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  1. Hi everyone, I know we get heated debating which dessert is the best one to order, or if a balcony room is worth it, but let's keep these basic rules in mind when chatting here. No profanity No personal insults No political discussion This includes tropes about politicians and generalizations about political parties No debating religion Keep your posts relevant and accurate to each specific thread. We can all have our little fun within each thread but please make sure the information you're putting out there is correct and current. Topics not related to Royal Caribbean may be removed. Posts or comments encouraging cruisers to break any Royal Caribbean policy is not allowed and will be removed.
    150 points
  2. Okay, I'm just relieved that this is direction this thread is headed in...
    85 points
  3. I am happy to announce that I will be joining the brand new Odyssey Of The Seas this week. I look forward for the opportunity to go back to work, and once again help create vacation memories for Royal Caribbean passengers (you guys)! Watch out for my upcoming videos on YouTube. Chris Wong
    48 points
  4. Hi guys. I’m here to share my recent experience with RoyalUp, a program that allows people with existing reservations to bid for an upgrade to a higher room category. The reason why I’m sharing my experience is because prior to and after the upgrade, I had a ton of questions that I’ve been trying to look for answers all over the internet but couldn’t find any. Hence, I’d like to share my experience with everyone and hopefully it can give some answers to my fellow cruisers! A brief introduction: (or skip to the end for the answers to the “FAQs”) I’ve booked a last minute 4-night sailing onboard Quantum of the Seas in Singapore, also known as Cruise to Nowhere. It is basically a hospitality restarting program by the Singapore government with no ports of call. Strict restrictions are also put in place for the safety of the guests. I’ve booked a Junior Suite (J4) for me and my wife. The price displayed on the RC’s booking website was SGD 1399pp for 4-nights before pre-paid gratuities and port taxes. There wasn’t any other suite options left for booking, which I presumed was fully booked. Almost immediately after completing the reservation transaction, I received the RoyalUP email, and invited me to place a bid to a higher room category. Even though I could clearly see that none of the higher suite categories were available for booking, I still decided to give it a try at bidding for RoyalUp. Long story short, I placed bids on all categories, ranging from Grand Suite to Royal Loft Suite and kind of forgot about the whole RoyalUp thing. Until around 24 hours before the sailing, I received an email saying that my bid for a Grand Loft Suite was successful. My bid amount was SGD 1210 per person hence SGD 2420 was charged to my credit card on file immediately. In general, I paid about $2710 per person ($1399 (JS) +$1210 (RoyalUp) +$100 taxes and pre-paid gratuities) I’ve checked the price of a Grand Loft Suite on a different sailing date, and it cost around SGD 5400 per person and before taxes. Which means, I’ve gotten nearly a 50% off the original price. From Junior Suite to Grand Loft Suite is a big jump. In terms of Royal Suite class, it was upgraded from Sea Class to Star Class. At this point, I was very excited! But at the same time, I have a lot questions that needs answers to. To be honest, even with a “huge discount”, SGD 2710 (SGD 5k+ for 2 people) is almost double the original budget hence to me, it is still a lot of money to fork out for a 4-day vacation. As we know, Grand Loft Suite is a Star Class suite and it is practically All-Inclusive such as free specialty dining, deluxe beverage package, internet package etc and it comes with a Royal Genie. So naturally, some questions flashes through my mind, and since it was an upgrade through RoyalUP: “Am I going to get a Royal Genie as well?” “Will I be treated differently in terms of services than those guests who paid the original price?” “How about the things I’ve pre-paid on Cruise Planner such as beverage package and internet package since my suite already includes all those packages?” I’ve tried searching for answers on the internet but I couldn’t find any. However, after I’ve completed my sailing, I kind of gotten all the answers I needed. So now, I’m going share them with you guys. My very own set of FAQs: Q: Am I going to get Royal Genie as well? A: Yes! Even though I gotten the upgrade 1 day before the sailing, the Royal Genie got in touch with me via WhatsApp on the morning of the sailing and she already took the liberty to arrange all the activities for us! She already pre-booked all the shows, specialty dinning and some activities such as iFly and Flow Rider. And she was extremely flexible and accommodating on all our requests to change meal timings, shows timings. All you need to do is just let her know your preference and leave everything to her. Q: Will I be treated differently in terms of services compared to those guests who paid the original price? A: Not at all. From my observations, only 2 groups of service crews knew you are an “upgrader”. They are the Royal Genie, and the cruise terminal staff. Usually, Genie will contact you 1 month before your sailing to get to know you better. However, she does know that you are an upgrader since she contacted you just 1 day before the sailing, not the usual 1 month. As for the cruise terminal staff, our information was given to them by the cruise line at the very last minute hence our information was “hand-written” on their paper. They did “congratulate” us on the successful upgrade by the Cruise Line which is why I knew they knew we were an upgrader. Nevertheless, they escorted from the moment we reached the terminal until being handed over to the Royal Genie. Very good service rendered. Q: How about the things I’ve pre-paid on Cruise Planner such as beverage package and internet package since my suite already includes all those packages A: They will be refunded to you and the Royal Genie made sure of that. It will be under “refundable” onboard credit and you can requested to get them in cash on the last night of the cruise. Otherwise, it will be refunded to your credit card. Q: How about my SeaPass card? Will I be recognized as a Star-Class guest? A: You will be identified as a Star Class guest on your SeaPass card, not the original room category that you were booked on. Q: Do I get the same perks and benefit listed under Star-Class suite even though I’m an upgrader? A: Yes! Complementary Dining Package, Beverage package, internet package, complementary mini-bar for the whole cruise with replenishment daily, complementary room-service, complementary laundry (I don’t think they set a limit on the quantity of clothes). For Izumi, there is no limit in terms of the amount you can order. If you have a Ultimate Dining Package, I believe per meal you will get USD35 credit per person for Izumi as it is based on A-la-carte pricing. But for Star-Class, there is no limit on that. The wait staff made it known to you before you order. Q: How about those chargeable activities? A: For our sailing, the chargeable activities are iFly (~$40) and Northstar (~$20) and strictly by reservation only. However, with the help of our Genie, reservation was done before hand. There is no charges for Star-Class guest for these activities. However, you are only entitled to 1 free session for each of these 2 activities. If you would like to go for a second-time, you will have to pay the charges. All other FAQs regarding Star-Class: Q: Can Royal Genie fulfill all your requests? A: Yes and No. I’d emphasize that your request must be reasonable. If you would like to change your dinner venue to another restaurant at the very last minute, you can kindly check with her. Most of the times it can be fulfilled. However, if the restaurant is full, she might suggest to change to an earlier or a later time for you. I’m not sure what kind of magic they have, but I’m definitely against them pulling out other guests from their original dining timing just to slot you in. Firstly, you are putting Genie in a difficult position, secondly, you are causing unhappiness to the affected guests. So I’d suggest to give the Genie some leeway. Do not force you request onto them. If it can be done in a gentle way, go ahead. If not, please do not force or blame them. Q: Do I need to tip the Royal Genie? A: Absolutely. They are not a receiver of the automatically gratuity system on board. Hence, the tips relies solely on you. Royal Genie is not just a regular butler, they are there to learn about you and make arrangements for you which you didn’t even think of. My wife somehow mentioned to the Genie that this is our 2nd anniversary trip when we were casually chatting. (but did not mention in details). The Genie caught it and arranged for a surprise decoration and cake in the room for us. My wife and I were surprised as initially, we really can’t figure out how she knew about our anniversary. It is only when we tried to recall every single thing we said to the Genie, and realized that it must have slipped out of our mouth at certain point. Their attention to details are just simply unbelievable. Hope this post is useful for whoever is looking for the same answers as I did. Happy cruising!
    47 points
  5. Pooch

    Thank the good Lord!

    6 tests over 3 states & 4 households all negative!! Harmony here we come
    46 points
  6. I've had an opportunity to cruise a few cruise lines during this 2021 cruise restart. All of them have been with reduced capacity. Having recently encountered two terrible boarding day procedures I've got give credit to Royal Caribbean for implementing the best boarding day process I've experienced. On those other lines it took hours for me to board the ship. Neither of them improved the muster drill routine to a notable extent. For both the other cruise lines their boarding day process cast a dark cloud on the start of my cruise vacation and in both cases it took a few hours after finally getting on board before it felt like I was on vacation. Even then I felt exhausted and didn't feel like doing very much on the first night. Contrast that with Royal where I was car to cabin in 20 minutes. Upon boarding I was free to grab a bite to eat and a beverage then I could visit my muster station at my convenience for a one-on-one safety briefing that took less than 60 seconds. Upon boarding Royal I immediately felt like I was on a cruise vacation. It was like I got an extra cruise day to enjoy. I was quickly into vacation mode and it was all stress free. I will say people arriving before their appointed time is a problem on all cruise lines. Don't be that person. If you arrive before your time you are part of the problem and you deserve the long wait times you will encounter. However once you are allowed inside the terminal there is no excuse for the other cruise lines to make boarding such a stressful and lengthy process. Hat's off to Royal for creating the best boarding day process.
