Mrs_Tiki

I just thought of another one from that same Dawn Princess cruise! Didn't happen to us, but to one of our fun tablemates.

They were a couple on their honeymoon. The bride was beautiful and VERY tall (important later!) They had spent the day at Orient Beach enjoying many cocktails, and made it back to the ship just in time for her massage appointment. He went back to their cabin to wait for her and received a call from the spa asking if he could come assist them. Turns out that she had passed out on the massage table, and the petite spa girls weren't strong enough to assist her in getting her wet bathing suit back on her.

He showed up at dinner alone and looking somewhat disheveled. Apparently she had rallied enough to walk back to their cabin with him, where she proceeded to pass out again in a lounge chair on their balcony. He was afraid to leave her there, so had to lift and shuffle her onto the couch inside.

Our waiter was very gracious and made a plate for new husband to take back to her. Needless to say, she looked a little sheepish the next night at dinner!

My story actually spans two cruises:

On the Dawn Princess in 1998, DH and I won the dinner companion lottery. We were seated at a table for eight with three other couples. From the first night, we all got along famously and were the last ones out of the dining room every night. One of the couples was two Dutch men (Hans and Yost, I'll never forget them!) Our head waiter was Mario from Italy. On the last night, after several cocktails, Hans and Yost taught us a hand signal that they said meant "excellent" in Italy and said that we should all make that motion when Mario came by to ask us how we had enjoyed our dinner/cruise.

So, when Mario came by and asked the question, all eight of us waved our hands back and forth next to our ears enthusiastically. But Mario did not seem pleased. In fact, all of the color drained from his face, he said "very well," and left quickly. Hmm, DH and I were puzzled by his reaction.

A couple of years later, Mario was our Maitre D' on the Sea Princess, and he recognized us. We asked him about his reaction to our show of appreciation on the Dawn. Being careful to be discreet, because our young daughter was with us, he let us know that what we had done was the equivalent of "flipping the bird" in the US. He said it took him until after we had left the dining room that night to figure out that Hans and Yost had tricked us!

It was great for you to take the time to share all of these great tips from your recent experience. I am on WW right now and had worried about blowing all of my hard work on my upcoming cruise. It will help that I will be with my daughter, who is an avid exerciser and super-healthy eater!

Although I don't play Bingo, I've always thought that it was cool when they give one of the unoccupied big suites as a prize. But a whole new cruise is even better. Way to go!!!!

I gotta ask since I can't figure it out! What is SWMBO? :D

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

We live in Atlanta, and like to cruise out of PC. Our normal modus operandi is to drive to the MCO area the day prior to the cruise. There are several hotels in the airport area that are reasonably priced. Our favorite there is the Rennaissance. The next day, we drive to PC. Driving times are 7.5 hours from Atlanta to MCO, and less than one hour from MCO to PC.

 

Hope this is helpful for some ...

 

AG

Thanks, AirGorilla. I'm thinking that we'll drive straight to Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral so that we can get all of the driving out of the way before sailing day.

75, stop in Valdosta for gas. Take 10 to Jax, then 95 to 528. About 7.5 hours from Tucker. Keep speedometer around 75 or so. Two bio breaks at rest areas. Food when you get gas.

 

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Thank you! This is great info.

At my condo. :p

 

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Since it looks like you make the trip frequently, could you tell me about how long it takes to get from Atlanta-Port Canaveral and which route you like best? (Our starting point would be Midtown.)

TIA!

Hi everyone, thanks for your suggestions but fortunately, we did not need them! I had hired a driver to meet us at the airport - Orlando Chaufered Services - and they were very helpful. Four of us were coming in to one terminal and the other two, who were due to arrive last, came into a different terminal. They told us how to get from our terminal to the other one. They called when they had arrived and the driver waited until we were all together with our luggage. We left the airport at 1:30 and arrived at the cruise ship at 2:30. We were probably one of the last ones to board, but we made it. Never again.

 

I would definitely recommend their service and will use them if we ever go out of Port Canaveral again.

I am so happy that you made it! Have been following this thread and hoping for the best for you.

And thank you for sharing your timeline. It was helpful to me in making the decision to drive in the day before our upcoming FOS cruise. My 25+ year streak flying Delta out of Atlanta with no major delays or cancellations was broken last year with a 3-hour delay on a flight to Charleston. I was late for my work speaking engagement, but luckily did not have a cruise on the line!

But we typically book with Silver Moon, which is similar to Calabaza. (In fact, we usually are tied up next to Calabaza at the snorkeling sites.) Silver Moon has one cat that takes 12 and another that takes 24.

There is a protected marine park at the base of the Pitons in St. Lucia that is spectacular, but it was not included on any of the RCL shore excursions the last time we were there. We got a group together from our Roll Call and organized a private tour to take us to Anse Chastenet beach, from which we were able to wade out to the marine park.

Thank You.

will see you on FOS on Meet & Mingle August 04th.

No venue as yet?? correct

Nope, but at least we're on the confirmed list!

Hi Pedro,

Looking forward to sailing with you on the FOS in a few weeks. I switched my reservation to a balcony guarantee on June 14, and a cabin was assigned on June 23.

