1Aussi

Thanks everyone! Will make sure I bring enough small bills onboard to take care of it.

Hi,

DH & I don't usually order room service :D

However, my next cruise I'm taking my mother and she would prefer to have breakfast before moving too far. So I'm thinking we'll order the Continental Breakfast each morning but how much should I be tipping???

Thanks in advance

Robyn

San Diego

For me 75% of the fun of cruising is planning. I would like to dine in two of the specialty restaurants. Which two nights should we skip main dining room?

Hi Toni,

I love the planning part too!! ;)

Can anyone tell me the current prices for the specialty restaurants, including Johnny Rockets? I've been searching and am getting conflicting information.

Thanks

Robyn

Hi,

Am booked on the Grand Princess repo cruise (LA -> Vancouver) in March and was wondering about the Arcade games offered onboard.

How much do they cost, do they take cash or room charge only?? What sort of games are available?

Sorry if this has been asked recently but I could only find posts from 2006/07 and I think there's been an overhaul since then.

TIA

Robyn

I'm glad you got a photo of the sub. I was out on the deck (without my camera) when it went by and I was so disappointed not to get a picture!

I got a whole bunch of photos!! :D DH says I went overboard over it :p

Room info - we had an outside view room. Room number 4042 which was smaller than I anticipated but perfect for the two of us! The bed was very firm and, as April noted, tended to separate a bit in the center. We also enjoyed lazing on the bed and staring at the ocean or the stars. I was surprised at how small the shower was! I'm 5' 10" & DH is 6' 3" and we both felt a bit claustrophobic in the shower. I kept apologizing to Robert, our room attendant, for the mess/flood on the bathroom floor! :rolleyes: The water pressure in the shower was great!! But not so good in the sink, also the sink plug didn't work so that was a bit of an inconvenience for DH when shaving.

We didn't notice any noise, except the occasional bump or murmur, from neighbors or decks a over or below. All in all a great stateroom choice!

Here's a photo of the sub that delayed our arrival at Port Canaveral :) It was pretty cool to see it go by so close !!

Robyn

We were on the same cruise (our first with RCI) with four of our friends! Hi April!!

While we enjoyed our vacation, but the overall impression I have of the ship & crew is "exhausted". We ate each night in the dining room and our waiters were EXCELLENT!! Shout out to Ramil & Diego!! We were "My time" diners so each night before we left the table Ramil or the Maître d confirmed what time we would eat the following night. Most nights we ate at about 7:30-ish. Our room attendant, Robert, was great too!

The dinners were nice, although sometimes a little too salty for us and often lukewarm, but we had no problem getting extras! After the second night Ramil proceeded to bring me an additional shrimp cocktail, no matter what I ordered!! :D When we were having trouble deciding between two menu items, he brought us both! I brought them chocolates from our chocolate tour in Nassau which they really appreciated ;)

We only ate lunch in the MDR once, I had Pasta Pomodoro and DH had Baramundi (fish) which we both enjoyed! The service wasn't great :(

Breakfast in the MDR was horrible. Tired/overworked/inattentive staff, uninspiring menu & surprising "hidden costs". For example - I wanted Cranberry Juice the first morning we ate there and was told I'd have to go to the bar to buy it for myself!! Orange juice was "free" so I had that, however no refills were ever offered.

The Windjammer was busy and most of the problems we had there had to do with the "norovirus procedures".

The embarkation & debarkation procedures (on the wharf, not the ship) were swift and efficient. My only suggestion is that they put a sign directing non-US citizens to the other line. We waited longer than necessary ;)

On the whole we had a good time and met our goals for this vacation, which were to relax and enjoy visiting with our friends!

Robyn

Example #2: When packing, I now figure out what I'm going to wear every day and each day goes in it's own ziplock bag. That way I know I didn't over or under pack and when I'm done wearing it all goes back in it's ziplock bag and into the suitcase under the bed. By the end of the cruise I'm all packed back up except for the toiletries and what clothes I'm wearing for debarkation.

 

Example #3: I now put all my documents & notes in a 1/2 inch binder with a few plastic sheet holders for special stuff we get a long the way (ie. photos purchased). Now everything is nicely organized in one spot and our photos don't get all bent and yucky.

LOVE these ideas!

Granted we most likely do all these things because of my OCD but in the end it makes life and our vacation that much better!:)

My in-laws (mother & sisters) agreed that traveling with an obsessive planner (i.e. ME) on our first cruise was definitely the way to go!!! ;) Good planning makes things so much easier -- or so I keep telling my immediate family, who I drive nuts!!!!! :D

You might want to post your question about the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Holland America on this link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171 That will take you to the Holland America Board hear on cruise critic. When you post it will be helpful to mention which cabin or category of cabin you are in because some have nice double sink bathrooms which will make your life easier.

One of the CC members who regularly cruises on HAL has a wonderful thread with pictures of many of the cabins on each ship. If you can't find your own cabin, you'll probably be able to find a similar one on your ship or one of the sister ships. I'm guessing you'll be on the Oosterdam. The sister ships are the Noordam, Westerdam, and Zuiderdam. Here is the link the more pictures than you can imagine: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1054590

Have fun on your cruise. There will be afternoon teas available in the main dining room. You'll see them on your daily newsletter. It might be fun for your group to try them out early on your cruise so you'll have time to go back if you enjoy them.

Thanks TravelMatron!

Will post same message (with more cabin details ;) on the suggested board!

Thanks again

Secrets or hidden things would kind of depend on which cruiseline/ship you are on.

Holland America to Mexican Riviera:)

I am 35 days away from my very first cruise - off on Holland America Mexican Riviera with MIL and 2 SIL! I am a a big "organizer" and like to know the big things to do or avoid before hand! I'm the one who plans the route & stops on a road trip etc (OCD??? LOL). MIL is paying for our cruises but we are each responsible for our other charges. Having been burnt more than once, on other vacations, by surprise charges I am trying to avoid as much as I can :) I have devoured this site and made lots of notes!

Here's some questions though?

- 4 women in one stateroom! Any advice??

- Can we get extra copies of the daily activity newspaper? (1 SIL & I are scrapbookers!!)

- What are the "unpublished" things not to miss on the cruise?

- Do we need to get Mexican currency? Our ports are Cabo San Lucas & Puerto Vallarta. I've heard conflicting reports that say Mexican retailers may not take USD$ anymore. Will use Credit Card for most purchases but cash for small purchases.

I can't wait!!!