Leaderboard

I realized that I never recapped my thoughts on the UDP. As you remember, this was an experiment for us to see what level of specialty dining is right for us on future cruises. I am glad we tried it, but it will probably be our last time with the full package for a few reasons. On the plus side, we enjoyed all of the specialty restaurants that we tried. There was enough variety of food was enough to keep it interesting on an Oasis class ship with all the different restaurants. The food quality and service was really good. The price is also good when you figure in the cost of UDP for the week divided by the 7 dinners and 4 lunches we had. It added up to less than $20 per meal. On the negative side, there was just too much food. I would probably never eat a full meal at lunch and then follow it up with a full dinner, especially if I had breakfast. I think it may have worked better if the ship had portside BBQ or Playmakers where we could have had a lighter lunch. We also missed having the same waiters for each meal in the main dining room. I definitely can see why some would rather pay extra for the improved food quality vs the MDR, but we like the MDR food. We will definitely still use specialty dining going forward, just not the UDP.

I am on Navigator as we speak. Two of these bags were delivered to our room and I've gotta say these bags are very substantial, very well made, and very attractive. When I get home in a week I'll post some actual photos.

In honor of being -11 degrees and Mt Washington breaking the record for the coolest wind chill (-106 degrees). . . .

Navigator, Freedom, Oasis, Odyssey, and Wonder have them. Mariner does not.

I'm finally packing today (sail on GR tomorrow !!).

Day 4 - Ensenada We stayed on the ship again today, but so did a lot of others. It really felt like a day at sea with fewer things to do. I took a couple of calls in the morning for work, and then we ventured out for breakfast up in the Windjammer. We've found that breakfast at WJ is great for us because of the variety. We wandered around after that and did a lot of people watching and chilling. We grabbed lunch around Noon and then got into our suits for an afternoon in the water. We attempted to enjoy the main pool and sit in the chaise lounges in the shallow water for a while. I had successfully fallen asleep and a mini-human jumped over the middle section into the water next to me, which splashed me in the face and promptly woke me up. We hung out for a while longer and when more mini-humans joined forces, we vacated and went to the Solarium pool. We ended up in the water for over three hours, and were very wrinkled when we finally got out. We attempted the dining room again, and this time I ordered the Chops Grille Filet Mingon for $19.99. I ordered it medium-rare, and was a touch on the rare side, but it was excellent overall. It came with a choice of peppercorn or butter sauce, and I chose the butter. It was just melted butter, and I didn't use it. I ordered a baked potato with it, and they brought out mashed potatoes instead. I didn’t bother saying anything because I finally had good food and the mashed potatoes were fine. After dinner, we wandered around to various venues looking for a place to hang out, and ended the night in the Schooner Bar with the piano music and vocals that were okay. Came back to the 2nd and final towel animal of the cruise. Apparently, they don’t do them every night anymore. I miss them!

We had a 1030-1100 check in time. Got to the port at 1030. Onboard by 1050. No one was inspecting check in times as it really wasn’t necessary. A much nicer experience than boarding in Boston back in October. No one was yelling at people as they went through security The longest wait was actually in traffic leading up to the porters. Security wasn’t bad at all

So true about people not knowing. Our cruise on Allure leaves tomorrow…I snagged the earliest check in time possible on the day check in opened back in December. Meanwhile my SIL (who has never cruised before) waited til a couple weeks ago to check in for herself and BIL and was “so happy the latest check in time was the only one still available…why would you want to get there any earlier than you have to just to sit around and wait?”. I was so baffled by that statement til I realized she was probably imagining it more like checking in for a flight and couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to sit and hang out at the airport for five hours or so before departure.

64 days and counting!!!! Cant wait for the worlds largest cruise ship (for now)!!!!

I have never asked them to serve me multiple of a course at the same time, but any time I have ordered multiples they had my second plate at the server's station waiting for me to finish my first. Since all the dishes are plated separately in the galley I think it's as much a space at the table issue as it is old school proper etiquette. Your server is fetching stacks of plates with lids and bringing them back to their station to distribute for efficiency purposes. That's why you will often see them use an entire plate for a single side order...that's just easier for them to carry to dining room. It shouldn't be an issue to ask for both plates at the same time, but it's going to get crowded at the table when multiple people do this.

