ummgood

Note to RCI - The quote "if you build it they will come" does not always apply.

It is more like "if you burn half of it to the ground and then charge more for it they'll come"

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So there are balcony rooms on FOS that connect to inside rooms? We had thought about getting an inside and a balcony but I assumed the inside would have to be across the hall. Do you know which deck(s) these would be on?

Deck 9 has some for example. Stateroom 9696 connecting to 9701.

EDIT: Turns out there are two sets of those rooms. The ones I mentioned and the ones on the other side of the ship. Those are the only ones I found.

AND no more chimichurri sauce! :mad:

Disney might have sued them because it was too close to Mary Poppins.

And I still can't believe they think someone might pay a 35.00 upcharge to go there and order a BURGER:rolleyes: It is just wierd even putting that on the menu......

The burger is a crack up to me too. I am guessing they wanted something on the menu for people who only eat food like that I guess. Say I want to go to Chops bad and my wife only eats burgers at least she would have something to eat. (My wife is very picky but she'll eat a steak). I figure this is why seafood restaurants always have one chicken and one beef dish on their menus.

We have a steakhouse in Austin that charges $20 for a burger but it is made out of Kobe beef.

My husband and I are taking our son on his first cruise in April '16.

 

We want to avoid a balcony stateroom because a curious little boy (7 at cruise time) and ocean water just don't mix.

 

I was very happy to see a YouTube video of a family promenade stateroom but was very sad to learn that the minimum family size was 5! I realize getting a larger family together in one room is difficult at best...but what about the rest of us! The bunk beds, the closet, the tub! LOL.

 

I was also a bit miffed when I found out the price for that room would have only been $25 more than a large Ocean View room. :mad:

 

Can anyone recommend an alternative? Are there any "larger than usual" oceanview rooms for families of three?

 

I appreciate your help!

I am new to cruising RCCL but we have a family of 5 and we are forced onto balcony rooms on Disney because their family rooms all have a balcony on their older ships. (The new ships have family oceanviews). I will say I was extremely nervous because we have a 2 year old that is NUTS. He climbs up the outside of our staircase, jumps off of anything he can get on. We were very nervous but we found that the balcony wasn't that big of an issue. It is impossible for kids to open the door on Disney. I would hope it is the same for RCCL. We had a 10yo that couldn't open up the door. When we were out there we were on 'guard' and never let the kids out there by themselves. Plus I have heard of people having the furniture removed and then that makes it impossible to scale the railing.

I know this isn't what you asked for but I am curious to know if RCCL has the same kind of locks on their balconies. You'll make the right decision for your family if that includes no balcony I just wanted to give you a little peace of mind if you do have to book a balcony to get a bigger room. I do think that the only thing that I would love in that family stateroom is that it has a tub. I think you have to go all the way to Junior Suite to get that if you can't book the family room.

In the past here, people have said you can get only one entree, which makes sense. I've never tried to do otherwise. I doubt they'd get in the habit of letting people order multiple steaks, seafood etc:rolleyes: And wouldn't expect them to.

Thanks I wasn't sure I was used to Disney which you can order whatever you want in the upcharge restaurant on their ship. For example in Palo I paid $20/pp and my wife and I both got steaks and our waiter insisted we split some pasta as well so they brought us a third dish. Then he came back and asked if we wanted another dish but we were way too full.

I just didn't know what to expect. For me I put about $15 dollars value in the MDR meal. So if RCCI is going to charge me another $35 over what I would have spent for the main MDR food that would put me at $50/pp for Chops. I could get a better steak in a restaurant here for cheaper with all the goodies. $100 for a couple is a lot to live up to in my mind and that isn't including the higher end choices.

Can you order more than one entree here included in the $35 up charge? For example if I wanted a seafood dish and a steak would they do it? (I understand if I get lobster or the prime steaks they cost more)

So if you book onboard you get basically a very small OBC and nothing else but a reduced deposit? I have booked these on Disney before but I think in this case if you don't know what cruise you want $25 for a week cruise is crazy. I would rather not bother and lose the $25. We only have time for a week cruise because we are still working and have 3 young kids.

When we booked on Disney it was a 10% discount PLUS 200 OBC and a reduced deposit (I think 10% instead of 20% of cruise price). For out last cruise our TA gave us 7% back too so our 5k cruise ended up being closer to 4200 and plus we got a 200OBC so it makes Disney a bit easier to swallow. That is a family of 5 price.

You could pack a single-cup Melitta cone and some filters.

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/melitta-pour-over-single-cup-brewing-cone/1010182077?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_coffeetea_&gclid=CN-ok-Pylb4CFYMSOgoddVwAWg

That is interesting thanks!

