texmex.ferr

When we did the TA on Wonder in April, we were tag #1 and our disembarkation time was 6.45am, I think self disembark, was either the same or a little earlier at 6.30am. Our flight was booked for 11.10, and initially wasn't sure,(from previous cruises, we don't usually disembark until a bit later,) if we'd make the flight (although it was booked with Air2Sea), but we had loads of time to get to the airport and check in.

Thanks for this information, did you get a taxi from the Airport to the Hotel on your arrival, just wondering approx cost of fare if you did.

Does the Hampton Inn have transportation to the cruise port? We require accommodation for 2 nights in March before we board Symphony OTS for the TA, and I'm looking for hotels (at a reasonable price). We've only ever cruised from Miami once before, and we stayed at the Embassy Suites near the Airport the night before at that time, but I remember the Hampton was suggested then. The Hotels that Royal are using are very expensive, and for 2 nights is nearly half the fare of the cruise fare!!!!

We have moved bookings in the past with Royal, but be aware they may charge £75 pp admin fee for changing your booking to a new sailing. They were allowing changes to be made without incurring fees, but I'm sure this has come to an end. It might also depend on who you speak to (or your TA speaks to) at RCCL if you'll be charged the admin fee or not. Good luck

I sympathise with you with your change of flight and having to wait so long to get a resolution, but there are so many flight cancellations ongoing at present, that Air2Sea may also be struggling to try to reschedule your homeward flight, because of lack of available flights. I know you mention you've seen a late flight that your could book, but where is the guarantee that that flight may not cancel between now and July 24. I'm sure Air2Sea will get back to you once they have a resolution, and they are probably processing flight changes in date order.

sorry it's now 4 drinks loaded onto your card, but it won't allow me to edit this post

Hi I haven't been on Navigator OTS but according to the deck plan there is a Diamond Lounge on Deck 5 near the Star Lounge at the front of the ship. Since RCCL restarted sailing after Covid, they have taken away what was 'Happy Hour in the Diamond Lounge, as it used to be. Your 3 drinks are now loaded onto your sea pass card and can be used at any time during the day to get any drink you wish (whether alcoholic or not) up to a value of $13 from any bar on the ship. Water is no longer 'free' unless you use get it as your Diamond drinks. There are still snacks available in the Diamond Lounge all day as pre Covid, and they still serve 'hors d'oeuvres during the old 'Happy Hour' timings

Any idea when the spring 2024 TA's will be on sale? I'm hoping to move one that I have booked for 2023 to 2024. Thanks

We stayed at Embassy Suites in April for our TA cruise on Wonder, it is beginning to show it's age, but it's still in a good location for the cruise port, and that's probably why people keep going back. We also like Waxy's Irish pub across the street, but we found out it's changed hands since we were last there (I can't remember when that was, probably around 2016/7), and we didn't think the food was as good, the atmosphere is still great though. We had friends who stayed in the Holiday Inn Express Fort Lauderdale Cruise - Airport, which is situated on the same area as Embassy Suites one block away. If you decide to book the Holiday Inn, be wary, because there are a few Holiday Inn Expresses in that area, other friends thought they had booked the one next to Embassy suites and found out later it was miles away. lol

We have tested in the UK for our previous cruises this year, all being done by Randox in either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport, and all have been done with results back very quickly, and well within their published timescales. We also printed off the emails with the testing results to make it easier at check in at the ports, in case our internet didn't work very well within the building. Enjoy your cruise

We had a balcony cabin on Grandeur and we had a cooler in ours back when we sailed in February/March for 3 weeks

We have sailed on Jewel (October 2021), Grandeur (Feb/March 2022), and Wonder (April 2022), and they have all had omelette stations ( or eggs to order).

We were on Wonder TA in April, and we didn't buy the package before we got on the ship. We are Diamond members, and were going to try to make do with our 4 free drinks per night, but DH had other ideas once we got onboard, so we decided to buy the Deluxe drinks package onboard. The offer we got was buy one get one 1/2 off, so our total including our CC charge/conversion fee came to £1801 the 2 of us, so it worked out to around £64 per person per day, which worked out the same as buying it before we went onboard.

We did a sailing on Jewel of the Seas last October picking up the ship in Cyprus, and we recently got off Wonder of the Seas Transatlantic, and I have not see the Stay Awhile offered on any of these sailings we have done in the past year. Even before Covid, it wasn't something I'd seen being advertised on sailings, apart from one that we did and booked Stay Awhile for, but they cancelled the Stay Awhile bookings before we sailed.

I believe, you can only apply the $25.99 discount on the ship, so it normally works out cheaper to buy it before you get on the ship from the cruise planner. Not really much of a saving, the free day is better, if you don't need internet for your whole cruise.

Hiya, I too found that there was a lack of storage space in the bathroom. As you know we had a Spacious Oceanview Balcony Cabin on Deck 11, which could accommodate 6 people (there were only 2 of us in the cabin), but storage facilities in the bathroom was sorely lacking even for just 2 of us using it. In the other ships we've been on, there was a hook on the back of the balcony door, where you could hang your robes (if you had any), or whatever, but there was no hook on these doors, everything seemed to be squeezed to the side of the wash basin, and the towel rails. I struggled to open and close the balcony door, and anyone who did not have a lot of power in their hands would really struggle, and felt it was rather noisy when the door opened to allow the ramp to form on the outside of the balcony, which I thought would be unusable later in the evening Margaret

If you're making a new booking and booking a suite, once you've sailed you will be given the C & A points for staying in a suite (double points), what you're not receiving is the On Board Credit and your current Crown & Anchor discount for being a Diamond member. You have to work it which is the best deal for your circumstances, either the Crown & Anchor discount or the On Board Spend. Royal have not been combining C & A discounts with OBC allowances for a number of their sailings recently, whereas they did before Covid. I have seen another scenario that they have given reduced OBC if you use your C & A discount, for certain sailings in the past few months. My TA normally gives me all options, then I can pick which deal suits us best, and I've always been credited with our points after we've sailed.

I'm not sure where you are in the UK, but we've had our tests done by Randox (they have numerous branches throughout the UK), and have always found them reliable, and results have been back very quickly. Another company (although I haven't used them) is Dam Health, who seem to have a branch in Southampton. and state antigen results should be available within 2 hours of testing.

We have done 3 sailings since last October, and have taken basic items to share with the staff, and all of them have been very appreciative of things we have given. We've normally given the bag to our cabin steward, and asked them to distribute it to their friends/colleagues, if they themselves would not use it. I've also bought packets of google eyes for them to use on their towel animals, and these have always been very well accepted. We have just returned from the TA on Wonder, where our cabin steward told us it was like Christmas, when we gave her the bag at the end of our trip. I will add we also give cash too. The sailings we have done so far, the staff have not been able to leave the ship, but on the last 3 days of our TA on Wonder, we were told that they were going to start to let some staff off in the ports, so hopefully restrictions are beginning to be lifted.