twangster
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Posts posted by twangster
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@crfqueen Welcome to the message boards!
Drink package value is always very personal. How much do you consume? Do you drink lots of special coffees and bottled water? Each of us varies.
10/25/18 looks like a 7 night cruise with 3 days in Bermuda. With 3 nights in Bermuda, if you plan to be off the ship most of the day will you drink enough to break even overall?
Your question is a common one and Matt has written different blogs that might be able to help you answer that question:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-beverage-package-costs-info-tips
In reference to your past experiences, Royal has come a long way in how weather events are handled. Did you know they are now the only cruise line with a full time Chief Meteorologist on their payroll? In the past each Captain had to make their own decisions but now and since your last Royal cruise they have the resources of a full time and dedicated meteorologist to help them understand the bigger picture and make better decisions.
While the default statement "you should have bought travel insurance" is technically correct I understand how disappointing mother nature can be and travel companies are the ones left holding the bag when weather happens. Last year was a bad year for hurricanes and even more lessons were learned when ships had to divert and cruises had to be cancelled.
No one wants to hear about terms and conditions or legal contract verbiage during a disruption whether it's correct or not and they have grown over the years to deal with it better. That doesn't change the need to consider travel insurance though, regardless which cruise line you sail with. I buy insurance from a 3rd party, not from the cruise line.
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Good point about having to send BC into the passport office. People cruise often with just a BC.
Take the expired passports with you, don't show them to the cruise line, that's just set off a red flag, but in case you need emergency travel VIA air they may come in handy with any local consulate or embassy in that worst case scenario.
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On 8/4/2018 at 5:01 PM, Floski said:
I don't know why, but it really bugs me that RC charges $3 for a container of popcorn.
Likely the additional cost of clean up personnel for the kids who let the stuff fly everywhere. Popcorn fight on the pool deck? Why not? No parents around to say otherwise...
In an Elevator? Popcorn fight! In a hot tub? Popcorn fight!
If it were free they couldn't make enough and places like hot tubs would be full of it.
- Floski, Lovetocruise2002 and henrysea13
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ESPN Caribbean is not like ESPN on the US mainland. It's an international feed and typically will carry major sporting events like the World Series.
MLB has been known to get really picky about who is licensed to carry their games. They went through a phase where Fox in Puerto Rico wasn't allowed to broadcast them even though Fox on the mainland was.
This is all in the hands of MLB who likes to drive people to buy their online internet feeds. In the past they have been available on ships but if they aren't this year, blame MLB, not the ship.
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Welcome to the message boards!
Cruising with a passport is always ideal but for US citizens on closed loop sailings like Harmony they are technically not required to board the ship.
If I were in your shoes I would try for the expedited passport service knowing that a raised seal birth certificate is there as my fallback plan. But that's just me. Many people only cruise with BC/DL as adults.
- Orchids, juliakays and CraftyCat05
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I did a similar Anthem cruise last December. I started on a 7 night Bahamas cruise and followed it on the second leg on a back to back with a 12 night Southern Caribbean cruise. My live blog for both cruises is here:
(The 2nd cruise starts about 5 pages in)
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/
Menus have changed in the MDR since but other than that it should be pretty similar.
My day in San Juan is blogged here:
I love Old San Juan, it's a great place to visit.
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Welcome to the message boards!
Visiting ships not home porting there tend to the use the Old San Juan cruise piers.
The Pan American pier is typically only used by ship that start and/or end their cruise in San Juan.
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1 hour ago, Keeves said:
This sounds quite bizzare. Someone can get all the way to the credit card page, and only then is he told what he gets for the price???
I don't think that's an accurate statement. It's generally displayed in the upper right corner and this is updated as you make changes such as a different category. Not every single interior cabin is exactly the same price. Not every balcony cabin is the same price. There are categories within each cabin type. A 4D balcony isn't the same price as a 5D balcony. If you select a 5D cabin you'll see the price in the upper right is adjusted long before you reach the credit card page. At each step as you progress that price changes depending on what you select. A mid ship cabin is often more money than an aft or forward cabin, etc.
