rum & monkey

Just looked at what they got (tried to upload a pic but getting error message)

The only Internet they got was 10% off any internet package for one device.

Also included 10% off any one Y-spa treatment

Buy one get one free peace pop bar @ Ben & Jerry's

25% off any coffee beverage @ cafe promenade, cafe latte-tudes, or specialty restaurants

$5 back when you purchase $15 at arcade

$25 back when you purchase $50 at arcade

Buy one, get one free movie rental in your stateroom

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That has been my understanding, but one of the posts above says different. Perhaps things have changed since our daughter was under 21.

Royal cut back on benefits? So unlike them!

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We went last December one of our daughters was 20 & emerald the other was 19 & diamond both got the benefits that my 14 year old got. No internet or free photo for the 19 year old that was diamond. Both daughters that are diamond (they were 14 & 19) got the diamond letter but the youth benefits loaded on card. The 20 year old got an emerald letter with youth benefits loaded on her card that were identical to both of her sisters.

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The scenario I described works for any length cruise - you are better off buying the rest of the sailing package with the second coupon on day two instead of using it for a 24 hour period and then buying the rest of the sailing package on day.

 

 

 

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Only cheaper to buy onboard with coupon if cruise is 7 days or shorter otherwise cheaper to pre-buy.

9 day cruise take day 1 free; use $20 off coupon on days 2-9 @ $19.95/day = $139.60 total

9 day cruise pre-buy @ $14.95/day = $135 total if on sale even cheaper

14 day cruise take 1 day free; use $20 off coupon on days 2-14 @ $19.95/day =$239.35

14 day cruise pre-buy @ $14.95/day = $209.30

Our next 9 day cruise Internet was on sale for $11.95/day total $108 if using two diamond discounts it would cost $139

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A better way (financially) to use the second coupon is to buy the package on second day using the $20 value of the coupon.

Depends on the length of the cruise. 7 days or shorter it comes out cheaper, if it is a longer cruise better off to pre-buy as this option will cost you more.

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Uber & Lyft both have surge times when they cost a little bit more so time of day, day of week, and any special events going on is everything. We have paid as little as $28 & not more than $33 when I look at my history in both apps. Just be aware that you will probably have an additional city tax when you pick your vehicle up at the downtown location.

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Both my kids are Gold. [emoji6]

 

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My kids say we play favorites! On our coat tails or oldest made emerald, the middle diamond, and the youngest (still under 18) makes diamond plus this year.

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You also want to be careful with your prepaid taxes, we have found that the prepaid taxes do not include the added on city taxes that they will charge you when you pick up the vehicle. Our prepaid taxes included the LA 3% state tax but when we picked our vehicle up we had an additional $10 in city taxes. Not sure where you are staying but I am assuming the port area which would mean the last trolley stop. From the Avis/budget lot you will have somewhere between 8-10 trolley stops and it may be standing room only on the trolley depending on the time of day. When you take into consideration the time it will take you getting the rental car and dropping it, you should ask yourself if it is really worth it to save less than $10?

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One of our daughters goes to school in New Orleans so we use the airport on a frequent basis, and always stay in the warehouse/FQ area . Your best option would be to take Lyft or Uber. We have done a one way rental from the downtown area before and it was not worth the hassle. Both Uber & Lyft pick up at the airport usually Lyft is less expensive but not always. Uber usually runs under $35 from the airport to the French Quarter depending on the time. You will have no use for the car in the downtown/French Quarter area as parking will cost you a fortune.

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We did a Poker Draw with a Pub Crawl on Celebrity Connie. Great fun until we hit Martini Bar. Some never made it to dinner.

On Indy we had some still in swimsuits after 10:00PM on formal night. Everyone in our group missed the dining room. We all wound up eating at Johnny Rockets as it was the only place left open (other than pizza) at 10:30PM for dinner.

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We've found going from the top & working your way down works best. When we have worked our way up we never leave the promenade deck! Don't forget all the little extra bars (in all the theater venues)

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Plenty of books written by former crew about life onboard

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Also... another flowrider question. Do the lessons ever go "on sale" like the Bev pkg, and shore excursions? Is it better to wait until onboard to book? Are there more times available once onboard?

Not sure if it ever goes on sale. However, I have seen it sold out. If they want the lessons I would do it while you still have your choice of days & times. I would assume you would want lessons on day 1 or 2 so that they are confident to use it the rest of the week. If you purchase now and it goes on sale later you can always cancel up to three days before boarding and rebook it at the lower price.

