chiguypaul

Just a follow-up for everyone. Our check-in time was 1130. We were able to check in at 10:45 without any issue and get on the ship within 15 minutes. This is was for a December 31 sailing. 

I wanted to provide some closure on this thread that I started. We ended up driving. Our flight was originally scheduled for December 29. We decided to leave on December 28th and make it a 2 1/2 day trip with a stop in Atlanta for some tourist stuff.  Our originally planned flight didn’t experience any delays. But I have zero regrets about driving and it alleviated a tremendous amount of stress by doing so.  We are flying back.  Thanks everyone for their comments. 

On 12/26/2022 at 3:33 PM, VTSKIandCRUISEGUY said:

Can you use Diamond drink vouchers for Johnny Rockets shakes?

Have tried on multiple ships - never successful.

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

You will board the ship at the same time as the rest of your group. Diamond doesn't get you on the ship any quicker. Unless you are in a suite. 

That was not true during our Thanksgiving Freedom cruise. Diamond members boarded before everyone "below" that.

Just now, cooncat_mom said:

Southwest in New England is a mess still, add in  staffing problems, planes not in position and the WiFi is

 still iffy.  IF you drive, please schedule walking breaks in (those if you with lityle ones shouldn't be in trouble 😆) - I've had long distance drivers admitted to the hospital I work at with DVTs. One week we had 3 of them admitted.  For others, AmTrak can be an alternative....

Great advice on the breaks for all. We decided to add an extra day of travel to break out the legs and make them a little shorter. Sometimes we pull over just to stretch for 5 minutes when we have long trips. 🙂

1 hour ago, alexgtp said:

Same boat as you. 12 PPL , 2 seniors and 1 infant

 

Leaving Chicago for FLL for Harmony 31st cruise. Our SW Flight is Friday, But we already have 2 cars booked and leaving on Thursday so we have 2 days to get into FLL and make our hotel reservation for Friday PM.  We are Stopping midway in Georgia for an overnight stay.

We rented 1 way down, hoping the Southwest situation gets resolved by the time we need to fly home.

I don't trust SW to get their act together this week, looks like their main issue is getting staff moved to correct locations due to outdated computer system they use.

So it is a staffing issue and the fact that Southwest uses a point to point system as opposed to a HUB style system, add to their dilemma's. So they pretty much have staff trapped all over the USA without any direction on where they are to be, or an effecient system to get them where they need to be. Very disappointing as I am a frequent SWA customer.

I think you're making the right call. It's not worth missing the cruise. The flights from MDW or MCO seem to be moving today, but all you need is your flight to be canceled and that's game over. We already had AA scheduled back. Was just a fluke with how we scheduled this time. Normally we're SW RT. When you get tired of that drive - think about not having the stress of if your flight will go or not!

15 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

Just one final question. Won't cruising at this time of the year interfere with you watching Da Bears playoff run? 😇

Yea...right. 🙂 That season ended a few weeks ago.

12 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

@chiguypaul, It' sounds like you have things covered. Have a great cruise. 

Thanks. Appreciate everybody’s comments.

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Is this thread Royal Caribbean related or is this a weather related/ flight /travel issue thread?

I couldn’t find another part of cruise critic, forms to post this in. Recommendations?

2 hours ago, matj2000 said:

You might not be able to do that.

 

If you no-show for the first flight, the entire flight may be cancelled.

 

You should check with S/W first.

I understand what you’re talking about.
We are on Southwest going down and American going back. But even if that were  not the case, we would split our reservations up with Southwest to avoid the situation you were describing. 

2 minutes ago, long4acruise said:

Since you already have a two-day buffer between your SW planned flight and the date of the cruise, I'd tend to stick with the flight, and perhaps have a tentative plan to depart even a day earlier if offered the possibility . Not sure I'd want to drive that distance but that may depend on upcoming weather forecasts.

Whatever you decide, put safety first and have a wonderful relaxing cruise! The Wonder is a beautiful ship.

The plan is to leave on the flight and if for some reason there’s a cancellation we are ready to drive.  

2 hours ago, IHateSnow! said:

We just got off the Wonder with a party of 7.  We had the UDP. Here’s what we found:

 

1: we had plenty of a la crate credit for all of us for both playmakers and Izumi - we never paid extra anywhere.  
 

2: we had an impossible time getting reservations.  3 out of 6 days we were able to. Only 1 day was at a preferred (chops) restaurant and that was day 6 at 8:00 pm

 

3: making reservations in app was impossible.  We were on the ship at 11:30.  There were literally none available. Any day. 
 

4: a kind individual at mason jar helped me get Giovanni’s and Mason Jar.  The reservation desk at check in told me we were all set, and we were not.  
 

5: at all 3 experiences the restaurants were maybe 30% full.  Leading me to believe it’s a staffing issue.  Also, for a ship of 7k, the venues are exceptionally small. 
 

6: we were also told on 2 nights there were no my time dining reservations available. 
 

 

This is fueling my concerns about our New Year’s Eve cruise on the wonder with our UDP. I am very concerned about not having a place to eat and my family furious with me because we re stuck at the windjammer. Our check in is at 1130 and we plan to arrive earlier just to get any chance to get ahead of any other people. I have not seen checkin times earlier than 1130 from others I talked with for this sailing on the wonder. 

