sha259

I literally was having this discussion with myself because I had originally planned to do a 4 night Disney cruise and the. Do 7 nights at Disney next spring. After how much fun my son had on our Adventure of the Seas cruise to Bermuda and how we have done Disney previously, I’ve decided to do the 4 night cruise on Royal, end our vacation at WDW. And then take my son on a European cruise that July. From what I’ve heard, Disney cruises are so much better than other cruises that it makes it worth the crazy cost considering what I can do with that money for our family international travel.

This is so good to hear! I’m booked on Adventure for end of May and had no intention of canceling, but it’s nice to know I could do it within a week of sailing and still get my money in a FCC! For the time being though, I’ll just try getting a cabin upgrade as people begin to cancel. 
 

I feel this might be the best time to cruise with practically empty ships!!!

I'd say your best bet would be to arrange shuttle transport between the airport and the hotel, and the hotel and port. 

All of this travel is within the US, so all carseat laws still apply. You would not be able to travel with your 3 yr olds in a booster, as boosters are not legal until they are 5 I think? or at least they outgrow forward facing carseats for height or weight.

Personally, I have only one toddler, but I do travel with his carseat, because, as you said, I am more worried about his safety than I am the bulk of carrying his carseat. I make the choice to travel with him, so I plan accordingly. My recommendation would be to get a Cosco Scenera Next or Evenflo Tribute for a cheap, light, but safe and easy travel seat. 

On 1/15/2020 at 10:46 AM, princeton123211 said:

That would be incredible-- would save you a ton of $$ on taxis and a whole bunch of time vs using the bus (although the ferries will still be a bit faster than a free van going from one side to the other). 

I agree. Even if she has the van, I'd be meeting her and getting dropped off from the ferry for both our convenience. Thanks, I think I have my plan now!

On 1/13/2020 at 3:14 PM, princeton123211 said:

Does your friend have a car on the island? If so, if they could pick up or drop off a few times in day 1 you would save a bunch of time vs the bus. 

 

If you took the ferry over to Hamilton, then a taxi from Hamilton to Horseshoe Bay is only about $25 and then there are minibuses that will take you back to Dockyard. This will save time-- the extra expense for a taxi might be worth it to save a bunch of time. 

 

If you have already been to the caves then I would just go tour St Georges. Plus with the caves there are a bunch of steps in and out that could be challenging with a 3 year old. 

 

It's clear across the island. The best use of public transport to get back to Dockyard would be taking the last ferry from St Georges if you are at St Davids. 

Thanks for your feedback! For Day 1 I’m  maybe thinking we can tour St George’s, spend some time at her place, then have her take us back to St George’s in time for the last ferry. She does have a car, but like most Bermudians, it’s a compact. She has 2 kids so could not shuttle all 5 of us in her car. Plus I would need to have a car seat for my toddler, which I was not planning to bring. I might just rely on a taxi back to the ferry then.

For Day 2 I’m thinking to get the first ferry to Hamilton so getting there at 8 am should leave plenty of time for browsing and bus travel. I’ll be with a 3 year old so won’t likely be in any one location too long.

Our first choice will be if she can borrow her church van while we are there so then she would just be taking us everywhere. But I’m planning for the event that that doesn’t work out, as that happened last time we were there.

Can someone fact check my thinking that this will be a good plan and not too much for just me and a 3 year old? My BFF lives in Bermuda so we will be doing a combo of touristy things and hanging with her family. We will be docked in BDA from 9 am Monday June 1st, to 5 pm Tuesday June 2nd.

BDA Day #1

·         Buy 2 Day Ferry/Bus Pass ($31.50)Take Orange ferry to St Georges (9:30 am - 60 min ride to meet friend and family)

·         Historic St. Georges and Beach

·         Bus or taxi to Crystal Caves ( bus or taxi better? which bus best from St Georges?)

·         Snack/Lunch (Swizzle in or Grotto Bay Beach)

·         Bus back to friend’s place to relax and have dinner (she lives in St. Davids)

·         Bus/Ferry back to Dock Yard

·         Back to the ship Ferry Leaves Hamilton at 6:30 or 7:30 pm

BDA Day #2 

·         Take Blue ferry to Hamilton (7:30 or 9:30 am 30 min ride to meet friend and family 

·         Breakfast with friend in Hamilton (recommendations?)

·         Sight see in Hamilton

·         Bus to Horseshoe Bay Beach

·         Bus or shuttle back to Dock Yard

I will have a stroller and a toddler carrier on Day 1. Day 2 I might leave the stroller and just use the carrier because it's more of a beach day. (I have carried him all around Quebec so am not worried carrying him when he gets tired)

Day 1 sounds really packed to me, and I don't know, with the timing for travel, if all that will work. If I cut something out, should it be St. Georges or the caves? I have been to the caves, but not St Georges, and I think my 3 yr old would really like the caves. My main focus is to spend the quality time with my friend, so want to maximize the things we can experience together.

