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RCI secrets they don't tell you

kembo

By kembo,
in Royal Caribbean International

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dizzlepop

dizzlepop

Posted
Posted
Two quick things:

 

If you need medicines that you forgot to bring on board, go to the medical waiting room (deck 1 usually) and you can get them for $0.25. For example, I forgot benedryl and paid $14.99 for 12 of them and could have gotten 2 of them for $0.25. They have all types of over the counter in the dispensing machine, just remember to bring some quarters.

 

This shows there is always more to learn! Thank you for this tip, that will save $$$ for sure.

 

On a side note: I cruised Carnival in 1988, 4 months pregnant. Back then, I was the sea sick type anyway, and that in addition to being pregnant, well, not a good combo. The ship's doctor REFUSED to give me anything for my nausea, saying he wouldn't let his wife take any meds while pregnant. So, yeah, better to have a pregnant woman not able to eat than let her have one stupid benedryl, right? Ugh.

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sonoma03

sonoma03

Posted
Posted
Just to clarify, the port in Falmouth is EXTREMELY safe as long as you stay in the compound, which is fenced in and guarded. If you want souvenirs, you can jump off the ship and buy some stuff and be back on the ship in less than an hour, unless you buy a LOT of souvenirs. But as for actual excursions, Falmouth is still a huge fail on RCI's part, IMO.

 

I was on a cruise that stopped in Falmouth a couple of years ago and I was nervous about going into the town after reading a number of postings here. But my boyfriend and I decided to wander outside the compound and we are glad that we did. We went to the town square and walked down to a church that we could see from the ship. At the church an old man who seemed to be one of the caretakers there told us a lot about the history of the church, and some young school kids (1st or 2nd grade) came up to chat and we took some photos with them. We ended up spending a couple of hours walking around, then my boyfriend went to a restaurant so he could use their Wi-Fi and we ended up sitting around there for awhile, watching the locals as the kids got out of school and the families walked around shopping.

 

I would say exercise normal caution as you should in any strange place, but don't be afraid to leave the compound and see a little bit of what the town is really like.

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rharvey999

rharvey999

Posted
Posted

We too left the compound area in Falmouth. We took a horse and buggy ride (Not sure if it was a ship's tour or not) that was very nice. They were located within the compound area and as we passed by we asked the prices. $20 for about an hour touring the city. There were some folks came on as well we suspected they were from a cruise excursion. They said their price was somewhere around $40 a person.

 

Love M'ville. The swim up pool is fun and the music is....well....Jimmy. Great time.

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italianblend

italianblend

Posted
Posted
Exactly the information I was looking for!!! I see a potential stay on the ship for us in Falmouth.... :o) Thanks!!!

 

This is pretty much what we did. We got off the ship and went shopping. We then went past the "gates." Which take you into the actual town. As soon as you get outside the gates, you are accosted by Jamaicans every 5 seconds asking if they can take you on a tour. It is very aggressive. We didn't like it at all. I know they are just trying to make money, but it was very uncomfortable.

 

However, if you have a guided tour set up through rc, I think they drive you from within the port zone (before you get to the town gates).

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SunflowerGirl80

SunflowerGirl80

Posted
Posted
The "Real Secret" is to explore the entire ship, deck by deck, to see what is there.

 

Print deck plans from the RCI Web Site before you board and then just wander and explore.

 

You will be glad you did!

 

 

Here is proof that this system works.

 

On our first cruise on the Jewel of the Seas, every time we went to the Windjammer we got our food and then found a nearby place to sit down and eat. At lunch on the 4th day, the Windjammer was pretty full so we kept heading aft to find an open table. And we found the open air seating area across the stern of the ship. For the rest of the cruise, that is where we ate.

 

Had we not walked back there we would never have found it!

 

DSCN8222.jpg

 

That looks amazing! My husband and I are taking a cruise on RCI for the first time to celebrate his retirement, does anyone know if there is a similar location on Freedom of the Seas?

