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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/20/2021 in all areas

  1. Day 6 Extension of last night...The ship left Nassau last night and we took a route that seemed rather odd. By the time we had gotten to karaoke, the ship was moving at 18.0 knots and we were feeling the movement. Getting back to our room last night we felt a bit like we were in a pinball machine. More on this later... We got up and made it to the restaurant at 8am and Yen met us there with our morning coffee order. We confirmed that we would NOT be joining the Star Class Flowrider group at 9am since we couldn’t get our stuff together this morning. We decided that we’re sleeping in tomorrow. Yesterday, Jacob (CK Manager) asked Tim (since he loves spicy foods) if he had ever eaten an Indian breakfast, to which he replied he had not. Jacob arranged for him to have Bhaji Puri, which he absolutely loved and requested again for the next day. Hement (the chef who made my quiche) had challenged us to request off-menu items. Kenzie and I accepted the challenge and requested savory crepes for today's breakfast. He made them exactly as we had requested and they were absolutely delicious! A couple at a neighboring table asked if we were ordering off-menu and we shared some of the things the team was doing for us. We always share the disclaimer that we don’t know if they do it for everyone or if it’s just star class treatment, but we tend to believe Jacob and his crew would do this for anyone. They are so accommodating! We came back to the room to briefly gather our things before heading to bumper cars, but with the movement of the ship, Kenzie was feeling a bit seasick and was getting a headache. We cancelled bumper cars and she put a patch behind her ear, which almost instantly cleared up her headache (I’ll add a picture to this post in case you want to know what she used). Our next item up on the schedule was the Extended North Star where they take you up a bit higher and over the side of the ship. We got up to check in for our ride and a couple showed up for their ride and apparently, they weren’t going to be able to get on. I didn’t catch all that happened, but I didn’t want someone to go without doing the North Star when I was able to do it multiple times. Since they are only allowing 4 per ride at a time and there were 3 of us, I gave up my spot and let the other 2 join Tim and Kenzie. I was perfectly fine with giving up my spot since I have a little fear of heights anyway. Going up and down is way different than extending over the side of the ship. All I could picture was the ball falling off and bobbing around in the ocean with sharks licking their chops. Yen got in there with the reservation guy and did her thing to make it happen. I hung back when they went up and Yen and I got a chance to visit. Afterwards, Yen walked us down to the Promenade where she left us at the La Patisserie for a Starbucks and more macaroons. She went and got the Starbucks for us and got Tim a water (which Tim said was over the top - we were right there and could have gotten them very easily). After we thought she had left Tim opened the water and spilled a bit since it was so full. He was going to get a napkin and Yen appeared with them for him. We asked if she had planted microphones on us – she smiled – and didn’t deny it! I swear she sees, hears, and knows everything! At breakfast that morning Jacob asked what our meal plans were for the remainder of the cruise, and he reminded us that we can get anything from the ship brought there. We decided to take him up on that offer and eat most things at CK from now on, except for the Chef’s Table tomorrow night. For lunch, Tim requested pizza, the cheddar ale soup (for which he still had not gone back), and the meat platter from Jamie’s. Jacob said he would arrange it all, and he did! We arrived at 1pm for lunch and Tim instantly got his sparkling water with lemon, Kenzie and I got our still water, and a moment later the previously arranged items were at our table. Now that’s incredible service! I seriously don’t know how I’ll ever go back to regular life! We were absolutely stuffed from lunch and all waddled back to our room to recover. We sat for a few minutes and then were reminded that Kenzie had another IFly appointment. Tim said he was going to sit that one out because he was miserable, so I put the flip flops back on and Kenzie and I headed to IFly. About the time we were getting there, Kenzie’s stomach started acting up, and when she was checking in, said it probably wasn’t a good idea. Yen did her thing with the reservations and now it’s on the schedule for tomorrow right after bumper cars. She’s doing the extended IFly tomorrow for two minutes instead of just one…and it’s before lunch.  