hazeleyez3

Thanks for the information, and confirmation announcements will be in English (which was the main concern).  Thanks for the heads up about it being immersive.  Perhaps a bit odd, but I think that sounds like a plus for us.  Sailing around Asia on a cruise geared towards Asians, sounds more appealing than sailing around Asia and then coming back to the ship and it feeling like a Caribbean cruise.  
 

Not thrilled about the smoking aspect, but we are rarely on the pool deck, so hopefully it won’t be that intrusive for us.

i read somewhere that much of the ship at night was quiet, but the casino was busy. If that’s the case, curious if its slots or table games

Thank you both. It’s nice to get a little insight on the areas, and interesting to learn about the shopping aspect. My husband and I will definitely keep it in mind for the future.  We actually saw a different B2B that does Jeju, Nagasaki, overnight in Kobe, and Tokyo.  Although he didn’t voice that he liked it better, and never would never sway us either way, he seemed to perk up a bit more when we showed him that itinerary.  While tomorrow is never promised for anybody, I know what the odds are as to who has less time (especially for that long of a plane flight).

Of course the ideal way would be a land trip, but the cruise will give my dad a chance to see a few different places, and the travel between them  will be easier for him.  Plus, he will have the option of doing things on sea days and at night and not feel obligated to be around my husband and me.  
 

Thanks again.

We typically do private tours, and that was our original plan for the B2B we have planned next September.  Pinpoint sounds like a great option, but I keep reading that it could take 3-4 hours to clear customs before we get off the ship. Was that addressed when you booked the tours?  As much as I do not want to do ship tours, I keep thinking that may be the best option for Japan.

We have 2pm-4am in Kobe and 1:30pm-11pm in Yokohama/Tokyo. 

4 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

Yokohama is at least 40 minutes from downtown Tokyo by even bullet train; so I'd stay in Yokohama. It's an interesting part of Japan.

Would you still suggest just staying in Yokohama if it is possibly your only time to Japan?

We have an overnight in Kobe.  We were thinking about doing a tour during the day, coming back to the ship for a couple hours and then going back out in the evening.  
 

Would we need to go through customs and immigration getting off the ship in the morning and night or just the first time we get off in Kobe? 

I know the schedules won’t be released until around October, but do people think RCCL will go back to British Isles in 2026?  We decided to do a land trip this year, and I don’t see any British Isles next year.  
 

Celebrity isn’t an option.  We will be traveling with my father and the single supplement on that cruise line is ridiculous.  The same cabin for him is almost $4,000 more for him than it would be for us.  A single supplement is one thing, that high of one is another.
 

We are now leaning towards an Asian cruise next year, and putting off British Isles until 2026.  If RCCL doesn’t have itineraries we will switch to Princess.

I know Mandarin will be the primary language, but I was wondering if it will be common for announcements to also be read in English? 

We are treating my father who had many business trips in China and Japan (and always talked about how much he liked it) to a cruise around Asia. We will be joining him.  My dad is just happy to go, and has no preference on where the ship docks. While I know a land trip would be ideal, we think a cruise giving us a little taste of different countries would be easier and a bit more relaxing.  
 
We are strongly leading to a back to back on Spectrum of the Seas or Ovation of the Seas.  We are diamond on RC.
 

They second leg of each option goes to the same ports, but Spectrum is there a bit longer.  We both like the sound of Seoul and Okinawa.  Spectrum we would be able to spend days in Shanghai after the cruise.  Ovation we could still have time in Shanghai but it would be at the start, But we could also have a day in Beijing. 
 

Could someone familiar with Asian cruises please share your thoughts?

My husband and I are going on the Imagination in July.  I just booked FTTF., but it looks like it is only for one person.  Does he need to login separately and buy his own?

It's been quite awhile since I cruised Carnival, but booked a short one on the Imagination next year.  I know that the FTTF feature will not be available this far out, but I was wondering when it will become an option.  90 days before the cruise?

If you are doing Oasis, you have:

Park Cafe: Free. Open for breakfast and lunch. Has sandwiches, made-to-order salads, fruits, cereals, oatmeal (I believe) and sweets

Chops: Surcharge steakhouse open for dinner

Giovannis: An Italian surcharge dinner restaurant

Cafe Promenade: Open 24/7. Free. Small sandwiches, sweets, coffee

Sorrento's: Open until around 3am. Pizzas mostly. I think they also have a couple salads

Izumi: Sushi place. I believe it is extra. Have no ideas about time

150 Central Park: Surcharge tasting menu

Johnny Rockets: Breakfast is free. Lunch and dinner is not

Main Dining Room: Obviously free. You can choose My Time Dining as opposed to Traditional. You choose when you want to go and if you want to sit with others. You can choose to make reservations, but they are not needed.

I don't know anything about the kids club, however, they are associated with Dreamworks. You'll see Puss N Boots, Shrek, penguins from Happy Feet, etc. walking around at times. They post times for photo ops. There may also be a meal you can attend, I am not sure.

Things like the flow rider and rock climbing wall are free, but might be closed when the seas are a bit rough.

