jsg24

We are not going to take our August cruise out of Rome.  We have a non-refundable deposit so I'm assuming we should just take a wait and see approach for the next month until the final payment is due. Has anyone gotten their deposit refunded on cruises after July 31?

I didn't actually try it but from what I could tell it shouldn't be a problem.  You get a $35 credit so I think if you go order at the sushi bar and ask for take out it would be fine.  We saw lots of people getting take out but I don't know if they had UDP.

I recommend going by 11:30 or 12:30 or later on sea days.  At least on our ship the sushi making class was so popular they had a 10:30 and 12:30 class on each sea day and it was crazy busy from 11:45-12:30.

We were just on Grandeur.  They do not have digital photos - only print as you saw.  Have a great cruise!

H20skibum (and others who've been) would you do crystal caves again or focus on the beaches and other scenery?  I'm trying to decide if this is a must do.  If anyone's done both, how does it compare to places like Luray Caverns in VA?  

Thanks for the great photos and periscope!

15 hours ago, h20skibum said:

For those who have asked for copies of the compasses, I may have to wait until I am home to upload.  Uploading photos have been tough with either the web version, or Tapatalk. 

Thanks.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.  Hope the weather gets better!

If you have the time would you mind posting the Teen Compass?  We are headed on board this Summer.  TIA.

We've let our now 13 yo son sign himself out since he was 10.  We get the Vroom package so he can text us.  We have a couple of rules:

1.  No going to anyone else's room ever, for any reason.  

2. No running around the ship.  He has to have an actual activity or destination.

3. He must text us when he arrives and departs any destination.  He has to receive a text in response to know we got his text before he goes.  For example, he wants to leave the teen club and go get pizza, he texts and we say OK you can go, text when you arrive.

He is an only child and has always gone to Ocean Adventure and then the Teen Club.  I feel like when you go every day from the beginning of the cruise it is helpful as well because the staff gets to know the kids.  Even with the Teen Club, I've made it a point to go with him and meet the staff members on the first day.  In our experience the OA and Teen staff have been fantastic.

I had the same issue in Chrome. I tried in Edge/Explorer and you see both.

Agreed and would also suggest adding Cruise Compasses to the sticky.

But if they do enforce the no shorts rule while you are sailing, what will he do if he doesn't have a single pair of long pants with him?

I also have a 12 yo boy and have been on 4 Royal Caribbean cruises in 5 years with him. They do not enforce this rule and certainly will not enforce it for a kid.

To the original poster - certainly don't buy anything he won't wear again just for this cruise. He will be fine in khaki's and a polo.

We did the Radiance which is the next class up from Vision 2 years ago in Alaska. Then 10 year old son still had a blast although he liked the facilities on the larger ships more. If your grandchildren haven't been on a larger ship, they won't know what they are missing! Unless you want to pay a bunch more for the Symphony, the options seem limited to Radiance or Vision class ships for European itineraries. Navigator is in between but you only get 3 ports from Southampton. The facilities will be limited on Vision but they will still have plenty of fun activities. Vision also has ping-pong, a rock wall, an outdoor movie screen and a small water slide.

Thanks for the replies. You all confirmed our concerns about the 13 day. We are going to go with one of the shorter itineraries. Has anyone done the 10 day that's only offered June 14, 2018 next year? We would really like to be able to go to Moscow which is only possible with the 2 night stay in St. Petersburg. The 12 year old is a good traveler so I'm not as worried about him being bored on the tours as being bored only hanging out with his parents on board.

We are strongly considering the July 22, 2018 13 night ultimate Scandinavia-Russia cruise aboard the Serenade but are concerned there won't be a lot of other pre-teens for our 12 year old to hang out with. Any experience with this specific itinerary or 12-14 day cruises in the Summer? TIA

What is the approx cost of just buying a soda on board without the package? Thx