First Cruise and a bit overwhelmed!

[Niallnas]

I would love some help as this is my first cruise, costing a lot of money and worried I’m going to get something wrong.

 

Two parents and five girls ranging in age from 16-20 we are going on a Royal Caribbean, Odyssey of the Seas in August from Rome and back to Rome for 7 nights. We have the cruise booked and the cabins all sorted out (3)but it’s everything else. There is only two sea days so I need some advice. We are seasoned traveler's and my partner is very good at organising and using apps etc for booking holiday stuff (Disney etc)

 

Do I include tips or pay at the end?

Five girls who spend a lot of time on their phones so what wi-if package should I be looking at?

As a rule excursions with the cruise company or sort it yourself.

Drinks package which I think is $64 per head per day, I like a drink but I think with time off the boat etc even I may struggle to get value, my partner isn’t bothered and even the older girls would only be having 2-3 cocktails per night and mainly soft drinks etc.

 

Lots of questions I know and probably asked 1000 times on here before but Thank you in advance.

[Hlitner]

You have done a great job framing your concerns.  Regarding drink packages, they are overpriced if you are a light drinker and underpriced if you are an alcoholic :).  No right or wrong but simply based on your own drinking habit.  Regarding tips, many prefer to pre-pay so they get it out of the way and are not stuck with the extra cost after the cruise.  

 

Excursions vs DIY are always a big debate here on CC (and on ships).  For folks willing to do a little pre-cruise homework, and who have a spirit of adventure, doing ports on your own is often a great option.  But you also need to consider your actual docking locations versus where you want to go.  We also suggest using a lot of common sense in that you get yourself back to near the port in plenty of time so as not to miss the ship.  Cruise line excursions are usually overpriced, and they involve being part of a large group.  We avoid excursions (and large group tours) because we simply want to do our own thing, enjoy a long lunch where we want to eat and do not want to spend part of our day waiting for a bus load to go the rest rooms, finish their shopping, etc.  Keep in mind that the port for Rome (Civitavecchia) is over an hour from Rome via train or car.  

 

When we started cruising there was no Internet, no cell phones, and it was heaven :).  Now, many are completely addicted to their phones and many do not want to go through withdrawal on a cruise.  You can look at the various cruise line WiFi/Internet options, but keep in mind that WiFi on ships is not as fast as you get at home.  Depending on your phone provider you can also use your phones when ashore (or within about 10 miles of land) using the European cells.  T-Mobile plans generally include data/texting in all the European countries while other companies have various deals (at a price) for using land-based cells.  Many cruisers will also take advantage of free wifi that can be found at places like McDonalds and many cafes/restaurants.  

 

Hank

[SoloAlaska]

Once you book flights you’ll need to then arrange transfer between Rome (or the airport) and Civitaveccia which is where the port is. You can do a private transfer, cruise ship transfer, or you can take the train. Look on the Italy board for more info.

 

Most of the other questions you should be asking on the Royal Caribbean board. There is a daily fee which counts as “tips” but a lot of people also tip above and beyond that. These discussions are constant on CC.

 

Excursions a lot of new cruisers book through the cruise line because you are guaranteed the ship will wait if your delayed.

 

I find getting an eSIM card in Europe is the most affordable way to use data especially on port heavy cruises. Disconnecting onboard is something I look forward to even for a few hours. If you have iPhones they work for text at sea (atleast they do with some cruise lines).

Edited February 17 by SoloAlaska

[ScottC4746]

1 hour ago, Niallnas said:

I would love some help as this is my first cruise, costing a lot of money and worried I’m going to get something wrong.

 

Two parents and five girls ranging in age from 16-20 we are going on a Royal Caribbean, Odyssey of the Seas in August from Rome and back to Rome for 7 nights. We have the cruise booked and the cabins all sorted out (3)but it’s everything else. There is only two sea days so I need some advice. We are seasoned traveler's and my partner is very good at organising and using apps etc for booking holiday stuff (Disney etc)

 

Do I include tips or pay at the end?

Five girls who spend a lot of time on their phones so what wi-if package should I be looking at?

As a rule excursions with the cruise company or sort it yourself.

Drinks package which I think is $64 per head per day, I like a drink but I think with time off the boat etc even I may struggle to get value, my partner isn’t bothered and even the older girls would only be having 2-3 cocktails per night and mainly soft drinks etc.

 

Lots of questions I know and probably asked 1000 times on here before but Thank you in advance.

First of all don't be.

Tips: I get the included tips.  It is automatically distributed.  I remember on other lines they give you envelopes and slips of paper.  Celebrity did not.

