griffy116

We used Bob's Limo for transport from airport to Rome Hotel, then Rome hotel to port and upon return did the same. They were wonderful and we used them whenever possible. If you're unable to reach them, we've seen many reviews for RomeInLimo. I would use a private service rather than trains because I traveled with a suitcase, a carry on and lugging them (during the summer) and keeping an eye on my luggage stressed me out, just thinking about. I like to start the cruise without stress. They took us straight to the port, handed our luggage to Royal and were very reasonable on cost.

I was in the hospital, admitted due to sepsis, during one of the surges. I was COVID negative. I was put in a "Non-Covid overflow area" after spending the day in the ER area because there were no beds even in overflow. The numbers were bad and they were downplaying them in our area. Our schools opened on time with no mask requirements and our county suffered. One of my nurses said she worked in another county that sent her to mine because they were so short-handed. My overflow area had very few nurses and I knew by the clock they were working more hours than their normal shifts and working above and beyond. They were stretched thin beyond their limits. Even the cafeteria and cleaning staff were working OT trying to service everyone, so to all those saying "it wasn't that bad," you're wrong. Love cruising, and have been cruising for over 20 years. I'm fully vaccinated and still wear a mask out because we have too many people not willing to inconvenience themselves to get this under control so that one day we can all cruise again. We've lost no family to COVID, but plenty of co-workers and neighbors. If you're afraid to take the vaccine, I fear you won't be cruising for a long time. If you're indignant at wearing a mask, I don't think you'll be cruising soon. I can't imagine being so desperate to cruise yet unwilling to not only follow the requirements, but to defy the rules and regulations that you would forge a vaccination card.

I'm pretty sure the doctor would have you sign a form saying you are giving them permission to attest to your health. The form states you don't have a heart condition, kidney condition, diabetes  etc. It requests the doctor's registration number. Lots of people over seventy cruise, but I'm sure many of them have at one time or another have been treated for one of these medical conditions. If so, the doctor is not going to lie on the form. It's going to be very difficult for a lot of those over 7 cruisers to get this form signed. We cruised with both of my parent when they were over seventy. BOTH had been treated for heart conditions. We would not have been able to get a doctor to sign this current form for them, even though, at the time, their doctor knew they were going on cruises and had no concerns.This will affect a lot of family cruises.

RC is foreign registered. While U.S. citizens can/may sue, this makes it more difficult and much more complicated. It has been discussed previously in cases of injuries and deaths on the ships and not just RC.

1 hour ago, Nashna said:

You have your posts confused.  I didn't post about Dreamworks.   Cruise ships are subject to US Law when they are in US Waters.  They are also subject to US laws regarding sales practices and consumer protection.  

• A country's internal waters -- areas like bays and ports -- are a part of that country. So when a ship is docked at the Port of Miami, all U.S. (and Florida) laws apply to the ship, its passengers and its crew.
• Almost all of a nation's laws also apply in its territorial waters which extend up to 12 miles from its coastline (we'll look at an exception on the next page). A ship departing from a U.S. port cannot open gambling activities until it's 12 miles out, since gambling is illegal in most parts of the United States.

Your cruise contract states they can change the itinerary. It doesn't say "weather related" and it can change it for any reason. The U.S. laws you've listed have nothing to do with their ability to change the itinerary.

On 4/29/2019 at 9:09 PM, 6theagle said:

How often do you have to wait for an elevator on a cruise because there is not enough room for your wheelchair? Can you take the stairs? I am forced to wait for the kindness of strangers or ram them with my chair or scooter, I choose the former, more patient route. Yet, I have waited and watched others older and more ill than I wait and wait while people who CAN take the stairs consume the space.  When I could walk I took the stairs, it was faster and far less frustrating, but I cannot now, and there are lots more like me. We like cruising because it is a little more independent than most travel. 