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That is interesting. I had to tender in Cozumel after Wilma as well, but it was definitely a shore based tender. They were the biggest tenders I've ever been on. Was on Mariner of the Seas.

Probably depends on how many ships in port. We were on Rhapsody.

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It's going to depend on the Comedian for the week, but I would not take my 15 year old, I had my 18 & 20 year old that I wished had not gone. The comedian was beyond vulgar. I love late night adult comedy but this was vulgarity just to be vulgar and wasn't even funny. The host Simeon was great & funny. They did have family friendly shows that there were no reservations for that are in the cruise compass. I know they do their rounds on different ships but if you come across Jessica Kirson, just skip it.

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We've had them several times, I guess we've been lucky never heard anything. Still hate them and would never pick by choice. Quite often the couch in a connecting cabin is smaller because of the door, and one time no couch, just one chair. This is the reason I do not like them.

Our worst experience is having the bed by the balcony and the cabin next door would leave their balcony light on all night plus they were real loud and you could hear them & their tv all night. Glad we had no kids with us as the tv was a paid for selection.

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I've seen MSC doing this also. But I've personally never seen RCL use ship based tenders.

Been on two RC sailings that they used their boats. After a while they all run together but I know one was Belize and it was a mix of a couple of their lifeboats and the tenders they had their contract with. The other, I am almost positive, was Cozumel after hurricane Wilma (the piers were taken out by Wilma and you had to tender in).

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Yes. I'm also wondering why her story changed. Interesting that she dropped the "bomb" on this and other similar posts, and then disappeared. There are a troubling amount of "blackout" stories, but none attributed to Xanax, or suspected drugging. Xanax typically doesn't make you blackout, right (maybe when combined with alcohol)? And if there is someone spiking food with prescription drugs, it seems odd that they would target random people in groups (referring to other posts on here, not the solo traveler).

 

 

 

I agree that the bad alcohol is a Mexico problem and not unique to NC, which is why I will stick to bottled beer when I'm there in April, just in case. If the Xanax in the guacamole allegation is indeed true, well that is much more concerning. Again, without a follow up from that poster and explanation as to why she has two versions of the story - it's hard to give it much credit.

I get your problem (and others) with her story. But I wasn't there nor am I a doctor or pharmacist. I can say when I left NC it was not a feeling of being drunk, which is exactly why I felt I had been drugged. It was a definite loss of motor skills and even if had thrown up, by the time I was back to the ship it was already in my system and throwing up would not have taken care of the problem. After a year and a half though when I started reading the numerous black out stories that are based on people drinking tainted alcohol and the effects it made complete sense. She said in one of her posts that the Xanax was crushed, if it were crushed how do recognize it? If it were crushed I would think it would be completely broken down and past the stomach by the time you get back to the ship. If you are having effects from it, it has moved past the stomach. Having only one drink (not much alcohol in a pina colada) and the guac, if she felt like I did I would insist that I had been drugged also. But at this point would be thinking it was tainted alcohol. However, being fine after throwing up with enough time to leave NC and get back to the ship makes no sense to me nor does seeing pieces of crushed pills as recognizable Xanax. I tend to think that something did happen and the story was embellished. Although, everyone that ingests tainted alcohol will react differently based on several factors (amount you ingest, your own metabolism, your height/weight) we had left the beach area before any kind of reaction started and I was beyond out of it by the time we reached the pier (I started feeling off while we were waiting for the cab). I am just glad we left early and did not stay for one more drink. Again, bottled beer only for me in Mexico for now on!

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Well, now I see that we can buy a 375ml bottle of rum onboard our cruise, for a price!!!

VERY limited spirits available... only Cruzan Coconut for rum. (We do like that Cruzan, but usually also use a stronger rum with it.)

That would doctor up a few virgin drinks!

If your looking to doctor virgin drinks in port at the beach I would trust a sealed name brand liquor from the store (maybe I am being the naive one here now). Pour it in a couple of water bottles and in with your beach bag or backpack. If your at an all-inclusive, I really don't think they are going to care what you pour in your drink, after all no alcohol is even cheaper for them than bootleg alcohol.