There are times where you have a chance to ice skate

All of the different shows are free. You can choose to make reservations or take a chance with the stand by line. I believe you may have to actually get tickets for the ice show. We haven't been to one in such a long time, I am not sure.

If there is still a refundable option (which the pdf indicates) there shouldn't be that much of an issue.

The entire travel industry (airlines, hotels, tours, etc) have non-refundable options. If you think there is a chance you will cancel and you cannot afford to lose the money, don't book that rate. Another option is to get travel insurance that covers cancellations.

If it bothered me as much as it seems to bother the OP, I'd never go anywhere.

HI! I have spent over an hour reading posts about the Harmony of the Seas! Thank you in advance for everything I have learned so far! A tiny bit about me- I am getting married on July 29th. We are cruising on August 12th-Eastern Carb (Yeah, I am going to eat that much!) tour on Harmony. We have an Ocean View Balcony Room 12182 on Deck 12. We also have a registry through RCL which is gets completely fulfilled will give us about $1500 OBC (I think this means On Board Credit???)

I am a super go-with-the-flow 29 year old school counselor. My fiance, bless him, is a picky 36 year old operations manager of a pretty huge company. He is not easily impressed. He likes gambling, bourbon, golf and steak. A cruise honeymoon was my idea and I don't want to disappoint! I asked him what he was the most excited about the other day and he said "the cruise". :oOMG. I am too- but that is a lot of pressure. Please help me answer these questions and I am sorry for the long-winded into.

1- If you had $1500 OBC how would you spend it??

2-Do we both need a premium drink package or can 1 of us be the cocktail server for the day?

3-Are excursions worth it?

4-What advice do you have for first time cruisers?

5-I keep seeing people super concerned about where the bed is (bathroom or balcony) WHY?! What am I missing?

6-Harmony specific advice??? Shows? Food? Casino? ANYTHING!

 

THANK YOU ALL! :cool:

Congrats!! I love the title of the post.

If I had $1,500 OBC I would use it for gratuities and a few specialty restaurants. The rest I'd want to be refunded.

The question with the drink package is, would you get your money out of it? If you aren't ones that would be having a lot of drinks, it may be pointless to get.

For the Caribbean, especially when on your honeymoon, I wouldn't worry about any excursions. Enjoy the sun, beaches, and some downtime with your hubby.

Don't try to do too much.

Relax and have fun.

You can review your bill at anytime on your tv.

The rooms do not have clocks.

Make sure to find out if the ship's time is the actual time on the island

I have never seen a difference to the bed placement,

That method is used everywhere, It isn't limited to Royal Caribbean or even the travel industry. You just have to learn a company's behavior from previous purchases and/or don't question the reason(s) for the terms and conditions of the "sale".

If the price is too much, don't purchase it. If the price is reasonable, buy it. Don't look to see what others paid.

We did Oasis once when it first came out and then Allure a few years ago. Both were nice cruises but I am not saying "we need to go on her again." With that said, we don't have kids and many times a cruise is just a means of transportation between ports. Recently, the ports have been in Europe. Once we get back on the ship we are wanting to just relax, not find things to do or shows to see.

I know I read a lot of people saying they didn't have time to do everything they wanted. We weren't like that. When we sailed on Oasis we did the shows (I wasn't thrilled with the Aqua show and my husband fell asleep when we went to see Hairspray), walked on the boardwalk and rode the carousel. We also walked through Central Park numerous times and visited the area when we were going to Chops or the Cafe. A view of other people's balcony isn't something we were interested in, so there wasn't a desire to just sit in the park. A lot of the other areas are already on the Freedom or Voyager class ships.

I realize it is a ship, so it is interesting to see what they are able to do with them now, but, if I really want to see a broadway play and visit Central Park I'll take the three hour train ride to Manhattan. If I want to go to an amusement area when I am in New York, I'll head over to Coney Island. I could also just drive a few hours from my house to one of the beaches in Maryland or Delaware.

I think that, if you has the money and time to take a cruise,you should try one of the Oasis class ships to see what they are like. You may be pleasantly surprised. If you find it isn't for you, then at least you have had a week away from work.

On my last trip I wish I had brought a pair of garden shears to cut all the selfie sticks.

All those people take photos of themselves constantly is so idiodic ......

I have that same feeling all the time,

I don't know why some people are so bothered by selfie sticks. If you see someone using one.. just look away... I have one that I've used a few times, its the only way DH and I can both be in the picture.

People who use them are intrusive to others, and seem to think they are the only people around. I've lost count as to how many times we have had to:

• Duck because people are swinging it around to get a picture from a different angle
  
• Had a wait line held up because the people in front need to get a picture. We even had one couple in front of us in a line for a tour at the Heiniken Museum who asked a few of us to move so they could get a picture. Not thinking "let's move ahead so that everyone in the tour group can get in". No their thought was, "let's just hold it up and ask people to move so that we can get a picture of us in front of a building that doesn't even say Heinikin on it"
  
• Had it interfere with my view of something
  

I could go on and on...