    44 points
  7. UPDATED 13 February 2024 (Added Allure's return in 2026. Removed Liquor Taxation Section - Have not seen them in the terminals since 2022.) Galveston is home to Royal Caribbean's newest Cruise Terminal, a state of the art zero energy facility, and was home port for the 2023 President's Cruise on Allure of the Seas. Celebrity Cruises has advised that we should not be surprised to see one of their ships in Galveston at some point. Galveston is the fourth busiest cruise port in the USA and the 9th busiest in the world. Cruise ships calling Galveston their home port include: Harmony of the Seas - 225,282 GT - 5,484 Guests - 7 night sailings (Repositions to Barcelona 16 Mar 2026) Allure of the Seas - 225,282 GT - 5,496 Guests - 7 night sailings (Arrives 17 Mar 2026 from Fort Lauderdale) Voyager of the Seas - 137,276 GT - 3,602 Guests - 4-6 night sailings (Repositions to Barcelona 1 May 2024) Mariner of the Seas - 139,863 GT - 3,344 Guests - 4-5 night sailings (Arrives 6 May 2024 from Port Canaveral) Jewel of the Seas - 90,090 GT - 2,191 Guests - 8-11 night sailings (Arrives 8 Nov 2024) Norwegian Prima - 142,500 GT - 3,215 Passengers (Winter Home Port now through Mar 2025) Norwegian Escape - (Dec 2024 Sailings) Norwegian Viva - (Winter Home Port starting Dec 2025) Carnival Jubilee - 182,800 GT - 5,374 Passengers - LNG Powered Carnival Dream - 130,000 GT - 3,646 Passengers Carnival Breeze - 130,000 GT - 3,690 Passengers Carnival Miracle - 88,500 GT - 2,124 Passengers (Arrives 16 Oct 2024 from San Francisco for 9-12 night cruises) Carnival Legend - 88,500 GT - 2,124 Passengers (Arrives 22 Oct 2025 from San Francisco for 4-14 night cruises) Regal Princess - (Winter Home Port Sep-Mar) Disney Magic - (Winter Home Port each year) MSC - has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Port of Galveston to build a fourth cruise terminal! Cruise Terminal 10 Information Cruise Terminal 10 is owned and operated by a 50/50 partnership of Royal Caribbean and Ceres Terminals Inc. on land leased from the Port of Galveston. Ceres helped fund the project and will provide stevedoring and terminal operations. As the world's first zero-energy cruise terminal you can expect to find innovative design throughout this facility in things you see and also things you don't see. Below is a map of the new terminal area and parking lots operated by the Port of Galveston. In addition to surface parking lots, the Port offers covered and indoor parking. All parking lots have covered shuttle bus stops with buses circulating continuously to the cruise terminal, and there are plenty of covered walkways for a comfortable stroll from the walkable parking areas to the terminal. Electric Vehicle chargers will soon be available to the west of the South Lot. My favorite parking option: North Premium Covered Lot - it's only a few feet from the cruise terminal and it's covered. It's also the highest price option. Go to the Port's parking information page for more information and sign up for their loyalty program. You'll get an immediate $5 discount on your first reservation, the loyalty program equals a 10% discount on future parking, and they will send periodic discount codes that can all be combined for savings. Disabled veterans also get a discount. Tip: you will find less expensive options by using off-site parking operators which I have listed below in the Parking section of this post, which also has information on other things to consider regarding parking. Luggage can be dropped off at the terminal on Royal Caribbean Circle (see map above). Upon entering the terminal building, General check in is located up the escalators on the left (west) end of the terminal, while Suites and Pinnacles check in is located up the escalators on the right (east) end of the terminal. The door at the right (east) end of the terminal on Royal Caribbean Circle is also the entrance for Suites, Pinnacles, and Star Class guests. Star Class drop-off is at area 6 (purple columns on Royal Caribbean Circle). When disembarking at Cruise Terminal 10 there is facial recognition for quick passage through Customs and Border Protection. Then you claim your luggage and make your way out of the terminal to the pick up area on Royal Caribbean Way. As you can see on the above map, the embarking passenger ground transportation area (on Royal Caribbean Circle) is distinctly separated from the disembarking passenger ground transportation area on Royal Caribbean Way for better traffic flow. Planning & Tourist Info You can't beat this website for information on everything that is happening in Galveston: www.galveston.com Transportation Fly into HOU (Houston Hobby Airport) if you can. It's much closer to Galveston than IAH (Bush Intercontinental Airport) and you won't have the Houston traffic to deal with. Tip: my favorite airline option is JSX, a "semi-private" airline that uses private jet terminals at several airports across the country. You can essentially fly "private" and avoid crowded airport terminals, for about the price of a first class ticket. JSX flies to Houston Hobby Airport and disembarks in one of the private terminals. Here are some options for getting to Galveston from the airport: Galveston Saltwater Moms - my first choice for transportation to Galveston... a highly rated "personal driver" service. You book by sending them a personal message on Facebook. They are a licensed Transportation Provider with the Port of Galveston, which means they can legally operate at the cruise terminals. They have a $500,000 bond and commercial liability insurance. Give them a try as an alternative to the big guys. I've used them and had a great experience! Galveston Limo - provides very affordable shared rides from the two Houston airports with either their scheduled service or you can arrange a private car. Owned by a local family of good folks. Galveston Express Lyft and Uber - Lyft and Uber are the approved major rideshare companies operating at the Port of Galveston. The agreement with Uber was approved on 24 Mar 2023. Blacklane - a premium option for upper end vehicles like Black Sedan or Black SUV. You can reserve days or weeks in advance and cancel up to 1 hour prior to pickup time. Rates include gratuities, professional drivers, no "peak" surcharges or port surcharges. Drivers show up when scheduled. A bit more expensive but worth the price to reduce the stress you have with Uber/Lyft drivers canceling or having peak rates when departing the ship. I've used Blacklane in Galveston and Los Angeles with good results. If you use black sedans or SUV's with Uber/Lyft, I find Blacklane to be similarly priced, and sometimes lower priced during peak pickup times. Enterprise Rent A Car - Enterprise is the only rental car company on the island. You should be able to rent from Enterprise at the airport and drop it off on the Island. The Island location is open on Saturday (before Covid it was also open on Sunday). Check with Enterprise directly for updated hours and shuttle arrangements. Here are a couple of transportation options for your departure after your cruise: The pickup zone for Lyft and Uber is at the far northeast side of the terminal on Royal Caribbean Way. When you exit the terminal, turn left, and walk to the Uber/Lyft sign in Zone 1. If you prefer to take a taxi to the airport, turn right as you exit the terminal, cross the street toward the east side of the covered parking area and there will be several taxis ready and waiting. Here's a photo of the fixed fare rates as of 30 July 2023: Arriving By Car I-45 is undergoing several phases of construction that will continue into 2024 and beyond. TxDOT is widening I-45 all the way to Galveston Island so expect some delays and congestion. I-45 south ends on Galveston Island. When arriving on the island, if you turn off at the "Cruise Terminal" exit (Harborside Drive) you will hit a traffic back-up as you approach the cruise terminals. To avoid this traffic jam, as you drive down I-45 and arrive on the Island, continue straight on Broadway as the interstate ends and follow these directions: If you've reserved parking through the official Port of Galveston website, continue straight on Broadway as the interstate ends. Continue to 14th street and turn left. Follow 14th and it will take you straight into the entrance to the Cruise Terminal 10 area. This route will avoid the lengthy backup on Harborside Drive. As you enter the Cruise Terminal area, follow the signs to your pre-arranged parking lot or to the drop off or pick up areas. Parking If you search "Galveston cruise parking" you will see plenty of parking options. I highly recommend making a reservation on line with one of the parking companies, especially if you want an indoor space as these will sell out (especially now, with so many ships sailing from Galveston). Prepaying usually gets you a 5-10% discount and a guaranteed parking space. Things to consider in addition to price: Elevation - heavy rains can quickly flood the streets of Galveston, and not just during a hurricane. Leaving your car in an elevated spot will provide peace of mind against flooding if an unexpected storm comes in. Inside Building, or Outdoor Lot? - outdoor surface lots are cheaper, but your car is exposed to the south Texas sun and weather. A building provides better protection and security. Discounts & Loyalty - there are extra savings if you sign up for loyalty programs online and apply for any applicable discount. Reserve your parking after your account is set up and tagged with the applicable discount. You can combine loyalty and one discount but you can't have multiple discounts. The loyalty programs often mail discount codes to members. Security - parking lots are fenced and gated. Buildings are enclosed and locked. Some facilities have security cameras. The Port of Galveston claims that the Port Police patrol their lots 24/7 which you won't find at the private parking lots. Electric Vehicle Charging - more and more