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As most have said, coffee in the MDR is not so bad. Usually very hot, which is important to us. Room service and WJ, not so good. Now, here's our dilemma - we are hooked on our half and half. We used to be able to order it through room service, but obviously it's another cost-cutting victim. They do still serve it in the MDR. So......this last cruise, I simply walked out of the MDR with one of the little pitchers and kept it in the stateroom fridge.

Haha talk about problem solving. I will give the MDR coffee a try.

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OP - Just wanted to say that while the coffee on RCI is hit or miss as folks have said, in comparison to Disney I think you'll find the coffee is sooooo much better. Disney - and DCL - has the deep true luvs for that Nescafe concentrate crap, as I'm sure you well know. :p Anything is a step up from that, so if you're comparing the two you'll most likely be much happier with RCI, even if it doesn't meet coffee snob standards. ;)

Yes we know about the concentrate and it is truly horrible. What we found on our last cruise though is if we go to a restaurant the coffee is actually quite decent. The reason I found it is the waiter in Palo was actually saying how it wasn't a genuine Italian meal without coffee. So we ordered some and it was really good. I asked him what type it was and he said it was "Nescafe" but a special roast for Palo and they brewed it instead of it being from concentrate. Then we realized in the MDR they also have brewed coffee that was pretty good too. Room service tasted like the drink station coffee which is the concentrate.

Hopefully RCCL is truly better and I won't have to go through the effort with doing my own thing. I'll bring the stuff along just in case :)

Agreed.

 

Disney should be ashamed for what they pass off as coffee!

 

Life is too short for bad coffee!!

 

jayblue RCCL cruiser

I agree! Plus once you have tried some really decent coffee you get really particular when you have bad coffee. For me it shouldn't be like taking medicine to get some coffee in the morning.

While I've not specifically ordered hot water from room service, I have ordered hot tea which comes with tea bags and a container of hot water. I imagine they can send the hot water without the tea.

 

Hot water is also available from Windjammer and Cafe Promenade.

Thanks!

I guess I'll grind a ton of coffee the night before we leave to the port. Or I will do it at the store the night before. My grinder is to much of a mess to pack.

I will have to check out the travel press. I have a friend that has an aero press and loves it. I might have to get one of those.

Can you order hot water from room service? Is it available elsewhere like the windjammer?

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Thanks everyone for your responses. I do love good coffee and fortunately in Austin I have a place I go to get my beans the day they are roasted and grind them and brew them within a week.

I know that I can't possibly get that kind of coffee on the ship but was wondering how it was prepared and if that changes based on where you get it. Frankly I don't like the Via coffee either and would prefer something brewed fresh. I have high hopes that I can get something somewhat drinkable in the MDR.

I might do the French press thing. I don't own one but it probably would be a good investment. I use a Technivorm right now and am kind of spoiled.

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Breakfast in the main dining room is no extra charge. You can order off the menu, use the buffet, or both. There are servers to take orders and bring your food.

 

Some ships have only cold items on the buffet and other have both hot and cold.

Thanks I'll be on the Navigator in 2015. It sounds slightly different since there is a menu.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I can't believe I typed "Expresso" when I was asking about quality coffee. I meant "Espresso". Please have mercy on me. Anyway in the dining room for breakfast is it free? Are servers in there for breakfast or is it self service? On Disney the drinks were provided by servers but the food was on a buffet. Is it similar on RCCL?

So I like a quality cup of coffee. I don't need expresso/dessert drinks I just mean a good cup of brewed coffee with a little milk and honey in it. On our past couple Disney cruises I found the coffee at the drink station and room service horrible. I guess they use some concentrate to make the coffee instead of actually brewing it and I could tell. After the first couple days I realized that they serve real brewed coffee in the dining room so we found our self there each morning. I asked what brand the coffee was and I was shocked that it was the same brand as the drink station but it was brewed instead of from concentrate.

On RCCL what type of coffee do they use? Is it brewed or do is it from concentrate?

On a side note if I am a first time cruiser is there somewhere else to have breakfast on the Navigator of the Seas that has brewed coffee and breakfast that is less crowded than the windjammer that is free? On Disney we found ourselves in Parrot Cay on the Wonder each morning because it was just as efficient and less crowded PLUS the coffee was so much better.

what sailing are you on? We are sailing 6-14-15 and saved $430 as well so I thought we might be on the same ship! :)

We are a few weeks after you on the 7/5/15 cruise. I am guessing all the Galveston prices for summer (except for holidays) are about the same price.

Woohoo I saved $430.

Previously for my Galveston cruise in summer 2015 in an E3 aft corner I was ~2630 and now I am ~2200.

Yey!

