Reina del Mar

We did a pre Covid South America cruise around Cape Horn and were very fortunate that although quite chilly, our weather wasn’t rough. We were in a mid ship balcony..felt no movement. This year we cruised in an Aft Balcony from Santiago to LA. The aft balcony was a good cabin in so much as it was in a very quiet area with little passing footfall. Even though the temperature was in the 30s, we felt the ship moving much more. The views were amazing, the balcony not as large as I had anticipated. My husband found no problem walking all the way aft, but since I was in the middle of a ‘flare’ of an autoimmune disease, I found the walk quite long. He would like to book an aft cabin again, I am not so sure.

We have used Princess transfers/ hotels and also sorted ourselves out with hotels and transfers. The Princess packages are more expensive as they charge per person, but do take control of your arrangements. There are Princess reps at the airport and at the hotel which takes the stress off you. When we are visiting a ‘new to us’ port, we tend to use the Princess package but if we are departing from somewhere we have been previously and know the ‘lay of the land’, we tend to do our own bookings.

Disappointing, but not the end of the world. More ‘stuff’ to lug aboard …will I need an extra rollaboard for cans of Diet Coke, Water, Wine, now crisps, chocolate and sweets??? No, think we can manage without !

Sorry, unable to help but didn’t want to read and run…..check with Guest Services if still onboard. Mistakes happen..we had to have drinks taken off our folio when we had Drinks’ packages. Wasn’t a problem.

That’s interesting to know. Left a wonderful review of our excellent MDR waiter and his assistant and would like him to know we thought he was so impressive. Left a not so good review of the Assistant Maître d’hôtel and hope he got to learn something from our comments too !

I have heard of people in UK being unable to speak to cruiselines, if they have booked with a TA, so it is not different..but I tend to insist and then they will speak to me..maybe I have been lucky..I haven’t needed to speak to them often but when I have it’s been fine. (Princess and Royal Caribbean)

I book with a travel agent. However if I have a problem I need to have sorted and the TA takes too long (in my opinion) to fix it, I ring the cruise line. More often than not they will speak to you and sort your concern. I have read that folks have told them they can’t get hold of the TA to allow them to look into booking but I have never needed to say that.

I don’t really understand ……Please can anyone explain ??? if we have paid tips for twice daily cabin service, which has sincebeen reduced to once a day, and stewards have now been allocated double the cabins, surely that would mean double the tips ??? Thanks for your help.

We are unable to have ours shipped to UK for Caribbean/ South American cruises and have found no difficulty picking them up at the pier. For those who tend to forget things like passports, it might be a better option as one less thing to remember !

Always ask for a zero balance paper receipt when checking out of any hotel. Hand in keys at the same time. $2 doesn’t sound excessive but on first reading I thought it said $20 which would be another story !

We exchange money for travelling before we leave..not keen on ATMs in our home country, even less while abroad. We don’t order a huge amount of the various currencies, but usually have enough for coffees, tips and taxis. We don’t use debit cards abroad, preferring the additional security of a credit card. When we make the exchanges, more often than not we are given notes, so coins for bathrooms/locals buses tend to come after we have had a coffee in a local cafe. Of course, coins are unlikely to be accepted when returning currency to banks. It is not easy, but try to work out how much currency you might need in each port..depends on whether doing your shore excursions independently or using ship’s offerings. Many places offer ‘no commission’ foreign exchange, but their rates tend to be lower to make up for this. You’ll probably end up paying something, one way or another. At least that has been our experience.

As we fly internationally for most of our cruises, we have to pick medallion up , on check in. Haven’t had a problem…yet !!!

Not sure I would use Princess transfers in Fort Lauderdale as airport is very near the port. Flying internationally, we tend to arrive two-three days before sailing. It is easy to find a taxi at the airport to your hotel. Some hotels offer low cost shuttles and those tech savvy use Uber or Lyft. Some hotels have low cost shuttles to the port..we have done a shuttle and a taxi at various times. Approx $20 to hotels on 17th Street Causeway and less to port for two adults with large cases. Shuttle to port was $9 per person.(2022) In the past, when we flew into Miami we used the Princess hotel and transfer package..it worked well , was quite expensive, but we find it simpler to fly into Fort Lauderdale and do our own thing now we know how everything works.

Very true..UK bookings follow a different set of T&Cs where we are allowed only one change in our bookings, at an admin fee of $100. Seems so unfair when reading that our transatlantic friends can make several changes without cost, if their fare decreases. Maybe they are trying to bring things into line…would have preferred it if our rules followed USA though.

Many years ago, parents were advised by the cabin stewards to sleep with life jackets on the end of the bed to elevate legs/feet. Have been fortunate not to experience this so unsure whether it works.

Hot water bottle as suggested above.

10th Street- just off 17th Street Causeway.

We found location of Hyatt Place very good, rooms were clean, breakfast more than satisfactory, staff very professional, helpful and polite. Not sure whether the pool area might interest you but that’s what we found sadly lacking. Few loungers, disappointing towels and pool full of leaves. Used a taxi from the airport and the hotel’s shuttle to the cruiseport…very well organised.

Found Sawgrass Mills very sprawling. Staying on 17th Street it was hard to reach without renting a car..we had flown internationally so hadn’t intended having a car. We asked for help regarding shuttles..it appears there is one from Miami, but nothing from Fort Lauderdale..you could get a private taxi/shuttle from some hotels but quite expensive. The car rental wasn’t too bad but we ended up paying approx $100 including insurance, taxes and fees…quite a lot more than the $39 dollars we were quoted…this was pre Covid so no idea how much it might have increased by now. Post Covid we decided not to visit and caught a local tourist bus to Galleria Mall. We’d been previously so knew what to expect there..nothing too exciting Dillard’s Macy’s..Sears has closed down…depends what you are looking for…for a big Outlet mall shop probably Sawgrass is worth the expense..for a few last minute items there’s Publix, Total Wine, Ross, Marshalls etc at Harbor Shops on 17th Street, without incurring an extra cost if staying nearby.

If every Platinum/ Elite member took guests with them, the line would be huge. You might manage it..but trust your conscience and go in their lane. In fact, it might even be quicker !

Sailed Junior Suite on Wonder this time last year- we had four connecting suites and no one complained about beds- obviously things may have changed as it’s a year later, and mattresses have probably been used regularly since.

Many moons ago, there used to be a ‘boat train’ from Scotland to Southampton for P & O- no idea if it still exists but may be worth looking.

These are T&Cs for UK bookings, from the RC website, which we have to accept to make a booking. Not sure whether UK government rules override this but wouldn’t have thought so. Do I have to pay extra for My Time Dining? Guests who choose ‘My Time Dining’ on all European sailings will have gratuities automatically added to their bill, as they may be served by different members of the team each night. This means tips for your waiting staff – as well as other dining and housekeeping staff – will be included in the quoted price for ‘My Time Dining’ on your cruise holiday. Guests who choose our open dining option may opt-in to pre-paid gratuities for dining, or add them to their account at check-out. For all European sailings you will need to pre-pay your gratuities because you may be served by different members of the team each night. This means tips for your waiting staff – as well as other dining and housekeeping staff – will be included in the quoted price for your cruise holiday.

Unfortunately things are not quite the same in UK. We have to pay mandatory tips ( oxymoron???) if we book My Time Dining with Royal Caribbean. They are part of the booking process and cannot be removed.

I would disagree..we ate in MDR ( Savoy restaurant) on Sapphire Princess at 7pm most evenings and were in and out in less than an hour. We had a table for two which might have helped. Having read the reviews here, am rather concerned about our RCCL cruise in August.