Dragonkeper

Personally,

if that was the one thing I wanted ( to get all of the rooms continuous)

a. I would have just picked a different section of the ship that had the rooms

b. if someone does answer your role call or however you may reach them. Why don't , instead of offering them $40.00 worth of wine. Why don't you offer to pay the difference to upgrade them to a junior suite? you have ten rooms booked for probably less than 100 per room you could just pay the upgrade? maybe that's worth it to have your 100' wide balcony?

At the time that we started to book we only had 6 cabins connected so it was not an issue. Then more family wanted to go so we needed more cabins and supposedly these were the only cabins available to my TA.

Offering to pay for an upgrade is a possibility as well. It is something that I would also consider.

When I did the online check in before I selected to not set up an onboard expense account under my gf name, and then selected that I would pay for her under my name. When I printed up the Set Sail Pass it was just one with both of our names on it.

:eek::eek::eek:

 

Not on your life would I even remotely consider this! Open my balcony so strangers can walk though it? Ain't happenin'.

 

On a positive note though, if I knew my cabin was between a large group I would want to trade rooms so that I could avoid all the cross talk between the group over my balcony - that would be annoying.:rolleyes:

Maybe I could sweeten the deal for the cabin change with a couple of bottles of wine! :D I guess time will tell if I can make this happen or not.

Considering that it's a D8 with a larger balcony, since it's on the hump, I would tend to agree with you. I suspect that the current occupants had specific reasons for choosing that cabin.

You might be correct on this, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. Maybe they will be willing to open their dividers as well.

My family and I are sailing on the Harmony of the Seas August 14, 2016 out of Barcelona. We have 13 balconies all together on deck 7 except for one little hiccup. Balcony cabin 7190 is in the middle of my group, we have 7 balconies all together on one side and 6 balconies all together on the other side. I am trying to find out who has this cabin to see if they would be willing to switch with one of my family that has the same category cabin so that we could open our balcony dividers to have one long balcony, if they allow us to open them that is. I have check with my TA and their company did not get this cabin in their group of cabins. I have called RCI to see if they could contact the people on my behalf and of course they said that they could not call anyone and ask them to switch cabins. I would like to do all of this before we get on the ship, but if not maybe I can do it once we get on the ship. Does anyone have this cabin for this sailing or know of someone that does? I have posted in my roll call as well. Any advice about this would also be appreciated. TIA.

Using the diapers will save your clothes if the bottles break because it will absorb the liquid and keep it sealed in the plastic sleeve. If you are traveling by air use the diapers in conjunction with the bubble wrap for extra padding and protection. When you get to the cruise terminal you can leave it in your checked bag or take it out and carry it on the boat and take it to your room when it is ready.

These are the ones I have and I have used them since 2010 and they are great. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00308FONW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=15KINSSGV9S7M&coliid=I1WTZYKGRQJ0PR&psc=1

I realize that prices fluctuate all the time, however sometimes they can be a little outrageous. Back in April 2015 my family and I booked a cruise on the Harmony for Aug 2016, at that time the price for a D2 balcony cabin was about $4395 and we booked the cabins. In June 2015 with the 30/30 sale the price had dropped to $3683 and we got the price adjustment which we are extremely happy with because 2 weeks into the 30/30 sale the price jumped up to $4095. Now with the BOGOHO sale the price for the D2 balcony cabin is now $4399, which means that the price of the cabin is now about $5618 without the sale. That is almost $1300 more than when we booked in April without any sale.

To me that seems like a very extreme increase on pricing. Just my opinion. Doesn’t mean that I will stop cruising, just means that after I book and I see a good deal I will jump on it at that time and watch the prices to see if a better deal comes along or not.

I realize that prices fluctuate all the time, however sometimes they can be a little outrageous. Back in April 2015 my family and I booked a cruise on the Harmony for Aug 2016, at that time the price for a D2 balcony cabin was about $4395 and we booked the cabins. In June 2015 with the 30/30 sale the price had dropped to $3683 and we got the price adjustment which we are extremely happy with because 2 weeks into the 30/30 sale the price jumped up to $4095. Now with the BOGOHO sale the price for the D2 balcony cabin is now $4399, which means that the price of the cabin is now about $5618 without the sale. That is almost $1300 more than when we booked in April without any sale.

