Special Ed

Port Royal, thank you!

Hi all! As the subject says, I'm wondering if we're allowed to bring our own snorkeling gear on the Rhino Rider tour. I'm bringing my own snorkel and mask for our other days off ship so want to take it for this excursion as well. Not a fan of sharing mouthpieces even if they sanitize them. Thanks for your time!

Great advice which I typically follow when traveling away from home. I appreciate the input.

Thank you. We're on an excursion so some of that is covered. I appreciate the insight.

Very smart...I hadn't thought about that. Thank you!

Thank you both very much! That sounds like a good number. We're not heavy drinkers and there's only two of us so I'm doubting I'd spend all of that either...but it helps to have a starting point based on experience.

Hi y'all, Our 7 Night Eastern Caribbean cruise on Wonder is just over 2 weeks away and I'm doing my last bit of planning. I'm trying to decide how much cash I'll need to take onshore with me on excursion days. We've got a day bed for Chill Island so nothing to rent there. For St. Thomas we're doing the day at Magens Bay. And on St. Maarten we're doing the Rhino Rider tour. My cash question revolves around what need there is to have it at Magens Bay and for little things after the excursions are over (stopping at a food/drink stand for something to eat/drink before getting back on the ship, souvenir vendors, etc. How much would you plan to take for each of those locations to ensure you didn't get stuck needing cash when a credit card won't suffice? I assume a mix of 20s and smaller bills to be covered? Thanks for your time! John

I'm dealing with the same thing. They give you a phone number to call in the reservation so I tried asking. I learned what I already knew from asking before - no specific reservation made. As c-leg5 said, this is the disadvantage to the dining package (which I didn't know when I booked it).

I called them about another issue with my booking and the agent asked me about the beds without being prompted. If someone else doesn't have a better answer, there's always the phone.

Thank you for the suggestions. I’ll talk to my wife and the people we’re cruising with about this.

I'm learning to enjoy the unknown and to be flexible. Neither are my strong suit.....but I'm doing my best to grow as a person in this regard. It's a vacation...it'll be okay even if I have to eat really late or really early 🙂

Thank you for the quick responses. It would be nice for them to allow us to choose in advance but it's not the end of the world. I'll be on vacation and will be happy with whatever places we get to eat 🙂

Hi all, I booked the 3 Night Dining Package for my upcoming cruise on WOTS. RCCL told me that I can't make reservations for where to dine now. They also told me THEY will choose where I dine on the first of the three nights in my package (Day 2, as that's what I selected). They said I will find out where they've chosen when I get into my stateroom on Day 1. Given all I've read about their phone support not always knowing the rules, my first question is, is this correct? If so, is there a way to change it pre-cruise or at least as soon as I board on Day 1? I don't know for sure that I won't like what they're going to choose but I want control of the choice of all three dining venues since I paid for it. Is it also true that I have to wait to get onboard before reserving the other two restaurants in my package? Thank you for your time!

Hello TA family, My wife and I are driving down to PC for our RCCL cruise in October but our friends are flying in so won't be bringing wine with them. They also won't likely have a chance to pick some up after landing and before getting the shuttle to the port the next day. Would I be able to leave two bottles of wine with the RCCL people at the port for my friends to pick up on the off chance that we don't get to see them before we board the ship? I know that's a touchy subject post-9/11 so I suspect the answer is no but I figured I'd ask. Thank you, John

Hi y'all, Wife and I are booked on Wonder OTS for the Oct 15 sailing to Eastern Caribbean. We booked cabin 7654 and, after reading about those blank areas on deck plans, I'm wondering if we're going to be next to a noisy area. I looked above and below my cabin to be sure there were no public spaces on Decks 6 & 8 but I didn't look directly across the hall. Has anyone stayed in the cabins on Deck 7 between 7206 and 7506 (port) or 7608 and 7856 (starboard) that can comment on whether or not the blank areas are crew facilities which are going to create a lot of noise? Seems the whole center of the ship between those cabins on Deck 7 is one giant blank area so I assume there's something going on there. Our cabin is kind of right at the end of that blank area on the deck plan rather than in the middle of it so I assume the affect might be minimized. If anyone has stayed in cabin 7654 specifically, I'd be very interested in what you have to say about the cabin in general as well. Thank you for your time! John

