RCI secrets they don't tell you

[mibarron]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not. Read up to page 10 out of 18.

 

1. If you haven't done it yet, go to the roll call section and look for your cruise date. If there isn't one, create one. It's a great way to chat with people who are going on the cruise with you.

 

2. Sign up for the meet & mingle. Another great way to meet the people you've been chatting with for months on the roll call.

 

3. 3rd and best tip (especially for nosy people like me), do a cabin crawl immediately following the meet & mingle. Arrange it prior to the sail date on the roll call. People are more than happy to add there cabins to the list. Immediately after the meet & mingle, anyone who wants to see what the other types of cabins look like from inside can go. It's better than trying to peek inside while it's being cleaned.

 

Happy cruising!!! :D

Edited February 2, 2011 by mibarron

[tracysue]

I haven't been through all pages of this thread, so I don't know if this has been mentioned yet.

 

On Explorer, you can get a champagne card for the champagne bar. It has a whole selection of different drinks made with champagne, and it's fun to try the different drinks. You can share the card - get a drink for both you and your spouse. I loved it!

 

Really - i have never heard of this - a champagne card? I am so in - please do tell more -

how much - where can you use it?

thanks!!!

14 cruises and still learning.... how great!

[printingchick]

RCCL cruises - at least the 7+ day ones - have a 70's party one of the evenings. It's hugely fun, even if you weren't a child of the disco era. I wish I'd known before my first cruise so I could have packed some tacky 70s clothes to wear. I've made sure to dress for the occasion on subsequent RCCL cruises!

 

If you like coffee first thing in the morning, order a pot from room service the night before. They will call you before they deliver, making the process double as a wake-up call! Then you can sip your coffee as you get ready, before you go to the Windjammer for breakfast.

 

I agree with the highlighter comments, to schedule out your activities based on the daily Cruise Compass. I'm afraid I disagree with NOT planning. I've missed activities before by failing to highlight them on the compass or losing track of time. There will be PLENTY of time for "down-time" on the sea days. There will also be TONS of activities you won't want to miss.

 

If you need small bills the last night of the cruise, in order to give an extra tip, check out the change machine in the casino. Otherwise, you'll be stuck waiting in a VERY long line of people at customer service who are trying to pay their bill or fix a problem the final night of the cruise.

 

Sometimes, you don't get your bags until AFTER dinner. While they really don't enforce a dress code that first night (shorts okay) for that reason, anything you expect to want before 7PM should be packed in your carry-on bag and delivered to your stateroom personally!

Edited February 2, 2011 by printingchick

[floatel_lvr]

This thread started out as a quest for secrets to maximize your enjoyment as a novice cruiser and 5 pages later it is something different, as most blogs tend to do.

Here is a tip from a frequent cruiser, but also a citizen of an island visited by many cruisers.

 

You are only on the ship for around 168 hours with folks from all over the world and in todays times, with many different circumstances. Realizing this we have decided to focus on maximizing our time by moving into Caribbean Time Mode.

We are forced into this mode from Nov to June every year as many ships descend on our small island making normal movement back and forth to work grueling at 5:00pm when all the taxis head back to Havensight.

 

Caribbean Time Mode means moving with the flow but in own zone. We refuse to be moved to the dark side because of other folks actions.

 

Make the 168 hours memorable.

 

Excellent (refreshing) point!

[sirisol]

If you have an iPhone go to the online iTunes store and you will find a couple of applications such as "Ship Mate" and "Royal Caribbean International" that show you deck plans. Great tool for finding your way round RCL's ships!

 

Will this work on an iPod touch too?

[MNFirstTimer]

Will this work on an iPod touch too?

Yes, we downloaded to our ipod touches, and it works fine in airplane mode!

[sirisol]

In the meantime I have learned the MOST important lesson about taking the elevators. If you are able to walk, the difference between taking the stairs either up or down 3 decks or less is 3-5 pounds per cruise!!!?!?!??!! ;) :p :D

 

So far, this is the most useful, important tip I have seen on this thread!! Love it - and will certainly use it on Liberty in july! Thank you!!:):D:cool:

[ozysanj]

Hmmm.... Some of us don't care to be "gotten", and frankly, tips are what you make of them. I suppose in your own self importance because you don't see good use for the tip, you feel the urge to sound off about it? Of course it's optional for use when some ELSE sees fit, and ok for you to ignore. Just so happens that plenty of people on mobility scooters who get trapped in busy elevators it is truly a helpful tip. Especially with so many rude teens floating around. Also something half sick people afraid of closed in spaces appreciate once they're already feeling bad. Surely because you don't see the usefulness doesn't mean it doesn't exist to someone else.

