bitofun

34 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Soda packages look pretty good at $8.65 CAD.  Don't remember seeing it go for low.

Refreshment seems down a bit too.

 

Only other real sale I see is our Adventure cruise coming up.  The DBP has been jumping from $69 CAD to 63 CAD.  Today is it $59.85 CAD (which is $45 USD)....same price that we grabbed it for on Labor Day weekend sale in September.

When are you sailing on the Adventure? Our Adventure cruise April 25, 2020 DBP went from $59 USD to $55 USD. Sure would like to see it drop to the $45 USD 😉 

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Don't forget the mainstay of Royal's customer service reps - the Magic 8-Ball.

I have to ask, what is the "Magic 8-Ball"? I'm fairly new to Royal with only 1 cruse this past Sept on HOTS, but I do have an 8 night "ABC Islands" cruise coming up late April and have been watching pricing for the deluxe drink package.

56 minutes ago, cruiselovin'girl said:

I'm going next month and I will try to remember to get back to you with some answers! 🙂

That would be awesome!!! Thank you so very much!!! ☺️

12 minutes ago, cruiselovin'girl said:

When is your cruise, Bitofun?

Oct 31, 2020!

43 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

Here's my take...

Newer ships Oasis class ship = Higher prices. Symphony is way out there these days. Not just drinks or drink pkgs either. I'm talking Dining Pkgs, Cabanas etc.  A caban for $1299/day at CocoCay?

 

You take Adventure, Radiance, Navigator etc... these ships still are offering the $49/$55 per day drink pkg prices. Also cruises that are longer than 7 days. The 9day to 15 day cruises on soem of the smaller ships have decent drink package pricing as well. 

 

Take a look. It's Capitalism at it's finest. Supply & demand. At this rate, CoCoCay will be paid for in a couple of years. 

 

Caveat...

I buyUltimate drink packages for the wife & I.

We are both Diamond and can drink in the DL for free.

I smuggle my fav on board because they don't have it on the ship. Shoot me.  

My 8 night Southern Caribbean on Adventure of the Seas next April 25 was $54, now $59. My cruise on Harmony coming up in 3 weeks I got for $49, then went down to $46, I canceled and rebought. The other day was $59, now $52.

4 minutes ago, Nextcruise42 said:

Anthem Jan. 2020 $45  last few days.

That's a great price!!!

2 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Our feb Oasis one started at $54 (and we bought) then went to $65, and is now $57. Hoping it goes down Black Friday:)

Unfortunately, I missed the $18 deal of the century for my April, 2020 cruise by literally minutes (maybe seconds?). It showed in my planner at $18, I would add it to cart, but at checkout my total was what the $54 rate would be. I removed it, tried again, same thing. Third time I did it, the system wouldn't even process. Alas, wasn't meant to be... 😥

On 8/20/2019 at 9:03 AM, Host Clarea said:

 

Welcome to the world of RC pricing.  They use a different kind of math than the rest of us.

Our upcoming cruise on Harmony Sept 22, 2019 is my first experience with RCI (previous cruises have been all with Carnival). Their dynamic pricing has driven me bonkers 😣  The deluxe drink package was $52 when we first booked the cruise. It dropped to $49 and so we bought it. Went back up to $52, then about a month ago it dropped to $46, at which time we cancelled the $49 and repurchased at $46. Don't think it will drop any lower before the cruise, but I keep checking every day.

I also have an 8 night cruise on Adventure of the Seas next April. That one started out at $54 (haven't seen it any lower), and now is up at $59. We'll just pay as you go if it doesn't drop. Keeping fingers crossed for a great deal on black Friday 😉

And, the drink package pricing is just the tip of the iceberg. What RCI does with the cabana prices on Coco Cay is ludicrous. I've seen as low as $499 and as high as $1699 😲

Needless to say, I've learned one needs to check the cruise planner frequently. Like they say, "you snooze, you lose".

