Gayle V

I was signing up my family for a beach/snorkel excursion and I was denied early booking because of my age? This would not really bother me but just having finished a half marathon ..my feeling are hurt! I really believe I can snorkel a bit! Is this the providers policy or Royal Caribbean's? Is the ship board policy the same as on line?

Hello Notree, Would you mind saying how old you are? It just never occurred to me that one of these days, they might refuse me for my age. I'd like to know how close I am to that day.

For what it's worth, we had robes waiting for us in our balcony cabin when we arrived. Did not need to ask for them. We are only Emerald level. Our son and daughter in law, in the next door cabin did also, they are gold.

[For dz9yvr, That's not funny. You're just going to get them started again.}

No offense, but that's a pretty disproportionate comparison. Ecstasy is a 22 year old outdated ship relegated to short, cheap cruises out of Miami, and less than a third the size of the Allure. I've sailed on both of these classes of ship and the differences are abysmal. Ecstasy is not representative of the best Carnival has to offer, like the Dream Class, which the OP has sailed on.

 

To the OP, I sailed on the Carnival Dream and the Allure of the Seas within months of each other. While both were great cruises, the Dream was nice, while the Allure was amazing. I've written reviews for both (links in my signature). I hope they are helpful in determining differences.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Hi Tapi, For what it's worth, that comparison statement referred to the just the food in the buffets and MDRs. That would not be influenced by the age of the ship.

Besides, look again at what I wrote:

As for differences:

Food: Not a big difference in my opinion when I compared The Ecstasy in May '13 to the Allure Nov '13. Unfortunately for Carnival their new menu changes have taken their product a large step down. So now after going on the Carn. Liberty two weeks ago, I rate Royal several points higher.

You might also notice that I was rating the food about equal on the Ecstasy and the Allure. And it was. Yes the ships are hugely different, but the food was not. At the time. It was the changes that Carnival recently made in January (that are not yet fleet wide) that took the food level down for Carnival, not the individual ship.

BTW, I only chose the Ecstasy to mention, because it was my most recent Carnival experience at the time that we sailed the Allure. I would not compare experiences on long past cruise to current ones, since things change too much.

[As for my other statements, the list of my past cruises below, would suggest that I do have a basis for comparisons.]

The cabins doors are in pairs. The door on the right in the pair will have the bed by the balcony, sofa nearer the hall . All connecting cabins have their doors together as a pair. If you look at the deck plans and locate the nearest pair of connecting rooms then count off by twos, you can determine whether your room is on the right or left in its pair, thus telling you where the bed is in it.

I'm thinking of booking cabin 11298 on the Oasis. Does anyone know if the sofa is by the balcony or closet in this cabin?

That room should have the bed by the window.

While I totally agree with your comparisons, for me the biggest difference is the shows. You mentioned entertainments but beyond the activity based ones, the performances are the big difference. Carnival singers and dancer productions numbers aren't even in the same league with shows like Chicago, nor with the Ice Skating productions, and the Aquatheater, etc. on the Allure. Blue Planet was comparable to Circ du Soliel. Meanwhile Carnival gives you glorified karaoke, (sort of do-it-yourself entertainment). For the price difference, this alone makes Royal worth it. I'm not saying that I won't do Carnival again, because I likely will, but it'll be for price and itineraries, but I do it with much lower expectations for entertainment .

The Honey Walnut Tart sounds wonderful ! I'll have that. :-)

You might be better advised to ask a travel agent that question. Also the answer may be different with different cruise lines.

My sister in law cruised single on our last cruise. For a while it looked like my other sister in law would come along, but wasn't sure. The advice from our TA was to book one person as a single, holding the cabin with only one deposit, and add the second passenger in later. I wish I could remember the all of the rationale for this, but sorry I don't. Just that adding in later would likely be cheaper than canceling one, and having the remaining person suddenly have to be considered a single (At the later date's probably higher price). Also, the second passenger could be added in later with no penalty, than they could be removed, giving more time to make that decision.

Just FWIW, that was a Carnival cruise, that might make it a different story.

I've heard the comment that spf over 30 is not really any better at all. I listened to that and lived to regret it. Needless to say I don't believe that nonsense any more. I've settle for a #30 and had the sunburn to prove they are wrong. I've also worn SpF#100 all week and come home from cruises white as a ghost

Oh, BTW, look at the prices at the store. #55, #75 #100 all go for about the same price if you compare the same brand. Why go low?

The cruise line's own insurance is often cheaper than what we might buy through a separate company, but not nearly as comprehensive. But yes it is refundable prior to final payment.

If I buy a travel insurance policy from another company,( like Travel Guard, Travelex, HTH etc) and buy my airfare on my own, (often cheaper than the cruise line) and buy the hotel through Priceline (also cheaper) the policy will cover all that. It may even include other extras. The cruise line policy will not.

Like mentioned above, the premium is not refundable, after the initial (usually 10 days) review period (chance to read the fine print), but they do let your change the date of the vacation to another when you can go (within reasonable time frame).

