First RCCL Cruise Leaves this Weekend (FOS)...any advice?

[swtroy]

First time on RCCL and am I ever excited! Looking for any last minute tips that may help our cruise.

 

I gather from reading the boards we need to schedule the ice show the first morning on board. Can I schedule it for my entire party of 10? What time and where do I accomplish this?

 

Any other tips!?!?!?!?!?

 

Thank you all!

[coordinator23]

Haven't been on Freedom, but have been on many Voyager class ships. i find the first Ice Shows are packed and the last one usually has some room, so I would say, try for the last one. You will have a ball on your cruise. Look at the Cruise Compass nightly and plan out your next day. Take advantage of the excursions you can afford.

[DarthGrady]

Some tips:

 

The Windjammer gets packed the first day as everyone gets on. The Promenade Cafe (sandwiches) and Sorrento's Pizzeria (pizza, paninis and salads) on the Royal Promenade are usually not busy since most folks have not found them yet.

 

When we went back in September one person from each party could go and get ice show tickets for the group.

 

If you want to do Flowrider, go the first couple of days. It will get busy toward the end of the week as more folks decide to try it.

 

The fries and onion rings are free at Johnny Rockets. They are very good.

 

If Graham Seymour is still the Cruise Director I would recommend his stand up comedy show, It was very funny. His morning TV shows are also funny, worth watching if you have some down time in the room.

 

Check the Compass for the behind the scenes stage tour. They take you into the back of the main stage are in the theater. You wont believe how much they do in so little space!

 

The helicopter landing pad at the very front (bow) of the ship is an awesome place to watch sail aways. You can get there by walking all the way forward on the exterior promenade below the life boats. There will be stairs that go up to the next deck, and farther forward is the helipad. Great views, and you can do the obligatory "I'm the king of the world!" scene.

 

Hope it helps, have fun!

[cb at sea]

Some "tips"...bring binoculars. Don't try to do everything...you'll exhaust yourself!

 

Talk to other people on the ship....it's nice to meet folks who are enjoying the same things you are!

 

Have fun!

[swtroy]

Thanks. Keep the advice coming folks!

[GAHart]

swtroy Have you signed up for our meet and mingle ? here is the link to our roll call thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1154430 check it out alot of nice people on there. when are you going to be in Fla ?

[jackretired]

If you are an early riser:

visit The Promenade Cafe

Take pictures of The Promenade.

 

Make new friends in the MDR at Breakfast & Lunch.

 

Bread pudding at Tea Time in WJ.

 

Sign up for Meet & Mingle.

 

Ask your room steward for ice twice a day.

 

Any bar will give you ice or ice water for free.

 

Read the compass, at least twice.

[cruisecrazymama]

Thanks. Keep the advice coming folks!

 

Just got off Freedom on the 2nd. Not much to add to the tips you have already recieved. Graham Seymour is the CD and DarthGrady is correct, his stand up comedy is not to be missed. We did his adult show and laughed the whole time.

 

Also DarthGrady is correct about the dining venues. I'd skip Windjammer on embarkation day.

 

Lastly, the ice show on Freedom is really really good.

 

The most important tip I can give you is to have fun. Freedom is a beautiful ship. ;)

[jackretired]

Go to as many shows as possible. Do things that have you meeting new people. One TV channel will give you ship time and your location. Another TV channel will show you what is in front of the ship. Set your cell phone to airplane mode. Forget about the internet.

[jackretired]

I "borrowed" this from another poster.

 

This list is not comprehensive nor from my experience but based over the couple of hundred pages I have read on this site about RCCI ships.

 

 

Things to do when you first get on the ship

 

- Be sure and get the honey stung chicken for lunch off the buffet (it's only available embarkation day}

 

- go to the dining room and make sure you're OK with your seating assignment. If you're not, the headwaiters will be there to try and accommodate your request.

- You should also book your spa appointments the first day, if you think you might want one. They do go quickly, particularly for sea days. Remember, you can cancel up to 24 hours before the appointment but you can't decide later to book one if all the spots are already gone.

- If your mattress is not comfortable for you, ask your room steward for a foam egg crate. Be warned that they can go fast and supply is limited.

 

Relax / Workout

 

- If you like to do your own yoga in the morning and the gym is too crowded and noisy, take a mat and go up to the lounge at the top of the ship. Quiet, peaceful and lovely.