lots are offering EV chargers. If you drive an EV like I do, you will appreciate having your car fully charged when you disembark. This perk is currently free at all parking facilities where it is offered. The Port of Galveston will offer EV charging for an additional fee by scanning a QR code and paying online after parking at the charger. Remember that even a 110 volt plug will fully charge your car over the course of several days, so bring you charge cord as some lots offer 110V outlet access. Here is my comparison of some of the parking options. I have used Port Parking, EZ Cruise, and the Port of Galveston parking all without any issues. Hotels Galveston hotel prices are quite variable depending on day of week (weekends obviously much higher), whether there are major events happening, and the season (summer is the busy season here). Booking hotels during Mardi Gras (February), Lone Star Biker Rally (early November), Art Walk (every 6 weeks) and other major events will be much more expensive. Some hotels have a 2 night minimum on weekends. Ever since travel resumed following Covid, hotel prices on Galveston Island have gone way up. I love staying on the island before a cruise, but if the price is too high I stay along I-45 in Webster, League City, or Texas City where you'll find much lower hotel rates. Note that I-45 exits south of Webster can be very congested, especially during morning and afternoon rush hours. There are a couple of hotels near the port and the historic Strand District in Galveston, but no hotels are near the Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal 10. It's a great idea to arrive a day or two early and enjoy the island ambiance. The Harbor House overlooks the port area and Cruise Terminals 25 and 28, and is very convenient to many nice restaurants, museums, and shopping. The Tremont House is also very walkable to the Strand, nice restaurants, museums, and shopping. This is my preferred pre-cruise hotel and is now a Marriott Tribute property. The Tremont House is located in a beautiful historic building. The Tremont's rooftop bar has wonderful views of the island and port area and has been under renovation with a planned re-opening in the fall of 2023. The lobby bar has live jazz on most Thursday nights. There are plenty of other hotels on the Island, many along the Seawall facing the Gulf of Mexico. Hotels providing transportation to the port or offer park & cruise options can be found here. Call the hotel that you are interested in to confirm that they provide cruise parking. Galveston Dining (And A Few Drinking Establishments) Please avoid the tourist traps and chain restaurants that will leave you disappointed. Eat at these locally owned restaurants that use locally sourced, fresh food, including fresh Gulf seafood right from the docks in Galveston. All restaurants are casual dress unless noted, and all are family friendly (even most of the bars). Many serve craft beer on tap from Galveston Island Brewing. My only connection to these places is that I have personally eaten at them multiple times and I love them all! Rudy and Paco - 2028 Post Office St (21st and Post Office) - Arguably the best restaurant on the island. Wonderful food with a South and Central American flair. Best service on the island. A little expensive but worth it. We like going for lunch because it's very affordable (lunch served weekdays only). No shorts allowed at dinner. Reservations suggested and are a must on weekends or when The 1890 Grand Theater has an event. Riondo's Ristorante - 2328 Strand (24th and Strand) - Our favorite Italian restaurant on the island, and they also serve great seafood and steak. Beautiful historic building built in 1895 in the Strand Historic District. "Farm to Fork" sourcing and they make their own pasta. Tell them you "want a table in the vault." Katie's Seafood House - 2000 Wharf Road (On the water, adjacent to the Port of Galveston) - This is the only restaurant in Galveston that catches their own seafood! Enjoy great food, good service, and a wonderful view of the Port of Galveston from their covered outdoor deck. They offer free parking in the lot in front of the restaurant at 20th & Harborside (call the restaurant at (409) 765-5688 and select to option to hear the parking code). Blum & Co. at the Tremont House - 2300 Ships Mechanic Row (Mechanic Street) - Beautiful historic hotel built in 1879 near the Strand Historic District. An urban bistro, wine bar, and market offering a carefully curated menu that is indigenous of the region. There is a beautiful bar at the opposite end of the lobby with several Galveston Brewing options on tap. Before or after dinner, take the elevator to the top floor, turn left, and walk to the end of the hall to the rooftop bar to cap off the experience. The rooftop bar is being renovated and will re-open in the fall of 2023. Brews Brothers Brew Pub - 2404 Strand - Huge craft beer selection, creative American bar food. Very casual. You wouldn't expect it for a bar, but the food here is excellent. Burgers (try the "Mission From God"), fresh made chips (try them with Buffalo Sauce & Bleu Cheese), local fish tacos, salads, etc. Order at the bar, grab a table, and enjoy a beer while waiting on your food to be delivered to your table. Texas Tail Distillery - 2416 Post Office - On-site distillery for whiskey and vodka. Try the honey whiskey and other infusions. Friendly staff, fun place to try crafted drinks with local liquor, or try them all with a flight of shots! New: several food trucks are often located adjacent to their new location! Blvd. Seafood - 28th and Seawall - One of the best seafood restaurants on the island. There isn't a lot of curb appeal outside but the inside is very nice. The food and service are both quite good and the seafood is all local. The red snapper is amazing and always comes fresh from Katie's Seafood Market. Shucks Tavern - 414 21st Street - Newer hot spot downtown for oysters, seafood, and drinks. Fresh oysters from the most famous oyster beds in America! Mama Teresa's Flying Pizza and Italian - 416 21st Street - Next door to Shucks Tavern, this is the place for pizza. These guys hand toss the pizzas so high they almost touch the very high ceilings in this historic building! They also have nice Italian dishes. Convenient to the Post Office Street Arts District for a nice after-dinner stroll. Grotto Italian - 5222 Seawall (In the San Luis Resort) - Classic Italian restaurant featuring delicious veal, chicken, seafood, pizza, and house made pastas. This one breaks my rule of avoiding the Landrys restaurant chain, but we are convinced it's a great option. The Cove Poolside Bar - 5222 Seawall (In the San Luis Resort) - Beautiful outdoor poolside bar with a swim-up bar too, all overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The pool is heated so expect swimmers even in cool weather. Great place to people watch and enjoy a drink with one of the most picturesque views of the Gulf of Mexico on the island. Koops BBQ Kitchen - 4501 Broadway - the only barbecue restaurant on the island that I would recommend. Very clean, very casual, very good meat and homemade sides. Only open for lunch from 11 am to 3 pm or until they run out of barbecue. Leland House - 2711 Market Street - a nice neighborhood bistro serving breakfast/brunch, lunch, and dinner. Grab a menu, relax at a table, and order at the bar when you're ready. Closed Monday/Tuesday. Maceo's Spice & Import Company - 2706 Market Street - Excellent muffaletta's, sandwiches. Simple menu to eat in or carry out in this little spice shop. Freckleberry Teahouse - 2724 Market Street - this has become a hot spot for a relaxing hot or iced tea or coffee and a light snack. Comfortable seating is plentiful inside or in their large outdoor area. Red Light Coffee Roasters - 2728 Market Street - popular spot serving locally roasted and sustainably sourced coffee and drinks along with light snacks. Like many places on this list, they are located in a beautiful historic building. Hey Mikey's Ice Cream - 2120 Post Office Street - Ice cream is made in the store. Unique treats like Ice Cream Nachos (share with a friend) and traditional favorites. You gotta' go here! Note: this place is owned by a nice island family. It is sometimes closed over the winter holidays. Mod Coffeehouse - 2126 Post Office Street - comfortable with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Live music many weekend evenings. Coffee, tea, espresso, latte, home baked goods. Waterman's Restaurant & Marina - 14302 Stewart Road - great sunset and water views overlooking Lake Como and West Bay. Steak and seafood. The restaurant was built of long leaf pine salvaged from the 100 year old cotton warehouses that were part of Galveston's glory days. Relatively expensive and a bit of a drive from the hotel areas but this is a unique restaurant with a great ambiance, great service, and great water views. Jimmy's On The Pier - 9001 Seawall - On the 2nd story above the fishing pier (enter the souvenir shop, exit to the left, and up the stairs). Very casual with great views of the seawall and Gulf. Owner has their own farm and livestock for a true "farm to table" concept; other items locally sourced. Fish tacos, burgers, seafood, local beer, full bar, etc. Galveston Webcams Galveston has some great webcams if you want to see what the cruise port looks like, or if your friends and family want to watch you sail away on Royal Caribbean via several live full-motion HD video cameras.
    43 points
  8. Long time Royal Caribbean fan here.. super proud and excited that my daughter will be performing as part of the next cast joining Wonder of the Seas for the shows Voices, Effectors II and Tap Factory. We are from Australia and she has recently travelled to FIU in North Miami for rehearsals. Her name is Chloe, so if you see her on there from May-2023 onwards say 'Hi' to her for me! Currently planning several trips over there to see her! Can't wait!!!
