2chiefs

We will be on the Enchantment of the Seas next August and were thinking of staying on the ship instead of tendering to the private island. Are the pools and or the hot tubs open or do they close them up. I assume the dining room is open but what else is available to do on board?

The dining room is generally closed for lunch when the ships are in port.

We stay on board a lot when the ship stops at places we've been. It's really nice and enjoyable.

Some ships decorate faster than others, but yes, they usually start right after Thanksgiving.

During a B2B during December, we watched it slowly get more decorated each day. Actually saw a ginger bread house scene get built during the B2B.

I've never seen or heard of suggested boarding times being enforced by RC at any US port, including San Juan.

Agreed. My experience too. The suggested boarding time may help spread it out but I've never seen them enforced. I believe enforced times would make it inconvenient for people due to flight times, hotel check out times, travel etc..Also, RCL seems to have the boarding situation well handled (at the ports I've been to anyway) and there is never a long wait. My worst experience was in 1996 in San Juan. We've come a long way since then.

Debarkation is generally smooth too and if there are back ups, it's usually due to Customs, not RCL.

One comment on the Windjammer crowding on boarding day is that it probably has little to do with boarding times and is more driven by how soon they can get the cabins ready. People hang out in the Windjammer with their carry-ons waiting for the go-ahead to go to the cabins. There are plenty of other places to hang out but I think once people are "planted", they don't want to move. On our last cruise on the Explorer, the cabins were ready earlier than I've ever experienced and the Windjammer was not crowded at all.

Yes. Unfortunately, we will be one of those bringing a child aboard - just one [emoji3]. So, we are somewhat restricted by his school vacation calendar.

 

The higher cost is one of the disadvantages of trying to travel when kids are off from school - but it is what it is.

 

 

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No offense about the kids. We are just past that stage in our life. Having said that, RCL does a great job with the kids and many times you can't tell that there are hundreds of them on board.

Yes, Christmas cruises are when families can take their kids, hence the higher percentage. You will like the Christmas cruise. Most ships generally have special programs - Christmas shows, caroling, children shows etc..

The voyager class ships have special Christmas themed ice shows. At least that's been our experience. . And to top it off, Santa usually finds the ship and lands to visit the kids. Sometimes they give nice gifts for kids and even adults. One time Sallie & I received a very nice RCL logo luggage piece for Christmas.

Most kids under "toddler" age don't mind some motion...so ask your pediatrician what to do IF your baby gets sick...but it's unlikely to happen.

 

You can take food, but at almost 1 year, most kids are eating table foods, mashed...plenty of mashable stuff on the ship!

 

NO ONE in diapers are allowed in pools....only in the designated "splash" area.

 

The tap water on the ship is fine...the food, beverages and ice are made with the same water!

 

Some excursions do have age limits....just depends on what it is! A guidebook may allow you to do things on your own...knowing something about the ports will really be a god-send! If you do a ship's excursion, you'll be on a bus, so no car seat is needed.

 

A cruise is a vacation....FAMILIES vacation together! Don't be dissuaded from bringing your family on vacation! Just like anywhere, if baby is fussy, remove them from the area!

 

Make sure you bring ALL pediatric medications you MIGHT need...the ship doesn't sell any. A blow up tub is useful for bathing a child in a shower!!!

A blow up tub in a cruise ship shower?

Really?

I've only cruised in Junior suites and lower so I can't speak for Suite showers but there certainly is no room for a blow up tub anywhere in the bathrooms below the suite level.

We like the Southern routes better. Especially during the winter!!!

We've cruised Christmas several times simply because it's the only time I had available when I was working. Now that I'm (semi) retired, we probably won't do Christmas cruises again. Disadvantage (for us) is the generally higher amount of children on the cruise and the higher cost.

For future thought. The two weeks just before Christmas are very reasonably priced with fewer kids (if that's an issue for you) and most ships are nearly or fully decorated for Christmas

In ports that we've visited many times we usually get off the ship for only an hour or so (after the initial crowd disembarks) for a cold beer near the dock and go back on board to enjoy the ship. If it's a ship we haven't been on before, we will go to the highest deck and work our way down fore & aft looking at artwork. Then it's time to enjoy the pool deck (usually the solarium) by ourselves reading a book.

At sea, we like to have lunch in the MDR.

On embarkation day, we get on board early and go to the Windjammer for lunch before it gets too crowded.

<<snip>>

eat without putting hands to your mouth. In other words, use fork and knife , not hands.

 

 

 

:DWhat??!! You just ruined my pizza and fried chicken eating habits!! And what about BBQ ribs!!:D

Improper hygiene can happen anywhere along the way, even in the dining room and specialty restaurants. Do you know how many people have touched your cutlery before you? The glass your drink came in? What about the salt and pepper shakers? And pulling out your chair? I think if we really knew, we'd never eat outside our own kitchen again, and even then it would be speculative.

.

And don't forget the menus. They might be the worst along with the salt & pepper shakers.

They're a delicious coconut and toffee cookie. If you Google royal Caribbean coconut ranger cookie, you can find picks and the recipe.

 

(One of the few desserts on rcl that i actually enjoy.)

 

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I didn't realize they had toffee in them. No wonder they are so good.

Same here!!!

To boot, I hate when people take the elevator for just one floor. Especially when going down! Come on...going down one flight? Gravity is in your favor! LOL

Agreed.

