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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/16/2018 in all areas

  1. jticarruthers

    Who broke it?

    Its not broken .. its a feature they just added because well they wanted to keep you out :)
    5 points
  2. Now THERE’S some really useful locals’ intel !
    2 points
  3. Board Allure of the seas a week ago from Miami , carried with me 4 bottles of water and two bottles of wine , no issues at all.
    2 points
  4. My pleasure please enjoy and have fun! It was the absolute best cruise I have been on and can not wait to go back. You will have a great time!
    2 points
  5. With rumors floating of Symphony going to Galveston once the facility's are ready, I would say Miami.
    2 points
  6. Well, they stopped letting people put luggage tags on massive amounts of water and getting it delivered to their room. This was actually always against the rules but was ignored by most port personnel. (You weren't allowed to bring any water or soda on board, just 2 bottles of wine per stateroom). Now they have an actual policy that allows a limited amount of water or soda to be carried on by you and they enforce no water/soda in checked luggage. So perhaps that is the source of the conflicting information you're seeing.
    2 points
  7. HI Joe, I can give you my cruise planners information if you'd like to call her. She did so a booking for me and only charged my $250, as she put the booking in just my name as I am not sure about it. One good thing with Celebrity, their deposits are refundable.
    1 point
  8. Im not sure what they call it these days but we did a Transatlantic on Serenade (or Jewel....can’t remember which) a number of years ago and we had one of the big family rooms on the very front of the ship. It was really nice. There is a small, separate second bedroom but just 1 bathroom. Big picture windows looking out over the bow. It was a great cabin for a TA.
    1 point
  9. mworkman

    Who broke it?

    I can't seem to get access to the site to look arround.
    1 point
  10. Baked Alaska

    Who broke it?

    IT had to run to the pet store to get more hamsters for the wheel. . . .
    1 point
  11. I would suggest picking a room number in the category and entering that and the ship name in Google image search and youtube. You'll usually find something.
    1 point
  12. I didn't see an option for my past October cruise.
    1 point
  13. Asia... like Spectrum it will be designed more towards an Asian crowd. Quantum will move to Australia and join Ovation, one to be homeported in Sydney and the other in Melbourne to compete against other cruise lines who are homeporting ships there from 2020/2021. Look out for RCI's first ever cruise to Antarctica! It will then service Alaska as it does now in the Australia off season. PS - I completely made all that up but it's worth a guess!
    1 point
  14. I did find this on https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Brilliance-of-the-Seas
    1 point
  15. KathyC

    Dumb question

    Using MEI will get you a travel agent with an abundance of knowledge of RCCL and will help you in every way they can. They also price check your sailing every time there is a sale, and will get you a lower price if one is available with out you even having to ask. We've used Brock and he's awesome. We met him personally when sailing on a Royal Caribbean group Cruise. Here's his contact info: https://mei-travel.com/about-us/team/brockt If you do a search, you'll find the names of many happy customers of Michelle & Sharla (just to name a couple.)
    1 point
  16. In 5 days, Anthem of the Seas Christmas cruise. Will finish writing my book, The Joy of Cruising (which features a chapter on Matt and this blog.)
    1 point
  17. KJ1231

    The Key

    No. I purchased for our 3-night and it was $24.99 x 2 x 3 = $144.94
    1 point
  18. OMG!!! This just got WAAAY better!!!!!!
    1 point
  19. The Holiday Inn Express has recently caught my eye as an economically friendly option. It is right next to the Embassy on 17th St. and recently renovated. Their prices are decent. Maybe have a look there. You will be closer to the port at that location. And lots of restaurants within walking distance, including my personal favourite, La Bamba!
    1 point
  20. I would say absolutely! We were not star class and made it off the ship in no time once we were docked. Unless the boat is delayed in docking an hour and a half should not be any issue whatsoever! Once the boat was docked we were off the ship in less than 20 minutes, and the ship was practically full, there was a small line getting off the ship but that was about it!
    1 point
  21. Sweety