To me that seems like a very extreme increase on pricing. Just my opinion. Doesn’t mean that I will stop cruising, just means that after I book and I see a good deal I will jump on it at that time and watch the prices to see if a better deal comes along or not.

I have sailed on both the Carnival Victory and Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas both were out of San Juan, and some of the things for me that were different were, on the Victory they had a waterslide and mini golf, on the Adventure of the Seas they had a rock climbing wall, roller blade track, ice skating rink and a golf simulator. More to do on Royal Caribbean for me.

What I didn’t see on Royal Caribbean that I saw on Carnival that I didn’t like was people coming to breakfast in robes and curlers in their hair, guys with pants hanging off their butts showing their under ware. Under age kids trying to sneak into the clubs. None of this ruin my cruise, just things I noticed and didn’t like.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a good time on Carnival, the ship was nice, the food was good, and the itinerary was great (hit a different port each day) only one day at sea. But for me, doing the same itinerary on Royal I had a much better time because there was more for me to do when I was on the ship.

You will find a lot of people with a lot of different opinions, but the only opinion that matters is yours. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Found this:

 

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2190619

 

Post #5 confirms $14.95 in April this year.

Thanks for the info.

I'm guessing it's free, since it's using the local wifi to send the messages not traditional SMS over cellular.

I hope so, but I saw where someone posted that there is a charge now, but they never said what the price was. I'm just trying verify this.

I know that the app is free to download, I know it doesn't work unless you are on board the ship using the Royal WiFi, I also know that this is different than the internet package.

What I want to know is how much is the Royal IQ phone/text package? I heard that we will be able to use the app on the Harmony of the Seas when it starts sailing and I have 22 people that will be on her in Aug 2016 out of Barcelona.

I used these features of the app when I was on the Quantum back in March and it was free at that time.

Thanks for any and all information.

$15/day for a single device (for the entirety of the cruise) or $10/day per device if you sign up 2 devices. There was also a 24hr of access on one device price that I can't seem to remember...$29.99?

 

The crown&ranch or discounted prices are automatically shown once you start looking into pricing, but you have to create a free of charge 'account' before you can see prices. With the discount, I was charged $150.06 for 2 devices. Beware there was no prorating offered even though I bought on day 2.

 

I'd advise not buying the royal iq phone/chat package if you plan to buy the Internet and only have 2 people--you can iMessage or whatsapp just as efficiently.

How much is the Royal IQ phone/text package? I heard that we will be able to use the app on the Harmony of the Seas when it starts sailing and I have 22 people that will be on her in Aug 2016. I used the app when I was on the Quantum back in March and it was free at that time.

+1 for Bernards.

Back in April 2015, I booked a cabin on the Harmony and the cost was $4300 now the same cabin is $3500 which is a big savings. Also you sometimes don't get deals on the new ships. So if you see a price that you are comfortable with I say get it now and lock in that price and if the price goes up you are safe and if the price goes down then call to get a price adjustment.

There's no compulsory tipping, but a euro a bag would be kind, however they won't expect it and may even not accept it

Good to know, thanks.

I have a question about tipping at the pier. Do you tip the porters in Barcelona and if so how much? I know in the US I usually tip about $1-$2 a bag.

On the Royal site during check in I just use my first and last name, I don't put my middle name there. My family does the same, just the first and last name during check in and so far we have not had any issues. For those that have hyphenated last names or special characters we just leave those out and everything worked fine for us.

Wow! You've got a big group! It's going to be so much fun!

