TheDivineMrsM

OMG, LaLCaGal, love that video clip!!! It really is for me!

We are sailing on Royal Caribbean, and thanks for the tip, I will ask on that forum for advice.

Do we bother to take our own shampoo and hair conditioner, or just use what's provided on the ship?

What about a hair dryer? Take one or use the ship one?

Oh wow, 8 hours to reach the Atlantic! How interesting; I would have never known. Now I will have to get a Maryland map and check things out. Thanks for all the info. And I guess the word I was looking for is "Sailaway". That is crazy, one of my most favorite songs ever is "Sail Away" by Enya. Love it!!!!

Do you suggest taking reusable water bottles and just fill them with tap water? We are big water drinkers at home and are not purchasing a drink package.

Okay, so you're saying it would be smarter to purchase water on shore that's cold and reasonably priced.

Also, it sounds like a good idea to pack reusable water bottles rather than 'bottles of water'. We are foregoing a drink package, but we do like our water. How does the tap water on the ship taste?

Yes, I purchased travel insurance when I booked the trip.

daghis, you are welcome to compare what you like. I don't know about the different type connections. I'm looking at what I do know, and am comparing 8 days with 10 months, that's all. To be on a ship, something we've never done before, sailing to places we've never been to have experiences we've never had, I will give up internet and save $200 for that, easy trade-off for me.

Are we allowed to bring anything to float on in the pool? Last year we found fabulous rafts that fold up tiny and would easily be packed.

It hardly seems worth it to me. I don't need to worry about email and not sure why anyone would need or want to spend $200 to find out what others are doing on Facebook, ect. The $200 price tag, approximate cost for unlimited minutes, is what I paid last year for 10 months of internet when at&t was running a special.

Thanks for all the replies and the copies of listed prices. It's appreciated!

Oh, okay, so it's per minute that you're charged. And that would be per person or per room? Would you be able to use internet in the room or just in certain spots on the ship?

Personally, I want to go without internet, I have no problem with that at all. But my adult son is questioning what the cost is. To me, it would be like the fourth person on our trip, me, husband, son and internet. But I still wanted to ask.

As 1st time cruisers, I'm wondering what the cost for internet is on an 8 day cruise. We are heading from Baltimore to the Bahamas next month. I don't see a price on the RCI webiste, it just says to check while onboard. I see something about internet being available at different spots on the ship. I'm sort of confused. Any advice?

We'll be cruising out of Baltimore on a Royal Caribbean ship at 4 pm later this summer to head to the Bahamas. We get a charter bus from where we live to the ship, it's all part of the package plan we purchased for this cruise. When the ship is ready to pull up the anchor, so to speak, and sail off, where should we be to enjoy the start of this cruise? Should we be on the top level? I'm not sure how it works, and I've been reading how people love watching the ship sail out of the harbor. Any tips?

Alcohol gets my vote.

It surprises me that people pay such high prices for photos these days when it seems everyone has a cell phone or digital camera to snap a picture. I've always been a picture-taker. Not purchasing an expensive photo package (or a drink package) is one way I plan to keep costs down. We splurged on a balcony room and plan to do excursions which, for us, were the better choices of where the money goes.

I have seen people take pictures of pictures (in other venues) to get around paying the price of the original snapshot.

We are first time cruisers heading to the Bahamas later this summer, so I find your post interesting to see how a cruise is affected by a hurricane, if it has any effect at all. I guess the cruise lines have learned all the ins and outs of working in, around and through hurricane season.

We are newbies cruising to the Bahamas on RCI this summer. I read the thread regarding whether it's appropriate to wear a dressy polo shirt to the MDR.

What I like to know is whether it is also appropriate for my husband to wear jeans on the less formal nights? Certainly, he'd wear a nice shirt as well; he would never show up in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops.

Yes, we're cruising on Royal Caribbean International to the Bahamas for 8 days. My son and I have more dress clothes than my husband, and I wondered if he might fill out more of the wardrobe requirements by packing a pair of jeans for a couple nights in the MDR.

I think I understand what's considered acceptable in terms of what to wear and what not to wear in the Main Dining Room. Just one more question on that, tho, which is on the nights not considered formal or 'smart casual', are jeans an acceptable option to wear?

Thank you all for the replies. We are cruising on Royal Caribbean International. I think I'm actually starting to understand the ins and outs of how it all works.

Okay, I'm just wanting to understand the dining options.

We'll be taking an 8 day cruise.

1. Are we allowed to eat in the Main Dining Room every night? Or just those two formal dining nights?

2. Are the meals free in the MDR? We aren't buying a drink plan and will have glasses of water, no problem.

3. Do we tip or not tip in the MDR? I know we're being charged about $15 per person each day for gratuity.

4. If we do eat in the MDR each night, is the appropriate attire pants for men? No shorts?

5. Is the MDR for breakfast as well? I thought I read that somewhere.

Thanks!

After booking our 1st cruise almost a year ago, the countdown is on for later this summer. Because it's drawing nearer, I'm thinking things through and making mental notes about the tips I'm reading here. After the 4th of July, I plan to make my lists on paper and start gathering things together.

One of my favorite parts about this vacation is the ease of making travel plans. It's always been up to me to research, plan and organize vacations for hubby, son and I from where to go, what to see, where to stay, how to get there, how long to go, and so on.

What I love about this vacation is so much has already been taken care of without my having to do muc research at all. We will get a charter bus to Baltimore to board a ship. No airline scheduling or hassles. No hotel arrangements required. No having to drive ourselves other than one hour to get the bus. The ship will have all kinds of activities and I've booked excursions for the ports. I am looking forward to one whole week of complete leisure. Maybe I will feel like one of the upperclass people in Downton Abbey!

We are 1st time cruisers going to the Bahamas in August. I know Mother Nature can't be predicted, but what are the chances our plans get canceled do to a hurricane?

We'll be going on a snorkel excursion at one port and a dolphin encounter at another port. What items do we take with us from the ship? I am thinking the minimum of stuff but then what do we carry it in?