3 minutes ago, LindaD22 said:

How about changing your flights to fly in a day or two early, just in case? Way easier than driving all that way 

Flight is already two days before the cruise. 

$500 from Chicago to Port Canaveral with National. That includes two day rental with loss damage waiver. Hertz was $580 for the same coverage with a drop off at the Orlando airport.  

10 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

I agree, you should be fine but just in case does your car have winter tires? Does the oil need changing? You might need to do some prep on your car his week just in case. 

All good things to consider. Car was recently inspected with oil change. So all good there. One option is to rent a car. Going down and then take our regular flights going back.

1 minute ago, IHateSnow! said:

Some of our party was on about 10:45 this past week. 

Do you know what check in time they had?

I live in Chicago. I leave for the wonder on December 29. My cruise is on December 31. I am flying on Southwest. Given what a mess Southwest Airlines is right now, I have a lot of concerns about the probability of my flight getting out. I know it’s a couple days away but I’m worried about it. So I’m thinking about driving with my family from Chicago to Port Canaveral. We have four people that could drive so it wouldn’t be horrible but definitely not ideal. Obviously I need to wait a day or two to see what the airline landscape looks like. Was also thinking about renting a car instead of using our own but I know I can trust my own car.  Just wanted to reach out to my cruise critic folks to see what their thoughts are on this. I might be overthinking it. Thanks.

8 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I just read that cozumel closed at 3 pm today because of high winds. If ships are docked, stay docked.  No more allowed to dock. I think closed tomorrow too.

This will be interesting to monitor in terms of what itineraries end up changing from events like this.

Going to try to reshape this conversation. 

I can't but help think that there are many people who will miss their cruise this weekend due to the terrible transportation issues people are facing. I would not expect people to come on any of the CC forums to talk about how disappointed they are because there's no fun in that and those people are probably really down about missing their cruise and don't want to talk about it. I'm sure plenty of people are trying to drive to make their cruise if they can, but would assume plenty of people, RCL or not, are going to miss their holiday sailing this week for the typical 7 day ships that leave on the weekend. I feel for the people in that situation and can only imagine the disappointment and frustration experienced right now my many travelers. 

Lots of people on recent cruises still wearing masks - both crew and passenger. 

On 12/21/2022 at 8:19 AM, Coffey cup said:

All

 

A couple of last-minute questions, which I am sure are basic, but I am stressing over. First question, if we have valid passports, is there a need to also bring our birth certificates?  I keep saying to bring your passports and other documentation, so I am not sure what that other documentation is.   Second question,  now our set sail passes are all the same color in Apple wallet, but do I need to print out copies of my set sail passes or will digital work? They are in my Apple wallet, I’ve taken screenshots of them, but will they ask me for a paper copy at the pier?

 

thanks in advance!

Love this title. I think you'll find most of us here are Type A with some who worry more than others. 🙂  Passports are the golden ticket - no need for BC if you have passport. You may have health or other situations that require "other documentation", but most travelers don't need to worry about anything other than passport. You do not need to print sail passes. You don't need to move them to Apple Wallet either unless you are worried that your cell phone service isn't working and you wouldn't be able to pull them up in the app. No harm in Wallet.  Have fun!

We frequently use Traveguard which is AIG. The policies with them always felt more comprehensive. That being said, with ALL of these insurance companies, the devil is in the details in terms of what they cover AND the conditions that must occur for the policy to kick in. Regardless of what any insurance selected, you must read the fine print prior to purchasing and walk through what would happen with the situations that might be of greatest risk to you.

On 12/17/2022 at 2:22 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

We have been invited to join friends who are sailing on a 15 night TA on the Enchantment of the Seas next April. Have very limited cruising experience, none with Royal Caribbean (RC).

1. Over all, is RC considered a budget, middle of the pack or luxury cruise line?

2. How does Enchantment of the Seas compare to other RC ships, big/small, new/old, crowded/spacious more family or mostly adults?

3. Looking at an outside view cabin but they appear very small on this ship. How do they compare to other cruise lines?

4. At that level cabin and being new to RC will we have limited or no access to certain areas on the ship?

5. A crossing in April could get rough, how stable is the Enchantment of the Seas

6. Is the drinks package a good deal. We probably have lattes at breakfast a pre-dinner drink, 1-2 glasses of wine at dinner and a couple of cocktail/wine in the evening. 

7. What other extras/upgrades are worth paying for? Right now all higher grade cabins are sold out.

Anything that is unique to RC or thoughts on their onboard culture would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jack

I'll give you my two cents. RC typically considered a middle of the pack line. Enhancement was one of our first ships as a family. It's a great ship, but I prefer ships in the Oasis Class and Quantum class, followed by Freedom class, and then Navigator-type ships. Enchantment will fall below that for me, but definitely a nice ship. Do the math on the drink package. Check for sales. You might like the package so yo don't have to think about the math on the ship. Other than cabin category, you might want to consider some speciality restaurants.

I've noticed this activity more and more over the past two years. Makes me so frustrated. Very selfish. 

I thought people would find the following amusing. I talked to Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor and they said that with my unlimited Dining package I was guaranteed a restaurant at 5:30 every night.