This is how we travel. In 2013 we had 9 balconies on the Oasis. We said if we are going to do something, we might as well do it big and have a lot of fun doing it! :D

My family had always talked about taking a cruise in Europe, so what better way for their first time in Europe than to also be on the biggest cruise ship in the world. The added waterslides is a plus along with the price drop for our cabins. We have 13 balconies all connected. :D

I had used a travel agent and I was on the Oasis in 2013 with a group of 19, we all had balconies that were connected and we had the dividers open so that we had one long balcony. We all ate dinner together every night to make sure we were all on the ship. At the ports we all did different excursions and took plenty of pictures. I had made reservations for all the shows and we all went together, but we didn't have to. We flew into Ft Lauderdale from NY and Baltimore and Virginia and all our flights arrived within 5 minutes of each other, we then had a private bus to take all of us together to the pier. At the end of the trip we had over 28,000 pictures which I chose about 1800 of the best and put them on a DVD with music for everyone to relive the trip and see what others saw. There is a lot to do and see on the Oasis, I don't think anyone will be board on that ship.

We are sailing out of Barcelona in 2016 on the Harmony of the Seas and this time there are 26 of us and we have 13 connecting balconies again.

Having just disembarked the Allure in Barcelona last Friday, here's the set up.

 

The ship used terminals B&C for disembarking.

Depending on the muster location printed on your sea pass card, that determined if you were disembarking aft or stern. For us, muster stations A, B, C, D, E, F were stern, and G and H were aft.

Luggage tags odd/evens went to different terminals at different times.

We docked on Friday, and were asked to return our disembarkation choices by the previous Sunday (on a TA). My muster station was Bsomething. I had selected 7:30-8:00 as my slot (for a 10:50am flight). My luggage tags were #29.

 

At 7:30 promptly, my number was called, and I disembarked the ship from deck 5, between Bolero's and Sorrento's. At regular stages along the exit, crew were checking your baggage number to ensure you were going the right way.

 

We turned left off the ship (heading forward) and were met with 2 escalators going down. The one on the left was for EU passengers (who just had to show their passports at the bottom of the escalator) and that led straight through to baggage collection. The escalator on the right was for non-EU passengers who did a small loop through a presumably more thorough immigration before ending up in the same baggage collection area. That seemed to take roughly 2 minutes extra at that hour.

 

The bags come out on carousels - the screens over the carousels showed which number bags were assigned to that carousel. I initially thought there was just one big long snaking carousel and stood in the wrong place for a few minutes, but realised my mistake quickly.

 

Once you had your bags you walked straight out into the open air, where a number of different private transport operators were waiting, with name signs for their passengers.

 

There was a group of around 9 of us, some EU, others not, and from the call at 7:30, we were all together, with our luggage by 8am.

 

Because it was a national holiday, our trip to the airport was very fast - maybe 20 minutes. The driver mentioned that if it was a normal Friday morning it could have taken about an hour at that time of day due to rush hour. Even with that, a 10:50am flight would have been comfortable.

 

I had time after arriving at the airport (Terminal 2B) to check in, sit outside, drink 2 coffees, read my book, then start the 73 mile limp to my gate, discuss makeup in the duty free shop, and still had 10 minutes to sit down at my gate before boarding. If it had been rush hour, I'd probably have cut out the coffees and makeup conversation.

Very informative, thanks.

OMG!!! I wanna be like you when I grow up...lol...A great time had by all. We love to cruise as a family also..it started as just 2 and now has grown to 14 and this next cruise December 2016 we hope to hit 20+ "HOPE" being key..ha ha ha...Since everyone likes something different all the balconies are scattered between decks 6-7-8...Some want to be around more quiet sections, some want to have easy access to food by shooting down the steps or elevator and then you have some that just like with no rhyme or reason. Just being together and having fun together is the best..Enjoy your cruise. If we were booked at the same time I would def join your party...he he he...happy cruising:D

If you were on the same cruise you would be welcome to join us... Happy Cruising! :D

Oh my goodness 13 balconies...That sounds like the party is where you all will be...lol...I know you will have a great time. I thought our 14 family members was a lot. We are hoping for more to join between now and then. Is this a celebration?

No, this is not a celebration, we just like to travel together. We went on the Oasis in 2013 and there were 19 of us and we had 9 balconies all connected. We had the dividers open for one long balcony and did our sail away from there.

I hope your TA gave you, the group booking discounts, and OBC aswell as the free places

Yes, my TA is taking very good care of us. :D