1 hour ago, Keeves said:Oh, now I see, the previous screen had said "from USD $399 Avg per person". Gotta watch those "from"s!!! Caveat emptor!
Congratulations, you actually read the page. Many folks get all bent out of shape when they just see a number and focus exclusively on that then get mad that somehow the price changed.
The "instant savings" appears from time to time. It's a limited time promo that doesn't apply to all ships or sailings. Next week it probably won't be there.
Now here is the other thing that trips a lot of people up. This week's prices are based on this week's sales and promos. Next week may see a different sale and/or promo. Next week's prices are not this week's prices minus what ever next week's sale terms are.
This week may be the "Hoopdy Doopy Let's Get Loopy" sale and the price for two people in a balcony on this date on that ship is $395 per person.
Next week is a new sale "Crazy Sale of the Second Week of the Month" sale. This is a BOGO, second guest 50% off.
A lot of people think "Great it was $395 per person last week so 50% off second guest is $198 for a total of $593". Wrong. This week's pricing is NOT calculated using last week's sale prices. It's a whole new week like last week didn't exist. It's calculated from the "regular price" which itself varies depending on sales trends. It's not unusual for this week's sale price to be within a few dollars of last week's sale price. This isn't a shady conspiracy, it's all there for any one who actually reads and pays attention to see.
Bottom line - book when you see a price you are willing to pay. Keep watching for sales and reprice it but don't be surprised if there are not massive savings every time a new super duper sale is announced.
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In theory, yes, but it takes some work.
First you need to bring a Samsung or universal remote control from home to change inputs to the HDMI input on the cabin TV.
You'll likely also need to disconnect the gray cable on the back of the TV that looks like a telephone connection. This is a data control cable that allows you to interact with the TV (review your account, order movies, etc).
Naturally you'll need a Voom Surf and Stream plan. Fortunately Fire TV sticks do tend to work with 'captive portals' where you need to enter your Voom passcode however it can be tricky sometimes.
It's not something I'd ever tell my parents to attempt but for a semi techie person who understands the underlying why and why nots when it doesn't go perfectly it is doable.
Using the same Voom code for your phone can get tricky at times as well.
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16 minutes ago, Kim&N8 said:
Thanks @twangster does that bridge block both NJ and NYC ports?
Yes, all cruise ports in the greater NYC area reach the sea by traveling under the Verrazano-Narrows bridge.
Royal tends to use Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ which is in between the bridge and the Statue of Liberty (South of where the ship is shown sailing in the movie). The movie would make it appear the ship is heading to the Manhattan cruise port that currently Royal typically doesn't use.
Quantum class are their largest ships that can fit under the bridge. Anthem for example, currently uses Cape Liberty in NJ. However I suspect the movie wanted to show Manhattan to make it instantly recognizable.
The ship speed heading up the river looks awfully fast as well. That's likely because they had some stock footage of the ship somewhere sailing in open water and used that in the computer generated effect.
Totally fake.
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Just now, Kim&N8 said:
@twangster I was actually curious about that, it shows the ship in NY. Has Harmony been to ny or is that just a Hollywood special?
Definitely a special effect. No Oasis class ship can fit under the Verrazano-Narrows bridge.
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6 minutes ago, JLMoran said:
When I saw them wake up from their drunken stupor already on board the ship, I just couldn't get past that moment. Not having gone through boarding once and knowing that if you have one piece of paper or travel document mismatch, you'll be denied boarding. Did the dad just happen to bring his passport, and does his name miraculously match the name of the guy who jilted his daughter at the altar? What did he use for a Set Sail Pass? Did Kristen Bell's character just magically bat her eyelashes at the guard (while still blackout levels of drunk) and get him / her to simply turn a blind eye?
Seriously, I have seen WAY too many episodes of Cinema Sins!
When Oasis class sails from NYC magic things happen, in fact anything can happen.
