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I've not seen this elsewhere and was a little surprised to see whales from Anthem of the Seas on Saturday 7/13. We had an obstructed balcony on Deck 6 on the port side of Anthem of the Seas. About 60-90 minutes out of port we saw multiple "blows" and then a large tail. I carry binoculars and this time had a spotting scope I use for bridwatching. I was blown away. When I got home I googled "New York City whale watching" and it appears that my sighting was not unusual. So if you are sailing out of Bayonne you may want to keep an eye out!

Overall I'm pretty pleased with Royal which is why I am here. This is how to make it better: Keep cruising affordable. Improve the website. Add free texting across the fleet using wifi based chat applications such as iMessage, WhatsApp or FB Messenger. More airlines offer this now for free. Time to allow it on ships. Stop trying to build chat into the Royal app and let people use what they use already. Royal talks about making vacation stress free, communicating with loved ones on board and at home makes vacations stress free. Migrate all ships to O3b Voom and leave the 1980 satellite technology where it belongs, in the past. Add technology to allow mirroring phones and tablets to cabin TVs Eliminate the Diamond happy hour binge drinking nightly event by removing it from the Diamond Lounge. This would solve the "How many Diamonds can you cram into a phone booth" effect in the lounge every night. Keep 3 drink coupons but expand the hours of use and quality of choices. Give Diamond members 30% off drink packages, move Diamond Plus to 40% off and Pinnacle to 50% off drink packages. Even at those rates there is still profit to be had. Currently many guests at these C&A levels don't buy drink packages or drinks at all, relying on the nightly happy hour for drinks. These changes would increase DX revenue and reduce happy hour costs, a combined win-win. Deal with chair hogs by actually enforcing the rules and do so consistently across the fleet Add USB outlets to all ships, add power outlets by the beds Clarify dining package rules. State exactly what is included, apply this consistently across the fleet Make all rules consistent and apply them consistently across the fleet. Be consistent with every thing across the fleet. Make Sea and Sky suite class available on all ships with consistent benefits across the fleet. Star class can remain exclusive to OA/QU. Smoke free casinos across the fleet. If Celebrity can do it, so can Royal.

It’s’ cruise day! Currently on the train from Anchorage to Seward. I had a detailed post from yesterday however, it wouldn’t let me post and I didn’t save my post. I realized because I wasn’t entering my email address. I think we were awake for almost 24 hours yesterday. Spent half the day traveling and half the day exploring the Anchorage area. The Crow Pass Trail to Crystal Lake was absolutely stunning. Took about 4 hours round trip. Took great photos and even saw a Dal Sheep. So excited for our day. The train ride is stunning so far. Doing a 6 hour wildlife cruise when we arrive in Seward and then starting our cruise. I will attempt to post photos on my phone. May need to wait till laptop access

Featured on Royal’s Instagram page Congrats! @twangster ??

Speaking of stealing... Just last week I seen a thread stolen! Took it like it was theirs, without reguards to whom it belong too. They even had the nerve to change topic....that's so rude. ?

He’s a bot. He has no head

Got the email from Concierge this morning! @WAAAYTOOO, interesting, new Concierge, Carlington Barry? Is anyone familiar with him? He just implemented Suite guest get lunch in Main Dining room on Embarkation day which is great, we always booked Chops and had to pay for it. So far, Everything I've requested he's already returned my emails and confirmed bookings. We are so excited to be on this trip, hoping for no new huge issues with hubby! Our 25th Anniversary sailing into Boston Harbor where we got married!!

I think that this statement sums everything up perfectly. It just depends on what type of cruiser you are. Know what you are. Book accordingly. There's a ship/itinerary out there for everyone.

Port Days: 1)You the customer pays the port fees. 2) You are off the ship not using your drink packages (unless its their destination) 3) You are not eating as much of their food when you are off the ship 4) They can give their crew more time off Sea Days: 1) THey can make more money in the casino 2) They have to feed us all 9 times a day (Oh maybe 9 is just me) 3) They serve drinks all day

Nice!

Years ago I attempted to. The kids in there looked at me like "are you lost, Grandpa?"

Thanks all for the very kind words and compliments. Thanks to you for all of your helpful and insightful advice, commentary and humor on these boards. I'm really glad we have this wonderful place to talk about the most important thing in the whole wide world.

