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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/20/2022 in all areas

  1. Only 2 days for me your 108 will pass in no time btw did i say its only 2 days for me
    8 points
  2. Cruise day. Getting to the ship. I booked our transfers to the ship with Civitavecchia Shuttle Express (https://www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com/) at a cost of €65 for the two of us. This was a shared shuttle. They say on their website that there could be up to 30 minutes waiting time, so with check-in time slot at the pier of 11.30-12.00, I booked the shuttle for 10 am. The day before, I received an email from them telling me the expected pick-up time would be 10.15 and on the morning the driver rang ahead to say he was running about 10 minutes late. So everything went smoothly and as expected. We were the last pick-up, so we headed straight to the port after we were picked up. I don't know if it was because it was a Saturday, but the road into Civi was bumper to bumper; it took us ages to get from the entrance to the town to the ship and we arrived at the terminal just a few minutes before midday. Checking in. This was very fast. We were asked to show all our documents - passports, negative tests (which we had done the morning before at a pharmacy around the corner from the hotel for €20 each, walk-in with no appointment needed) and vax certificates. I did have to explain why mine had what appears to be 2 out of 1 doses (2/1), which is how the EU distinguishes peeps who have had the single dose JJ jab + a booster (I knew this would cause confusion which is why I didn't bother uploading it beforehand) and the check-in clerk also asked us for the approximate dates of all our jabs since the EU (for some unfathomable reason) only shows the date of the very last jab on the certificate. All in all it took about 10 minutes and we were on our way. Once on board we headed to Two70 for a coffee while waiting for the rooms to open up, which they did a very short time afterwards (1 pm-ish, I think). Our room #6622. We had booked an obstructed balcony cabin that I chose on the basis of @twangster's preliminary predictions as to what would be the least obstructed ones. A few months before our cruise, when he was onboard himself, he very kindly took a 360º view for me of the cabin from the promenade deck below it. It's the one above the window to the right of where the two deck chairs are: https://momento360.com/e/u/c6ba50ad727f4f92a675d0cb343994fc?utm_campaign=embed&utm_source=other&heading=543.43&pitch=-2.65&field-of-view=75&size=medium Once inside the room, I was able to confirm that the view is very unobstructed. You can see plenty of water. The cabin next to ours (6624) would have even less obstruction but that is a 3-berth cabin so was not available to us. I would say these are definitely rooms to look out for if you're planning on booking this category. The seating area below us was rarely used so we were not inconvenienced by any noise. You just need to bear in mind that anybody down on deck 5 will be able to see you on your balcony so probably best not to do anything out there that you'd want to keep private! Also, on this ship, the smoking area of the promenade is on the port side, so this being a starboard side cabin there is no problem with being bothered by cigarette smoke. Having dumped our carry-ons we headed up to the windjammer for some lunch before it got busy. I have to say, I found the layout of this WJ somewhat confusing and it was several days before I was able to negotiate it and more or less find the things I was looking for. It was fully self-serve but there were some ready-made plates that you could just pick up. I particularly liked the new salad bowls and had a garden salad pretty much every day at lunch. However, I thought the little deli plates were wasteful. All I wanted was a slice of ham and a slice of cheese but you couldn't get that, just the plates you can see in the pic below, which meant most of the food on the plate was simply left to