robptaylor

We have never cruised RCI before so just wondering, it says they will do a "courtesy" reservation for night 1 and 2 but we won't know until we board. 

I want to ensure we dine at the Chop at least once.  What are the odds they get us in there as a "courtesy"?  I suspect they will default you to the lower restaurants first.  I assume we can use the 3rd day anytime during the cruise so I hope we can get in at least one night.

Any guidance from prior experience is appreciated.

Thanks for everyone's advice.  I went ahead and booked at 7:30, 5:45 is just too early for us.  I hate feeling rushed coming back from port.  I hope this time doesn't conflict too much with shows and other evening activities but as suggested, we can always change when we are on board.

Does anyone knows what happens if you have a reservation but show up early?  For example, if we have the 7:30 reservation but at the last minute decide to see an 8:00 show and go to the dining room at 6:30?  I assume I would just wait in line with the "standby" diners but I wasn't sure that would be an option since I already have a reservation for later that night.  

Thank you for the post, I had the same question.  One thing I noticed however, from 5:45 to 7:30 is not available.  In other words, if you want to make a reservation at our preferred time, around 6:30, you cannot.

Will this change as we get closer to departure?  I assume you can just show up between these times and try to get a table.

First time visiting the ABC Islands and looking for suggestions on which islands to book excursions and which to just "tour the town". 

On a recent cruise we booked excursions for every port and frankly found it EXHAUSTING.  In the past we usually booked one or two excursions and save the other ports for doing our own thing, e.g., walking the town, renting a scooter/car, etc.

Which of the ABC's is best for just doing your own thing and which should you go with an excursion/group?  In other words, which ports have plenty to do on your own and which do you need to "get away" to experience the island?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

First time visiting the ABC Islands and looking for suggestions on which islands to book excursions and which to just "tour the town". 

On a recent cruise we booked excursions for every port and frankly found it EXHAUSTING.  In the past we usually booked one or two excursions and save the other ports for doing our own thing, e.g., walking the town, renting a scooter/car, etc.

Which of the ABC's is best for just doing your own thing and which should you go with an excursion/group?  In other words, which ports have plenty to do on your own and which do you need to "get away" to experience the island?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

First time visiting the ABC Islands and looking for suggestions on which islands to book excursions and which to just "tour the town". 

On a recent cruise we booked excursions for every port and frankly found it EXHAUSTING.  In the past we usually booked one or two excursions and save the other ports for doing our own thing, e.g., walking the town, renting a scooter/car, etc.

Which of the ABC's is best for just doing your own thing and which should you go with an excursion/group?  In other words, which ports have plenty to do on your own and which do you need to "get away" to experience the island?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

This may actually be a better question for a port board but because it is specific to Freedom of the Seas I thought I would start here.

Freedom doesn't leave San Juan until 8pm, I don't think we have ever had a ship leave that late before.  Normally we are underway around 5 or 6.  

When does RCI start boarding in San Juan?  Does the later departure change the start of boarding time?  We normally try to get to port around 11am and on board by noon but with such a late departure I wasn't sure if boarding time will be pushed back too.

We have family in San Juan so no actual rush to board but I would like to know when we should plan on arriving.  Any suggestions for embarking in San Juan would be appreciated.

Thank you for everyone's feedback, it was helpful and informative.  It would be interesting to post the same question on the Princess board to see how those "fanboys" respond.

We have booked the cruise on Freedom.  It primarily came down to itinerary, we have family in PR so leaving San Juan was a big plus for us and the only other ship that seemed to be departing from San Juan was the Carnival Fascination.  We have  cruised on the Fascination and honestly it is time for that old girl to retire so we weren't doing that again.

We also chose this cruise out of curiosity.  We have done the other big lines so wanted to try something new.  We are empty nesters so all the kid-friendly activities, e.g., water slides, kid's club, etc., are actually a little negative for us but hopefully we will not be overrun with kids because they should all be in school.  When it is time for us to take the grandson on a cruise we will have a good point of reference between RCI, Carnival, etc.

One final question.  The one big thing we like about Carnival is they have a comedian nearly every night.  We much prefer a comedian to a big production show.  Does RCI usually have a comedian every night or only a couple in the theater?  

Having never cruised Royal I am looking for some guidance comparing it to what I am familiar.  I scanned the RCI board for similar discussion and didn't find anything specific.