I am used to cruising Disney so I have never been able to get a price reduction before. My TA was able to do it on the computer without calling and it took 2 minutes literally. I love saving 400 over 2 minutes. If I could just find other ways to gain $400 with 2 minutes time I would be a happy camper.

I think the savings completely depends on what sailing you are looking at. It saves some for some cruises and nothing on others. It is your typical sale. Stores put stuff on sale they would like to sell because they are sitting around. If a store says 25% off inside it doesn't mean everything is 25% off. Just what the store needs to sell. (Yes sometimes it is the entire store like Kohls but I am a conspiracy theorist and think Kohls has special products that can't be compared outside of Kohls that have high MSRP so they can constantly run 45 or 50% off and you still pay what the thing is worth).

I am happy we'll be saving 400 and I think our cruise isn't that full because a lot of the prized Aft balconies are still available. 1388, 1688, 7388 are all still available (which I can't book because I only have 2 people). I think ours has a savings because RCCL is trying to get people to book the 2015 cruises that do not have a lot of demand. For the cruises that are filling ok they probably did jack up the price so people don't save any on those cruises. It is just business.

The 50% prices are up. Looks like I might save $400 on my summer cruise on the Navigator in a E3 Aft corner. Yey that is a 20% discount. I am calling my TA in the morning.

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We stayed at courtyard Galveston Gulf front in Dec for our Disney cruise and it was really nice. The price was good as far as I remember. We used lighthouse parking which has covered spots and they were great.

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I think everyone has different things that appeal to them. Personally I don't understand gambling but there are plenty of folks that enjoy that and that is fine. I like movies and because we have three young kids we don't get to watch any that are not animated or don't have talking animals. This will be our first long term vacation together without the kids since 2010 and I was just curious about the ship and what it offers. Not just movies but I haven't seen any posts about this so I asked. It would be fun to see a couple movies without having to pause every 15 minutes to change a diaper or deal with spilt milk (not that we are crying over it). We will enjoy the cruise I am sure regardless just was wondering.

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We haven't cruised on RCCL yet so I am watching this thread to see what the recommendations are. We are scheduled to be on the Navigator for our anniversary without the kids and we plan on checking out how RCCL does kids activities.

With that said we have cruised 2 times with our 3 kids on Disney. Our kids were 9, 3, and 3mo the first time and 10, 4, and 2yo this last December. Disney is getting too expensive for us so we are going to try out RCCL. I will recommend that you do not have too high of expectations cruising with kids. We absolutely love it but we do not have the expectation that the ship will entertain our kids to their satisfaction. We have found that the younger kids do not do too well in the clubs even on Disney.

Our older daughter absolutely loves clubs. She can handle being in a large group with multiple kids doing organized activities. She never wants to leave the club! Our middle daughter needs more one/one time with people so she just stands there wondering what to do. Since our kids are split she doesn't have her sister to guide her or bug (they need time apart). She will go into the clubs and enjoy it sometimes but most of the time is ready to leave and often we are called to come get her before we were ready (we had a couple times we had scheduled adult dining etc...) My 2yo son really has trouble with the nursery. Part of the reason is there is a lot of sympathy crying. If one child is crying a lot start crying. It was a great program on Disney but he really disliked going. We managed to figure out that if we took him at nap time he would nap in there but if he was awake he wasn't having it.

While the RCCL clubs might be different I would recommend that you go with the flow with your kids being in clubs. Some kids like it and some don't and it just depends on the child. We still love cruising but we know what to expect and do put our kids in but we limit the time for the ones that don't like it. That way we still get some time to ourselves but we know not to expect a lot of that alone time :)

The reason we love cruising with kids has so many reasons but mainly it is still relaxing and the kids have a great time. As the man of the house I appreciate not being a pack mule because we can leave stuff in the room and not have to pack/unpack for each day like we would if we were on a land vacation. Plus on Disney we get hot meals because the servers cut up our kids food for them so we can just eat. That to me is super nice!

Harumph... I suppose it's okay. It's not like I can do anything about it - at least until CC finally figures it out that they need a Diamonds Only posting section. (Knock knock, Hello!!!)

 

 

 

But quite candidly, Walt Suites don't cut the mickey mustard here. And I DESPISE adjacent stateroom balcony peering freaks like you (which is why we always book buffer Grand Suites - or at least mini's - to either side).

 

 

 

Concierge!!! Concierge!!!

 

 

 

(Please stop reading this trip review, okay? You obviously don't get any of this, so there's no point. Thanks!)

I have stopped I promise. I have requested my wife read it and summarize it for me. Unfortunately that means she agrees with your wife about the shore excursions. And I am guessing that if the tender had a designated diamond or concierge cushion for you to rest upon it wouldn't be such a hassle. Bankers will never approve of a pier because they have control of gas futures and those tenders use lots of gas.

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