cruisead

You will by paying $50 per person, per night, for them to dine in Luminae===breakfast and lunch are also extra, but not as much as dinner. We recently had this issue when we were in a suite and our friends were not, and they could only dine in Luminae, first, on a space available basis, and second, if they paid the extra fee===they did not think $50 was worth it. There's no such thing as taking the space of your kids, because Luminae is for people in suites only.

I believe this is going to be their fare structure from now on, unless they figure out that they're losing bookings because people aren't happy with the higher prices and the faux "savings" that those who are savvy know is really not a savings, but just plain higher prices.

They are not "allowed" on Royal Caribbean. We were called to the naughty room when they found the power strip when we cruised on Navigator of the Seas, but when I explained it was to charge my DH's scooter, they allowed it. We had friends traveling with us, and they had their power strip taken, because they had no medical need for it.

Unless there's some reason to delay boarding, you should be able to get on board by noon. And yes, once you check in, you can go off and tour, but you must be back on board 90 minutes before sailing.

Check about the time for your flight because when we were on Eurodam, we were told that your flight had to be after 12 noon to participate. Since ours was at 11:40, they would not allow us to use this program.

A question concerning nude cruises which occurs to me is how does the staff adjust to it all?

 

Also, it it reallly nude all the time, all over - or just in certain areas or decks?

 

Finally, why? Virtually everyone old enough to afford to cruise looks better clothed.

They must be dressed in the MDR and specialty restaurants. They must also be dressed whenever in port and when the Captain announces that for whatever reason, they must be clothed.

Celebrity is also chartered for a Swingers cruise. That one appears to have more leeway for their cruisers, including "playrooms" for sexual activities. Cabin doors must always be closed and no sexual activity can take place in public other than in the playrooms.

Staff is allowed to take the cruise off if this kind of cruise is against their religious convictions. The cruisers are also told they must respect all crew members and will be put off the ship if any of their rules are violated.

A Royal Genie? Doesn't that sound a bit silly and immature? I expect to see some guy wearing harem pants and a short vest.

Putting the 2 ships aside since they're not cruising yet, my overall opinion of the 2 lines is pretty divided. .

Epic is cruising, and has been for three years.

OP, we wouldn't go on an NCL cruise again, even if it were free. The only thing they have above other lines is that their night entertainment is better.

Food is subjective, but we haven't found the food on RCI to be all that great. It's basically OK banquet food. We've been lucky to have cruised on nearly every line out there, and we would rank RCI's food as just OK---not bad, but not great. It's easier to compare food on ships when you've cruised on more than just one or two lines.

But of your two choices, RCI would be our choice, hands down.

It's not confusing. If you use cash, there's only one way to get your left over cash back, and that's by standing in line at Guest Services. IF they give you a check for any unused on board credit, you will still have to stand in line to get the check. And, not all lines give a check, some will give cash. So regardless of how you get your money back, you're going to be standing in line to get your money. And believe me, those lines are LONG on the morning of disembarkation.

OP, be careful using a cell phone on a ship. If you don't put it in airplane mode, or turn off data roaming, you phone will constantly be searching for data/email and the rest, at a per minute charge. It's not been unheard of for people to come home to huge phone bills, and never had made a call. The per minute charge using the ship's phone satellite is $2.49USD per minute.

I'm old school and "tip as I go". To remove automatic discretionary gratuity charge from your sign & sail card go to Pursers desk on day 1 of cruise.

I tell the cabin steward on day 1 that I will tip him/her cash on last day of cruise. Everyone else I tip on each receipt after buying drinks, etc.

I feel the pre pay gratuity is leverage for the cruise line to pay low wages.

I basically tip everyone but some more than others as they deserve it.

So, you don't tip your wait staff in the dining room? Since there's no bill at the end of every meal in the MDR, how do you tip them? How do you tip staff in the buffet who are still serving you in some manner? Do you give each and every one of them cash at the end of the cruise?

IMHO, it's not some conspiracy theory to have a service charge on cruise ships just to allow them to underpay workers. It's been this way for decades.