We have cruised Carnival, Holland America, and Princess.  Princess has so far been our favorite but we are always looking for something new.  We are looking at an itinerary that we have wanted to do for some time and it is only available on Freedom of the Seas (Southern Caribbean out of San Juan).

What is the same between Royal and Princess?  What is different?  How does the food compare?  Entertainment on RCI looks a little more "fun, youthful", true?  RCI seems more family oriented, will I be overrun by kids (we are looking to cruise in May)?

One thing I have picked up on reading reviews, forums, etc. is RCI seems to nickel and dime more than other cruise lines, do you get that sense?  

Any advice and comparison would be appreciated.  

I just got off my recent cruise on the Regal Princess and one thing I noticed is you no longer sign for ANYTHING.  On the one hand that is good, signing for every drink gets a little old but on the other hand, I like having a receipt so I know exactly what they are charging me for.  

I agree I don't need to sign but I think they should at least give you a receipt so you can confirm you were charged correctly.  I know I could check the transaction on the Oceans web page but that honestly gets to be a pain and you can't see any of the details, just the total.  

Perhaps I'm not trusting enough but I would like to know what I'm paying for.  I would like to have a receipt but not have to sign it.

Don't get me started on that darn new coffee card either.  I have no idea if I got my 15 (or whatever the number is) specialty coffees.  There is no way to check how many are remaining in your balance.  I don't think I will do that again.  Truthfully, I don't know if it is much a money saver or not and if you don't use all the coffees on the card, you may end up losing.

We have a very early flight into LGA this Saturday and will probably be heading to the Brooklyn cruise terminal around 9am. What we would like to do is drop our bags with a porter, check-in to our cruise, and then take a ferry over to Manhattan to tour WTC.

I would like to confirm a couple of things.

First, some terminal will not allow passengers to arrive on foot, e.g., Long Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. Technically we would be arriving on foot when we return from the ferry. I'm certain this is not a problem since I have seen other posts about doing this for arriving passenger but I want to confirm.

Second, are there any rules that would prevent us from leaving the terminal building once we have checked in? I know certain places do not allow this but I wasn't sure about a cruise terminal.

Finally, does anyone know how early the porters will accept luggage for departing passengers and what is the earliest the terminal will be open for check-in?

I suspect worst case is we leave our luggage with the porters outside and do NOT enter the terminal but head to the ferry. It would be a load off, however, to have everything done and just walk on to the cruise when we return later in the afternoon.

Any other advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We were supposed to get Medallions on our Royal TA in April - told not ready for Prime Time. Now booked on Regal for November and were notified that OUR cabin is an ***** ready cabin. Princess also stated that there is now a note on our records to not move us unless they ask first because of the *****.

 

This infers that some cabins on the Regal will be ready - how much of the other parts of the ship, no way to tell. (Will your waiter be able to deliver a previously ordered drink while you are in the theater????)

 

I'd like to understand what part of the technology is causing the problem.

How can you tell your cabin is ***** ready? We are also cruising Regal in October but haven't noticed any kind of notation on our itinerary or cruise documents.

I didn't see any specific discussion posted about walking across the sand bar to Bar Island.

Just wondering if anyone has done it and if it was worth the walk. It looks interesting but not sure what is involved.

Is the path muddy or sandy? In other words, will my shoes be a mess after making the trip? Is it clear what time you need to head back in order not to get stuck? What is there to see on the island? How far is the path to the island?

It sounds like you have to be very careful regarding your timing, don't want to get stuck out there at high tide.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

BTW, we will be in Bar Harbor on October 9, 2018.

Okay, I tried to book a "dummy" excursion and it would let me use OBC to pay for it but it won't let me use OBC to pay for things like flowers, gifts, or specialty dining. Is that just a restriction? Can you only use it for excursions prior to boarding? I'm certain once I am on board we can use OBC to pay for specialty dining.

I have quite a bit of OBC for an upcoming cruise but when I try to pay for excursions, it requires a credit card. Can you not use OBC to pay for excursions prior to sailing?

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I should have mentioned we arrive in Boston on Monday, 10/8/2018

This is the on-your-own whale watching trip I was thinking about: https://www.bostonharborcruises.com/whale-watch/

Given the time and descriptions of this one and the Costco one, I suspect they are one in the same.

