Traveler

2 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

Staff serving buffet...ice cream...drinks...etc

That actually one of the best thing happened due to C19 . To many times we all saw people grab food on their hands or even returning food to trays. If not for C19 prevention at least for Noro .

1. Remember that the casino know you are captive , its not that you can go to other casino next door ... Therefore   you will see things like single odds craps tables and not so good odds at the machine (just my impression  anyway).

2. If you are playing the machines remember to check how many points you have at the last day. points can be converted to free play (without any impact on your status) for example if you have 1000 points you can  can convert them to 20$ of free play. Many people are not aware to it or just forget to do so.

3. Since its a cruise expect to see many first timers in the casino , do not be surprise to see people splitting 10s  or standing on 14 against a face card / taken a card on 13 against dealer 6. Anyone is allow to do it , you just need to decide if you want to keep playing there or go to another table. 

4. Check during the first day if you got any free play , many time the casino will give everyone between 5 to 100 $ in free play which is good only for the first two days.

5. Ask the Casino manager how many points you accumulate during the last day , mainly if you played the tables , sometimes you are entitle to some cruise vouchers which are not automatically being processed.

6. Always show your card and use it at the machines , even if you are going to play just with 20$ , remember , its not about how much money you put at the beginning its about how much you played with this 20$ . For example if you are playing blackjack and play 20$ each hand for two hours and you win every second hand and lose the following one you considered as you played average 20$ for two hours . Same with the machine , if you started with 20$ and played for 1 hour 5 $ each hit,  winning every second hit (in average) you actually played total of  1800 $ (5$*60 minutes * 6 (playing every 10 second) .

7. Do not start a game few minutes before  a show or dinner time , saw many people that got good hands  , saying "just one more hand" and missed shows/dinner , its never good for the relationship  

8.  Remember your plans for the next day , you don't  want to play until 2-3 am when you have early excursions ... 

9. If you used the option of getting money from your on board account and you are lucky enough to win some money and hold to it until the end of the cruise , consider to go to the guest services and pay your on board account using cash  , (that is if you are not collecting points on your credit card , in that case ignore it)

10. Have fun , you are on vacation not at work ...

12 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Hmmm maybe this is a revenue thing. RCG is trying to get people who don't sail to spend more time on the island. That would be a big boost, other non-cruising guest paying to stay on their private island.

The questions , how many villas ...  if it is 5 villas it will not do much change as not sure how much you can ask for such experience . 

1 hour ago, levib2 said:

Thinking it would be nice to sit out with 2 of our friends if we upgrade to a Jr. Suite.

Depends on the ship but in the Oasis class usually the JS balcony is around 80 f comparing to 50 of the regular one.

Day 7 continue.

Back to the ship we got to the cold room which was a blessing and started to think our packing strategy as we did not want to leave it for the last minute. Just when we thought we done with  it we heard the door bell , it was the cabin attended with the bottles of liquor we bought in the ship and during our previous cruise. More things to pack great. It was also a good opportunity to give the cabin attended the envelope which he  rightly deserves as he was doing good job maintain our cabin. We went to chose our diamond free photo , we found two that we liked and asked to print it. Dinner was again in the cabin , we asked for few salads , few rolls of sushi and the cheese cake from 150. At the distance we could see the convoy doing it's way back to Miami

After dinner we went to check some activity, its funny how on the last night all the bars seems to be full. I went to guest service to pay in cash the week bill when I found out they charged me for towels , they took it out quickly. I pinged Sunil if he wants to come and say goodbye , he said he will see us tomorrow while disembarkation, wanted to give him the envelope and some present we brought with us back from home. It had to wait for the last last day :-). We tried to go to sleep early so the disembarkation will be less stressed , some of us successfully done ,other went to update the blog.

Day 8 , we schedule the meeting with Sunil at 8:45 , I went to being some food from Park Cafe and later coffee from Starbucks. At 8:45 Sunil came and we brought him a present and the envelope . He brought a porter with him and we did our way down to the port , Sunil hand is over to another porter which handed us to a lady who took until the exist. The taxi line was 5 minutes and at 9:10 we were already in the airport

1 hour ago, Tiffeven said:

I'm really feeling Nyssa's pain.  When I told her we were getting off the ship to go home today, she very sadly said, "But why? I want to stay here!" 

Unfortunately,  all good things must come to an end.

 

Tell her about the next B2B just around the corner ...

