jc24cruiser

Hi,

Just checking if there is usually a £750 difference per person between an inside guarantee cabin and an inside chosen cabin on a 2 week cruise.

Just done a price check and the guarantee price per adult is £1,199 for a guarantee...for 4 people a family of 4 at regular price the total is £3,796. So I thought that applying the offer would give me a nice discount (2nd person 1/2 price, 3rd and 4th 25% off).

But when I called they said they could not apply it to the guarantee price, the lowest price inside cabin is £1,950 (£750 more than the guarantee price)...so even with half price 2nd person, and 25% off 3rd and 4th person the total price is higher at £3,825.

I know this includes drinks packages for 2 people, but I never realised what a scam the offers were :( Especially considering we could end up paying more for a room that could have been allocated as a guarantee?!?!

On a 14 night Mediterranean on Indy? I've heard 3? Any idea which nights? We usually do short cruises and so far formal night has always been on night 2. I know there is no set rule and the ship can change the plans, just trying to work out rough plans :)

I got an amazing upgrade for free AND a refund....(some how!) and I was meant to keep it a secret, I lasted 3 hours!

My biggest secret involving a cruise is that a cruise my partner knew about was not just an ordinary holiday, it was a honeymoon. I planned the whole wedding as a surprise (thanks to a lovely loop hole even my partner did not know until the day!).

We went on the cruise a few days later as honeymooners :)

I was meant to be keeping the itinerary of our next cruise a secret but only lasted a couple of months before I blabbed!

Hi,

Yes, there is definitely Suite specific lines. When you arrive in Southampton there is a general boarding line, gold member line, diamond lines...etc. But there is one for Suite passengers too.

On our cruise from Southampton in October we were in a Suite and we practically just walked on board :D

We arrived at about midday so missed the initial rush, just walked past everyone up to the desk and then we were through.

Boarding usually starts at 11am. RCI often e-mail with a time to arrive to reduce the bottle neck. Some follow this, others dont.

I don't know about the escort on board, we were not offered this, however we were in lower ranked Suites than you x

If your query is specifically about the cabins you would get a better response with a more appropriate thread name.

If your query is actually about embarking at Southampton....ask away :)

Is there any way of getting more details eg emabark dates and ports for ships from years ago. I know I travelled on the Navigator of the Seas for the xmas and New Years cruises B2B in the Caribbean but have no more info than that....but would love to be able to get those points put on my history. Thanks in advance for any help x

I can't even remember dining on the first couple of cruises I went on as a teenager, but I can only assume it was with a larger group as MYD wasn't about then.

My only time being seated with others was in 2005 and we were sat with 2 other couples of a similar age, we got on well and met with one of the couples outside of meal times :)

The last few cruises I have been on the traditional dining was always fully booked (in fact when I just booked the latest cruise, I found it weird that I had an option!). We have always say as a table of 2 in MTD, but as others have said...as the tables are so close we always get chatting to others around us.

We always request the same wait staff each night, so pretty much get the same table....and on the last couple of cruises we have found that others have done the same too so there were some familiar faces each night :D

The first 2 cruises I went on we did Traditional Dining and enjoyed having the same wait staff each night. So on my first MTD (as traditional was full) we requested the same staff each night. Our waiter was amazing, remembered all our preferences, had our favourite drinks waiting for us and always remembered where we had mentioned we would be visiting the next day and then asked us about it the following day (he even missed us when one evening we didn't book as we were full from a Johnny Rockets lunch).

The next time we tried doing this we did not like the wait staff so much, but gave it a couple of days to see how things went. We were then sat in a different section one night as the wait was going to be longer than we had hoped and we loved them so requested them instead until the end of the cruise.

Make sure you book early for formal night as that is when you are likely to have to wait the most if you want a specific waiter/table....this is usually the second night on shorter cruises so if you like the waiter on evening 1 book your table asap :) However if you go down and your table is not ready or if you have not booked one night and just turn up and there is a bit of a wait, some (maybe not all, don;t quote me on that) ships have buzzers that they give you so you can go and sit at a bar/in a lounge and then when the table is ready the buzzer goes off....the kids loved that!

I always thought I would only ever have been "loyal to Royal".....in fact I've never even looked at other companies since I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise as a teenager.

But.....ive just had a sneaky peek at Carnivals website and their trans atlantic itineraries look nice.

