Unexpected Costs !!

[bonsai3s]

12 hours ago, island lady said:

OK...no one wants to think about this extra charge:

 

If you get sick.  Seeing the doctor/nurse and meds will cost extra, and they don't take insurance.  You have to get your insurance company to reimburse you.  

 

Agree...happened to me.

Last night of our cruise...my nose kept bleeding. (Disclosure: I'm on Coumadin.)

Had to visit the medical unit at 11pm...off hours.

Nurse Mary and Dr. Anna finally stopped the bleeding using some type of nitrite and nasal packing.

Cost: $297

As island lady correctly stated, we had to pay for this upfront.  Fortunately for us, we will get reimbursement from our wonderful health insurance.

[snaefell]

8 hours ago, Baggies58 said:

rcldining@rccl.com

I made the mistake of emailing some months before the sailing date & recieving a surprisingly rapid response asking me to try again 3 weeks before,I did & never did get a reply,turned out to have been a waste of time anyway as after one pretty awful night in the MDR we ate at Windjammer!

[vacationlover_mn]

One thing I’m really bad at planning for is extra costs at ports when we just go to a beach on our own.  Depending on the place you go to, you might need to budget for chairs, drinks, tips, cab, food, umbrella, and massages.  Many take just cash, and I often don’t bring as much as I should have.  I am working on trying to do a better job of predicting the cash I need 🙂. 

[vacationlover_mn]

On 1/2/2020 at 9:04 PM, soremekun said:

The special keepsake cups that your adult beverage comes in is an additional charge over and above what you'll pay for the drink inside said cup.

 

Probably not the correct wording/description though.

Actually, last time I cruised, we had the drink package, and they charged us for the FULL PRICE of the fancy keepsake cup drink.  I wonder if this is the norm?

[island lady]

17 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

To the OP, when making your dining room table request through email ask for a balcony table for two on the second level.  The balcony tables along the rail are somewhat private and have a good view. 

 

 

Is that the MTD level?  

[taglovestocruise]

5 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Is that the MTD level?  

As of last August that would be yes.

[island lady]

1 minute ago, taglovestocruise said:

As of last August that would be yes.

 

That was what I thought...but was wondering if the OP has traditional (down stairs) or MTD (which would put them upstairs already).     

[taglovestocruise]

18 hours ago, Baggies58 said:

Very useful to know, thank you

Should note that upstairs deck 5 is MTD, you can still get the same table, time, and waitstaff with MTD each night if you reserve ahead.  happy cruising

[Baggies58]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

That was what I thought...but was wondering if the OP has traditional (down stairs) or MTD (which would put them upstairs already).     

 

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Should note that upstairs deck 5 is MTD, you can still get the same table, time, and waitstaff with MTD each night if you reserve ahead.  happy cruising

 

Yes, I am on MTD and have booked 7pm every night for our meal. This can of course be changed but as we are new to cruising, we just wanted to have a time.

 

Just a quick question regarding the MDR, as we have a drinks package as part of our cruise, does the waiter bring drinks to the table or do you have to go to a bar with your sea pass to get drinks.

 

Thanks again everyone for all the help, I am delighted I found here, far more information than I would ever get off my TA.

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, Baggies58 said:

 

 

Yes, I am on MTD and have booked 7pm every night for our meal. This can of course be changed but as we are new to cruising, we just wanted to have a time.

 

Just a quick question regarding the MDR, as we have a drinks package as part of our cruise, does the waiter bring drinks to the table or do you have to go to a bar with your sea pass to get drinks.

 

Thanks again everyone for all the help, I am delighted I found here, far more information than I would ever get off my TA.

They will take your order at the table, ask your waiter to get you a bar server.  Let the bar waiter know you will need him every night. After the first night a bar runner will be at your table within a few minutes of your set time.  Our son had the package on our last cruise and the bar waiter was at the table several times each night.  A little side note. Show times are set so that early diners go to the late show and late diners to the early show.  7PM is a little in the middle, if you need to get out of MDR a little early just let your waiter know what show you are going to and they can speed things up for you.  happy cruising

Edited January 4, 2020 by taglovestocruise

[vacationlover_mn]

1 hour ago, Baggies58 said:

Just a quick question regarding the MDR, as we have a drinks package as part of our cruise, does the waiter bring drinks to the table or do you have to go to a bar with your sea pass to get drinks?

In our experience lately, they are very slow with this.  So, we always grab a drink from the bar right before dinner, to bring to the dining room.

[island lady]

15 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

In our experience lately, they are very slow with this.  So, we always grab a drink from the bar right before dinner, to bring to the dining room.