We made our way back to the cabin and crashed for over two hours. I’d better not get to used to this nap thing or I might get in trouble when my boss starts seeing my afternoons blocked out for naps. Our pre-arranged dinner plans for 6pm got pushed to 7pm when we realized we were still full from lunch at 5pm. At 6pm, we cancelled dinner all together and decided to forage for food if we got hungry later. At that moment, we didn't think we'd ever be hungry again. Remember that I told you the captain was flying back home at 18.0 knots? A couple of nights ago, we heard an Alpha Alpha Alpha alert (which is code for a medical emergency). This afternoon, Mark (cruise director) asked for any volunteer male blood donors to head to guest services to donate blood for a passenger who is in need of a blood transfusion. Tim put his shoes on and went down to volunteer. His heart was full over how many men were standing in guest services to help a stranger. Tim found out that he wasn’t the right blood type for the transfusion, so he came back, and it was announced shortly after that they had enough volunteers. A little later, we heard an announcement from the captain telling us that they were heading back to New Jersey and planning to arrive tomorrow evening (a day early) to accommodate the passenger who needed medical attention. We would still disembark on Sunday, even though arriving early. While hanging in our cabin avoiding food, the captain announced that the passenger who needed medical attention was going to be airlifted by the Coast Guard and to avoid deck 14. We assumed the helicopter pad was at the front of the ship (like on Oasis), so we didn't think we would see much. However, a little while later, the helicopter was above of our balcony at the aft of the ship. It was so close, our windows were rattling. They came and went multiple times, we assume to airlift the patient, the family members, and their belongings. We took a video of the first trip as it was kind of exciting to have a CG helicopter right above our balcony. As exciting as it was, it was all for someone whose vacation was cut short due to a medical emergency. Our thoughts and prayers are with that family and we hope he is able to recover quickly! At about 8:15pm Tim asked what time Izumi was open until and asked about getting a couple of orders of Kara-age chicken to go. Tim asked if we could place an order for pick up and when I asked Yen, her response was “We can deliver to the suite though…”. Tim wanted to stretch his legs and Kenzie wanted to stop by the Bionic Bar for a couple of drinks, so they insisted on picking up dinner versus having it delivered. Of course, they walked right into Yen on their way…because she’s tracking us, you know. While down there, Tim ran by the Café Promenade and asked about the Coconut Ranger Cookies that I absolutely LOVE! They had run out earlier in the evening and the gentleman told Tim they would have more tomorrow. Tim thought he would try his luck, leaned in, and asked (very quietly), “would it help if I said I was Star Class?” Prakash’s eyes lit up like Christmas trees and he got all excited. He told him of course, and if he could just wait a few minutes, he would be right back. HE MADE A FRESH BATCH OF COOKIES JUST FOR ME !! Dang! I’m now sitting here writing this blog, eating my delicious cookies...that nobody else on the ship has right now. Yay me! Star Class is a dream...and I'm very spoiled !! Tomorrow is my last day and then I have to turn in my glass slippers. Here are the pics of the Day 7 Cruise Compass and the motion sickness patches...
    6 points
  2. This year's Black Friday sale runs Nov 24-30, which is good so we can spend the holiday with family.
    5 points
  3. Here's the list of this year's Black Friday sales https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/Snapshot_of_CruisePlanner_Offers.pdf
    5 points
  4. RC literally redirects you to the Optum store. Same price as Optum direct. EMed only offered a 6 pack. Buy in bulk on EMed for a discount if you like. However the 6 pack would be overkill for some. Two people going on a cruise don’t need a 6 pack so they can use Optum for their needs. Optum only offers 2 & 3 packs at a higher per unit cost compared to EMed. That’s on Optum, not Royal. Truthfully, Royal had been providing free tests for consecutive cruisers and international travelers on US home port sailings. They are not and have not tried to turn testing into a profit item. I know you pride yourself on detailed and lengthy posts to support those details but you are wrong shaming Royal for Optum offering smaller packaging and charging more per unit then EMed does who only sells the 6 pack.
    4 points
  5. Yaaaaay everyone in our traveling party has officially tested negative so the biggest anxiety is gone! We all had the at home test kits as back ups but I was able to get a super convenient time at CVS which is on my way home from work. So….it just seemed easier than worrying if I would have one of those faulty test kits.
    4 points
  6. Well seeing that I don't have the same luck as @tonyfsu21, I went ahead and cancelled all my bids and upgraded myself to star when I saw it pop up last night! First cruise back from dry dock, might as well go big or go home right? lol