 

Please feel free to find the largest audience of "other folks" as you like and lead them to all things proper on your next cruise my friend. Try not to throw rocks at the kids on chemo who don't want to share your space though. RCI often has many on "wish trips" with moderate immune systems at best. Be sure and offer your wordly wisdom on their narcacism and their non sharing attitudes.

 

Although it hasn't been popular on the post, i will use this unless i'm with disabled people and/or parents with children in the lift.

Because i am travelling with MIL who has bad knees,

Young niece,

and BIL who has a claustrophia and gets really uncortable in lift,but has to use it in many conditions.

so

thanks for the tip Darreltwo :)

[floatel_lvr]

Believe me, I felt the same way after reading this board before my cruise in 2009. Are there "chair hogs"? Yes, there are. Do you need to get to the pool at a reasonable hour (10am) on an at sea day? Yes, you do if you want to sit next to the pool. Are there lines for elevators and rude people? Yes, but no more than at your average mall or amusement park.

 

My suggestion......Relax you are on vacation. If people want to be hogs, brutes or cutters, let them and enjoy your time.

 

 

Clearly one of the best tips offered. Just enjoy your cruise.

RA

[AACJ]

Okay, I will play devils advocate here.

 

The scenario:

 

You are on deck 10, the deck to disembark for the port of call is deck 4. Everyone is trying to get on the elevator at every floor attempting to go to deck 4. You get on the elevator at deck 10, enough people join you on the elevator to fill it to capacity. You know if you push the button to go to deck 4, you will stop at every floor, wasting not only your time but everyone that wants to use the elevators, as no one will be able to get on. Plus, as the door closes at various floors, someone inevitably pushes the botton to summon another elevator, causing your door to open, again.

 

Using this method will actually be a time saver to EVERYONE on ALL DECKS, provided you ride down with a full elevator and there are no other stops requested by those on the same elevator with you.

 

This would be the one and only time I could see this "express" feature be meaningful, otherwise, it's just rude.

 

 

 

 

So, on a crowded ship, the elevators get a little crazy....

 

Tip 1:

When you want to travel several floors without picking up extra folk along the way, hold your floor selection button and the "door close" button at the same time until the doors close. Then you'll travel in "priority" mode.

snip....

[M&A]

I wonder why more people don't take the stairs?

 

When we are on a cruise and with the extra food etc we make it a habit of avoiding elevators at all costs. I know that there are people that can't take the stairs but looking around at some of our fellow cruisers I think that more should be using the stairs and skipping the elevators.

A floor on a ship is not the same as a floor on land. When you walk up 5 floors on a ship it about equivalent of 3 or so in a building on land.

 

And remember that walking "down" is easy going, leave the elevators for people who need them.

[ciera123]

M&A - We usually only use the elevators when we get on the ship with carryons and when we leave with them. I agree, there are most certainly a lot of folks that aren't able to take the stairs, but for those who can, it's a great way to ward off those extra desserts!!! ;)

Edited February 14, 2011 by ciera123

[isdoo]

I wonder why more people don't take the stairs?

 

But how are we going to know what day it is? ;)

 

TIP: Don't tip (beyond the set amount) - save your money or spend it on board :)

[hycomike]

Saw this tip somewhere before... but didn't notice it in this thread. If you bring along your laptop, use it to power all your gadgets (Iphone, Ipod, Blackberry, Kindle) via the USB ports, thus only using 1 outlet.

[CruisinDawn]

Darn it, read the first 5 pages of this thread then gave up. Was fun until it turned into a fight on who has manners & how to download an app to your iphone :confused: Grrr. Gonna try to read the pages from here back wards with the hope that I can get the information this thread is suppose to be about. "RCI Secrets they don't tell you" If you want to start a post about the app or Winjammer manners go for it!

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[DaNana]

Could you please explain how you were able to access the deck plans with your phone in airplane mode? I downloaded the RCI ap and found the plans, but I cannot get them to stay in my phones memory for use off line. Or maybe you are referring to a different application? Thanks.

Agree that unless you have some way of saving them (non that I see) you are not able to use some applications. Mine said the network or wifi was not available. Printing them from RCI web site probably the best idea. We have purchased the out of country package and there is no charge when using wifi, just phone calls based on country. Text cost so much per text also. ;)

[DaNana]

Darn it, read the first 5 pages of this thread then gave up. Was fun until it turned into a fight on who has manners & how to download an app to your iphone :confused: Grrr. Gonna try to read the pages from here back wards with the hope that I can get the information this thread is suppose to be about. "RCI Secrets they don't tell you" If you want to start a post about the app or Winjammer manners go for it! BonVoyage Dawna

:o oops! I didn't read all of the posts before saying I could not get it either! LOL. Too funny! ;)

[jackretired]

Email PDF's of deck plans to your smart phone.