    43 points
  9. Happy to share with you all that I will be joining Icon Of The Seas later this year, and I will be a part of the start-up team. I look forward to seeing all of you who have booked a cruise for 2024! I'm excited to make video on the newest, biggest, and best ship in the world!
    41 points
  10. June 17, 2023 On board the RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com Group Cruise on Navigator of the Seas Matt and Marissa become members of the Pinnacle Club!
    41 points
  11. Having just gotten up the courage, after much support from my teenaged daughters, to actually be brave enough to show my cancer scars in a bathing suit on my upcoming cruise, I'm just crossing my fingers that I don't show up as a "cringe-worthy" line item on this lovely list.
    41 points
  12. Alternate title: Thousands do exactly as millions do every day on airplanes and travel, albeit with better protocols
    41 points
  13. Embark tip: The best way to go with the test result is printing it, but if you want to have everything digital, before arriving to the port make a screen shot for the results of all the people in your cabin. The reason is sometimes the internet signal in the port is not good and it can take a loooong time to be able to show the results, and there is nothing that can be made before showing the results. When you do the screen shot make sure that is the full page and you can see clearly the name of the person, type of test, date it was taken and, of course the result. Debark tip: Make sure to put something distinctive on every piece of your luggage so you can recognize them right away: A ribbon (NOT red, please), a bright tag, a pompom, duck tape, etc. This is not only for you to spot your luggage but for other people not to take it by mistake. You have no idea how many times it happens that when someone go to get their baggage they cannot find it because somebody took it and is already gone. The other thing you can do that is very helpful to find quick your luggage is to take a picture with all the pieces when they are ready to be left outside your cabin with the number tags and whatever you put on them to be recognized, so next day at debark if you don't find them right away it would be easier for the agents to help you. This is really a good way to do it.
    39 points
  14. I hope that everyone here gets to sail with Captain Marek Slaby. He has been tenured on Radiance for a number of years; there is a running rumor he may tapped for Icon— and for good reason. He is the most personable and likable captain I have sailed with. His announcements are honest, frank, and each day he rattles off every birthday aboard, including crew. Passengers stop and listen to his words when he is on the PA. Honest. Let me describe how Captian Merek deals with those who are late to come back aboard. “This is Captian Merek coming to you from the bridge. It’s now 5:40 and all aboard was at 5:30. We are still waiting for Tom and Mary in cabin 9632, Rueben from cabin 3126, and Estelle from cabin 1174…..” There a grins from ear to ear on everyone onboard when they hear the captain very publicly call out those who are late. Those grins turn out to widespread laughter the next port stop when you here the following “the local authorities have cleared the ship and the gangway on deck 2 is now open. I would like to remind Estelle in cabin 1174, Tom and Mary from cabin 9632, and Reuben from cabin 3126 that all aboard is at 6:30 pm tonight….” Allow me to say one more nice thing about Captian Marek. Capt Marek loves to sing. He has single handedly created a show that happens once a week in the Centrum; Rock’in With the Captain. It’s the band and six or seven crew members (all amateurs) who also like to sing and are shockingly quite good! They are wearing their work uniforms of cabin attendant, server, laundry person, etc. They sing whatever songs they want across any genre. The Captain…..his jam is 80’s Judas Priest!
    38 points
  15. Good luck to all my fellow crew members who are currently on Quantum Of The Seas. Lets prove to the world that cruising can be done in a healthy and safe way! Hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get asked to rejoin a cruise ship, and head back to work. I'm amazed at how much love for the cruising there still is, and it's people like you that will keep this industry alive!
    38 points
  16. I fail to see where any of this is the fault of Royal Caribbean.
    37 points
  17. Dinner tonite at 150 Central Park. Joyce took a pic for us
    36 points
  18. T-Minus 12 Days I must admit, I’m quite envious when I hear about people booking over the water cabanas at Perfect Day at Coco Cay, or eating at Coastal Kitchen, or emailing back and forth with their Genie because unless I find a magic lamp on St. Kitts, I’m not getting a Genie. How I wish I could book a suite, I mean who doesn’t want to stay in the owner’s suite with all the space, all the amenities, and a bidet, I will miss having a bidet, but since I’m on a tight budget, my rump and I will rough it in a balcony room. Like many Americans, I live from paycheck to four days before the next paycheck. Being a cheapskate comes naturally to me. Some might even say it’s a gift. Okay, okay, no one calls it a gift, especially my wife. Here I will chronicle our seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas while attempting to save as much money as possible without compromising on having fun. I pre-booked our cruise, the deluxe drink package, internet package, and two excursions. I rushed to book the cruise instead of taking the time to try to get the best deal possible; although, I’m pleased with our deal. The reason for rushing the booking was the sale was set to expire in 1 hours and 52 minutes and I didn’t want to miss out. Little did I know that this is the sale that never ends, it goes on and on my friends. I suspect that this current sale and all the extensions date back to the day when Noah chartered the Ark of the Seas from Royal Caribbean during the Great Flood. I think I might have been bamboozled by the threat of the sale ending. I booked all the add-ons we wanted; repricing, cancelling, and rebooking when the prices dropped. We saved on the internet package by booking one internet package with two devices instead of two individual packages. Originally, I booked the deluxe drink package for $77.99 per person/per day. My wallet wept that day. I cancelled and rebooked when the price dropped to $72.99 pp/pd. And did it once again when the price dropped to $65.99 pp/pd. My wallet no longer weeps uncontrollably, but it does whimper from time to time, not to mention, my liver is not so pleased either. I’m not going to go all Ebenezer Scrooge to the point we don’t enjoy ourselves, but we are not going to spend freely like the Real Housewives of the Seas. This is our first cruise in what seems like forever and that’s a might long time, but I’m here to tell you, there’s something else, the barometer. A world of measuring how we can save on future cruses, such as the four-day Catalina and Ensenada cruise we have booked in November. The November cruise we will be thriftier. There are a few things I won’t skimp on and they are as follows: 1. Gratuities. We prepaid our gratuities, but I plan on tipping above and beyond, because I may be a cheapskate, but I’m not an A-hole. Well, I may be an A-hole, but I’m not the kind of A-hole that would screw over someone else on tips just to save a few bucks. 2. My wife made it clear that she wants something special from the ship. I plugged the words “something special” into my husband/wife translator and it comes back as jewelry. 3. Souvenirs for the grandkids. I am thinking of something loud and obnoxious; payback is a…, well you know. 4. And finally, I will not lie, cheat, or scheme to get something for free. For example, if we eat at a specialty restaurant, I won’t lie to the waitstaff telling them there’s a toe in my risotto (or would it be risot-toe) just to get a free meal. Even if my risotto has a toe in it, I hate confrontation, so I’ll probably keep quite while eating around it. I’m almost certain that quality control on the Harmony of the Seas is good enough to catch a stray toe in the food being served, at least I hope so. I will be updating a few times leading up to our cruise with my observations on the preparations and then once we board I will live blog our experience.
