sailor05

If a cruise ends on a Sunday, do we have to pay for Sunday in our package? Thanks!

No.

I would say more time spent outside smoking would be less time spent throwing money away at the tables and slots. Plus when they step away they have time to think about how much they're losing. I'd be willing to bet RCCL has researched it and found that this would lose them more money than the handful of people that avoid the casino due to smoke. I think they should just invest serious money into a ventilation system that works. Eventually the number of smokers will be low enough that they will do away with smoking in the casinos, but for now money talks.:rolleyes:

I just changed my wife and I from the Ultimate to the Premium package and will wait to get onboard to see exactly what the RCCl coffee shops versus the onboard Starbucks and will decide then whether to upgrade or not. We really love Starbucks so I figured for the $6 difference we can get at least 1 drink per day from there. However we may find that the RCCL coffee shops are comparable. But if we do upgrade how do they charge the difference? I assume it will be on our seapass account versus the credit card I just paid with.

I stand corrected. It sure does come with the premium package. So then the only real difference is the coffees and juices. I honestly don't even know what sparkling water is [emoji12]

My 7 day Ultimate package I just purchased was $454.20 after gratuities. I went with the Ultimate because of the specialty coffees PLUS the unlimited bottled waters which I plan on stocking up on for port days. I know the water is safe on the ship I just don't care for the taste so I'll have these in the room for taking meds., etc. I believe a bottled water is $2 each so I'll easily make up the $6 per day difference just with those. The fresh squeezed juices may be nice but I'm a coffee drinker with breakfast.

What kind of bottled water is included in the Premium Package? My husband drinks Crystal Lite throughout the day and will be bringing his own little packets with him.

From the website.

Bottled water: Sparkling (375ml) or Still (500ml)

So I do not believe that Evian is included

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_packages.pdf

I definitely think the Sunday departure appeals more to people who are trying to do a cruise while only using 1 week of vacation. For a Saturday departure you would probably have to take Friday off to fly in the night before which would require 6 days of vacation unless you can find a late flight on Friday.

Plus I think the Allure gets more attention because it is the newest and "biggest" ship in the world. Maybe that will all change when Harmony set sail:D

Yayy!! Now let's hope Harmony gives us some new itineraries... or is that not possible because of her size?? Puerto Rico, DR, St. Kitts, Aruba, Tortola.. something different.

I'd say that's what keeps these Oasis class ships out of some of these places. But I would think that these countries have to be noticing that they're missing out on 6,000 passengers coming in 1 or more times a week and that's a lot of $$ to miss out on.:eek:

THank you! Well this morning, another flight opened up for the same price that left West Palm at 1230, so I booked it! I think if we do the early departure of ship and carry off our own luggage we should be good, right?? The fares were SO much cheaper than ft lauderdale. Like by $150 a TICKET! We can probably all fit in a cab...at least I hope so! We should have two large bags, a stroller and a carry on. I have another question about NOT traveling with car seats but I will make a new topic for that one :)

Yes that gives plenty of time. You probably could even rent a car one-way which may save a lot of money. You can search for car rental companies that are real close to the port here on Cruise Critic in the Florida departures thread. Should be able to do it for under $100.

As far a car seats are concerned, that's a hot topic here in the forums, BUT Florida does not require them if in a taxi or car-for hire service. The rental car company can provide one for a fee.

Help! I am so stuck on what to do - we are traveling on the Thanksgiving week Navigator out of FLL and the best flight options (and cheaper by $140/ticket) leave out of west palm beach at 11am. According to the itinerary, the ship docks at 530AM. If we did self assist express departure, do you think we would be able to arrive in time for this flight? (its domestic). I am assuming we would need to be at the airport by 930am. Flying out of PBI is by far the cheapest option for a family of 4 during Thanksgiving, but I just can't decide if it is even a real option. Thanks!

PBI is about an hour from the port. Off the ship at 7:30 through customs by 8:00. I think it's possible but don't know if its worth the stress. There's NO WAY to do it if you're going to try to do a rental car. The taxi or car service would be the only way. So figure in that cost as well. PBI is a small airport and even being there by 10:00 would probably work if you ran a little late. If this is on a weekday these times may be different, but on a weekend I think I'd take the chance if the price was a lot cheaper.

Works great from me on IE. Doesn't load at all using Chrome. I wonder how many potential paying customers are giving up looking because they may not know to try a different browser:confused:

Better get it fixed quick or that could become an expensive website upgrade. What ever happened to Beta testing these types of changes??

Same rooms just on top floor. All rooms come with the breakfast and manger's reception.