    Next Cruise while onboard

    You are correct.
    1 point
  22. We booked next cruise while on board but very little difference. OBC was a whopping $26 and deposit was the same as if booking online. What they don't mention is the benefits are only for non-refundable bookings.
    1 point
  23. Rushed a bit to finish aforementioned breakfast, but I managed to meet up with Mr. Grey of Thenford Grey Tours for my Grand Island Tour of St. Kitts. Mr. Grey was our guide of our group of 20 and he was very funny, very knowledgeable, with a passion for his home country and meeting visitors. He pointed several historical landmarks en route to our first destination, Romney Manor. Quiet day in port with just Adventure and another ship from a luxury line tendered in the distance.
    1 point
  24. They will allow you to bring water onboard. They have an official policy about it. And I did it as recently as this past July. I would not count on being allowed to bring any plug in power strips. Not many cruise lines allow it due to fire hazards. You can bring a USB hub without any problem usually. I copied this from Royal Caribbean’s website. One of the best things about cruising is the food! And there will be many dining options available to suit most tastes and preferences. However you are free to bring non-perishable prepackaged food in limited quantities. While we have many drink offerings onboard, you are welcomed to bring select beverages onboard. On boarding day, each stateroom may bring up to two 750 ml bottles of wine or champagne, as long as one guest is of legal drinking age. Corkscrews will be provided for guests to enjoy their drinks in their stateroom. If guests wish to enjoy their wine or champagne in our dining or bar venues, there will be a corkage fee applied. Guests may also bring non-alcoholic beverages as carry-on items on boarding day. Non-alcoholic beverages may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom. Milk and distilled water brought on for infant, medical, or dietary use are permitted. Guests who purchase alcohol bottles onboard, in a port-of-call, or bring more than the two permitted bottles on boarding day, will have their items safely stored by the ship. These bottles will be returned on the last day onboard for enjoyment once home.
    1 point
  25. Unfortunately, the poll result didn't take into account possible dates. ?? I can't swing an October cruise, not even for Columbus Day weekend in 2020. My company is never closed on Columbus Day (if the market's open, my job is open), and our school district only has that day off and no others that week. My older daughter will most likely be away at college and living on campus, and I don't think my in-laws would be able to watch our other daughter and get her to high school each day; so that leaves me unable to go even with just my wife. Sorry, everyone. I'd have loved a chance to meet a bunch of you, but it's just going to have to wait until a later year. I'll be planning a cruise with my family for the summer, probably that 9-night CA/NE offered mid-July or the 10-night Bermuda & Caribbean. But there's this repositioning cruise for Celebrity Summit that'll be hitting Iceland and Greenland in August...
    1 point
  26. I'm seconding this post. Sharla has been amazing. She consistently checks on sales, alerts me to important deadlines and when we had a family emergency and had to race home from Paris, she handled all the airline changes. She gets back to me promptly by email when I have questions. I'm nothing but thrilled! Jane
    1 point
  27. I don't like roller coasters so I definitely wouldn't ride it even though it does look like a pretty cool experience. It's not for me, but I could see it being a draw for a lot of people. My biggest question about it is the noise. I understand it is electric but there has to be some noise associated with the coaster itself and then the screaming. I can't imagine relaxing by the pool will be the same if you can hear the coaster and screams. Personally I think cruise lines should just stick to water slides. I don't think the go cart track on the Bliss seems all that cool either. I find them both to be a waste of valuable top deck space on a cruise ship that should be primarily devoted to pools. I definitely prefer the direction that Royal Caribbean is going, but what else is new.
    1 point
