mbk999

On 5/5/2018 at 12:46 PM, Kurtp13 said:

Big Red Boat – remember those

Yep, StarSHip Atlantic  for our Honeymoon.  When it was docked in Nassau, we were in awe of how much bigger the Empress of the Seas was compared to it.

Thanks for the review.

Great recap and details.

Another thumbs up for sea days.   To me, watching the wake and the water go by is a great form of decompression and relaxation.

1 hour ago, whitsmom said:

We got the deluxe drink package when it was on sale, so counting the bottle water, specialty coffees, and 2-3 drinks, then it is a good deal

Agreed.  I'll can easily go through 4-5 bottles of water a day, plus an OJ in the morning along with a better cup of coffee.   You're halfway there to an on-sale DDP.    

If you're strictly a beer drinker, the math might not work out in your favor, but for mixed drinks and wine at dinner, I think it works out.  

2 hours ago, Orange Crush said:

Honestly, if a private tour operator won't wait for you or give you a refund if the ship runs late (which DOES happen and is totally outside of your control), then they don't deserve your business and you shouldn't book with them, in my opinion.

 

Exactly what I thought when I read this, that's not a company I would use.

I err on the side of caution and take them with me (in a zipped up shorts pocket).  Much like travel insurance, you may take 20 trips w/o it with no issue, but the one time you need it, you really need it.

Great pictures and recap and glad you all had a good time.  I'm now looking forward to our stop in San Juan in October even more than before.   I also noticed your Ocean City shirt, is it the correct Ocean City (MD) or the incorrect one?   

Agree with DocLC, too expensive for too little time.  It can get crowded too which would just cut into your time even more.

18 hours ago, JLMoran said:

for those who have said in the past they would just bring their Sea Pass cards off the ship and nothing else:

I've never understood that or sailing on just a birth certificate.  You're still in a different country, I always have my passport with me as you never know what can happen. 

BTW:  great pictures and recap!  I hope everyone had a great time (looks like you all did).

12 hours ago, KAA said:

We do have free passes to Disney and I would pay for a day at Universal, but my question is, is it worth it?

In my opinion, the only way it's worth it is the fact that you have free passes to Disney.  While I have not done this particular excursion, I've been back and forth between the port and orlando a few times and you're looking at two hours (at least) round trip.   That would leave maybe 6 hours at the park?   You'd have to make judicious use of Fast Passes since you probably wouldnt get there at Park open and the lines would be getting long.   Free passes or and annual pass,  I'd probably do it but we're big park fans.    I wouldn't recommend it to someone going for the first time.  Since you're not interested in Cocoa Beach or KSC, what about just staying on the ship, hopefully w/ fewer people? 

2 hours ago, twangster said:

These were all taken with an iPhone 8.  I think they turned out okay.

That's a bit of an understatement....  they look great.

We essentially printed out a Foder's self-guided walking tour and did a version of it (Queen's Staircase, Fort, etc).   

6 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I’ve never seen the ocean such a cobalt blue. It makes me pause every time I see it, just to take it in.

Hope you get to see the Caribbean greens and aqua water too.  One of my favorite things.

are all the beaches (that you've seen) as crowded?

9 minutes ago, enjoylife5 said:

they pointed at the  disney ships and asked why can’t we be on that one?

Because we'd like to send you to college some day.

9 minutes ago, enjoylife5 said:

but I agree majesty and others are not a good advertisement for the “trying out cruising” market.

As has been said on the podcast, the smaller ships and/or weekend cruises are more appropriate for veteran cruisers looking for a quick getaway or to scratch the cruise itch.  I really enjoyed our past Enchantment cruise, but for us, that was a relax by the pool and watch the sea go by getaway cruise.  

17 minutes ago, Matt said:

I hope so.  It pains me when new cruisers and/or those new to RC want to go on Enchantment or Majesty first.  There's nothing wrong with them, per se, but they aren't glowing examples of the best RC offers.  

Yeah, you really need a ship that can offer similar experiences, particularly if you're going against other cruise lines.  I can imagine the look that would have been on my daughter's face (or mine as a kid) as we pull into Nassau on a small ship and park next to a ship with a water slide or other fun looking things not on our ship.   

2 minutes ago, DocLC said:

Disney Cruise Line who has always put their newest ships on their shortest itineraries first

Good point.  A retrofitted Voyager class will stack up better against the Disney Dream, particularly if it would sail out of Canaveral.  The cost for anything Disney (land or sea) just keeps going up and up, having an apples-to-apples 3/4 night ship option would be a good move for Royal.  Do 3-4 days at the parks and try another cruise line at a third of the cost.   

We did MTD, made reservations before hand, and got the table for two by the window with the same wait staff throughout.  