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Here are some scopes from this cruise:
Havana Arrival
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1RDxlWoVOwMJL?t=3s
Havana Departure
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1RDxlWoVOwMJL?t=3s
Havana Excursion and Walking around:
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1BRJjeVNkWQGw?t=3s
Walking around CocoCay:
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1BdGYogazLZxX?t=2s
Empress Sunset
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1eaJbVlqARQJX?t=16s
Cruise Compass has been scanned and sent to Matt. It should appear shortly on the Cruise Compass page:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass
- Carlos A., accio7 and CruisinUngs
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30 minutes ago, ABT said:
Our first cruise was on the Empress in 1995 ( then it was known as the Nordic Empress ).
The ship seemed massive to us back then.We really enjoyed your blog.
Thank you!
Ironically all of my charges while onboard are noted on my credit card statement as "Nordic Empress".
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On 8/4/2018 at 2:48 AM, Tim B. said:
I saw it last night...cute and very predictable. The only thing I laughed at was the cell phone stuff. Throw it in the water and magically it still works; I don't think so. I haven't seen Kelsey Grammer in a long time so nice to see he still gets work.
Actually many phones are water resistant enough to survive a few minutes in a few feet of water so I'll give them that one, but there are many other inconsistencies. That's the Hollywood effect. Virtually all movies stretch the truth or bend facts to support the story line.
I downloaded the movie while on Empress then watched it on the flight home. I didn't want to waste precious cruise time watching a movie like this on my phone, or on a cruise
They played it on the pool deck Friday night aboard Empress.
On 8/4/2018 at 2:48 AM, Tim B. said:I just don't understand the necessity for throwing in profanity when clearly it is not warranted or needed. Do people really talk like that all the time?
Sadly yes. I met a woman who cusses constantly and drops F bombs into every sentence.
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You'll probably be fine. In theory it is strictly wine that is allowed. Fortified wine is not allowed.
If it's in your carry on bag and nothing else induces a search of that bag then it will probably go through without any issues.
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RC Havana map attached to this post as a PDF.
Unlike the regular port map this was printed on heavy bonded paper like card stock and it's absent of the normal jewelry stores and Diamond Int'l references.
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2 minutes ago, Sweety said:
I feel the same way about Empress. I took a back pack full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, pencils, paper, hair bands and other things. My private guide was happy to get them. I am thinking about the 7 day cruise also. I used my pics as a learning tool in my classes. The students were amazed no Mcd's, Burger King or Popeyes.
Our guide told us there is one McD's on Cuba. It's in the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Not available to Cuban residents, though. I'm not sure that's accurate though, maybe a joke on his part.
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Cruise Summary
I had a very enjoyable cruise overall. As a Diamond Plus I was treated very good on Empress. It's not that other ships don't treat the top elite well because they do, but on Empress they took that level of service up a notch.
At 48,563 gross tons Empress is small by today's standards. That makes her almost 5 times smaller than Symphony. With a capacity of 1840, our sailing at 1808 guests was near capacity (98.2%). At times like at muster or at certain times in the Windjammer it felt just as crowded as any other ship but it never felt crowded for the majority of the time.
In considering a cruise on Empress (or any ship) research the ship. Empress has only one main pool, no flow riders or water slides. I was amazed though that it didn't feel like a small ship. I knew what I booked and my expectations were set appropriately and because of that my expectations were achieved. The cabin bathroom did feel a little dated and if you are the type that will see a spot of rust or chipped paint and focus on that then maybe this isn't the ship for you.
I wasn't sure how I'd feel on Empress so I didn't booked any more cruises on her but now having experienced her I won't hesitate to sail her again.
The 10 drink card was offered for $75 on day 4. A beer bucket special was $29 for 5 beer (buy 4 get 1 free). I didn't purchase either.
My total bar bill was $116 or ~$23 per day including gratuity. The drink package on board was $63. My 30% Diamond Plus discount would have dropped that to $44 or $52 per day with gratuity. Granted I had 3 complimentary Diamond happy hour drinks each evening but I couldn't have consumed very much more and certainly not an additional $29 worth each day.
