Gayle V

Just be sure to ask questions: Does the agent charge any cancellation fee over and above what the cruise lines charge? Do they charge a booking fee? Do they charge a fee for changes to the booking? Or any other kind of fee?

Those answers should all be "No".

 

Do they allow price drops? (ie: if the cruise line lowers the price, will they lower the price on your booking)? The answer to that should be "yes, provided the price is not labeled for new bookings only".

 

Do they monitor prices for you? (that is watch for those price drops, for you and automatically adjust your fare) Now that is harder to find, but some do.

 

And do they have real live people to talk to you? This answer had better be "yes" (basically this is just a warning to avoid, on line only booking engines. If you can only deal by e-mail, what do you do if you don't get answers?

 

And lastly, do you feel comfortable talking to the agent? Are they willing to spend some time with you, answering your questions? This is not a cut and dry assessment, but you are putting a lot of your money and your vacation in their hands, you should be at liberty to discuss it all with this person.

 

And last, of course, get referrals if you can.

[quote name='leaveitallbehind']Not challenging your position, but while that might be a suggested time (perhaps to balance arrival flow) it is not - and in our experience - never has been an enforced time. Other than with place in line, we have never waited for an appointed time or been asked to wait until a specific time to board at the port. I think that tends to balance itself out as most passengers don't all arrive at the same time and boarding is naturally spread out over several hours as a result.

With the boarding lines separated by new cruisers, the various C & A tier levels, and suite lines, the process is usually very smooth and each group boards basically in line order and group priority.

As a result we have always been able to board quickly and efficiently through just the typical lines as we arrive - and regardless of when we arrive - at the designated section based on the criteria mentioned and have never encountered specific boarding times. The only waiting period - once checked in - is at the various lounges awaiting the ship to be cleared for first boarding. And that, as mentioned, typically is around 11:00 AM.

There are times where the initial boarding can be delayed resulting from TA's back from a foreign port with the turn to the first US itinerary as customs can take longer to clear the ship. Also Government imposed delays based on staffing and budget concerns can result in a request to delay arrival. But that usually is in the form of an email affecting select ships.[/QUOTE]

Hello leaveitallbehind, I get the feeling you missed my point. I was not saying that they will have to wait till a designated time. I was trying to answer the OP's question, which was :[quote name='ExcitedCruisers3']I was told we could start boarding around noon. I have read where some are able to board as early as 10:30 on other ships. Is each ship different on time?[/QUOTE] And strictly speaking the answer is "yes". There is a specified time, and it is different for different ships, and embarkation ports and different itinerary. It's listed in the documents.

I was also trying to let the OP know that should they succumb to the desire to show up early, with the encouragement of others here, that they should do so with the right attitude. I really hate to see a new cruiser be encouraged by posts on these boards to do anything that may diminish their enjoyment of their cruise experience; which is what may happen if they arrive early with expectations that may not be met.

If you read my post, you'll see I said the wait can be fun, but the OP should know that it may exist, and it is not as rare as the OP was being lead to believe. We have experienced embarkations that consisted of no more than the walk through the terminal. Most others have been between one and two hours. Our Mariner cruise didn't start boarding till 2:30 pm. Some people waited a very long time, in a very long line, many in the sun, on a very hot day.

My post was about attitude and expectations, not about 'shoulds and should nots'..

Why does no one mention that there is an official boarding time designated by the cruise line. This is what the Royal Caribbean site has to say about it:

"The boarding time for your ship and sailing date is specified in your Guest Vacation Documents. Please do not plan on arriving at the pier prior to the specified time as the ship will not be ready to board guests. "

Now I understand the excitement that makes you want to board early. I feel the same. But for the OP, just know that if you do show up earlier than the stated time, you're doing it with the expectation that you are going to wait. Possibly for a long while. Knowing what to expect can make all the difference between a wonderful experience and a big disappointment.

For some people, (like me) the waiting is only part of the fun. I love talking to fellow cruisers while in the line. But for others (like my hubby) it's a royal pain in the behind. In the end hubby and I compromise, I'm willing to wait till check out time at our pre cruise hotel, then we head to the pier. Both happy.

If you pay the whole thing and then have them pay you, you are running a big risk, if anyone cancels. If any of the couples drop out, then the others will all have to increase the amount they are paying to subsidize the single. And what if anyone wants to get travel insurance. How will that work?

 

For what it's worth, if I were one of the couples, I would resent being expected to pay for part of number 11's cruise. ... I wish you luck.

