jfogle2017

We are not new to cruising but we are going on our first Alaska cruise from May 31 - June 7th! We are excited but we don't know how to dress - we have never been to Alaska and usually do warmer weather spots for vacation! Any tips and suggestions are welcomed! 🙂 So excited! It's getting close! 🙂 

Hi! We are leaving out of Miami in a few weeks on the Celebration but are coming in a few days before - what are some fun and safe places to go in Miami? We aren't familiar with the area other than the cruise port so we want to make sure we stay out of the "not so great" areas. We were thinking of renting a car and doing an everglades tour but not sure we want to do that as it's a little pricey by the time we rent the car, pay for the overnight parking and all of that......not sure how much there is to do around our hotel though- we are staying in the Brickell area. 

Thank you in advance for your suggestions! 

Is Park N' Go monitored by security? What about security at the port? Decent? Non-existent? ETC?

So, they aren't automatically billed to your SeaPass? That's what I would assumed per my TA. I haven't cruised since 2009 and we did the envelope system but my understanding was they automatically did them now. If you prefer to do it yourself with cash, how do you do that so that the SeaPass isn't charged?

Noise is the biggest factor.

Are the boardwalk balconies super noisy? I know there is alot of action going on during the day, which isn't a concern because we stay busy during the day anyway - but, my biggest one would be at night when trying to go to bed..........

Thanks for your review so far! We don't sail until April 2018 so I'm so wanting to see and do everything!!!!!!!!!!!

Are there plenty of taxis leaving from Maho beach? I don't like to go off on our own - witnessed too many getting left due to various reasons and really don't want to deal with that headache. How easy is it to get a taxi back to port from Maho beach?

There is a really nice water obstacle course in Nassau Bahamas at the Blue Lagoon. My kids are excited to try it out!

Is it near the port??? The actual name is Blue Lagoon? I need to do some research on it and see if my kids would like to do that!!!!

For a Boardwalk Balcony I would avoid deck 12. We're also booked on deck #9 last four aft cabins on HOTS in a couple of weeks. The only negative (which you won't have) is the obstruction we're going to have with the Abyss (booked it long before this was an addition). I think the closer to aft you can get the better for these cabins.

Why would you avoid Deck 12 particularly?

We are currently booked on Level 9 on Allure in a Boardwalk Balcony? We prefer Deck 10 or 11 - nothing available as of now........but, they do have some on Deck 12 - is that too close to the sports deck? We don't want to go too high because we know they higher you go, the more you can feel the boat move but we don't want to be right on top of the Boardwalk either - I know it's on Deck 6 and we are on Deck 9 - thoughts?

We just sailed on the allure OTS in boardwalk balcony 14-307 and did not feel any movement nor any noise from outside or above, when out balcony door was closed. For videos of our boardwalk balcony cabin and the rest of our cruise, go to www.youtube.com and enter: cruise addict. I have tons of videos from our cruise showing the boardwalk and so much more, which you might find helpful. The boardwalk balconies also offer perks like the free soda package, lunch at johnny rockets and a free one hour rock climbing lesson. Best regards, Robert

 

 

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Thank you so much! I will check out your videos! We have one booked but it's more at the very start of the boardwalk. Noise was a concern for us but we liked the perks it offers and we wanted to try a different type of balcony - I've watched a view videos that say the farther back you are, the better because you can watch the shows in the aqua theater from your balcony and not worry about making reservations plus being able to see the ocean, etc......just worried about the movement - I know on any given day and if it's windy/whitecapping, the risk of feeling movement is higher but I just wanted to know generally speaking, if movement, even at the end of the ship, was an issue.......

Thank you!

My family ALWAYS takes the insurance because with as much as you spend on a cruise, you never know what can come up - as in your case.

