Royal Caribean Ovation of the Seas

[KC813]

Royal Caribbean's website lists the excursions they offer at Subic.  The top two are a visit to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (US$199) and a trip to Mt. Pinatubo/Puning hot springs (US$229).  As JJ implies, cruise excursions are overpriced!

[JJReyes]

7 hours ago, KC813 said:

Royal Caribbean's website lists the excursions they offer at Subic.  The top two are a visit to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (US$199) and a trip to Mt. Pinatubo/Puning hot springs (US$229).  As JJ implies, cruise excursions are overpriced!

Those of you who reside in Subic can check the price of a car & driver to those two mentioned destinations. It's probably cheaper and you can fit 4 to 6 passengers.

Money is made by charging for incidentals. Without thinking, I opened one of the large bottle water in our cabin. It was a $4.99 charge! Tried bringing a water bottle on the next trip. It was confiscated during embarkation. Now that we are Silver members, the first bottle is free. After consuming, we take the bottle to the buffet restaurant to refill with filtered water. There is a sign against this practice, but everyone ignores it.

[OnMyWay]

32 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

Those of you who reside in Subic can check the price of a car & driver to those two mentioned destinations. It's probably cheaper and you can fit 4 to 6 passengers.

I use a guy who has an Innova 7 seater when I need to do business in Manila.  p4500 all in gas and tolls.  Just need to buy the driver lunch.  That is for all day.  So, less than $100 should get you any where around, within reason.

I think he does cater to the cruise ships but I'm not sure how he gets passengers.  He has some kind of deal with the Navy and is allowed to drive right onto the dock next to the ship, and wait there until needed.

[JJReyes]

14 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I think he does cater to the cruise ships but I'm not sure how he gets passengers.  He has some kind of deal with the Navy and is allowed to drive right onto the dock next to the ship, and wait there until needed.

To offer tours to cruise passengers, the drivers and their companies have to be vetted by the cruise line. They are given a voucher by the passenger (paid for the excursion at the tour desk). This is cashed through the cruise line local agent, less their fees and commissions.

The only advantage of using an official tour company is the ship will not depart until the passengers have returned. Our departure from Cartagena, Columbia was delayed three hours because six such passengers had not returned. If you freelance, the ship can theoretically leave you behind. You can catch up at the next port of call at your own expense.

[Reboot]

Been on a few cruises out around the Caribbean area....for me, being cooped up captive audience on a big boat with thousands of people for days is just not a recipe for a good time.  

Edited June 10, 2018 by Reboot

[OnMyWay]

13 minutes ago, Reboot said:

Been on a few cruises out around the Caribbean area....for me, being cooped up captive audience on a big boat with thousands of people for days is just not a recipe for a good time.  

Yeah, I have my doubts as well.  If we do one, I want to make sure that it is one that will cater to the kids 100%, so Disney is probably our best bet.

[robert k]

On 6/9/2018 at 9:23 AM, JJReyes said:

Those of you who reside in Subic can check the price of a car & driver to those two mentioned destinations. It's probably cheaper and you can fit 4 to 6 passengers.

I was ready to get back to my apartment after arriving at NAIA this time so I hired a 15 passenger van to carry me the 450 km for...15k or $300. It's not very far from here to the glorious tourist trap of Mt. Mayon. Private rides are negotiable in the Philippines. I hope the driver got some sleep before heading back.

Edited June 10, 2018 by robert k

[OnMyWay]

50 minutes ago, robert k said:

I was ready to get back to my apartment after arriving at NAIA this time so I hired a 15 passenger van to carry me the 450 km for...15k or $300. It's not very far from here to the glorious tourist trap of Mt. Mayon. Private rides are negotiable in the Philippines. I hope the driver got some sleep before heading back.

Yikes!  How do you usually do it?  Several bus connections?

[robert k]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Yikes!  How do you usually do it?  Several bus connections?

Usually I buy a car and drive. There is direct bus service to Naga or Legazpi. The Legazpi bus would drop me a kilometer from my apartment but it would have been at midnight, on the side of the road, sitting on luggage with two laptops, another $1k worth of electronics and about $9k in cash...what could go wrong? I could have took a bus to Naga and caught a cab from there. I had a nightmare trip. Curbside Manila to my door looked attractive. Next time I won't fly AA, I'll take Malaysia, the worst they do is crash and it's over quickly.

Edited June 10, 2018 by robert k

[AlwaysRt]

On 6/9/2018 at 9:23 AM, JJReyes said:

Tried bringing a water bottle on the next trip. It was confiscated during embarkation. Now that we are Silver members, the first bottle is free. 

I see people bringing water on all the time. What cruise line are you talking about? There is no Silver level on Royal Caribbean I am aware of (nor Carnival).

On 6/10/2018 at 12:20 AM, JJReyes said:

If you freelance, the ship can theoretically leave you behind. You can catch up at the next port of call at your own expense.

Not theoretical - I have seen it happen many times. Twice with people on the dock as the ship sailed away.

On 6/10/2018 at 1:02 PM, OnMyWay said:

Yeah, I have my doubts as well.  If we do one, I want to make sure that it is one that will cater to the kids 100%, so Disney is probably our best bet.

Kids will enjoy Carnival or Royal Caribbean kids programs (started cruising with mine when youngest was 3 and she LOVED it). You will love 1/3 the cost of Disney cruise fares.