Square

Nope, RIU Palaces, Princess Resorts, and Real Resorts. $3,000.00 per couple including airfare and transfers. Have been doing approx 2 a year. I was sure to compare apples to apples. My mention of Radiance is due to size. I simply do not like the bigger ships.

That's interesting. Any particular places you've been to? I've sailed a decent amount of times and every time I looked at AI it's been much higher when said and done. Just glancing at the RIU website (never heard of them but it looks cool) it shows some locations as twice as much as others (Jamaica vs Aruba). I just want to run some numbers for an upcoming trip we're planning in the spring to see what it would look like for our group. Any best "bang for your buck" suggestions would be appreciated.

Our grandchildren ages 3 thru 10 all have passports.

A children's passport (under 16) is only good for 5 years. Children under 16 do not need a photo ID, just a birth certificate.

Ah, the 5 year length makes more sense. I'll look into the cost. If a passport for a child is the same cost as an adult, I'll probably just skip them at this point.

I was looking at a cruise next year with my young children. What do you guys do if you are traveling with a 5 and 8 year old? Obviously they are too young for a drivers license. I doubt a passport would give kids the 10 year window of use (just a hunch but the picture wouldn't stay the same for a 8 year old and an 18 year old). Sorry if this is a stupid question but haven't done a cruise with the kids before and this thread just made me wonder what most people do.

We are long time Princess cruisers and we are going on RCI for the first time in December. We chose Royal because we wanted to try something different, not because of any dissatisfaction with Princess. Why is Royal a step down from Princess?

 

Paul

I'm in the same situation. Debating between a 5 day on Emerald Princess or Independence of the Seas in Feb. Any others willing to chime in on differences would be appreciated.

On Princess, they tried to charge me for sea sickness pills, but on Royal Caribbean you can get them for free at Guest Relations.

 

Both times I came down w/ norovirus on Royal Caribbean, infirmary services were free. I hear they charge you on Princess.

 

We just did a Celebrity/Princess B2B, and here are some differences.

 

Princess

1. More flexibility while ordering with the MDR. For example, I ordered an appetizer sized entree and asked for it to be delivered w/ the appetizers. Also, will honor half orders.

2. Coffee Card and International Cafe.

3. Poorer Maintenance. Both washers across the hall were broken the entire cruise. But at least Princess HAS laundremats!

4. Elevator(s) broken for 1/2 the cruise.

5. Fewer toiletries at the Mini-suite level. Just a bottle of lotion, one bar of soap, and the dispensers of mystery body wash & shampoo in the shower.

6. Better photography seminars.

7. Love the daily knitter's group.

6. Suite gratuity rates in Mini-Suite, but no double loyalty points in that category.

 

 

 

Royal Caribbean

1. Better maintenance. They usually have their stuff out of order for hours, not days.

2. Royal King Beds.

3. Less flexibility in MDR. Don't even try to the 1/2 order.

4. More toiletries in Junior suite (JS). Coffee pot and tea kettle in JS. Non-suite gratuity rates, but double loyalty points for JS.

5. Much more organized with the Meet and Greet.

I really do appreciate your taking the time to answer this. I have never experienced lack of maintenance on a Princess cruise (but sometimes things break and you're in the middle of the ocean). The points you bring up may make a difference for some, but they don't matter much for me personally. Thanks again.

So are there any RCI redemptions that are worth it? The terms I read on the mobile app were short on all the details but said they were only good on "new" bookings. I looked into this a long time ago and thought it was pretty much bait and switch. You use your MyVegas LPs to redeem a discount or onboard credit, only to have to pay extra on your cruise. Anybody use them and have the full story?

So it appears that there are no more Royal Caribbean rewards through myVegas? Was this announced somewhere and I just missed it???

Hmm, I didn't notice. I thought that nobody used them since you had to book at the higher rate just to use them. They seemed like a rip off when I looked into them.

I've never sailed on RC but we've been on a reasonable amount of Princess ships. Do you guys mostly book direct with RC? Or are you using TAs as a go between? There are 3 or 4 couples that are looking to cruise with us next year and I'm trying to figure out the optimal strategy while trying out RC for the first time. Any advice or tips is appreciated.

Exactly how many posts must one have before they can ask a question about tipping?

For $5, I'll tell you. :D

I'd like to see it back. These ships are gigantic and sometimes I find a place I like and just wonder back since I know what to expect. It'd be nice to have a little more motivation to actually try all the little spots.

I guess I've found that we save money with a balcony. Princess lets us bring on several bottles of wine and it helps offset some of the cost of the balcony because we actually do spend time in our room and drink wine on our balcony (usually pre-dinner or late night). We're relatively young and still enjoy hitting the bar so the tab can add up by the end of 7 nights. We live several states away from any beach so having that ocean front property is pretty awesome. It's a splurge but we may have spoiled ourselves to the point where we don't go back to an inside.

I guess I will follow suit and put a request in for a model I would like. We sailed on the Carnival Paradise a year and a half ago. If anybody has or is going to cruise on that ship, please send me an email at Squ4r3_D@hotmail.com. The only cruise I have coming up is in Jan. and that is on the Carnival Valor. It hasn't been around that long, but let me know if anybody wants me to pick them up a model when I am on board.

Thanks.