We rented a Casita on our last cruise and yes, all day. We like the button you can push service even though we were in front of bar so they were always available! You get water included in an ice bucket and we ended up getting a nice fruit plate that was delivered to us. We liked how we can have a designated space to relax. You choose your Casita location when you sign up on ship.

You should be fine with the day you've reserved. The only time I observed crowds on the pool decks and solarium were during sea days. I believe you'll enjoy the casita (we only live once)!

Maybe the admins can add a 'rainbow' avatar (with LGBT across it) so LGBT members can select and ID themselves should they wish to.

If it helps at all, I just got off Navigator this week and spent every morning of my 3 night cruise up on the jogging track at 5am. At 5am, the chalkboard signs for the reserved casitas already had names on them for the day ("Welcome, Smith Family!"). So, it really is aaaaaall day. I also agree with @14Terry- it was flipping COLD up there on the pool deck! I felt sorry for all the people competing in the belly flop competition - there I was wearing a coat and wrapped in my blanket while they were in swim trunks only... Pool deck and Solarium were NOT crowded, but the hot tubs were!!!

Tonight was the parade of nations with all of the staff carrying their nation's flags. It was really fun. Lot of national pride out on the Dancefloor! today passed by in a blur. At one point the seas got quite rough outside but the ship wasn't bouncing too badly. There was a lot of pushing to shop and use the casino because they had to close those around seven, once we entered Chesapeake Bay. There was a comedian this evening, they had captains corner today, lots of live music both in the day and in the evening, and then they had a flash mob this evening for about five minutes. They've been practicing that Flashmob all week and it was cute. then came the parade of nations which was really nice, followed by a big dance party. My puzzle buddy and I were at the table a couple of times today, but the puzzle table seemed to be newly discovered by families today. Lots of families with kids crowding around wanting to work on the puzzle so my puzzle buddy and I left the table whenever that happened so everybody could get a chair and get a turn. Café latitudes had a long line all day long and naturally, I got one last scoop of Ben & Jerry's. The ceremony honoring the veterans this morning was really nice and they had a very big cake afterwards which was beautiful. I'll include a photo below. I've come to bed relatively early so I can finish my book and donate it to the little library next to the puzzle table. I've got the TV on and of course it's playing the "wash your hands" song. I'm self assist in the morning so I'll be barreling out of here and grabbing a cab for the airport. all in all it's been a good trip and a nice break, which is really all I wanted. And every time I cruise solo, I figure out things that I like, things I don't like, things I want to do differently next time, things that I look forward to each cruise. It's certainly a different experience each time. I mean this time I tried gambling! And had those massages, which I haven't had in years. and with this cruise, I've sailed all of the classes of ships that royal Caribbean offers, so now I have a great frame of reference when planning. Thank you so much to everybody that followed along and commented… It's been really fun sharing my photos and adventures with you. Safe travels!

Well, it didn't really make sense as clearly there were many many couples who chose to not share their table with other couples and were consequently seated at eight-tops all around the restaurant. There were plenty of tables to go around. The servers were on top of things and didn't mind seating people by themselves it was just the hosts that seemed to have been instructed to try to get singles to share.

I'm OK with not making Pinnacle in my lifetime - I don't really need another nametag... LOL - I must say, I do love the cruisers that are very proud to wear those nametags though - I just wish they wouldn't complain to the Diamond concierge about every little thing. My parents are at 163 and never received a crystal block at 140...I wonder how back-logged they are? I'll hit 140 on our next cruise!

More jellyfish in July and August. The longer it's hotter, the more they are there. Use lots of safe sea sunscreen and water shoes. Long sleeve rashguarde swim shirts help too.