  28. We got notified by our TA on Monday! We elected to move to the Allure sailing the same dates...Just out of Miami now and a different itinerary. Just replied back to our TA email with our choice and they made it happen...No fuss or muss. Got 200 OBC! We had booked this cruise over over a year ago to intrudce or son and family to cruising. We had connecting ocean balcony’s but now now we are on separate decks but with the same category rooms. We are not going to let this ruin our cruise. After so many years in the military...Ive learn that S#*” happens. Adapt and overcome.
    1 point
  29. Sabrett is the best. I prefer them more than Hebrew National. From where I am at in NJ we call all street cart hotdogs dirty dogs. Thanks for the clarification. I guess it is kind of like saying porkroll in NJ. Depends where you are from, is it porkroll or Taylor Ham? Not diverting this too far, but I am diverting it. If you sail out of NY/NJ you need to get some Drake's products. My favorite is Funny Bones. Think a chocolate twinkie filled with PB and dipped in chocolate. Or the tandykakes...a flat doughy cookie with either vanilla crème or pb crème dipped in chocolate. Of course there are the Butterscotch Krimpets or Devil Dogs too. Basically think of Drakes like Entenmann's or Hostess that you find at your local grocery store. They are all individually wrapped. I have lived all over this country and in other counties too while my hubby served. God Bless my Mom bc she would fill her carry on with them and BAGELS and BIALIES too when she would come to visit. There is nothing like them...we always said it was something in the water. Oh and make sure you get a real slice of pizza. I know Sorrento's has changed their recipe, but until you hold a slice of NY/NJ pizza over a paper plate and try to stop it from bending while you fold it in half and let the grease drip onto the plate you have never experienced pizza. I see Sorrento's more like Sicilian pizza...doughy. No problem with that. I just like being a contortionist when I eat my pizza. Back on topic. I know I will do Oasis out of Bayonne. However, I also know if that is the route, we will more likely fly to Florida and do Symphony or Harmony.
    1 point
  30. Nothing against Cape Canaveral, just my hubby flew for the AF for 21 yrs. 2 of our friends eventually became astronauts. It would be a great excursion if not for the military life we have lived. Not trying to be show offy. Just saying, it would be like anybody from NJ and seeing the Empire State building or Lady Liberty. For many this is a 1x in a lifetime site, but if you live in NJ/NY/CT it is like oh, that's just the Statute of Liberty, can we now move onto getting a dirty dog from a street cart vendor or maybe hit up Chinatown or Little Italy? For those not from the NY area. A dirty dog is a hot dog. The reason they are called dirty is because nobody knows the last time they changed the water they boil the hotdogs in. Now if there is an RCCL excursion to Tony Nelson and Jeannie's house at Coca Beach, I am all in!
    1 point
  31. We will be on a B2B on Anthem 15 Feb - 3 Mar.
    1 point
  32. Just returned from twelve days in Eastern Caribbean and Dennis Charles was the Cruise Director. He was quite good, funny and entertaining. Shows were Beatlemania, We Will Rock You and Spectras Cabaret. All were very good but reservations required as there are too many aboard to fit everyone in the theater. That is a problem as both the Captains Corner and Allow Me to be Frank, a show with Paul Rich, were held in Two 70. Unless you arrived very early you would be standing for both. Don’t know why it wasn’t scheduled for the Royal Theater. Finally, after cruising with RC for the last ten years, it appears to me the food quality has gone down dramatically. Still have lots to eat but the flavor is lacking. Can’t be sure but questioning if they want everyone in the specialty restaurants. Have fun.
    1 point
  33. It's funny. It may be that empty nest, no grandchildren stage of life that you'll find me on Celebrity. Then back to RCCL for the grandchildren. ?
    1 point
  34. How confident are we that the person in question isn't @Big Dawg Ron?
    1 point
  35. We were paired with Sharla from MEI when we transferred a booking to them that we booked onboard and she has been amazing! We ended up cancelling that cruise and another one we booked onboard, but found a great deal for Allure and reached out to her to book. She always gets back within a day and reaches out everytime RC has a sale letting us know if its a better deal for us or not. Honestly, she is the best TA I have ever worked with and will continue to use her. Maybe she would be a good fit for you? I cannot recommend her enough.