Also, the transport back from St Davids to the ship at night might be too much and too long. If so, I might be changing that bus to my friends house to a bus to her parents house, which is in Southampton right by Horseshoe bay. and much closer to the ship for a later bus ride.

So, any and all feedback on this is greatly appreciated!!!

Glad someone posted about this but I’m actually excited to be able to cruise a line that will feel geared to those with disposable income who have yet to hit retirement age. No offense because I am no spring chicken myself, I’m 37. But I feel the on board activities, gym, and focus on wellness will be right up my alley for a quick all Girls getaway cruise! We just did Las Vegas, so this will be a nice change.

I’m cruising on Adventure May 2020 with just me and my 3 year old and never thought about this. If I got the deluxe dining would I only have to pay for myself?? That might be an option!

I just came off the Meraviglia In a Bella balcony. Knowing what I know now I would do YC upgrade Interior in a heartbeat. The level of service is just THAT different, which I find a bit disturbing. But you will probably have no issues enjoying your cruise in YC.

Agree they are talking about the ferry that is run by Bermuda Public transit and is not affiliated with the cruise line. Everyone who takes that pays. Are they sure they didn't go into Johnny Rockets instead of the windjammer? If so, Johnny Rockets is a fee based restaurant on ship so yes, they would need to pay to eat there. There is a pool food service area on the right as you leave the pool, but JR is literally right outside the pool area on the left, so if they went to eat there and never asked a server if it was included I could see this mistake happening. 

It seems like unfortunately your parents may not have been aware of the specific amenities of the ship and their ports of call. When in doubt it never hurts to ask around if you don't know, either of a crew member or helpful fellow cruiser. It can greatly help to keep things straight! I hope they have better luck on the remainder of their cruise!

I have the same issue with my son, who has a different last name than me. I plan to bring his passport, a copy of his birth certificate showing me as mother, and a notarized letter from his dad stating that I can take him out of the country for the trip. This way, all bases are covered and no room for problems.

These are really nice resources about the ship in general, but I guess MSC is not as popular so does not have as much specific cabin info as say Royal Caribbean. On my last cruise I was able to find great info on my actual cabin via the cruise deck plan website and YouTube. But searching the web for my specific cabin on the Meraviglia turns up absolutely nothing. No pics, no room tours, no mention at all. I’m specifically looking for info on the size of the cabin and balcony, so standard balcony cabin pics aren’t very useful. I guess I will have to take a video and pics and post so that others will have more info than I did!

Actual pictures of staterooms and balconies on the Meraviglia seem really hard to come by. My husband has booked cabin 8087 for our cruise next year and it looks like both inside and the balcony are bigger than the standard balcony cabin. But pictures to confirm balcony size and bed placement would be great as we are cruising with a toddler and really want the couch by the balcony. Anyone know a great place for Meraviglia pictures?

I wasn't planning to spa at all but ended up doing the daily special on day 9 of a 9 day cruise (our 4th of 4 sea days). It was a pretty good deal getting 75 mins of service (4 mini services) for $119 plus gratuity. They also threw in the hot stone end to my massage for free! It was great.

I’m on the Anthem now with my 19 month old and there are plenty of places to be in order to keep your little one out of peoples way most of the time. However,as I’m also not sure what your definition of out of control is and what age range of child you are worried about, I’ll just say if you stay in the Solarium and go onshore every port and you should be fine.

My husband and I cruised HAL to NE/Canada when we were 33 and 34 respectively (and I was 14 weeks pregnant!), we are still very much alive! We choose cruises for itinerary first, ship second. But now with kids, ship can make or break a vacation i think. I would choose the RC ship as long as it is stopping at PEI, Quebec, and Montreal.

I’m really not sure why anyone is offended by these e mails or calls or thinks that Royal is trying to gouge them regardless of the price that they are offering.

 

Royal’s in the business to make money and not offer everyone the deal of a lifetime that they just can’t refuse.

 

You have a cabin, the next category up is listed at XXX, they offer it to you for at a rate a bit lower than XXX. Just because it is a lot more than what you paid for it does not make it a bad deal. What you may be willing to pay for a cabin and what others may be willing to pay are completely different.

 

It’s an offer...nothing more, nothing less. If you don’t like it don’t respond or just decline.

I get that they are running a business, so a cabin filled is more money earned for them. But it was interesting to me to see the various "offers" being made, some for the same cabin category upgrade but for drastically different prices. That's like offering all the various prices for the same category of stateroom that you might see over a normal 2 year booking period, all in one day. Hard to feel ripped off when someone paid less than you a year or 6 months ago, but on the same day? That's just my opinion though.

