Snooksi

We are booked on the Allure for May 21st. Two weeks ago, I made reservations (and paid) for two of my kids to take a group ($69/pp) flowrider lesson on our first sea day at 11:15AM. At the time I made reservations, there were other times available, but this time worked out best for our schedule.

Today, I received notification that the time had been changed to the day we are in Jamaica. I have a private excursion already booked, so that won't work. When I checked the online cruise planner, the only times available are days we are in ports, which are already booked with excursions. When I called Customer Service, she told me the only thing left available (4 months out???) is one lesson at 8AM the first sea day or times available on port days (won't work). I told her to change one reservation to the 8AM and cancel the other and I would pray someone would cancel between now and May. She came back on the line and told me her supervisor said to keep the reservations I have (that are of no use to me) and to change them once we are on the ship. SAY WHAT? If they are already booked now, why on earth would anyone think I could change the reservations once I get on the ship? Does this make sense? Surely this isn't about keeping my money. I don't understand why they didn't just cancel the reservations and rebook the one for the open time slot.

I don't want to have two disappointed kids once we get on the ship. My one child has had a lesson before the last time we sailed on the Allure, so I was going to cancel her lesson and keep the available lesson for my grandson who has never been on a flowrider (or a cruise for that matter) before.

What would you do? I am just so afraid if I keep the lessons as they are now, with the times RCI changed them to and which are of no use to us, once we get on the ship they will tell me they have nothing available and will just refund my money then. At least I could have one guaranteed lesson now and pray another one becomes available between now and then.

*As of right now, there are no group lessons available at all according to the cruise planner. Now what???

If you booked with a TA, you must contact the TA to arrange for prepaid gratuities.

 

I believe guests in Grand Suites or better pay $16.50 per person per day now.

Thank you!!

:)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Some time ago, Royal discontinued the requirement that gratuities must be prepaid for My Time Dining. Currently, if you do not prepay gratuities, they are automatically changed to your SeaPass account on a daily basis.

Bob, (I feel like I know you as I have learned so much from so many of your helpful posts over the years)

How do you prepay gratuities? I booked via a TA and was never given the option. Also, I haven't found anywhere on the Royal website where there is an option to pay pre-cruise. I like to pay for as much as possible before ever getting on the ship. Lastly, how much are gratuities now (haven't cruised with RCI since 2013) for a suite guest? Thanks!

Thanks everyone!!! I can't wait to cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam and experience an incredible Christmas in the Caribbean! I'm so excited!!

I just booked a CLS with a TA and the fare was 1K cheaper than listed on RCCL and I got $150 OBC. Others offered the same price as RCCL but $600-$950 in OBC and some offered specialty dining and a spa treatment on top of the OBC. i would rather the lower fare and the smaller amount of OBC but I did run the numbers and the TA I chose, saved me $50 over all the others when you factor in the OBC, etc.

Linawolf, we aren't allowed to name names or companies on the boards. The company online I use sends your cruise request out to various TAs and they all email their best offers to you, so you get to choose whoever has the best offers/price. Many of the big box online TAs show you on their website what their OBC/perks are. Just do an online search for a "cheap cruise" and tons will be listed.

I miss all of the ice sculptures and the midnight buffet!!

We'll be there in person. Have requested a wave. We will be in an aft cabin on deck 7, just to the right of centre. Look for the large Yellow CC Banner with "TOOT" on it.:D

I watched you sailaway and the wave cam got a close up of you waving and I saw the TOOT sign!!! I even waved at you via my screen!! ;) Have the BEST cruise ever!!!

No, you are not wrong. If there are many Neptunes still available there's a good chance you'll be contacted. On my last HAL cruise there were many Neptunes available through Mock bookings..I was offered two rounds of Upsells, The first 22 days prior to cruise, which I declined. Then 5 days later was offered another upsell that I accepted. In my case for the 12/11 sailing I'm on, I thought there were a few Sig. Suites left, however they all went today. There must have been many Guarantee's on that cabin, hence no upsell & a sell out. So I called to see what the availability of Neptunes were, and was told there is only one left at the going rate. Doing a mock booking on the Neptunes show Guarantee only. My guess it will be a sellout shortly too. It's a crap shoot with upsells. My advice if there's a cabin you really want and it's in your price range go for it.

Thank you so much!!! That info helps a lot and I guess I'll just continue to impatiently WAIT!! I'm happy with my 8th deck balcony but when I saw how many Neptunes were still available, it would be an extra added bonus to get an upsell call if the price is as reasonable as others have said on the boards.

