Leaderboard

Good news!!!!

I'm SOOOO excited! After a rather lengthy hiatus from these boards (which I didn't think anyone would notice but the eagle-eyed @JLMoran did!) I'm back and looking forward to not one but TWO cruises ? Having 2 cruises booked has been a dream since I joined these boards and fell in love with cruising in 2016 and saw just how many cruises some of you take. Also, having 2 cruises in the space of one year was another RC blog-inspired #cruisegoal of mine! (I'm blaming you @Matt and @twangster !). We have a 2 week Med cruise booked for August on P&O's Azura and have just this morning booked Allure for Christmas with a pre- & post-cruise stay in Miami's South Beach where we'll be staying for NYE! I'm a little sad that our summer cruise won't be on RC but I'm looking forward to experiencing a British brand and I'm soooo excited to try an Oasis class ship. When I first cruised on Navigator in 2016, I loved the look of the Oasis class from people's posts on here but didn't think I'd ever get on one. Now I'm going to be! We'll also be introducing 2 of our friends to cruising on Allure. Although I've tried to explain, I don't think they've got any idea how big she is. I can't wait to see their faces when they see her for the first time! On both cruises we've got an ocean view balcony (large balcony on Azura; Deck 10 on Allure) and I'll be Live-ish blogging and periscoping from both. Now, just 108 days to wait until the first cruise...

Swear all I ever post about is food... So it is now the depressing final day of the cruise. With it being a day at sea one goal was to finally visit Eden Cafe for breakfast with one goal in mind, a cinnamon roll. Eden Cafe is tucked away inside of Eden in the back of the ship. During the day it has the stunning wake views that are reminiscent of 270 on the Quantum class. At night Eden all about performance, both acting and culinary. Still I'm here for breakfast... You know your journey towards the back of deck 5 is complete once you pass thru the forest... and then spot the first Eden sign... once the second sign is spotted, just keep a careful eye out it might disappear on you, hang a left. The breakfast goal was finally insight, the Fresh Baked Cinnamon roll. If I wanted the also had some breakfast sandwiches that would be heated/press to order. Also had some cold options such as Muesli, Yogurt parfait, fruit, or just plain yogurt. Nope, I had one goal and was going to stick to it. Finally the warm baked goodie was on plate and in hand. After enjoying my cinnamon roll I took the time to browse the Eden area in the daylight. Some views from deck 5 Moving up to deck 6 The primary way up to deck 6 is via a ramp. All along the ramp are little seating areas to be out of the way. At the time others were enjoying their privacy, so sorry no pictures of those areas. After what might have been my final visit to Eden I was off towards the Main Theater for the Captain's Navigation Talk.

