Cruise booked! First timers advice please

[Hooray4Disney]

How exciting! We have booked our cruise for 2019
We opted for a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean departing from Miami on the 5th August onboard Navigator of the Seas.

Tips and advice would very much be appreciated.

Have been advised not to book the drinks package but to speak to the bar staff when we first board.

We will have a rental car - where do we park?

Will we be given a time to board? What to do first?

Sooo many questions

[Smilesonfaces]

I’m not so sure about the advice of speaking to the bar staff on board. I kept checking the cruise planner as there are regular sales. The drinks package will be more expensive onboard. If you book a package on the planner and see it cheaper later you can cancel and rebook. On board they occasionally sell 10 drink cards but this is not done on every sailing. The refreshment package was £13 ppn on our cruise.

I would definitely recommend the speciality dining package. We went on Harmony but they will have similar deals. We paid around £30 for the first 3 nights in the speciality restaurants. Wonderland was exceptional, the best meal I have ever eaten. Didn’t quite know what I was eating but it tasted amazing.

We just bought the refreshment package covering speciality teas and coffees, non alcoholic cocktails, fruit juices and sodas. We were allowed to take 2 bottles of wine onboard for the cabin ( you can take in to a restaurant but they will charge a corkage fee) and bought another couple in the restaurants - expensive at about $40 a bottle. We just wouldn’t have drank enough for the alcohol package.

You will be given a boarding time but you can in reality board much earlier. We arrived at port at 11ish and sailed at 4.

We did 2 different car bookings. Dropped car at Alamo in the port and picked another one up after the cruise. That was Fort Lauderdale though.

We loved our cruise. Will certainly do another once son and daughter are not coming with us !
Hope you enjoy!

[cheekydeeky]

DO NOT wait to board to buy the drinks package. Secure it now in your cruise planner and if it goes on sale cancel and rebuy. You will undoubtedly be more expensive onboard. Add that to the rumours that 2019 prices for drink packages are rumoured to be increasing significantly...

We are on Harmony next year from Port Canaveral and can’t wait. We’ve sailed four times with RCI and love it. We aim to be at port by 10.30 and have never had to wait longer than around 15 minutes to board.

[valegroovers]

Same as others pay for your drinks package beforehand although the price may seem extortionate you will get your money’s worth as the prices are hugely inflated onboard plus the gratuity added on top.

[Smilesonfaces]

Originally Posted by valegroovers

Same as others pay for your drinks package beforehand although the price may seem extortionate you will get your money’s worth as the prices are hugely inflated onboard plus the gratuity added on top.

See more...

I am sure the wine started from around $12 a glass and it was only cheap stuff ! The coffees/frappes were similar to costa/Starbucks prices. The non alcoholic cocktails around $5/6 plus gratuity of course . The alcohol package was around $50 pppd and everyone over 21 in a cabin in a cabin needs to buy it. You can get around this if you call and tell them one if you doesn’t drink alcohol or medical reasons. There was so much sharing going on.

Sales are usually around holidays so I would look around Black Friday for deals on your cruise planner. My refreshment package was reduced from $21 pppd. Prices in the planner can change daily.
Thinking about it again the package was £50 not $50 pppd.

[Hooray4Disney]

Thank you kindly for replying - I shall take a look - it will be worth it just for the Starbucks coffees and Frappuccinos, I think. It would also be rude not to indulge in a cocktail or two ... really looking forward to the fact that we will not have to drive home , and can both have a drink.

Thank you for the advice regarding boarding too - I would have probably stuck to our exact time - when will we issued with this?

Next question, , food and eating - the speciality dining package - is that for one particular restaurant? If we do not book this, does this mean that we have to eat in the buffet restaurant every night?

Thank you - I really appreciate your advice.

[cheekydeeky]

If it helps at all the deluxe beverage package for our sailing next September is £41.08 pppd on cruise planner at the moment. I’m hoping for a Black Friday sale . It’s worth it for us as we like a cocktail or six .

Specialist restaurants can be booked before you go - again have a look in cruise planner. They’re usually a deal to be had such as BOGO.

As well as the windjammer (buffet) you can also eat in the MDR for breakfast and dinner which would be our choice as it’s much more civilised . We do like to try a couple of speciality restaurants though but we are still too far out so unable to book anything yet.

[Red Nats]

Hi can anyone tell me what cruise planner is?

We’ve booked our first ever cruise. Harmony of the seas 7 nights, so no idea what I need to buy / book. I know I have any time dining

[Smilesonfaces]

We went on Harmony and ate at Wonderland, Choppes Grille and 150 Central Park. These felt more like going out to a restaurant as they were quite small. Alternatively you have the Main Dining room which is table service. If you like seafood find out when it is lobster night ! We just used the Windjammer buffet for breakfast. Our teenage children ate there on the nights when husband and I went to the speciality restaurants.
I don’t think Wonderland is on the Navigator.

With the deal I bought for the restaurants you are allocated the restaurants. A note is left in the cabin advising you the restaurants you have been given. I went over to the restaurants to change them to the restaurants we had wanted.
We always had tables as a couple/family and did not have to share with other passengers. This is something that would have put me off cruises.

I can’t remember when we received our boarding time, probably a couple of weeks before. I know we were allocated 1.30 but arriving early was not an issue at all.

I found lots of information on this site
royalcaribbeanblog

[cheekydeeky]

Originally Posted by Red Nats

Hi can anyone tell me what cruise planner is?

We’ve booked our first ever cruise. Harmony of the seas 7 nights, so no idea what I need to buy / book. I know I have any time dining

See more...

If you google my cruise planner royal Caribbean then click on already booked, cruise planner and create an account you can then link your booking reference and it will come up with dining, entertainment and beverage options. You can also book excursions. If you’ve any onboard credit it will also show here.

You can do online checkin and print your luggage labels etc. on the planner which will save time at the port .