DivingPrincessE

Thank you for the replies. We'll book tours that day privately :)

Hello River Cruisers,

I'm having a hard time finding any detailed information on what excursions will be offered on my upcoming AMA Christmas Market cruise. Of particular interest is - do river cruises offer excursions on disembarkation day?

We've done many many ocean cruises, and they will often have excursions on disembarkation day such as - Everglades airboat ride and transfer to Airport, or Half day city tour and transport to Airport.

We are disembarking in Budapest, which is one of the few ports that I could get some excursion information about, "Your excursion includes sightseeing in the cities of Buda and Pest spread over both banks of the river. You will see famed Heroes’ Square and Castle Hill, home to Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church and spectacular views of the Danube." I'm curious if anyone knows if this type of excursion will also be offered on Disembarkation day, or just the first day we are there (we are Budapest for two days).

Thanks!

Jazz music and/or comedy show that one can simply walk right out the door. On a ship playing Pit Bull and Rhianna songs. k......

We walked out of the musicals towards the end. We aren't rude, so wouldn't walk about of small intimate comedy show while sitting in the second row. It's very disruptive to the show and could negatively impact other people's enjoyment of the show. Plus walk out to do what? Sit in the room and watch one of our 14 channels? May as well stay through the -meh- show.

Though if we were sitting by a door, we probably wouldn't have walked out on the cop basher.

He also made a joke about looking Arab and pretending to blow up a plane after screaming Alahu Akhbar...about 3 hours after the Paris coordinated attacks and while hostages were still being held in the concert hall. Classy...

Hey, it "impacted" "their" cruise!

 

/sarcasm

LOL. First we are questioned about why we even mentioned it. They we say why we mentioned it, and you all don't like that either.

Although if it was a comedian pointing out cultural differences, everyone would be cracking up (as people were when the Comedian was poking fun at his own race).

Oh society is so precious. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Wow. The Cotton Club was a hugely famous club - everyone from Lena Horne to Judy Garland played there. Francis Ford Coppola made a film about it, so there was a movie, though not the same as the musical. It's a real place but if you need a reference it was featured in the movie Ants. And Cotton Club was recently on Broadway, After Midnight still is on Broadway.

 

 

And comedians who make socially relevant jokes. Shocking.

 

So you're saying the cruise was too "black" for you?

Unless you know a little history about the Cotton Club, you probably wouldn't know any of the songs. The Cotton Club was a whites only club in New York from 1923 to 1935 and again between 1936 to 1940. Some of the great black entertainers of those days played there: Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Lena Horn just to name a few. It is part of musical history and you might have heard of some of the incredible entertainers who played there.

I had never heard of it, and when I saw the name I think my reaction was like this ---->:eek::eek:<---- Then wondering if I was on candid camera. I have since told four people (also under age 35) the name of the show and they all had the same reaction I did.

I've seen a lot of Broadway shows, and I had never heard of those two. I believe you that they are on there, but I had never heard those names. I don't think they are among the more well known such as Royal's Chicago, Hairspray, and Mamma Mia...and even the dreaded Cats.

Just got off today as well..no problem with with embarkation or debarkation but can see problem if most people boarded thru terminal B which is the first one you come across with. I got the message and reprinted travel docs and went to C.

Wish we could have gone in through C, as that is where we parked and I walked by and saw there was no line :(

But unfortunately our Docs said "B"

I even said as we were in line for a long long time, that it made no sense. It was split by even decks and odd decks, so logically it should be half in B and half in C. Based on the lack of any line in C and the overwhelmingly long lines in B, it felt more like 90%, 10% split.

"This specific cruise had a very high urban composition". What on earth does that mean and how did it impact your cruise?

 

Just curious what type of Broadway show you would have felt to be more appropriate? Many of the recent Broadway shows have been set in the 60s and 80s, I believe. Two of them have been on RCCL, both Hairspray and Mama Mia. Other NCL ships have had Blue Man Group and Rock of Ages as well as Cirque type dinner shows. Some of the current Escape shows are now touring, or recently on Broadway, so you can't get much more current than that. The Cotton Club covers music of the 30s, For the Record the 80s, and Million Dollar Quartet the 60s. Pitbull is the Godfather of the Escape and I am sure his music and other current music was at all the parties. I was born in the 40s, but I love music from every decade including the current one. The King and I, now THAT would not have been current;).