go in the bin and that bothers me. I would have preferred them to have self-serve trays out like they used to pre-covid. After lunch, we set off to explore the ship and took the opportunity to go up in the North Star. As you can see from the pic, it was a pretty grey day and the heavens opened while we were up there! The other ship in the pic is the Regal Princess. I'm not going to bother posting a bunch of pics of the ship itself since there are lots of them out there and far better than mine but if anyone wants a pic of something specific let me know and I'll see if I have one. Sailaway. We left Civitavecchia 3 hours late, something to do with an issue regarding clearance, but I didn't catch the original announcement so I don't know if any more specific information was provided. Dinner time. We ate all our dinners except one in the MDR, which seemed very busy and chaotic on this first evening. We had my time dining with a table booked for 8 pm every night but it seemed like they improvised rather than having a table allocated in advance (later on, from night 4 onwards, we had the same table every night). However our server was very attentive to our needs. An interesting development on the menu is the appearance of a nightly pie and a curry dish, which usually only show up on cruises with a large British contingent. Wild mushroom soup Two Maryland style crab cakes as my mains just because I like them even though I've been told they're nothing like the real thing. Royal chocolate cake for dessert. One of my favourites (As you can probably tell, I had already eaten the tip of it before I remembered to take a pic! Oops ). DH 's cheesecake and a shared scoop of vanilla ice cream in the background. The show in the theatre after dinner was a singer called Mike McLean. He had a decent crowd and gave an enjoyable show. I very much liked the fact that there were late shows (10.30 pm) on this sailing as we prefer to enjoy the show after our dinner. On ships where the shows are earlier we often miss them because they tend to clash with my gym time and DH's hot tub time. And apart from a quick visit to the very tight-fisted casino, where DH contributed $20 to Royal's coffers, that rounded off our first day on board.
    6 points
  3. People can bring trunks with them? Don't tell my wife. I've finally got her down to 2 suitcases for our 7 night cruises.
    5 points
  4. Back on board, I went to the gym before dinner. As I expected it was nice and quiet then and I got a good session in. What a great gym! Tons of equipment and all good stuff. Fitness freaks and serious athletes couldn't ask for better. And with this view from your treadmill, who wouldn't want to work out! There are though, what to my mind, are a couple of design flaws. Very little open floor space for folks wanting to do a floor workout; and only a single bathroom on the landing outside for use by everyone. Serious gym-goers will be working out for anywhere between an hour and two hours and will be drinking constantly to keep hydrated so proper bathroom facilities are a must. We didn't care for the MDR menu tonight; it's the one with the duck terrine. So we went to the WJ instead where supposedly it was Italian night. Maybe I just missed it but I really didn't see a whole lot of Italian food, just lasagna, polenta, meat balls, chicken parm and canoli. No tiramisu and overall a very poor selection of desserts, so I was a bit disappointed. I did not go hungry though and enjoyed a garden salad (I love that they do these in individual bowls) along with my lasagna and chicken parm. I wasn't impressed with the canoli as it was very dry but the red velvet from the non-Italian desserts was perfect. The evening was rounded off with an excellent comedy/juggling routine by Pete Matthews... Followed by another $20 contribution to the casino by DH. At bedtime, our first towel animal of the cruise was waiting for us. Say "Hi" to Ellie the elephant!
    5 points
  5. Per above I’m fully vaccinated every morning. Anyone over 270 days should see a doctor.
    5 points
  6. VACruiser