I purchased The Key for my Sept 2022 cruise to Bermuda out of Baltimore. Standing in long lines is one of the things I dislike most intensely so, for me, it was totally worth the cost. We had the earliest boarding time and when we arrived at the port, the regular boarding line for our time was already wrapped around the building. I went to the Key entrance and was on the ship in 15 minutes. The Chops Grill arrival lunch and departure breakfast were nice. Unloading my carry-on with the Key team upon boarding the ship was nice too....didn't have any reason to keep it on my person. Couldn't take advantage of the tendering priority since we didn't tender to shore. I liked what it offered so much that I purchased the Key for my cruise again this October. Not everyone is as impatient as I am though so many won't think it's worth the cost and I can totally understand that.

Our TAs were approved and sent to us over a week prior to the cruise. We didn't experience the last minute thing so many people have reported.

Thanks. Fortunately, I did not have to leave Bermuda by air so all was well. Was nice to have my passport card vs. the full size passport. Easier to carry and store.

Thank you. Royal's website does say 'Passport Card' so I'm good to go. I appreciate the response.

Hi y'all. Wife and I head up to Baltimore tomorrow in advance of our Bermuda cruise departing Friday. I believe I can use my Passport Card. Can anyone who's gone Baltimore to Bermuda and used a passport card confirm I'm right about this? Just my nerves about things going wrong starting to kick in - always happens when I travel. Thank you! EDIT: Royal Caribbean's website says passport cards are accepted so that answers my question. Not sure why I didn't see it before. Sorry for the interruption.

Thank you both very much! This gives me more to look into and makes me comfortable about my options. I've downloaded the Hitch Bermuda app. Agree that a modest fee is never a problem as compared to a 2 mile walk when you're just done for the day and ready to head home. I appreciate everyone's input. 45 days to my first cruise!!!

Charles, I appreciate the informative response. I think we'll just stick to Tobacco Bay since it'll make everyone's lives easier. But if they change their mind, I'll keep your advice with me so I know how to handle it.

Charles, thank you. I was asking about Hamilton because it seemed to make sense to continue south and take a shorter ferry ride back (not really having a sense of the islands since I've never been there). Also, if we leave too late from the beach, our only ferry option would be the blue route from Hamilton given the last ferry from St. George is 6:00PM.

Hello CC Family, I am finally going on my first cruise (assuming nothing stops it as happened the last two times). We're going on Enchantment of the Seas to Bermuda on Sept. 30. We've opted to only do one RCL excursion and that's the Wild West Kayak Tour on Day 5. After we arrive on Day 3, we'll wander around the Dockyards so I can get a good cask conditioned ale or two at The Frog & Onion Pub before wandering over to mini golf for some good clean fun. My question is about Day 4. Since we have the whole day to do as we wish, and RCL didn't offer an excursion which suited us, we decided to go to St. George for a bit of sightseeing and light shopping before wandering off to the beach. I thought we should take the orange route ferry from the Dockyard since it's running that day (Monday) and then I'm not sure. I'm going with my wife, sister-in-law, and cousin (not all the same person 😁) and we think we want to go to Tobacco Bay after visiting the town. I've been reading CC posts and think maybe we should look into going to Clearwater Beach instead - I think we'd all prefer less people as long as the water and beach were great. How best to travel from St. George then? If we do go to Clearwater, would the best route back to the ship be to drive to Hamilton and take the ferry back to the Dockyards? Is there a better way? I'm not concerned with missing the ship obviously, but I'd still like to plan for the most reliable way to get to and from and make the most of our day trip to St. George. I'm also not concerned about the least expensive way to get there and back; as long as it's easy and reliable, we're good. Thank you for your time!