How fair is this current policy? From my view it isn't 

I have a disability that is not visible. I can't take the stairs because of a heart condition. I look perfectly healthy, but I can't navigate the stairs any better than someone in a chair. I've been run over by people in chairs and scooters. I'm FORCED to wait too and more often than not, people recognize your needs because of the chair, but would never think to put me in front of others and I would never think of asking others to allow me to cut in line to get into the elevator in front of others. After a show, I sit and wait until the elevator bays clear out because I know there will be a crowd. Heading to dinner, I know to plan extra time in case the elevators are crowded. There are ways to get from point A to point B without having to have a dedicated elevator. If you are in a chair and you have others with you, are you just going to run off without them or will you have to wait on them to catch up with you once you use your "dedicated" elevator? You get special assistance to get on and off the ship and people do take into consideration that you are in a chair often. As you said, there are "lots more like me" so are you going to be frustrated when just one dedicated elevator isn't enough? If the dedicated elevator isn't full, should others be allowed to use it? Would RC have to dedicate a member of the crew as "elevator monitor?" Just find a way to wait patiently. That's what I do. I've never told a single group waiting on a elevator that I have a medical condition and need to be moved to the front of the line. I wait with my family and we ALL use the elevator at the same time because we are all going to the same place.

We never book non-refundable because things can happen and it's....non-refundable. Just us. We just pretend not to see the price difference.
 

You can easily find bottled water, along with sodas and beer at any port in Mexico and they are very inexpensive ($1-2). We had an excursion on a small boat for snorkeling in Roatan that included the food and drink. We had decided to wait, not eat on the boat and eat when we returned to the ship. The food was in catering trays and we couldn't resist. The food was delicious and we had no problems afterwards. We've had food in the bars in Cozumel with no problems.

We did four to a cabin for a last minute cruise deal and we had a great time. We kept the cabin neat and all our things put away and we were only in the rooms at bedtime, which turned into a sort of pajama party with us talking and laughing late into the night from our bunks. Everyone was very good about shower time and getting ready. We had an "assembly" line. While the others were having wine on the balcony, the first one showered and moved to the dresser and the next person went to the shower. When you finished getting ready, you chilled on the balcony while the others got ready. We're all pretty low key and low maintenance, I guess. We would do it again.

We used Bob's limo (private car service). They were sitting waiting at the port, got us out quickly and were fabulous. There were five of us and the cost ended up being less than RC and SO much better. Love it and would highly recommend them. We've used them twice.

In hotels and on cruise ships, they are referred to as house phones. It wasn't an oxymoron. It's the correct terminology.

We just call THEIR cell phone. You can't call the cabins unless you are in your cabin or use one of the house phones around the ship.

We toss our own corkscrew in our carry-on if the bottle has a cork. The one the cabin stewards bring is so flimsy. I have broken it EVERY single time. Now we just carry one with the screw on cap.

I'm Diamond, as well as the other members of my family. We only get to cruise about once per year..twice if we are lucky. We enjoy the priority boarding but with the improvements in debarkation, it's not a deal breaker. Everyone seem to be able to get on the ship without waiting in the chairs for forever, like it was in years past. With the exception of our Med cruises, we've never been in a hurry to be off the ship at ports. We book with outside vendors and we've never had a problem with getting to our excursions on time. We do like the treats we receive as a thank you in our cabin. We usually have a beverage package so we seldom go to the Diamond lounge. We enjoy the Diamond discount on balcony cabins and we consider that the biggest perk for us. I usually use the discount in the Logo shop for Diamond member. We go in enough time to see the shows to get a good seat and we reserve before going on the cruise, so the perk for the Key doesn't bother me and wouldn't benefit me. They have to make a reservation and all seats open up 10 minutes before the shows start. We do the combo package with the drink package for our WiFi.  I haven't noticed any decline in service from the crew of Royal Caribbean over the years. We've always appreciated the great job done by the crew members. If someone wants to pay for a Suite and get perks, or to pay for the Key to get perk, it doesn't take anything away from my cruise experience but I wouldn't pay to get the perks. It's a gimmick that doesn't hold any appeal for me but as long as they have people willing to pay for it, they'll sell it...and they'll continue to raise the price.

Ship: Allure

Itinerary: Med cruise starting from Rome on one of the Freedom class ships with RCL. Might have been Freedom.