    😞 positive test

    One of these days people are going to start to realize that when you are vaccinated and boosted it is from a variant we already know of. When new variants come around it's all bets are off and you are not protected no matter how many shots you've had. At some point we have got to treat the Coronavirus like just another virus that humans get from time-to-time. The good thing is that with every new variant it is getting weaker and we are buiding better immunity against it. One day it will change but not any time soon with our current attitudes treating this as if it is the plague.
    5 points
  7. We docked in Curaçao early this morning. From the ship, it looked like such a colorful town, and it is. For those of you who have been here, you know what I mean. The buildings are all painted bright colors with white trim and it looks so pretty! My tour group met at the dock at 8:15. I had booked a tour called Hato Caves and City Center. This is how it was supposed to go: we meet at the pier and we climb onto a bus. We are driven to the caves and we view the caves. Then we are driven back to the ship and deposited at the pier, or if we want we can be dropped off in town for shopping and then we walk back to the ship from there on our own. Apparently there weren’t enough buses to go around today because everything changed. Instead of getting onto a bus, the guide led us for quite a long walk into town. This was a huge problem for some of the people in the group who had not planned on doing any walking. I mean we had several people in the group who really couldn’t walk, and had planned on riding the bus from the pier to the caves and then back to the pier again. And it was hot already, which made it worse for those struggling. There was quite a bit of grumbling and complaining and the guide got defensive and snappish. She said don’t blame her, it wasn’t her fault. It just all started off kind of badly. So we were off to a rocky start, but just the same, we shambled into town in a straggled out group and the guide did her best to kill 20 minutes talking about a few different buildings. You could see how proud she was of Curaçao and pretty soon people warmed up and the group got a more friendly vibe to it. Eventually the bus arrived and it was a fairly quick drive to the caves. The caves were very interesting. There was a terrible awkward moment though because the guide (a different one), explained to us that we were not allowed to take pictures inside. So we’re walking around the caves and looking at everything and he’s explaining what we’re looking at, and there’s two guys next to me taking pictures. One has his phone without a flash and the other one is using a GoPro and of course the guide did not notice. A fellow cave guide came bustling over to the group and spoke to our guide in a different language and she was angry. The guide looked shocked and betrayed and turned to those two men and asked “did you take pictures?“ Both of them denied it. The other guide said, “HELLO. I SAW YOU.” At which point the guys apologized. I wanted to crawl in a hole out of embarrassment for those guys, doing the one thing our elderly guide had asked us not to do. Why? Why ignore instructions? We pressed on with the tour and there was a pretty big group of us. The caves were really interesting and the guide had quite a lot to say about the different features and rooms within the caves. Occasionally we saw small bats flitting around. At the very end we were led into the largest chamber of all and we were allowed to take pictures in there so we all took a few minutes to pose and pass cameras back-and-forth for pictures. When we finished with our cave tour, we all looked around for our guide, but she had disappeared. Our bus was not there either, it was off picking up some other group. Like I said, they didn’t have enough buses to go around today so they were splitting the load between different groups. But about 10 minutes later it showed up and our guide was on the bus and the air-conditioning felt great. Half of us elected to be dropped in town for shopping and the rest rode the bus back to the ship. I bought a few things, took some pictures, and was back on the ship by noon. Sorrento‘s didn’t open until one and the Park Café was crowded, so I grabbed some sandwiches and cookies at Café Promenade and something at Starbucks and ate on the promenade. I have really spent so much time there this week, it’s turned out to be my favorite spot on this ship. Sidenote: the ice thing again. I ordered a Frappuccino at Starbucks and they did not use enough ice. What is going on? Consequently, it was a little thin and not cold enough. After lunch, I really hit a wall. I’ve been averaging 8 miles a day according to my watch, and I just ran out of gas today. I went to my room and laid around for about four hours, watching TV and sleeping. I also talked to my husband on the phone a couple of times. I’ve been waiting on some news from home and it was good news! So that was a good thing. I got back up and had some caffeine late in the afternoon, made a couple of laps around the ship, and then found the perfect spot to watch sail away. Here’s a question. Why do people cut it down to the absolute wire to return to the ship? We were all warned be back on the ship by 530. At 5:25 the final clumps of people began to drift in, in segments. A family came first, around 5:28 came another couple, at 5:30 came another couple and then at 5:35 came the final couple. And none of them were in a hurry. I don’t get it. I would be in an panic to cut it that close or be five minutes late. It was very kind of the captain not to takeoff without them. The minute those guys boarded we were off. The captain said we were going to travel at a high rate of speed in order to make it back to Florida by early Sunday morning. His definition of a high rate of speed is 20 knots per hour, and I have no clue what that means in terms of speed. He warned us that the ship might be rocking tonight and it is. I have a tote bag hanging from a hook on the wall and it is swinging around and the hangers in the closet are bumping. Dinner at the wind jammer and then I watched the ice-skating show for the third time. Yes, it’s that good! I noticed that the ice-skating people and the aqua theater people perform constantly, but Mamma Mia is only doing three performances, and Jeff Tracta did two. After the ice-skating show I was able to get in and see Jeff’s second show and it was so good. He really is amazing. Then it was time for the big giant event of the evening… The 70s disco party on the promenade! The place was absolutely jammed, I think almost all of the 5000 people on the ship were in the promenade at one time. The crew dressed up in 70s costumes and performed very energetic and choreographed 70s dance numbers to all kinds of different songs and the crowd was going wild. I was right in the middle of it, crushed among the masses, and thinking to myself, “we’re all going to test positive for Covid in a few days.