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After Playmakers lunch I changed out of my smokey casino clothes. Sent a few working emails and went to the Crown Lounge. My mother was showering so we had 2 whole precious hours of freedom . I heard some crazy stuff in the lounge and casino. I should mention I didn't get off at PDCC, I didn't plan too but I walked deck 4 for all of a minute. It was hot. My brother got off to snorkel and he said the sun was insane. Which brings me to my crazy stuff. A couple in the Crown Lounge said it was so hot and the sun beating down had people collapsing. Also that somebody was doing something strange in the pool. A lady in the casino said her aunt fell out from overheating and medical had to come. My brother said people were so weak they were dropping their plates of food.......which cause the seagulls to go crazy.....and people to scream. I did say it was a ton of first timers on here. He said nobody would walk back, so the tram lines were on a wait. But speaking of the CL, every time I come in there is no water. Which is a legitimate complaint. Today the head of housekeeping came in. Man was that gossiping couple rude to him. They said the furniture was old and dusty, which is why the place was empty. Also they should get rid of the hand-wash sink. They said they don't know how he can keep his job. I felt bad for the poor guy. We did get a bowl of fruit from C&A. My brother went to karaoke, and I peeked into the Star lounge on my way to dinner. We were sat at the same table. I know the only great thing about traditional dining was all the food was hot. In MTD the food is lukewarm at best. Especially the apps. Also I was amazed that somehow the lemon tart tasted different ......not in a good way. After dinner I played some of my freeplay for this gty casino comp cruise. I still have about $10 left and I will play that tomorrow. My mother is alot. In all honesty I didn't realize how bad the shenanigans was with her until we started cruising. Like common courtesy is to say "hey I like the seeded bread, does anyone want any?" She just digs through the bread and takes all the seeded kind. We ask for more and she tries to do it again. My brother says she is her........and accepts looking greedy and asking for a third basket of bread. After dinner we got a drinks, tropical/peach daiquiri, and the remaining vouchers we had left. I'm going to read a little then get some rest.

I think they’re testing out higher prices for various things to see if it affects demand IMO. It’s $39.99 on my upcoming Odyssey cruise. Hideaway Beach is fluctuating too.

Is this a typo? I don't recall North Star costing anywhere near this amount on Odyssey and Ovation. This is for a July cruise on Anthem.

Yes, she is flying alone. The thing about this is we have to be available, she usually texts one us to assist her. My brother when she is doing airport things and me to call her a Lyft when she doesn't get her bff to pick her up. This is only the 3rd time in her 60 years of living she has flown alone.

We have been on a cruise and that happened but can't recall which ship it was

You are correct on that. Royal became a family cruise with the Oasis class. Which was a smart move because it increased their revenue as it got more people onboard. RCCL wasn't a talked about brand before Oasis class. If the descriptions of Icon is accurate, I think it will take maybe two years for the culture change to calm down a bit. All of the new cruisers that are pumped up about Icon are not hesitating to book the ship. Most people did their bookings during Covid and there you have the other large percentage that made their bookings this past winter. So 2025 will have slightly less excited people, and then 2026 and beyond will be normal cruisers. In the past people behavior overall imo have been great on Oasis class during the summer which is why I am only interested in cruising those ships. When I saw the tours of Icon the first thing I noticed were how small the pools were. RCCL will hear of the complaints and make small adjustments for Icon I believe. Because they're not going to want their reputation to go to crap considering the price people have to pay to sail with them now. They have been getting away with robbery but that's due to their reputation.

I read about his passing while we were on Mariner and kept it from my wife until we got home today. I knew it would wreck her....and it did. We spent many days at sea with Capt. James at the helm.

I just looked at SilverSea's website and although expensive they have a couple cruises I'd love to take in my lifetime. Both the Antarctic and the French Polynesian that includes Easter Island. Those are two bucket list destinations for me and my wife said she's open to the idea of them...one day lol.

There’s also an Indian dish on the MDR menu every night. Had a great experience in CK on Wonder last June. There was an Indian family eating there every night (as was my family) and when I told the CK manager I enjoyed Indian food while cruising around night 3 he told me the CK chef was making a dish special for that family each night & I was welcome to ask for some whenever I wanted. I had it every night the rest of the cruise. So good!

Sadly home....hope everyone had a decent cruise despite everything that went wrong. My wife and I are eagerly looking forward to a future Alaskan cruise.

Lots of Indian chefs. If you're adventurous, pick a night that the general MDR menu doesn't strike your fancy and ask the night before to have the chef prepare his favorite Indian dish - no holds barred.

Well....congratulations on getting your brother across the goal line. I know he's happy about that. So, your mother is leaving after the second leg ? How is she to travel home alone ? ....or is your brother going with her ?

I switched my July 7 2025 Sailing to July 6 2025 on Odyssey now.

1. As usual, I have no words for the shenanigans you encounter. 2. Glad the casino went so well (on the point-earning front at least). 3. I don't want to speak ill of your mom... let's just say I'd be your brother in this scenario, not you. This is why I made the good daughter comment earlier. 4. I'm on food porn overload from the recent live blogs. Everyone has a burger place but Playmakers always looks so good! June 2nd can't get here soon enough.