 

- Don't take the "yoga" or "pilates" classes in the gym. The free morning stretch class is better.

 

- If you ask the crew, they will turn up the heat in the steam room.

 

- On Voyager class ships there is a lovely hot tub inside the gym/spa. Great when the weather outside is frightful.

 

- Be sure to sit in the Solarium (adult only deck) in that beautiful hot tub with a fruity drink

 

 

Medical

 

- If you need any basic meds, like antihistamines, stomach meds etc, there is a small machine just outside the medical center (available 24 hours a day), $0.50 (2 x $0.25)gets you a couple of doses.

 

- Bonnie is handed out at guest relations at no charge.

 

- No charge at the Dr. if the visit is for noro. But you will be quarantined to your cabin for 48 hours, not that you WANT To go anywhere.....

 

Food

 

Breakfast

 

- The omelet station in the Windjammer will also make other kinds of eggs. I don't like the steam tray scrambled eggs. I have mine made fresh at the omelet station.

 

- Back to the omelet station. If you want Swiss or other different cheese, just bring it with you from the cheese tray. They mostly use mozzarella at the station.

 

Lunch

 

- Don't miss the salad bar in the MDR at lunch time. It is awesome!

 

Dinner

 

- Ask the wait staff to bring several fruit and cheese trays to your table every evening before you even order.

 

- If you eat dinner in the main dining room, do not be shy about ordering several appetizers or main dishes. Just put in the entire order when the waiter/waitress asks for your initial order. It is not easy for them to go back for more after each course is served.

 

- You can have as much of whatever you want on the menu. If several things are tempting, play "taste and waste" Your mother isn't there to tell you "children in China are starving"

 

- The waiters will bring you anything you want (even off menu) I got a bowl of fresh berries for dessert one night as I didn’t fancy the desserts on menu - also they will bring extra lobster on that night - just ask.

 

- If you like a lot of water or other beverage with your dinner, ask the assistant waiter to have several glasses at your plate every night. You won't have to worry where they are when you are thirsty. I have them line up 3 glasses of Diet Coke for me just for starters.

 

- There will be a dinner menu posted outside the upper level entrances of the MDR. You can decide earlier in the day if you want to do WJ. The lowest level is where they serve breakfast and lunch so the dinner menu is displayed later.

 

Snacks / Tea Time

 

- Afternoon Snacks" in the Windjammer from 3-5p, usually the time you are returning from port, had the BEST hot scones each day, they also had hot bread pudding, and all sorts of other goodies! All free, and never crowded! May be wrong. May be closed.

 

- Grab a cookie or ham and cheese croissant before you crash at the Cafe.

 

 

The long sit down bar in front of the Royal Promenade Cafe is a good place to people watch with free coffee & pastries!

 

- There is a free soft serve machine on the pool deck.

 

Room Service

 

- Order chili chorizo dip from room service is excellent Ask for extra chips though, weren't enough chips for the big bowl of dip they brought us. May no longer be available.

 

-On room service, during dinner hours, you can also order some of the dinner menu items.

 

Drinks / Soda / bars

 

- When you're in any bar or lounge, you can ask for trail mix and you'll get a DELICIOUS jar of nuts, seeds, raisins and yogurt-covered things. Free

 

- Go to a store and pickup your favorite soda (diet Pepsi). Roll it onto the ship in a rolling cooler. Once in our room, we ask our steward to ice up some of the soda for us. You can keep the cooler out on the balcony if you have one, or in your room.

 

Cabins

 

- Bring a small Ziploc baggie of Clorox wipes and wipe all the doorknobs, phone, remote, light switches, etc

 

- Spray EVERTYHING with Lysol as soon as we got in the cabin.

 

- Take bags of small chocolates - and leave a few on a tissue on the bed each day for the Room Steward or give a few to the Room Service Waiter with their tip. it makes the Staff smile & great service gets even better!

 

- Ask the steward to Clear the fridge, that way you are not tempted to buy those overpriced items on a whim

 

- invest in a USB converter plug to keep my iPod charged

 

- a nightlight, especially if you have an inside cabin. It's really dark in any cabin at night!!!