“ But I was waving my arms around and dancing with the best of them. Yes, I chose to take the risk. But I feel like I chose to take a risk just by coming on the cruise, and after a week of being in the jammed Windjammer, the jammed elevators, the busy stairwells, the busy bars, the jampacked theaters, and a couple of tours, I don’t see the point in suddenly deciding I need to social distance. It’s too late. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I’m vaccinated and I’ve had Covid and I have high hopes that if I were to pick it up again, it wouldn’t be bad. My feeling is, if I was very afraid of catching Covid, the last thing I would do is travel. Anyway—then it was into bed where I plan to stay for a long time. Sleeping late tomorrow for sure. We’re looking at two days at sea to wrap up our cruise and I’m ready to do some serious relaxing. When I came back to my room this evening, I was struck by how incredibly warm the hallway is in this one little last section where I am. My room is is warm tonight, not terribly so, but considerably warmer than I would like it. Today I noticed my room steward was wearing wet knee-high rain galoshes. He said the stewards are responsible for hosing off the balconies each week. I had a note that yesterday they would be washing off the boardwalk balconies and to make sure to keep the curtains closed, but I had no idea the room stewards did it. They seem to do everything! lots of organized events tomorrow, and most of them are active. There’s Flowrider competitions, basketball competitions, a hole in one at the mini golf course competition, things like that. Tons of trivia as well and more entertainment in the evening. Another full day! this morning when I was waiting around for my tour to start, the lady behind me struck up a conversation and asked “are you on your own?“ She looked immediately intrigued when I said that yes, I was traveling alone. She’s a travel agent and we chatted about it and she commented on how she didn’t like the fact that even when you travel alone, you still have to pay nearly the full price of two people. Obviously, I don’t like it either, but I understand. If I take up a cabin with just myself, it’s a cabin they could fill with two people, and two people would spend quite a bit more on drinks and dining and spa treatments than just one person, I guess. And if you could get a cabin for half price all to yourself, why in the world wouldn’t people do that all the time and eat up all of the cabins and leave the ship without enough to go around for couples, right? But it would be nice if Royal Caribbean could find someway to make some allowances or perks for solo travelers at some point. I know a few ships have a few solo cabins, but they are awfully scarce. wishful thinking, I guess! But maybe at some point they’ll look at it.
    5 points
  8. I've got 16 days until an Alaska cruise. And I'm practicing by looking out my window at a freak snowstorm hitting the area today.
    4 points
  9. I have really enjoyed this blog I think you have been extremely honest in a balanced kind of way weighing out the good and bad. As others have said, we all know that this has not been the best couple of years for cruising and we as consumers have to weigh the Return On Investment for a vacation. When it gets too hard to justify the money spent fewer people will book cruises and the lines will respond. But, RCL is still 45 Billion in the hole right now and they have to take that into consideration on ship occupation. I'd hate to be the CEO and CFO right now. Awesome blog I'll miss it when you're done.
    4 points
  10. @She Sails Away the sailing to nowhere did not start out that way! 8 Night southern in December, the ship was packed. I remember blogging about the fact our room steward told us they were at 100% minus of course the cabins set aside for "sick people" & people on here verbally assaulting me saying "that's not possible, no way. The steward is lying," mind you the bloggers who responded were not on the ship with us, thus my appreciation for "real reports" like yours! So we did go to CoCo Cay on Sunday, boarded Saturday and the private island on Sunday. But even then we felt something was off. Another ship also was on the Island & the people overwhelmed the staff. But I digress, we sailed down to the beautiful Curacao and the Captain made an announcement, the Island is having a meeting, our Covid numbers are being discussed. Almost every hour he updated us, our excursion time had come and gone we were docked at the Port staring at the beauty, but alas we were not allowed to disembark. This was after about 4 hours, fast forward Aruba would not let us in either. We sailed back and then in circles until we were scheduled to return, the one time I was really ready to leave a ship. The Odyssey was beautiful but staff were dropping like flies, one day our cabin steward was a sweaty mess you could see he was ill, no thank you. Please get well and I declined service the rest of the sailing. We were Sky class & CK was slow due to limited servers and the suite concierge disappeared after night 2. We did our best to make the best out of what we had and Royal did give us 50% of the fare we paid in FCC and the excursions were refunded in a very timely manner. I said it then, Royal was now in the position of only hurting themselves if they were not careful. As an aside I did hear a couple talk about just creating their antigen test results from taking a previous negative test and changing the dates to avoid the test again, smh we as passengers do have a responsibility to to abide by the protocols, but I also place blame on Royal for ramping up capacity way too fast. We are still happily sailing in June & July to use our FCC's and are fully aware of our responsibilities and exposure, we will be careful & enjoy but as I said before taking a break for a minute, some land exploring is now in order. The picture you just posted of Curacao, that is all we saw on that sailing I love that you are positive and making the most of it!
    4 points
  11. JennyB