It actually does impact the cruise. One show was actually called "Cotton Club" ...Cotton...Club... And you are getting up in arms about he word "Urban"? I have since found out it was the name of an actual club, but that still seems offensive to me. I mean actually offensive, not the things that our delicate flower of a society deems to be offensive in the year of the CryBullies.

So if one show is "Cotton Club" and both comedians are African American (though thankfully one of them was race-neutral) the other made sure to talk about racism, racial profiling, and how the racism of law enforcement. In a time when Black Lives Matter protesters are LITERALLY calling for the murder of law enforcement, the last thing I would like to hear on a vacation is about how cops are the racist ones...

Also, if we had gotten on the cruise and noticed it was 80% Irish people, and the music was all Irish folk music, and the dancing was all Riverdance. We would have mentioned that in a review, too.

Stop being so easily offended people.

As to the shows...I didn't know a single song from Cotton Club, and only a couple from Million Dollar Quartet. I found the shows extremely boring as a result. I'm not sure if you're unaware...both Hairspray and Mama Mia were made into movies in the 2000s...so most young people are familiar with them. Not to mention they are or were both on Broadway pretty recently.

One of the reasons we wanted to try Norwegian is because of things like Blue Man Group and the Aerial shows we had heard the line put on. We were disappointed that on the brand new ship they had nothing but musicals with very dated music.

Hi Everyone!

 

Quick question for you. I know a couple of you mentioned something about the check-in terminal on your boarding documents (Terminal B or C) Can you tell me where you see that at? I don't see anything on our documents. I have called Norwegian twice now and one CS rep told me that you can check in at B or C so to check my documents however the 2nd CS rep, said it will only terminal B that would check in at.

 

I am going to be traveling with a big group want to make sure we get to the correct terminal for check in.

 

TIA.

Ashley Q

They were not put on the cruise documents until a day or two before departure, then we were sent a message telling us to re-print our docs. Unfortunately we had a big ol' "B" on our docs. So we walked past terminal C with absolutely no lines, were people were just walking in, and kept on to B with God-awful lines.

The official rule is "no" however we never have an issue. We tip the server, every night (which doesn't appear to be the norm), so they tend to look out for us. Before we leave every night we ask for a couple cans of coke, unopened (to put in our bag). We have yet to have any push back. On our Greek isles cruise, we had a GREAT server, Chris. There 5 of us in the royal family suite. By day four he'd bring our sodas (2 cokes, 1 diet coke, 1 gingerale) unopened about 15 minutes before the time we usually left (plus refilling our alcoholic drinks). He got tipped extra well, and we still talk about how great he was.

Currently on day 5 on the rhapsody in Australia and have brought out an unopened coke every night.

Typical News Limited tripe.

 

The story covers a multitude of items, but the sentence they highlighted to summarise it was: "“IT’S a little rocky, and there are sick bags everywhere.” "

 

Hey, every plane has "sick bags everywhere" too.

 

Doesn't mean they're used. :rolleyes:

They were being used. Reports yesterday of several vomit spots on the pool deck. I witnessed one horrible woman using one (more than once) while sitting with her husband in the windjammer. If she was feeling sick she shouldn't be going to where people are eating...and definitely shouldn't continue to sit there while vomiting. It was disgusting.

The concierge lounge was missing about 1/2 the usual partipants (based on the first few nights).

Earlier today they had the pool deck shut down entirely and weren't letting anyone out to the outside decks, and also instructions to not use the cabin balconies.

But now we are through it with calm seas and sunny skies.

I was also on radiance last October.

 

If they arrive at 8am the first tender will take photographers etc across. If you are ready and waiting at that time they will announce an "early bird special' where you don't need a tender ticket. They will take a load or two of these people over.

Then they do the ticket system. That's when you wait in line for a long time for your number to be taken. Plus you must queue up to get a number.

 

Are you diamond Plus or in a suite? If yes, JD (the concierge) will escort you to the front of the line a the time you want to go.

 

If you really want good snorkelling go with the private operator. The ship tour is a huge catamaran with a huge group on board.