 

We find the wait at the entrance for a table goes by much more enjoyable when we both have a glass of wine in our hand while we wait.  😉 🍷

Edited January 5, 2020 by island lady

[Tree_skier]

One extra expense that we always forget about is Spa services.  We inevitably avail ourselves of a massage or two and usually a haircut for me.  

[mayleeman]

In planning your cash, decide if you want to take a credit card with you when going ashore. Some people caution against doing so due to the risk of a card getting hacked/skimmed. We just took cash ashore on our last cruise, and a nice side benefit was that we did not spend any more than our max cash. But bring 25% or so more than you might need in case there is a perfect souvenir! 

 

Also, the safes on board are reputed to be quite secure so I would bring enough cash with you to avoid having to use high-fee ATMs.

 

Congrats on 40 years!

[SRF]

17 hours ago, mayleeman said:

In planning your cash, decide if you want to take a credit card with you when going ashore. Some people caution against doing so due to the risk of a card getting hacked/skimmed. We just took cash ashore on our last cruise, and a nice side benefit was that we did not spend any more than our max cash. But bring 25% or so more than you might need in case there is a perfect souvenir! 

 

Also, the safes on board are reputed to be quite secure so I would bring enough cash with you to avoid having to use high-fee ATMs.

 

Congrats on 40 years!

 

Every time I have had a credit card skimmed or hacked, it has been in the US.  And I travel over 40% of the year internationally.

 

What high fee ATMs??????   Outside the US, most ATMs do not charge any fees.   Some are just starting to, but the fees are similar to US fees for out of network ATMs, around $3 - $4.

 

[snaefell]

4 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

 

What high fee ATMs??????   Outside the US, most ATMs do not charge any fees.   Some are just starting to, but the fees are similar to US fees for out of network ATMs, around $3 - $4.

 

My recent experience of ATMs on travels in Europe has been that they haven't charged a fee for using them but have given a much worse exchange rate than I get in the UK so you end up paying more anyway.

[Joseph2017China]

On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2020 at 7:23 PM, luv2sailAgain said:

Does someone have a ballpark figure on how much extra tip is expected above the prepaid gratuities?  I am pretty much a neat freak and keep the cabin tidy. We eat in the MDR most nights, but never really have special requests or food allergy concerns.  I didn't give an extra tip last cruise, but maybe I was expected to do so . . .

$0.00 is expected.....and it's ok not to tip extra. 

[mayleeman]

5 hours ago, SRF said:

What high fee ATMs??????

 

I was thinking about the ATMs on board. I pay no fees here, so any fee seems high to me!

[SRF]

On 1/7/2020 at 10:47 AM, snaefell said:

My recent experience of ATMs on travels in Europe has been that they haven't charged a fee for using them but have given a much worse exchange rate than I get in the UK so you end up paying more anyway.

 

Don't accept their exchange rate.  The ones at Heathrow do the same thing.   They present you with THEIR exchange rate, but you can decline (lower left button on the ones I have used) and then the exchange rate is by your bank, which is typically close to the published rate for the day.

[smplybcause]

On 1/2/2020 at 6:19 PM, Baggies58 said:

we have the Ultimate Drinks Package

 

It may have a different name over there, but in the US UDP is Ultimate Dining Package and the drinks package is called Deluxe Beverage Package. I'd make sure it's drinks you're getting and not the dining package!

[Baggies58]

19 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

It may have a different name over there, but in the US UDP is Ultimate Dining Package and the drinks package is called Deluxe Beverage Package. I'd make sure it's drinks you're getting and not the dining package!

Thank you, yes my mistake, we are on the Deluxe Beverage Package.

[snaefell]

17 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Don't accept their exchange rate.  The ones at Heathrow do the same thing.   They present you with THEIR exchange rate, but you can decline (lower left button on the ones I have used) and then the exchange rate is by your bank, which is typically close to the published rate for the day.

Must admit that I hadn't noticed that ,must look out for it next time!

[MandyMooToo]

On 1/4/2020 at 7:15 AM, vacationlover_mn said:

Actually, last time I cruised, we had the drink package, and they charged us for the FULL PRICE of the fancy keepsake cup drink.  I wonder if this is the norm?

 

They normally just charge you a few dollars extra for the special cup.  At least that has always been my experience.

[vacationlover_mn]

19 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

They normally just charge you a few dollars extra for the special cup.  At least that has always been my experience.

Ok, I’ll try this again on my next cruise and see what happens.  I kinda want a blinky cup for our cabin up north 🙂

[elephant98]

If you are embarking your cruise in a U.S. port, you will pay sales tax on your drinks until the ship departs and enters international waters.  This is true even if you have pre-purchased a drink package.   I think this also applies to Puerto Rico, but I can't remember.