21 hours ago, KAA said:

1) Anthem OTS- 9 night Bermuda- only 1 day in Bermuda, then off to San Juan, St. Marteen, and Labadee. 

2) Grandeur OTS- 9 night Bermuda- overnight in Bermuda, then off to Nassau and Cococay

3) Freedom OTS- 7 night Southern Caribbean- St. Marteen, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Johns, and Barbados.

I'll cast a vote:  #3, #1, #2 (w/ apologies to ConeyRaven), with the caveat being ease/cost of embarkation if that's a significant factor.    It sounds like you could drive to Anthem and possible Grandeur.    The itinerary for #3 is more appealing to me though Anthem is a slightly appealing ship to me right now, but I think itinerary would trump ship this time.  It will be hot, but all the Caribbean/Bahamas ports will be hot so that shouldn't be a deciding factor.  

1 minute ago, coneyraven said:

Imagine if the state could invest the money into a new port just below the Bay Bridges (Annapolis) ---

Agreed, nearly as close to BWI and a great town to walk around,  but I think the third span over the bay will come first in the state's "bay" budget...  I've never sailed out of Baltimore but I'd love to see the bridges from a different perspective.   But I have a wife who is susceptible to motion sickness and the open ocean leg by Hatteras worries me.    

On 3/19/2018 at 10:46 AM, coneyraven said:

Plus, not every port can handle the bigger ships --- both foreign and domestic .....

Case in point, Tampa, Baltimore on the domestic side, and Cuba and Belize on the foreign side.

Yeah, they'd have to abandon Baltimore and Tampa and they seem to be popular and profitable ports.  Or invest in new ports south of the bridges which doesn't seem likely

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

IF both ships were doing the exact same itinerary and cost was exactly the same I'd probably pick Allure but I wouldn't devastated if Allure was sold out and I could only pick Freedom.

Itinerary would likely play a big factor.

While I have not been on the Allure (yet), I would agree.   One of the reasons we picked the Allure was to explore an Oasis class ship, we like more activity choices.   But I really liked the Freedom when we sailed on it so it's a great choice too.   As JLMoran mentioned, a choice in a cruise has a lot to do with personal preference:  ship, ports, days at sea, etc.   For us this time, trying an Oasis ship was the main thing.  But we picked the Eastern Caribbean since we haven't been to San Juan and loved St Maarten on a previous cruise.   While we need to give Cozumel another shot, just in my research, I have no interest in Falmouth so a Western run that stops there doesn't appeal to me much.   

But to your specific question, to me, if the cost difference was in the hundreds of dollars, I'd pick Allure.  A thousand or more, I'd probably go with Freedom.

Cab/uber it from the train to cruise terminal.   Backup plans would be uber or a one-way car rental from MCO to TPA then cab/uber from TPA to the cruise terminal

3 hours ago, JamesGurner said:

It’s right what you said about ringing a different person if you don’t get the right answer or outcome. My partner doesn’t drink and it’s not worth us having the refreshment package as it works out about £22 per day. After calling twice I got to have the deluxe drinks package without buying anything package for my partner.... happy days ?

So that’s definitely different than what I’ve heard.  Good to hear you can do that. 

2 hours ago, jurrjurr said:

Will the website allow the Refreshment Drink Package to be cancelled online with only one DDP?

Good question, I don’t know.  When I cancelled I just cancelled the whole cart.  My confirmation email is for the one DDP and the one RP.   

This is just more of an FYI, relaying my just concluded experience with calling Royal to get an exception for the Deluxe Drink Package (wife doesn't drink alcohol).   As most know, you can't do it on-line, so you have to call 1-800-398-9819 .  The first person I spoke to didn't have an idea as to how to grant an exception, she said book the refreshment package first, then go in and book the deluxe for myself.  All that does is add two Deluxe and one Refreshment Package to the cart (approaching $900).    I cancelled that and called back.  I wish I would have gotten the name of the rep as he knew what to do.   I had to exit out of the cruise planner and then he was able to add the Deluxe + Voom for me and the refreshment package for my wife.  I had to give him my CC info and I got the confirmation email and I've confirmed it's in my cruise planner.    So as Matt has said in the past, if the first person you speak to can't help you, hang up and try another one.

Also,  as others have noted, the exception they will grant is for the other person to get the Refreshment package.  That works for us but I know others don't want that.   I'm not sure what to say about it as it didn't seem to be an option to not get a package or to just get the soda.     The Bogo $ for the Refeshment Package was $18/day which I thought was pretty good as we'll go through several bottles of water a day alone. Four of those, an OJ, and a virgin daiquiri and you're at $18.    Deluxe + VOom was $59.