LisaT91403

I can weigh in on viber. We've been using it this week to communicate from Britain to Maine. It's works surprisingly well for voice- but it all depends on the quality of the Internet connection. Occasionally the sound drops out for a moment and sounds oddly like its " vibrating". Wonder if this has anything to do with the name??:confused:;)

 

I think you can get an unlimited devices, unlimited time package of Internet. It's gotta be pricey, maybe cheaper than renting those (unreliable) dect phones but if you did that I think you could easily text so long as the other person was in range of wifi. I think the newer ships are well covered stem to stern, the older ones not so much!

 

ETA - and thanks Randy for suggesting it to us...I hadn't heard of it till we cruised with you!

Thanks to you and Randy both for the info about Viber. I enjoyed your review very much as well :-)

We had dect phones a couple of times, and found them to be very reliable. However, they are a big bulky...kinda like an old Nokia "candy bar" type phone. These are the ones they gave us at Adventure Ocean.

I have yet to have a Royal Connect phone (or whatever they are called now...the ones that are iPhones). I have heard mixed reviews about reliability. But we really need to have some kind of solution, as I'm not comfortable leaving my 5 year old at AO or with a babysitter, and their not having a way to contact us if there's a problem. I'm sure we will figure it out. Thanks!

Any chance you could please re-post days 5, 6 & 7 if you have them? I can read the first 4 days just great, but then the last 3 are super tiny!

I know they are old schedules, but I can't find the Eastern ones anywhere else.

Thanks!

Thanks for the great review, Randy!

I'm interested in hearing more about how Viber worked for you, as I've never heard of it. You could text and make phone calls using your regular ol' iPhone on the ship? Did you do this in lieu of renting the phones from Royal Caribbean?

I believe that the soda package would enable them to show their sea pass and get drinks at the bars etc?

Yes, this is correct. They can get the drinks at bars, in the Main Dining Room, etc.

Would my lad be able to order non carbonated drinks, eg juices, squashes?

Juice is not included in the soda package. It really is just "soda" and nothing else, unless there is a Coke Freestyle machine on the ship. I think the machine might have some non-carbonated choices, such as lemonade and flavored water.

Thank you for the wonderful review! We are sailing Allure on 7/21, and your review has really helped!

When we went on Oasis, we didn't bother to get off the ship in Nassau. DS was only 3 at the time, and we felt like we just didn't have enough time in port to do much...and that he'd have more fun having the splash pad all to himself :-)

This time, with DS being 5, we are thinking about Blue Lagoon for a beach day. But I'm still concerned that we won't have much time there given the 2:00 sail time. Do you recall about what time you got to the island, and what time you got on the ferry for the return?

Thanks again!

Doctorlisa

Hi! I cannot answer all of your questions, and I have not been there.. But, I just recently purchased the Resort for a day pass for the Sheraton! You can always just walk up to the desk and purchase the pass. I believe it is 30pp... Not 100% sure on that! We did the resort for a day pass because it includes a lunch/drink credit and we wont have to hassle with the unforseen. Such as, them running out of passes in the middle of summer! I am sailing in July so I assumed it would be busy! From the pictures of the Sheraton ( I have seen pics and videos on youtube) It looks beautiful. They have some water activities like kayaking, snorkeling. They also have several pools and a swim up bar. Hope this helps a little and I am sure someone such as Scubagirl will chime in! :D

Thanks for the info!

I realize this is an old thread...but am hoping someone is still around to answer a few questions.

We will be arriving in July, DH and myself (mid-40's), 5 year old, and Grandma. If I'm reading this thread correctly, we have the option of either purchasing 4 day passes ($30 each?) or calling to see if they have a day room available. Is that correct?

Are there still slides and so forth for a 5 year old?

Does anyone know definitively if there's shade available at the beach?

Thanks!

If the cruise is only 1000.00 you would only need 100.000 points. I don't think you have choices like that with the Royal card.

Actually, you do have a choice. You could redeem 50,000 Royal points for $500 towards any cruise, any cabin. If you do two of those rewards, it's the same as what you mentioned above. However, if you were getting 2 (or more) Capital points for every dollar...and only 1 for Royal, then you definitely come out ahead with Capital in this scenario.

If you spend money on line with Royal capital one also gives you 4 extra points for every dollar spent. Capital one has hundreds of companies that they give you additional points. If you want an inside cabin you get an inside cabin. You can shop for the best price and also try a different cruise company with the points you earn with the Capital one card. I had 225,000 points I payed for two people in a balcony cabin on the 4th of July week.

Wow, 4 points for every dollar is great! I didn't know about that. Being able to pick different cruise lines (maybe someday I'll try another!), or different vacations altogether is definitely a plus. I'm going to check it out now that I've redeemed my 75k for a free companion cruise ($1449 value, so that worked out well for me).

The RCCL visa is too much thinking. Try the Capital One card. It is very simple, you get 2% of what you spend. You can pick what cabin you want just like you are paying with your credit card. When the bill comes you pay with your points. If you use your points for any kind of travel it always comes out to 2%. I have a business which has large purchases, I get a free cruise every year. I use the card for every purchase.

I'm not sure how the Capital One card is better. You get 2% back, right? So if you wanted to use it for a cruise, and the cruise cost $1500, then you'd need 150,000 points. And you earned 2 points/dollar spent, so you'd need to charge $75,000 to get the points you need.