I called earlier today, all the signature suites are gone (which I was gambling on) and only one Neptune left. I rolled the dice and lost on this one. The question is do I bite the bullet and go with the neptune if its still available? I had an amazing upsell to a neptune a few years ago, so I know first hand what an awesome cabin it is.

How does an upsell work? I thought you just had to wait for them to call you. If I were to call them, would they still give me a reasonable price or would they just offer the suite at the going rate? I am on the NA 12/18 sailing and according to various cruise websites, when you do a mock booking, there are still lots of neptune suites available. I would love an upsell but just assumed if I called them, they would only offer it to me for the going rate. Am I wrong?

Thank you so much for your review and I really enjoyed it. We will be sailing the NA for the Eastern itinerary, as well, on the Christmas cruise. I can only hope the weather cooperates, so we don't miss any of the ports as we have excursions planned at every port.

Other than spending as much time on our balcony as possible, I think the place I am most looking forward to is Half Moon Cay. It will be our first time there (everything I've read says it's incredible). I also booked a cabana and it sounds like an absolute day of paradise!! We can't wait!!

Sounds like you had a great cruise and thank you again for sharing your experience with those of us still waiting!!! :)

I just told DH about this thread (He's the one who spoke with HAL). I misunderstood him, apparently HAL told him to call that company direct, because they don't handle it now. When he called the company, it was them who told him their calendar doesn't go out that far (January) and to call back.

 

It sounds to me that all bookings have to be done before the cruise now, and not through HAL :confused:....Snooksi, I don't know about your situation but would hope it will be honored since it was done ahead of time and not during your cruise. Let us know please.

I am sitting here looking at my confirmation and it was booked through HAL's website but it looks like it is the actual carriers' website because it is maketraveleasier.com HAL must have just had the LINK on their website. Then the confirmation gives me a number and tells me the total amount it will be with my luggage costs already added (they even have it written that Delta charges $25/bag which is correct and we'll have 3 bags). I booked this on 10/26 and the web address is (short version) maketraveleasier.com/holland/order/view/ and then the confirmation number. I know it's not listed on my HAL reservations anywhere or with anything else I already booked through HAL (excursions, wine, OBC, etc) I just have my confirmation receipt.

I just listed all of the previous information in case it helps someone more familiar with HAL than I am. Maybe this will make sense to you? This will be our first HAL cruise, so I don't know the ins and outs or how anything works like some of you who have cruised HAL numerous times.

Whatever I learn when I call HAL tomorrow, I will post the information here.

May I suggest that you call Ship Services on Monday and receive a definitive answer as to whether Luggage Direct is or is not available?

Thanks. I need to call them Monday for something else anyway. I will also ask them about Luggage Direct, since I have already signed up and have the receipt!!

I know that HAL has always only offered the Luggage Direct service on certain airlines. Could it be that the problem was Jetblue? Sure hope so. I rely on the service when flying Delta.

I hope so because I'm flying Delta and it was offered on the HAL website for our December cruise and I signed up and have my receipt. That's why I'm particularly interested in this thread. I hope HAL doesn't cancel my booking!! I haven't heard a thing (except this thread) as of yet.

There was no Luggage Direct on my Eurodam cruise that came back yesterday November 19 to FLL. My flight was at 9pm on Jetblue. I ended up taking a HAL tour and checking my bag at the sidewalk with a slight bribe at 1pm.

But is that because it was never offered or was it offered on your cruise and then they cancelled after people signed up for it??

We were surprised to find out so just be prepared to deal with your luggage until your flight time. We fly at 530 so cannot check in luggage until 5 hours prior. Ended up with day room Rodeway Inn free shuttles

I signed up for the Luggage Direct for our Nieuw Amsterdam 12/18 cruise and have the receipt. Is this the service you are talking about? Did you sign up in advance and then they cancelled once you were on the ship?

I noticed no one had responded yet, so here's my $.02. The only port I have been to of your 4 is Cozumel. There are numerous things to do there depending on your likes/dislikes. Lots of shopping, restaurants, Chankanaab Park has a great beach, snorkeling, scuba diving and sea lions/dolphins. We went scuba diving with the dolphins, our last visit, and it was a once in a lifetime experience!! All of the cruise lines go there, so I've actually been to Cozumel on 2 different cruises and there is so much to see and do.

I would go to the excursions and decide which itinerary has the things you like to do more. I always base my likes for itineraries on ports I have never been to and the excursions I want to see/do.

It's a start. Hope it helps!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Wow, two great upsell offers in the last couple of days. Enjoy your balcony and have the best cruise!! It is certainly starting off great!!