Now im in a quandry :confused:

Thank you :)

I had thought that there must be more being released, but it threw me when the lady on the phone said that the ones on the website is all there is?!?!

Hoping to go on a cheeky little cruise in May to get the last points I need to move up to next tier on C & A so will book on board for my 30th :D

Hi,

Did the Halloween cruise on Indy. It was my kids first cruise and we didn't get any towel animals :(

I know they are not make or break, but my kids would have LOVED them and it is something I can remember getting when I cruised as a teenager.

In fact our room attendant made us feel very guilty about having our rooms serviced AT ALL, he actually tried talking us out of having it done on several occasions.

:(

Hi,

I am looking to book a Trans Atlantic in April/May time of 2016 from America over to the UK or Spain for my 30th birthday.

I have had a look on-line and the only itinerary I can find is....

14 night Rhapsody of the Seas (10th April) Sao Paulo to Barcelona

I have spoke to RCI on the phone and the lady I spoke to said that the itineraries would be released 18 months in advance so what is online is what there is.

Please can someone help me....am I being stupid, have I missed something? Is there more that have not yet been released? :confused:

Thanks in advance :D

Hi,

I had a very lucky fluke after the UK phone office moved....

I called as balcony cabins were being sold at half the price that I paid for an inside room. Usually UK cruisers can not benefit from price drops in any way.

But when I called the lady asked if I wanted to choose my room or have a guarantee, I asked what difference it made and she explained and stated that the guarantee ones are cheaper. I thought she was charging me to upgrade but then she explained that it affected the refund I would receive :D

So I chose the guarantee in the same opinion as "cb at sea" that any balcony would be better than an inside (although I guess it does depend if it is below a noisy area or next to a crew area....that I had specifically avoided with my inside selection).

I was told that I may not know until boarding but a couple of days later it pinged up on my profile that I had an assigned cabin. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that it as a fantastic (larger) aft balcony....no obstructed view, nowhere noisy, no crew area in sight :eek: I had all my fingers and toes crossed that we would keep the cabin, as the small print states that they can change it if they want to.

So, I received a free upgrade from an inside to an aft balcony AND received £200 refund to my bank account which covered my onboard expenses :)

I now that I will probably never be lucky enough to experience this again, so I enjoyed it whilst I could x

5002 posts and you are asking this question? A member since 2004, what's your game? A slow day at the office?

Made me chuckle :D

Even I (with my low post number) can recite the "suggested dress code" for the MDR and speciality restaurants :rolleyes:

The last couple of cruises I have been on have been short ones so we have taken advantage of going to the MDR as a treat as we don't get to eat out often. We then have breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer :)

But after reading all your responses I think I will definitely be trying the Windjammer for dinner at least one evening next week :)

Hi,

I've read a few posts recently about things people hope to do someday...so thought I would post my Royal Caribbean bucket list. Please share yours and if anyone is reading that have completed something off someone's bucket list, tell us about it a little so we can day dream some more!!!

* A Trans Atlantic - hoping to do this next year! Would be lovely to enjoy the ship once my body has adjusted and I've found my sea legs!

* To tick off each ship on the list!

* To book the most expensive stateroom aboard...and not have to re-mortgage my house in order to do it! (though I guess that may involve fulfilling one of my on land bucket list items of my business doing fantastic...or winning the lottery!)

* To do another B2B and appreciate it this time, did one as a teenager but hoping to take my family on one some time!

* Meet the captain! I'm sure there are LOTS that have done this but I'm not one of them...yet!

I realise that my items seem quite materialistic, but I look for and achieve those other special moments wherever and whenever I can...the above is just my to do list I hope to achieve before I take my last cruise!

I'm sure that my list I'll change and grow over the years...or maybe after reading some of your replies :)

Jenni x

This is how I feel...but I'm setting off in 4 days!!!!

The scary thing is that there are suggestions on here from people that I've not done yet :eek:

Will be following this thread with my to do list and a pen in my hand ;)

I have spoken to reps in Guatemala 3 times over the last couple of weeks and the service has been fantastic. During one of the phone calls the lady had to put me on hold a couple of times but she was very polite about it...I ended up with a free upgrade so it was worth the wait :D

Hi,

We dress up for forma nights, I enjoy having the chance to go to the Spa to have my hair done and enjoy wearing a long evening dress.