    😞 positive test

    I mean, I'd rather get it AFTER the cruise and not while ON the cruise. But please know I just prayed for you. That is all.
    4 points
  12. My soon to be 12 yr old (who has been cruising since she was 8 enjoys the following.......in no particular order - swimming - hot tubs - Karaoke - Trivia - Every show, every night - Frequent trips for hot chocolate - Bingo - Rock wall All of which have absolutely nothing to do with the kids/teen club because neither of kids like that....we tried once and they said "it feels like we are in daycare" and I didn't want to do that to them on their vacation since at the time they were in daycare 5 days a week after school and on days off from school
    3 points
  13. If you become a regular cruiser (ie, at least once a year), you'll find that by cruise 3-4 you'll be packing about half of what you packed on cruise 1.
    3 points
  14. On Harmony now and the Bistro is open! Went there for breakfast and checked it out for lunch. It's nice and a bit less crowded than the Windjammer. Maybe a slighter smaller selection but still worth going there.
    3 points
  15. Vaccines were never developed to prevent infection (though that was seen early on after they came out with the alpha variant that was predominant at that time-not since delta variant though) , they were developed to prevent severe disease and death. its a virus, very difficult if not impossible to eliminate transmission.
    3 points
  16. Grandpa (me) has been trying to host a cruise for the entire family since 2019 only to have every attempt cancelled. Even though it looks like we will finally be sailing on 8 July from Cape Liberty, unfortunately two of my daughters, their husbands, and their children won’t be with us due to the requirement that kids 12 and over be vaccinated. But my other two daughters, their husbands, and their children will be traveling with Grandpa and Nana! I have booked them all in Grand Suites and everyone is exited to be going. Maybe we’ll see you onboard.
    3 points
  17. Leroyr55

    😞 positive test

    Unfortunately things seem to be going backwards in Pa. Two school districts outside of Phila just reinstated mask policies. Our county now has high transmission rates according to CDC. We were at low three weeks ago. Wife is on Plaxovid so hopefully that helps. Thanks for everyone asking about her.
    3 points
  18. Sailing to nowhere? That sounds awful. How did they make that announcement? How did the passengers take it? Did they offer any kind of compensation? thank you for your kind words and following along with me on the blog! I agree with you about this website being a gem. And I agree with you about video bloggers… I follow many and some of them, although I very much enjoy them, are always so positive and cheerful… You have to wonder if that’s 100% true. You know? I mean any form of travel, cruise or not, is going to have those less than perfect moments, like the food is not good or the shower’s not hot or what have you. We don’t hear those “real” things. La Lido Loco did a five minute video about this Covid-on-board topic and got a bazillion comments on YouTube, most of them people sharing their horror stories. We don’t have many places to share info like that, and it seems like essential information to help people make informed choices about their travel plans.
    3 points
  19. @She Sails Away I'm following this thread and when I see my notification I look forward to what you have written. The excitement, the good and bad is really a great read. I feel like I'm there with you, I'm enjoying it so much and love your attitude about it all.. I second the gratitude for your honest and insightful comments...... @Hoebo123 oh no, I'm so sorry! Im a big if its meant to be the universe works kind of person, 5/28 seems like its going to be crazy for multiple reasons. Take good care and feel better soon, I'm sure the replacement sailing will be even better!
    3 points
  20. There will be a promo, but will it be a sale?
    3 points
  21. Most likely, but, judging from the prices I've seen in the Cruise Planner the past few months, it's gonna depend on your own personal definition of "SALE".
    3 points
  22. TMiller

    Royal Up

    Anyone else checking their bid multiple times daily to see if they got it? We’re 24 days out, and not knowing is driving me nuts. I don’t expect to get it, but they sure do make you wait for it. Anyone else obsessed with checking? Just me? Carry on then.
    2 points
  23. CruiseCulture

    NAAT test

    Wow….just learned something…I’ve been signing my unvaccinated kids up for the PCR for the past several cruises not realizing they could take the rapid NAAT. Thanks blog!
    2 points
  24. @leesam82 agreed which is why I find it odd with all the pearl clutching when it inevitably does happen. People should know by now what they are signing up for when they cruise now.
    2 points
  25. No real restrictions, but I promise you won't need as much as you think!
    2 points
  26. TonyYOW

