DO NOT BRING WATER! We were worried and lugged around bottles of water in our luggage. First, there is absolutely water EVERYWHERE! Just bring a bottle to pour water into for walking around. Second, the water onboard is probably the best tasting water I’ve ever tasted!
Maybe the water in the Windjammer and fountains is okay. On my last cruise the water from the cabin sink had a bad taste to it. I drank the water that we brought onboard. My daughter puts Crystal Light in her water so she didn't taste what I did
However, if you like sparkling water or seltzer water and you don't have a drink package bring a few bottles on board with you. This will save you some money. You must carry it on board with you; you can't put it in your checked luggage. Check shortly before your cruise to see how much you can bring and what kind of containers. Usually glass and plastic containers are forbidden but it depends on the cruise line.
@@jacquelyns9709 - Royal Caribbean states a 12-pack of water or soda. My wife, son and I all brought a 12-pack. Security didn’t say anything. We were prepared to give up 2 incase they didn’t allow it. My son and I actually openly carried it in our hands and placed them on the security conveyor belt.
Ok.. I have two things. First, there is a way to wear float dresses without wind concerns. Tape quarters to the inside of the hem. The weight of the quarters keeps the skirt down. This is the trick used by the women in the royal family. I used to do this trick when I was in pageants. Second, I will bring my hairdryer. I know this is going to sound spoiled but I will not dry my hair without my Dyson. Somehow every other dryer just creates so much frizz and damage. Am I spoiled, yes.
Andrea, it's not because of being spoiled. It''s because men don't understand about women's hair!!! I was going to comment here that one thing I agree with Matt's wife since she disagrees with him, is that the hair dryer Royal provides on the ship (or any other hair dryer in most hotels) is cheap and it doesn't work for me. It will take me at least 30 min to dry my hair. Since my dining time is at 5:30pm, I usually have less than 10 min to dry my hair after coming back from daily activities and taking shower getting ready for dinner. My Dyson one really did that job! Alas, I guess men including Matt will never understand this, LOL.
Since I am kosher, we do have to bring our own snacks... perhaps one day RC will offer us other options! In the end of January, they have a special kosher kitchen, which is awesome!
I always bring my over the door shoe organizer. I find it invaluable for small things that just take up space on dresser and sink. Sunglasses, sunscreen, pens, post its, ball caps, binoculars, souvenirs, excursion tickets, cork screw, wrinkle release and many more things and yes, shoes. I always bring my own hair dryer. I have never seen a dryer on a cruise ship I liked.
Matt, I agree with your wife that hair dryer is a MUST item to bring until Royal provides with a better quality hair dryer. Men will never understand, I guess.
I would like to add a comment based on experience: Go through the pockets of any clothes in your luggage to make sure that you do not have anything prohibited in there. My son (who is a hunter) had an empty rifle cartridge in a pocket of a pair of shorts in the checked luggage. This gave us a very interesting behind the scenes tour with security... Also everybody there was extremely nice so no problems there. Could have saved us a little time though.
Oh my word, yes. I once had to part with a beloved pocket knife that was my grandfather’s because it was in a jacket I had not used in six months, but threw on to get on a plane.
I've been on a few cruises without any problems with luggage and i always bring the same stuff. This last one however security made me meet them and open for them because it looked cluttered on the xray. I opened and they went through everything but found nothing prohibited and said have a nice cruise.. wow
I accidentally left a hunting knife in my bag but somehow metal detector didn’t see it. Was so scared that they would find it when leaving but nope 🤷♂️
I find the over the door shoe organizer a MUST HAVE!! Small items, sun glasses, sun screen, etc. Much easier to look for something there tnan scour the room finding travel tissues, glasses cleaner, etc.
One of our group was diagnosed with Celiac disease shortly before our recent RCCL cruise. He brought gluten free snacks because he was unsure what would be available. Unnecessary- gf choices were available everywhere onboard. He was impressed with his food options.
@@denisestancel2709 Every time we walked into any food venue on the Allure of the Seas our Celiac person asked about gf and was immediately given a mini tour of what was available. In some cases the chef came to out to discuss options. All of this was done discreetly without attracting attention - important for our introverts. We were new to this (food allergies) so my only experience is with Royal Caribbean but I’m sure it’s not the only one.
@@denisestancel2709 before you book your next cruise contact the line's department for special dietary needs; all the large cruise corporations have for years had departments which handle dietary or other special needs.
We bring our personalized towels, with name and avatar on them. Yes, the cruise has towels but they all look the same. It has happened more than once where I step away from my day bed to get a drink and when I return someone is sitting on my chair. When I say excuse me you are in my seat, the told me I was mistaken. I then point out that unless she is a black woman with my name which is clearly on the seat near the cruise towel she needs to move it. Needless to say she was embarrassed and got up. They are also great conversation starters and make it really easy to find your chairs in the crowd.
Make sure you returns the borrowed towels where you checked them out. Leaving borrowed towels in your state room on disembarkation will result in $25 fee each. Our friends got to pay $100 extra to Royal Caribbean for doing just that.I wonder how much RC makes in these towel penalty fees.