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If you insist and are using a travel agent put them to work and find a block available that will accommodate what you want. First cabin parents A. Next cabin 1st & 2nd child AB 3rd child C. Next cabin parents B. Next cabin 1st & 2nd child BC 3rd child A. Next cabin parents C. All 1st & 2nd children are next to their parents.

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It maybe that the muster Station is close to capacity. There are more beds in each section than the muster stations will allow. I don't know the numbers but say there are 350 seats on a life boat, the muster station capacity for all rooms in muster station C-1 would be 350. There maybe 400 possible beds in rooms in section C-1 which means as the section starts to fill up some of those 3-4 berth cabins will only be allowed to book 2 people. Hope it makes sense. If your worried though call Royal Caribbean (maybe a few times as you will probably get a different answer each time you call).

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That policy that you quoted appears the same as the one that's been on the website for years. I remember it as always stating connecting rooms however we've been cruising with our kids having their own rooms adjacent and across the hall for the past 4 years and never had an issue. Currently we have cruises booked through March 2019 this way.

We too have never had an issue and put the kids across from us (as recent as last December). I think the problem here is each kid needs to be next to or across from their own parent. I am not sure if this issue is because each parent is booking their own child or not. However we have taken my niece before and put her in the cabin next to us with our kids but she was on our reservation and not sailing with her parents. We have also had friends of our kids sailing with us and no problems.

It might work if "parents A" books their cabin and male children a, b, & c and "parents b" book their own cabin plus female children a,b, & c and then parents c can just pay parents a&b for their child. Otherwise look for connecting cabins. We have taken children that were not ours several times and have never had connecting rooms or the kids in our room.

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We went to Nachi's a couple of years ago, I had a couple of beers & a couple of Margaritas in a time span of 5 hours. Drink way more on the ship. We were there with a big group from the ship, and we left early as we were going to pick a few things up in the port before getting back on. While we were waiting for the cab I started feeling off and queasy. During the cab ride I was feeling more out of it, and felt like maybe I had been drugged. After getting to the port I had a hard time getting on the ship and pretty much blacked out. Woke up 8 hours later remembering nothing past being in the port. Although I felt as I was drugged I wrote it off as to much to drink in the sun. The next day found out two of the other women in our group had the exact same experience who also wrote it off as to much to drink in the sun. One had also ordered margaritas and the other tequila sunrises. Everyone else in the group was fine and no one else drank drinks with tequila (mostly bottled beer and mudslides). I truly felt like I had been drugged and after finding out the next day that 3 out of 3 had the same reaction with the tequila was almost positive, one of the husbands thought maybe they were using whole grain alcohol in some of their drinks to cut costs. It sounded plausible, but now that all the information is out about the bootleg & tainted liquor that is used in Mexico, the reactions from it, & the dangers I am positive that they use bootleg tequila. I have seen estimates from their government that anywhere from 39% - 49% (depending on the year) of the liquor being served in Mexico is bootlegged most of which is tequila & rum. With those percentages and my own experience I vowed not to drink anything in Mexico but bottled beer. The thing about bootleg alcohol is there is no regulation and any two batches even by the same bootlegger may not be the same.

You can stick your head in the sand and say it didn't happen because you have been there and it didn't happen to you, or someone didn't go to the ship doctor, or didn't report it somewhere but you are seriously risking it at ANY of these resorts. Even the resorts where deaths have happened not everyone in the resort had the same experience but it is happening and it is a very scary experience when it does happen to you. We are going back to Nachi's this fall with a large group, I will not be drinking anything but bottled beer. They have a great quiet beach, we could go someplace else but there is just a good of chance of getting tainted alcohol anywhere else. Tainted alcohol has been collected from places like Carlos & Charlies and Hooter's. In August they seized over 10,000 gallons of tainted alcohol in the Cancun area (and their govt. is so corrupt I wouldn't be surprised if they sold it back to them, the raid was only to protect their tourism business after a lot of bad publicity). If you do not want to believe it is going on in Cozumel you maybe the next victim. Do yourself a favor enjoy the beaches and save mixed drinks for the ship.

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Could you please post the link to that thread so it can help future cruisers.

 

 

 

I always make sure that I have a room assignment prior to the cruise. In fact from now on I will pay a bit more to have my room assigned at the time of booking.

Link is in post # 4 if it doesn't open for you search in Royal Caribbean for a thread called "Cruise Oversold" started by Rick-n-Lisa

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2480927

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2480927

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