messengerc21

Allure in 2 Days!!!! B2B, Looking forward to it!!!

Use to be able to find deck by deck/category which staterooms where still available. But I guess that's changed. I've check Royal- and other travel site and don't seem to see the little flashing arrows to show me what I have to choose from. On Royal's site it lists cabin by cabin. But not the whole deck on availability. Anyone can help to simplify this???

Go to ************ or another 3rd party site. It's easier and faster for a quick check! Mark

We are cruising Oasis in October out of Ft. Lauderdale and we have never been there before. We are trying to figure out where to stay for a few days post cruise. Ft Lauderdale or Hollywood Beach? We have three kids ages 3, 14, and 17. Are there any pros/cons or one place that is geared more towards families?

Hi, We've stayed in both areas, but when we had all the Family with us, we stayed at The Marine Villas in Hollywood.....Steps away from a nice Beach and The Kids Loved it. You also have a long stretch of The Boardwalk with lots of Restaurants, shops, etc. Mark

Hey, everyone!

 

I booked a Central Park Balcony guarantee for our upcoming December trip. I logged in this morning and we've already been assigned a room! Though we were given a Boardwalk Balcony room. Anyone traveled in one of these rooms? Just curious what people think!

 

Thanks!

We Love the Boardwalk Balconies!!! We have been on both the Allure and Oasis before and in 2 weeks going on b2b on the Allure and have always booked them. I try to get as near to the end as possible so as to have a Great View of the Ocean, Show and overlook the Boardwalk as well.....The Best of all Worlds!! Mark

Jo Junie Tours, See them on Tripadvisor.....

We like, or I should say my wife loves St Thomas we get Christmas cards from one jewelry store ( Imperial ) every year, got engagement ring there a little over 25 years ago, have bought many other things over the years. They also like many other Caribbean jewelry stores give husbands free beer while wife shops.

I agree!! We've been going to Imperial Jewelers in St Thomas for over 30 years....Their prices and quality are Great!

I will put in my "2 cents" here! I use 2 or 3 TA's, and shop around online a quite a bit. Recently I booked a 14 night Cruise on NCL to Alaska with a TA that I use once in a while at $2000pp for a Balcony that they had Group Pricing on. Some on board credit and all the perks NCL was offering at the time. This was $1500 cheaper than NCL site and all others that I checked. It pays to look around....Mark

What is your personal itinerary/schedule or your 'to do' list once you are on the ship on Embark Day?

I head straight to the Park Cafe for a salad and my Roast Beef Sandwich "fix"!!!!!

We have been to St.Maarten a few times via cruise ship. We took Bernard's Tour twice and we loved it! However, this time we want more beach time and we don't care to see the Sea Urchin Man again, the iguanas or go to Marigot.

 

Our tentative plan is to disembark early (8:30am) and grab a taxi to Orient beach. Spend about 2.5-3 hours before going to Maho around noon to watch the planes. Have lunch at Sunset Bar & Grill (1hr) and then take a taxi back to downtown Philipsburg for some shopping before returning to the ship. All aboard is at 4pm.

 

I know that taxi's are plentiful at Maho to take you back downtown. My question is, will it be difficult to find a cab at Orient beach to take us to Maho? Also, what would be the cost?

 

I saw that Amigo tours has an Orient/Maho Beach Combo tour but they only spend 1.5hrs at each beach. An hour at Maho is plenty but we would like more time at Orient because hubby & son want to rent jetskis.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, Interesting enough, I'm planning the exact thing in a month! We have been there countless times and this time we are taking our 26yr old Son with us. We want to spend 3-4 hours and Lunch at Orient, then to Maho for a bit, maybe an hour then back to Phillipsburg. I found a Tour outfit that will meet us at the Pier and do just what you and I are planning for $35pp. Email me at messengerc21@yahoo.com and I will provide the name and email! I understand we are not supposed to include that info on these Posts. Regards, Mark

We are going to be overnight in PV. We have the first day planned, but were thinking about the beach and a bite to eat for a couple of hours on day #2.

 

If we grab a taxi at the cruise terminal and tell them to "take us to Playa Los Muertos", we should be good? Should we have a specific restaurant name in mind, or just show up in the area and see what appeals to us?