Maybe not a full sized laptop but and ipad or some type of smaller tablet PC or gaming device might be better than using your phone for entertainment/movies/games/ebooks, etc. That way the phone can be mainly used to take photos and video at ports or onboard at events.
Yeah, my iPad goes anywhere I go. Being a Super Techie, I have an electronics backpack that travels with me and is just big enough for the tech, hubs, and cords my husband and I will need. As I am an amateur photographer, I also have a dedicated backpack for my cameras and their necessary accessories.
I never wear my real wedding rings on a cruise. Not only is it impossible to replace but my fingers swell and I either cant get them on or off when I am on vacation . So many nice imitations on the market today. If I lose them I wont be as upset.
I never understood why people do this. How is losing your ring on vacation any worse than losing your ring while running errands at home. Both are possible
Awesome video. I agree with your wife in regards to bring a hair dryer/blower cuz one they provide in the staterooms sucks and are hairdos are too important 😁
Totally disagree with you about the over the door shoe organizer. I find it most useful. I get one with clear compartments. I quickly can see what I want. I wouldn’t cruise without one !
Thank you for posting this, I was a little worried about traveling without my Bi-pap machine. And without my power wheelchair I'd be stuck in the cabin all cruise. I'll make note to make contact in advance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I'm glad I watched it. Haven't been on a cruise in 17 years & and this will be my 2nd cruise. This will be my son's first (I was pregnant with him on my first cruise 😂) & it's a graduate gift. Thanks I already added some stuff to my wishlist on Amazon.
A few times I have hung an over the door shoe organizer from the closet bar. (We don’t take a lot of hanging clothes.) I placed items in the pockets, rolled it up, packed it like that. Yes it takes up a lot of luggage space but I don’t care, especially since we live near the port and don’t fly in. If you have to unpack and load that sucker, then reverse the process to repack, they aren’t worth the trouble.
Alcohol is the most frustrating part of the whole RC experience. £85 PER DAY per person for booze! Utterly ridiculous. I wish they offered other packages like a beer only or wine only packages for those of us not planning on demolished 5 litres of expensive whisky on a cruise.
Yes, definitely keep looking for a cheaper deal with the drinks package. I've canceled and rebooked mine 3 times already with no problems. Every time it goes down in price I cancel and rebook! 😁 I've gone from £95 to £60 pppd.
They used to... had the Beer & Wine Package on the Vision of the Seas... back in 2015. Much, MUCH more reasonable... and because it was more reasonable, we bought it. Been on the Liberty, the Explorer, the Mariner, and have one booked on the Oasis coming up. Haven't bought a drink package since.
The point being brought up about not wearing flowy dresses; or lose/baggy clothing in general, while on the ship exterior because you’re underwear will show. My question is; you already wear a bikini on the cruise exterior deck; why is that not embarrassing but underwear is?
Ladies: if you want to wear a flowy dress 👗 on your cruise, buy some drapery weights to sew in the inside of the skirt hem, or you can try “dress downs” that stick on the inside of the skirt hem.
We bring our own small micro-fiber towels. Two are smaller than a loaf of flat bread & each weigh 5 oz. Lugging the bulky RCI towels around ports is a true PITA! BTW - most of us who wear flowy dresses know to wear chub rubs underneath.
idk if RC goes to canada, but i believe one needs canadian dollars there, as far as cash is concerned. also; as far as credit cards go, in foreign countries - make sure you know what fraudulent charge machines look like, and don't let anyone leave your presence with your card. CC fraud starts with being able to copy your info from the card itself (in the US too, but more prevalent when traveling) no need to be super anxious; but being aware is very helpful as you navigate cultures unlike your own :)
I absolutely agree with the walkie talkies, you truly don't need that. Especially if you get a cheap phone kept in kids mode so you can use the messaging system
@Theresa Duckworth I constantly see people in cruise facebook talking about using walkie talkies, I feel sorry for any of their fellow cruisers getting disturbed by those devices
You absolutely need to pack your own snacks. I like certain candies and certain snacks and usually I never find them when I’m in another country to each their own when it comes to cruising there’s not a bad thing to pack or a good thing to pack whatever you think you need to pack it!
With the growing number of RU-vid cruise channels I am surprised you recommended not bringing a laptop computer. I would also add bringing portable speakers is definitely annoying to other passengers.
Thank you for all these videos, I'm so happy I came across Royal Caribbean blog website & RU-vid channel! You provide very helpful info! We're going on Freedom of the Seas this Friday, March 31st! Can't wait!😎
I know there's no sharp objects allowed, but what about lancets for finger pricking? I have to check my INR every other week and the day I would normally do it on, I'll be at sea. I have a Coag-Sense PT2 PT/INR checker with a small bag slightly larger than the device and in it I have lancets, transfer tubes, and individually packaged test strips. I figured I would put that and my medicine in the small bag I would carry on with me, then once I get to my room, set it all to the side and use that bag when I go ashore.