Review of RC Adventure of the Seas and Comparison to DCL. Just a heads up, this is going to be a long post. Also, when I say compare, there are a few things I am going to be able to compare, and some things that I am not. I am not going to compare Staterooms, since I had a suite on RC and never had a suite on DCL. Also, ports, I will not compare, since I chose this Itinerary based on ports. Although DCL goes to some of the same ports, it is not fair to compare what happens on the port and compare it to another cruise line Most of the things that happen outside of the port are totally not in control to the cruise line. However, I will compare Labadee, Haiti, to Castaway Cay, Bahamas. To get started, I started to look at cruises for Spring Break about 14 Months before the actual cruise. I first looked at Disney and the prices were very high, and it would have been on the Disney Fantasy, doing the Western Caribbean, again. This is a cruise that we have already done, and the only Itinerary that my Daughter has done. I wanted something different. So, I started looking at different cruise lines. RC had an 8-night Eastern Caribbean going to 4 ports, with 3 sea days. 2 of the ports would be totally new to me, 3 for my Wife, and all 4 my Daughter. Looking at the difference in cost, I would be able to save a boat load of money, and stay in a Grand Suite on RC, compared to a Deluxe Inside Stateroom on Disney. Adventures of the Seas is in the Voyager class of RC. I thought the ship was beautiful. It definitely has a different style than Disney. Would I stay on this ship again? Definitely yes. Staying in a Grand Suite gave us some perks that come along with staying in a suite. Priority Embarkation (Definitely was a nice perk). We used the saved seats for the shows twice. We were very happy to have the saved seating for the Ice Show, since it was sold out, and we were able to show up only 15 minutes before it started. Pros: Flowrider, Rock Climbing Wall, Ice Skating Rink. I would have to say that I enjoyed all 3 of them being on the boat. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do the flowrider as much as I would have liked, but that was because of a few things. 1 was the times it was available, the other was just timing of other things we had going on. The Rock Climbing wall we only did once, and for me, it was very quick, but my Daughter was able to go up at least twice. My daughter really enjoyed the Ice Skating Rink. She went at least 3 times. I know I went once, and that was enough for me. Cons: Windjammer Buffett. Although it was open a lot, the food selection for Breakfast and Lunch really didn’t change that much. We don’t know about Dinner, since we ate in the main dining room every night. The service from the staff in the windjammer were very nice, but it was the same menu with many 1 or 2 things different. Also, no outside seating, except by the pool, which you had to walk through people smoking. Evening activities – at least to us were so-so. The Ice Show was awesome, but other than that, nothing really appealed to us. Pools – The pools being Salt water are always are downer, we love that Disney uses Fresh water. Drinks – Having to buy sodas during the day, I understand smoothies, milkshakes, and coffees (which is the package we bought) Smoking – Smoking was allowed in areas of the boat that we would have to walk through, especially on deck 11 by Windjammer. Comparison between Disney and RC. As I said earlier, I would definitely do RC again, especially if the time, cost, and ports were what I was looking for. The cost being a lot cheaper was definitely a plus. The ability to have more selection of ports, both departure and during the cruise is a benefit to RC, however, Disney is working that way with the 3 new ships coming in the future. Food – the food was comparable in the Main Dining Room, but the options by the pool on Disney, are much better. More options to be able to go to in your bathing suit, no shirt on Disney. On RC, I needed shirt and shoes to go eat at the buffet, or even Café Promenade. We did miss rotational dining on Disney. Going to the same restaurant was kind of boring. Service – I would say the service was very comparable. Everyone was very nice. Pools – I liked Disney pools better, mainly because they are fresh, compared to Salt water. Other entertainment – RC wins this one. The flowrider, rock climbing wall, and ice skating rink were a nice touch. Evening entertainment – Disney wins this one, other than the ice show, there was nothing that I, or the others wanted to see. At least on Disney, there are things and shows that the other 2 would like to see. I am not a huge show person, it is normally nap time for me. Casino – a cause to a lot of the smoking on board. With is being on deck 4, the smoke went through the whole ship. I didn’t notice it as much, but others did. I only went once and that was to learn craps. Otherwise, it was space that Disney uses in other ways. I think the casino is one of the reasons that RC is cheaper than Disney. Kids Club – My daughter decided to finally go to the kids club and had a good time. I think she is starting to open up. When she went to the kids club on Disney ships she had a good time. So, I really can’t say which is better, but for her to want to go to kids club means that it was good and kept her entertained. That is my review and comparison, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Time to play dinner catch up, I'll be covering Friday and Saturday. Due to dining in Lumane and Blu I didn't go wild on the picture taking. In Fact I kinda forgot about taking pictures altogether at Blu except for the entree. Friday night was the second Chiq Night of the cruise, also the traditional lobster night. Forgot to take a picture of what would have been my appetizer, so I'm not going to bore with any details. First Entree (or second appetizer in my opinion) were the Seared Scallops. To the order is four scallops, after eating the first one started remembering to take pictures... Second Entree, Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb The person I was dining with ask for a lobster tail and the 4oz filet (the filet could be found on the kids menu). I did sample a bite of the tail and it was cooked just right. Texture wasn't that of chewing rubber bands and had a slight roasted flavor. Overall saltiness was overpowering. I'm not sure if it was the butter poached version from the menu or steamed/roasted tail removed from the shell prior to plating. Between the main course and dessert a Chef's taste was brought out. It was orange or tangerine segments in some type of syrup. I'm not really recalling the flavor profile off the top of my head. This also occurred before appetizers were brought out. In that case it was some type of chicken liver mousse. Dessert time! First dessert sampling was the Chocolate Bar served with peanut butter gelato Yes, a small bite was taken before the picture was taken. Next dessert was the Luminae Baked Alaska. Presentation of it was phenomenal, was not expecting a meringue spiked cube. Digging in for a cross sample Now for the only picture I took in Blu at Saturday night's dinner. Only reason I did, in honor of @WAAAYTOOO's husband and his love of lamb shank. Taste is always a subjective topic. Luminae vs Coastal Kitchen, I might give a slight nudge towards Luminae. Still between to the two it was very close, menu similarities run very close between the two. Keep in mind I only dined twice in Luminae. Blu, I did feel Luminae was better. On a service level, I would say Luminae.