That being said, I have only had to use the insurance once and BOY am I glad I had it - long story short - while at port in Puerto Rico, I got deathly sick - throwing up, couldn't keep anything down (not even water), and to the point I was severly dehydrated. I ended up at the sick bay on the ship for half of the day with IVs, etc. Had I not had the insurance, I would have had major expenses in medical bills. I didn't pay a dime. I filed on our medical insurance as well as with the insurance of RCI and expenses were covered AND RCI covered a portion of it as well.......

I'm sorry you are having a difficult time but they do have a time frame in which they only can give you a percentage of the money back - I'm sure this is partly due to the chances of them being able to fill the room once you have cancelled. File with your medical insurance - they should cover it and reimburse you!

Yes, I prefer using a TA, especially after trying to plan a trip to Disney for the first time last year so I love the concept of them - I guess mine just booked - but didn't offer any extras :( It would be nice though - I've only used it once so maybe I should try another and see what they can offer as far as the extra perks? Any suggestions?

Can travel agents get a better price? I just watched a tour of a ship and he kept saying travel agents in general get better rates, etc. and can get discounted excursions, etc........

I booked with the recent WOW sale through a travel agent but I couldn't have done it without and got the same price -----am I missing something?

Hey everyone! We are currently booked on the Allure in a boardwalk balcony cabin - we usually try to stay mid-ship to keep the motion/movement to a minimum. Since we are in a boardwalk balcony, we are pretty much in the back of the ship - do you feel movement terribly? We don't get seasick or anything like that but just hesitate staying this far back in the ship -

Anyone who has been on the Allure - talk to me about feeling the movement, etc. - any thing is appreciated!

Thank you,

Thank you!

My cruise is more than a year out - do they add excursions closer to time? I can see some now but didn't know if they would actually add more or if what I'm seeing are the only ones that will be available at the time of sailing???????????

There is an aqua park on anguilla with trampolines and an inflatable ostacle course that looks pretty cool and is a ferry ride away.[/quote

 

 

Do you remember the name of this?

Thank you everyone! I knew it was in St. Maarten - I accidentally typed St. Thomas. We just never go off on our own for fear of getting lost/stuck in traffic/missing the boat!

We wouldn't want to stay there all day - we would just like to watch a few plans take off and land! As far as what else to do there, I don't know what else to do after watching the planes? Are there things to do near the port? We aren't going to be in St. Maarten for that long the day we are in port!

I haven't cruised in over 7 years but RCI used to have excursions that went specifically to Maho Beach - do they not have any of these anymore? I see they have the cruise/snorkel one but we actually wanted to be on the beach..........we are not interested in doing independent excursions - for peace of mind, we prefer to stay with RCI for the guarantee............Thank you in advance!

Trying to decide on the dolphin swims and the best place to do them - we are going to both St. Thomas and St. Maarten. I've watched YouTube videos on both - are they in open water? That makes me a little nervous as I'm one to be very cautious swimming in the ocean - Just looking for some feedback from those that have done this.

My husband and I have done the dolphin encounter before in Grand Caymen before but it was in a pool - so, any thoughts on the swims at these places would be highly appreciated!

Thank you!

We currently have 5:30 MTD - so, does this mean we go at 5:30 or we can make reservations for times around 5:30?

Ok - so this will be the first cruise we have been on since the My Time Dining was introduced - we used to always going to the early dining - is that still available? We are sailing on Allure in April 2018 - not sure what the difference is except that you can decide when you want to do to dinner but there is a wait? I'm confused by it all really -

Any help is appreciated!

We may just end up driving to the port ourselves so we may stay a little further out - the hotels seem very pricey in the area - more so than the ones in Port Canaveral!

Hey everyone! I have never left from Ft. Lauderdale - only from Port Canaveral and Miami - what are some good places to stay at the night before? Our cruise leaves on Sunday but we plan on driving in on Friday......when leaving from Port Canaveral, we usually stay at the Radission because they offer a free park/shuttle to and from the port plus it has a fun pool for the kids and free breakfast! Is there anywhere like that in Ft. Lauderdale near the port?