    35 points
  19. Hi all! After having our flight home cancelled twice and spending two additional days in Seattle, we are back home. Here is my report on the Alaskan cruise and the Ovation! Embarkation Our check in time was 11am and we showed up at 9:20 am to find at least 30 people in front of us. After listening in on conversations, it was apparent that most of the people in front and back of us were not entirely prepared to check in. Oh well, their loss. Thanks to this Forum, we were prepared and when the gates opened, we were on the ship by 11:10 am. Easy peezy. MY SUGGESTION for easier boarding....just print everything and have them in order. Set Sail, vaccine records, covid test, just have physical documents ready. Internet was intermittent and people trying to check in with screen shots were having trouble. FOOD! I start with food because that is our thing and the first thing we did other than making reservations was eating at the Windjammer! Food was overall a 9 out of 10. Windjammer - only ate there for one lunch and 5 breakfasts. Breakfast could use some variation but food was hot, looked good, and filled our tummies with overall joy. Izumi's - ate lunch and dinner there. Rolls were overwhelming. Sashimi plate was excellent for cruise sushi! Fried chicken appetizer was yummy. I though 2 times was enough for Izumi though. Wonderland - food was overall imaginative, fun, and tasty. Some stand out dishes included desserts and the liquid lobster. Would not go more than once per cruise, but would definitely go every cruise. Chops - Solid steakhouse. Good wine selection. Bone-in ribeye is outstanding. Lobster bisque and mushroom soup were outstanding! Ate there twice. Jaime's Italian - OUR FAVORITE. I am a classically trained chef turned lawyer. Fresh made pasta was exactly what sold us here! The sauces were tasty and in the correct proportion to pasta unlike Americanized Italian places. Funny, Jaime's is British-Italian, but the food here tasted closer to what we have eaten in Italy than most places. Stand out dishes included Pavlova dessert, ALL pastas, Meat plank, and burrata cheese! MDR - This is the only place where I experienced service issues but I will address those later. Food was overall okay. Above average. Nothing stood out, nothing was bad. Oh...order the Baked Alaska! Last time I had Baked Alaska and Cherries Jubilee was in 1984 LOL. Room Service - prompt, hot, edible. Hot Dog Stand - good enough to satisfy cravings. Sorrentos - Not bad at all. Fish and Ships - fried to order and worth at least one trip. By the way, I am not sure this works for all ships, but UDP worked here for fried lobster tails and premium items. Cafe Two70 - Nice change of breakfast pace and quiet place to enjoy breakfast, enjoy incredible views, and play some card games or board games with the kids after breakfast. La Patisserie - Not quite Starbucks, but got me going in the right direction every morning and every evening. Solarium Bistro - It was okay. I was happy. DRINKS! Since I watched many bartenders open new bottles of liquor and paid attention to them making my drinks, I can say that the drinks were not watered down, but not exactly super strong, except for limoncello!!! Wine selections were nice considering this was a cruise ship. Cocktails were tasty. We loved the Bahama Mama and anything with KRAKEN! Service Guest services lines were a little long at times. I am always up at 4am and go to sleep at 11:00 pm so this was not an issue for me. The ONLY issue we had was that the pre-purchased Arcade credits were not properly applied to our kids' sea passes and there is no way to figure out arcade balances other than stopping by Guest Services or manual computations. Service at all specialty restaurants and bars was excellent. MDR service wasn't bad. It was slower than I would expect, but I am not one to eat in 45 minutes and run off. A 90 minute full service meal is more than acceptable. Ship Condition Did I mention that the Princess Ruby ship in front of us was rust stained and looked dilapidated? Ovation was immaculate! Enough said. Activities and Entertainment Enjoyed all of the shows and trivia. We did Flowrider, Ripcord, Bumper cars, Northstar....pretty much did everything. I highly recommend Northstar at a port and not at sea. We did it twice, once at port in Seattle and once at sea. Nothing much to see at sea. Ripcord by iFly was simply AMAZING. Do it. All ages. Do it. Internet We had one surf and stream and one basic. Get basic. Either way, internet is slightly better than DSL from 2005. Complaints A. Stupid people. B. Dumb people. C. Some public toilets did not flush automatically and were inconvenient when I forced my kids to poop outside the room in the public restrooms. D. Nothing to do from 4am to 6am. E. Too much to do from 8am to 11pm. F. Either Pixels has two different versions, or I fell asleep at the first one. My friends showed me pictures of the second showing and it looked quite different than ours. G. Make Solarium pools aged 25 plus please! Too many teenagers and college kids. It was gross. Spent more time in the indoor pool with little kids and enjoyed it more. HIGHLIGHTS, KEY TAKEWAYS and TIPS 1. Got to meet Chris Wong. Nice guy. 2. Stop gambling while you are ahead. I made out with winnings of about $370 from penny slots. Not bad. 3. Take advantage of the trivia games in between activities and meals. It is a waste of time to go back to your room for 30 minutes and come back out. 4. If you get the Food packages, RESERVE AS SOON AS YOU BOARD! We saw too many people complain about wait lists because no reservations. 5. If you are unsure of the Deluxe Beverage Package....I drink one glass of wine or beer a month. Period. On the cruise, I had at least 4 cocktails, one beer, one glass of wine, and 3 specialty Americano or Lattes each day. On top of that, I had one soda a day and took back 4 bottles of water to the room each day. It is worth the money to get a package. 6. Find the secret spots early. The outside seating at Windjammer ALWAYS had seating, and we spent breakfast there while the ship's back was turned facing Dawes Glacier. Trust me. Also, Deck 5 next the the Art Gallery, but aways from the smoking section...chairs facing the ocean and unusually warmer than most places on the ship considering its outside seating. Grab a glass of wine from the Wine bar and sit here to relax. Quiet and peaceful. 7. READ THIS ONE. Finding whales and other sea life....Watch the TV channel that tells you where you are and shows the ship's front camera. While watching, you will often see streaks of water (wake) left behind by dolphins, orcas, or whale....then grab your binoculars and look outside, you will see them passing! Great way to find sea life. 8. BIGGEST TIP FOR ALASKA RIGHT NOW! DO NOT OVER PACK. We each had one carry one rolling suit case and a back pack. Wore suits and dresses on formal nights. You do not need all of that clothing. You simply do not. Pay $35 to have underwear and T-shirts washed. Its cheaper than checking in suitcases on the plane. Plus, our flights home were cancelled twice and we were lugging around our luggage alot of that time. Thank God we packed light. You do not need all of that clothing. HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU AND MATT for making this trip so amazing despite Covid, anxiety, the long wait, staffing shortages (which we experienced none), and despite raining the entire 13 days we were in Alaska or Seattle. Thank you!
    35 points
  20. Galveston Steve

    Carolyn Kraft

    I’m on Enchantment of the Seas right now as well. I have a different perspective. Tuesday afternoon a 600 foot tanker ran into an 80 foot fishing boat at the entrance to the Houston-Galveston Ship Channel. 1 person confirmed dead, 1 person in the hospital. The Coast Guard abandoned the search for two other missing crew members today and they are presumed dead. The crew of the Pappy’s Pride fishing boat and their families are having a horrible week, much worse than I ever hope you or I have. I’m happy to be enjoying time on a cruise ship with my family this week. Due to this tragedy there has been NO ship traffic in or out of the ports of Houston, Galveston, or Texas City since Tuesday afternoon. The economic impact of shutting down tanker and other ship traffic in this area is staggering. After Enchantment waited offshore all day, the Coast Guard was gracious enough to allow her into port Wednesday afternoon as she passed within yards of the wreckage site at a very slow speed while the responders were still securing the wrecked vessel, controlling the environmental damage, and searching for two missing human beings. After waiting all last night and all day today, Enchantment was escorted out of port this afternoon in heavy fog with two pilot boats off our bow to ensure we safely traversed the fog. I was deeply moved as we passed the crash site at a very slow speed so as not to disturb the small fleet of boats and the crane platform that were continuing the recovery operation in the channel. Enchantment of the Seas was the ONLY ship allowed to come in or out of the area since Tuesday afternoon. Then Carnival Dream was finally allowed in this evening after she waited offshore all day. As of this moment the area remains closed to all other ship traffic. Only a few small service boats have been allowed in the area. Royal Caribbean provided text and email updates about every two hours yesterday as we waited to learn when we could board. Enchantment’s captain provided several updates last night after we boarded, and several more updates throughout the day today. There was little information that they could provide because they had no control over the weather or the tragic situation in the Galveston Jetties, but they checked in with us regularly to let us know they were communicating with authorities and trying to get us underway. They also did not offer false hope or speculation because they knew the situation was fluid and telling us one thing and then changing their story would have drawn much criticism. We’re now underway to Cozumel and I’ve been having a great time, all things considered. I’ve used my cell phone as a tool to find out as much as I could about what was happening with our situation, much of which is spelled out above. May God bless the crew of Pappy’s Pride and their families. May those who perished Rest In Peace.
    34 points
  21. 21 years today (Our kids who are at home will cringe at this photo but I don’t care )
    33 points
  22. Matt

    Be like Chris Wong!

    Congrats to our friend @CHRIS WONG on being featured!
    33 points
  23. I tried "Show me cruises where I don't need a second mortgage to book one" and no results came up
    33 points
  24. Look man, it's not an addiction. I can quit whenever I want to.
    33 points
  25. I wonder if grandpa has ever come back to his car in a snow storm and found his car full of snow because he didn't know his window was open? Probably has a wicked air conditioning bill in the summer when the windows in the house are open. Drive through restaurants must be a PITA for him. Is the window open or not? So confusing. Is he a Mac IT professional because Windows seems to give him a lot of trouble.