I think my plan now is to go with this one. If we dock on time, get of the ship quickly and get a cab, great. If not, we are not out any money.

I'm sure this has been asked and answered but I couldn't find it anywhere.

My DW desperately wants to see whales on our upcoming Canada/NE cruise on October 6. The only whale watching excursion offered by Princess is out of Bar Harbor and we would prefer to go to Acadia there. That leaves me with using a private excursion.

We use Costco as our TA and they have private excursions and I found the perfect alternative out of Boston but there is one small concern. The itinerary of the cruise shows us docking at 11am and the whale watching excursion leaves at noon. The excursion website says it is about a 5-10 minute taxi ride from the port. This all seems a little tight on time to me but I'm not that familiar with Boston port. It feels like if just one little thing goes wrong, we won't make it in time.

How big is the Boston port? Is it easy to find a taxi/Uber? Opinions?

One alternative may be to not book anything in advance and see if we can hop onto an independent whale watching tour when we get to Boston. Anyone know where they leave from? Suggestions for an operator?

Thanks in advance and sorry if a repost.

One more question. I have read car services in NYC are sometimes a better option. I understand they may be slightly more expensive, but not too much more.

Any suggestions?

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Thank you for the detailed information, you must be a native New Yorker.

I should have probably started with my true motive, we have friends in NYC we would like to visit.

I think what we may try on our arrival (departure) day is dropping our bags with the porter at the port (not sure how early that can occur) and take the ferry over to see WTC. I think if we take the ferry back around 1:30pm we should be good for our departure, around 5pm.

I think your suggestion of taking an Uber to Manhattan is probably the best thing for our disembarkation day. I think we may take an Uber to Manhattan (hopefully leave our bags with our friends) and spend the day with them. Our flight doesn't leave until 9:00pm. I think if we leave the city around 6:00pm we should be okay. Since it is a Saturday I would expect much rush hour.

Does that sound reasonable?

We have a very long layover after our cruise disembarks and our flight. We would like to take the ferry to Manhattan but don't want to haul two large suitcases around.

Is there anyway to store bags at the terminal or have them shipped ahead to LGA? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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You can eat whatever, whenever you want. For simplicity, you will probably want to grab a coffee at the Lido buffet, hit the gym, and then return to Lido or the dining room for breakfast but you could also order the coffee from room service. Pretty much anything you want.

going on my 1st cruise ever on the N Amsterdam to the W carribean on the 13th of November together with my wife.

 

regarding the breakfast: is it possible to only have a coffee in the morning and then later(after an hour in the gym) get breakfast?

I have a cruise in two weeks with a stop planned at HMC. Has anyone heard if it is open?

I saw Carnival recently cancelled a few stops to HMC and diverted to Key West. Honestly, that would be great for us because we have been to HMC three times but never to Key West but I suspect for most on our ship they would prefer HMC.

I called Ship Services to book some on board stuff and asked but they had not heard anything but that early in the week before anyone had probably received an update.

Indeed it does. It is the most asinine user unfriendly website I have to use. I just got through booking a shore excursion, then wanted to go back and check another excursion for the same day. Had to start all over again rather than just click on "shore excursions" again. That's just one example.

+1 for true suckiness

I didn't want to get too technical when I said copy and paste wouldn't work (I am a bit of a computer nerd and I am very familiar with Ctrl-C, etc.).

The copy and paste wouldn't work because the data on the screen is not enough information for the task I want to complete.

As an example, the plane tickets I booked for this trip where confirmed via email. The email contains not only the flights but arrival times, seat numbers, confirmation number, etc. If I send this to TripIt and now Google Trips, ALL that information is imported.

I was hoping I could get a complete itinerary emailed and I could do the same thing. The screen only shows ports and dates.

It just seems silly HAL's website doesn't have this capability. I saw several other people said there was a link to email on their itinerary screen and it does seem like you should be able to email but for some reason my browser only allows me to print. It seems others noted the same issue.

In the end I just manually entered everything into TripIt and Google Trips but being the lazy computer geek that I am, I wanted to do it systematically. HAL really needs to get with the times and improve their website. It is slow, archaic, and clumsy.

Thanks for all the quick responses but the copy and paste option probably won't work.

I'll just manually enter it in TripIt but it seems HAL's website should allow this.