First cruise was approximately 31 years ago, give or take a year. It was on Carnival and this was prior to the internet. We knew absolutely nothing. It was a small ship with a very different atmosphere. Very pretty dining room but no windows at all. Very few activities on board, tiny, tiny cabins and the bathroom was hilarious looking at the bathrooms on the ships today. No minimum drinking ages or on gambling. We found our 13 year old sitting with an Apricot Sour playing a slot machine when we let our daughters go up early to wait on us to get ready for dinner (drinks were free then). She spent her winnings from her spare quarters on a stuffed teddy bear in a captain's jacket in the gift shop. Smoking during dinner in the dining room was not only allowed but the waiter always lit your cigarette and switched out the ashtray every time you snuffed your cigarette out. I wish I could remember the name of the ship. I still have the photos of us dressed for dinner. VERY different from the cruises today but my daughters and I still go cruising together. We cruised on Allure together this year.

We booked private tours. There were six of us. We booked directly with the vendors, after carefully researching them here on cruise critic and Trip Adviser for reliability and service. They picked us up at the ports, got us out of there quickly and ahead of the large groups boarding the cruise ship buses. We had advance entry through them and it worked out great. We used Rome in Limos and we have also used Bob's Limo Service, during different cruises. Both were GREAT. Since there were six of us, it worked out cheaper for us and we got to see twice as much, as we weren't waiting on anyone else and we weren't catering to anyone's schedule but our own.

I always carry a can of Pringles (because they don't get crushed), a can of nuts or a few packs of crackers. All factory sealed and most often bought at the airport after clearing security. Never would I ever try to carry a sandwich from the ship onto the plane. We've done the flight from U.S. to Rome twice. We flew Aero Lingus and I have to say that they fed us ridiculously often and the food was pretty good. My snacks ended up being brought home. That being said, I've devoured my snacks on short flights to Florida to catch a cruise ship. Just find something after going through security. Personally, I don't think a sandwich that has been sitting in my bag sounds appealing anyway.

I always order a margarita on the rocks with salt. It's what I order on land. I was able to get it in the DL with no problem.

You can't drink at 18 in the U.S. You can marry, but you can't drink. As for booking these 18 year olds, I think the cruise line (and the passengers) have encountered problems with unchaperoned 18 year olds in the past and they might be more strict with enforcement now.

My (adult) Grandson always goes with us on our family cruises and always takes a friend. We like having the traditional early dining, to give everyone a chance to do their own thing in the evening. Since dinner is early, they always go to the WJ a few hours later so they enjoy BOTH. My Grandson was thrilled to find they had crawfish on the last cruise one of the last nights. He wouldn't miss dinner in the MDR because he has his "favorites" on the menu, but likes to check to see what the WJ has to offer later in the evening.

Almost everyone buys the drink package which is several hundreds of dollars per person...but the auto gratuities are too much and they would like to be selective about who they tip? It's about a hundred per person for the entire cruise and it takes care of all the servers in every venue and your cabin steward, for crying out loud. I never understand why this is the big debate and requires you to get a calculator out or have a list of which members of the crew are included in the pool.

Several years ago, I threw up and I cleaned the bathroom as best I could that night and then again the next morning. Anyone who leaves a bathroom looking like a "murder scene" and laughs about looking up the cabin stewards to clean up a mess like that isn't someone I want to cruise with.

I could certainly see how the cruise line would be putting themselves in a position of liability with this program, along with staff that volunteer. All a passenger has to do is accuse a staff member of wrong doing...anything from stealing to abuse and people's lives will be ruined. I don't blame the cruise line for this at all. Sorry it doesn't give everyone a chance to make alternate arrangements. Early traditional dining begins at 5:30, which gives you enough time to have dinner and still get them to bed early. My Grandson started cruising at 4. The waiters doted on him and he enjoyed dinner with the family in the MDR. We often traveled as a large family, including 27 of us at one time. If there was something in the evening, we were able to have someone sit with the little ones. Those that want a kid free meal should just go to the later time. For us, if they didn't want to have dinner with our little ones, we weren't interested in having dinner with them. In the future, at least you know that if you want a sitter, you'll need to take a sitter with you on the cruise. Grandparents are usually more than willing to babysit.;)