Dear HAL Upsell Fairy, PLEASE CALL SOON and give me an offer I can't refuse (at least reasonable) for a SS or Neptune suite. There are still so many suites available for our cruise and what a perfect Christmas present. Remember, I said r-e-a-s-o-n-a-b-l-e!!! Thank you in advance!!

Think it will work? I have never been offered an upgrade or upsell on any of my past cruises. Hope this is the lucky one!!

TWELVE DAYS!! Including travel time in the mail from the west coast! Printed the form from the travel.state.gov website, picture taken at Walgreens, mailed it at noon on 10/24, received new passport 10AM on 11/4.

Same thing here in September. I went to the post office for the picture and had all of the paperwork signed and ready to go, mailed it that day and voila'....9 days later it arrived in the mail. I was shocked because it was for our cruise in December and I didn't order it as a rush delivery or anything. For once, the USPS impressed me!! I feel sorry for everyone renewing next year. I'm sure it won't even come close to being the same as it was for us!!

Hi all,

 

The consensus is to definitely upgrade to Signature Suite, upsell offer price is good, select Category SS on Deck 6 'Upper Verandah', & accept it now before inventory disappears. So we did!

 

Given availability options of an 'adjoining room' suite (ie. around 6093 grouping) or 'non-adjoining' (ie. near 6056 grouping) which would you recommend? Apparently the 'adjoining' rooms have one less closet so I'm more prone, given that we're 3 adults, to keep my more-forward-than-mid 'non-adjoining' suite selection.

 

Thanks. Dogstar.

I would go with the extra closet space..6056.

Good for you!! I would have grabbed either the SS or Neptune (at those prices) in a heartbeat!! I sail 2 wks after you on the Nieuw Amsterdam Christmas sailing and we are currently booked in a VE on the 8th deck. The minute I read your post, I called my TA to let her know I am VERY interested in an upsell, if offered for similar pricing. It looks like there are still bunches of SSs and Neptunes on our sailing, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Have a GREAT cruise and enjoy that extra space!!

I keep seeing the name Joe mentioned. Which company does he work for or own?

 

We are very interested in a catamaran ride to the Baths but are only in port from 7 to 3pm. The trip that was described going to the Baths first and then another island with lunch sounds good. Which company offers this trip? Website?

 

Just beginning to plan our day in Tortola and this sounds like a good option!

Joe is with Patouche Charters and goes to the Baths and does lunch on Cooper Island. No one does an actual catamaran charter to the Baths with cruise passengers due to the time constraints. It will be the Maverick, which is a power boat and is pictured on his website. We ended up booking this excursion for our December cruise because we wanted to see the baths.

Aristocrat Charter's excursion sounded like so much fun but due to the catamaran, he doesn't go to the Baths and only goes to other islands and does snorkeling.

Just to clarify, all of the charter companies do take catamarans to the Baths, just not cruise passengers. They take people who are vacationing on the island because the tour lasts much longer than the time cruise ships are in port.

Hope this helps.

http://www.patouche.com/

Hello,

 

We recently sailed Celebrity Infinity through the Panama Canal (Oct 7 - Oct 23, 2016).

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam was with us for much of the trip so we thought we'd post a link to some of the photos we took of her during the cruise.

 

Hope you enjoy them. :)

 

Thanks so much for posting!! I'll be crusing her for the first time over Christmas and we are so excited. Love reading reviews and seeing new pictures while we wait!!

what program is that for the desk top?

Wow, I am so sorry. I just went to go get the link for you and it's not on their site anymore. It was called the Travel Yucatan Countdown Clock. If you send me your email, I can send the zip file to you. Otherwise, you can search for Desktop Vacation Countdown Clocks and you might find something else. I like this one because you can post any picture on it and I always post a picture of the ship.

I use a program for my desktop. They also have apps for your phone.

Only 49 days and 18 hrs for me!!

We will be on the Eurodam Transatlantic next week. We are interested in the Luggage Valet service, but I can't seem to get a straight answer from the company that handles it, nor is the website very informative.

 

My understanding is that we can put our luggage outside our cabin the night before we arrive back to the States and HAL will make sure they get to our home airport. Since we are flying First Class, there is no charge for our bags, but understandably HAL charges. Does anybody know how many bags you can send per person (First Class allows us up to 3 complimentary checked bags per person) and what HAL charges? I understand HAL also provides our boarding passes.

 

Any information would be appreciated.

THANK YOU so much for asking about this. I didn't even know this service existed and because of your question, I signed up for our cruise in December. I think it will be worth every penny!!!