I really like the battery operated tea lights so you don't take up any electrical outlets and can put them wherever you need some more light. You can get a package of them pretty cheap at Walmart or on Amazon and put them in various places around your cabin. Even the paintings on the wall stick out about 1" so they make a good spot to put a couple on the top edge, and it casts a soft glow on the wall and ceiling. We had about four of them lit up each night, and switched them off in the morning.

Maybe if it's raining, I'll get lucky enough to get a deck chair by the pool! Unless somebody is saving them with rain ponchos.

I hope it doesn't go to @twangsters head! Oh wait. As @WAAAYTOOOmentioned more than once. He doesn't have a head because he's a bot! I keep forgetting.

Yum!!! I’m not a big drinker, and I love my coffee. I’m trying som of these for sure on Harmony. i do remember one cruise we were in the big theater and I was FREEZING! I ordered an Irish Coffee.....it was so strong it was like moonshine! I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to drink it, or light it on fire for warmth! ?

I thought Mitch did a great job. To his credit, I asked about a particular event and it seemed like he made it happen. On past cruises, there is sometimes an event where the Broadway show cast sings in the Schooner Bar. It's an event they are not obligated to do, but perform for fun because they can sing their favorite songs. I asked Austin, the WWRY lead actor, and he said it was not on the schedule but to ask Mitch. I tweeted Mitch and he worked on it and added it to the last day. That's some serious work on Mitch and his team's part. I also heard, Mitch gave our group numerous shoutouts in the morning show (I never watch it and never got a chance to see it by the time someone told me it was a thing). I find this is more and more the norm now across the fleet.

^^^ Truer words could not be spoken. We all share this love for cruising that goes beyond “normal” that most people just can’t understand. That’s the common thread right there. I only “virtually” knew everyone prior to this sailing but when meeting some of them, I felt like we were old friends ?

This really summarizes what I hope for in each group cruise, and why I think they are so much fun. It's like going on a cruise with your best cruising friends that you didn't know you had.

NYE cruise is in 2020. That counts ?

Take the entire Casino Royale player program and toss it in the trash. Fire everyone and start over from scratch. It’s a mess. Anyone who says otherwise has simply not gone down the rabbit hole yet.

I am a former smoker and I am with ThyriC on this one. I just roll my eyes when I see people running through the casino with their shirts covering their whole face and gesturing wildly, as if that’s going to help. Find another way to get to where you’re going, for God’s sake ! It may be out of your way, but you CAN get to where you’re going without trapesing through the casino where you KNOW there’s going to be smoke ! No one hates having a smoldering cigarette in their face more than me but if it ever gets THAT bad, I will just quit going in there. It’s my choice.

Cafe Promenade and here is a picture of the adult coffee choices:

I wish there'd be more smoker friendly areas that dont intrude on the nonsmokers. Like installing better filtration areas in the casino as well as doors so that nonsmokers dont have to be inundated by the smoke cloud. A cigar bar would be just heaven to me. Same with the outdoor smoking areas. I dont want nonsmokers needing to walk through my cloud just to get to where they need to go. But I also dont want smoking to be made so inconvenient for me that I need to crawl inside of the funnel, do a handstand, while carrying the hope diamond just to be able to smoke. I try, I really REALLY do try to be considerate of the non smokers. I dont blow my smoke in their direction, I dont hold my cigarette out into their path of travel, and I move my cigarette so a child doesnt see and think that I must be a really cool person and thus smoking must be cool. But some of the hysterics I've seen from nonsmokers, entering into the small smoker friendly areas is a bit much. The wild waving of hands, the exaggerated coughing, the need to "inform" me that its a horrible habit, etc. Hey I get it, its a gross habit. It'll likely kill me some day. But until a cruise is made smoke free, we both need to inhabit the same space, lets try to get along. I'll try not to inconvenience you with my smoke, you try not to go into my dark smoky corner waving hands.

Just signed up as an Insider. It was the least I could do after all the money Matt just saved me on my most recent booking. ?

Great memory! This is all the group cruises - so far. How does the GC get decided - Matt and myself work together to find a cruise that works with his schedule, my schedule, but more importantly has interesting ports of call - something different. Sometimes there are several cruises that are held while we decide or wait to see what else is released by Royal. If can look at times that the boards, insiders, and comments to him will help make his decision, but in all the years we have worked on these group cruises - that really hasn't swayed him. Ultimately, he will do two GC a year, and he decides when he has all the factors that he is waiting on from Royal on ships and where they will be sailing.

