Roybthered

We sailed on Oasis 2 years ago out of NJ and did not try Portside BBQ so are looking forward to trying it out. We have the UDP so will be indulging as much as we can! We sail on Sunday (5th May) and are looking forward to a nice 7 nights away.  

On 1/27/2024 at 6:22 PM, lovetocruise12 said:

Thanks! 

That's a nice perk indeed!

And you can use your spouses to get a drink so 5-3 etc.  

Last say 3-4 cruises we have had the UDP and enjoy it. We are Prime and Diamond so have the lucky charm of a comp'd cruise to use, so getting the UDP is a worth while expense due the free cruise. Also to be honest I think we would get it anyway as we like the more intimate dining rather than the MDR. however it should be each to their own.

Have just gotten off Symphony on Thursday 7th Sept and we had transfers from FCO upon arrival and upon the completion of the cruise back to FCO with RCCL. It was so better knowing that they would get us from the airport and back upon the end of the cruise. The trips both ways was easy and to be honest set our minds at rest knowing it was sorted. We did look at transfers privately before we booked it with RCCL however I was not confident with them and the prices were not too different.   

On 9/10/2023 at 12:50 AM, boltnut55 said:

I'm in San Francisco, and the minimum wage is $18.07/hour.  I'm guessing a porter who belongs to a union would make several times that.  On one trip, I gave our luggage to the porter and tipped for our bags, and our friends (and other random people) piled on, and he was like, "this is all the tips?"  I'm like... he knows which bags are mine!  I'm a reluctant tipper but will make sure I tip to ensure my bags make it too😂

So the Norm is that he is getting a decent wage to do a job but still expects tips (of whatever size) to do that said job? Or he might not provide the service that he is paid well to do?

You keep hearing (typed) people on here going on about tips making up a crap or non existent wage so tips should be forthcoming no matter what but the above blows that concept out the water (so to speak).

Tipping is a personal thing and in many cultures it is not the norm but some on here seem to think everyone should do as they do! People should do as they want (its their money) and should not feel pressured into giving or not giving tips either auto or extra.  Its a very emotive subject and there will never be a right answer.

You will just have to keep checking the site and if it goes down cancel and rebook the package. You will find that it goes down and up a certain times and there is no logic to it at all, you just have to keep an eye out and act when your at a level you want to pay and if it goes cheaper then all is good.

On 8/4/2023 at 4:26 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

This ought to be good...

 

We're going on a cruise next year and taking DS(will be 20yo, 9 months) and his GF (will be 21).  We will be providing a refreshment package for each of them.  

 

HOWEVER, it won't surprise me if GF buys an alcoholic drink and shares it with DS.  I am going to discourage it.  If they do so, I doubt they'll get caught.  However, if they do get caught, what's a realistic punishment?  Slap on the wrist, "don't do that again"?  Kicked off at next port?

I am assuming that you will be travelling from a US port then? As sailing from Europe the age limit would be 18. I find it very strange that your laws prohibit alcohol until 21 but your allowed to enter military service, get married (raise a family) but are not allowed to purchase/consume alcohol. I understand each country has its own laws and am well travelled to know and understand this but it seems strange. As to your OP I would assume that one or two drinks would probably go unnoticed.

Usually sailing in Europe they will show the Premier League Football matches, either in the seaplex, sports bar or pub on board. 

We sail on Symphony at the end of August and no UDP, 3, or 5 nights are on the planner at all. Each specialty restaurant is on there but that's it and we are 6 weeks away! very strange. It is a 7 night cruise. 

On 7/10/2023 at 2:30 PM, broadwaybaby123 said:

A few tips from someone who's been on Royal and Carnival quite a few times:

 

1.) Go to the Solarium Bistro for free breakfast and lunch.  While kids aren't allowed in the Solarium itself, they are allowed to dine there with their families.  

2.) If you want to see an awesome Solarium, next time you book a Royal cruise, book on Anthem Of The Seas, they have a 5 layer Infinity Pool.

3.) Go see "CATS" and sit in the front...best seats in the house!

4.) Slide down my new favorite attraction, The Ultimate Abyss on Deck 16 Aft.  No drinks or cameras are allowed, so leave those with a non-slider.  It's the tallest dry slide at sea.  They give you a mat to ride on, which helps slow your descent.  Also, you get amazing views of the AquaTheater when you look down while in line.

5.) Try the Rising Tide bar, which floats between the Promenade on Deck 5 and Central Park on Deck 8.

6.) Head to Johnny Rockets for a free breakfast on The Boardwalk.  While they're open for lunch and dinner as well, they charge for those meals.

7.) Stop by "Spotlight Karaoke" the venue is quite unique!

8.) Like to dance?  Head to Bolaros!

9.) Check out the Music Hall, it's quite breathtaking.  

10.) Head to Central Park at night...it's fabulous all lit up.

11.) Watch out for the Pop-Up Piano Player!

12.) Check out the Aqua80's and Ice Shows, you won't regret it!

13.) Ride the Carousel on The Boardwalk

14.) If you're a movie fan, check out Zoltar on The Boardwalk and get your fortune read!