Thanks for the information. Based on what you said I booked us 2 rooms and didn't pay the extra for premium suites. More money to contribute to Casino Royale :D

They will more than likely re-price the cabin to the current rate.

I do not believe this is true. Just call RCCL to be sure, but I honestly do not think they do anything but simply change the names. I've done some switching around a couple of times for the cabins I have on the Oasis by adding/removing and it hasn't changed anything in my pricing.

As long as 1 of the original passengers stays in there you are fine. They'll just change the names.

The Keurig is in your room. You will be given a code for the snack machine, which is on one of the top floors. You use the code to get the "free" snacks.

For myself, I will not pay the difference again.

Thanks for the info. So there is no other difference other than the access to the "free" snacks and Keurig in the room? Are the rooms otherwise the same other than being on the top floors? As far as I can tell all the rooms come with a free hot breakfast. Is that true?

Great review for a first timer!;) Better than some veterans imo. Love to read reviews even if not my ship because it gets us excited. I've been on the fence about getting the beverage package but it seems more and more like it makes sense to do it.

See you're from Tipp City. We're just down the road in Beavercreek. Thanks for the review! :D

So I'm looking at the ES as well. There are 2 options that I can choose from. First is a 2 room suite and the other is a 2 room premium suite. Does anyone have any insight on which is the best? It's only a $31 increase to go the premium but is it worth it? It says there is a Keurig but is that in the room or do you have to walk somewhere?

don't get the Stateroom you want keep trying!! :)If you

 

We are one month out on our Allure Cruise and we wanted Connecting Staterooms on the 8th Floor and just now connecting Staterooms became available. :)

 

I've been trying for 8th Floor Connecting Staterooms since November!

I am really hoping for something similar. We are booked in 2 CPB rooms and found out that my son can now go which at the time we booked he could not. Unfortunately they have no more rooms for 3 except one that is double the price we got so it's just not an option:( My TA says that there's a decent chance as we approach final payment that something in our category will open up. So I'm happy to see this happen for someone as it gives us hope!:)

We are thinking about booking a Spa Mini Suite on the Getaway but I can't tell from any of the pics I've seen where our daughter would be sleeping? I see a couch but doesn't look like it holds a hideaway bed that we're used to on RCCL. Are they all the pull down type (Pullman)?

One other question (from my daughter). Do they have self-serve ice cream machines onboard?

Thanks!

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They put Bestie1 in her own cabin (same deck as us!) and it seems to be resolved. Let's hope the staff at the boat get the word.... Thanks to you all for your input!

That's awesome! I was really hoping they would step up and do the right thing. Amazing though how this cabin just appeared when pushed a little harder :rolleyes:

Enjoy!!:D

.

Sounds to me as if someone at RCCL made a mistake and misunderstood what bestie2 was calling to do, at least that would be my argument with RCCL. RCCL will still get ALL of their money because it's too late for a refund and bestie2 will be getting reimbursed from her insurance. So at this point, RCCL is not only out NOTHING, but have sold that cabin again making double the money on it. So I would definitely make the argument that this is THEIR fault and they need to make it right, even it means putting her in a upgraded at no additional cost if it becomes available. Otherwise they may owe her a refund for being a third guest versus guest 1 or 2 which are typically more, or maybe a nice obc. Even if they gave her all of her money in a refund or obc they'd still be ahead on the money because of bestie2.

As far as something else becoming available it's not guaranteed but it does happen that people either don't make it due to personal circumstance (such as bestie2), travel problems, or lack of proper documentation to board the ship. This will not be known until the ship sets sail and she should be at guest relations as soon as it does leave the port.

Funny, I was just looking at it myself:)

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Dining-Guide-10032014.pdf

We are thinking about the Getaway this June and will definitely take advantage of the UBP for ourselves but the other couple that is going with us don't drink much so they will choose the UDP so I'm thinking we will just purchase that as well. But I can't find anywhere what restaurants are included? There are dinner shows that seem to be quite a bit more upcharge so are those included or at least discounted for those with UDP?

Thanks!

Thinking about switching from our Oasis cruise in June to one on the Getaway. My question is which of these would you choose? There are 3 of in the room so I want space to move around but there seems to be a lot off appeal to the AFT balconies. The price difference is negligible so that's s not a consideration but my wife does to suffer a little from motion sickness which hasn't been a problem on these larger ships we've been going on, but some say there is more motion in the Aft rooms.

Is there a noticeable difference between the size of a regular balcony room and a mini-suite?

Thanks!

What is in the Thermal Spa Suites? And if it gets us free access to them, is there anything we wouldn't get access to? I know massages etc. would be additional charge. Also what is the age limit to use these? My DD is 15 and very much likes being pampered ;)