No, they even let 2 people book it sometimes. We have two of these bookings in the ATS and both reservations it is 4 people only. I think they used to require a minimum but now they let it go. @WAAAYTOOO has stayed in these with just her and her husband. @Mindybrite also sailed in one recently with just 2 people as well. I would not worry too much. Congrats on booking Star Class for your very first cruise. Great way to spoil yourself forever for all future cruises! ? And welcome to the message boards!

If I was looking for a thirty thousand dollar cruise I’d book a 3 night Disney cruise ?

Oh well. Will just have to book another cruise ?

+1 on that. I just booked with Next Cruise in March. Since then, I have transferred to an agent, moved cabins, repriced and I still have my OBC with me. I specifically asked Next Cruise about repricing and the OBC and they said it goes with you. I think you will lose it if you move ships/sail date though.

I will be trying to BLOG our upcoming cruise this weekend. I am attempting to do the cruise on a budget but still get a few additional items. I will start with the ways that I saved money when booking the cruise and hotels and airfare. The cruise was purchased with the full cost first ticket, My wife was at a 60% discount and my daughter was free with the child sale free promo. Total cost for interior GTY for 3 people including gratuities, taxes, and port fees $2073.72 With $50 OBC Airfare cost $25.00 per person. I used airline miles to get us the tickets for almost free. I do love the airline miles credit cards (tip buy everything on it and the miles add up fast. There is a down side to this, we have a 5 hour layover on the way down and a 7 hour layover on the way back and we need to stay in MIA 1 night after the cruise. I might be able to get our flights changed the day before we fly. I will advise if I have to pay a change fee or not. We will have 3 hotel stays associated with this trip. First I had to pay for but it includes a park and fly option $176 dollars. Cost to park at the airport for our cruise would of been $100. so hotel is really only costing us $76.00. The alternative would be to drive to the airport around 4AM to catch our flight. Our hotel before the cruise I used IHG rewards points for a free stay. For our Post cruise hotel I am using my 1 free Marriott stay per year that comes as a credit card reward. Now for the little extras that I decided would help us enjoy the cruise a little more. I did try for a Royal Up and was successful in getting a Balcony room upgrade cost $600.00. In addition to the Royal UP I did get the unlimited pictures on a Thumb drive for $249.99 ( I think its been changed to a digital download instead). I also purchased the VOOM surf and stream, as my Wife and I will have some work that we must do while on the cruise, I purchased the 2 device plan when it was on sale for $20.99 a day. Since we will not be getting any drink package I bought the 12 1 liter water bottle package using our OBC for $46.02 with the service charge included. As far as Shore excursions go we only booked 1 thru RC the Arawak aqua park and Dragon's Tail Coaster single ride Combo for $33.00 each total cost 99.00 I booked a Bernard SXM Island tour 1 for our port call in St Maarten for $100 total. $40 per adult and $20 for my daughter. If I can get our flight changed on the way to FLL I will look into booking a Jungle Queen river cruise in FLL so my wife can get some nice pictures along the river and canals. More to follow...

+1 on that! We started booking only the rooms with CK access after our first visit there (on ships that have it). Now if we could only convince @Matt about that...?

Yeah, your ruined now! After staying in that one, our next three cruises are all SC ? Edit: Oh, and the Coastal Kitchen will ruin you also. The atmosphere in there is amazing.

you may have to wait till your next cruise. we'll hit Diamond on our upcoming cruise but don't think the C&A will update till about 14 days after our cruise.