On our cruise last April on the Independence round the med we saw more people than not dressed up on formal evening. Loads of people were getting their pictures taken by the photographers and one of my fave photos in my house is of formal evening on that cruise, hung pride of place above our fire!

However, we did get dressed up on the other evenings too. Going on holiday gives us the chance to dress up nicely and eat in restaurants every eve....so we dress as such :)

We're on our next cruise next week and I have already packed my evening dress ready! (I get it steamed on the ship!)

This is the tamest lanyard related thread I have read! Very refreshing :)

Hi,

Not read through all of the responses in full, so I am sorry if this has already been said...

When we went on Liberty last April there are a couple of films on the TV for free (we watched Despicable Me and an older grown up film) and there was also a pay per view option which you can pause, but it wiped the films clear at midnight (I think it was midnight the day it was booked, my partner thinks it was midnight the day after it was booked?!?!)

There was films on the outdoor screen, there was the Disney's Brave on.....not sure how recent it had come out, but it was last April if that helps? However when we got there the film was played in Spanish so we decided not to stay :(

x

Our kids are going to be on their first cruise this Halloween aboard the Independence. I have asked in a few places on this forum regarding Halloween activities and a costume parade and competition were mentioned along with kids from Adventure Ocean doing a little bit of trick or treating.

If you do a search in You Tube there are a couple of videos of Halloween Parade on the RCI ships :)

I can't wait to get dressed up, not normally my kind of thing....but seeing as it is likely that I won't see any one again it means I kind relax and have some fun!

Just not sure what to wear yet... :confused:

Due to my naivety I had no idea about price drops until last December when I booked a short cruise in October and then shortly afterwards, a short cruise in May.

Like Lobstertan mentioned usually in the UK they do not offer price drops at all.

However, I have been one of the lucky few....

When I booked my inside cabin for a 4 night cruise on the Adventure I paid £1,100. Then AFTER FINAL PAYMENT I noticed that they were selling outside cabins for £600 and balcony cabins for £900. I called the upgrade fairy (Crown and Anchor) and simply, but politely, asked if there was anything she could do.

She kept going away and coming back and eventually she started mentioning lots of figures for either a balcony I could choose myself or for the guarantee balcony. I asked what the difference was and she simply said that the guarantee balcony was cheaper. As I was in no way expecting OBC or a refund, I asked what difference that made and was going to obviosuely choose the category that would allow me to choose my own cabin....but then the lady said that it would affect the amount refunded.

So I ended up being upgraded from an inside cabin to a guarantee balcony AND got nearly £200 refunded back to my card.

Shocked did not even cover how I felt, but you can imagine my amazement when I logged onto Crown and Anchor and saw that my balcony had been assigned and I have a HUGE aft balcony :eek:

So it can happen, however I do understand that this is not going to happen on every cruise and that I was very lucky :) Had I of been told that there was nothing they could do, I would still have been a little un happy that even balconies were being charged a huge amount less than my inside cabin....however this is how RCI make their money. I just can't wait until I have the luxury of flexibility and ability to book at short notice!!!

I have recently been promoted and did not want to take the same risk, so called and upgraded my aft balcony on the Independence in Oct to a Junior Suite aft balcony as a treat for my family (kids first cruise!).....and I am certain I won't get a call from the upgrade fairy!

Never really considered who the captain or cruise director is when booking a cruise. Plus to be honest I have had the same question run through my head when I noticed the actual thread mentioned.

However, having read some of the replies (and due to hopefully now being in a position where I can start cruising on a more regular basis) I may have a sneaky look at the thread to see what it is all about ;)

I am assuming Adventure due to the reference to the recent dry dock and only minimal changes being made.

I am due to set sail on Adventure next week, so if that is the case I could maybe help out with some questions.

In regards to food, I went on my first RC cruise about 12 years ago, then I went after leaving home about 9 years ago and my most recent was last year. Each time I felt that the food was fantastic. I do not get the chance to eat out very much, so we loved dressing up, enjoying the great service (we requested the same servers each night even though we were MTD) and lovely food. The only time I noticed lobster on the menu (other than the additional charge meal) was in a lobster bisque, but I did not order it.

Hope that helps and will try to report back if you were indeed asking about the Adventure of the Seas

x