On the RCCL Visa, you want the same $1500 cruise (say an OV companion fare)...so you'd need 75,000 points. You'd need to charge $75,000 to get there *unless* you make some charges on RCCL where you get double. So, in theory, you might only need to charge $37,500 to get to the 75k points.

So it seems even to me, unless you make charges on RCCL in which case you'd come out ahead. And the RCCL card has no annual fees.

What am I missing here?

Thanks for reporting back. I never knew that if an OV was not available, the award could not be used.

Yes, she said the reason for this is that they cannot determine the dollar value of the reward if there aren't any cabins available for sale. Makes sense to me.

I think on board credit vs. other rewards really depends on the particular sailing and how many points you have.

For us, we will have 75,000 points, which we could use as either:

$750 on board credit

or

Free companion fare, up to $1500 (which, for our sailing, will amount to $1449)

It's a no-brainer. Why would I want $750 on board when I can get double that credited back to my Visa card?

I just called the redemption people yesterday. My situation is that I won't have enough points for my reward until *after* I pay in full for the cruise. I was told I could pay, then when my credit card statement closed and the points were posted, I could call to redeem. At that point, they would issue a credit to my credit card.

They said that at the time I made my reservation/payment, the TA would need to call RCCL to say that they would agree to the future credit I'd be receiving. They would also get a quote for the OV cabin at that point (not at the time I redeem the points), and that fare amount would be noted in my reservation.

They did say that if there are no OV cabins available at the time of booking, then I wouldn't be able to use the award.

Hope this helps.

Does anyone know if there are age and/or height limits for the Power Wheels track? Or what about the giant waterslide/floating water park?

Also, are there additional charges for these activities?

We just got back from our cruise, and used VIP to get us from MIA to our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, then back again from Port Everglades to MIA. We were very happy with the service. The pre-cruise communication was very good, the driver was waiting for us at the baggage claim in MIA as promised, and the bus had a trailer on the back to accommodate all of our luggage. He stopped at CVS for us so we could pick up some water (which we wanted to take onto the ship the next day). The driver also offered to come back the next morning to take everyone from the hotel to the port, and most of our group took advantage of this. The driver was also right on time picking us up after our cruise.

I guess the only minor complaint I would have is that the A/C towards the back of the bus doesn't work as well as in the front of the bus. It was still cool, but not "cold". But this was very minor, and certainly wouldn't stop me from using them again.

We potty trained our DS at 2 yrs 8 months. This was over Thanksgiving week, in anticipation of our June cruise on Oasis. We did the "3 Day Potty Training" (which was really like the 2 week potty training, but that's another story!), never used Pull Ups, and never used a little potty. We do have a seat on the big potty, as our guy is pretty small to use the big seat.

Anyway, he's been trained for 5 or 6 months, and doesn't have accidents. My issue for AO is going to be the "self sufficient" part. He still needs some help pulling up/down his pants, and just doesn't go to the potty alone yet. I think we might have to go to AO to give DS his potty breaks once in a while...unless we can get it together in the next month!

We have them booked for June, so no feedback for you yet!

I don't know about accomodations. I do know that I would much rather stay at the Embassy Suites than Springhill because it's a nicer area with more restaurants. ES is so close to the port that a taxi is around $10.

We won't get to the hotel until around 10:00pm, and then leave on the cruise the next morning...so I'm not sure the area/restaurants make that much difference. There is a $40/night difference between the two hotels, plus cab fare if we stay at ES. Anyway, thanks for the info!

Hi Royalcruz! Can you please tell me your thoughts about these two hotels? Is one "nicer" than the other? I know they both have free breakfast, and I know that Springhill also has a free shuttle to the port...but how do they compare strictly on an accommodations level? Thanks!

Does anyone (Royalcruz?) know if there is a taxi or car service from the W Hotel to Port Everglades that would have a car seat available? Thanks.

I sent in a request for an estimate and got email back that they received my request and will be in touch. I figure it will be Monday, but that's fine. Thanks again!

Not sure if VIP ever got back to you or not. I called Larry's Limo today, as I've seen them mentioned on the board several times. For whatever it's worth, their quote was 46% higher than VIPs quote (amounting to $200). We have a group of 20, so I don't know if Larry would be more competitive with a smaller group to transport.

Sorry there were glitches. I got a reply very quickly from them, and then I sent a reply email with many questions. They were very responsive, and I also spoke with them several times via telephone. It's pretty late in FL now, but I'd say try again later or tomorrow. Good luck!

We have a trip scheduled for June 2011, and are going to use VIP Shuttle to get from MIA to Ft. Lauderdale, and then back from Port Everglades to MIA. We have 20 passengers. While we haven't used them yet, I can tell you that they have been very responsive to my inquiries. I also checked references with the concierge at the Hyatt Miami, and one other hotel...and they said the company is very reliable. You can find them at vipshuttleservices dot com.

Your cruise is before ours, so maybe you will let us know :-)

Thanks! They quoted me a good price on 17 people out of MIA to Ft. Lauderdale, and then back again to MIA after our cruise. I'm a little wary, though...if it sounds too good to be true, then is it?

I'd be interested to know as well. Where did you get the referral from, MamaParrotHead? Does VIP have a website?

Thanks.