 

I would get the premium wifi, this way they can call back home and it not cost a forturne.  Do check with your wireless service for international plans.

 

Dinks packages are a touchy subject on these boards, some love them some hate them.  I like being able to try new drinks so I get the premium package.  Do note that covers up to $17 drinks and most drinks are north of that around $20, but they will charged the difference to your account.  Premium also includes sodas, coffees, and water which I like.

 

Now two years ago was my first cruise on X and was stressed over clothing.  Remember, what you see on line and in brochures are advertising.  Evening I always wore slacks and button up dress shirt and was fine.  Even on evening chic nights men can throw on a jacket if you want.  Very few people had tuxedos and gowns.  You saw them but far and few in between.

 

[cruiseaholic777]

When my kids were teens they never ever took there phone with them. They had so much going on that the phones stayed in the room. I like to drink but the drink package never worked for me.

[mjkacmom]

On our last cruise our 5 were between the ages of 14 and 20, no Wi-Fi package and they were fine. My 14, 14 and 16 year olds went to the teen club just to meet others to hang out with when on the ship, the 19 and 20 year olds went to young adult meet ups (NCL had them) to meet some new people. They would hang out from late morning until dinner, have dinner, shows, karaoke with us, we’d go to the cabin and they’d meet up with friends. Of course ports were with us.

[bonsai3s]

@SoloAlaskaagree...perhaps posting on the Royal Carribean forum can help.

 

@FionaMG...did a wonderful review of the Odyssey of the Seas.

 

* We've sailed on the Odyssey of the Seas and have sailed out of Rome (port is in Civitavecchia).

 

Tipping...your choice...no right or wrong answers.

 

Drink package...your cruise will probably be port intensive...so not worth buying it.

 

Shore excursions...will cost you a ton of money booking with the ship. There are many private tours available that cost less. We do mostly DIY because I am cheap and comfortable using local transportation. 

 

You may also want to join your "roll call"...you can meet others sailing the same week and learn about private tours others are organizing.

 

Websites we use for planning: Cruise Critic, whatsinport.com, YouTube, cruisemapper.com, and rometorio.com

 

Happy sailing! 

[FionaMG]

@bonsai3s, thanks for the tag. Hope you're doing well. 😊

 

@Niallnas, here is the link to my review of what was an amazing cruise. I hope it helps. 😊

 

 

[John Bull]

Hi, and welcome to Cruise Critic

 

The difficult one first ...........

 

Tips.

I'm a little worried by responses from North American cruisers, because with the possible exception of @SoloAlaska they might perhaps be assuming that you are aware of the daily tips/gratuities/service charges/call-them-what-you-will

Like most US & Italian cruise lines,  RCI adds to your on-board account a daily charge of $18 per person per night. That will probably include all the girls, so somewhere over £500 in total. In bluntest terms that's because hotel-side crew are paid a pittance by the cruise lines. Those "tips" are shared by cabin stewards, waiting staff, kitchen staff, laundry staff etc etc etc.

If you've already pre-paid them, fine.

If you knew about them and are expecting to pay them during the cruise, simply do nothing & they'll be charged to your account. Plenty of Americans frequently add cash tips to selected crew like their cabin steward, but it's not expected. 

If you knew nothing about the daily charges, post back & we can figure a way round it.

 

Most UK cruise lines & a small number of premium US lines don't add a daily charge, nor do a lot of American lines on cruises ex-UK and ex-Australia because they're aware of the resentment created.

Hence the "tips included" or similar that you'll see on many adverts.

 

Drinks packages

In the USA the minimum age to be served alcohol is 21. Cruiselines reduce that to 18 for sailings from the UK, I don't know about cruises from Rome. You shouldn't have a problem buying alcohol for any of the girls if the limit is 21.

For most folk drinks packages are over-priced, but as well as those who perhaps drink too much many simply find it easier because they just flash their card instead of signing a dccket each time.

There's an 18% service charge on all alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks, I don't know whether it's included in that $64 per day.

Tea, coffee & hot chocolate from the self-service machines and at dinner are free, ditto fruit juices around breakfast time. And probably ice-creams on-deck. So no service charge on any of them.

Ship's de-salinated water is perfectly safe, like most folk we can't tell the difference from tap water in the UK - except because its stored in tanks rather than underground, the water in your cabin isn't chilled so bottle some & put it in your fridge. Water in the bars, restaurants & drinks stations is chilled or alongside ice.