    4 points
  7. FINALLY!! The PROOF that this is RCI.
    4 points
  8. Oh my god, ok so I was hesitant on starting a liveblog for this cruise because I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to commit to it and also part of me was thinking that this cruise isn't real since it's just been SO LONG since I last sailed. Pre-COVID our last sailing was another Thanksgiving cruise in 2019 on Grandeur. But I do enjoy having these live blogs as little snap shots to look back on. Also my girlfriend isn't able to join me on this sailing but I wanted to have a way for her to sort of follow along and I figured I might as well do it in this format so others can see things too! Pre-cruise report: Sailing: November 21-28, 2021, Oasis of the Seas, 7 Night Eastern Caribbean cruise Sailing with: Me (34), and my parents Flying from: Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale. We had some credits for Spirit from our cancelled May 2020 cruise so wanted to get those used up and that's where it took us. Pre-cruise hotel: Even though the sailing is out of Miami, we are flying into FLL and it's honestly cheaper to stay in Fort Lauderdale than downtown Miami so we are staying in the Holiday Inn Express on 17th Street we stayed in before. I love how walkable it is with a Walgreens and Total Wine right nearby. And the $5 parking vs 30+ doesn't hurt either. The itinerary is as follows: Day 1 – Miami Day 2 – Coco Cay Day 3 – At Seas Day 4 – St Thomas Day 5 – St Martin Day 6 and 7 – At Sea Day 8 – Miami But honestly....not too fussed about itinerary. Just excited to be cruising again! Cabin: I think this is what I'm most excited about. When 2021 sailings were first released, I saw a post in the RCB FB group that there were great suite prices on Oasis. When I went to check on them, I was shocked what a steal some of them were. We were able to grab a 2 BR Grand Suite for only a couple hundred dollars more than the JS we had on Allure. So this is our first time sailing in Sky class and having full suite benefits. You can bet that you will be seeing a lot of Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge in this blog. And I'm thinking a higher than average chance of me getting day wine tipsy at least once with the free wine and beer benefit in the lounge. Pre-purchases: Not a ton pre-purchased to be honest. We didn't need to stalk internet prices because of the included suite wifi and I didn't want to bother with any drink package because of the suite lounge. My mom grabbed the refreshment package, but that is about it. Excursion wise, we are doing the Sky ride in St Thomas. Otherwise we plan on just getting off and wandering around. I kept keeping an eye on Beach Club prices for Coco Cay but I can't justify spending $160 pp when we are the only ship there and it's not at full capacity. So we will likely be rotating between the pool and Chill Island there. Random Pre-cruise thoughts: Please let me know if there is anything in particular you would like me to check out or take pictures of for you. I am open to requests. I will definitely be taking note of any special Thanksgiving menus. There were some mixed responses to whether or not Coastal Kitchen will have any Thanksgiving specials. We heard from the suite Concierge exactly 10 days prior to sailing. We were able to get 5:30 reservations in CK every night which was our first choice due to waking up earlier and also leaving us more time for shows/other activities after dinner. Forewarning that my idea of cruise fun is lounging and reading when on board so you won't catch a review of the rockwall from me! I do fully expect to burn through 5-8 books on my kindle though. So excited to make a dent in my "to read" list. I promise future posts will have more pictures!
    3 points
  9. I'm betting it wasn't supposed to be made public yet because no one else published it. Now they are likely trying to reset and presumably formulating another plan to make a big splash with it. Stay tuned.
    3 points
  10. 3 points
  11. Sorry this happened. Happened to us flying home from Aruba several years ago. Had to connect in Atlanta (who doesn’t lol) and it was incredibly stormy and flights got delayed. All the while our luggage sat on the tarmac in a luggage dolly. We had to throw the suitcases out. Everything was soaked. This is a good reminder for me as we have 2 cruises this year requiring flights and an international trip as well. One is Alaska and one is Scotland and both can be rainy destinations. Looks like we will be investing in those vacuum sealed ziplock bags. Hope you have a great trip and skies clear!
    3 points
  12. We will be sailing on a few RC ships this holiday season and I feel confident that the text in the (RC App, under Safety) is quite clear that they will provide free of charge a test to international passengers that require one.
    3 points
  13. Testing children at the pier can be problematic. Squirming children who won’t hold still can lead to inconclusive tests so it has to be repeated. As numbers of cruisers go up but the CDC protocols don’t change they need more time. The ship will still sail, you’ll still reach your destination on time. In the bigger picture it’s inconsequential.
    3 points
  14. Day 5 (a day late) We got up and made our way to Coastal Kitchen for breakfast at 7:45, and Yen appeared with our coffee order as previously arranged. I had previously arranged to have the extra leftover quiche, but instead of a leftover, they made me a fresh one...well, several, actually. The chef wouldn't allow it to be reheated for me, so he made a new batch and had them delivered to the table. Jacob and Sid have become some of our favorite people onboard the ship, and whenever we go elsewhere without them, we miss them. Tim and Kenzie planned to go into Nassau in search of a key chain for her collection. Yen met us in the cabin shortly before 10am so she could escort them off the ship, and I was going to go with them but hung behind and worked on uploading all the photos for the blog. I was originally going to take my computer to a nice corner on the ship somewhere, but I love this suite so much, that I just stayed put. Tim and Kenzie wandered about for a bit and found a keychain for Kenzie, a souvenir for Raj, and a souvenir for Jeremy. Kenzie said they were walking around and walked by some street dancers who were jamming to some music. She realized a couple of minutes later