Mary&Jim

Hi,

I just booked a cruise on the Empress last night that leave on Saturday, so now I'm scrambling to get everything done. I was wondering if the Empress has a Diamond Lounge. Dinner time is based on a lounge or not! Priorities!

Thanks,

Mary

We just got home yesterday from a b2b on the Independence. The DL was fine the first week,  but the second week we experienced major overcrowding. The overflow area (Viking) was not available because a large group, Total Travel, was on board and booked the Viking most evenings. Funny thing happened one evening. We usually go to the DL about 5pm. Well one evening when we went,  the group was in the Viking, but only about a third of the room was being used. The DL was packed and it was raining, so the outside seating area could not be used. When we tried to sit in the Viking near the DL door, one of the group leaders came over to tell us to leave. Lots of seats were available for their group and as we pointed out to her, we were not taking seats from anybody, nor drinking their drinks or eating their snack. We would gladly give up the seats if they were needed by her group. Her response was that she did not want us to listen to the band that her group hired for the evening! I guess she did not notice the wall to the DL is open at the top.

FYI - The concierge said there was nothing she could do because the group would not move to a smaller room. The CL was off limits to the Diamond and diamond + cruisers. She did suggest we come back after everyone in the DL leaves for dinner!

I know we can go to the other lounges around the ship and this was not a big deal for us, just wanted to share the story.

Great cruise over all!

Mary

Thanks everyone,  I'll be sure to watch our account each week.

Mary

Thanks Bob

Hi,

I have a b2b coming up beginning next week with lots of s/b credit. How do I determine how much, if any, is refundable? I called Royal and my TA. Both said none of it is refundable. However, I seem to remember reading here that some of it is. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mary  

My granddaughter will be graduating from college next year and my husband and I would love to take her on a cruise as a graduation gift.

I am wondering what type cabin we should book. There will be three of us, my husband, granddaughter and myself. Any suggestions? I usually book a balcony cabin when there are only two of us.

Thanks,

Mary

Thank you for the information. I was looking at booking My Time and wanted to try to plan around the Diamond lounge times.

Mary

Hi,

I just booked a b2b on the Adventure and was wondering the times for the Diamond lounge in the evenings. Has anyone recently been on this ship who might know?

Thanks,

Mary&Jim

14 on Freedom.:)

Can someone explain to me if your points are based on money in play, why the difference in slots vs video poker (slots = $5 for one point vs video poker $10 for one point)?

Thanks,

John Denton - HD

12 days until we're on the Empress.

Mary&jim:)

7 days on the Serenade!

Hi everyone,

I received the following message today from the shore excursion desk at RCL, so there is a live person still there! I guess I'll get my answer about the restaurant/pub choice for the excursion. In the meantime, I'll check out Murphy's! Thanks again for the help.

Mary

Dear Mary,

Thank you for contacting our Shore Excursions Inquiry Team.

Please note that multiple options are used for this tour, once onboard the ship it will be confirmed. Please approach our Shore Excursions Desk once onboard to receive the most accurate information.

If you have general questions about any Shore Excursion, please reply to this email including full history of our correspondence; we will be more than happy to assist you.

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International, we hope you enjoy your cruise.

Sincerely,

Charlie

Bob,

Thanks for the website. I just e-mailed them and hopefully they will provide the info I need.

MaryW

Hi everyone, I've registered to take an all day sightseeing tour while in Cork, Ireland next month. Part of the tour includes a lunch at a local pub. I'm looking for advice as to find out the name of the restaurant/pub where we will be stopping. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

MaryW :)

Thanks everyone for such quick replies. I can always count on fellow Cruise Critic members when I have questions.

MaryW

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

This will be cruise #20 & 21, but since this is our first b2b, any hints?

Thanks again,

MaryW

Hi,

My husband & I will be on our first b2b next month on the Freedom. Does anyone know the times the Diamond lounge will be open in the evenings? On past cruises (different ships) it's been 5-8:30, but this is our first time on Freedom and we're trying to plan ahead.

Thanks,

MaryW.

Yippee, I love your reviews, Jane

Mary

Hi,

I've been diamond level for awhile now and after reading the posts thought I'd check out Celebrity Elite. I don't see much difference in the perks they offer. What am I missing?

Thanks

Mary W.

Thanks everyone.

I wasn't imagining anything, it's just that in all the cruises I've taken in the past, I never noticed if any where sold out, so I was curious.

MaryW.

Hi everyone,

I am scheduled to sail on the Liberty next week and just noticed that the ship is sold out for that cruise as well as the one just prior to it. I've never seen it where a cruise is listed as sold out before.

Do you think it really is sold out on back to back cruises, or could something else be going on?

MaryW

14 days until we board Liberty of the Seas!!

The same thing happened to me. Yesterday I booked a December cruise on the Serenade with two other couples. The only available dining choice was My Time. So of course we had to pre-pay gratuities. My TA said he would work on getting us on traditional dining. Because the TA offered free gratuities, I'll end up with lots of obc. I like to use the obc for the gratuities, but now I might have to go to the spa!

Frustrating though. It's hard to believe that this far out, all dining is booked with the exception of My Time.

Mary