15.) Ever had a drink made by a robot?  Go to the Bionic Bar on the Promenade!

16.) Ride the zipline on Deck 16

 

Totally agree with all your suggestions except one (an hour odd of my life I will never get back). 😅

Favourite place is the Solarium were the other half always finds me in the morning chilling before breakfast.

You will only find the price out once you have booked a cruise and they are available on the manage my booking on the RCCL site or on your App. The prices will be different between cruises.

32 minutes ago, toxicfairy said:

Yes that's us. It's  not so much KIDS as it is their splashing and screaming lol. My husband got sober just over 2 years ago. It'll be our first cruise since then. Kind of thought the solarium might be a better place. We'll  see. I love kids but since I'm with them almost every day and my students are extremely loud ( mostly high behavioral autistic children) if I can escape just a bit of the crazy I'm  good lol. 

You will be fine in there. Enjoy the cruise.

2 minutes ago, toxicfairy said:

Well i certainly didn't mean to get anyone's panties in a bunch. I was just asking because we don't go in the solarium but we're thinking about it this time. I certainly didn't mean for anyone to get so upset they start throwing the " Karen" around. By the way do you know it was a very popular name in the 60's & 70's ? So much so that I never went to school with out at least 3 -4 of us having the name Karen. Who would have thought we'd get so popular now lol

It's your cruise go and do what you want  (within the rules!!!) 🙂 

45 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

This. I never understood the "we shouldn't have to report it" thing. Of course in a perfect world you shouldn't have to, but at that point, I'd rather ask for a resolution than suffer through the disruption.

Agree, a lot of things happen that don't effect you or have no impact upon you but if it does and you are not happy then yes you should make the call to go and see someone about it. In an ideal world it would not happen or a member of staff would sort it straight away but that's life. 

On every cruise we go on I am always up and about first thing in the morning and head to the solarium to chill, listen to my book and have a coffee or two. I will stay there most of the morning and can honestly say have never been bothered by any kids (maybe lucky), however to be honest if I did I would seek a member of staff to point out its an adult area. 

North Star and IFly are booked on the day if in port as its free, you need to go on the app first thing and book them.

We sail Symphony at the end of August on a Wester Med cruise, 

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Naples

Sea day

Barcelona

Palma De Mallorca

Provence (Marseille)

Florence/Pisa (La Spezia)

Rome (Civitavecchia)

As you can see very port intensive with only 1 sea day. Most Med cruises are port intensive no matter where you go. Am sure you will enjoy it wherever you go.

Sailed on Oasis in October last year from NJ, a great ship with lots to do. Do not be put off at all, lots of venues are open late, lots of places to eat throughout the day and night as well as lots of activities as well. Go and enjoy yourself, we did.

Sailed from Rome last year and boarding times not even checked, in fact don't think I have ever had a check in time looked at?

Call them, they will take your payment and it should be fine. DW calls them every time we book her Prime cruise. 

On 6/26/2023 at 1:01 PM, DisneyQueen999 said:

We're a bit limited because we don't do fly-cruises. We booked this month for a cruise sailing to the Canaries from Southampton early Oct 23 and there were only a handful of balconies left. I think if you are willing to fly there's more availability, but if you don't the pool to choose from is smaller and you are taking a chance if you book late unless you're not fussy about room category/deck/location.

We are on the same cruise and are looking forward to it, we have sailed Anthem 3 times (twice straight after Covid 4+5 night out of Southampton) and also a 2 night this May. We have enjoyed ourselves and will be joined this time by our two friends who will be sailing for the first time. We do fly and have been on a number of ships however Southampton is convenient in the fact that we can drive there and back the same day of sailing and returning from the cruise. Everyone has their own preferences and other should not slate them for having them! Yes it would be good to get a bigger ship into Southampton but unfortunately that not up to us, so long as we can cruise am happy. We like going on Royal and as has been posted on here so many times things have changed over the years post covid but guess what if your happy to stay with them great and if not then go somewhere else. 97 days to go and looking forward to a great cruise!

26 minutes ago, sgmn said:

I think they only sell a certain number so they may of sold out.  They definitely had 3, 5 night and UDP dining package available on Symphony in May to prebook in planner

Are they only selling individual restaurants?

Yes only individual, we have always seen UDP for sale on all the cruises we have been on. Strange as there is always seats available when you are on board and throughout the cruise.

We sail on Symphony at the end of August (7 Nights) and on the cruise planner there are all the specialty restaurants priced to purchase, however the is no UDP for sale at all. We keep going on to look if the price is right to maybe get it but it is not listed at all. Has anyone else noticed this? Oh the UBP is £76 pp! that's £1064 for the trip.

We did it last October on Oasis and had about 4 1/2 hours in Universal, coming over from the UK it was worth it as we had our granddaughter (6) with us. Word of warning though our coach broke down on the way back and we had to jump onto another at the roadside making it back a little later than planned. It's a good job the transport was booked with RC as if not we might have been waving goodbye to the ship.

Thanks you for a really good review, we are on Anthem again in October (was on her in May for 2 nights) and are looking forward to sailing on her albeit to sunnier locations! Oh and you are right about only having to drive to the port rather than having to fly, it's so much better.