Hi Matt you mentioned bad idea to bring flowey dresses if they fly up I'm sure the woman doesn't mind so much if she is Squamish about showing too much she probably wouldn't be wearing a dress that short show her shiny legs plus even if people see their underwear it still shouldn't be that big of a deal as it's a pool deck don't women at the pool wear bikinis there's not a big difference between bikini bottoms and female underwear plus she will start pulling it down or rush inside if it bothering her
My wife always packs hair straightening irons. Not sure if these are allowed or not but we have never had a room attendant say anything about them. Also they are great for getting any packing creases out of my shirts. (Just don't tell my wife) 😉
Knitting is allowed on US domestic flights. While I haven’t yet cruised Royal, I did bring a knitting project with me on my Holland America cruise to Alaska. It was nice to have on the land portion of our trip , with the long drives involved. I prefer circular needles, since the tips are short compared to straight needles.
If you're able to bring 2-way radios on the cruise why would HAM and Baby radios be banned? Who are Royal Caribbean the FCC...? The only difference would be the wattage in the case of the HAM and the only difference I can think of with the baby monitor would be that they don't want guests to leave infants in rooms alone (but honestly what kind of monster does that anyway!).
Idea, get all your clothes and suitcases from a charity shop. Last day of cruise, it all goes overboard or leave it in the captains lobby!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Question - can you bring a cold brew pitcher or French press? Neither are electric in any way. We would need to budget another $1000 for our coffee habit...lol
I hear there is a $15 corking fee for the two bottles of wine we are allowed to bring. To avoid the corking fee, we can open the bottles in our room, right? So, are wine corkcsrews allowed in luggage?
What would be recommended for those of us who want to enjoy the casino, but don’t want stinky clothing from cigarettes? Normally vodka could be sprayed to remove odors, but that would get removed because it’s alcohol. Would a wrinkle releaser have enough scent to remove the heavy odor? We will be in an inside cabin.
Wow, do people really bring walkie talkies? What a pain to carry around a cruise ship. this never crossed my mind! The Royal App does work well but I could not get my daughter on it because she's not old enough (11) so we had to stick together at all times.
Baby monitor surprised me. We used one on a Celebrity sailing to Alaska some 10 years ago and it proved invaluable. Question on the 750mL bottles of wine. Does anyone know if it should be in your checked luggage or if you need to carry it on?
All but one prohibition seemed obvious…… But…No HAM radios? That takes half the fun away! If the imbibing Capt hot dogs around a reef…. And sinks the ship (Costa Concordia)…..A HAM radio would come in pretty handy!!
Even the Royal Caribbean Customer Service guy, and his supervisor couldn't answer this question... Soda Stream!?! The issue, CO2 Canister might pose a problem. However, CO2 is not an explosive, nor a dangerous chemical, but might be mistaken for one. For me, it's worth having... but I can't get a definitive answer. Also... and this is because I've had the pretend Windjammer & Cafe Promenade coffee... a non-electrical coffee maker, such as a French Press? And yeah, I'm petty!
Question about the prohibited sports gear. Is it really all sports gear or just gear that could be used as a weapon? Like would a frisbee, ball, or rock climbing shoes be allowed?
I don't think a Frisbee would be allowed b.c it would either be annoying to other guests or if playing on an upper deck, a chance of it going overboard.
Can anyone give insight to the alcohol beverage package? Is it worth it? Do they have a liquor store on-board where I could just purchase 1 bottle for my time on the boat?
And it’s only wine. Liquor is only purchased by drinks at the bar. Seems pretty lame to me being 28 and people can bring wine but I can’t bring whiskey. What’s the difference if I sit on my balcony drinking whiskey or burban vs an older woman drinking 8 glasses of wine.
The brand new shoes advice is great for any trips. And I give the same advice to people. But I'm one of those people who shops for new clothes and stuff for vacations including shoes. And for the life of me, I never find time to break them in before my trip so I always ended up wearing them for the first time on vacations and history always repeat itself. I'll never forget what i put my poor feet through walking the streets of paris for 8 hours or so in 4 inch brand new stilleto heels back in 2007. It was my honeymoon and we were supposed to be out for an hour or so but the day got away from us. Thought i learned my lesson, so I bought a pair of fill sneakers for Athens greece in 2010. Since they're sneakers, i thought of course they're comfortable. No need to break them in. Hiking hills all over acropolis proved once again i was a fool. This is why i don't judge good old worn out sneakers Americans wear all over the world.
“YoU cAn aFfOrD a CrUiSe U cAn aFfOrD a DrInK pAcKaGe” blah blah. They but that liquid dirt cheap from other countries and the cruise be like 600 and the drink package 450 for limited drinks??? No excuses whenever I go to an all inclusive resort it’s much more reasonable
I can't imagine being around someone with a walkie-talkie. Having to listen to someone talking on the phone is crazy annoying, I would be driven nuts with someone using a walkie-talkie.
Ok, sports gear is prohibited? I am going on a pickleball theme cruise on the Odyssey Nov 2023 and I need my PB paddle. Also, I read somewhere we could bring our own snorkel and mask. ???
@@jackmortimer329 Jack, thanks. You are correct, but this is only for chatting/texting (although for some families this would be all they would need to keep in touch).