OA5 steel has been cut. No word where she will be based. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/04/24/royal-caribbean-begins-construction-of-fifth-oasis-class-cruise-ship

You can have them just stand outside and wave at them from inside the party ? show them what they are missing - heh. #kidding

The Enchantment was our first "real" cruise ship back in '06 and we were on her again 2 years ago. It's perfectly fine, as long as you know you're not getting the zip lines, aquashow, 5 different specialty restaurants, etc. It is older but still comfortable and a good introductory cruise ship for adults. I thought the food in the MDR was decent and we thought the Windjammer food was the best we had experienced. We did MTD and were able to secure a table for two by the window every night. The main theater entertainment was so-so, the head liner was good but the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers shows were just okay. The Schooner bar on that class of ship is better than any on the big ships as it's right along the windows. The casino seemed (to me) to be smokier than other ships so if you're smoke sensitive that might not be the place to hang out. We didn't have any issues with getting a seat at the pool(s). While we prefer the bigger ships, I would have no problems with an Enchantment of the Seas cruise. Have fun on your trip.

Did this last November on Oasis. Rental was for the entire week.

The hell with 10 years from now....I'm ready NOW!

Most of my cruises have been out of Port Canaveral or Miami. Boarding and departure times vary an hour or two but usually boarding is about noon and departure about five. You might board as early as 10am and depart as late as 7pm. In general, once the passengers from the previous cruise have departed, been accounted for and customs is cleared, passengers for the next cruise can start boarding. I have seen boarding start 2 and 3 hours ahead of scheduled boarding time. I am sure unusual circumstances could delay boarding but its never happed to me. When you arrive, you and everyone else will be excited. Adrenalin will be flowing. Take a moment, breathe deep, don't get crazy. Have your bags tagged with your name and cabin information with the tags that RCCL provides on line. If you don't have them, agents at the curb will provide them. Have all your 'stuff' organized and ready. The curb agents may want to see your paperwork, probably not if your bags are tagged and ready. Depending on how you arrive, you may need to park your car. RCCL staff will be all along the way to help direct you where you need to go. Various levels of Crown and Anchor members may have shorter lines. If you have done all the 'pre-boarding' work on-line, check in will go pretty quick. You will get a quick photo taken for security (no glasses or hats). New technology is being introduced that includes facial recognition. I have not seen it in use yet, hopefully it just speeds things up a bit. If you are able to board early, do not count on your room being ready. They are often not 'refurbished/ready' until 2 or 3pm and perhaps a bit later. Sometimes your luggage will not arrive until 5 or 6pm and sometimes a bit later. There is always a long gangway walk up to the ship. RCCL personnel along the way will take your picture if you want or just by-pass them. Others will welcome you on board. If its your first time, you will be Wowed by the ship and totally lost. Use the time between being able to board and when your room is ready to explore the ship, have lunch (the Windjammer will be serving) sit by the pool or enjoy a drink. Don't burden yourself down with too much carry on. You may have a couple bottles of wine in your carry on. Have any medications you may need, sun glasses, a hat, your camera or phone. Your Seapass card is now your money and ID. You probably will not need anything else until your room is ready. If you are physically fit, taking the stairs is a good way to burn a few calories you bound to run into for the next few days. During busy times, such as boarding, the elevators can take a while. The Windjammer will be crowded as people eat their first meal on board. People will be staking out spots around the pool. A band will probably be playing. At the same time, there will quiet spots on the ship you can settle in, cool off and people watch if you just need to relax a bit after a hectic arrival. So roam around, find out where your cabin is, even if its not ready, and start exploring from there. A lot of times I've been on the ship 3 days and am still finding places I haven't seen before.

Hello all!!! This is my first post as I just booked my first ever cruise yesterday. Actually this will be the first cruise my entire family has ever been on and we are all over 40. So I guess we are late in the game. LOL!! I have been searching these boards all day getting as much info as I can from all of you. You all give such great input and this site is amazing!! I booked a 2 bedroom ATS Suite (A1) category Room 8330 on Oasis of the Seas for a 4 night cruise NEXT May 2020. There are 4 of us traveling. I originally looked on RCI main website nothing was available. I went onto Costco site and their availability was much much better so I booked through them. I am searching this site and reading about how these rooms have MINIMUM of 5 people. Since we are only 4 is this a Costco mistake? I am little nervous that I am going to get an email or something saying your room and reservation has been canceled. Thank you all for your help and i am sure I will be speak to you all again!!!!