 

- get a few packages of those suction cup hooks--they will stick on the walls, the windows (balcony) and the mirrors, I've used them for hanging wet suits, makeup/toiletry bags, inexpensive necklaces, and curling irons / blow dryers

 

- get a cheap alarm clock--although I rarely use the alarm, sometimes I want to know what time it is in the middle of the night

 

- In reference to the alarm clock, instead of a usual wake up call in the morning, I have coffee sent to my room at the time I was to get up! It's so nice to wake up to someone delivering fresh coffee while you're just waking up!!

 

- If you are in an inside cabin, put on the TV before you go to sleep to the channel that has the live camera shot of the front of the ship. Twist the TV slightly so it is not staring at you while you sleep, but whenever you wake up you can take a peek at the screen to see if it is daytime yet!

 

Camera Tips

 

- Make the VERY FIRST pix on your digital camera a paper with your name, cabin number, and phone number written out neatly on a piece of paper. If you lose it (and an honest person finds it), he will be able to return it to you

 

 

- Wear a different color shirt each day that you are in a port so it will be easy to figure out which photos belong to which port when you get home.

 

- Start each day with a picture of the elevator floor....they mark the day on the floor...great way to keep all of those pictures organized

 

General Tips

 

- Notify your credit card company or bank if using a debit card that you are going to be using your card out of the country. It could save you some headaches.

 

- At the pursers desk you can get a small fold out map of the ship.

 

- The helipad is a great spot to go out onto. It is beautiful at night and great for star gazing

 

- look at the art work, where there are ships, or fishes on the carpet, the head will be facing the front of the ship, it helps to give you a sense of direction.

 

- Kids spend a lot of time on the sports deck. Pack the sneakers!!!

 

- Don’t miss the ever popular adult only “QWEST”. It takes place in Studio B. The time and day will be advertised in the Cruise Compass.

 

- There are three distinct types of evenings onboard: casual, smart casual and formal. Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

 

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

 

7 to 9 - night cruises include two formal nights, one smart casual night and the remainder nights casual.

 

10 to 13-night cruises include two formal nights, two smart casual nights, and the remainder nights casual.

 

14+ - night cruises include three formal nights, four smart casual nights and the remainder nights casual.

 

- Towels, You really do have to return them. You will be charged $20 for every one you don’t return

 

- Bring a sweater for nights in the dining room and theater. It gets very chilly.

 

- there is always a raffle the day you board for dinner in Portofino's or Chops, a spa appointment, etc. It is usually attended by a few hundred people (must be present to win

 

- Got a $1 over-the-door shoe rack for the bathroom door. Great for putting all kinds of stuff in.

 

- Post-it notes. Great for leaving note to steward, others traveling with you, etc.

 

- Notebook journal - you'll otherwise forget what you did day to day if you're like me!

 

- OFF bug spray - still itching from some beach days

 

- bubble wrap to wrap breakable goodies

 

- PLENTY of dollar bills in SMALL denominations. Tough to bargain down to a great deal - then hand them a large bill.

 

- Once a trip there is a laundry special to fill a bag for a small charge and everything is cleaned. Great for back to backs!

 

- T-shirts from the gift shop go "on sale" the last night of the cruise.

 

- Buy your water shoes at home. If you are doing water based excursions, you will need them.

 

====================================

 

Do NOT get in the blackjack tournament.

[DarthGrady]

One thing to add about the helipad deck, on both of my FOS cruises it has been closed off every night. No explanation as to why, and the weather was nice.

 

My wife went on Navigator and it was open each night. No rhyme or reason, must just be up to the current staff.

[JRT5000]

While on shore eat as much food as possible. The food on board is terrible.

[39august]

No, the food is NOT terrible. To address your first questions about ice show: if tickets are to be given out (free), the time and place to pick them up will be in your daily Compass. Some ships no longer use tickets, but just post the various times and days for ice shows and these are first come, first served. Again, watch your daily Compass. Yes, one person can pick up tickets for your entire party, if tickets are used.

[FR8]

Don't miss the ship....if ya miss the ship it really screws up the cruise....everything else is downhill from there.....

[suezyq50]

If Kory is still at the Schooner Bar, he is real good. Two for one margaritas in "On the Air". Watch for it in your compass, about the third day. It is for the balance of the week.

[DarthGrady]

If Kory is still at the Schooner Bar, he is real good. Two for one margaritas in "On the Air". Watch for it in your compass, about the third day. It is for the balance of the week.

 

Yeah I forgot about those 2-4-1's! They were good, we had a table full of glasses that day. :D