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
That looks amazing! My husband and I are taking a cruise on RCI for the first time to celebrate his retirement, does anyone know if there is a similar location on Freedom of the Seas?

Nothing like that on Freedom. Only on the 4 Radiance class ships.

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Hoopster95

Hoopster95

Posted
Posted
Is there any outdoor seating on the anthem?
There is.. back of the Windjammer

 

Yep, like Radiance Class ships .... deck 14 outside of Windjammer

 

DSC01366_zps0cc037b5.jpg

 

But even better for sailaways and just hanging around with a drink if you wish, simply go up those stairs (or along the jogging track by Seaplex) to deck 15 behind the Florider/IFly area.

 

DSC01369_zps600ea991.jpg

 

Have an awesome cruise! :D

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berwyn

berwyn

Posted
Posted
This is pretty much what we did. We got off the ship and went shopping. We then went past the "gates." Which take you into the actual town. As soon as you get outside the gates, you are accosted by Jamaicans every 5 seconds asking if they can take you on a tour. It is very aggressive. We didn't like it at all. I know they are just trying to make money, but it was very uncomfortable.

 

However, if you have a guided tour set up through rc, I think they drive you from within the port zone (before you get to the town gates).

 

Same thing happened to us in Ocho Rios.They get right in your face and won't let go.We will never get off a ship in Jamaica again.

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sammydh82

sammydh82

Posted
Posted (edited)
So we love snorkeling but hate crowds...my dilemma is I don't want to do a private tour to save money...only to miss the boat. My. worst. nightmare.

 

Any tips on snorkel excursions from the ship vs. private, especially in Falmouth or Grand Cayman? (We are heading to Cozumel as well, but we have been there before and might do a cave tour).

 

Thanks!

 

We were in Grand Cayman this past March and did a 3 reef catamaran snorkeling and stingray city excursion through a private company. The trip was great and they were very accommodating with our schedule and getting us back to the ship. That was I believe $45 pp.

https://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/Stingray_City_Buccaneer_Catamaran.htm

Edited by sammydh82
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impatientlywaiting

impatientlywaiting

Posted
Posted
This is not a biggie, but I love scrambled eggs. The weird scrambled eggs on the buffet I think are "icky" (Maybe made from powered eggs??). I get my scrambled eggs at the omelet station and they are delicious. DH sometimes can get fried eggs there as well, although they do not always have the eggs available in the shell.

 

They do have the regular eggs available. They are already cracked and put in individual little bowls. I always order two eggs over medium to eat with the wonderful bread with the raisins and sugar on top! I like my eggs hot off the grill!

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csnarpy

csnarpy

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Posted

So much negativity towards Jamaica, I've sailed there 4 times and the first three were busts cause of the weather. The fourth, we took a cab to the Blue Hole and then to Scotches for lunch. Seriously, best island time I had on the entire cruise.

 

Venture out people...just saying.

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
Is there now a charge for room service on RCCL? I just finished a cruise on NCL and they have started charging $7.95 for room service.

On ships other than Quantum class, room service is free, except for orders between midnight and 5am, when they charge $4 per order.

 

On Quantum class, I have read that certain room service items are charged a la carte, no matter what time you order.

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suegrape

suegrape

Posted
Posted
Just had to weigh in about the arcade. On our last cruise, our 14 yr old figured out that after we had said no charging on his card, he convientely lost his sea pass and was issued a new one. The new one wasn't locked (hmm...) anyway by the time we had caught it , over 270 dollars had been used to play video games in the span of an hour and a half. Had called RCCL about this and they said they were looking into it. So Parents, check your kids cards. We ended up putting a cash deposit on both of our kids cards. That worked

 

When my son was 6, he was in the kid's club & they instructed the kids to place their sea pass cards in their shoes. When we picked my son up, his card was gone. We went to guest services & another child (a bit older) had taken his card & was using it in the arcade as we were speaking to guest services. They took the charges off our acct. I wish I had known about restricting it before hand, even though my son wasn't at fault.

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