I recommend that you start reading some of the Star Class blogs that we have here in the live blog section. That will give you a good idea of the program and what you might be able to expect. Keep in mind that the program has evolved a bit and some things have been phased out (eg. use of the loop, free one day thermal pass). Initially, when the program first rolled out, I learned so much from reading blogs from those that were sailing star class. Tons of info in these blogs. And many of these people are regulars here on the boards so they can answer any follow up questions you might have. Here are some links to get you started: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/3315-star-class-harmony-11-18-feb-2017/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/4564-anthem-of-the-seas-liveish-august-31-2017/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5538-anthem-of-the-seas-feb-9th-2018/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6079-allure-of-the-seas-april-8-15-in-star-class/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9895-liveish-7-days-on-symphony-11172018-or-17112018-better-yet-november-17-2018/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/10666-star-class-ovation-of-the-seas/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/10695-“i-dream-of-genie”-–-star-class-harmony-of-the-seas-–-031019-031719/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/11273-back-2-back-star-class-cruises-the-short-version/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12259-keepin-it-star-classy-anthem-edition/

Please do! I have found that the only sure cure for “cruisitis” is booking another one or two!!!?

We could carry our own bags, but it would be much more pleasant if we didn't have too (especially if there are stairs to navigate)! I'm afraid we'll have several bags for a 7 night cruise involving a 21 year old daughter. :-) Thanks for the suggestions, though!

If any of the Harmony/Symphony or Navigator/Mariner stuff has to be left out hopefully it’s To Dry For, I really wonder if that place makes money as I can’t imaging people there before 4 or 5 in the evening.

It was only offered in the UK it just includes the deluxe beverage package so all drinks up to I think $12 are included, so that means speciality coffees (not Starbucks), freshly squeezed orange juice, soda, cocktails, beers, wine and spirits are included and if over the $12 I think you just pay the difference. Which ship are you sailing on

Chase Sapphire Reserve card - $450.00 Annual Fee!!!!! HOLY SMOKES!!

We had our honeymoon on Allure with a B2B cruise - talk about awesome and just about the perfect amount of time. Ya'll have a blast! We loved the ship and have a lot of fun in casino during those two weeks. Ready to do it again (cough get kids off to college so wife and i can cruise more/longer cough)

My MEI agent (Michelle Cunningham) has never had a problem moving cruises even if it has been more than 60 days and even when they were paid in full !

If you go to St. Kitts avoid the "Coastal Cruise, Beach & Steel Band" We went and our excursion was combined with a Celebrity ship and it was way too crowded! There were not enough seats for everyone so about 30 people on the lower deck had to stand each way (1-1.5 hour boat ride to the beach) and then once we got to the beach it was deserted except for a lone man renting umbrellas. There were 18 umbrellas with 2 beach chairs apiece for about 200+ passengers on the boat.

IMHO it’s an epic fail. There will be people on both sides of the fence but for me, it’s no good. When you want a drink at the pool the bracelet needs to physically come off your wrist so that the attendant can take it back to the bar to scan for your drink. Also, I would say the RFID works about 40% of the time for entry into your stateroom. It’s sometimes less of a hassle to just pull the card out of my pocket.

I have reached out to royal and they are saying that they plan to run at reduced speeds until next year's dry dock (2020).

According to the most recent Cruise Compass for Freedom of the Seas, MTD is located on Deck 3. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/freedom-of-the-seas/sun-2019-04-07-0000

My understanding is that they are only offered on Quantum class ships and on the newer Oasis class ships (Harmony and Symphony)... we're on Allure next month and they are not offered.

So what was happening is that people would book a cruise with zero intention of sailing it. A place holder. Fast forward to final payment due date and they would transfer it to another ship a year or more away. Fast forward to final payment due date and they would transfer it to another ship a year or more away. Finally 5 years later they would cruise. The other problem with hundreds of people cancelling right before final payment was due is that they suddenly had a surplus of inventory showing up 3 months before sailing. That isn't a lot of time to sell out a ship so they had to drop prices to sell the ship. The intent of the extra OBC was not to encourage people to cruise five years later but encourage people to return soon. It ended up hurting more than helping because it was being used in a manner that wasn't intended. With people booking suites in this manner it hurt even more because expensive suites are even harder to sell with just 3 months to do it. Next is a part of the Crown and Society team. It is a loyalty program. They were leaving a lot of money on the table. Royal is a business first and always. They have shareholders to answer to. Solution: Change the policy. Encourage people to commit and only book with an intention of actually sailing. This create less booking volatility and that translates into higher revenue since they avoid the surplus inventory flooding the market closer to sailing. At the same time it's grown more competitive. So many ships. They have to offer promos every few weeks now. Back in the day there was maybe one or two a year. Margins are thinner, less fat to throw away at things like loyalty OBC. With the need to keep fares low in a competitive market there isn't money to throw at loyalty rewards like Next OBC.