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us! Also, thank you for your honest recap of the UDP. My wife and I purchased the UDP for the first time for our upcoming OCT sailing. We usually get the 3-night dining package. I have a feeling we'll come to the same conclusion. We figured we'd give it a try, especially since this upcoming cruise is not as port intensive as the last and we can enjoy some lunches onboard on the sea days.

We turned on every notification thing we could find (for the Royal app) as well as “Always show previews” in the general notifications settings

Thanks for this blog @JohnK6404! I know that I am late in posting this but following this blog has made me pretty excited to sail Wonder in a few months. I feel like everyone has sailed Wonder but me and I sort of put it on the back burner. But I am definitely looking forward to this coming July!

It’s also a way to update your crown and anchor points if they don’t do it automatically after a cruise

We are only staying for 2 days and don't plan to be in the room a lot; so size is really not a concern. A friend stayed there approx 4 years ago and recommended it, especially due to the location.

5 is what they were at anyway. Basically, it prevents them building another pier or allowing more ships in via tendering.

Arrival time enforcement may depend on the port. Recently at Port Liberty in Bayonne, they have been waving people in without checking their times. It seems like it’s pretty much back to the old ways…go in, check in, and then sit in the rows of chairs waiting for boarding to begin. But it is Bayonne in winter. It could be because it’s not very comfortable waiting outside…especially when there is no real seating or shelter area.

Thank you for bringing us along. One day I think I will try a solo trip. Question: if you mail a letter, what post office will it be sent from?

Just to close out this thread -- someone on my roll call found a third-party tour group in Guadeloupe with an acceptable tour, so wife and I joined that for 190 Euro total. And we now have a private tour booked with Beyond the Beach in Martinique; that one is $$$$ -- 320 Euro total for a half-day 5-hour booking, that's just barely 50/50 between driving time and our time at the botanical gardens and Anse Mitan beach. Plus a 15-minute stop at a bakery to grab a quick bite, since the area restaurants get very crowded on Sundays and it would push us into even more expensive full-day booking territory. But it's still a better choice for us than their stock tours, since those include stops we just don't care to do. But I have to say that working with Beyond the Beach was very pleasant, considering I was putting together a booking last-minute, and they definitely tried to help me with making a multi-passenger option that I could post to my roll call. No one was interested, though, so I'm "stuck" with the private booking for just the two of us.

... and if you're by chance sailing on Wonder, they have the most common Starbucks items also available in the Cafe Promenade and they are included in the DBP. We had Starbucks hot/iced coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, and frappuccinos throughout our cruise last month just because we could! LOL!

I certainly get cost:benefit ratio wrong but I never do something that I have decided isn't worth it in advance.

Man, am I ready...

I'm trying this.... everytime I try to save, it just never reloads the page.... Nvm it worked, I was just impatient.

NP, I'm standing on the shoulders of the others who figured it out here.

Does Mr. Bayley need a better razor in that video, or is he going for a scruffy look?

When they see my belly, they know it's good to bring mine both out.

Except that RC clearly states "CBD Oil / CBD Products" are prohibited. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy

Got back from our trip last weekend. She went to the desk when we arrived and they let her switch her time, no problem. The check in process was actually very easy

This is day 1. Strolled through Ocean View Cafe. It's busy, lots of choices beautifully presented. Lunch at Lumanae. Very busy. Service prompt despite this. Extra staff is obvious so is training and experience level. It was very noisy. Surprising. Split pea soup with ham and scallions. Soup was poured from a taurine into a small bowl containing ham and scallions. Very nice. Delicious - one of my Celebrity favs. Kale salad. Small, good for a starter. Quinoa, orange sections, light lemon flavored dressing also nice. Tasty. Steak Frits w/bernaise. A medium sized uncut sirloin a bit fatty and undercooked but tender. Two potatoe wedges as frits. Taste was good. I can think of a lot of ways to improve presentation. Dinner next. Overall B+.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites the two times we sailed out of San Juan. Near a couple restaurants, grocery store, pharmacy and has easy beach access.