Day 7

Today , CocoCay , I do love this place but prefer to have a sea day as the last day of the cruise , ohh well "You can't always have what you want , but if you will try sometime you'll see you get what you need". We started with late breakfast at the balcony at 9 am and got ready for the island.

I grabbed few month ago tickets to the beach club for 65$  pp which comparing to the price I see now it's a pretty good and. We wanted to get there early , Sunil with the other genies organized all the star class to meet and escorted  to the Island so it went really fast. We were one of the firsts to arrive the club so we could have chosen were we wanted to seat. We took one of the large beds near the pool and the bar. I went to sweem in the infinity pool and it was very refreshing , I will spare from you pictures of me in the pool. 

Later we started to enjoy the club drinks 

When you enter the club they ask you to go to the host and reserve time for lunch , we asked for 12:30. When the time arrived we went to the resturants were the host escorting you to the washi washi station and stay until you wash your hands properly. It brought me back to the pre school time , but I was happy to see they followinge the  procedures. For lunch you get  the appetizer box which includes several salads and ceviche. For main course my spouse went with the filet mignon and I also wanted to try it per @Matt recommendion but had also request  from @Tiffevento test the lobster and compare it the ship so I took one for the team and order a surf and turf. I thought they will bring me a smaller portions but it was full one. 

The lobster was very good.

THe food was good and since they get the meat from the ship I guess it may be better since they have a good grill chef. That's also was the only place until now they ask us to cut the stake and check if it is cooked the way we wanted. For dessert we took the rum cake as it was different from the regular dessert we got until now.

We stayed another hour in the club and since it started to get hot we went back to air conditioning at the ship. 

Day 6 - sea day. 

I love sea days , no need to plan too much , no need to rush to anything. We had breakfast (we replaced the eggs Benedict with Mexican eggs) and started our morning walking in the promenade which was quite empty considering they were doing the two T shirts in 20$ and all the other once in in a lifetime sells that happens in every cruise. We went to deck 15/16 but it was a very warm day so we got back to the aircondition. Later we went to the Casino ready to spend some more money but that time we hit one of the  jackpots , it was very surprising as until now it was not going that well we left so we can enjoy the win and to put the money in the safe (well at least some of it) do you think the genie was listening to my previous request for a jackpot ? And if yes , here another example that you need to be specific with genie request and ask for mega jackpot but not complaining. Lunch was again in WJ we did not feel like going and spend an hour in one of the resturants. We went to the Symphony trivia , I must say we did quite OK although I still claim G muster station is in boardwalk and not in the aqua theater , there were people that knew much better than us. Next we went to do something we never done it riding the rising bar. We were the only one and it was fun , it also brought us to our deck just in time for our nap.  

Dinner was at 150 , this was our first time there and it was enjoyable, but once again , too much food. We took the beetroot salad , short rib , Cesar salad and lobster. For dessert we took the famous fried cheese cake 

Short rib

Lobster

Beetroot salad

Cheese cake

Coming back to the room we had a new friend waiting for us

Later we went to see the ice show 2.0 which was , as always fun.

Day 5 St Thomas.

We arrived around 7 to the Island, not that we planned to be up so early but still. After breakfast on the balcony (from day 4 they started to enter and prepare the table by themselves) we went to walk around the ship (always enjoyable during port day) we did not had any special plans so we just went down to the port. There we met with the king of the pier , he was walking around dominating the area , taking photos with everyone that wanted . I thought he will ask soon for a tip 

He had many friends around  enjoying the sun

Later we just jumped on one of the taxi to downtown which cost 4 dollars per person per each way. We strolled around main street until we decided to head back to the ship. Near the port I spotted a supermarket and a pharmacy so we decided to split and I went to buy some razors and some of the counter medicine I needed. The pharmacy and the supermarket are around 5 to 10 minutes walking from the port. Coming back to the ship I got a  message from my spouse if I can go and grab some drinks for her. Coming back to the cabin I saw that 

Although a week or so delay but it was nice surprise. Sunil came to hang some decorations and did a good job , he also brought a cake. 

And no , it's jus a coincidence we are not copying from our upper deck neighbors . 

Late lunch was in WJ which was good. Post lunch I had to work again but we still had time to rest and enjoy the rain and the cake. We had some more visitors that wanted to check our balcony.

We had dinner plans at  wonderland , it's our fourth time in wonderland (if you counting the one in Spectrum which was totally different) so no surprises but it still fun and the drinks are very good. 