 

Have a brilliant day!

 

Raina

Thanks for the info. We are both D+, and may end up in "real" Suite by sailing (right now we are in Junior Suite).

Wow! Your photo's are brilliant. Well done and thanks for sharing.:)

Thanks for the kind words. Looking forward to (hopefully) getting some good shots in Australia next year!

G'day, we stopped off at Airlee beach on Rhapsody in Nov 2011. We did a private shore excursion with Salty Dog Sea Kayaks - started at Shute Bay and paddled out to White Rock Reef for snacks and a snorkel. It was great if anyone is still deciding on what to do.

 

Anyway getting ashore on the local tenders was very quick. If you are docking at 8 you will be off by 8:30 easily.

 

The biggest risk with private tours is if the ship docks late. I always take the contact details for my private shore excursions and let them know if we are going to be delayed.

 

Have fun.

Thanks :)

We did Airlie Beach on Radiance last October. The tender time is approximately 15-20 minutes. If you are up and ready to go at 8am (not many will be) I cannot see a problem with you getting the first tender in.

We were there on the Solstice and also Rhapsody and if you got to the line at 8.00am expect to stand in a long queue ,for the sake of an extra $60 I would go on the ships excursion.

Hmmm...well these are vastly different answers.

Also, it's not just about the $60. In addition to costing more, the ship excursion is 2 hours shorter, does not include snorkeling (Oz is a long way from home so I'd like as many snorkeling opportunities as possible), and will undoubtedly be waaaay more crowded.

I share mrschiefopd's frustration with the docking times and the times all the independent tours start. Throughout 30 cruises elsewhere in the world, we've never run into this issue so often. :(

Another recommendation for snorkeling with the sea turtles in Barbados. It remains in my family's top 5 excursions in 30 cruises.

Definitely do NOT go with the ship tour here though. We went with Silvermoon and paid a bit extra for the one that only allows up to 12 passengers (on a HUGE catamaran).

The staff was wonderful, and there was soooo much room to spread out (in the shade AND the sun). We sailed by, what much have been, one of the ship excursions. There were about 100 people on a catamaran smaller than ours, standing shoulder to shoulder. It looked like you end up wherever you end up (be that in the shade or sun) and you're pretty much stuck there...literally touching shoulders with the person next to you *yuck*

I believe it is, shortly after Thanksgiving for the typical decorations - The Christmas tree in the Royal Promenade or Atrium. However We were on the Jewel this past December and disembarked on/about December 23rd. The day we disembarked we went up to Windjammer for Breakfast and they had an elaborate Santa display, obviously set up for the group that was boarding on December 23rd. I understand we weren't on "The Christmas Sailing" but we would would have enjoyed that type of display as well...and come on! We were on the ship for 11 days from mid towards the end of December!

For the last several years we've always sailed in December, though we were never "on" a ship come December 25th, and we've seen a WIDE variation in how much or little each ship does for Christmas.

On one Ship, they had a brunette Activity director from the UK who planned LOTS of Christmas activities. Christmas knowledge trivia, Christmas visual trivia, Christmas movies playing on the televisions. I believe that was the same ship in which there was Christmas Caroling in the Promenade (complete with a professional printed Royal Caribbean Christmas Carol book), and a Christmas Parade in the Royal Promenade with a story line about the Grinch stealing something (presents?) and Santa coming in to save the day on his sleigh.

Then on Legend - from December 13-21...nothing Christmas related at all...then BAM December 21-22 they tried to pack the entire Christmas season in two days - Christmas show in the theater, Christmas Music piped in throughout the ship, Christmas caroling in the atrium, a Christmas movie on TV.

We've also been on Ships where the only way you can tell it's Christmas is the giant Christmas tree in the Promenade/Atrium.

We were told that it's up the cruise director how much (or little) they do for Christmas. I wish I remembered which cruise director was responsible for the sailing with the Christmas parade/trivia/caroling, etc. As Christmas fanatics, we so enjoyed all that. And we've been disappointed by the lack of Christmas Spirit of every ship since. So much so that I told my mother I wasn't interested in December sailings anymore. :(

:eek: We've been to Coco Cay probably 8-10 times and we've NEVER heard of a C&A event there. Man, I hope we weren't missing out!