The bad dining experience on one night in the MDR goes to show that any wait staff can have a bad day on any ship.
Cuba was an amazing port. The people of Cuba were awesome and like the OFAC program that we travel under it is there to benefit the Cuban people (not their government so much). That's exactly what I'll plan to do on my next visit. The 7 night sailing that visits more Cuban ports look very appealing at this point.
It was great to make CocoCay after having two missed calls on previous cruises. I was very happy to see that construction had minimal impact on the island as I've experienced it before. I'm not sure the pier will be ready for November. It seems like they have a lot more to do but I'm not a construction expert.
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The early transfer folks had a scheduled time of 8:20am in the theater. By 8am I was already outside feeling the morning heat and humidity of South Florida. Maybe I should have stayed on the ship!
Airport transfers were very disorganized on this day. There were no signs and few employees outside in the heat. I walked around outside and figured I might as well take some pictures of the RC buildings while I was there.
As I waited a bus arrived and roughly 50 people got off. They grabbed their luggage and made their way towards the ship. These are new crew joining or returning to the ship after their break. The crew tends to turn over in this fashion. Groups of 10, 20 or even 30 to 60 getting on and off at each day one of a cruise. A number of crew will leave on this day starting their break. In this manner the crew constantly revolve.
I eventually started asking each bus if they were the ship transfers to FLL. Eventually I found it on the East end of the terminal.
Transfers are outsourced and unlike the employees in the airport who were very visible, helpful and friendly, these folks were all sitting in the air conditioning of the buses socializing, not really caring too much about being found. More drama as our bus with just me on it was directed to go to another terminal to pick up guests from Celebrity. Our coordinator had an attitude about this and expressed how it was unfair for that girl's guests to be accommodated while her 13 guests from Empress would be stuffed in a van that was on its way.
As we pulled out two more guests from Empress somehow found the bus like I had and waved it down. We went over to the Equinox and picked up two guests, waited there for 30 minutes before coming back to Empress where we picked up 6 more.
Now just after 10am we started our way to FLL airport in Fort Lauderdale. Now you see why they require afternoon flights to use their transfer service.
We hit traffic heading North (Express lanes were closed for road work).
Shortly after 11am we arrived at FLL.
Next time I'll use a ride share service even though it will cost a little more.
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Looking at the disembarkation letter that was dropped off in my cabin I didn't need to be in the Royal Theater until 9:50am but since I had eaten and was packed and ready to go I headed down just before 8am.
I knew the cabin attendants need to clean many rooms so I figured I might as well wait in the theater.
Just before 8am they announced self carry folks can leave as the first group off. I had lots of time to kill until my pre-purchased Royal airport transfer but I thought I might as well avoid any long customs lines so off I went.
No escalators in terminal J so use an elevator or be prepared to carry your bags down stairs.
Customs had four agents working. I was 4th or 5th in line. A short wait later and I was outside with only the typical "anything to declare" type questions. Nothing special about a Cuba arrival. No paper forms to complete.
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Terminal J is a smaller terminal and the only cruise terminal on the South side of Dodge Island.
It's pretty much right next to the two Royal Caribbean buildings that are the headquarters for Royal Caribbean International as well as the parent company Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
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Day 6 - Miami
I woke early seeing some buildings slide past us. It felt odd though, I don't recall seeing these views. As I ventured onto the balcony I realized we were on the other side of the port compared to what I normally have used in Miami.
The cruise compass mentioned we would use Terminal J and a shuttle would be available for locals who drove and parked at the other terminal where we departed from but it hadn't dawned on me what that meant. Much of this side, the South side, is a cargo port. Five other cruise ships from other lines occupied the North side of the port.
Great views of the Miami skyline from this side of port.
There is a small turning area we used to turn around before continuing deeper into port and Terminal J.
Introduce yourself!
in People Connect
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Welcome!
If you are traveling with the Grandeur Poo-Bah ( @coneyraven ) then you are all set to have an awesome cruise!