Another issue I have with Nassau is the people themselves. I don't expect them to kiss my a$$ but generally, I have found them to be very unpleasant or even rude. Last time I went ashore, I had one vendor very nicely yell about his excursion and when I said, "No thanks," he told me to go f**k myself. I'm sure there are nice people in Nassau but I think I'll just stay on the ship.

A big family group will be on this sailing! Our first time in Star Class, we're going fancy this time.

T Minus 5 days!! OMG! It's Wednesday already! Where did the time go?? I still have so much left on my to do list before we leave for 18 days! I'm normally way ahead of things, but this time I'm almost wishing I had a little more time before the cruise - while at the same time wishing I was already on the ship! I made the mistake of ordering new walking shoes recently, and now I'm in a panic over the fact that both of the two pair I already received were so stiff that as soon as I took one step I lost my socks inside the shoes. I just ordered three more to try and they say they'll be here on Friday. I need a new pair because we plan to be in the gym on this cruise and I've fallen out of love with my current pair. Now, I'm not promising that will actually happen because I've not worked out on a cruise ship yet, but it's on our list! We figure 18 days will ensure we'll finally do it. Hubby always asks me after I go through my shopping phase before a cruise if I have everything and don't need to do this for the next cruise. I always tell him yes, but let's face it - a cruise is just another excuse for a shopping spree! Considering how many cruises we've been on, you'd think he would stop asking! On my massive pre-cruise checklist, there is actually a line item that reads "shop for necessary items" - while some of my shopping may include some unnecessary items, it's still part of the cruise planning and I take it very seriously! Okay - off I go to return the shoes to the Amazon drop off and run some other errands because we're running out of business days!

Back on topic, god I hope they don't bring back the old muster drill. What a regressive step.

90 days and counting! We need to get together at sail away and send Matt a Royal Caribbean Blog fans picture and drink together.

This worked for me. Also was fixed when I went into the app

My favourite thing about Allure is that when on the boardwalk you have a clear line of sight to the water. The other oasis class ships all have the Ultimate Abyss in the way.

I'm on Allure now and it doesn't feel old or outdated to me. I was just on Wonder in June so I do have a good frame of reference.

Yes and no. We planned on doing a whale watch and a trip to Mendenhall but with the schedule switched to just the whale watch, so I didn't see Mendenhall (at least up close, we could see it from the bus on the way to the whale watch boat) so I really can't compare it. From what I've seen, I think the Dawes glacier and it's fjord is prettier and it was cool getting up close to it, and being basically at sea level with the floating ice. We also got to see seals on the ice by Dawes and they were small and camouflaged so I'm not sure we would have been able to see them from the ship, and I don't think they are in the Mendenhall lake (I think it's a freshwater body of water enclosed by land, vs the salt/brackish water connected to the rest of the ocean/inside passage). Along the way the boat's crew kept an eye out for animals, and at one point spotted a bear but it ran away when the boat got close. I think you might see bears and mountain goats, and certainly bald eagles from Mendenhall. They brought us to an area they knew sea lions hung out, which was really cool, and they kept an eye out for whales but unfortunately none of them popped up. From the ship you probably wouldn't have passed by the sea lions (they were hanging out in what the crew called an island but was more like a large floating rock), and you might see whales but the ship wouldn't stop or point them out. So the pros of doing Dawes is a closer, but different view and a potential to see a lot more wildlife. But like you said, canoeing by Mendenhall glacier also means an up close view, and I'm sure your guide will point animals out, but you aren't going to get whales, seals, or sea lions, and I don't think there is that much floating ice. But if you don't do Dawes, you will save a lot of money, you wouldn't be cooped up on a small boat for 5.5 hours, and you wouldn't be as rushed as we were once we got to Juneau. I guess in the end it's hard to compare the experiences, and it's all up to what you want to do. And despite them both being glaciers, they are different.

If anyone is still following along, it looks like I got confirmation that we DON’T sail in the tour boat all the way to Juneau. At some point we do meet up with the ship and get back on (probably around 12:00) before we sail into Juneau.