that Tim was no longer with her, and she wandered back to find Tim dancing with the locals. After they came back, we hung out for a bit and then it was off to lunch at Coastal Kitchen. The other day when we had gone to the Windjammer, Tim was impressed with their salad bar area and was craving a salad. He wandered to the Windjammer while Kenzie and I went to Coastal Kitchen. Jacob asked if we had left Tim in Nassau, and we told him he wanted to build a salad in the Windjammer. Jacob said he would make anything he wanted and ran off to find Tim at the Windjammer. He's so funny! He came back a moment later and confirmed what Tim was wearing (with a mask on and a sea of people, he wanted to ensure he was kidnapping the right person), then he ran off and came back a minute later with Tim in tow. Tim said it didn't take much to convince him to come back. After all the pampering we've experienced this trip, the people jammer just didn't cut it. After lunch, we walked the three miles (okay, not really, but feels like it) to the back of the ship to visit the suite lounge. It is a beautiful space and it's kind of sad because it was totally empty. There were canapés, fruits, tapas, etc., and nobody was there to enjoy them. I'm guessing it doesn't get a lot of traffic because it's so far out of the way and there's no bar in there. If they put a bar in there, I'm sure it would have more visitors. We left shortly after and wandered down to the Esplanade, stopped and got more macaroons (because they're definitely a favorite), and then came back to the room for a nap because walking around the ship is exhausting! We got to do the North Star again tonight right at 5:30 when we were about to depart Nassau. It was so cool seeing Nassau from so high up! It seemed like we could see forever. Yen, of course met us at the North Star to ensure we got on as it gets pretty intense at the end of the reservation window. Tonight was no exception. We walked up a few minutes prior to our reservation time and there were about sixish people standing there expecting to get on. Tim has a face mask with the Philly Eagles on it, and one of the men waiting was wearing a Giants mask. That started the tension off. Yen was up with the person confirming the reservations and the reservation guy pointed at us to show we were next. The woman with the Giants mask guy sprung out of her chair and insisted they were next. The reservation person shared that we had a reservation for 5:30pm. We were whisked away a moment later, and Yen said they had to 'handle' it with the others who were waiting. Our ride ended up being the last of the night. Sorry...not sorry. It was so nice having Yen there to make sure we didn't get bumped like what had happened the first two attempts. Dinner was at Wonderland tonight. We were originally thinking of doing it two nights in a row so we could experience the entire menu, but decided to just bite the bullet and do it all at once. Yen escorted us to dinner again and she confirmed the rest of the night while there. Our server was a bit abrasive at the beginning of the night. Not sure what was happening, but he argued with us over wanting to experience the entire menu, then basically told us they only had two options for red wine to choose from (neither were to our liking). Kenzie had ordered one of their specialty drinks and it took over 20 minutes for it to show up, and the straw she asked for took an additional 10 minutes, after a reminder from Tim. Tim had asked for lemon and lime for his water, and it never showed up (Tim didn't bother reminding on that one), and our giant menus in frames sat on our tables in front of us for at least 20 minutes after we had ordered. Incidentally, the menus are extremely hard to read after watering them down to reveal the wording, and only one of the three menus were current. Tim and I had old menus. After the wine experience, I think someone figured out we weren't super happy (I'm still convinced that Yen has a tracker and possibly a microphone on us somewhere), because our server came back a while later and his attitude had completely changed. We're convinced that either the manager (who seemed to pay very close attention to the restaurant) saw the looks on our faces as we were discussing not leaving any additional tip for our server, or Yen had placed a call about that time and checked in on things. The rest of the meal went fine, but the bitter taste in our mouths from the beginning stuck with us. About the food at Wonderland...it was very interesting. We're glad we did it and experienced it, but even for us foodies, it wasn't our thing. We really appreciate the creativity that went into the dishes. It is truly imaginative! The one item that really turned us off was the Buffalo Chicken Eggs. This dish is 'smoked' in a way that was extremely unappealing. It smelled and tasted like cigarettes and we couldn't get the taste out of our mouths fast enough. Our friends who also ate there got the smoked specialty drink, and it was smoked in the same way - their impression was the same as ours over the eggs. Final review of Wonderland is that it was meh. If you have to pay for it, save your money. The only thing we truly liked was The World dessert...which we found out is being served at the end of the Chef's Table meal (that's on our last night). The new friends we made at CocoCay joined us tonight at the Music Hall for the Friendly Feud. Yen had 'discretely' reserved seats for us - which means we had front row seats in the middle of a packed two-story venue and all eyes were on us as we all took our seats. We tried to ignore the dirty looks...our friends embraced it. All of us thought the game would be played differently than how it actually played out, but it was super fun anyway. We were expecting to have multiple groups playing against each other, but it was more like the traditional game from TV. Here's the description - you tell me: "Team up with your friends onboard the ship and compete as a unit to answer a series of questions, with the most popular answers garnering the most points." It was still fun, and our group stuck together to go to Karaoke to end the night. The Karaoke was great, and we decided to do it again tomorrow because Kenzie wants to sing and didn't get in line to sign up early enough. We got back late and I had a few drinks, hence the reason this is a day late. Here is the Day 6 Cruise Compass for you...