[Pack My Bags]

TIP: Don't tip (beyond the set amount) - save your money or spend it on board

 

 

I must seriously disagree with this. They work their butts off for you. I just came off the Explorer. My DM is not only blind, but cannot walk well. The My Time Dining attendant booked us a nice table close by, in a nice corner by the railing so it was easy for her to navigate with her cane. He held it for us EVERY DAY. Every evening we would find the next day's compass & the next evening's dinner menu on the bed printed IN BRAILLE. In the dining room, the waiters would "announce" they were reaching in to lay out her napkin and bring/remove her plates. At night when I would walk to the room & have water in my hands & my mom walking latched on my arm, they would run ahead of me to key into the stateroom. The tender crew could not have been more helpful either.

 

A great trip is not about the deal you get on board for a bottle of vodka or another $20 you blew in a slot machine. It is these little touches that make your trip more meaningful, and in our case, liberating. Besides mentioning their names in the customer survey, service like this needs to be acknowledged. It's the proper way to say thank you & job well done!

Edited February 25, 2011 by Cruise718

[chrisandjohn]

I must seriously disagree with this. They work their butts off for you. I just came off the Explorer. My DM is not only blind, but cannot walk well. The My Time Dining attendant booked us a nice table close by, in a nice corner by the railing so it was easy for her to navigate with her cane. He held it for us EVERY DAY. Every evening we would find the next day's compass & the next evening's dinner menu on the bed printed IN BRAILLE. In the dining room, the waiters would "announce" they were reaching in to lay out her napkin and bring/remove her plates. At night when I would walk to the room & have water in my hands & my mom walking latched on my arm, they would run ahead of me to key into the stateroom. The tender crew could not have been more helpful either.

 

A great trip is not about the deal you get on board for a bottle of vodka or another $20 you blew in a slot machine. It is these little touches that make your trip more meaningful, and in our case, liberating. Besides mentioning their names in the customer survey, service like this needs to be acknowledged. It's the proper way to say thank you & job well done!

 

Great post!!!!

 

P.S. We will be joining you on the Jewel in October!!

[AZDENNY]

I have HTC Droid Incredible (Verizon) and the shipmates feature works fine wnen in airplane mode

[Pack My Bags]

I have HTC Droid Incredible (Verizon) and the shipmates feature works fine wnen in airplane mode

Yes, Shipmates works wonderfully! Don't forget you also have a ship diagram at the elevator banks to cheat!

 

Also... The carpets in the elevator banks are a hint for forward/aft/port & starboard sides if you get confused trying to remember where you are.

Meaning, if you are in:

Forward elevator banks/stairs -Port side carpet is pink / starboard is green.

Aft elevator banks/stairs - Port side carpet is Navy / starboard is pink.

 

I had a really good breakfast the morning I figured that out!

[CruisinDawn]

Man this thread is out of control, thought maybe if I left for a while it would be back to the original topic :confused: Anyway....

 

My favorite tip is that the photos you buy onboard you "own" and have the copyright to it. Once you purchase the photo onboard go to image.com put in your ship sailing info to print out the copyright. Have it scanned and printed as many times and in any size you want. On that note...

 

We bring clothes specifically for photos! If you don't like it you don't have to buy it. Here are a couple we used on our Christmas card this year.

Considering the Packers won the Super bowl our timing taking these in July couldn't have been more perfect. :D

 

Also: If you regret not purchasing a picture you can do that after your off the ship at the same website I mention above. I have actually done this twice now. First time I didn't buy my flowrider shot then once home regretted it. Second time everyone told me the picture of me on Formal night at the table was awesome, Curious I filled out the form and got it a few weeks later.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[jill5172]

My favorite tip is that the photos you buy onboard you "own" and have the copyright to it. Once you purchase the photo onboard go to image.com put in your ship sailing info to print out the copyright. Have it scanned and printed as many times and in any size you want. On that note...

 

We bring clothes specifically for photos! If you don't like it you don't have to buy it.

 

This is an AWESOME tip!! Thank you! (and congrats on that SB win)

[Chief7]

This is a very small hint.......When we cruise I am always amazed at the people who wander around the Windjammer with a full plate of food searching for a table......The WJ is usually busy...that is the way it is...however.. find your table first.....put your stuff on it or have one of your party wait there while others get their food. It is so silly to walk around like a sad sack with a full plate looking for a table!:):):)

 

And those that are wondering around looking like a sad sack are doing so because people took tables before they had their food. :eek: (Yes, it IS a pet peeve!)