JusGetinStarted

Ok cool thanks. I am still working on her to get it signed. I haven't given up yet but we will see. I did purchase the trip insurance. So if she doesn't come I will wait until we get there to tell them.

Hey Everyone,

I am going on my first cruise ever in 6 days! We will be on the Allure of the Seas for 7 nights. YAY! I'm so excited! However, we were bringing my 11 year old niece on the cruise with us. Long story short her mom all of a sudden is being a butt hole and has been avoiding signing the travel letter for her to go. So if I can't get it signed obviously she will not be going with us so should I call Royal Caribbean and let them know she will not be coming or should I just show up and tell them when we check in? I know i won't have money coming back obviously, but I'm not going to let anything ruin my trip I am still going to have a blast!! I just don't know which way to go about doing it. :D

In my recent excursion to Dunn's River Falls, we had about 3 members of our group on the excursion who did not participate in the climb and they either sat on the benches outside of the falls, or they let one man access a part of the waterfall like a pool and hang out in the water while we climbed.

Awww cool he would loved that if he could do that. If not as long as he can sit and enjoy the falls while we are climbing will be fine too.

Thanks

We are on Allure July 10th and ours opened up yesterday for entertainment.

You're not the least bit confused......you nailed the issue! Welcome to the exciting and addicting world of cruising. Don't let this minor issue ruin what otherwise would be an awesome experience. Happy Sails to you and yours.

LOL thank you! I was just making sure because I was starting to believe I was just a plain ole mean person. Nothing like that will ruin it for me though i'm too excited for it to ruin my time and I don't feel that I have to tip every single person I mean I did pay for my cruise.

While we had a great cruise on Allure in Feb, a huge negative for us was the timing of the muster drill. The ship got underway at 4:30 at the very end of the Muster Drill. We were already moving and a good way away from the dock by the time we got to the top deck. [emoji35]

Oh Wow Really? I wonder if the muster drill is scheduled at the same time every cruise because how do they expect people to be able to get from one place to another in a timely fashion. Or is it done on purpose to cut down on the crowd? hmmmm

Hello,

I am hearing about a sail away party that happens on day 1. Around what time does that happen and when should I sign up for My time dining that day so that we don't miss the party? Should we eat before or after the sail away party?

Thanks

(so excited)

I have a question. This is my first cruise, so don't beat me up too bad, but I have been reading up on the tipping to get a feel on what is expected. However, I was just wondering when did we get to the point to where we have to tip everyone. I mean don't the workers (porters, greeters, etc.) all earn paychecks? Are the paychecks they receive only for them showing up then we have to tip them to actually do their jobs now? I am just confused on why I would tip a guy or gal for taking my bag from me and wheeling it to a rack or a big pile of other bags for someone else who is not getting tipped to take and place on another rack. I see people fear their bags not making it or being messed up if they don't tip. So you are tipping out of fear not because you want to tip. I thought tips were a bonus not their salary. I can understand tipping the cabin steward and waiter because they are dealing with you all week and you may need extra service from them. But making sure that your room is clean and kept neat is part of their daily jobs. I feel I am no longer tipping because I want to tip because you gave me great service. I am now tipping to make sure you do "your job and don't get mad". That goes for everywhere now not just on a cruise. I pull up to the starbucks and they have a tipping cup there. Why am I tipping you extra for you to make me a coffee? You are getting paid by the hour to make a coffee or latte. I can see if I went to the same Starbucks everyday and I knew the workers and they gave me a Venti cup instead of a grande cup for the same price. Then yes a tip is how I would compensate.

To me the porters at the cruise dock are the same as the ramp people at the airport and when I get my ticket and they take my bag and place it on the conveyor beltI don't tip them either. The bag is going on the conveyor belt to someone else how do they know I tipped the first guy?

I guess I'm just confused.

Yikes. It makes things so difficult when kids have different last names from their parents, especially in this case since she gave the daughter the Dad's last name even though she didn't put the dad on the birth certificate ��

 

I think you'll be ok though, as long as the mom writes a letter giving you permission, and makes sure it is notarized. Then, be sure that the current last name she uses has a trail to the name on the birth certificate, which you will need to bring with you if the daughter doesn't get a passport (if she does, bring the passport). I think you said Mom still has the same last name, but you said some stuff about new marriage etc so I'm not sure I followed or if there was a reason for mentioning that other than to complicate the story, (does the new marriage mean her name has changed or that the paper trail to the birth certificate changed? Did new husband adopt daughter?) I hope I followed the story properly so im not giving you wrong info.

 

Edit: in hindsight I don't think it matters if the new husband adopted or if mom changed her name etc. As long as one parent gives permission you're fine, just make sure there's a paper trail to show mom, who signs the notarized letter, is the same person on the birth certificate (or passport). Dad and new husband don't matter, so it doesn't matter that dad isn't on the bit th certificate. That will actually make it easier for mom to get her a passport.

Thank You! Yes I'm sorry I just added it to complicate the story further. New marriage doesn't matter Mom's name never changed. Mom's name is the same as it is on the child's birth Certificate. Why she gave her the father's last name and then did not put him on the birth certificate I do not know. It's weird but I want her to get a passport but her mom travels a lot and catching up with her is hard so as we get closer to the travel date I was getting worried because I knew I could always use her birth certificate since she was still a minor until I read something about mom and child having different last names needing a passport. But I think that is pertaining to parents who are now married with a different last name that is not reflected on the birth certificate.