    3 points
  15. I’ve said it before, but I’ve been annoyed by far more many adults (many inebriated) than kids on a cruise ship.
    3 points
  16. Bite the bullet and Uber to the nearest laundromat. Then you can start your cruise stress-free
    3 points
  17. Revenue stream - you don't buy it from Royal Caribbean! Where is the revenue stream? Optum direct: Optum redirected from Royal Caribbean: SAME PRICE So how is Royal turning this into a revenue stream when they don't sell them? They redirect you to Optum where you pay the same price! You buy it from Optum and Optum ships it. As far as eMed and their 6 pack, most groups boarding a Royal cruise are not a party of 6. Kids can't use these so how many people need more than two to board a cruise? Plus eMed charges for shipping while Optum includes shipping. eMed had no inventory when Royal introduced this. Only recently has eMed started taking orders again. What wild accusation would you level against Royal for offering eMed with no inventory to offer and a backorder status? You are just wrong dude. Enough fake news and wild unsupported accusations. Welcome to the block party. Ignored. Buh Bye.
    2 points
  18. absolutely the same feeling here...never been this nervous planning a vacation.
    2 points
  19. I hear you! The final cut is the pre-cruise antigen test. That is why even now, 29 days out, I am afraid to get excited. What if I don't make it? lol
    2 points
  20. 2 points
  21. BrianB

    Crown Loft Suites

    On the Oasis, there is the suite sun deck forward...accessible to Sky and Star suites along with Pinnacle members. There are private cabana-type enclosures on the Suite deck forward overlooking the Solarium...first come, first serve. There is no hot tub...but there is a full bar! Lots of loungers and little clamshell daybeds. Towels are included. Plus, restrooms!
    2 points
  22. Travel and Leisure has removed it from their website, or perhaps a URL hijack of the T&L and RC, although both sites had the secure sign in the URL (https). I suggest if you do get selected, call Royal Caribbean (DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER IN THE EMAIL) and verify.
    2 points
  23. I agree the 30% off is a sale Royal runs a couple times per year. I am hoping for 40% - 50% off the DBP.
    2 points
  24. Have to say 30% off the DBP is a little underwhelming
    2 points
  25. Exactly this happened to my sister-in-law and her family when they were flying home from Miami. The skies opened and threw a week's worth of rain down in about 20 minutes. The baggage handlers ran for cover and left the bags out in the rain. SIL was "lucky" insofar as they were on their way home and not just starting their trip. I'm glad you're able to take it philosophically. Hope you have a great cruise!
    2 points
  26. Our experience is that the cabin attendant in a suite will bring the pool towels to you if requested (and replace them if they are left with the other soiled towels in the bathroom).
    2 points
  27. I bought a package of six from the Optum store via Royal. $199. I received them, and it turns out they were to expire before the Feb 3 +3 months stated on their website. I called them, and the two reps I spoke with said they saw the same thing on their website, and they refunded all my money and said to keep the tests (which expire on 12/19), and told me to order directly from eMed. So I ordered a package of six from eMed for $150 plus shipping. See below. eMed was cheaper for the same number of tests, and the tests expire in February. Caveat: YMMV.
    2 points
  28. twangster

    Bringing Wine

    Carry on is more relaxed on a cruise then a plane because it does not have to fit in an overhead bin like on a plane. My suggestion would be to put wine in a roller bag style carry on. Two in one bag max. The other adult can also have two in their carry on. Security often has a stream of people going through so two separate bags that have two bottles each looks compliant. One bag with four bottles raises a flag.
    2 points
  29. Right up until the FDA changes the definition of fully vaccinated to fully boosted. I keep seeing this same logical fallacy: just do A, and then we can do B... Except they never should have been linked transitively.
    2 points
  30. My final hours spent in the sun and stuffing my face. Booked a 4 night out of Jersey on Adventure OTS for June. Then signed up with @Sharla at MEI so we can track it. Had izumi for dinner and it was OK. I gotta say im not impressed with any of the specialty dining. Maybe my NY taste buds have spoiled me. Surprised they only had the late showing for the Coral Theatre tonight. My bag is ready. Weather in Miami sux for next day or 2. Will try to get out onto Miami Beach for whenever sun breaks. And then count the days until Freedom...98.
    2 points
  31. 2 points
  32. Before COVID started the Sydney cruise ship schedule used to show an 'unnamed' Royal Caribbean ship in May/Jun of 2022, well past April when they usually leave. I believe their plan back then was to leave Quantum of the Seas here full time, as Carnival was also doing with Splendor. Given we would be going into winter a Quantum class would make sense. Here is the screenshot I took early 2019. Of course all this changed once COVID hit.
    2 points
  33. Can you talk to the desk person and see if they can help you? The hotel must have a dryer, even if it’s not for public use. Maybe offer to toss them a $20?
