lizstas

138East I want to thank you for all the information you provided prior to our cruise in October. We had an amazing trip all thanks to you! I did send an email--hope it made it to you and not the spam box. Again Thank you so so much you are an Angel!

Your travel insurance must be in place prior to booking your flight. I was getting conflicting answers from Air2Sea and customer service--each saying the other could confirm. Crown and Anchor gave me the answer emailing me a section of the Cruise Care about flight coverage. The rep from Crown and Anchor said you must have the agent "force pay" your coverage not just add it to your invoice. The insurance must be paid prior to purchasing the air. Once we paid for the insurance within 10 minutes Crown and Anchor emailed an updated invoice with insurance riders attached. I then purchased my air which was at a great price. This was done about 2 weeks ago. We are sailing on the Jewel 10/24/18 Med Cruise.

138east--

I sent an email to you on the 12th of September. I am leaving next week and was hoping you could help with the hotels. Thank you..

138East I have a few questions and wondered if I could send an email?

Thanks 138East. Would the Hyatt Place Meadowlands be more convenient to the public transportation or about the same as the Hilton Gardens?

Lizstas - could you provide more details? One hotel room for 4 people? Type of beds? Hotel budget? Exact dates (Sept 25-28?). What date do you have the Hilton Garden and how much is it? I'm seeing the Robert Treat in Newark for 9/25-28 for 2 queens at $104-130/room (prepaid, senior, AAA, full rate) - free parking, free breakfast, free wifi, and free shuttle to Newark Penn Station)

 

Your car can be both a liability and asset. You don't want to be driving and paying to park in Manhattan. However, it can be a huge asset for going to the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan. One of the days you drive to Liberty State Park, pay $7 to park, and go out to Ellis Island and the SOL. IMO there is no reason to prepay tickets unless you are trying to go up the base or to the crown. You can return to Manhattan and walk to the 911 Memorial area and return to Liberty State Park on the ferry ($7/pp - http://www.libertylandingferry.com/ last weeknight ferry at 8:45 pm)

 

Another really good area to look for hotels is Harmon Meadows in Secaucus. Good bus and train options to Manhattan and free parking. You can still drive to Liberty State Park for the SOL as well as the Port. This is a more suburban-like area than downtown Newark.

If you can guide me I would appreciate it...once I have a plan I can let some of these rooms go! My parents are 80, my husband and I are in our 50's. We are driving and can add time to sightsee in New York if needed. We are leaving Chicago area the weekend prior to the cruise and thought we would drive through some of the East coast states we won't hit on our cruise. Looking forward to this trip with them and I know poor planning can cost us valuable time. I sincerely appreciate your guidance.

We will be sharing one room and prefer a Hilton property and sharing the room stretches that budget. I have Hilton Garden Inn Staten Island $148 a night 9/26-9/28 (but read somewhere not a good choice) I have Hampton Inn Parsippany $189 same 2 nights; Hilton Garden Inn Time Square my mistake have 1 night not 2 9/26 only at $290 parking included. We qualify for AAA, AARP, Senior Rates. We prefer queen beds but see that isn't an option at many hotels.

.

138EAST well I am so happy I stumbled on this but wish it were sooner. I started reading posts a few days ago and have only gotten to page 57. I then figured I better get to the end and work backwards. I decided to ask what I need and apologize that my questions have likely been asked. There will be 4 of us driving from the Chicago area and will be on the Anthem sailing September 28th. I did book the Hilton Newark Penn weeks ago and just realized I booked it for the wrong week! They are now sold out. I also put Hilton Garden Inn Time Square for 1 night on hold--should I keep that reservation?. Not sure if that's the right decision or if we stay further out drive in and park somewhere? for the day is better. Obviously switching hotels each night would be a pain but if it allows us to fit more in and enjoy our time more then that's fine. My mom really wants to see Time Square, Central Park, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial. Since we've never been to New York we want to see what we can in 2 to 2 1/2 days pre-cruise. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated on where to stay? What to do and in what order--sights that should be planned together? We realize that we can't possibly see all there is to see in 2 days. I know with your guidance we will definitely see and enjoy our pre-cruise stay! Thank you for all your help...

Used the service 2 weeks ago...on HOTS

7248 is a solo balcony. It can accommodate 2 people, but it's tight. IMO great for one person, but very cozy for 2.

 

Here's a video of 7648 which is the same cabin on the opposite side -

I actually was able to switch over to 7162 hopefully that is a normal sized cabin with an extra large balcony 7248 didn't sound like something I would like...large balcony is great but I would be in my room more than the balcony so tight wouldn't work for me. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

I think you may have just gotten lucky that 7248 was available! I know I kept switching my parents until I was able to get them that largest balcony!

The lifeboats are on Deck 5 and Deck 6 balconies are obstructed by the tops of them. If I remember correctly there were NOT even any lifeboats directly under the -248 cabins, mostly because it was still part of that hump. I'm trying to compare the deck plans from Deck 5 vs. Deck 7 and it doesn't look like there should be lifeboats directly beneath your cabin.

Either way, it definitely would not be right outside your balcony or impeding that wonderful view at all! We had an obstructed view balcony on 6 and the top of the lifeboat came up to just about our balcony railing!

 

Have a great cruise! :D

Thank you so much for the info...haven't been on getting ready to sail HOTS the 28th. I coordinated 40 family members and a few friends for that one...so a bit of work. Looking forward to the Anthem..hoping for great weather that week!