 

Thanks. :)

Try Cafe de Olla in Old Town (Romanic Zone) it has been a Favorite for years!!! Check it out on Tripadvisor. Very Authentic with good food and Prices. Open for Lunch and Dinner. Lots of Good Restaurants in Old Town!!! Mark

We sail on the Allure on 5-15 and 5-22 ( b2b) and I sent in a request about 2 weeks ago and followed it up a week later. Late last week I got a confirmation email granting my request slightly over 6 weeks out! Good Service! Mark

Just go to guest services and have them removed once you are on the ship. But do not select to prepay them during the booking process, getting a refund would make it harder.

 

If you did prepay them contract Royal and get the credit back to your charge card before you sail. If your package included no cost gratuities you can not change things.

 

I always have removed the auto daily gratuity from my account. I will never pay it.... don't care what the company says, never going to happen. For me these auto daily gratuities are nothing short of robbery and thief.

 

I have more respect for a armed robber than Royal over this, at least he/she puts a gun in my face and says they are stealing. Royal wants to say how poor hard working crews have little money and are so needy, and work so hard to make my cruise better.... All worthless garbage from company PR, pay your own employees, if they can't live on what they make find another job.

A Little Harsh!

It's getting to the point where we are sitting down and planning an excurions for one of our stops-(Roatan) and wondered if we should use RC or go about it on our own?

 

Also would like to hear input on beach club reservations?

We are shopping in Cozumel and hitting a beach club out there. (Beach Club suggestions "Carlos and Charlies?") We have a 13 year old son with us

 

Coasta Maya--Considering heading over to Mahahual and visiting Yaya's Beach club for some paddle-boarding, lunch, drinks and beach. Will take other suggestions on this area as well if you have them.

Been to Roatan several times and always used a Private Guide/Driver. Check out Tripadvisor.

Cozumel, We enjoy Mr Sanchos! Your Son would have a Great Day! Mark

First time cruiser here. We are leaving on the Allure in July for our 10 year wedding anniversary and we are having a hard time figuring out what excursions we would like to do. We are going to Nassau, Bahamas, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, and Basseterre, St. Kitts. We have about 7-10 hours at each island.

 

Should we book independently or through the cruise line? I saw if you go through the cruise line you get off the boat first, have a guarantee to make it back on the ship....if you have a reliable non-cruise excursion is the extra cost of the cruise excursion worth it? I am finding there are not a lot of reviews through the cruise line so I am assuming not many people are going through the cruise line. How do I find companys to book through if not through the cruise line?

 

We would like to snorkel, swim with dolphins (or sea lions...maybe both!?), and have beach time. Which of those islands has the best beaches and places to snorkel. Or is there something that is a "must do" on any of the islands?

 

What do you do before/after your excursions? Are there beaches close by to the ports?

 

We are also curious about drink packages. I have done a little research on them and we feel that we could just pay for our drinks outright. Has anyone not had a drink package and just bought drinks outright? Is it really worth the money to have a drink package? We are not huge alcohol drinkers, but will probably splurge and have a few drinks each day and my husband is big on quality coffee. We are also really picky about our water...and we drink a TON of it. We are worried about the taste of the tap water on the ship. Does it taste okay? Should we bring a filter?

 

Any other tips I am not thinking of?

 

Thank you for your time!

I have been booking Privately for years! Always more reasonable and some Great Tours! In St Kitts, you dock there, so getting off is easy. I found the Best Guide there in Royston Tours. Look for him on Tripadvisor under St. Kitts. He provided a Wonderful Tour of the Island and can include some Beach Time.

St Thomas has some of the most Beautiful Beaches on your Itinerary, Such as Megans Bay and others...Cab there is easy!

Never had a Problem with Tap Water on any Ship.....

Have a Great Cruise! Mark

Are you looking for taxi fares to Orient then Maho and then back to the cruise port?