We never received any invites in our cabin. We've been on sailings that stopped at Coco Cay from when we were Golds all the way through now as Diamond Pluses

Could be because it is her first cruise after coming out of the shipyard for repairs.

 

How do you know Adventure is late loading? I'm guessing you know someone that is to board Adventure today......

Allow me to correct myself. It is the Adventure's 2nd sailing since the dry dock period. I have not heard or seen any threads or posts about the delay in boarding.

Yup, second sailing. We just got off the Adventure today, it was late to board when we got on Wednesday. They didn't even start letting people in until 12:30, and the lines were LONG by that point. There were still people boarding during the Muster :eek:

We sailed away a little late as well...I think around 5:45 pm.

Back from the Adventure of the Seas. The signal was great all over the ship...but it was just as slow as always. I didn't have the speed test app (it's downloaded now). I tried to download a couple of apps on the ship, but the connection was too slow for anything to finish downloading. A friend also emailed me a video, which I also couldn't download b/c of the connection speed.

I mainly wanted the Internet to text (iMessage on iPhones) and check emails. The connection was fine for those things, so I was happy :)

Does anyone know how the D+ coupon works if you buy an unlimited package? Do they credit your account with the value of the coupon . If they are insisting you take the one hour free credit, then it makes it worthless if you are paying the whole amount for unlimited anyway.

 

 

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On the Adventure, you have to create an account before you buy any package (not just wi-fi). Once you create an account, they know who you are and apply the discount right away. Even when the package options are listed it the says "$## with crown and anchor discount." I purchased the unlimited package with in a few hours of sail away.

Unlimited internet packages have been on Allure, Oasis, and I believe Navigator. The last price I saw was something like $190 for 7 days, one device.

 

Is there wireless internet all over Adventure now, or do you still have to go to hotspots?

Yes there is Internet everywhere. I haven't lost signal at all yet.

I really hope they have they have the unlimited package on the Serenade when I do it in October.

Good afternoon all,

I am currently on board the Adventure of the Seas. The Internet packages seemed to have changed. I heard about unlimited packages being offered, but had not seen it myself.

I attached a picture of the the new plan...but I'm guessing it changes based on the number of nights. This is for a four nighter:

Unlimited (two devices simultaneously) $130

Unlimited (one device at a time) $95

Daily (24 hours in a row) $50

One hour (used throughout cruise) $30

The discounts are applied, so with the D+ coupon I bought the unlimited one device for $65. Not too bad.

D+ are being told to choose the one hour option...so we/they are getting an extra 15 minutes.

I asked the concierge and he says these new packages are very new and he doesn't think it's on all the ships yet, and he doesn't know what the roll out plan is.

So what say you cruise critic? What ships have you seen the unlimited Internet packages on? How does it work with the longer sailings? What prices have you seen on 7 night sailings? 11-12 night sailings?

Last time I was in Nassau (few months ago) they had free wifi right in the port. When you walk in the door (of Fiesta Place or whatever it's called), turn left and you should see where everyone (crew especially) is congregated on computers and smart phones.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree Cuizer...

If Royal Caribbean chooses not to enforce its own rule, then the rule does not exist.

 

Yes it does, which is why the average speed on one freeway I drive on is at least 5 MPH higher than the average speed on a different freeway I drive on. It is common knowledge that the CHP is not enforcing the speed limit. Therefore, the average speed is easily more than 5 MPH above the speed limit. The same issue does not exist on the other freeways because the CHP does a better job of enforcing the speed limit.

As someone in Law Enforcement, I am telling you...your argument holds NO water. If a cop did choose to pull you over for 5 MPH, good luck using that argument in court, lol.

You can pass cops doing not 5 MPH over the speed limit, but maybe 15+ MPH over the speed limit. That does NOT mean that you are "allowed" to speed that much. It means that the cop is off duty, or on his way home, or on his way to court, or any other number of reasons he doesn't have time to pull you over. OR he just doesn't handle traffic enforcement. Again, it doesn't mean it's "allowed".

Saying that just because a rule isn't enforced at all times means that there is no rule is a ridiculous argument.