    33 points
  26. Since it seems to come up a lot, and although Twangster's detailed blog is far superior, I thought there may be one or two who might be curious about a recent experience. I purchased it for my 4-night Mariner of the Seas cruise to Nassau/Coco Cay. I was a solo traveler and I had a $25 onboard credit, so the price came to $55. Between Voom and lunch on embarkation day, I'd already gotten my value, so it was really a no-brainer purchase for me. Embarkation: They called The Key people with the Pinnacle/Diamond/Diamond Plus members when they opened up the doors. I suspect they just threw us in with them because it was so early and there were very few people in the terminal yet. Delivery of carry on luggage to stateroom: A few of us wandered around trying to figure out where to drop off our carry on luggage when we first boarded - they were a little behind and didn't have a sign on the theatre door, or anyone in the theatre to take the bags yet. In about 10 minutes we all figured it out (all 5 of us at that point) and someone did show up to start the process. Unfortunately that person hadn't been provided with any luggage tags, so anyone who hadn't tagged their luggage had to wait a little while - I had my luggage tag on my one rolling carry on. They also had business cards with Voom codes on it - but none of them matched the names of anyone who was there, so staff was confused. In the end they just gave us a card for whoever (sorry Adam Davis, or whoever's I had), and we were on our way. I assume they managed to work it out in the end, but it was never an issue for me. Lunch at Chops - was a nice treat! Reserved seating section at shows - I only went to the comedy show really late on Embarkation day and on the last night. There was a section roped off for The Key next to either higher C&A or suite folks - it really didn't matter at this show because there was really hardly anyone in the theatre. The first night I sat in The Key section, the last night I sat somewhere else - it didn't matter. But this is Mariner, not a Quantum or Oasis class ship, so I imagine it would make a difference on one of those ships. Reserved times for Flow Rider/Rock Climbing Wall/Sky Pad/Perfect Storm - they had at least 2 hours set aside during the week for each activity. They weren't at the most convenient hours, but, at least on my sailing, it wasn't necessary for a separate time - there was never a line at any of those activities - I never saw more than a few people in line for any of them and most of the time nobody was using them. Apparently this was a "sit by the pool and drink" cruise for folks. On the 2nd day, I happened to stop by my cabin to pick something up and someone knocked on my door and delivered a fruit plate that was complimentary for The Key people. That was unexpected. Priority tender - We only tendered at CoCo Cay - I went down to get on the tender about an hour after we anchored and there was a line (not a ridiculous line, but a line as you'd expect there to be). There was no staff along the line at all to ask about The Key benefit, and I'm just not the type to walk past a bunch of people who are waiting to also get on the tender to get in front of them, so I just got on with everyone else. I was able to get on the tender right away anyway, probably because I wasn't trying to get on the first tender of the day, so it was just fine with me. I could have been more assertive, but that's just not me. And the ending result would have been exactly the same in this case. Disembarkation Day - it was nice to have a quiet, unrushed breakfast in the MDR. It was the only time I'd sat with other people during a meal - almost the only time I'd spoken to any other people all week (I did talk to the iguana and the chickens on CoCo Cay earlier, that's a whole different story #retiredzookeeper) and I did enjoy that. After breakfast, I ran back up to my room, grabbed my carry on, and went down to Deck 4, where there happened to be a staff member manning the line. I asked him about The Key disembarkation, and he personally escorted me to the gangway past a long line, which was REALLY nice. I liked the program, and it was defnintely worth it on a short sailing. I was getting Voom anyway, and there were just enough things that I was going to enjoy along the way that it made it worth it to me. I very much doubt that I'll get it on my Ovation sailing to Alaska in June - I will be going with my husband, who has no interest in Voom, and we will be meeting up with old friends, who will not have The Key, so we won't be taking advantage of reserved seating with shows and special times for activities since they won't be able to partake with us during those times. We'll evaluate it again on our Symphony sailing in Feb 2020 - things may have changed with the program, or the hubs may decide he wants internet access, so we'll see then. Hope this helps someone out there!
    33 points
  27. Wow. Just wow. The only thing I see RCCL did that is questionable was to let you board in the first place. They gave you a second cabin. You only paid for one. RCCL is not responsible for your relationship. Of all the ridiculous complaints I've seen from first time posters, this one takes the cake. Suck it up buttercup. You and your friend ruined your vacation... not RCCL.
    32 points
  28. We have been trying to get to Coco cay since before this miserable pandemic and we are finally here on Oasis. This could not be better and cooler. I watched, we watched a million videos of this island and none of really prepared us for how freaking awesome it truly it. Kids are having a blast and there is no better value on vacations at all. We will be back here on Oasis or anthem and probably both. This splash away bay is just amazing. The dump buckets are just so much fun. This vacation was worth every penny even with a 7 month old which can be a bit challenging at times. 9 year old is having the time of his life. Just loving this! Loving this!
    32 points
  29. Tasteless food... isn't that a symptom of CV?
    32 points
  30. I am both excited and terrified to begin my first live Blog here of my first ever Star Class sailing and also….our wedding! I can only hope it is HALF as good as the amazing bloggers I read religiously here! 48 DAYS! Here we go! The Story- My husband and I (I will explain!) booked this cruise for our wedding 2 YEARS ago during a Black Friday sale at an amazing price! We both LOVE cruising…so much so that we have a YouTube channel called BoosCruize so it seemed natural that we would choose to tie the knot in a small ceremony on the high seas! So after much research we decided on the Star Loft Suite 1720 on Oasis Of The Seas! This suite had a HUGE rectangular balcony that could fit guests and also give us the ocean view we wanted….and a Genie to help us pull it all off! What could go wrong?!? Enter…COVID As you can imagine we basically needed a new pair of britches every other day for the last two years as things changed. It’s a good thing I buzz cut my head or I’d probably be bald and NOT by choice LOL A year later we weren’t even sure if this cruise would happen but we also KNEW we wanted to be married. So when a company came to us and asked to throw us a huge West Coast “David Tutera” style wedding in Hollywood that will be published for magazines we obviously said YES! We now have two bi-coastal weddings Lol It was amazingly gorgeous but nothing was our choice. It was all chosen for us….right down to our tuxes. We feel BEYOND blessed but it also wasn’t what we had in our head two years ago. So now here we are….our guest list of 50 has gone down to 12 due to covid complications. Are we upset? HECK NO! We completely understand and are going to have the time of our LIVES on a gorgeous ship surrounded by people who love us! We can’t wait! Who: We are an LA couple. Jarell is an international Flight attendant (yaasss benefits!) and I am an actor who just moved from NYC in time for a pandemic to close Hollywood Where: We are sailing on the Oasis Of The Seas out of Miami in the Star Loft Suite 1720 with stops at Coco Cay, St.Thomas, and St. Maarten When: We sail November 7th-14th, 2021 I think that covers most of the back story and introductions! So happy to meet you all and take you along with us on this very special journey that is over 2 years in the making! Can’t wait to see who our Genie will be! For good measure I have included a photo of the happy grooms from our West Coast Wedding!
    32 points
  31. People talking out loud to their phones held at arm's length.
    32 points
  32. Omg I thought the same thing....
    32 points
  33. I was on a call today and we were told that in reality it is taking them more like 45 business days on the first round to complete the cancellations and while they have put that out for the other two rounds, they hope that they can do those faster. Royal is supposed to be sending an apology to all guests as well. Not posting this for people to attack on it, or comment really... Just wanted to post it somewhere so people would see this and maybe ask for everyone to be understanding of those that are working on all of these cancellations. The person that you call in at the call center is not the person that is working on the cancellations. Your Travel Planner does not have a way to speed the process up. This is a Pandemic that was not planned for and everyone that is left working is working hard to process these cancellations.
    32 points
  34. I know what you are thinking. January 2022? Did I read that right? In order to secure a great price on one of only two Star Class Ultimate Panoramic Suites on Oasis I booked this a couple of months ago when the itineraries where first released. Within minutes of them going public I secured the 2nd of these two suites in the name of research and, well it seemed like a good excuse to book a cruise. That's nice and all but why start a blog now? I am so tired of @Matt beating up on my fellow Canadian @Lovetocruise2002 even though we all knew he has the record for starting a cruise blog the longest before any sailing in the history of these boards that I had to step in and take action. So back off Matt! Seven hundred and twenty nine days. Itinerary as it stands today includes Puerto Plata, DR, St Thomas USVI and San Juan Puerto Rico. This may be my only 2020 update. I'll do my best to update this blog at least once in 2021. Until then, let it be known I hold the record for the longest pre-cruise early blogging award!
    32 points
  35. Like just about anything in life WE set the price that companies charge for packages like this. If people are willing to pay they'll keep charging that rate. If collectively WE don't buy something at their price point they will eventually lower the price. As long as people are paying they will continue to accept people's money. The deluxe drink package isn't required to have a great cruise. If the math doesn't work for you, don't buy it.
    31 points
  36. CHRIS WONG

    We Finally Met!

    Matt and I finally met! Chris Wong VLOGS meets Royal Caribbean Blog!
    31 points
  37. Ok, first, if you're reading a forum where people are shaming other people, leave that forum. That's unnecessary. We don't do that here. There's no reason for you to feel badly about a cruise like that. $50 is plenty because it truly is on top of what is expected. If you WANT to leave more, that's fine - if you want to leave less, there's nothing wrong with that either. I've left less, I've left more, depending on my particular room steward.
