Freakishly Asked Questions
General Cruise Questions
GothCruise Questions
Payment Questions
Life Onboard
What is included with the cruise?
A cruise is similar to a vacation in an all-inclusive resort. Most of your dining and entertainment is included in the price of your vacation. However, there are options for both which incur additional fees.
Included:
* Your cabin which feature a Cabin Steward
who will provide daily maid service, turn down your bed for you each night,
and make amusing towel animals.
* Meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining room or Windjammer cafe,
along with those ever-popular midnight buffets, room service, and as many in-between
meal snacks as you want. Room service attendants are typically offered a tip
of $3-5 for the service. There's no limit on how much you eat. You can even
order two entrees at dinner if you want. Special diets can be accommodated with
advance notice.
* Drinks - Iced tea, lemonade, fruit juices (in the morning), coffee and tea
are included with your meals.
* Entertainment - Vegas style revues, comedians, dance clubs, bingo, casinos
(you pony up the cash), art auctions, fitness centers, and endless fun and games.
Gothcruise events are, of course, included.
Not Included:
* Transportation to and from the Port
* Sodas, bottled water and alcoholic beverages
* Shore excursions
* Spa treaments
* Ben & Jerry's ice cream
* Latte-tudes specialty coffee
* Gratuities
What are recommended gratuities?
Royal Caribbean recommends the following per
person gratuity schedule:
Suite attendant:
$5.75 USD
a day per guest
Stateroom attendant:
$3.50 USD
a day per guest
Dining Room Waiter:
$3.50 USD
a day per guest
Assistant Waiter:
$2.00 USD
a day per guest
Headwaiter:
$.75 USD
a day per guest
Envelopes will be provided for you to tip each of your staff members. You may choose to give cash or can charge the gratuities to your SeaPass account or pre-pay gratuities before you board. In this case you will receive vouchers on the last night of sail to present to the crew.
Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served
How will GC5 be different than previous GothCruises
Next year we're not having any gothic dances. That doesn't mean we won't dance. The lack of goth music has never stopped us before. GothCruise 5 is a chance for our group - many of whom met almost 5 years ago now - to take an amazing vacation together. Personally, I'm looking forward to taking the group to an area of the world that I know and love. I've lived in North Africa and previously been to Dubrovnik. Whether 6 people sign up or 60, Bob and I plan on going and having a good time.
Your Perks - Show them to me
We'll more than likely be having a cocktail party again this year and I'm setting aside some group together time for gaming, making merry, and such. Depending on the number of people, maybe wine in the cabin or some other similar perks. It really depends on how many book as to what RCL offers us. There will be no GothCruise dances for GC5. We cannot bring the DJ rig to Europe and I want the focus of this trip to be on the ports rather than being too hungover to see sights (guilty as charged for day 2 Bermuda). We have 4 days at sea, and you can bet we'll be getting together plenty.
What is the ship like
Splendour of the
Seas is a Vision class ship. This means a smaller ship than this year's
lovely behemoth (Explorer), but that she is able to get to ports that the larger
ships can't reach. She does have an adult-only solarium with a sliding
roof for rainy/cold days at sea. She's also much newer than the other
Royal ship we sailed on (Sovereign) but similar in size. There is no ice
rink or British Pub on Splendour. Yeah, I wish there was, too....
The ship was chosen for it's unique and affordable (for Europe) itinerary.
Are these ports safe
Absolutely. I've traveled and lived in North Africa and can tell you it's a beautiful and friendly place. Obviously, common sense is a good guide, but I'd consider all of these ports less hassle and higher in safety than, say, Cozumel or Jamaica. You don't need any shots for this itinerary.
I'd like to know more about Angelsil's Original GothCruise
Take a gander at
our history page. It has pictures and details for
the previous 4 years of the cruise. Also, feel free to peruse the LJ
community where travelers have been planning and talking about the cruise
for 4 years now.
iCruise.com has a $45 cancellation fee in addition to the penalties imposed by Royal Caribbean below. The cancellation policy can be found here.
Please note this is holiday sailing.
All cancellations must go through Marie Smith of iCruise.com to be handled properly.
I need a roommate!
Your best bet is to announce yourself in the LJ community or contact roomie directly. Single passengers pay significantly more for a cruise - nearly double - but we can accommodate single sailers if they wish to travel alone.
What will airfare cost?
That entirely depends on when you buy your tickets and how you route your flights. I don't plan on spending much more than $500 for my ticket. Late November is a low season for Europe so while flights inside the US might be crowded (though not so much as early as we sail) the flight over to Europe should be extremely competitive.
Our cruise will feature 2 formal nights in the dining room, 2 smart casual nights and 2casual nights. Shorts are not allowed in the dining room at any time. Throughout the rest of the ship casual dress is fine and expected.
Can I bring liquor aboard?
From RCCL - " We apologize for any inconvenience but due to our regulatory and licensing requirements guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption or any other use.
They are being much more strict than in previous years and are scanning luggage and confiscating bottles. Bring aboard at your own risk!
Alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty-free from the Shops On Board or at ports of call will be stored by us and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of your voyage. A member of our staff will be at the gangway to assist with the storage of your purchases."
What is the smoking policy?
Starting in 2008, RCCL has instituted a new smoking policy. Read and weep below:
The new policy will add all guest staterooms and suites, and one bar or lounge on every Royal Caribbean ship onto the roster of smoke-free spaces. Guests wishing to smoke may still do so from starboard outer decks, in designated areas in bars and lounges, and on stateroom and suite balconies. Ashtrays are available in designated smoking areas or by request through stateroom attendants. Violations of the smoking policy will result in cleaning charges to the guest's onboard account and may also be addressed through the line's Guest Conduct Policy, details of which are available both online and in all staterooms.
OMG I NEEDZ TEH INTARWEB!!
Yes, royalcaribbean online allows guests to access e-mail and the Internet for a small fee. Internet access in your stateroom using a Cyber Stateroom hookup that is available for rental while onboard. Please note: there are a limited number of computer cables available for rental.
© Angelsil's Original GothCruise 2003-2007