Interesting. I'm booked in an obstructed view balcony, on what is likely the same cruise as OP (5/31/18 Anthem), and I didn't get that email. I'm Diamond so I wonder if that makes a difference? Or is it completely random who gets the upsell emails? Btw I'm with OP, I would never spend an extra $1300 for the upgrade, not worth it IMO.

Hey there fellow cruiser! We are indeed on the same sailing. From what I gather from discussion here on the boards, RC may be feeling out a new model for upgrades, may do away with free auto upgrades. So there may be a reason for their season or they may be picking people completely at random. For what it’s worth I’m not a first time cruiser, but I am sailing RCCL for the first time.

Wondering what is the current price difference between what you paid and the current sale for a junior suite?

Price difference is about $2900. Between what I paid for the Obstructed Balcony and the lowest price for the JS on my sailing.

It would be more helpful if they would say we have a JS available and how much would you be willing to pay for the upgrade if they actually wanted a successful pilot program. So now I'm asking myself how much I'm willing to pay for upgrades. Otherwise I could fall prey to the auction attitude they are currently using and making regretful decisions.

 

How about actually learning what the clients want instead of trying to twist our arms with marketing ploys that leave us feeling used.

I agree with this. I think that if they were operating in a vacuum and there was no way for anyone else to learn the offers being offered to different cruisers, their tactics may be successful. But we have the internet, and message boards, and we google EVERYTHING. I found out that others were getting the same offer to upgrade as me minutes after I received the email. And also discovered the discrepancy of the upgrade charge. It's true that maybe the same upgrade will be worth it for the price I was offered, just as the same cruise was bought by others for different prices. But I think the same offers would be much less off putting if they asked what we thought was a value and then just accepted or rejected our idea of value. They would get a good bit of market research in the process.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more this whole thing seems a bit insulting to my math skills and like a major money grab on RCCLs part. I get it, they have High level cabins on my cruise that are not sold out and we are now 54 days out, as I checked. But the offer amount seems like the highest suggested out of all those posting on the other thread. $144/day.

But $1300 is already half what we paid for the cruise, that I would remind them, I have already paid for and am already going on. That $1300 does not get me extra services on ship, nor does it get me more ports or port time.

I guess they feel it can't hurt to ask, but in the end, yes, it can hurt to ask. Cause now that money I was thinking of spending for drinks or a day or 2 in the specialty restaurants, and maybe a spa treatment will not happen. But I'll make sure to spend my money on shore for sure. Since they are recording for training purposes, I will for sure make sure they understand that if this is how they are training their sales force to make more money, it is a major fail.

Balcony to a JS = $1000.00 for a 12 night cruise. I don't need the extra room, love my location, have an HC balcony, need extra wide doorway for scooter, and a shower that is not the size of a test tube. JS would work also, with a bathtub and it still has extra wide doors but for a $1000.00 there is no benefit to changing. That's a lot of drinks I can buy for $1000.00 and fun times in the ports. I could make much better use of that $1000.00

I made the mistake of posting a new thread as I didn't see this one pop up when I searched when mobile.

I also got the upsell email suggesting upgrade from obstructed balcony to JS on our 9 night Anthem cruise for a whopping $1300!! Thats like half again the cost we paid for the cruise!:eek: :eek: I know my husband and I could put that money to better use planning another vacation or using it for food and excursions OFF SHIP. I almost feel a bit like they are insulting my intelligence. Or maybe they put a MUCH higher value on their sgftage than I do. Either way, they have succeeded in putting me off giving them any more of my money.

A JS is bigger and has a tub, but I'm on a huge ship and don't plan to spend much time in my cabin anyway.

Thanks! I will for sure report back regardless of outcome, but I really can’t imagine anyone thinking that a $1300 upsell on a cruise that cost me only twice that is any sort of deal. I’ll for sure ask if it is negotiable, and if not, I’m declining. Sad because I do like the idea of suite perks!

So I got an email from RCCL stating that I could be put on a wait list for an upgrade to a Junior Suite from an Obstructed Balcony for a 9 night on the Anthem at end of May (me my husband, and my 1 yr old son). They want to charge $1300 which to me is the cost of another cruise so is not appealing to me. However, I joined the wait list as I felt it couldn’t hurt and I could just say no if they called.

But it made me question, is the upgrade a take it or leave it thing? Or can I get them to negotiate a price? What would be a good price for that level of upgrade? Was joining the list a bad idea and will it possibly take me out of the running for a free upgrade? I have never cruised RCCL so do not know their tactics!

So glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you so much for coming back to tell us what you thought! My husband and I are taking our first RCCL cruise on the Anthem in May and have become a bit concerned about the Anthem in particular and Royal as a line by some of the comments I've found on CC. But it's nice to read that someone actually enjoyed their cruise!