27 minutes ago, depplep said:

We stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky as we had points for a free night. While it's not on San Marco, they have a water taxi exclusive to the hotel that was about a 10 minute ride. Very convenient. Also the blue line will take you to the cruise terminal and you can get tickets at the hotel the morning of departure. About 5 min or less by boat to the terminal. We took the Alilaguna from the airport. Long ride but a nice change to go by boat instead of the bus.

Thanks!!!

6 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal in Venice which is five minutes and over a couple of bridges walk from Piazza Roma the main transport hub and the people mover which will take you to the port on the morning of your cruise cost €1.50pp

Its also a five minute walk over one bridge from the train station.

Hotel Jazz in Barcelona a fifteen minute taxi ride to the port.

Excellent position staff breakfast and roof top swimming pool

These are a couple of hotels that I could recommend to you.

In Venice I would visit St Marks Square early morning before 10.00am or in the evening which I prefer when the coach parties and day trippers have mostly departed.

Barcelona being your first visit I’d suggest the HOHO bus pick ups all round the city but I prefer getting on board opposite the Columbus Statue.

Thank you!!!

23 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Balcony dividers cannot be opened on Rhapsody.

Thanks. I thought that would be the case given the age and class of the ship. Not a big deal, just would make for a very nice size balcony if the divider could be opened.

Anyone know much about the ship Rhapsody? We booked 2 side by side one bedroom grand suites (they were actually less than the junior suites at the time of booking and sold out soon after). The 2 suites are not connecting though, which is fine. I'm wondering if the dividers between the balconies on the Rhapsody can be opened by the steward on request.

Also, looking for any and all information in regards to pre-cruise and post-cruise stays, including hotel and activity ideas in Venice and Barcelona. First time for the 4 of us in Europe 🤩 Hoping to spend 2 nights in each city before and after cruise.

All information greatly appreciated!

Has anyone else noticed RCI has taken several small price increases for the deluxe drink package after the "glitch" of $18/day? I have a 2020 sailing late April. I missed the "special" price by literally minutes. Oh well, such is life... At that time my sailing was $54/pp/day, but it's now up to $59/pp/day. My take on this is RCI is coming up with ways to recover from the "glitch". Like I said, this is just my take... Hoping to see even a small drop in price before my 2020 sailing.

1 minute ago, megr1125 said:

If you're flying Southwest (proper abbreviation is WN but I digress,) they can do a 40 minute turn no problem.  They routinely do them in 20-30 minutes and generally connecting flights are close by. I've done a 40 minute connection in FLL several times with no issues.  You may or may not have time to run to the restroom or get food but at least with them, they do quick turns all day, every day, thousands of times a day, successfully.

 

That said, I wouldn't book a flight earlier than 2ish from MCO.  Too many people flying home from the mouse.  I often stay overnight at the Hyatt in the airport and fly home the next day.  

That's a thought too! I have read how long the check-in and security lines are at MCO with the other tourist attractions in the area. Thanks!

2 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Is it absolutely necessary that you take the exact same flights home?  We often travel with various friends and family, and avoid  these situations by stating something upfront like "we haven't booked our flights and hotel yet, but when we do we'll let you know right away what we've booked in case you want to try to get on the same flights or stay at the same hotel."  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, but either way we get to make the arrangements that we're comfortable with and they get to do likewise.

In this case the answer is yes. We have talked it over and have decided we will not be taking the earlier flight with 40 min layover in FLL, more because of the 40 min layover (as a rule I never book anything with less than an hour layover). We'll likely look at one of the other airlines to find a mid afternoon flight. Thanks for the suggestion though. Getting very excited for my 1st experience with RCI cruise 🙂 🛳️

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

I would be booking the shuttle in advance, not trying to arrange something on the pier.

 

When RCI asks, tell them what time your flight is. They will schedule your disembarking accordingly.

Thanks!

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

RCI has worked wonders getting their mega ships in early and off loaded.

 

Good to know. Do you feel can make a 12:55 flight fine even not doing self assist and using shuttle service available at terinal as we disembark?

