FrannyK

Has anyone seen the balcony on cabins 9250, 9650, 10650 or 10250? They appear a bit larger on the deck plans than other cabins in the D7 category. Are they? Can't seem to find pictures of any of these balconies.

Also, are there two chairs or two loungers on the balconies?

Has anyone seen the balcony on cabins 9250, 9650, 10650 or 10250? They look a bit larger than others in the D7 category? Are they? Can't seem to find any pictures of these balconies.

Also, are there two chairs or two loungers on the balconies?

I called and they said that Wonderland was NOT part of the BOGO package !! Can anyone confirm this?

I already purchased the BOGO. I called RCI afterwards and I was told that Izumi is not included. I asked if Wonderland was included and she said yes.

It means the price may vary by sailing. You should be able to see the exact price in your Cruise Planner.

These ARE the prices in my cruise planner.

I've been looking at the specialty dining packages for the two of us on our upcoming cruise on Anthem. I'm very confused about the specialty dining packages!

The BOGO package is for two nights (1st and 2nd nights only). If we went to Chops ($42/pp) and Jamies ($35/pp) I assume the bill would be $77 since it's BOGO - am I correct in my thinking? I understand RCL chooses the restaurants but I can change them the first day.

As for the 3 night package it says "from $85/pp" Does that mean the price will change depending on which restaurants you go to?

Are there ever any discounts offered on these packages?

Freedom of the Seas 1700

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more pictures and a comparison of 1400 & 1700 vs 7408 & 7708, click this link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2285345&highlight=freedom

Thanks for the comparison. Very interesting. We have 7708 on Indy next week and your pics have me very very happy we were able to get that cabin! We are newer converts to afts, this will be our 4th. Favorite so far was 9256 on Jewel.

Ice show was on day 1 9:00 pm and the last day not sure of time but was afternoon / evening. We just showed up for admission but arrive early.

 

We ate at the windjammer so not sure of the dining room for lunch I am sure someone could answer this one.

Thanks for the info. We will check the procedure for ice out once we board I think. Good to know it was first and last day.

Ice Show times are based on your muster station #. We did not go to the ice show on either of our last two cruises as it wasn't a good time for us and had seen it before.

 

Plus the Top Tier Event had an ice skating show.

That's interesting. Have never heard that before.

Leaving next week on 4-night IOS (first time on IOS). We decided to change our dining reservation from early seating to MTD. I was surprised when my TA told me you don't have to pay gratuities ahead of time when scheduling MTD anymore. He said RCI found that too many people were switching to MTD once they boarded to avoid paying gratuities up front.

I've been reading recent IOS reviews and I'm concerned about how MTD works on IOS. Many say you must make reservations for dinner for the entire cruise the first day or even ahead of sailing time? Is that true? Can't we just show up in the dining room? Or can't we make reservations daily depending on our schedule? How are reservations made? There will be just the two of us. Is there a certain area of the dining room dedicated to MTD? We tried MTD years ago on other ships and had no problem at all without making one reservation. Hope we didn't make a mistake for IOS.

Thanks for posting your review. We leave next week (first time on IOS) for the 4-night itinerary. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.

What is the ice show schedule on the 4-night cruise? Can you just show up or do you need to reserve tickets somehow?

Is the dining room open on boarding day for lunch? Or is just the buffet and promonade cafe open?

Leaving on the IOS next week. We had early seating reserved but decided to switch to My Time Dining. Called our TA a couple of days ago, thinking it may be too late to switch and we'd have to do it on the ship but we were able to switch no problem. I was surprised when he told me that they don't charge gratuities up front anymore. He said RCI was having problems with too many people switching to MTD when they boarded to avoid paying gratuities up front. Makes sense.

Didn't take any pics but 9256 was the most magnificent balcony we've ever had. Congrats on getting it and enjoy!

We are sailing IOS in January and I was looking at reservations online for Chops/Giovanni's and I was surprised there was a $10 price difference per person. Glad to read here that Giovanni's is generally favored. Really helped me make my decision since we only wanted to do specialty dining one night.

