suep

In the U.K. We have had chip and pin technology for years, as does the rest of Europe. The US seems to be very backward in using it.

 

However, the real point I was going to make is you would be better to have a CC that makes no charge for foreign transactions, it could save you a considerable amount of money.

The machine will ask for a signature, and then prints the document for you to sign.

 

This even happens when an Oz card has some sort of chip problem.

 

Just check that the card you have, the brand, is recognised in Oz. The big ones like visa and MasterCard are fine. Amex is not always liked, Diners Club has much less acceptance.

 

Remember to tell your provider where and when you are travelling so purchases don't flag fraud warnings.

Thank you everyone for your responses. My card is a VISA card and it does not charge any international fees. This is why I was hoping I would be able to use it with the chip and signature technology. And I did share with the credit card company where I would be traveling to, so there should be no issue there.

A search would find several threads on this topic, such as this one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2284770&highlight=credit+cards

 

Your chip and signature card will be fine. It was for us for almost a month in Australia last year.

Thanks, CruiserBruce.

We are from the US and will be cruising from Sydney on Voyager OTS in November. We will be spending a week in Adelaide, South Australia, prior to the cruise. I've heard from friends who have traveled to Australia that if I plan to use a credit card, it needs to have chip and PIN technology. I had hoped to put a large portion of my purchases on a credit card, but the card I have only has chip and signature technology, not PIN.

This credit card company has informed me if the merchant requires a PIN, they can instead manually type in my credit card number for the transaction to take place. Can anyone verify that I will be able to use my US based non-pin credit card by having the merchant manually type in the credit card number?

I do know that my US based card will work fine on the ship, I'm just concerned about purchases while in Adelaide and Sydney.

Thanks in advance!

I just called Alamo at Ft Lauderdale Airport - as calling the 866 number for Alamo was no help at all. The number for Alamo at FLL is 954-359-2550. The woman I spoke with says that shuttle service from their FLL location to the cruise port is complimentary.

Thanks for taking us along with you! We'll be sailing Oasis August 15 - our first time on this class ship. Seeing your photos is making me anxious!

We're flying in the day before and staying at the Embassy Suites; we've done this hotel before and liked the free happy hour and free breakfast.

Thank you for your comments! Was wondering if you made reservations for any of the shows? Or just walked in? We are a group of 8 and this will be our first time on Oasis. Looking forward to sailing on the "big ship"!

Just off the Oasis last week. (1/10 - 1/17) In speaking with our head waiter, floor captain and our bar attendant while in the MDR, they ALL confirmed that they have been told that DD is off the table and will not be implemented - ever. They were told that form now, the 3 differing themes will stay in place as a way to offer visual variety and not having to incur the cost of a make-over into a more uniform look. They (the wait staff) for the most part are very pleased with this decision. For them, MDR service was working fine and folks (for the most part) loved it. We loved our service. We ate MDR 5 nights at varying times. All were a very positive experience and would do it again. Also did 150 Central Park one night. All I can say about that is - WOW! a must do again. Only next time we will skip the paired wine offerings that come with it. Not because it costs $75 EXTRA per person but because we had already had 2-3 glasses before dinner and it was a bit much. However, the Cucumber Martini was one THE BEST martini's i have EVER had. Worth the price and ONLY made at 150 Park Ave.

-Cheers-:)

This is excellent news. We booked the Oasis last year before it was mentioned that DD would be implemented. We seriously considered cancelling our cruise on the Oasis when we learned that DD would be implemented by the time we cruised in August. Glad that we held off on cancelling, and extra glad that we will be able to enjoy the dining that we're used to on Royal Caribbean.

Thank you, Harry, for your awesome review! I am enjoying it immensely and am using some of your tips for our upcoming trip on the Oasis in August. I do have one question (seeing that you have informed us you are cheap....lol...I am the same way!) You had breakfast in Johnny Rockets one morning. I know JR's is a fee venue; did you have to pay for breakfast as well?

Can't wait to read more! Thanks for all the time you are putting into this!

Too many.

I agree with Clarea -- too many! We just booked this week for August 15, 2015. 366 days AND COUNTING!

Nice! Congrats!

Hi there! Thanks for your post! We will be on the Jewel Feb. 1, which will be St. Thomas/Antigua/St. Croix/Martinique/St. Lucia itinerary. I had posted a while back about snorkeling on these islands and you had commented back (thanks). Did you snorkel at all on this tour? And if so, where and how was it?

We also are thinking about trying the premium beverage package - how does that work? do you get a special cup for the bartenders to use for drinks, similar to the soda cup? And what time did the Windjammer close up at night? Our kids will be getting the soda package and will be interested to learn how late they can get to the freestyle machines.

Interesting to hear about the MDR. Our last cruise was on Carnival and the food was not good so we are hoping for better on this cruise....we'll see!

Before October we wouldn't have given the Premium package a 2nd thought because I'm not a big enough drinker to make it worthwhile for me. But now that just my husband can get the package, he may decide to try it. He likes the option of being able to cancel several days in if he finds it's not worth it. But, my thought is that in addition to charging you for each drink you've had, they will probably also charge the $6.50 per day for each day for the soda package.

His big question was, is he limited to how often he can get a drink? Is it limited so that he has to wait an hour between drinks, or, if he goes through one quickly, would he be able to get another in perhaps 15 minutes time?

Number of machines depends on the ship. I believe Freedom has at least 5 machines on board. The machines are available 24 hours.

Sorry -- I failed to mention that this cruise we will be on the Jewel.

Thanks for the quick replies!

Typically how many machines are on a ship? And are they available 24/7? My son commented that on our FOS cruise several years ago there was a soda machine out by the pool area (not a Freestyle machine, but rather a dispenser so you didn't have to use a bartender) that was advertised to be open 24/7, when in fact it was closed down around 10:00 PM

We are a group of 8 flying SW from Milwaukee to San Juan in February. I did not know about early bird seating on SW until I discovered this post; we had questioned how boarding assignment works when there is a connecting flight, so thanks Bob for answering that question. Doing the early bird for our return flight is a great idea, but at $12.50 pp that adds up for 8 people. However, it does save me from sitting at one of the slow ship computers waiting for the 24 hour window. Since my family will be travelling with me we really don't have anyone that would be able to check us in at the 24 hour window who won't be on the cruise with us....**sigh**

Awesome! Thanks for the information, Bob!

We will be cruising soon on the Jewel; one of the people traveling with us is a line chef for one of the nicer restaurants in our area. He was asking if he would be able to see any of the galley area on the ship. I know in past cruises galley tours were offered, but are they still being offered? I don't notice postings about them on the boards here lately. Thanks!

Phyllis - welcome back, and thanks so much for post! We'll be on the Jewel Feb 1, visiting the same islands you did. Your information is most helpful!!:)

We'll be cruising along with you on the Jewel on 2/1. There will be 8 in our group and I snagged several rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Isla Verde, as we're arriving around 6:00 PM on Friday evening.

As far as places to store luggage on your return day, check out Barrachina's in Old San Juan.

There is also a roll call for our cruise -- check that out as well!

Sue

Thanks for taking the time to post your review! We have this same itinerary leaving February 1, so I am anxiously awaiting more!

I'd like to post my thanks, too! Not many Jewel reviews out there and we're cruising on Feb. 1. Your review is getting me uber excited!

How awesome! Congratulations! Enjoy every minute of your trip!! :)

I personally can't understand why you'd be reprimanded for those photos. I've been enjoying your writing style -- like others, it makes me lol and puts some cheer in my day. Look forward to more :)