Hi,

 

We will be a party of 20 on Harmony. How can I make sure we get sit together on the main dinning room? I called the royal and the girl told me I have to request this on-board. Would not then be too late?

 

Thanks in advance,

I have a group of 41 sailing HOTS next week. We did book through groups and were given 2 10 tops, 3 6 tops and a 4 top. I had a choice of assigning the table numbers to the reservations or round robin. Be sure to do this well in advance too. I requested window location and we were accommodated.

Deck 7 midship port side I found a hump cabin with a oversized balcony and put it on hold. I understand the lifeboats are right outside the balcony. Are they obstructing and noisy during lifeboat drill? Possibly that is done when we are in port? There are quite a few deck 7 cabins available and I wondered if they were less desired? Thanks for any insight you may have. I currently have a deck 9 reserved as well.

Your cabin will be in a very convenient location! My parents had 8248 on our sailing and it was super close to the elevators but they never complained of any noise issues.

Biggest perk... the balcony is huge! All 6 of us could hang out on it comfortably with room to spare! We also hung a hammock for my Dad! :D Enjoy!

I just put 7248 on hold but am concerned with the lifeboats. I'm unsure if you noticed from your cabin but if so are they right outside the balcony? Have 2 cabins on hold deck 9 and 7. I saw the balcony on deck 7 and thought it would be great. I then noticed many cabins available on 7 and wondered if that was why--not as desired.

Thank you

Suzyrn89 I'm hoping to get that answer as well. I am diamond and purchased with the 20% off for $396. We sail in January and was wondering if it would cost less purchasing on board with a Diamond discount. If you purchase pre-board and it is less on-board would they credit the difference?

I have cabin 14172 and 12445 deposited. I need to release one by Monday when final payment is due. I understand 14172 is under the pool deck--possibly waterslide area? concerned with the noise. I have also read that the Central Park cabins have their share of noise as well. Obviously I would rather have the ocean view but not sure about noiselevel overhead. This cabin is for my aunt and uncle. They are cruising with us on their first cruise. They are in their 70s and we are a group of 40 most on deck 12 and a few on 14. Grateful for any advice.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Forums mobile app

HappyChippy thank you so much for such an amazing review. It definitely has me even more excited for my upcoming cruise! We sail Jan. 27th with a group of 40 family and friends. One of the couples are in an accessible oceanview balcony on deck 14. I Believe you were on deck 14. If you were near 14162 can you tell me if it noisy overhead? Thanks again for your time...

The link to the RCCL website definitely says 24 hrs. I have a TBA cabin in our group and was told today that we had to add the person 7 days prior to allow verification time? I was told that by RCCL Groups this morning

Passenger two needs to be TBA you will pay deposits for two and then add later. Not sure of the deadline

Do you know if 12264 is by the balcony or bathroom?

Thank you

LeesSummitCruiser1 you don't need a TA to be a group coordinator. Link all the reservations together and transfer to groups--if you or someone in your group wants to be the coordinator. Your group will receive an onboard credit and a tour conductor credit for every 8 cabins. Likely is a deadline to do this after initial booking--that I'm not sure of.

Normally I book a port side cabin but booking late I didn't have that option---will I be sorry?

TexasGal thanks for responding. I am diamond and enjoy cruising. I guess the stress is planning for everyone and never knowing their expectations. I started reading mixed reviews indicating ship wore down, shows and food not great. Just hoping all is on the better side and hoping it meets all their expectations. I do realize that is unrealistic too--hard to make everyone happy. Our Adventure sailing takes us to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Croix. and St. Maarten. I've been to all but St Croix and as a group we've agreed to just water taxi in St Maarten to the beach/shopping. Any input anyone would have would be appreciated. Again thank you.

Thank you for such a great review. We are sailing out this weekend--a group of 17 family members. Many have not cruised before and since I am the coordinator hearing the mixed reviews lately I have been a wreck. Ship in bad shape, very worn, food terrible, shows awful, etc. We are just off the Oasis in December which was amazing. I have sailed Adventure but back in 2008. I recommended port out of San Juan since not many have cruised before didn't want seasick issues to ruin anyone's trip. Just felt less likely with this itinerary and time of year. Can you give me contact info on your tours..or do you think it is too late to get in on any of them? We had contacted Shore Excursions via email (only way to contact for Royal Caribbean) early December and they just responded last week and it was too late to book anything. I was a little apprehensive to book outside of the ship..bad enough if you make a decision and effects just you and your spouse or cabin mate...but 15 others it is a little nerve wrecking. We were also going to opt for Giovanni's for the first night--do you think that would be wise. I realize we would likely be at 2+ tables---thank you again for your review and hope you get this to respond before we leave. Our age group is 27-77 and all related--Brothers, sisters, cousins, parents, etc.

Sailed Oasis 11/29 sailing and We had a 4:50 flight on southwest this past Saturday We were so happy we were approved for the valet service. Southwest is the last airline to update RCCL with passenger approval. We didn't find out until after 7pm Friday that we were accepted. We didn't have to get our luggage at the pier--the biggest advantage was not having to lug it around the airport. They don't allow check in on bags until 5 hours before your flight. The six of us paid $20 including tip from the pier to the airport (no luggage) vs. RCCL bus ride $16.75 per person. When you take the transfers into account the $20 valet cost is minimal and a HUGE convenience! Trust me when I say it is the best $20 spent on your vacation. Didn't see my luggage until we arrived at Midway baggage claim!

I believe Choice Air fee is reduced if you are diamond or above