 

Edited to add, that it looks like you are already facing this situation. Just be aware that cruise ship "suites" are not like hotel suites. What a ship calls a suite, may merely be a slightly larger single room, and not two separate spaces. To get the ones that have an actual separate space for a bed, you are talking big bucks.

Check this link out:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1003

 

I know from RECENT experience that these are all the right shows, EXCEPT "Come Fly With Me" has been discontinued.

 

Now, I have only seen the Aquatheatre show, and that was pretty good, but I have not seen any other shows. Not that I want to, but don't ask me how good they were. I have heard from other members, that, if you like shows and theater, the shows are very good. I do not care much about theater.

 

Those are the shows. I think the OP was interested in actual movies, like what they show on the big screen by the pool, or on the TV.

Thank you for responses.

DW is a teacher & can not request now for time off next school year, which is when we want to cruise.

Now I know I can book a cruise with a cabin we want, & if she is not granted the week off, we can get the full refund as long as 75 days out from sailing.

 

Just FYI , there are some travel agents who tack on their own cancellation fee, for canceling at any time. Typically $75 per person. There are some good reasons to use a TA, so I'm not knocking booking through one, as I always use my favorite TA. Just be absolutely certain to ask if they charge ANY fees other than the cruise line's own. There are plenty of TA that do not charge those kind of fees, so look for one of them.

Hello 2funlovin, Sorry can't offer any personal experiences on her, but you really should take a look at the cruise reviews. There's sure to be some about the Grandeur.

Gayle, I have printed my set sail passes and there is a "sample" luggage tag....only a few inches long with a note that it is only a sample. I will try with a different browser, I'm currently using Internet Explorer. I have absolutely NO idea why I can't get them printed this time.

 

Hello Reijo,

 

The Royal site has several ways to access the various pages. If the "luggage tag" link isn't showing try this: The Luggage tags are also in the Documents.

 

Click on the "my cruises" link that is at the top of every page of the Royal Caribbean web site. (Small dark blue print on the home page in line with where it says "Hello" with your name. On the other pages it's in very tiny print, far upper edge of pages.)

 

On the my cruises page there's a blue box running down the left side of the page. On the lower half of the box there is a "Countdown to Cruise" and some links. Click on "Review Travel Documents"

 

(You can also access this by other routes. One looks like the tabs of a file folder. You just want to get to the "Cruise Documentation page".

 

Both take you to the Cruise Documentation page; Look for "Guest Vacation Documents" and click on "Check Status" Your documents should be ready. (Ours are not yet) If your documents are there, open them. (On my computer, opening them automatically saves them to a pdf file, that I then have to open.) Once they are open scroll down to the last page or two. The luggage tags are one of the last pages of the documents.

 

Let us know if this works.

What port was that two reef snorkel ?

Thanks for all of your info, the website of restaurants was perfect. Sadly, we were not able to make reservations for the shows (except for Chicago)......one of the bad things about booking at the last minute. We will show up in hopes that we can get in though.

 

One other thing. I am having problems printing our luggage tags. I've never had a problem before. What am I missing????? All info you look up refers to those in suites, etc. being able to get tags but otherwise you get them at the port. I've printed them for the last couple of years. For our February cruise I had NO problems. Gee, Can anyone help?

 

Hello Reijo, Don't just show up at the show. As soon as you board the ship go and try to sign up then. They always hold back a percentage of the seats for those who cannot do it on the computer. (They know that even now, not everyone has computer access). When we were on the Allure, we could not get the Comedy Club reservation on line. So we made that our first stop, once we boarded, and got signed up. It was fast and easy. They will be set up and ready for lots of people doing the same thing. Not sure if they do this in the same place every cruise, but for us, in November, they had tables set up for this purpose in Studio B (the ice rink).

 

The same is true about the excursions. If you don't get what you want, try once on the ship. (At the excursion desk, of course).

 

About the printing of tags, the page with the tags is usually with your documents. If you are able to print your set sail pass, and still can't print the tags, try accessing the site using a different browser. If I remember right, I had to not use Firefox, needed to switch over to Internet explorer, and that worked.

 

Good luck.

This link should take you to a pdf list of dining places on the Allure.

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CFYQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Froyalcruisesonline.com%2FImage_Library%2FReference%2FOasis_Class_Dining_Guide.pdf&ei=vywrU9W9KsmtqAH0_oDwDw&usg=AFQjCNHn0vTX8-iGs9XqBVeEqsVL6VMH0Q&sig2=LX23bC9inMvXmu2LCU2XVg&bvm=bv.62922401,d.aWM

 

Down load that, then you have to open it. You'll find there are lots of both, included and pay-extra venues.

