Hi, we are going on the LOTS as first time cruisers also, we sail on the 2 July 2004 on the classic med cruise, we aren;t honeymooners thought, 2 kids one at 13 one at 2, we'll let you know how we get on on our cruise so you've got some idea but talking to people about cruising and RCCL we should have a good time, there seems to be a mix of all ages and the LOTS is not as formal as other cruise ships.

Hi Shelly bobs

We sailed last year on Splendour of the Seas in The Med last July for our 25th wedding anniversary. There was a vast range of ages & there were quite a few honeymooners onboard.
You will enjoy yourselves as there is so much to do on RCI ships.
Remember to log onto RCI site & you can fill in all the embarkation forms online which save lots of time at the port & also inform them that it will be your honeymoon & take a copy of your marriage certificate & you will get a welcoming gift usually a bottle of champagne.
If you log onto http://www.cruisecritic.com & then onto Royal Caribbean roll call you will probably find other honeymooners who are on your ship at the same time.
Have a fantatic time I'm sure you will..................Ted

Hi

We are thinking of cruising next year, for a special occassion in April to the Caribbean and we are looking at the Navigator of the Sea and the Explorer of the Sea.

Any info on either of these ships would be appreciated.

You fly from Manchester to Miami, spend one night in a hotel, then seven nights round the caribbean, different islands on each ship, then back home.

Any info on these two ships would be helpful, i.e. dress code, prices of drinks etc.

Thanks in advance.

Sue

We went on the Explorer Jan 04in a word AWSOME this was my first cruise (to celebrate my 40th) and has been by far the best holiday in my life, the organisation by R.C I was great, the pre cruise hotel fantastic they even organised (without my knowing) a hotel post cruise day room for during the day to leave luggage, shower etc. because our flight was not till evening. the ship itself was the largest in the world. (before queen mary 2) wew were lucky enough to be among the first onboard that day so saw neer empty. i was told before going that a cruise is like a floating hotel, well this is like a floating town it has everything on it 3 tier dinning room 2 tier theatre, ice rink (the ice show is simply out of this world), minature golf, basketball, rock climbing, many bars and restaurants. The service was fantastic, treated like royalty rooms cleaned twice daily, several places to choose from to eat or free room service, there is 2 formal nights which are great where you are expected to dress up (if this not your thing you can dine elsewhere that nights)
they have a full programme of entertainment in the 'compass' published daily and you need to carry that around as there so much going on day or night, evenings you can choose from an international production show in the theatre or simple piano bar or the casino. and not forgetting the small part of the ports of call, we went western carribean which included haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Mexico.
I am not a good writer of reviews and would take too long to type a lengthy review which i would end up missing parts anyway, suffice to say this was a fantastic holiday, but please any questions on this beautifull ship please post. As i said that was our first but while on board i booked to go on the Splendour July04(smaller but the service was equally good) and while on board that we booked our next The Mariner of the Sea for March05 this is identical to the Explorer, which we are planning to revisit in 06 doing a back to back. sorry cant comment on the Navigator but try this US cruise forum site i 'm addicted to it
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/
scroll down and choose cruise lines royal carribean international, and once booked go to the roll calls and speak to others on the same cruise
hope this helps

Many thanks for your reply.

May I ask you a few questions.

How much are the drinks on board the ships?

The cruise we are thinking of seems to be the same ports of call as you did, did you do any organised trips?

Thanks

Sue

I cant remember all prices we are not big drinkers but i think wine was around $5.50 (£3) per glass and coke about 1.20 (65p) nothing over the top about average compared to UK hotels slightly better just now due to the weak dollar. all purchases are made by your seapass card in $ you are sent the final bill on the last day and the convert it for us brits into £s (at a good rate) and on the bigger ships (ie the explorer) you can keep an eye on your bill via your room t.v. if you decide i will post more accurate prices when i return in March

Many thanks, we would appreciate more information when you return in March.

What about trips, did you go on any organised ones. i.e. Dunns River Falls, which we are interested in, but wondered whether it was dangerous climbling up the water fall?

Sue

we did go to Dunns river falls but not as an organised tour, where the ship docks walk straight and you come accross loads of taxis and mini bus's, because there was only the 2 of us we went on the mini bus and paid the entrance fee when we got there worked out a lot cheaper and they dropped us off at town centre (optional) on the return and we strolled round the shops tasting the jamaican rums. we did not go in the water at the falls although i am sure it is safe, there is a path all the way up and down where you can watch and take photos etc.
in Grand Cayman we went on an organised tour with Captain Marvins (we read a lot about them on cruise critic website and you book online and you are not charged untill you arive incase the ship is late or weather bad etc) he was great, because the Stingray part of the water was busy he took us to the corals where you could snorkall although i wasnt keen at first i am glad i went in as it was beutifull like looking in a tropical fish tank and the stingrays were great also, in Labadee we just relaxed on the beach and swam in the sea, Cothemel we shared a taxi with another couple into town centre an spent a few hours strolling around town. hope this helps

Thanks for the quick reply. I can't make my mind up whether to go to Dunns River Falls or not, it does sound a bit dangerous, my husband would like to do it, I have just said he could walk the up the falls and i would walk on the path, but then again I don't think I would like to do this on my own.

Thanks for the other info, very interesting.

Any more info after you have been again in March would be appreciated.

Sue

i am sure you would be perfectly safe you all link hands you see groups of around 20 all linking hands having a laugh and helping each other. you do need to wear watewr proof sandals which you can buy on the dhip or at the falls or i think rent them there. without the falls you will enjoy the Jamaicans and the shops

Hi

We sailed on the Legend of the Seas in August 2001 for our Silver Wedding anniversary and I can honestly say it was a fantastic experience. The ship was spotlessly clean and the staff were friendly and efficient. The food was excellent and our son particularly enjoyed the free ice-cream bar (actually so did we)!

The thing we found amazing was that on a ship carrying over 2,000 passengers we were able to stroll on deck in the evenings without seeing anyone! I'm sure you will have a brilliant time.

Heather

We are thinking of going on a Royal Caribbean cruise to either the Med or Greek Islands in Summer 2006. I know the brochures aren't released yet but does anyone know of any websites/companies where you can get good reductions on the brochure prices?

Many thanks

all travel agents offer discounts DONT pay attention to RC bruchure prices pick your holiday and go round a few TAs.
P. S excellent company to cruise with we have just booked our 4th

I've just booked my RCI cruise with The Cruise Specialists (link below) and got a great discount. They're also really helpful if you're a first time cruiser like me. Hope this helps

http://the-cruise-specialists.co.uk/

Found out recently that island escape is now part of the royal carribean cruise line..can anyone verify this for me? im intrigued...

Hi Biddy,

Yes, its always been part of Royal Carribean and First Choice.

HTH

Sandi
x

If you are looking to book for 2006 you might get a good deal from Royal Caribbean direct, we have on the last two occassions we booked with them.
BUT I never take there air package, it is much cheaper to organise your own especially if you are sailing from Maimi or Fort Lauderdale or any of the East coast ports

Thank you all for replying I would very much appreciate some feedback from davieg after you return have a great time

only five weeks to go and we cant wait,i will let you know how we get on but i think its going to be good...