Do take advantage of the allowance of one bottle of wine per person (or is it two per cabin?)  that you can take aboard at the departure port for drinking in your cabin or balcony (or walking into the dining room with a full glass 😏) 

 

Phones

(all second-hand advice, I'm a techno-dummy)

on-board, switch all phones to airplane mode, especially G4 & G5 phones because they'll continue to harvest data and cost a fortune.

In port, ships are supposed to switch off their systems  but don't always remember

If you switch on in or close to port and your screen shows the provider as "Cellular At Sea"  that's Royal Caribbean's maritime provider and it'll cost a bomb.

Texts tend to be very much less expensive. 

 

WiFi

(still a techno-dummy)

Tends to be slow on ships, but improving all the time.

I suggest just the one package to start off  - but it'll probably work on only the one registered device.

You'll find cafes & bars ashore with "free wifi". Some are good, some are almost useless, a few might say "it's not working today". So before ordering drinks  check that other customers are happily scrolling away (go ahead & politely ask them). Most have a password lock, they'll give it to you or put it into your tablet when you order.  Even this techno-dummy knows that ne'r-do-wells can home in on public wifi

 

Excursions.

Do your homework with Mr Google, and Cruise Critic's ports-of-call forums are particularly good with questions like "how do get from the port to ###", "are there taxis / buses at the port?"

For anything you can't figure or find, ask on the appropriate ports-of-call forums or back here. Be sure to mention the ports, name of your ship, day/s of the week, hours in port, that you're 2 plus 3 teenage, and anything else that you think relevant.

 

Credit cards

Answers to questions that you haven't asked.

You can check your on-board account any time via your cabin TV.

Later in the cruise you'll be asked if you'd like your credit card to be charged in sterling "for your convenience" 🙄. DECLINE that kind offer. Leave it in ship's currency and your card issuer will   convert at a much better exchange-rate than the ship.

 

Visa and Mastercard credit cards are as widely-used in mainland Europe as they are in the UK.

Same as aboard, pay only in local currency. Some card readers detect the card's currency and automatically switch the charge to sterling. Check the charge before PINing or wafting or whatever, and if it's not local currency insist that they change it to local. None will give you as good an exchange-rate as your card issuer, some will try to royally rip you off. It  also makes it easier to see that the charge is the same as on the menu, the price-sticker etc.

If you don't have a card which gives you fee-free foreign exchange, get (at least) one for foreign use.  For example Halifax Clarity or the Post Office credit card. Also helps you later to figure how much you spent on holiday .

 

Sorry that a lot of this post is negative.

But we've enjoyed all of our cruises on older & smaller  Royal Caribbean ships - Odyssey is only a couple of years old and has all the whistles and bells. You - and especially the girls - will be in awe.

Have a good one.

 

JB 🙂

[Mum2Mercury]

Thoughts: 

- Have everyone download the Royal Caribbean app now.  You'll be able to see menus now (and should reserve times), and as the time draws nearer, you'll be able to see entertainment options. 

- We personally do not buy an internet package.  I'd tell the girls it's a low-tech week; they'll have plenty to do.  You can contact one another with the ship's wifi (which costs nothing) ... the internet package would allow for contacting people off the ship and streaming.   

- Your girls are a great age for cruising.  My girls had an absolute blast at that age.  

- You and your spouse should make a short list of your expectations for the girls /share them before the cruise.  My kids were always better behaved /we never had any problems when I was crystal clear about what I expected of the kids.  

- I'd go ahead and pay tips up front /never think about it again, but you'll get lots of opinions on that.  

- When you say the drink package is $64, you're talking about alcohol -- remember that you'll have to add 18% gratuity to that when you book.  We don't buy it for ourselves, but when my girls were teens I did get them the soda package.  I didn't want them to be in a position where they felt they "had to" finish a drink that'd been out of their sight for a moment.  

- Shore excursions were discussed.  What would your girls enjoy doing?  Since they're all so close in age, and since they don't have that many more vacations left with the family, I'm assuming you'll cater to their needs.  A shore excursion could be as simple as taking a taxi to a nearby beach.  

 

 

[tscoffey]

We have Verizon, which has a $10 per day per device option when traveling. We buy that each time, and only use wifi access near land.
Since this cruise is heavily port intensive, you will have wifi access on land or in port. When you are at sea (except for those 2 sea days) it will be overnight, when no one needs wifi anyway. So I would do something like that, where you only pay for access when near land, and encourage your girls to go without wifi in the evening, and on those 2 sea days.

Edited March 2 by tscoffey

[fantavet]

Search youtube for cruise internet tips. Airplane mode being on is important. And another tip I heard about IPhones is to turn "Background Refresh" -OFF. A lot of apps will refresh on their own even closed which can burn through data.