    2 points
  34. We had this happen to us on one of our trips to Disney world. we just hung things up in the room and let them dry over a couple of days. What I suggest to you is that you hang up some things and use the hair dryer to get them "dry enough" and then once on the cruise, hang things in the closet of your cabin to dry (and use the hair dryer again) Also, I would ask your cabin steward for some options and explain the situation. Royal may dry your things for you at no or low cost. The worst they can do is say no. My wife once got something on her shorts while at a show and when we asked if they had some detergent we could "borrow" they just washed and dried them for us. Because of this situation, we have since lined our suitcases with a garbage bag while packing just in case it gets left in the rain. Good Luck!
    2 points
  35. I agree with the ideas of taking an Uber/Lyft and just getting these things dried. You'll thank yourself later.
    2 points
  36. The timescales involved for testing were/are shocking! I flew from UK to Gibraltar last week, landed went and got our luggage then went to testing point at airport, got test done, jumped in a taxi to hotel ( 5 minutes ) checked into hotel went to room and my phone pinged with test results. Result...all clear so it was out to play lol
    2 points
  37. Some people act like jerks on cruise ships (or any vacation) for a myriad of reasons, and this must just be their latest thing to go off about. Sorry for those of you who have had to encounter it, and I hope you shook it off and had a great time despite them.
    2 points
  38. Haha. I can only imagine what runs through their heads when the elevator door opens and they meet my half-vaxxed, masked, wide-eyed 5 year olds. "Oh, yuck...unvaccinated kids. Why do people choose to bring these things on MY cruise and put ME at risk of catching COVID and getting sick and possibly dying. There is no way I'm getting on an elevator with you". What's going thru my kids' minds: "What a strange reaction - why were they so disgusted when they saw us"? Me: "Don't pay them any mind - they are out of theirs". We won't let you get in the way of our having fun - have a nice day.
    2 points
  39. Day 4 - Perfect Day at Coco Cay It really was a perfect day today, except for how early it started! Knowing we were going to be aiming to get off the ship as early as possible once we docked in Coco Cay, we got up early and went straight to Coastal Kitchen. We learned this morning that we need to give ourselves 5 extra minutes when leaving the cabin because Raj and Agnel are always out in our hallway ready to greet us and ask about our plans. We chat so often, they're becoming friends. We're about to ask Raj to join us one evening for a soda and conversation, just because there is always so much to talk about. Since we had a tighter time schedule, we arranged with Yen to have our Starbucks coffee delivered to Coastal Kitchen. When we stepped off the elevator this morning, Jacob (CK Manager) was at the check-in desk, and he immediately got on the phone. I didn't think much of it until we found out he was alerting Yen that we had arrived (for the coffee) and the chef to have him start the quiche he had promised the day before. They are sooooo awesome! Yen arrived with our coffee order and went over the morning schedule with us to get us off the ship. Jacob came by and let me know that the quiche was taking a bit and I told him no problem. He made the chef come by a little while later to let us know about how much longer it would take because Jacob was uncomfortable with how long it was taking. I know from experience that a freshly made quiche takes a bit, and we were a while from docking, so we sipped on our coffee, enjoyed the view, and didn't let the time bother us. When the quiche was ready, we instantly had three or four people surrounding us to deliver breakfast. It was really something. The quiche was AMAZING! It had to be the lightest quiche I've ever had - kind of bordering on a soufflé. I was quite happy with it! He made extras, so Tim and Kenzie each had one as well. There was an extra, so I asked them to save it for tomorrow. I'm certain it will heat up just fine. Can someone say SPOILED?? As we were wrapping up our spectacular breakfast, we were just arriving at Perfect Day. The captain said the waters were a bit rough, so he wasn't guaranteeing that we would be able to dock, but he was going to try. The other ship that was supposed to be on the island today was unable to dock because of the level of tide, the high winds, and the rough seas. I was sad for them because I know how much it is favored by so many. However, it was nice to not have as many folks on the island at the same time. Yen met us in our cabin at about 9:20am and we got to experience the magic genie card in the elevator. Someone else had gotten on at the same time as us and they were so confused. We didn't say anything but chuckled over it after they got off. We got off the elevator and there was a huge line forming at the gangway. Yen took us to the other side (two doors to get off), and left us at the front of the line while she checked things out. When they said go, we checked ourselves off the ship and yen met us at the end of the plank with a tram to take us to the Beach Club. The folks from the Royal Loft were just behind us and they were on the same tram heading to a Beach Club Cabana. So many others were trying to get on our tram and the genies had to keep explaining that it was a reserved tram. We got to the Beach Club, checked in at the entrance, and were able to get one of the beds by the pool to lounge in throughout the day. The bed was awesome, but it really was in the wrong location at the club. It was super common for people to stand in the shallow end of the pool right in front of our bed - some to watch for people arriving at the club, but many times for people to just stand and take in the view - not realizing that someone behind them was trying to enjoy the view too. That was such a tiny annoyance though, and I was