Yes!! Thats what I'm looking to do.....Thanks, Mark

Where are you ending up on your Cruise? A lot of fine Resorts, just post the City your thinking of. Mark

I have taken 50 Cruises with Celebrity, Princess, NCL, Royal, Carnival and Holland. Saw MCL's match program and first applied on-line in Mid December. After applying 3 more times and calling 3 more as well, I finally had someone call me about 10 days ago. I resent to her my paperwork showing Elite on Celebrity and she did reply in a timely manner with our Black status and numbers by email. The next day I got an email with 2 completely different numbers. The Web site will not allow me on. I sent her an email asking for her help, with no reply to date. What is going on with these people?

You stated MSC acknowledged your Diamond/Elite status... What perks or level did you receive from MSC? We too are looking at other cruise options.

 

Thanks.

 

Dianne

I'm waiting to hear back from them as they said it takes up to 3 weeks to process, but the person I talked to from MSC said Diamond and Elite get the Black Status. Mark

Hi, I am considering MSC as they now match my Status on these 3. What are the differences on MSC and how do you rate them? Thanks, Mark

Hi,

 

What's a standard tip for two people with 3 pieces of luggage for a shuttle bus driver?

 

Also, tip for two people for operator of our excursion?

 

Thanks! :D

I usually figure around $1.50 per bag or $5.00 in your case. As far as Tour Operator, Depends on how long of a Tour as well as the Quality, but I would be around $10.00pp plus or minus.

Hi, I'm thinking of doing a back to back on the Allure for next June. I don't see where I can get the same room. My question is do we have to disembark after the "first leg" and go through the hassle of embarkation again? or can we stay on the ship? Thanks

My husband and I are going on our 5th RCCL cruise in November. While on board we intend to book another cruise and are considering Celebrity. But having never been on Celebrity we aren't sure if it would be a good match for us. We've been on 3 Voyager class ships (Voyager, Navigator and Explorer), 1 Radiance class (Serenade) and are going on our first Freedom class ship (Liberty) in November. We like going to shows, enjoying good food and drink, watching the water, using the pool. We aren't into the rock climbing wall, flowrider, etc. We like having a ship to explore and enjoy with interesting ports.

 

Also I use a wheelchair so if anyone has been on both in a manual chair and can share thoughts that would be great too.

 

Thanks so much for any advice or help you can give.

Hi, We are Elite on Celebrity and I must say that the Solstice Class of ships are hard to Beat! A couple cruises ago, I booked a Aqua Class Balcony, which has its own Restaurant that I found to be outstanding! Try it, I'm sure you will enjoy it. That said, I enjoy RCL. We will be on the Navigator in a little over a week, and that will be new to us. In the past, I must say that the Allure as well as the Oasis have been my Favorites, but I bounce around depending on Itinerary, Price, etc. In short, Try the Solstice Class, I'm sure you will enjoy!! Mark

Hi, We are on a Cruise and stopping at the Bay of Islands next January (2016) and don't see much to do.....Thought about a Sail Cruise, but the water is not that warm. Any Suggestions???? Thanks, Mark

We just did a Caribbean Eastern and Western in Feb. on another cruise company but under the Carnival umbrella, and they said to bring your passport upon leaving the ship. This was for the different islands. I was not comfortable doing that as usually, like mentioned above, our passports go in our safe for the duration of our cruise. I took them but did not like it. Not once were we asked for them when we got back on the ship. I peeved me that they did this. I take a photocopy and put everything in a waterproof baggie. Better yet you can buy "Safepac" items that lock around your lounge chair leg or around a tree. That would be your ideal item and then your whole party could go in swimming and not worry about your beachbag.

I have taken Countless Cruises throughout The Caribbean and Elsewhere and Never Take my Passport out of my Room Safe!

You need to contact him and request a quote. He will respond in a day or two (or 3) with his quote if he is available. There are two possibilities now, one is his old Toyoto van with no windows and no AC that can take up to 8 people or his cousin in an AC newer van that can hold 12 or 15 (not sure). Both get good reviews.

 

Some dates he does not work for religious reasons.

I have been all over the Caribbean and Toured a Great Deal around the World as well, Royston was one of the Best Tours I've had and on the Day we were there in January, He Refused to take any payment for the tour of the 4 of us because it was a Religious Day to him!!!! Never had this happen to me before!!! We payed for our lunch and that was it. Do yourself a Favor and Book him, he is an interesting person!