    31 points
  38. ISince we are docked at the downtown pier, we decided to go out into town for a while. Beside us is docked NCL Breakaway. Out in the bay, offshore, is the NCL Escape. She is tendering her peeps ashore with lifeboats. Glad I’m not on Escape ! We walked down to the Plaza and decided to have a couple of beers and some chips and pico de gallo. This was the first alcohol that either of us have had the entire cruise ! The cold Coronas tasted pretty good. More about this, later. At some point, Dan mentioned something about maybe getting a cheap massage. Oh yeah....that sounded like a GREAT idea. After finishing our beers and chips, we asked our waiter if there was anywhere close where we could get a massage. It seemed we were in luck ! No more than 20 paces down the side street was a spa. The decision was made. If the price was right, we were getting massages. Trust me, this is no foo foo spa. It’s a hole-in-the-wall place but the price seemed right. $70 each for a 90 minute massage. Done. They put us in a “room” for 2. I put “room” in quotations because it is really just 1 big room with curtains to separate the “private” areas. Good enough for us. I will just say up front that this was one of the best massages I have ever had. Most masseuses hurt me. I guess I’m just a wimp but the whole “deep tissue” thing is about as far from enjoyable as I can get. But this lovely lady’s touch was perfect. You start out on your belly, of course, and I was really settling in...enjoying every stroke. She did my back, neck and shoulders. Heaven. Then she moved to my legs....and trouble began to brew. Here’s where the forewarning from the beer and chips photo comes back into play. As if, by some awesome force of nature and gravity combined, the moment she started pushing “up” (towards my torso) on my legs, the beer bubbles began to be pushed up from my belly. Had I been standing, I would simply let out a diminutive “burp” and all would have been fine....but I was laying on my stomach and those beer bubbles were trapped between my stomach and my throat. I tried to maneuver in a way that would allow them to escape, but nopesville. They just kept accumulating in a most unpleasant location, soon to be joined by some chips and salsa (thank you, hiatal hyneria). It was both horrifying and hilarious at the same time. I thought the legwork would never end. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she whispered “turn over on your back, please”. As soon as I moved, the loudest, most manly, horrific belch came roaring out. It was so loud I’m sure they heard it across the street. Dan said “are you ok ?” I was so relieved. I just muttered “yes, I’m fine”. The moral of this story is NEVER drink a beer before having a massage !
    31 points
  39. S.Marie

    Lurkers Unite!

    Hi everyone! I pride myself on being very social when I meet people in person, but online, I’m a certified lurker ?. I read the message boards, take notes ?, and have learned so much from everyone on this blog (thanks @Matt for this awesome platform) but I rarely make a post or comment. Maybe it’s because everyone has already said what I was thinking (and y’all don’t need to see my “ditto” response ?)... Maybe it’s because I can’t come up with any interesting new questions or topics that are worth posting ?... Maybe it’s because I’m afraid that my post will be the equivalent of the kid sitting alone at the lunch table in a crowded middle school cafeteria ??... Soooooooo... This post is dedicated to all of the lurkers out there just like me! Say hi, hit like, or drop a comment of your choosing below! Or don’t. ? You are still loved and welcomed here!
    31 points
  40. Hey all, Long time reader and cruiser with Royal Caribbean and reader of this blog and love every minute onboard their ships. I was getting tired of trying to compare different options available on each ship and between suites and The Key. I've been working on this for a couple of weeks which started out for just myself, but turned into something more when some friends and fellow cruisers started to want more info and it's just grown and grown. I hope the website https://rc.cruises will be helpful for everyone who cruises with Royal and needs to compare different ships, suites, The Key, etc. You can change the different suites when you want to compare The Key vs Grand Suite, or The Key vs SEA Royal Suites without seeing unnecessary information to get a true comparison (I use this more than once a week myself! ). There is also direct links to blog posts on Royal Caribbean Blog for drink packages, CocoCay, The Key, etc. (Matt said yes to using the logo which I'm very grateful to identify links to here). Love to know what everyone thinks and any feedback, and I hope you find it as helpful for your cruise planning
    30 points
  41. I haven't been on a cruise in almost 40 years (I would have been 7 or so my only other cruise I've taken). So this may as well be my first time. My wife and kids had never been on a cruise previously. We sailed on Indy over the weekend and some things stood out in relation to a lot of what I've read here and other places, both things that I felt lined up with what everyone said, and things that I thoroughly disagree with a lot of posters I've read. First - what an INCREDIBLE ship! I know it isn't the biggest anymore, but WOW what a lovely vessel to sail on! My family all agree, we loved her! The crew, the captain, the ship overall, just an absolutely fantastic way to travel. Really hard to believe there are much larger ships in regular use!! Lol she absolutely did not feel small. LOVE the promenade deck, LOVE being able to go to the bow. The third night we sailed through fairly rough seas and she rocked and rolled. My youngest (13) got seasick. But none of them were afraid. Some of us actually enjoyed watching the waves hit our porthole as the ship got tossed around a bit. Food - I read a lot about the desserts not being anything to write home about. I gotta agree on that one. Even the cheesecake, which is one of my favorite things usually, was just "meh". But aside from that I really do not understand the people that complain about it. We didnt go to any specialty dining and we NEVER went hungry and were never in a situation where we couldn't all find something we really liked. My prime rib in the MDR was tender and delicious and probably one of my favorite things I ate. (I've seen multiple posts staging the prime rib was bad). Windjammer was hit or miss. There was always at least a portion of what was being served that was really good. The roast turkey was delicious (I always go dark meat though so maybe the white meat wasnt). Even the steaks on the WJ were perfectly edible and tasty. I saw a lot of comments before I sailed that the Indian food on board was good and it REALLY was. But plenty of other offerings in the WJ were quite tasty as well. It IS too busy which can be frustrating but I expected that. Cafe promenade was impressive. Always open and always quality, tasty snacks. Sorrento's was perfectly tasty as well and my wife, who is gluten free, also liked their GF pizza. Fish and Ships was GOOD!! The only extra we spent on food was Ben and Jerry's and we all enjoyed all of our dining the whole time. The food on Coco Cay was, we all agree, really really good! The shaved ribeye sandwich was probably my favorite. The Cuban was also good. Of course the taco bar was great and most of my crew said that was their favorite on the island. Coco Cay itself is, in a word, fantastic. Just beautiful beyond description. The crew was, without exception, top notch. All of them. My nitpicks: I really wish they had more freestyle machines. Having to wait in line everytime and hope it has ice was a little frustrating especially when you're REALLY thirsty. (Matters more to me than most probably because I dont drink alcohol and Im a bit of a soda fiend) The elevators being so full so often got annoying when we were trying to get somewhere. Minor and expected. The wifi signal in our stateroom wasn't very good. Nothing I couldn't live with, and on higher decks it worked really well. Overall, I, and the rest of my family, absolutely loved our experience. My wife wanted to start with a short one to see how she and our kids would like it. I think the best way to summarize how we all felt about it is the fact that we went to NextCruise on our final night and booked a 9 night to Canada for 2024. (On Indy's sister ship, no less). Cannot wait to sail again!
    30 points
  42. Since I have some time now, I wanted to give some feedback on the Portrait Session. Originally, we booked this for the March Oasis 2022 sailing. But for those who follow the live blogs, you all know how that story went. Anyway, we rebooked it for this cruise at the Black Friday rate of $174.99. That is the sitting fee, plus it includes 5 digitals on a USB. The plan has always been to take the 5 digitals and run with it. I have seen @dodgestangpost his pics several times in the past and the look fantastic, but we were pretty skeptical on what they could do. We have one empty wall in our house that has stayed empty for 10 years now (since we moved in) and the goal was always to fill that wall with the large family portrait. That was the main mission here. But we would use the digitals to make our own canvas back home. The instructions when purchasing in the cruise planner is to make your appointment with the photographer once on board. We did that first thing last Saturday and no one was around. The next stop was the suite lounge, and Mohamed very quickly secured us a reservation for the next day. Had we had the opportunity to do this on the Oasis sailing back in March, Allan would have made the reservations for us. We wanted this done asap as we seasoned cruisers know that the sea air shrinks our clothes The next day, we met with the photographer and he suggested we take some in the studio and then head to Central Park. All of us, except for Hubby have long hair. It was a sea day. That was an easy pass. And humidity is bad for curls lol. We took all our portraits in the studio but they can basically go wherever. You can even schedule them on a PDCC day and take beach pics. Going to be very honest here, our session with the photographer was super quick (maybe 15 mins actual photo time), and we did not feel like the poses were great. It felt like he was rushing. The kids would not stop complaining and eye rolling. Teenagers are most difficult. Leaving there, we did not feel too great about whether or not we could even choose 5. We had a follow up session with the photographer the next day to view photos. This is where I would suggest to do this earlier on in the sailing because this is the part that is time consuming. They show you the photos in the form of a slide show, then they show you your photos in various layouts for canvas or acrylic products. We were floored. The photos came out great! There was no way we were going to just be able to walk away with only 5. We have not taken family portraits for almost 10 years. Life is busy at home, and there are not many good photographers around that will do the style that Hubby likes. We asked for time to think and consider the prices, and we made another follow up appointment for two days later. Here is an example of some of the prices: If you purchase a product from them, then you get the digital packages at 50% off. Two days later (on the second sea day), after much debating, and giving up my Effy purchase from Cozumel, we decided to go for it and walked away with a canvas of the Parquet collection, as well as 15 digital prints. 5 from the ones included with the original purchase, 5 additional ones that we purchased, and they included the digitals to the 5 canvas selections. We are happy with our decision, although Hubby did grumble slightly. In the end, the decision maker was the fact that we probably would not do this back at home, and we really did like many of the shots. Is it worth it? That depends on your situation. For us, it was. If you are the type who does this frequently with your family back on land, then no, probably not worth it. We did some research while on board to compare the cost of just purchasing the digitals and doing the canvas on our own at home, it is pretty much the same, except Hubby was saying that if we did it on our own with Shutterfly or something similar, we would not be able to get the sizing or layout that they were offering with the Parquet collection and he really liked that. We were able to pick up the digitals on USB the day after confirming the order. We picked it up last night between Flight and the comedy show. The canvas product will be shipped back home to Canada. Shipping is included to Canada and the US. Other countries they have additional info but we did not ask. It should also be exempt from duties. Hopefully they are correct on that. They said to expect shipping to take 6-8 weeks. I know that many of you might be wondering at this point what the final product looks like. Keep in mind that Hubby downloaded the files to his laptop, and sent these to my phone (which I blog from) so the quality is a lot better with the original file (which I do not have). But here you go… Hello, from the @Lovetocruise2002 family. Come say hello if you see us on board one day.