    😞 positive test

    I also don't understand how it's in Orange. I can see other cabins around us also have people quarantining. And honestly, if not my own test kits I brought from home with me, nobody would ever realize one of us is positive. In theory we could've enjoyed the rest of our cruise. Which, I'm sure, is currently happening to many families on the ship who are asymptomatic and keep enjoying their time. I just decided to do the right thing and let them know.
    2 points
  27. That was us last week. Great room service, non-existent medical follow-up in my experience. Very poor communication about what to expect. I'm sorry you are going through this. On my Oasis sailing it was clear they didn't want to test and really tried to minimize everything. How they are not listed as a RED ship on the CDC color scale I do not know.
    2 points
  28. If you decide to do that, be sure and see Herculaneum (Ercolano). IMO it is a better ruin of Vesuvius than Vesuvius. It is much smaller and easier to see plus waaaay less strenuous. I also think it is better preserved. Don’t call it “Herculaneum” to the locals though ! They will say they’ve never heard of it ! Herculaneum is a Greek name and they will only respond if you refer to it as Ercolano !
    2 points
  29. Yes, I use MEI also and have received reductions on almost every cruise.
    2 points
  30. Print maps of ports, pack, repack, get deet for mosquitoes, review spreadsheet (this could be me only), find port restaurants, review ship deck plans for at least 15 times, no matter how tempted- do not buy uli knives, review glacier ice colors to know what it means, study lyrics of wash your hands, discipline yourself to sit by windows along the inner passage (whales), learn Alaska jokes like: while hiking put a small bell on your backpack to alert bears. Also study up on bear scat. Easy to ID. It is the one with a small bell in it.....
    2 points
  31. Oh, and if you are nuts, then all of us on this site are nuts as well!!
    2 points
  32. leesam82

    😞 positive test

    100% true. I hope that everyone is only experiencing minor symptoms. It is very hard to have a 0% transmission rate. What any place where you have a gathering of individuals there is a chance to get covid. All you can do is try and minimize the risks as much as possible. I went on the Anthem of the seas with non vaccinated kids last year during covid came back fine. Went to Disney/universal in April came back with covid. My family and I lucked out because all of our symptoms were mild. I will be on the Oasis in a few weeks. If I were advising the RCL executive leadership I would tell them not to ramp up to full capacity not really for covid prevention, but more for the fact that there are staffing and supply issues.
    2 points
  33. I found this thread as i was placing my RoyalUp Bids and found it so helpful, so thought I'd share my experience too! I just got notified this AM that I "won" the bid for a Grand Suite - 1 bedroom for my upcoming sailing on 6/27/22 on Symphony of the Seas Adriatic sailing. I couldn't believe I got notified so far before the sailing (38 days)! We originally booked an ocean view stateroom and I bid pretty much the minimum amount (maybe ~$20 above, I can't remember exactly) which was $550 pp. Still in shock that we got such a massive upgrade! I usually cruise with my mom and we always book interior cabins, so even booking a window stateroom was a treat for me. I'm going to be so spoiled after this . I also bid on the owner's suite (that one got cancelled within a day or so), Ocean View Balcony and Spacious Ocean View. I did almost the minimum on those too.
    2 points
  34. Yes, we have! I have 1 son who will be 14 by then. Soooo much fun and things to do! On our March cruise, it was the first time he went to the teenage club and had a blast. All of you are going to love! We have done Zip Line and IFly too!
    2 points
  35. @She Sails Away, this account epitomizes the "brave" part of solo cruising to me! I could tell from your story that serendipity played a large part, as it often does (i.e., feeling bad that you hadn't planned anything, overhearing the gentleman (Edmond)'s conversation about his tour, seeing that there were other people already on the truck, having just the right amount of $ in your wallet). However, it did take courage to make the leap onto the tour, and I'm so glad you did! Thank you for sharing your story -- it was inspirational to me, as that's something I wrestled with on my solo cruises -- trying to do different things, but doing them safely and within reasonable bounds of my comfort level.
    2 points
  36. LudlowJim