I was not crazy about the far forward location of the cabin assigned, so I called my TA and asked to be changed to a more midships cabin in the same category. (Although they at first told me that this could not be done.)

Good luck!

Loving your review! DH and I dream of a Med cruise one day ~

Thanks for your review. DD and I will be on FOS in a few weeks. It's a new class ship for us, so I am soaking up all of the info that I can!

Glad to hear that your child's medical issue was handled so well. No fun to get stitches on vacation, though. :(

Mango daiquiri at swim-up bar! Fajitas and quacamole were excellent.

We have also had a very positive experience with BerkleyCare when my mother fell and broke her hip a couple of days before we were to cruise. MY DH handled the claim, but said that they were very compassionate and easy to work with. After he sent the requested documentation, we had our refund very quickly.

We had always purchased insurance in the past primarily because of our responsibilities caring for my aging parents and our DD. However, even now that my parents are both gone and our DD is an adult, we purchase it in case we need medical attention or evacuation!

You could benefit ~ if prices for a higher category than you booked come way down, you have the potential to upgrade to the higher category by paying the difference.

I just switched from a PR cabin to an E1 balcony on my upcoming cruise for very few $$!

Thanks to all who have shared their experiences with upgrading after final payment and working with guarantees, I was able to turn a PR cabin into an E1 balcony for our upcoming cruise on the Freedom!

Thought I'd share my timeline and experience to pay it forward ~

I booked an assigned PR cabin at a good price about six weeks before final payment. Price continued to go up until after final payment. Fine. I would have been happy knowing that I had gotten a good deal on my chosen cabin.

But I continued to monitor pricing and saw that a balcony guarantee category opened up 7 weeks before sailing at a price just above what I had paid for the PR.

I called my TA to ask if I could pay the difference and make the switch. Here's where it got a little hairy. Apparently my original booking was in a group that included a $25 OBC. At first, RCL said they couldn't make the switch because of that, then said they could, but I would lose my OBC. After an hour on hold while TA talked to RCL, she came back and said that it was done, but I had lost my $25 OBC. No worries! I'm still feeling like I'm coming out way ahead vs. what a balcony would have cost in the first place.

Since then, I've been monitoring my reservation to see if a cabin had been assigned. Then, poof, there it was! An E1 far forward and under the fitness center. I checked available cabins and saw that a couple E1s were left midships and made a call to the TA. First, he said that it would not be possible to switch cabins, but I told him that I had heard of it being done and to please try. Sure enough, he called me back to say that the switch had been made, and I've verified it on my reservation. SCORE!

And yes, I still would have been okay if I hadn't been able to switch to the better-located E1, because I know that you have to be prepared for whatever you get with a guarantee booking.

Now the only thing that could make this any sweeter would be if the upgrade fairy came to call. But that is too much to hope for after all of my luck so far! I am grateful to CC for informing this process for me.

I feel very lucky that my worst cruise story does not compare with what others have been through!

But relatively speaking, our 1994 3-day Baja Mexico cruise on the Viking Serenade would win our personal "worst cruise" award. It was the definition of a booze cruise with revelers jumping from the rail of the deck above the pool into the pool below. The ship was a converted European car ferry (and felt like it!), our "suite" had a nasty sewage smell, our dinner companions were sullen and unfriendly, and our one port was Ensenada.

BUT, we still had a good time, and I've even managed to drag DH back onto Royal Caribbean after a less-then-stellar first cruise!

Thanks, Dianne! I see that you've been on the Freedom very recently. We usually fly to the departure ports, but are driving since it's an easy drive. Any other tips for driving in and around Port Canaveral?

I've book this package at one of the participating hotels for our upcoming cruise. When I try to reserve parking at the Port, it requires pre-payment and I would lose the discount, right?

So, when doing this, do you just take the chance that there will be parking available at the Terminal you need when you arrive?

The shopping area where the ship docks is fairly typical of other Caribbean ports and felt safe as long as you don't mind monkeys. There are many locals with monkeys who will try to get them to sit on your shoulder and expect a tip for this. They can be pretty aggressive.

Maybe it was watching "The Wizard of Oz" too many times as a kid, but I am terrified of those little varmints and had no interest in having one near me, much less paying for this privilege! Still makes me laugh thinking of our last stop there ~ DH, DD and DD's boyfriend formed a "human shield" to keep them away from me. (Not so much to be nice, more that they were embarrassed by my screaming and carrying on!)

We are considering the Royal Palms all-inclusive for our upcoming stop in Cayman. I don't think there is a swim-up bar and more pricey than Nachi, though.

https://royalpalmscayman.com/all-inclusive-cruise-package

Good for you for negotiating the OBC and enjoying spending it. I admire you for maintaining such a positive attitude and not letting your disappointment dampen your spirits!

DD and I are sailing on the Freedom in August and had been trying to come up with an activity there, and I expect we may be ready for a non-water activity by then. I did not know about the Caybrew Brewery Tour. Did you do this through the ship or on your own? If independent, is it within walking distance from the tender dock?

Glad to hear that you had a great cruise!