    30 points
  43. ...wait but what does all of that have to do with stopping the unlimited drink plan....?
    30 points
  44. I got to meet and talk with Michael Bayley last week. The President of our company is so nice! As you can imagine he is a very busy man, so I couldn't speak to him for too long, but thankful he wanted to be in my vlog.
    30 points
  45. Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't understand the intense level of negativity of some reviews. I spent many years unable to enjoy "luxury" vacations and now, as I am finally able to pursue my love of cruising, I try to look for the best in every cruise I take. Not every ship is for every traveler. Some want the bells and whistles, some want more intimacy. Bashing one ship or another because it doesn't meet your expectations seems pointless. I've seen many complain about the smaller, older ships yet my husband and I LOVE the smaller, older ships. We don't care if the wood trim is a bit outdated, if the furniture shows a bit of wear, or if there's no ice-skating rink or extravaganza-type entertainment. We get that these smaller ships are not for everyone, but I don't understand the hostility in some reviews. On the flip side, we hate the mega-ships with their millions of bells and whistles, but just because those ships are not for us doesn't mean they aren't great for those who are seeking that kind of vacation. There are folks who have legitimate complaints - issues arise and when they do they should be addressed and rectified as best as possible - but in reading some of the things people say, I get the impression that they will look for fault everywhere. Those folks will never be satisfied. When I'm on a ship, I'm not sitting in my own living room, I'm not sitting in traffic, I'm not being bombarded by news and media all day long, and I can forget the world for just a little bit. To me, that's everything. It doesn't have to be perfect. The crew works hard under very difficult conditions. I appreciate that and try to be kind in my interactions with them. I give extra tips even though tips are already included in most things. Bottom line is, I get back what I put in to my vacation. Just my two cents.
    30 points
  46. Level 1: It's T-minus 45. Got checked in and got my preferred time slot! I'll unnecessarily fret about how long it's taking to validate my vax card, but oh well Level 2: T-minus 30. Holy cow my luggage tags are ready. My luggage has dust on it in the garage and I'm not touching them for another 4 weeks but gosh darnit I'm printing these luggage tag right now! Level 2 isn't much more exciting than Level 1 but those luggage tags are some physical artifact that the cruise is near. Level 3: T-minus 2. My armpits are soaked from that 15 minutes of anticipatory hell constantly squinting and wondering "is that a second line or just an eyelash?", but the covid tests are negative. Level 3 is a Richter scale tier difference from Level 2. Level 4: Liftoff. On board the ship. My flights made it, I got a great absolutely terrible night's sleep at the hotel like a kid on Christmas Eve, and I got through check-in with no issues. Let the fun begin. Obviously Level 4 might as well be light years from Level 3.
    30 points
  47. twangster

    Test Cruise Invite

    Invitation Received Choice of Allure or Ovation.
    30 points
  48. From Allure of the Seas, October 2021. The offers are typically consistent across the fleet. Current offers implement temporary changes for pandemic protocols. Offers are subject to change as protocols evolve. Gold Platinum Emerald Diamond Diamond Plus Pinnacle Youth
    29 points
  49. Dear Matt, My wife and I decided to celebrate our 50th anniversary as a Star Class passengers on Oasis of the Seas based upon what we learned from you and your Royal Caribbean blog on YouTube. We thank you and your blog for a wonderful cruise. Based upon your advice: We scoured recent Cruise Compasses for Oasis of the Seas. When our Royal Genie, Derrick Martis (who made our cruise magical), contacted us prior to the cruise, we texted him a list of what we wanted to do. Upon boarding, Derrick presented us with a full schedule (date, time and location) of everything we asked for. Unfortunately the Aqua Show was cancelled because of a hydraulic leak. We checked in (including the health questionnaire) online and got to the ship at our scheduled boarding time so boarding was a snap. We went directly to our muster station. This entire process, curb to cabin, took less than 30 minutes. Also, we bought yellow highlighter, the plastic luggage tags and metal hooks. The luggage tags and highlighter were really helpful, however you should know that suite 1701 on Oasis of the Seas has wallpaper on drywall so the metal hooks don’t stick. It was pretty funny going from surface to surface trying to find non existent metal for the hooks and repeatedly watching them fall to the floor. Starting night 1 we went to the Trellis bar in Central Park to enjoy the beautiful view, the Blue Hawaiians (Trellis bar special) and a musician playing Spanish music on an acoustic guitar. Having the Ultimate Drink package allowed us to find quiet spots around the ship for a drink rather than the hubbub of most of the bars. Likewise, the Ultimate Dining package allowed us to eat all our meals in specialty restaurants. Believe it or not, we never made it into the Windjammer (first time in 8 cruises). There was no need. The Royal Genie made sure we had all our desired food, drinks and snacks in our cabin. We saw Cats, the broadway musical, on board. The performers were excellent with wonderful voices and energy. The best show was the Ice show where the colors and pageantry were show stopping but the physicality of the performers stole the show. This one comic skater kept smashing into the fence to stop his momentum. Then he would jump into the stands and sit in a woman’s lap or kiss her hands; all unexpected and very funny. There was even a mind blowing demonstration of sand art that left the crowd in awe. Oasis of the Seas was our 8th Royal Caribbean cruise and our best. We were able to take advantage of everything on board the ship because we knew what to ask for. Thank you!! Harmony in June (40 days to go). MarioSteve
    29 points
  50. I can't start into the actual cruise until I mention the Queen Mary. As a cruise geek this is the ultimate way to kick off any cruise. The Queen Mary is an ocean liner that began service in 1936. She was built with one mission in mind - sailing the North Atlantic between Southampton and New York. Before the days of airplanes flying between the continents there was only one way to make the journey - by sea. She isn't a cruise ship exactly, she just had two destinations repeated week after week. However you can see where many of the things we have come to enjoy on modern cruise ships have evolved from the days of ocean liners. The Queen Mary ended service in 1967 and was sailed for the last time to the harbor in Long Beach California. The City of Long Beach bought the Queen Mary outbidding a Chinese scrapyard and so the QM lives on now as a museum and hotel. I've stayed here before since Carnival sails from Long Beach right next door, within walking distance of the QM. On this occasion I booked a Deluxe King room for $129 per night plus local taxes. This is pretty competitive with local hotels so given the opportunity to stay on this historic old ship I'll do it every time. The QM isn't a small ship. In dimensions she approaches Voyager class and she was too big for the Panama Canal the day she was built. This cabin was considered first class in the day but the decor is more modern compared to what a guest in 1936 would have experienced. While not a suite it was a large step up above third class. In 1936 a one way first class fare was $1,074. As a means to conserve limited fresh water supplies, guests could choose hot salt water, cold salt water, hot fresh water or cold fresh water. Those aren't functional today, the modern shower control above and to the left controls the water now. Several vents that double as thermostats. Want it warmer? Slide to left. Want cool air? Slide to the right. These are not operational today, modern thermostats are used but it's cool to see how guests would have warmed their cabins in the cold North Atlantic. Working portholes! No balconies on ships in those days, these portholes were a luxury. The flat panel TV's were added during a renovation to meet modern expectations for a hotel room.
    29 points
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