Hello,

I have a question hopefully someone will be able to answer. Sorry if this is lengthy. This is my first cruise and I taking my 11 year old niece with me. I have read a few things on the Know before you cruise section on RCCL's website that have caused me to panic a little. So just for knowledge purposes, I have her birth certificate and I am getting her mother to sign a notarized travel letter for her, however, her mother and her have different last names. Her mother still has the same last name as it is on the birth certificate (she married but is divorced and she never changed her name), but she gave her daughter the last name of her father who is not in her life. There is no father on the BC. If I am unable to get a passport in time for her can she board the ship and even fly with just her BC and travel letter? I know they recommend a passport at all times and I am working on that but just for piece of mind if I don't get it can I just use the BC even though her and her mother have different last names?

Hopefully I explained it right!

Thank You,

Elaine

I cannot comment on the caves because I have not been.

 

However, I can tell you there is a spectator path at Dunn River Falls with several platforms for watching the people climbing the falls.

Ok Great Thanks. He should be able to enjoy the falls without doing the climb.

Hi everyone,

This will be my family and I's first cruise. I am the planner and everything was going smooth until I got to the excursion planning. It will be 4 of us. My Mom, Dad, Me and my lil 11 year old Niece. My mom and I love history and sightseeing. My dad likes those things but he sometimes has trouble getting around. he has had 2 knee replacements. From the video I have watched it looks like he will be able to navigate through the caves, but I doubt if he will want to do the falls. Has anyone had a group where someone wanted to go see the falls, but not participate in the climb? Is there somewhere he can sit and enjoy the falls as our group climbs and then meet up with us once we are finished? Am I wrong about the caves will he struggle with the caves as well?

Thanks.

So I am totally confused about the dining. This will be my family's first cruise... so I have been trying to research about the dining. When we booked, MTD was the only one available. Does that mean when it is dinner time we can show up at any time just like we are going to a restaurant at home? Do they give us a time limit to eat? Also,, from what I gathered from my research the buffet is open for every meal correct? Is the buffet limited during dinner time since most people eat at specialty restaurants and/or the main dining room at that time?

Also, a question about snacks... I am travelling with my mom, dad, and 11 year old niece all of whom are huge snack eaters. While on vacation my mom wakes up in the middle of the night to watch tv and eat chips and cookies. Are we allowed to bring these snacks on board? If so we can stop at the store the day before to buy some before boarding. I can do without the snacks but my parents have always loved to stock our hotel rooms with all types of snacks while on vacay.

Thank you for all of the responses so far. I am definitely trying not to Overpack because I always do. But as I research more and more I am learning of extras to bring. I am sure I will have many more questions to come.

Hey Guys,

So I am getting prepared for my family's first cruise in July and I just want to know a few things. What are some additional items I should be buying from Amazon or the local store (i.e. Target or kmart) that I will need. I have saved on my amazon account a few things already such as luggage tags, chair/towel clips, the Belkin utility plug everyone talks about, a waterproof phone case and water proof holder for money and cards. Is there anything else I should get? Also, when you get off of the ship at one of the islands what do you take with you? Do you fix up a bag with things in it or do you only take your money and wallet?

Thank You!

Hello Everyone,

My family and I are brand new to cruising. We have booked our first cruise on the Allure of the Seas sailing July 10, 2016 for 7 nights to the western caribbean. It is 4 of us My mom, dad, me, and my 10 year old (she will be 11 year at cruise time) niece. We are very excited. My question is I received an email recently from RCCL saying to plan your cruise and it had the links for the excursions, dining, entertainment, etc. The shore excursions came up with no problem. However, I went on to view the entertainment to check out the shows and the times and it gave me a message saying none were found and to book on the ship. Does this mean that it is too far out that the shows have not been added yet or does it mean that since we did book late that we are too late to book our show times early? The same came up for the dining as well.

Thank You

Thanks So much guys!

So far I've found 2 balcony rooms which costs a lot. So I have also looked for a balcony room and an inside stateroom. I've found these on both Oasis and Allure on the same deck. I know that I need to book fast so that I can get these. Thank you so much for the pictures. I always do so much research before I make a decision and I need to move fast on these I know. Can you guys tell me what is the difference of a large interior stateroom and just a interior stateroom? On Oasis, the large interior costs more than the regular interior but on Allure the large interior came up for a higher cost than the interior. I doubt it is much difference and probably doesn't matter to me but I was just wondering.

As for my niece, thank you very much for that info as well. I am definitely going to have her mother sign a notarized letter for travel and medical. I have guardianship of her for purposes of school and she lives with me, but not for vacation/traveling so I always have her sign a letter and notarize it. Her father has recently come around in the last couple of months but he is not on the birth certificate so I don't believe that I need him to sign. If I am wrong please let me know. I have never taken her out of the country before.

Hello Everyone,

This may be a silly question and hopefully it is not redundant. This will be my family's first cruise ever. So Excited!! I am doing all of the planning. I am looking at 7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL Oasis of the Seas in June or July 2016. However, I know that staterooms are much smaller than hotel rooms. It will be my mom, dad, me, and my 11 y.o. niece . I would like a balcony room. My question is Are we allowed to put 4 people in a balcony room? If so, should we? Or should we get two rooms together? The details of the rooms only talk about twin beds or push them together for a royal King. Is there a sofa couch or should we automatically book 2 rooms?

Thanks in Advance!

Hi everyone,

I am SLOWLY counting down to my very first cruise. Boyfriend and I will be on the Oasis. I have a question about alcohol on the ship. I know they have lots of bars on board the ship however can you buy a bottle of anything (i.e. Grey Goose) from one of the bars (on the ship) to take back to your room to enjoy too or can you only buy individual drinks from the bar and room service?