very easily reminded of how blessed we are, which quickly brought a smile to my face again. We met two lovely couples while hanging at the pool, and we talked for hours. We all combined our reservation so we could continue the conversation at lunch, then sat there for the rest of the day at the lunch table until it was time for us to go back to the ship. Sergii, our server at the restaurant, was extremely attentive to our needs the entire time we were there. He kept our drinks going the entire time - maybe too well, and made sure there was no hunger happening at our table. We made sure to share our appreciation with him in the end. The bartender (I forgot his name, but will provide it later as everyone is asleep now and I can't ask them), had been taking care of our group while we were waiting for our table to be set up. We did a round (or two) of drinks, and then he lined up cups and we did shots of something he called white tea - which was very good. After we were at the table for about three hours, he came over and offered us another round of shots - we did the white tea again, and then told us before we left that we had to do the farewell shot - so we did! It was green, and I have no idea what was in it, but it too was very good. We all exchanged numbers and cabin numbers and have planned to get together in a couple of days. We shared a tram back to the ship and took a few group photos to remember our day together. We got back to our room, showered, and headed out to dinner at Izumi. Yen magically appeared to see how our day was on the island. We chatted about our evening plans for a bit, and then she was on her way and the Izumi manager fawned over us. He shared that Yen contacted him a couple of times throughout our dinner to ensure we were happy. She's so good to us! When we were finished, we headed back to our room and when we got to the elevator, Yen was there again! I'm pretty sure now that she has a tracker on us. Tonight was movie night in our room, and she had popcorn and milkshakes sent up as requested. The popcorn was just like I make it at home, and they even shredded fresh parmesan cheese over it. Yum !! It was most definitely a perfect day! Here are the day 3 Cruise Compasses as promised. Sorry - I just realized there are some glare spots. I'll redo those pics and upload again when I upload day 4 and 5 tomorrow.
    2 points
  40. Day 3 We had a busy day of activities today, so we got up and showered before our coffee and fruit arrived (exactly at 7:30am). WhatsApp and the wifi were acting up for most of the day, so Yen made sure we had her extension for us to call her directly. For the most part, she knew what we had planned, and would appear throughout the day to ensure things were running smoothly. Our day began at Coastal Kitchen, where Yen had arranged for Sid to be our server for the remainder of the cruise. He's so funny! Whenever Tim picked up the pepper to grind it onto his food, he would stop him and tell him that was what he was for. I had asked if they had quiche, and Jacob (CK Manager) got on the phone and called someone. He said they didn't have it, but would have it for me the next day. Wowzers! That's service! From CK, we wandered down to Two70 to check out the menu since we were thinking about that for lunch. We checked out the venue - beautiful space at the aft of the ship. Bingo was coming up, so we found a spot and decided to just wait it out. As soon as the cards went on sale, I hopped in line and got us set up. Five minutes later, the line was all the way down the hall past Vintages. Since we had a while before it began, Kenzie stayed behind and Tim and I went to find something to drink. I wandered down to La Patisserie and got a couple of Starbucks drinks, and a box of a dozen macaroons (something Kenzie absolutely loves). The gal even went into the back and pulled out some additional flavors for us besides what was in the case. I'm pretty sure she is the kind of person who would have done that for anyone, but considering how everyone seems to react when they see our Star Class sea pass card, it could have been the reason. I'm not gonna lie - I really like it !! As we nibbled on the macaroons, we oohed and awed over them quite a bit and compared them to the shop inside the Eiffel Tower where we had the absolute best macaroons ever a few years back. A gal from a nearby table came over and asked us what they were and where she could find them. We offered her one and she declined at first. Then she asked how much they were and we told them they were free to us since we were in a suite. We asked again and she accepted the offer with a huge smile. Tim noticed that there were four of them at the table, and took them the remainder of our box. They were so excited over them ! It was so fun paying that forward ! Such a little thing, but it made them so happy! We didn't win at Bingo, but had fun. The Elton John performer called the numbers and he shared some funny stories. As soon as Bingo was over, Yen appeared at our table and we walked through the rest of the day. We made a couple of alterations to future plans, but then she gave us good news that she was able to get Kenzie into the Coco Beach Club. I don't remember if I had mentioned before that we had added her back onto the reservation after it was sold out. Yen put her on a "priority waitlist" and kept checking for us. Had we not been able to get her in, we would have just cancelled our reservation so we could spend the day together. Now we can all go together! That was awesome news! Since it was lunchtime and we wanted to grab food before our activities, we went back to the Brass & Bock Pub because Tim wanted the Cheddar Ale soup. We got a new server who was rather awkward and he just didn't seem to understand that we needed a minute to figure out what we wanted. We had told him our drink requests and the soup right away, but then said we needed more time. It took him a while to come back with the drinks (which were just water with lemon), and then took him another 20 minutes to come back and ask if we wanted