TheMastodon

27 minutes ago, FamilyCruiser2024 said:

 

I know this is an old post, but do you mind sharing what monitors you used that worked? 

DXR-8

Wifi enabled monitors will not work on board FYI.   Sister was in the ultimate family suite - baby in diff room in the suite - WiFi monitor wouldn’t connect.  Ended up downloading an app on an extra iPad that turned it into a monitor.  Worked perfect.  

11 hours ago, time4u2go said:

You're joking, right?

sarcasm is hard to show typing on a keyboard.  

23 hours ago, cangelmd said:

We are experienced cruisers, but haven’t been on RCL since 2016. Sailing with daughter and husband and their 3 young boys on Allure for a short Bahamas and Coco Cay trip. Several ?s

 

Does Royal have typical sale times for add-ons like drink pkgs, cabanas at CocoCay,etc? We are used to Celebrity that will put those things on sale around Labor Day or Black Friday, we don’t sail until spring 24, so just need to know when to look?

 

Does Royal still have the soft drink machines with the special cups?

 

What is the youngest age for the kids’ club? Can you still get a separate babysitter by the hour? The youngest boy will be just short of age 3, the older 2 are definitely kids club age.

 

We were hoping to rent a cabana (not the over water ones) as a home base for the family, any suggestions or insight related to that? The oldest is only 7, so we are not interested in the big water slides or fast rides, just access to a little sand to dig, a pool and shade for Nana who has to stay out of sun. A location near snacks would be welcome, especially ice cream 🍨. Other than our own stroller, are their wagons or other availabile ways to haul the beach stuff? On the RCL website, most of the cabanas said minimum age was 4? I understand having an adults only quiet area, but that seemed to hold for all the cabana areas I looked at, what am I missing?

 

Any other thoughts would be welcome, the only show we are likely to attend would be the ice show with the big boys, does that need to be reserved ahead? Grandparents and 2 older boys will be in a suite, mom, dad and youngest in a regular cabin - if that changes things with reservations.

 

Thanks in advance.

1.) south beach cabanas - right on the water - its great!  Tons of food right there, great shade, and of course drinks being served.  no wagons or anything to use - you take a tram there.  

2.) drink package is usually BOGO first day of cruise.  the other sales are always on holiday weekends/weeks

3.) the nursery has all day hours ( i think ) for children under 2.  not sure about the babysitter but all three of our kids have been in nurseries on Oasis ships.  they do a great job.  adventure ocean for ages 3-5 & 6-12  had odd hours.  If i remember correctly 9:00AM-1:00PM, 3-5, and 7-midnight.  I think

15 hours ago, craig01020 said:

I'm looking at a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise in Dec. 2024 from Tampa. My two choices are Dec. 7 on Radiance of the Seas or Dec. 8 on Carnival Legend. Both have the same ports. I've never sailed on either ship before. How similar or different are these ships?

 

Thanks.

There are never videos of pax acting like idiots on Royal Caribbean ships.  It's always Carnival.  I would go Royal

On 7/4/2023 at 11:04 PM, Cheryl H said:

We usually skip Giovanni's...however I noticed a video of Giovanni's on Wonder of the Seas and it had garlic knots, chicken parm, etc.  Is that specific to just Wonder, or are they rolling this menu out to all the Giovanni's?   If so, I want to be sure to book it.   Thanks in advance.  PS:  We are booked on Serenade of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. 

It was terrible a few weeks ago.  The old Giovanni's menu was fantastic - this new one - not so much!  Major Olive Garden vibes...

6 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Did they bring their pet skunk?  😉 

Royal would never let a pet skunk in the suite neighborhood!

On 2/9/2023 at 11:55 AM, Magicat said:

Perhaps you should ask if the ban of smoking on balconies is enforced.

My neighbors on Wonder a few weeks ago were smoking some sort of combustable product on their balcony.  It had a very distinct scent.  Very interesting.  

2 minutes ago, karena1 said:

Depends where your departure port is from.  I can tell you, Miami does not worry about it, nor does FLL  You go in, get checked in, go sit in the waiting area, and as soon as the ship is cleared, they board by row based on the time you get there.

 

Canaveral - haven’t been there in a while

I will continue arriving early.  That big cabin should come with boarding early perks anyways.

Thanks for the insight!

7 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Sure, the few rule followers - you and a lot of other folks, not so much.

Biker19 is that a rule or a suggestion?  

Does anyone actually arrive at their scheduled "check in time" ???  We usually arrive around 10:45AM and walk right on.  Wasn't sure if this was still kosher or not... It's been a few years since we've been on a ship - land resorts instead.  Can't wait to get on!!!!

"Remote work"

On 3/30/2023 at 6:30 PM, njsmom said:

I keep trying to figure this out. Who is it paying $15,000 and $20,000 for suites on cruise ships and going multiple times a year? Are they putting it on credit or are they paying cash? 

 

Since this is an anonymous board, I can say that my spouse and I are very successful without sounding like I am bragging. No one knows me here. 🙂 

 

We each make well over six figures and our income easily places us in the top 3-4% of all households in our state. I am a vice president at my company, and my husband is quite successful as well. And it's not just our annual income. We have over $2 million already saved for retirement and we're still many years away from that time in our lives.Yet, I can't fathom spending $20,000 on a suite.  It's not that we're against spending. We love fancy things. We live in a lovely home, we drive luxury cars and we have taken our three kids to Europe and we go regularly to Napa and drop $600 a night for a 4-5 night stay, and do $300 dinners. But again, $20,000 on a suite? That is another realm of spending. 

