I am a Disney Girl, but sailing RCCL for the first time..I have plenty of questions!!

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Just a little background...
We are a Disney family. Go there every year and are Gold Castaway Club members. We love Disney! However with the prices rising, we thought for one yr we would try RCCL and no better time then on 3rd and 4th passengers free.
We are sailing in Dec on the Liberty of the Seas. A few questions....
1. does RCCL have wave phones or any form of communication between parents and kids???

2. Can kids check themselves in and out like on DCL of course if you give them the right?

3. Boarding day seems smooth from what I read on RCCL sites....any recommendations?

4. Can I bring my own "bike" helmet for ice skating and rock wall? Sorry this girl doesn't put anyones hate (lice factory) on her head..lol If I can't then I will bring bandanas or something to cover our heads!!

5. on a 5 night...is there Lobster????

6. anyone know the price of a RCCL 5 night picture cd?

7. Booked the Embassy Suites by the port.....is that far? or is there a better hotel? Embassy has breakfast!!

8. How far is the Miami port from the Fort Lauderdale port???

ok that's all I got now but I am sure I will think of more...LOL Thanks to all you who answer me!!

 

[Mrsjvb]

Just a little background...
We are a Disney family. Go there every year and are Gold Castaway Club members. We love Disney! However with the prices rising, we thought for one yr we would try RCCL and no better time then on 3rd and 4th passengers free.
We are sailing in Dec on the Liberty of the Seas. A few questions....
1. does RCCL have wave phones or any form of communication between parents and kids??? Oasis and Allure for sure.. not sure about other ship categories.

2. Can kids check themselves in and out like on DCL of course if you give them the right? similar age requirement at Disney

3. Boarding day seems smooth from what I read on RCCL sites....any recommendations? same as you would do for a Disney cruise

4. Can I bring my own "bike" helmet for ice skating and rock wall? Sorry this girl doesn't put anyones hate (lice factory) on her head..lol If I can't then I will bring bandanas or something to cover our heads!! there is no need to and why waste the luggage space? they are pout through the same disinfection/cleaning as any one

5. on a 5 night...is there Lobster???? one formal night will have it and there is always the option to psend the money on the every day extra fee item.

6. anyone know the price of a RCCL 5 night picture cd?we don't bother with that.

7. Booked the Embassy Suites by the port.....is that far? or is there a better hotel? Embassy has breakfast!! strictly personal preference. never sailed Liberty so am unfamiliar with her embarkation port

8. How far is the Miami port from the Fort Lauderdale port??? no idea

ok that's all I got now but I am sure I will think of more...LOL Thanks to all you who answer me!!

I have fun

 

[discorsner]

Did you get kids sail free for December? I was thinking it was only through November but I would be willing to rethink December for my own fam with that promo!

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Did you get kids sail free for December? I was thinking it was only through November but I would be willing to rethink December for my own fam with that promo!

Yes I did

 

[discorsner]

Sorry I see now what it was- through dec 15 right? I was looking end of dec and I don't think it's available then.

Have a great trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

there is no need to and why waste the luggage space? they are pout through the same disinfection/cleaning as any one

Eek. All we saw them do was spray the shoes and helmets with the same spray, and it was perfunctory at that. I'm not one who is concerned about issues with that, so it didn't bother me, but I wouldn't say that they have a major operation cleaning those things.


Embarkation was smoother IMO on RCCL than DCL. Faster, at the very least.

1. does RCCL have wave phones or any form of communication between parents and kids???

Oasis and Allure for sure.. not sure about other ship categories.

What do they have on O&A?

They had nothing on Freedom (which is one reason why we didn't let our 9 year old check himself out of the club) and I was under the impression that none of the ships had anything.


I'm not giving a great impression of RCCL. Don't get me wrong, I have adored our cruises on them, and will be doing more! I just prefer that people have a realistic view of things (like their disinfectant process for shoes etc).

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Eek. All we saw them do was spray the shoes and helmets with the same spray, and it was perfunctory at that. I'm not one who is concerned about issues with that, so it didn't bother me, but I wouldn't say that they have a major operation cleaning those things.

Embarkation was smoother IMO on RCCL than DCL. Faster, at the very least.

What do they have on O&A?

They had nothing on Freedom (which is one reason why we didn't let our 9 year old check himself out of the club) and I was under the impression that none of the ships had anything.

I'm not giving a great impression of RCCL. Don't get me wrong, I have adored our cruises on them, and will be doing more! I just prefer that people have a realistic view of things (like their yeah disinfectant process for shoes etc).

Thank you so much.....yeah lice is very easy to catch and in my kids early years they caught it at school so I will be bringing something to cover their heads with.

Yeah on DCL our youngest gets to roam with the wave phone and 6 cruises on the magic under her belt. I can't believe RcCL hasn't caught on to this technology!!

 

[stsomewhere]

I just sailed on Liberty of the Seas two weeks ago.

Apparently, the last two sailings took a long time to clear customs. RC stopped letting people into the cruise terminal because the terminal was at capacity. We could not start boarding until 1pm. The line outside the parking lot snaked around in every available space. We were lucky enough to be in line in the terminal but they stopped processing check ins.

Leaving the ship was horrible, too. It you have an early flight, pay for RC transfers or carry your luggage off.

We had a 1:30pm flight out of Ft lauderdale. I figured I had plenty of time. I did not do RC transfers. Our assigned number was #22. The estimated time of the ship was 10am. We did not get called until 11:20. Then you had to stand in a long line outside of luggage terminal to get in. Then, find luggage and clear customs. We cleared customs at 11:55. Thankfully, airport was close. By the time I checked in at airport and cleared security, my flight had just started to board.

 

[stsomewhere]

It is about a 45 minute drive from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami.

We stayed at B Ocean in Ft. Lauderdale. It was right on the beach. It was very nice. There were restaurants and shops in the some block.

 

[woody73]

. . . 4. Can I bring my own "bike" helmet for ice skating and rock wall? Sorry this girl doesn't put anyones hate (lice factory) on her head..lol If I can't then I will bring bandanas or something to cover our heads!!

Good idea. (I've sailed on the Liberty OTS.)

Woody