Mother shenanigans The B2B process was a lot for my non-listening Mother. Despite me explaining multiple times. She kept asking obvious questions, like what time will we leave the port......are all the people in the Star lounge B2B......the list went on. I could see in my brother's eyes, he was at his limit with her. She asked if we were going to the restaurant for dinner and I was upset. I asked if she wanted specialty dining and she said no. I asked which one and she said " you know, the one with steak and shrimp." I was like Chop's and she yes we ate there last night. In her mind she thought she said MDR . Despite having just had welcome aboard 4n ago, she was brand new. So in Jan my mother watched me earn my brother's status and ask if I would do the same. I know my mother, so I asked if she would use it. She eventually said no so I didn't bother. A few weeks before this cruise she decided she did want to cruise to Alaska. I said okay that sailing is on a 1200pt threshold. I asked if it is soldout but I earned the certificate will you go solo on one of the other cruises, she said yes. Between then and now I asked her no less than 14 times. The reason because she doesn't listen and just says yes. I want to point out my mother has done nothing alone both cruises. She is either with me or my brother......she only goes to the bathroom alone. So I was shocked she would be willing to go alone. I asked her before I started......again. So after I called and they said she had to choose a different sailing because it was sold out. I pulled up the list and she was BRAND NEW!!!. According to her she thought solo just meant her own room. I was super upset because she has wasted my money and time. She was supposed to join my S2S2Sin Jan but as of now she is only invited to one leg. I know I mentioned that she narrates everything but she also creates scenarios in her head and will start talking midway. Like half was running through her head and then she says the rest out loud. Which means you have to say "huh" or "what".....example......" I guess that kid got tired from running around the pool unsupervised and just sat in a casino chair...." I look up and it's a grown man who is just skinny. She has a habit of looking at people from the back and making judgment. Another " she must have a good job or rich husband, she playing $4.40 a spin." She is super distracting. I will be glad to play in complete peace next cruise.

Trying to go one a cruise per year. I'm still a cruise rookie but I'm on year FIVE. Heading from Cape Liberty. Anyone else on this cruise?

Hey @Dawn G., welcome to the forum! The above post should answer most of your questions. You CAN just show up for the shows, there's always a standby line, but it's easier/better to have reservations. If you have any other questions, fire away.

I would not assume the ship would make an announcement waking everyone up. I’m sure the bridge team get to experience many fantastic events never waking everyone up i could imagine the outrage if they did. Why was I woken for “some event”? If they do, that’s great. Just don’t set that as an expectation

I’m from Canada and just made final payment on a cruise today (yay) and it did not happen to me. I use a travel agent so I’m not sure if that impacts it.

On Wonder you will need to make reservations for the AquaTheatre show, the main production in the theatre, and possibly the comedy shows. You can do this on the Cruise Planner or app. As for dining, you will have either two choices of traditional dining (early or late, possibly a 3rd if they have implemented that yet - you will have the same time/table/wait staff every day) or MyTime dining, where you can choose different times every night if you wish. You should still make reservations for those as the stand by line can be long.

It’s about as authentic as the Chinese food, Mexican food or Italian food you find on board….which is anything but! Your best bet for authentic anything on a cruise is the Indian food believe it or not.

Okay a little more about day 1. Our room steward has the exact same name as the first one. This is the third time it has happened that way. He said he would try to come between 8am and 1pm, he never asked about morning or evening service. The type of cruisers on this shorty versus the previous one are night and day. The first person on made a beeline to the bar, while taking his shirt off. By dinner all sorts of tooters and cooters were on display. A lady threw a glass at her travel companion, who ceased being her boyfriend when he got cut. Another lady went off on guest services because she wouldn't listen and was confused. She wanted a refund because things were being charged to both her room and card on file......she couldn't comprehend how an onboard account worked. Rumor was she was put off today because not only was she cursing up a storm but throwing things. That was just on the promenade. The casino was a different beast. Way less crowded than the previous cruise but way more full of trifling folks. I want to say that more than 90% of this cruise a first timers. So the casino and cruise line are making bank off them without giving much in return. I was in the casino from 9:30ish to 1am and only maybe 3 people had their seapass in to earn points. Several people charged their card and removed it. Some were so drunk, other people were stealing their money. There was a gaggle of drunk Italian vintages who wouldn't shut up. They were as bad as my mother because they would yell across to each other after each spin. Thankfully they were playing $3.52/spin, so they left after 10min. Also a large group of babies with babies, playing their first slots. I have no ideas why you would strap 10-12mo to you and play craps.......but oh well. By midnight it was only the thirsty swinger's left. While I was with my mother I never got hit on. But as soon as she left, I couldn't play in peace. The promenade and "nightclub" was popping. The type of people on this cruise was looking to party. Schooners was empty when I went to get the remainder of my drinks. Bit I peaked at the promenade and it was a mess. Day 5/2 PDCC. I had planned to play low and slow to get my brother his 1500pts. I did 655 the evening before and was hoping to get the rest today. l had pasta and ELF yesterday forunch plus half a prime rib for dinner. So no breakfast, the plan was Playmakers once I finish my quest. I got to the casino at 9am and there was people drinking at the bar. I settled in and did great. I earned my brother the 1500pts at a cost of only $800. That's about 54 cent a point, less than half of what it cost me for my mother. He was super happy. He brought my burger at Playmakers . He gets his money worth drinking at the casino bar.

If you or she doesn't show up you aren't charged or penalized, all the shows are free, so book as much as you like.

Day 4: Cozumel, Mexico (CONT.) Tonight we saw the rescheduled performance of Aqua Action. We both felt this was the best AquaTheater show to date! So many different performances… amazing visuals… amazing technology! Since the theater is much smaller and enclosed, it felt more intimate. The show started with the “Wheel of WOW!”… … after the apparatus was cleared off stage, the show continued… The robot arms are on Icon as well! The performer from the Top Tier Event performed… Skateboarders! OK, going to eat before we have to board our flight… hopefully!

My husband and I are also on this sailing along with our daughter and her boyfriend. So excited to see their reaction to the Symphony! We have sailed it once before and it's probably our favorite. It's beautiful and the guests have so many areas to explore that it never really felt crazy crowded.