... save money and your skin (cancer risk) and buy a bottle of sunblock :) your body will thank you!

I just want to add a little about the Oasis class ship and Europe. I just took a Med Cruise and it was lovely. However, I went with other cruise line which significant lower cost for Med cruise and I happy with my decision. For US cruiser, Med Cruise is a port intensive and we really want to go everywhere and do as much we can because we have to pay so much to be there. For me if I visit Europe (med cruise) the ports is my destination so I was careless about the ship. It was my floating hotel. So I will not book Oasis class ship which I have to pay more. In another hand, I will book Oasis class ship for Caribbean cruise where I always cruise every year. Most ports in Caribbean I already visited so I will enjoy the ship more. So Caribbean cruise, the ship is my destination. I have 2 Oasis class cruise book and will be on Symphony in October 2019 and Oasis in August 2020.

This is a prime example of the difference between cruisers who use the ship as a means of transportation and the ones that use it as a all-inclusive resort. Still others pick and choose parts of both. Isn't that the best part of cruising? Choices?

More like #China

It costs nothing to place a courtesy hold. It basically just removes that room from the current inventory so no one can grab it while they are finishing up the reservation. I'm not sure what the rules are for how long they can hold it. There's not really an easy way to tell if a room has a hold on it or if the category is truly sold out, but typically if it says sold out on Royal's site then it is at that moment. If it shows a particular category but when you click on it then it tells you that nothing is available or that you have to call, often that's a sign of a courtesy hold. But you won't even get to that point if the category isn't available at all. It costs nothing to use a travel agent and they are a good advocate for you when dealing with the cruiseline. This site endorses MEI as they are a sponsor and I've had great experiences with them. If you go to the main blog site at: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/ and fill out the yellow box on the right side of the screen requesting a quote an MEI agent will reach out to you and maybe can help find something that will work for your situation. Again, zero cost or obligation other than your time!

This is a sound approach. I couldn't agree more with the idea that if you cannot get it at a discount you would have been better off just paying for the upgrade yourself, originally. I also agree that it is hard to pass up Star Class once you have done it. There is a WORLD of difference between a Crown Loft and a Star Loft. Not just the size of the suite but what all comes with it. The Star Class accommodations on Symphony are VERY pricey. If you can manage to get an upgrade for a discount, I would say, go for it. Nothing lost if it doesn't materialize.

Kinda looks like this: http://greglasley.com/nonBirds/comwhitetail.html

Here's video of said performance

I'm a man of my of my word......as soon as I get in on a ship with CK. I have heard that dinner in CK is where it's at, primarily from @Lovetocruise2002, as well as other less suite crazed cruisers.

It was indeed a fantastic sailing. Glad you and your family got to join us. It was great to spend time with you and #MongolianGrillSuperFan. The tequila shots weren't bad either! I really hope you will join us again very soon!

i just did cruise out of that port and best options available are staying in Rome in city center precruise. much more options while can visit Rome at same time then grab transportation to the port. Port doesnt have much around anyway and getting transportation was reasonable. everyone flying into to FCO has to get to port too so many transportation options available. Even numerous hotels in Rome have transportation going to port for their guests for reasonable fee.

I apologize for my participation. Couldn't let it go.

Just did. Only 938 miles to the closest one!

Stuckeys on steroids! Seriously, there's 70+ gas pumps and inside there's a BBQ pit, a deli/bakery, souvenirs and the typical gas station convenience store stuff but 5x the quantity and choices of it all. There's was even a billboard on I-10 in Florida advertising Buc'ees..stated 898 miles away "you can hold it". They've now opened one up at the FL/AL border on I-10, so there's one even closer now.

You can try and contain the smoke, but it's smoke. A separate pool or lounge area seems fair. I always thought it was funny back in the day when they had "smoking sections" on airplanes, separated by a row of seats. YOU ARE IN A TUBE! I'm with @monctonguyabout peoples individual rights. I'm a cruise libertarian. You do your thing and I'll do mine, as long as those things do not fringe on the rights of each other.

My kids make fun of me because I actually give them general safety briefings as well as CT briefings depending on the area. Avoiding large gatherings, to include protests, is always on the check list.. haha!