    1 point
  36. Just remembered... Carnival Horizon has a Victoria's Secret store. Perfect excuse to tramp around in lady's undergarments if he is into that sort of thing. "Oh dear, I forgot my underwear, better go to Victoria's Secret..."
    1 point
  37. Howdy, Just got back late last week, of course, it's raining now here in the mountains of Western Maryland.... To summarize things, this is the first 7-nighter that Grandeur has done in years ..... having 2+ days in Bermuda was AWESOME!!! We booked this at 575 Days out (the minute we heard about it, we jumped on it). Mike S. & CiCi are, by far, the BEST CD & AD I'd ever seen ....... Mike has a sense of humor that had everyone laughing ALL THE TIME!!! Including Captain Thor, which, to his credit, has a pretty wicked sense of humor too. It was fun watching them play off of one another through the cruise. Oh, and worth noting since today is election day --- NO POLITICAL ADS FOR 7 DAYS!!!!! YES!!!!!! Day 1 --- Thursday 10/25 This was the smoothest we'd ever seen the Port of Baltimore (it's always been quick, but this was unprecedented in my book). We arrived at the Port around 10:00 am to a small line of cars that weren't permitted to go into the lot, we waited about 10 minutes, then we were able to drop off luggage, pay our parking fee and park .... The real surprise was when we walked into the terminal, the boarding process had already began. By the time we got our SeaPass card, THERE WAS NO LINE..... JUST UP THE RAMP AND BOOM -- At the R bar for our first Bloody Maryland's The weather was cool and breezy, not shorts and T-shirts, that's for sure .... Sail away was smooth, the only real bummer was that the sail away party had been moved into the Centrum, yet, most folks were up top to witness going under the Key Bridge. Oh well, the frozen drinks never ended so we were happy. Day 2 --- Friday 10/26 What a blast, it was a little warmer, but was still pretty windy, we figure, due to the nor'easter that was due to form off the coast .... the seas, however, were surprisingly smooth. Saw something I'd never seen, an airplane contest in the Centrum ..... too funny, those things were flying everywhere .... The highlight of the day was that it was my 56th Birthday .... being also the first Formal Night, I chose to have my Birthday Dinner up in Izumi .... as always, that place does NOT disappoint ..... the real surprise for me was when a cake w/ candle showed up and they sang Happy Birthday to me. Best birthday I've had in years. Day 3 --- Saturday 10/27 -- arriving in Bermuda One of the things that was interesting was that we weren't due to arrive until 4:00 pm --- The reason why was obvious when I checked Marine Traffic and noticed the P & O Arcadia AND, I believe, the Disney Magic. We had to wait for the Disney Ship to leave so we could dock. Those that were watching PtzTV could see how we pulled into the turning basin and waited on the Disney ship to leave ..... The hold-up there was, again, the wind, they needed help with tugboats to pull away from the dock, which took longer than expected, then the tugs had assist us pulling in (didn't want to slam into anything) -- we ending up docking at King's Wharf instead of Heritage Wharf (the Acadia was there) --- that was a new thing. On top of it all, there was another vessel behind us --- A Viking Cruise ship that ended up docking in Hamilton. Once we docked, getting off the ship was as smooth as always, not much was open that late so we ended up going over to the Bonefish for snacks and a few drinks .... which ended up costing $107 --- but, whatever, you're on vacation ..... NOTE to Future Bermuda Cruisers that we discovered later in the cruise, shopping is LESS Expensive in Hamilton vs. the Dockyard, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Day 4 --- Sunday 10/28 --- Getting to Tobacco Bay Transportation wasn't impossible, but it was a bit of a challenge if you didn't know what you were doing. Our goal was to get to St. George and Tobacco Bay. The only part of the island we hadn't been to. The Ferry for to St. George wasn't operating due to its season being over (it won't be operating again until April 2019) --- and, being a Sunday worked against us. We (a lot of us) rode the ferry to Hamilton, then walked a couple blocks to the main bus terminal --- multiple routes go to