anything else. We told him no, and about 15 more minutes went by and still no soup...and I still didn't have my sea pass card back - which was really bothering me. A manager popped over and asked how things were, so Tim shared. He clearly went to the back and spoke with the server because he came back out with my sea pass card and apologized. Another 15ish minutes went by and still no soup. Tim went back and told the manager to cancel everything. We then went to the Windjammer to grab something quick before Kenzie had to be at the Rock Climbing wall at 2pm. Incidentally, when we sat down with food, a server came over and asked if we wanted any drinks. We ordered waters (Tim gets sparkling, which is an extra fee for those without a drink package), so I gave him our Star Class cards and in a minute we had multiple people clamoring over us. It's really crazy. We got to the rock climbing wall and Yen magically appeared again. She got Kenzie up to the front of the crowd there, and Kenzie got into the harness and special shoes (she had brought socks with her). Kenzie did her thing and then it was on to the IFly. Yen got her all set up for that and we chatted for a bit while Kenzie was watching the video. She asked how lunch was, so I shared some of the details, and she was so apologetic...more on that later. Yen had arranged for Kenzie to go first in her group because we wanted to go to the scavenger hunt at 3:00pm. We made it to the Music Hall in time and I made a quick stop in the little girls' room. By the time I got to the Music Hall, Tim and Kenzie were running around like crazy people. The hunt was to capture photos of items beginning with each letter and bonus points for multiple items starting with the same letter. We had a time limit, and it went fast! We went as far as the casino trying to find something beginning with Q, and we worked up a sweat in the process! We got back with 1 minute to spare and I was panting! The gal counted our items and we had 82! We were declared the winners and our prize were RC zipper pulls and bragging rights. After that, we were exhausted and made it back to our room for some R&R - which means that Tim took a nap and Kenzie and I watched Maid in Manhattan while in a comatose state. It was needed! After a day of nothing and then being away from our cabin for over half the day and running around like lunatics, we were hurting. Yen was able to get us onto the North Star today - third time is a charm! The sun had already gone down and we saw the city lights for miles. It was so cool! Then it was Chops for dinner. After hearing that Jamie's wasn't all that fabulous and then hearing about our Pub experience, I think Yen was on heightened alert for us to have good food experiences. She escorted us into Chops and to our table (that I believe she picked out) and I'm pretty sure had a chat with the server previously (because he addressed us by name when he came over). Yen also brought us a bottle of our favorite wine on board (which was from Jamie's) and we nursed that throughout dinner. That was a nice treat. The food was fabulous! Everything was really outstanding. We did the same thing we always do which is to get several appetizers to share at the table, and then our main courses. At the end of the meal, someone dropped off a dessert that wasn't ordered (the warm chocolate cake), and since it was at the table, Tim knew they would have to throw it out, so he saved it from going to waste. He said it was absolutely outstanding - and that is a lot coming from him. He never eats dessert !! I'm pretty sure that Yen was keeping tabs on us, because as soon as we walked out of Chops, she was there to see how it went. She really is fabulous! We weren't super upset over the experiences or anything, but they were less than desirable, and since she knows we're total foodies, I think she wants to make sure we're satisfied. When we got back to our room tonight, another bottle of our wine was waiting for us. Sorry - I wrote a book again! There's just so much to share! We're really having the time of our lives! Star Class is truly amazing and with the special touches, we sometimes feel like the only people on the ship. Tomorrow is Perfect Day at Coco Cay at the Beach Club! We're excited!! I can't seem to upload the day 3 Cruise Compasses right now because of the internet. I'll get those up tomorrow.
    2 points
  41. 2 points
  42. Of course you may ask! There was no charge for the extended North Star experience on our account. Anything that was normally a charge and got reversed shows in our accounting, but we didn't see anything for North Star. I believe it's no charge for SC.
    1 point
  43. I'll be testing this out in 9 days on Freedom, and will report back! According to the (one!) RCL Rep I spoke to, the 25% discount will apply to already discounted specialty dining purchased onboard. We'll see
    1 point
  44. Thanks. Sounds like we definitely should come prepared then.
    1 point
  45. My wife says it sounds like a perfect excuse to go shopping, lol
    1 point
  46. The one on the left. Oh wait. I’m in the pub and just closed one eye. Now I only see one.
    1 point
  47. Day 5! Final full day. From the daily cruise compass qr code i selected a late departure. Last night i got my luggage tags with a number on it corresponding to my departure group and timing. The RC tv channel and the departure instructions sheet is very informative on what to do in preparation. Spending last day soaking up the intermittent sunshine on way back to Miami. May go talk to nextcruise team to plan an alaska cruise for next year.
    1 point
  48. So if this is an on line contest I sure hope the RC I.T. Dept is not running it.
    1 point
  49. Most special drinks just under 13 but today i got a bloody mary that was 15. Dont know about wine.
    1 point
  50. Zambia-Zaire

    ICON CLASS UPDATE

    Really, you can't go wrong with any view. 270° put the cruisers view closer to the water; neither less, can't go wrong with either one.
    1 point
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