If you could only afford either a boardwalk balcony or a central park balcony wich would you choose and why? Also if the choice was deck 12 or 14 wich would you choose?

 

Grateful for any advice I can get.

 

TIA

 

Jo

Choose the Central park location. It's beautiful and Quiet. There have been some posts here about the noise factor from the Aquatheater.

Definitely choose deck 12. 14 has noisy public areas above. Where 12 has only cabins both above and below, a definite plus for quiet sleep.

I like to order room service coffee and Danish every morning. I give only $1 or $2 depending on if it's for only me or both of us. The $4 or $5 mentioned by Trev71 is generous, and is what I would give if it were a larger order for more people

Gratuities:

I know gratuities have changed since my last cruise so...

-What are the recommended gratuities per person per night? (I can't find it on RCCL website?)

-I know gratuities are now auto charged, but if we are doing traditional seating for dinner, do we prepay gratuities before the cruise, or are they just auto charged each day on our SeaPass while on the ship?

 

Travel Insurance:

Does travel insurance cover cancelations due to a situation where it turns out that someone could not get time off work so they can not take the cruise?

The scenario is that DW is a teacher and can not request off now for a week during the next school year, which is when we want to take a cruise. We want to book the cruise as soon as possible for best cabin selection and for a good price.

Thank you in advance for any help.

If you choose traditional dining, the gratuities will be charged to your account o nboard the ship. You may, if you wish, pay for them in advance, but it is not required for those in traditional dining.

Insurance will cover that IF you choose a policy that covers "Cancel for work reasons" or if you choose "Cancel for any reason". Those will cost more, and the cancel for any reason policies usually only refund 75% of the money. (Sorry I do not know what Royal Caribbean own insurance covers. We always buy through a separate company, like InSureMyTrip.

Only you know how much that view of the ocean will mean to you, vs the extra room in the cabin. But if it were me, I'd give the Central park balconies a try. The park really is beautiful, and quiet.

The mid ship location is great on this huge ship. There are only two banks of elevators on this ship, which I thought would mean a lot of walking, when we were located right in the middle. But as it turned out, it seemed like we had only a short walk to either set of elevators. Worked out great.

Yes you can leave the connecting door open if you wish.

As I understand, the prepaid tips are for MTD.

What Amy said is sort of right. The automatic tipping charge to your onboard account is intended for everyone. Not just those using MTD. The pre-paying of it, prior to the cruise, is required for those assigned MTD. Pre-paying it is an option available to everyone else.

This is quoted from the Royal Caribbean sit:

"The gratuity is automatically added to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. In the unlikely event that a guest on board being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services during their cruise. Guests who have elected to prepay gratuities will not see a daily charge during their cruise. Any modifications or adjustments to your gratuities are required to be requested before you depart your cruise."

The pier in Port Canaveral is about 50 minutes to an hour drive away from Orlando airport. Transfers will add to your cost a good bit. Fort Lauderdale is barely 10 minute airport to pier, if that. Much cheaper.

Yes Atlantis is amazing, and so is the cost to go there. (For the full day, including the water slides is likely more than $150 per person) Otherwise, I am not a fan of Nassau.

A day at Coco Cay is fabulous, and doesn't have to cost anything.

I've been on the Allure (Oasis's identical sister) and no other ship compares. Never been on your other choice but, I highly recommend Oasis.

The thing to know about 150 Central Park is that you do not get to choose your food. You get what they are serving. Everyone eats the same thing.

They ask if you have any allergies. Beyond that, then tell you "there are no substitutions". Also the food was too spicy for me, I can take some "heat" but not much. I could not eat a few of the courses. Also the foods include unusual ingredients, you definitely have to be willing to try new things. The portions are small, but there were several courses. I won't go again, but my son and daughter in law were quite pleased,

Best explanation of "why" they sometime back in, that I've heard. Thanks. I aways wondered.

If I only ate food that was included and did not purchase upgrades would I be happy with the choices offered? Are there menus posted anywhere that I can look at them?

Yes you will be happy without purchasing extras, but you will be tempted.

Thanks for the quick answers. I think frozen yogurt will work for him. I know it works for me! LOL.

 

Is there away to turn the search feature on for these forums?

Search feature has been out of order for several days.

As for differences:

Carnival rooms bigger, Royal, far more attactive decor, in room and out

Service: Not a big difference, but the edge goes to Royal

Food: Not a big difference in my opinion when I compared The Ecstasy in May '13 to the Allure Nov '13. Unfortunately for Carnival their new menu changes have taken their product a large step down. So now after going on the Carn. Liberty two weeks ago, I rate Royal several points higher.

The entertainment quality on Royal is far and away superior to anything we've ever seen on a Carnival ship. My cruise on the Ecstasy had the most amateurish shows I've encountered at sea. The dancing made me cringe with embarrassment for the performers. The other evening shows were really just glorified karaoke, or foolish games. (Carnival's new games are very lame. Grade school fair quality. They should have stayed with the old ones. ) So you can expect to be please with the entertainment on RCI..