    😞 positive test

    I feel so badly for you. Our party of 4 got off Serenade last Sunday (May 15) in Vancouver after a beautiful Alaska cruise- drove back to the US and all 4 of us tested positive on Monday. We are on Paxlovid and will be ok, but my main worry are the good people in the towns of Southeast Alaska we visited who just have small health clinics..I hope we didn't get them sick. Royal needs to step up and be responsible, perhaps provide test kits for everyone to use before getting off in the port stops? This isn't looking good.
    2 points
  37. I know you were looking forward to this cruise. It sucks that it wasn't the best experience, and that communication was better. I sailed on Harmony in Jan, and we were down a Genie. As this was my first star class sailing, during covid, I wasn't as upset with the lack of everything. However, on a full sailing, the services of a Genie are much needed, and I would have expected not only clear communication but some restitution. I hope your travel companions have better luck next time.
    2 points
  38. I, for one, am most curious as to what type of emergency the CD would be best suited to address?
    2 points
  39. I hope your wife is feeling ok. Do you have any symptoms ? Feel better....both of you !
    2 points
  40. small fan. phone for photos only. other than that i'll just buy anything else i'd need. just get me on a ship.
    2 points
  41. We were on the Symphony in Dec and Oasis the end of Jan beginning of Feb and found the Solarium better on Symphony but the Windjammer better on Oasis. Both were good but one was better than the other respectively. Go figure?
    2 points
  42. So far Stepan has been very responsive and e-mailed us back sometimes with in the hour, but no more than the next day. He did confirm that the Star class WOW bands will be available for our sailing and every request has been granted so far. (Although we haven't asked for anything too crazy :)) We are now 3 weeks out and getting very excited!
    2 points
  43. Our pre-cruise day in Rome. Morning. With only one full day in Rome before the cruise I wanted to ensure we made the most of it, while also getting in the visit to the Colosseum. Having visited the Vatican on a previous trip, but never central Rome, and to avoid us simply wandering around aimlessly, I booked us on the "free" walking tour "Marvels of Rome" through Guru Walks: https://www.guruwalk.com/walks/37444-marvels-of-rome-walking-tour This gave us a decent overview of the monuments in the centre of Rome. The guide was not the one originally indicated (Colin) but his replacement (Paulo) was excellent, very knowledgeable and passionate about his subject. The only issue I had with the tour was that the group was far too big, over 50 people, which prevented any meaningful interaction with the guide. However, for the cost of the €20 tip at the end, it was fine. The tour was followed by lunch in a side street off the Piazza Navona that the guide pointed out to us at the end of the tour, after recommending we avoided eating on the square itself.
    2 points
  44. I rarely post but as I am on an upcoming Ovation cruise, I wanted to weigh in. We have only sailed Star since the restart. Our first cruise was lackluster at best. Nothing comparable to a pre-covid Star (which we have also sailed) experience. We are a family of 3, not very needy in the request to Genie experience. What we dealt with was lost bags, poor service and slow wait times. Things everyone deals with. We don’t care about the opinion of folks that sail every week and defend RCL due to Covid. Bottom line up front…we don’t all sail every week. We save thousands, spend thousands to give our families an amazing experience. It is RCLs responsibility to provide customer satisfaction. I do not need to understand I dang thing about their bottom line. They fail…someone will buy their ships and I will still sail. They are a business. I will support the best value for my dollar. Having been disappointed in Star, I can only imagine the disappointment for folks that dont have genies. For all you defenders of this company, You need to look at what keeps the ship afloat. Customer Satisfaction. I am tired of old timers telling me I should lower expectations for the company. They have ended many Covid related programs that protect me. Not to mention, FCC is expiring and Royal spent many months taking those 90 day deposits in the outset. Defend as you will, I am Diamond Plus and ticked. Not about brand loyalty but burned up about old timers telling new folks to expect less. They shouldn’t. Food for thought, my upcoming Ovation cruise will cost 51 per night. Doesnt sound like much until you divide it by 365. That is right. My upcoming cruise, without added excursions, cost 51 per night for an entire year. You are damned right I expect a Royal experience. Us whales keep the fleet afloat.
    2 points
  45. Ate at Solarium Bistro on Odyssey for dinner in March. Made Dinner reservation in cruise Planner. Food very good-mediterranean themed. Breakfast was never crowded. Keep in mind that the Dinner menu does not change daily. I would recommend trying 1 or 2 nights. Menu posted above is same as we had.
    2 points
  46. On Wonder of the Seas the secret was out about the Solarium Bistro. Went there for Breakfast a few times and it was so crowded and so noisy. Believe or not, went to the Windjammer, it was peaceful, no lines and everyone was patient and calm compared to The Bistro. The new design for Windjammer on Wonder is great I was impressed with it. I never went to Windjammer on any of my cruises but I did on this cruise and I was not to traumatized. You can make reservations for the evening meals once onboard in the App. It definitely was not as crowded as it was during breakfast. The few times we ate at Hooked we could see down and it seemed very pleasant.
    2 points
  47. TMiller

    Royal Up

    Glad I’m not alone.
    1 point
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