There's an old saying when it comes to elevators: Up one, down two". In other words, you should not take the elevator if you are only going up one or down two. (assuming you are healthy). :D

I always take a picture of my husband inserting the seapass card into the cabin door on one evening, typically formal night. I make sure to get the cabin # in the photo.

 

It started out as a joke, sort of a "Come into my room..." (complete with wiggling eyebrows ;)) but has turned into a tradition.

For pictures, we always take a pictures (close-ups) of the cabin number, sea pass cards, Itinerary and the front page of the compass daily. That way we know exactly what was happening each day.

I get on the ship and NEVER use an elevator. Gotta get some exercise when I'm eating all that food!

We ALMOST ALWAYS use the stairs too - for the same reason. We've found that it truly does keep the weight gain down. Exceptions might be when we're on lower decks in formal wear going to the Diamond or Viking Lounge.

Was it like this?

 

Of course not. We didn't have to wear helmets.

Love it; Monarch was our first cruise - our honeymoon in April 1997 - Southern Caribbean 7 night out of San Juan.

Our first cruise as well. 1996 - also Southern Caribbean out of San Juan.

Tiny inside cabin. Great memories.... Departure from cruise terminal was awful though. They've really improved arrivals and departures since those times.

Agree with most posters here. Sometimes crowded, sometimes not.

I think there is (or was) a rule about not being able to leave with a drink but I've never seen it enforced. We always take a glass of wine with us to dinner.

By the way, the Diamond lounge is normally little used during the day and it's a great place to go for quiet time to relax and have a cappuccino and some cookies. They have some terminals in there for getting on the internet as well.

Since final payment the cost of our room has dropped over $1000! Anyone have any luck or tips to recoup any of the money?? I feel like we are being penalized for booking early....

I think if you felt the trip was a good value when you booked , then you shouldn't feel penalized.

This has happened to us a few times but most of the time when we have booked early, the prices generally go up. So in the long run, I think it pays to book early if you cruise often.

We usually take a pass and tell our attendant we know how hard they work.

 

Remember when they used to fold your clothing into animal shapes and did not use towels? :)

Yes.

In the 90's they used to make Sallie's night gown (etc.) into the animals. Evidently they got too many complaints about messing with the intimate clothing.

We've done it 3 times. All were "hokey" but the first 2 were great fun.

The 3rd was a disappointment so we probably won't do it again.

Dear fellow CruiseCritic members, please avoid making the errors highlighted above -- and please teach your family and friends to avoid them too. The truth is that "au jus" -- a two-word phrase (not a single word) -- is a French culinary term that means, "with juice" (that is, "with the meat's natural juice [water, melted fat, etc.]").

 

Therefore, we should NEVER say, "with aujus" or "with au jus," because that is redundant. The phrase already implicitly contains the preposition, "with." Also, we should never include the definite article, "the" (with the au jus), because that makes no sense at all.

 

We should simply say, "I like it served 'au jus'" ... or ... "Please serve it to me with the juice(s)."

 

Thank you.

.

Are you saying this comes from the department of redundancy department?

This TRULY is an AWESOME deal; however, because we went to balcony from inside over the time we've cruised, I honestly can say I think balconies are overrated....the ONLY thing I didn't like about the inside room was how DARK they can be when the lights go out!

 

But we would easily go back to an inside - depends on cost.

I agree that they are over-rated ... for us anyway. Many people say once you've had a balcony you will never go back to inside. Not true in our case. We are always on the look out for good prices and we don't mind an inside cabin since most of our cabin time is spent sleeping anyway. We are about split half and half between inside/balcony for all our cruises. We've even done a JS twice for B2B cruises but still didn't mind going back to inside.

Those are presumably service dogs and there's nothing they can do about that. They should be very well behaved, however. I saw a dog in a stroller on the ship yesterday (not in the DL, however).

 

But at least dogs don't take up seats.

But they do take up room in an elevator!. A lady with a Chihuahua in a stroller on the Explorer last week took up so much room that people were unable to get on. I guess I'm having trouble understanding how a Chihuahua in a pink stroller qualifies as a service dog.... But I guess I'm closed minded.

Sallie was HMC and I was EMCM.

In practice though, she is Adm and I am SN.

OP: Sorry to get off topic. You should be fine. Monarch was our first cruise and we cruised the Majesty once. The only thing we miss on that class is the Solarium.

Becoming Diamond has been somewhat of a letdown. Entice us to cruise more for attractive member benefits only to feel like we've been used.

 

Our first cruise as Diamond we booked two balcony cabins to include others in our cabin. In all, one diamond pin shows up in just one cabin. No priority check in, no welcome back party, no top tier event, no welcome gift (beverage and snack), no priority departure (received luggage tag #61 for 11:00), no entertainment tour...

I think it's time Royal Caribbean revises their Member Benefits if this is how it's going to be. Never thought I'd feel this disappointment on our first cruise as Diamond.

 

Ok, FLAME ON, but before you do, put yourself in our place.

This happened to us once as well. I can't remember what ship it was but we felt the same way. Sorry this happened on your first cruise as Diamond. It isn't the norm however so I hope things will be better for you.

My DW is doing a sisters cruise on that one also. Should be fun.

Hey retired Navy... I retired in 1988 and my wife Sallie retired in 1995.

Nice to see you are still sailing.....

LOL