Sunil came to say hello and brought a friend 

And how can we do without the famous dessert

The second cake was waiting for me back at the cabin , but with  only one plate , how can I share it like that ?

We than headed to the casino were we had a nice chat with the  @Tiffeven

Which we also saw in wonderland , I think Sunil is making his schedule easier by need to be in only one place at a time. We had plans to go to check out red the experience but at the end we both were too tired and called it for the day.

Guess where we are finally ?

Maybe it will push Canda to allow the ships back.

Try to contact Royal via Facebook or even better via tweeter , they answer quite fast , you can later even had a photo copy of what you got just to be on the safe side as you want to get cleat answer and not just the copy paste of the rules from their web site . With a clear yes answer that is being recorded it much safer to go to the terminal. As everyone else said here the best will be to go with your this document you got to the vaccine site and ask for a new card 

A good way to start the day

5 hours ago, Luv2Travel said:

How do you handle the sales pitch at the end of the massage? That just ruins it for us. It was easier on Disney Cruises to tell the Spa up front that we didn't want a sales pitch at the end. But RC is a little more determined. Did you find the therapists pushy at the end with the products, or do you have a way to turn them down quickly?

If I may answer that, I think they got the message from all the people that complain about it and it looks like the did some major reduction with the sales pitch but maybe it's just my impression.

Just for the record , this is not traveler , this is traveler after  two weeks of B2B and endless food

It was very nice meeting you again.

They can add some star class , after all it's pure revenue for them and people always occupies it (beside maybe now) that will also help for the Allure switch . They might also  convert the silver dining room (if didn't do it yet) to something else and gold one to CK. I guess we will know more in the next few we weeks. 

The corridor on the deck has some bad smell , they took care of it for few days but it came back . I suspect it their C19 detecting system , of you are not complaining about the smell they are sending you to be tested.

I think they will try to it 1 to 1 as they have at least most of the room the same although might be smaller . I have done the Spectrum of the seas and I found out the JS was smaller but not that big difference (main was missing the walking in closet) the other main difference was missing the diamond lounge but they can use one of the other vinew for it . The casino is designed differently,  much more tables and less machine) but not sure if they already design and build it for the wonder (or ordered the equipment). Regarding star class I do not see a reason why they will not have it , after all it's just requires to have genies on board and mark some of the cabin as star class .

Day 4 - St Martin.

Today we got to our first port. The weather refuse to cooperate even when I waved our card at it , I guess it's color blind. We started with our breakfast outside but few moments after the rain and the wind started so I grabbed the tray and tried to run inside , results was my poor mimosa shattered on the balcony floor. 

Later we heard more noises of falling plates and other things , I thought we left something on the balcony but it was our neighbors from upstairs. Near us the old Grandeur of the seas was docking and there were doing some maintenance on it. She looked very rusty and sad, I think Royal should not dock a vision class side by side with Oasis class , make me think about our  Rhapsody cruise next year , is it really the right thing

We had a late shore excursion so my spouse organized with Sunil some spa treatment which she said that  was very good , I stayed a while in the cabin working and later went to check how is the Starbucks today. By the way , it seems RCL have some agreement with the island government and the Casino was opened during the full day. For lunch we asked Sunil if there is any Thai food and he said he will organize something so we got to our room a TomKha soup (which was some spicy soup but not a TomKah) a green curry dish which was good and some cooked vegetables . It was nice meal.

We then went to the peer to join our shore excursion which was the afternoon Oriental beach . Weather was still cloudy but at least the rain stopped. After 20 minutes ride we got to the beach , we got our beach chairs and the guide opened a rum pounce station , which had Rum , some juice , ice and lots of glasses , you could drink as much as you wanted. It was not a real good day for swarming so we stayed and rest  untill we decided to take a long stroll on the beach which was nice. The sand is very soft near the water and every step we took  we left a big foot print , I still do not know if it's the sand or it's the B2B endless food , I voted for the sand.

After few hours we got back to the port, guess what , at the minute the buss entered the port the sun came out and it became a lovely day.

We got back to our cabin to get organized for dinner. Today our dinner was in Hooked which I think is an hidden RCL gem hide ubder the shade of Chop's. We had a very good waiter name May and we started with some bred , shrimp cocktail and fresh oysters. That followed with some salads , captain plate and surf and turf.