Since they came out we have traveled to different states, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and France. We have always managed to have pictures of us in each place. We either ask someone to take a picture or we just hit reverse on our camera phone and take it.

We went to Disney last year and were thrilled knowing they aren't allowed.

I agree with others that you should take private tours. That being said, if you are not the organizer, make sure the tour goes to the sites you want to see and doesn't spend a lot of time at a place that does not interest you.

Although it is a bit more expensive because we aren't sharing the cost, we book a tour for just our party.

Rome: We had a tour guide in Rome when we were there on a cruise and the experience was absolutely wonderful. We saw the sites we wanted to see but our guide also took us to places you don't normally see tourists. We skipped the Vatican that time because we knew we wanted to spend those hours elsewhere and we were taking a land vacation to Rome a year later. We are taking another cruise in May and have booked a golf cart tour this time. Rome and Paris are my two favorite European cities, so I cannot wait to get back.

Naples: Pompeii doesn't appeal to me, but we did enjoy our tour down the coast. We stopped in the small towns we wanted. It is also part of our cruise this time. We'll be visiting towns that we missed last time.

Other passengers...

• Do not want to be a part of the roll call
  
• Aside from work, they do not spend a lot of time on the Internet
  
• Do not know about the website.
  

We all have an opportunity to meet the captain,there is a cocktail party for everyone with free drinks,the restaurants put on a special menu and the photographer's are set up around the ship to take lovely keepsake photos.

 

Love RCCL and P&O.

Well explained. To a new cruiser, there are a few things you need to take note of:

• While the cocktail parties are nice, they are also crowded.
  
• Make sure you give yourself enough time to get the pictures taken and not have it interfere with other plans. There will be lines for the photo ops. A short line does not always mean it will be faster. You could get behind a family of 4 who want a full family picture, one of just the kids, one with just the parents, etc.
  
• Pictures can start to add up. Along with formal nights, there are welcome aboard photos, photographers will be on the pier as soon as you get off the ship in port, and I believe there are more casual backdrops on other days (if someone else could confirm that, please do so). You will also find the photographers taking pictures in the dining room. You can have as many pictures taken as you want. It is your decision whether you want to buy any of them.
  

A nice dress or jumpsuit for the ladies. A suit and tie for the men.

When we did go to the MDR for formal nights I would wear one of my nicer dresses with heels, and some nice jewelry, My husband would wear a suit.

The last couple years we have stopped participating. Unless it is for a specific occasion like a wedding, a night in high heels is not appealing to me. I would end up getting all "spiffy", head to the dining room to eat, and returning to the cabin right after dinner to change. So, to me it is pointless to get dressed up for two hours.

Much prefer wearing business casual with my boots or a top with jeans and tennis shoes.

Two main things:

St Petersburg: Hire a private guide. Although it will be more expensive, you'll actually get to enjoy the port. We met a couple on that cruise who had elected one of the ship's tours. We saw them in the Hermitage. The group was huge and everyone needed to wear earphones.

Estonia: No tour. Hopefully if you go to the Northern Europe Ports section, someone will still have the diy tour someone created a few years ago It worked perfectly for us.

I would say depends on if you are dining alone or at a large table. If alone just let your waiter know and they will make sure you get out on time. If, however, you are at a large table and others do not need to get through quick it will be tough. As mentioned if this is an issue you can dine in the Windjammer that evening or somewhere else.

 

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I would have to agree with this. Although many times it will only be 2 hours at most, table mates may take longer eating, We had one time where the waiter did know we were in a hurry but we were seated at a table with three other families. Two were chatting and lingering with each course. When it hit the two hour mark and we hadn't even made it to diessert, we excused ourselves and left.

I think your best bet might be to just do the Windjammer that night. Just remember to tell the waiter and table mates the evening before so they don't wait for you to arrive. :)

Is the walk from the Villefranche tender port to the bus for Nice a strenuous one?

Does anyone have a picture of the stairs to the train station and/or the hill to the bus stop?

Mobility limitations are a major factor at most European ports, if going off on your own. The reality of independent travel (which is our personal mode of travel) is that the norm isI that one can walk several miles a day. If one cannot handle that type of walking, then it does require additional planning. Consider that even if you get to the train or bus, you still must deal with how to get around at the other end. Not knowing the extent of your limitations, it is impossible to offer any constructive advice.

 

Hank

The actual questions (not statements) I asked have no bearing on what my specific limitations are; therefore, I am trying to figure out why you would think I asked for constructive advice.

• Everyone pays attention to whether a lot of exertion was needed for an activity.
  
• Many people take pictures.
  

Both were asked so that I could get a better feel for what is the better of two evils for me.

I have traveled extensively through Europe (cruise and land). I am very aware of what things I need to look out for and things that should be asked (hence the original question).

Thank you. It is because of mobility that I am asking, I have tried searching the net but haven't had much luck...does anyone have a picture of the stairs to the train station and/or the hill to the bus stop?

Is the walk from the Villefranche tender port to the bus for Nice a strenuous one?