I notified my TA immediately & they have not posted yet. She will keep on them. My question is now I have overpaid. Who gives me my refund? I told her I hope they do not put it on my set sail account. I buy very little on board except for gratuities & the credit is much more than that. I did request a FCC or a check for the difference. I make diamond this cruise so I will be booking another cruise with a balcony to try that new status, hopefully on a big ship maybe in the Oasis class.

 

I hope you aren't too bored with my keeping you posted on the steps in this looooonnnng process. I'm just hoping someone can use this information.

still waiting :confused:

Was it $20 for a whole pig? :D

Is that per person per day?

this is the response I got from them, so I will scan them and see what they can do...fingers crossed this is $400.00 I wasn't planning on coming out of my pocket

 

Good afternoon,

 

Please scan and attach your certificates and I will try to make an exception for you. Thank you.

 

Enjoy your day.

ok 12 days after I scanned the certficates and sent them via email,,I now got a response to send the original certificates to the address on the back and and a persons attention....we are getting somewhere...hopefully all will be set up by the time final payment is due :(

Thank You All!!!! Just the answer I was hoping for.

we are on the Grandeur in Jan for a 12 day. Our first for RCCL. I'm hoping I won't be disappointed too. the last cruise we did was Hawaii..so it will be a hard one to top ;p

I received my last 15 $100 RCC gift cards from AARP today. There were no $500 cards available. I copied & emailed them to RCC immediately. They now have $1,900 worth of gift cards from AARP to be used for my final payment. They said it would take up to 10 days so we'll see. Once again, I'll keep you posted.

I scanned my 400.00 worth also..fingers crossed

I just sent a email to them also..lets see.

this is the response I got from them, so I will scan them and see what they can do...fingers crossed this is $400.00 I wasn't planning on coming out of my pocket

Good afternoon,

Please scan and attach your certificates and I will try to make an exception for you. Thank you.

Enjoy your day.

I really don't think it's "good luck" at this point. This seems to be the policy for these as there are older posts about this. They will put the certificate towards your cruise payment only. It can't be used for OBC.

wonder if this will work for a travel agent?

WOW! If this info is correct, that's GREAT! Please, anyone else that has good luck in doing this, report it back here.

 

Thanks!

well I sent an email and still waiting

If you visited both sites...which would you recommend..one over the other. We did Juneau and it was ok..but was wondering what other people thought before we booked another Alaska cruise

Nothing, my mistake.

nice to know you can change a name