Honestly, silly as it seems, I was a little disappointed with not being able to get an ice cream cone anytime. (Just a wee tiny bit disappointing, but there it is.). But the frozen yogurt on the Allure was delicious. And that ship was so big, I could hardly find my way back to the machine for more anyway And from a kids point of view, the bigger Royal ships, have so much to do, I'll bet he'll consider it a better than fair trade off.

We got our refund from RCI very quickly, but that was a couple years ago.

I think cb at sea has a point, that the issue is with the card company. If they don't list any refund, ask about any pending activity. Sometimes it sits there in limbo, for quite a while, before it actually posts.

We fly into FL/Miami airport 2 days before cruise. Can anyone suggest a hotel with a great pool. We are wanting to enjoy the 2 days before the cruise. Also interesting in knowing a great hotel that will shuttle from airport and then from hotel to port. We fly out LATE on the day we arrive back to port. Any suggestions on what we can do when we get off the ship? Are their shuttles there already and are we stuck just going to to airport with our luggage? Can we take to airport and then sight see?

Thanks in advance

Hello jm904, I see the title of your post mentions Port Everglades, but you say you fly to Miami. You do realize that Port Everglades is Fort Lauderdale, right? Just saying.

Anyway that being said, you are not likely to find a hotel with a shuttle that takes you from Miami airport and drives to Fort Lauderdale (about 35 minutes or more away) . So where do you want to stay, Fort Lauderdale or Miami?

Lots of nice hotels in both. You can find any number of hotels in Miami that will have a free shuttle from airport to hotel, but those will likely be near the airport. And there are some Fort Lauderdale hotels that will shuttle you to from hotel to the pier. You will likely have to pay a shuttle or a taxi to get you from one city to the other.

As for what to do in on debarkation day, you might look into cruise line excursions, Example would be the tour of the Everglades. (ride one of those noisy airboats, see a aligator etc, ) With a cruise excrusion they slepp your luggage on the tour bus with you, then then they drop you at the airport.

Start by choosing which city you want to stay in the night before, I'm sure you'll get suggestions, or find some suggestions on the port pages.

The lock and the handle on the door are definitely hard to work. But if you really do not want the balcony furniture, you should ask the room steward to take it away.

And if he seems hesitant to do that, ask at the guest services desk and tell them exactly why you are concerned. I can't imagine any ship would refuse to remove those chairs if you say your child may potentially climb over the rail.

 

1- does anybody have the current menu to 150 Central Park

 

Thank you.

Hello Lyndamr,

About 150 Central Park. We decided to try just one specialty restaurant when we were on the Allure in November, and chose 150 Central Park. This is just a little heads up about the menu.

Now, clearly I wasn't paying enough attention before we made the reservation, but I did not realize that the menu is a fixed thing. (Sure it can change from beginning of the cruise to the end, but on the day you go, you get served what they are serving. You DO NOT GET TO CHOOSE your food. We were surprised at that, but were willing to go with the flow since we were already sitting at the table when we found that out. They made it very clear, at the start of the meal, that they DO NOT DO SUBSTITUTIONS.

The waiter asked up front if anyone at the table has any allergies to food. For the four of us, that answer was "no". But that was before I realized about this business where everyone in the restaurant eats the same meal. It did not occur to me to mention that I have a history of ulcers and never eat hot flavored foods. Well, at least two of first few courses were way too hot flavored for me. I tried to eat them, but passed them off to my son who really loves hot flavors.

The waiter spent a lot of time talking to us, telling about the foods and the wines. In fact, his informative "lecture" pretty much dominated the conversation, so this is not a time to have your own conversation. But it was helpful to hear about the odd foods we were eating, because some of the ingredients really were odd. One piece of vegetation in the salad was a one inch round, bumpy surfaced ball, split in two pieces. (I can't remember what it was called) Apparently it is some kind of special (according to the waiter) vegetable not even found in the USA. The waiter told us how you should not eat the rind of this item, as that part was poisonous. Unfortunately he neglected to mention this until after my son had tried (unsuccessfully) to eat it. Thank goodness it tasted so nasty he did not swallow it.

For what it's worth, my son and daughter in law thought the rest of the food was delicious, as far as we got with the meal.

[To explain that "as far as we got with the meal" comment, I should explain that we never finished the meal. Just before the main course, my husband (who had recently started a new blood pressure medication, that turned out to be too strong for him) started to pass out, and ended up spending the evening in the ships medical facility. So all of us ran out of the restaurant following my hubby and the medical response team. By the way, I was favorably impressed with their medical personnel, and facility (and I'm an RN with some ED experience, so have a frame of reference).]

Anyway, if we had known about the 'you eat what you're served' policy, we would have chosen Chops for our one specialty restaurant experience instead. And for this upcoming cruise on the Oasis, we will know better.