2 hours ago, beerman2 said:

Most cruise lines suggest after 12:00 flights. Port Canaveral is about an Hour to MCO (Orlando). Combine that with all the Disney people flying home , you definitely want to be at MCO at least 2 hours before flight.

 

if you can find a return flight around 1 , to me that's perfect. Why be rushed that last day? 

We will be sailing on Harmony of the Seas late September. Flying into Orlando the day before on SW airlines. Looking at return flights and wanting to fly SW again our options after 12:00 are 12:55, then the next flight out would be 6:10. The 12:55 flight connection is FLL (only 40 min), the 6:10 flight connection is BNA (1hr 30 min). Both flights same price right now. I have never cruised out of PC, flown out of MCO, or cruised RCI (not to mention the huge amount of passengers the Harmony carries). Two couples traveling together. The other couple does not want to do self assist getting off the ship. We have thought about return flight on a different airline, likely AA or Delta with 2:10 and 2:15 departures, but at a price tag of $100 more per ticket + $30 more per bag fee. Any input/experiences greatly appreciated.

Adventure is a fantastic ship--we've sailed on her several times and our next cruise is on Adventure. The ABC islands are a great destination. We used Sonny Binns on Aruba for an island tour and had a very nice time. On Bonaire, if you enjoy snorkeling, check out Woodwind. They are fantastic, offering a drift snorkel with two stops, fully guided, and including a hot lunch after! On Curacao, you won't need to book an excursion if it's your first time there. You can just walk into town and enjoy looking around, shopping (it's like a little bit of Amsterdam got plunked down in the Caribbean), and food/drink.

 

Let me know if you have specific questions about the ship. We haven't been on since the most recent refurbishment, so we've not seen the new features yet.

Thank you for the destination recommends. We'll definitely consider them. Like the idea of not needing to book anything on Curacao, sounds like a nice change of pace.

No specific questions about the ship, yet ;) All of RCI is new to us having only been on Carnival in the past so I'll be busying myself looking around online for cruise line/ship tips.

I was surprised there is already a roll call for the sailing, so I got on that. Looking forward to another amazing cruise.

OP

When are you sailing? I am looking at that itinerary for Feb 1 2020 for a 50th Birthday Cruise. I was on Adventure last summer out of San Juan and absolutely LOVED the ship. Have never done southern route from any embarkation port other than San Juan (4 times) and this one from Port Everglades is very exciting for me.

 

 

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We are sailing April 25, 2020, so it's a very long countdown, but we're very excited about the itinerary and looking forward to getting to know the Adventure during 4 relaxing days at sea ;) Glad to hear you loved the ship!

Just booked an 8 night Southern Caribbean cruise on Adventure of the Seas. This will be our first experience with RCI. I'm hungry for any and all information about the ship and itinerary (Curacao, Bonaire, and Aruba) plus I'm trying to get up to speed with RCI, drink packages, internet packages and managing my booking on RCI website.

Thanks in advance for replies and recommendations.

Monday night which is the first sea day and Wednesday night Grand Cayman.

 

 

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Thanks for quick reply (y)

As the title states, which nights will be Elegant Nights in the MDR for 6 night Western Caribbean on the Vista, December 10, 2017? Thanks in advance for any replies.

With regard to the excursions, Are you set on doing only ship's excursions and not private? I booked a great private excursion on Aruba (I know you're not going there) 600 days ahead and it was great. Had plenty of time to communicate with the vendors to get comfortable with them. In St Martin, my first time there (now my favorite island) I did Bernard's tours. You will hear good things about it here and on trip advisor. St Martin is an easy island to get around with a good cab system. I recommend researching and going out on your own.

Thanks for the information. Not at all set on only doing the ship's excursions. Have done both in the past while cruising on Carnival. Kind of depended on the port. Everyone who has replied so far report excellent experiences choosing private excursions. Looking forward to checking out all the recommendations!

Hello, I will actually be on that same cruise with my mom , her cousin and her friend in a JS as well.

Awesome! We'll have to plan to meet up :D

Pat