On one past cruise and on our upcoming cruise on Indy we switched from an aft balcony to a corner aft balcony when we saw it became available. So sometimes it pays to keep an eye on cabin availability leading up to the cruise! We scored 7708 on Indy 😊

Posted this same question on RCI boards and all the responses said to go with 7708 for the huge balcony. I saw pictures and it is amazing! So, I switched to 7708. FYI

5 nights on the Brilliance would win for me. Especially the difference in dates - February vs December. We lived in Michigan for 3 years so I remember the never ending winters!

That's true. February is a great time to get away from the snow. December is just the beginning of the cold weather and you have the holidays to keep you busy.

Having had cabin 9256 on Jewel I have to say take it! I had a different aft cabin reserved and when I saw 9256 come up I jumped on it pronto. It was so amazing! Huge and private, unsurpassed views. I think since it is just the two of you and you won't be running around with the kids you would spend more time on the balcony. With two kids in college (been there) and a wedding on the horizon you should relax and enjoy while you can and this is the balcony cabin to do it! There's nothing like having coffee/breakfast out there in the morning and the sunsets were spectacular. We brought a little speaker for our itunes and it was perfect. Because of our business we normally only take 4 or 5 night cruises so that's what we're used to. I think you got a nice price for the cruise. We've never had trouble with fog in Tampa but we normally cruise in Jan/Feb.

You absolutely made the right decision in my opinion. Look at all the views (especially post number 9) in this thread from our cruise in the same cabin:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2014636

Wow! Thank you! These pictures seal the deal for me :)

Going to stick with 7708. Thanks everyone for your help. Our favorite balcony cabin so far was on the Jewel - 9256 corner aft wrap around balcony. I think 7708 will measure up :)

I think you have made the right choice. We've been in the RFS #9708 a few times on Indy & Liberty...and #9706 is a connecting cabin (door) to #9708. The TV and Bose sound system is on that common wall...we are always very concerned about neighbors and keep the sound down ...but you never know. The views are amazing on deck #9 but if only cruising with two of you I would definitely go for that end cabin #7708 you'll still have great views and much more private..don't be concerned about the super structure. Enjoy :)

I appreciate your insight. I wasn't thrilled about having an adjoining door in 9706 anyway. I think we will be happy with 7708 for the larger balcony, some shade and privacy. It's fun trying out cabins that are a bit unique. We've never had an aft on a ship with superstructure so it will definitely be new for us in many ways.

Indy 7408 at Thanksgiving last year, should be the same size but flipped.

 

Massive balcony, loved it ! Superstructure is definitely there but you can see the water just fine and actually get a nice mix of sun/shade depending on the angle of the boat, etc.

 

We had two loungers, table, two chairs and room for about 10 of our closest friends :)

That sounds just perfect! We are normally shade seekers anyway so I think the balcony will serve us well. Have never had an aft with superstructure so it will be different for us but I feel the size and privacy of the balcony will more than make up for it.

Previously reserved aft cabin 9706. Just switched to aft corner cabin 7708. I know 7708 will have more superstructure in view than 9706 but I'm thinking 7708 has the larger balcony and a bit more private being on the end? It cost me $140 more to switch to 7708. Did I make the right decision? Second guessing myself. We love afts :)

Booked Independence of the Seas cabin 9706 (aft) originally. Just switched to cabin 7708 (corner aft). Hope I did the right thing! I know 7708 will have more super structure but I think the balcony will be larger. It was $140 more. Did I do the right thing? We love afts :)

The steakhouse on Caribbean Princess is the Crown Grill. I believe Chops is on another cruise line.

Whoops! I meant Crown Grill of course. What a memorable dinner...

Have to agree 100%. We were on the same time you were and there was definitely something off with the Caribbean. Did not get the same good vibe from that ship as other ships we've sailed on. I think part of it was the short segments (4,5 and 7 day runs) that did not allow for some of the crew to relax around passengers. There was always embarkation and disembarkation to plan for.Will not book those short segments again. This coming Feb we are booked on the Royal for 20 days.

Because of our business we can only take 4 to 6-night cruises. Very rarely do we take a full week. We've always had wonderful service on our short cruises with very few exceptions until this Princess cruise. It's unusual to have problems with a cabin steward, dining room servers, dining room maitreD, and Chops maitreD all on one cruise! But I have to say it certainly didn't ruin our great time on this ship and in fact we laughed about most of it. We just feel it was a crazy fluke week where we were chosen to deal with every crank pot on the ship! It won't stop us from taking short cruises or taking more cruises on Princess.