Sounds like he’s looking for more of what DCL and NCL do we’re you basically just make a placeholder to come back for a cruise at a later date. Would definitely do it on our sailing next month, but with the strict program now it doesn’t seem worth it.

Different sailings get different promos. Pricing is relative to on board pricing which also varies. Short cruises cost more than longer cruises. Unless you are Diamond Plus or higher it is always cheaper to buy it before sailing. If you buy it now and the price does drop again you can refund the purchase and buy it again at the lower price. If you are happy with the price now, buy it since it might go up and never come back down. If other people buy it and sales are good they will increase rates on a cruise by cruise basis.

He secretly did love it. He won't admit it, but he did. My nail tech did the full spa Volcano pedi. I'm jealous. Even I have not done that! No polish, of course, but I'm happy to report we're down to Defcon 2.

We sailed on her last summer, our first cruise also, and had an incredible time. The ship is very nice, it's plenty big, and the 4 night itinerary was great. Most of all though, we were blown away by the service- from the moment we stepped on until we were back in port, every employee we interacted with treated us like we were the only guests in a 5 star resort, despite being in a cheapy interior room. We did traditional dining in the first shift, and loved our wait team- listen to their suggestions on the specials, they were usually right. I will warn you that the cruising bug does bite hard. We're a long way from the multiple-cruises-per-year folks you might see on this site, but we booked a 7 night Harmony cruise within a few weeks of getting off Enchantment. I wrote up a short review of the cruise a couple months after it, but the short version is you're going to have a great time.

I started on Empress, the smallest ship in the fleet, and I feel that a larger ship (Liberty, Harmony, etc.) would've been overwhelming to the first timer. We're going on Enchantment in February 2020, and she's around 300' longer than Empress, so a step up for us.

Depends, but they tend to keep at least one pool and/or hot tub open

You can still buy alcohol for yourself, they just won't allow you to buy the package. Any drink can be purchased individually.

Better hurry, Sabrina. The line has already formed!

Think I'd sail Celebrity just for this every night

Anthem comes back to Bayonne on November 12, 2020. Oasis leaves just before her return. Ovation is not expected to return to Alaska in 2021. In March of 2021 she heads to Singapore while Voyager follows a month later. Radiance and Serenade will be making the trip North from Australia in 2021. However their bookable cruises stop at Hawaii. It's not clear what they'll do next. Odyssey is the wild card at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me to see Odyssey hit the West coast for a bit and then service Alaska in 2021. Royal has been hinting at a return to the West coast and Odyssey makes sense. Cold weather ship for the cool Pacific ocean then into Alaska for the summer 2021 season. What better way to attract attention and make a statement return to the West coast than it's newest ship?

After dinner went to Eden to watch Revelation at Eden. Don't even ask me what the story line is. Will add these pictures do the show no justice. It is one of those "see for yourself" type deals.

Today's port of call is Grand Cayman. One of the nice features of Edge is the use of the Magic Carpet as a tender platform and ship has some of the life boats configured as tenders. These tenders have nice cushioned seats and are air conditioned. No two level open air tenders being used with the exception of ones for shore excursions.

Welcome, Adi ! So glad you found us.

In Oceanview Cafe (hence the Windjammer difficulty comment @Lovetocruise2002 ) Sorry to hear about Harmony @Sweety. If it isn't rubbing salt in the wound here is a picture of Red Velvet cake. @AshleyDillo this one is for you @Matt and other Indian food lovers

Morning everyone! Such a great sight seeing your ship in port. Here let me get a closer view of the one on the left.

I disagree on not using 3rd party excursions. You simply have to know your times and book with someone reliable. A lot of times the cruise line will charge almost double for the same excursion. Most 3rd party excursions fully refund you if your ship does not arrive, just watch their terms of service. Also, they are typically less crowded. If you use a well known and highly rated 3rd party they will get you back to the ship on time. Their livelihood depends on it. If you are new to traveling and want to do something far from the port that is when you should stick with the cruise line. Research will save you money and provide a very personal experience.