St. George (1,3,10,11) and each one seemed to arrive 15 minutes apart from one another --- the 11 was filling up when we arrived, then those in front of us got on a #10 15 minutes later, then we were able to board a #1 15 minutes after that. Suffice it to say, St. George is, by far, our favorite part of the island ..... the walk to Tobacco Bay was a bit rough due to a hill you have to walk over (which takes you by church ruins which are stunning) --- when we left Tobacco Bay, we ended up taking a cab back to St. George to the bus stop --- $3 pp ---- worth every penny. Also got a wicked sunburn ..... but isn't that what you're supposed to do? Love, Love, Love Tobacco Bay. Day 5 --- Monday 10/29 --- Last Day in Bermuda Since the All Aboard time was 4:30 ---- it gave us time to not be in such a hurry .... We ended up taking the ferry back to Hamilton just to do some shopping --- we spotted the Washington Mall the day before, so now, being a Monday, everything was open. That's when we discovered the price differential from the Dockyard .... plus, seeing Hamilton on a weekday, boy, those businessmen can really sport those Bermuda shorts .... you know, I COULD DO THAT!!! The real take-away was how nice everyone is. Everyone says "hello" when you pass them on a sidewalk. Very refreshing. Day 6 --- Tuesday 10/30 --- Halloween -- 1st Sea Day For us, today was Halloween, this way the party could go late into the night since the night of the 31st, that was the last night of the cruise. All I can say is, I've never been a part of a party like the IN MY LIFE!!!! We WILL do another Halloween Cruise one of these days....... SO much fun, I can't even begin to describe ..... Some of the costumes were unbelievable ..... the staff and crew all got into it ..... since this day also doubled as our 2nd Formal Night, they pretty much did away with the dress code and encouraged folks to show up in costume if they chose to do so. Oh, and for what it's worth, Tyna and I went as the Skipper and Gilligan (we were with another couple that went as Maryanne and The Professor) .... sorry, no Ginger. For those that were a part of this and saw my Facebook posts, watching Gillegan attempt a portion of Michael Jackson's Thriller is the kind of thing you can't unsee. BEST CRUISE EVER!!!!!! Day 7 --- Wednesday 10/31 -- Second Sea Day Amazing Weather, ended up spending a portion of it in the pool, however, you could feel the chill as the day wore on as we got closer to the Chesapeake. Ended up having Lamb Shank in the MDR --- it really made us question why we pay extra money in the specialty restaurants some times, because, this was just that good. Tyna ended up getting a steak .... she described it as being "like butta" --- best meals of the cruise. Oh, and I don't want to forget this activity, they did an Egg Drop from Deck 8 in the Centrum to see who could land their egg, unbroken, closest to a target on the Centrum floor (Deck 4) --- every participant was given a kit with supplies and an egg, so it was just like a school science experiment as to who could build the best device to float it down. Who thinks of those things? People were watching from all decks cheering everyone on .... We were on Deck 9 on the opposite side from where they were dropping them on 8 so we could see it all .... in the end, it was a young girl that won. Getting off the ship ... We all know it's like herding cattle .... but in all honesty, just like when we got on, it was the fastest I'd ever experienced .... the line never stopped moving. In and out in a matter of minutes. In the end, it's no surprise to anyone here ..... WE LOVE LADY G!!!! She's due to go into drydock in March, so, perhaps that's a good thing ...... It'll feel strange that the next two cruises for us are NOT on her ...... but we know we'll gravitate back to her. Below are a few random photos ..... if you need explanation on any of them, just ask ..... the dude as the GI Joe was, by far, the best costume of the night .... even the crew kept coming up to him wanting photos
    1 point
  38. Finally had the chance to get some fun photos taken today... The wonderful Champane Bar Car shot Busy Royal Promenade
    1 point
  39. 1 point
  40. Floski

    11/7/17 announcement

    Matt is going to be the new Captain of the Symphony! Michael Poole will be his Gilligan. Congrats all round!
    1 point
  41. Hopefully another group cruise. Weighing options.
    0 points
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