Cruise Line Lessons Learned

1. Fly/Cruise Packages

We ordered a combination Fly/Cruise package thinking it would be less hassle. As the letter on the previous page highlights, this is not the case. The problem is that RC trys to transport people to the Ship as cheaply as possible. This translates into using old equipment (old greyhound buses) and very few on site managers. At Miami there seemed to be only one field supervisor and lots of well meaning but clueless Indians. With hundreds arriving there was a lot of milling about. Experienced cruisers had all made their own arrangements and were out of the airport in minutes verses 3 hours for us.

2. Is the Cruise Line nonsmoking?

Although RC restricts smoking to certain areas, because the ship is a closed environment the smell of smoke goes everywhere. I'm not sure if there are nonsmoking lines but next time I'll check.

3. The Stomach Bug you read about on Cruise Lines has impacted many aspects of Cruise Life.

In order to minimize the risk of the stomach bug you read about, RC is very careful about food. While a good thing, it means that the plates of snacks that I remember being everywhere years ago have all vanished ie no bar munchies, no open soda machines etc. Surprisingly, they do still have a couple of soft serve machines open for kids that I would think would be a huge breeding ground for bugs.

4. Expect Lots of Little Dollar Charges that add up.

Many things that I recall being free are now charged for. Right when you get on board you have to drop $30 bucks a kid for a coke card, Johny Rockerts hambugers, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream cost extra etc etc

5. Plan on being Heavily Scheduled

On a cruise ship this size they really need people to be at certain places at specific times. For example, at the dinners if you are more than 5 minutes late you get a lot of good natured ribbing. If an activity or show is popular, expect huge lines to form.

6. Budget for Shore Excursions

Shore excursions are very expensive and can be extremely crowded. Even a most basic event will cost $150-$200 for a family of 4 with many costing $100-$200 a person. Better to go on the web before hand and plan your own activities. We were really upset about the Barcardi tour. We thought we were going to see the actual bottling plant while all we saw was a visitor center which was a very thinly disguised ad for Barcardi. I have to believe Barcardi paid the Cruise Line for visitors and we paid for the tour.

7. Budget for Tips

From almost the moment you move into your cabin you get reminders to sign up for RC's end of cruise tip program. I have no problem with tips but the constant reminders tend to focus one on (1) the end of the cruise and (2) the fact that you are expected to be a major source of the employees' compensation.

8. Keep Track of Your Kids

A primary reason we picked a cruise was that people told us it was a good controlled environment for preteens to be on their own. This turned out not to be the case. The daytime kids program had the look and feel of a day care program. Our 10 and 11 year old rejected it after the first day. Much more troubling were the roving packs of kids that seemed to develop by the 3 or 4th day in the evening. These seemed to start around 9pm until the kid curfew time. The couple of times I ran into incidents it appeared the ship security officers were overwhelmed.

9. If you Plan on Eating in the Dining Room have the Right CLothes

The Dining Room on RC has a dress code (no shorts etc). While not a bad thing we had not brought nearly enough "dress up" clothes.

10. Are you the Cruise Type?

If you tell people you are going on a Cruise and you get surprised looks from your friends saying "I didn't think you were the cruise type" listen to them. We like hiking and individual type of activities which is not the cruise world.