Everything was very good including one vodka oyster shoot I ordered. So far I think it was our favorite. 

@Tiffeven try to see if you can take the kids just near the ship near the gates , there are many big nice Iguanas including a huge one

Day 3: 

This was another sea day with the regular breakfast in the balcony this time I swap my espresso with  latte as the espresso comes too  cold. The juice of the day was carrot with ginger. At the morning I had to work , I had to do some candidates interviews  using video call which mean I had to shave in my vacation morning. The video call went well the Voom supporting it nicely. Post the call I had to connect to some customer site but there was some issues with my two way authentication so had to spend another hour with the support. Thought maybe to ask Sunil to take care  of it (he is a genie after all) but just the thought of heaving RCL IT near my laptop gave me the chills. During the time I had to work , my spouse went to catch some sun and bring up the steps count (our excuse for eating so much and feel it's OK) finally the  issue got resolved  and I could continue enjoying the vacation for now. We went to watch the flow rider and visit the solarium as it was started to be cloudy. Although not so hungry (comma food alert) we went to  playmaker , our waiter suggested for us to seat outside which we kindly declined as we saw the clouds. Yap we had the same waiter @Tiffeven got , I asked for draft beer got a can , we asked for some silverware we got them 15 minutes later. Anyway we ordered the nachos which were very good , some chicken tenders and the onion rings as it looks good in the pictures .

It started to rain outside very hard and after few minutes it's statrted to rain on our table ,let's just say I hope the people that built the playmaker roof did not design the ship haull

I did not ask to fill my cup, thank you.

We moved to another table while waiting for the campfire cookie which took 20 minutes to come , we should have asked for it at the beginning of the meal , the cookie was awesome. It continue to rain for a while so we went to contribute for you RCL revenue and catch some rest later. We later went to Harry Potter trivia , wow I did not know so many Harry Potter fans are on the ship most of them  are far from being childrens , the place was packed. Apparently it's not enough to visit Universal and ride the different attractions  in Harry Potter world to be able and answer most of the questions.  We did not want to go to any restaurant so we asked Sunil to bring us few salads and we got the sea weed salad from Izumi and some goat cheese salad. After the light dinner we went to see the ice show, it was great to be able and come at the last minute and enjoy the show from the best seats , the show as always was excellent, I just always worries the drones will decide one day that they had enough and will go into the crowd  (mmm , she'll I add any RCL IT joke here , naaa I think we had enough for one post). 

Post the ice show we went to check if  we are missing anything around the ship to pass some time before going to the silent party Hush !. It was packed but anyone who wanted could get inn and grab the headphones. It was funny to see how everyone sync to the same channel after a minute or so. It was also fun to take off the headphones from time to time just to hear how it's sounds without them. So we took some drinks ( must for me before dancing) and dance although most of the time I was busy to make sure my spouse is not taken a video of me so I will be another  family dinner main joke and yes she tried.

A friend ask , can a genie organize a jackpot or a straight flush at the three card table ?

 

You're making me so hungry, but I love the pics and review - Thank You!!

Questions for you, please:

1. Are the "Formal" (aka dress your best) nights on the Eastern cruise still on the 2nd and 6th night?
2. Has "Love & Marriage" or the "Belly Flop Contest" made any appearances in the Cruise Compass?

Thanks

Yes formal nights are on day 2 and 6

For now no Love and marriage nor belly flop contest or even quest .

HiDay 2 leftovers.

After the Izumi experience we had to take a rest so we did that . We went to check the on board stores , at least the duty free one to search for alcohol deals , we found some two ce whisky bottle for a good price which we will get at the end of the cruise . Dinners was at Chop's , we had some bad experience with this restaurant (mainly due to a bad waiter) but we said we will give it a try. Sunil was there to makes sure everything will go OK .In the way in we met @Tiffeven and all the kids ,it's actually the first people from RCB we ever met . Who knows maybe we will organize some unofficial RCB meeting here. We took the goat cheese salad, the filet mignon and a lobster bisque plus some .

That was accompany with the signature cocktail , some vodka red bull (apologize to the bar, we were tired) and nice Australian red wine. We got an apple pie for dessert. One comment regarding Chop's , this is the only resturant so far which prepare the meat exactly the way you order it. Everything was good. 

 

It was very good.  While Playmakers has been my least favorite restaurant so far, I would go back just for this.

I think we had your waiter today at Playmaker , I can understand exactly what you were talking about.