Celebrity has started a new pricing program called Go Big, Go Better, Go Best. They no longer are doing the 1-2-3 Go program. When you book one of those three B's, you can choose the beverage package as a perk. Just read ALL the many threads here on the new fare structure, or go to Celebrity's website and read about it.

Many cruise lines take, and keep, your passport for the duration of your cruise. So if the cruise line feels it's ok that you don't need your passport 24/7, that's all you should need.

Sounds to me that you covered all your options, and if all are too expensive, I can't think of any other way to do what you want. To be honest, buses are a pain, as you don't find many direct trips, and you're stuck stopping in every city and town along the way, plus you have the hassle of changing buses. And I just can't see 10 kids traveling that long on a bus. In addition to the daily charge of a rental vehicle, you'll face what's known as a drop off charge. That is a charge you get when you pick up a car at one location and leave it at another. The most we've been charged for that was $275.

Are you traveling with different family member groups? If so, why not let them handle their own transportation issues, and you handle yours?

You can ask at the Aqua Spa cafe if they do that kind of smoothie, but don't count on it. I've not seen either coconut milk or almond milk on board.

In cabin babysitting is $19 per hour. The baby must be 12 months or older, on the first day of the cruise, to qualify for the in cabin sitting.

The rule on board all cruise ships is that you're the age you are on the first day of the cruise, for the entire cruise. It doesn't matter if your child is one week or one month away from her third birthday, she will be two years old for your cruise. Sorry, but cruise lines found they have to keep to their rules and not stretch them for anyone, because if that were the case, why have the rule?

They will have more than enough age appropriate activities on the ship for your under three child. They will not expect her to play with the infants.

We did ONE holiday cruise on Royal Caribbean and won't do it again. There were over 950 kids on board, and it was just an entirely different experience---not in a good way. And, BTW, we have four kids, so we're not kid haters.

Cruise lines do not rent mobility scooters or wheelchairs on their ships. You must either bring your own or rent one from an approved vendor. For Celebrity, you need to contact either Special Needs at Sea or CareVacations to rent a scooter.

Now, If you need a scooter, you have to make sure your scooter fits in the cabin. Most scooters, if they are larger than a travel size scooter, may not fit through regular cabin doors. Some might fit a little better if you remove your armrests. Your other problem, if you don't have an accessible cabin, is where to put the scooter in the cabin. Nearly every regular size cabin, other than a Sky Suite or larger, will not accommodate a scooter without blocking access to either the balcony door, bed or bathroom door. And you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT keep a scooter in the hallway. It's a safety hazard, plus you block access for others who have scooters/wheelchairs and for the crew and their laundry carts. So, unless you have a larger cabin, or an accessible cabin, a scooter will present many problems.

Taxi is the cheapest, as it's a very short ride. Our fare is generally $20 USD for a taxi. Private transfers are a lot more money, and the ship transfer via a bus can be a pain, as they generally wait until the bus is fully loaded. There are loads of taxis at Port Everglades.

As long as there are no change fees or if it's a refundable fare, sure. But if it's non-refundable or non-changeable, I don't think so. A lot can happen in a year to change plans.

Seeing that you're from Illinois, and thinking that you are probably going to look at winter cruising, do you really want to take the chance of driving in winter? No way for us, when we used to live in Michigan. Can't take the chance of running into a snowstorm or going farther south, an ice storm on the way to the cruise port. If it were a spring or summer cruise, we MIGHT consider a drive of less than five hours, but anything over that, no way.

Most cruise lines won't have their 2017 schedules out until sometime early next year. The only time of year that most will do that East to West itineraries are in August through September. Not even Princess has their schedules out for 2017. And itineraries like that are always expensive.

On our Summit cruise in May, we had the Premium Alcohol Package and only paid the difference in price for our glasses of wine. I think your friend must be mistaken.

Wow, surprised there are 2 nights on a 7-night cruise! Thanks for the info...helps with packing plansw.

For the most part, 7 night cruises have always had 2 formal nights on Celebrity. It's one formal night on 5 day or less cruises.