 

As for what to do, I encourage you to see all the shows. They were wonderful, much better than those on other ships that we'd cruised in the past.

 

As for food, for what it's worth, I won't do the 150 Central Park again. The food was odd, and too hot flavored. (You don't get choices there. Everyone in the place is served the same meal.) I usually am easy to please, and was always happy with the dinners in the main dining room. Maybe we'll stick with that, or try one of the other places next time.

I think I would be saying WOW, but not in a good way. More like: Wow, how amazingly incompetent!" plus a few other expletives.

 

Wishing you luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Just call your TA and have them clarify it with the cruise line. That's what the TA is for, to deal with problems for you.

 

Actually we had the same thing happen with our last cruise (a Carnival ship) and with the upcoming Oasis for November. One call to our TA, and she got it fixed up. Nothing nefarious happening at all. Be sure to let us know how it goes.

FWIW, We found the bed next to the closet to be a big annoyance too. The room next door, (our son's cabin) was so much easier to move around in. The bed by the closet was especially annoying when getting ready for dinner. I also especially hated having to sidle around the bed carrying the room service breakfast tray, to reach a place to set it down. (yes I know the delivery person would carry it in, but I don't want that when hubby is still sleeping in the bed.)

A few years ago when I was on a b2b 31 day cruise, my ex boss sent me a shipboard credit. I knew she was going to, but expected maybe $100.00

I got a call from the front office one day and they wanted to know if I wanted to use it as a casino credit. I said how much is it? They said come down to the office, I did and was in shock when I was told it was for $10,000!!!!. I ended up taking it in cash, and was very scared to fly home with that much cash, lol

 

I new I worked for the wrong company!

We cashed out some unused OBC 3 days ago at the casino. The fee was 5%.

 

 

What would happen if you would have bought 200 worth of chips, then later cashed them in. Would they charge a fee on that?

I agree with Ocean Boy ..... I'm only posting to say Wow! Great cabin location. Congrats!

It sounds like your rooms had an odd configuration, or were not located along the main run of the hall. That's why I said, "If the rule holds, (and I don't see any reason why it won't in this case)". In cases where the cabins types are mixed (balcony next to grand suite) or on a corner, or next to something non cabin area, then the rule may not hold.

From the Royal site:

 

Luggage Valet is a service offered on board which enables guests to bypass traditional airport check-ins. Guest who participate will be processed onboard the ship and receive their airline boarding passes, luggage tags as well as baggage claim checks for their checked-in luggage.

 

This service is available in these selected ports:

 

Fort Lauderdale

Port Canaveral

Miami

Seattle

Seward

 

 

and on these selected airlines:

 

Air Tran

Alaska Airlines

American

Delta

United

US Airways

Jet Blue

Southwest Airlines

 

Participating airlines vary by port. Consult the Guest Relations Desk onboard for specific port qualifications and additional information. An additional fee will apply.

 

Good Luck

I would have liked "Song of the Seas", but I think that's going to be the title of a movie soon. It would have fit as a follow up for Anthem.

 

Maybe "Siren of the Seas" It nautical, but not much like the names of these two ship classes.

deck 12 in Ocean view balcony cabin 12220 and my sister is in 12218.

 

If the rule holds, (and I don't see any reason why it won't in this case):

 

12218 bed by the balcony

12220 bed near the closet/bathroom/hall door.

 

If the bed is near the closet, does that mean the sofa is near the balcony?

Yes.

Hello Torvynne, Any info on how this affects those that are already booked. We are not in a suite and already booked one for November. Nellie's Beach. I hope we are still considered booked, and don't have to take our chances with getting one once on the ship.

Like I said in my previous post. It depends on how much of a gambler the OP is, and whether they are prepared to deal with whatever happens if they don't make it. Only the OP knows the answer to that.

 

I wish them luck.

If you go to the the Royal site:

Click Before You Board,

Then: Pre Cruise Planner

Then click on :Reserve or Modify entertainment

 

In the upper right corner of the page is a small icon that says "Showtimes at a Glance PDF", that will download a pdf file. Click that , then open it. It will list all the shows for individual weeks . At the bottom of each chart it tells how long each show lasts

Last Sunday we made a 9:45 fight and were sitting at the gate at 8 AM. There really is no need for people to be so dramatic and compare this to winning the lottery. Yes, sometime things go wrong and there are delays. But most of the time things go right. The folks running the process are not idiots. They are all aware that these ships need to turn over in less than 12 hours. They want things to run on time just as much as we do.

 

 

Yes Ocean Boy, The folks running the process are not idiots and they say not to book earlier than 11:30.