 

Who is it spending this much on a suite? If my husband and I can't afford to do it, who can? There's not that many people who make more than us, to be frank. I just don't get it. 

Sky in the limit in this country.  Capitalism is a wonderful idea.  

$20,000 for a suite is only half the expense, what about the PJ costing $15k to Florida and $15k to return home? 🤣

18 minutes ago, Kbonner said:

Very funny. After he mobbed us we wanted to put them on the conveyor belt by ourselves. Remember, the luggage was put right next to the running conveyor belt by the tipped bus porter. The aggressive union-Mafiosi jumped in between the belt and the luggage and denied us putting the stuff on the belt. He also forbid his "low ranked" helper to do so. And again he threatened us to "leave and forget" the luggage. So he forced us to additionally tipping him exclusively. After additional tipping, some of the group were allowed to put the luggage on the conveyor belt themselves or in our case ordered the "helper" with a hand signal to load the luggage from 6 ft to the running belt.

I consider myself a generous tipper.  However, if someone is blackmailing me to tip we are going to have an issue.  I enjoy confrontation / awkward situations.  

On 3/19/2023 at 7:17 AM, Kbonner said:

Currently on TA Symphony. We boarded the SY March 9th in Miami. Our hotel shuttle service brought us directly to the luggage belt in the arrival area. The shuttle employee unloaded all baggage and put it right in front of the running conveyor belt.

 

After tipping our handler, another baggage "dispatcher", white helmet, probably supervisor (unionist?), told us to tip him or the luggage will not be loaded . A total of 4 couples' luggage was put aside and only a forced tipping made him move to order a low rank baggage handler to lay the luggage onto the conveyor belt. He did this repeatedly with 3 follow-on shuttle buses. Is this the norm today with RCI Miami terminal? If RCI only would read this thread - I took crystal clear photos of the mafia-style  "supervisor baggage dispatcher" and the put hostage luggage for their convenience. 

 

I would have put the bags on the conveyor myself.  Or tipped him a quarter.

On 3/14/2023 at 7:35 AM, proposal said:

I don't see how that little room was bad, it kept people in one spot to smoke.   It's not like the casinos where they force you to basically walk through them, it was out of the way with a closed door and proper ventilation.  

I loved those cigar lounges !!! Perfect atmosphere for enjoying a cigar.  

3 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

you missed my point.....way off.  I simply said, that words can't hurt you.  

Tell that to college students.

7 hours ago, Jezo said:

The whole path, from one side to the other where the tram to the beach drives you through.  Has anyone walked through the whole thing?  I usually can only make it to the shops on the edge and along the outer walkways, always been overwhelmed with the vendors.  Is there anything different if you go all the way through or is it the same assortment of stuff in all of the shops?

Yes, many times.  All sorts of stuff for sale.  We always spend some $ in there.

Back in the day, it was way more chaotic.  Not so much anymore!  I think Royal has asked them to tone down the sales tactics.  Never bothered me though, part of the experience.  

On 12/13/2022 at 11:14 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Poisons? Seriously? Had to get an import license to bring those to Singapore. Just a formality.

Rat poison!

52 minutes ago, abhb said:

We are leaving this Sunday out of Barbados on Rhapsody.  My husband uses CBD spray and rollers for his back.  Is it allowed to be brought on the ship?  Any one about the island of Barbados and CBD for medicinal purposes?

Not allowed.  Of course percocet, oxycotin, anti anxiety meds, and other poisons are allowed on as long as your name is on the side.  

On 7/20/2022 at 10:28 PM, rjp50 said:

We will be traveling with our three grandsons on the Oasis in the Caribbean next April.  They are video game junkies and are old enough to be left in the stateroom while their parents are out doing adult things.  The question I have is, are there accessible connections on the TV in the staterooms to allow the connection of an Xbox?  Secondly, are the wifi speeds for the Voom streaming package fast enough including sufficient ping time to allow for gaming?

Doubt it for the xbox.  they have those tvs locked down so the millions of idiots who are in those cabins every year down mess up the tv inputs.

Regarding the wifi, highly doubt it can handle online gaming.  

15 hours ago, Jimbo said:

That's BS.......lets not talk about it and it will go away. If it was that easy, we should have done that a year and half ago.

Yes , it is just that easy.  

17 hours ago, loving2cruise said:

What are the stats of people contracting Covid nowadays while on their cruise. 

 

I have heard of people testing positive AFTER getting off the ship. Has anyone here tested positive afterwards?

 

 

Thank you in advance

Move on.  Less we talk about it, the more it just fades away.  Unless you live in NYC, LA, Seattle, San Fran, etc.  

On 7/2/2022 at 7:33 PM, topnole said:

You had dinner in a restaurant while your baby or small child was in the cabin by themselves?  The whole ship is 30 seconds away if I’m running.   Sorry, what exactly is your point?  Are you saying it is fine to leave a baby oin the room alone if you have a monitor?

I don't see what the problem is.   We were the second cabin on deck 17 and ate at CC every night.  

Time to drop covid testing for travel.  Sorry

On 6/30/2022 at 6:44 PM, topnole said:

I probably wouldn’t admit that.   

Sorry, different strokes for different folks.   I was 30 seconds away.  What is the problem?  In my house at home they are way further away on the other side of the house.