Thanks for the response! This is good to keep in mind, I'm only platinum but will likely reach Diamond well before my boyfriend (we're in our early 20's). Great to know, thanks!

To all those reading who may not already, I highly recommend all those who travel do their own research on their destination(s) to see if there are any current travel advisories. The State Department is an excellent resource if you are going out of the country: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/ In addition, enroll in the STEP: Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) Create an account at STEP.state.gov and provide the details of your specific trip, including dates of arrival and departure for the countries you choose. We will email you new Travel Advisories and Alerts as soon as we issue them, so be sure to provide an email address that you can access during your trip. Finally, if you are traveling within the US or one of it's territories you can always google: Travel Advisory NAMEOFPLACEYOUAREGOING and see what comes up as often other countries (Canada for example) might go more into detail on US locations as they are not part of their own country. While I grasp the thought that RC maybe should have said something re demonstrations, I still see it as my responsibility to be aware of conditions or concerns wherever I am traveling to. But then, I have trust issues so I am not going to rely on a cruise company to have my back at the end of the day. No offense to RC but that's just how I roll. For example, I am going to Bermuda in 281 days (who's counting!?!?) and I am already checking their page on the State Department weekly just to make sure I am on top of things there. They list out: "Valuables left unattended in public areas, in unsecured hotel rooms, or on rental motorbikes are vulnerable to theft. Criminals have been known to target visitors on motorbikes and at popular tourist attractions, and purse snatchings (perpetrated by thieves riding motorbikes) and muggings have occurred in the past. The back streets of the City of Hamilton have been the setting for nighttime assaults, particularly at night after the bars close. Travelers should exercise caution when walking after dark or visiting out-of-the-way places on the island as they can be vulnerable to theft and assault, and because narrow and dark roadways can contribute to accidents. Travelers should note the presence of gangs and illegal drug activity in Bermuda. There have been no reports of gang violence targeted towards visitors to Bermuda, although gang-related shooting incidents have occurred and continue to occur throughout the island." Does this mean I have to panic and be scared? No. But it probably means I will exercise responsible precautions based on the intelligence I am compiling as I prepare for my trip. Educate yourself on beyond the drink packages and dining menus. Stay safe. Or don't. Your call. But that's what I'll be doing.

For boarding day lunch, skip the WIndjammer and try Park Cafe or Solarium Bistro. Central Park at night is tranquil having a cocktail and listening to the string group. Try Johnny Rockets for breakfast at least once. Make reservations for the shows, they are quite good.

By letter of policy, higher ranking member of the Crown and Anchor Society are welcome to join other guests with lower status in that group's boarding process. In other words you go down to their level. In practice it depends. Sometimes the terminal contractors will oblige, sometimes you would think you are trying to steal the crown jewels by asking. The elderly aspect may work in your favor if they look the part or simply tailgate following along with your family. Just understand the policy is no so if they don't let it happen, they are rightfully enforcing the rules.

The young man who died was climbing around the outside of the ship and he fell to the pier. Why the balcony dividers were not opened is unknown. Maybe the family didn't know to ask, maybe they wanted privacy and didn't want them opened. Maybe the other room was occupied by his aunt, uncle and cousins and neither set of parents wanted the dividers opened for privacy purposes. Such a tragedy. The balcony dividers have a fixed section and a section that hinges back against the fixed section. In this photo the section of the divider with the red mark on it swings or hinges back while section of the divider with the green mark is fixed remaining in place. Here is a picture from a blog post of an ocean facing balcony with the dividers opened. Source: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/01/02/photo-tour-of-connecting-category-d7-balcony-staterooms-oasis-of-the-seas

I looked at that one and basically the same without the 3 hrs of free time. Last cruise we did too any 6+hr tours. Not enough time to relax. Looking at shorter excursions this time around. Maybe I'll wait and see what the wife thinks. It's a surprise 30th anniversary cruise, so I will have to keep it a secret until I tell her on our half anniversary next April. I booked the cruise this April. So far so good keeping the secret.

We did the highlight of Athens. Here is the details:  It was $109 per person at it's cheapest. I have absolutely no idea what we are doing for 3 hours on our own but I wanted to tour the Acropolis and I didn't want to stress about getting there. Now if the heat closes it like it did last week I will be devastated. Hoping all goes well. Jane