WannaCruise

Thanks for noting.  We just paid final payment on our Liberty cruise for December and was wondering if they were back to how it was where final payment is your final price.  I guess the price drop to the end was just a covid thing.

19 hours ago, constable145 said:

No news. It was the first ship I've sailed on in years that haven't had them so I was surprised to see that they have them. 

 

I haven't asked. I'll ask the concierge if I get a chance. 

Interesting, no freestyle machines?  We're sailing in December and DH got the soda package.  He'll be disappointed if no freestyle.

Hope you're having a great cruise!

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise.  Dh and I are on Liberty in December for the first time. 

Have a wonderful time!

P.S. Also from Toronto but Liberty will be in Fort Lauderdale when we go.

Love love love your sense of humor and writing.  

Btw...we do the mixed luggage thing too, and even for an upcoming trip where we are only doing carry on (in case we have to end up checking something).  

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise.  Have an amazing time!

Following.  Have both these ships booked in the future.

Sounds like an amazing summer!

You can book refundable when Canadian funds.  Go through the mock booking and enter in the details for the passengers.  A refundable check box shows on the same page where you add gratuities.

Also as a note, I've had a few bookings where my stateroom was only offered as refundable.  You can check if this is your scenarios by selecting the 'view cancellation policy' hyperlink with the pricing.  The pop up window will show if it is "Non-Refundable Deposit" or "Refundable Deposit".

Happy anniversary! What a special one!  Glad you spoiled yourselves with that amazing stateroom, and must have been a great few days away to relax!

Is there an "excursion" for Disney transportation .  That was our plan a couple years ago (which didn't happen due to covid).  We were going to just take the transportation and spend the day at Disney Springs and/or resort hopping.  To pricey for paying for the parks but still was a way to get a Disney fix.

4 hours ago, GregD said:

Last night we watched the welcome show. The cruise director is funny and entertaining. The lead for we will rock you sang a few songs. He has an amazing voice, and we had a moment of nostalgia because the first song he sang was the opening number in Aqua80, The Power of Love.

The comedian Mick Miller was quintessential British. His jokes are mainly one liners, and a one and done for us.

We too we’re boring cruisers and went to bed after the show. We missed the sunset, but we have a few more nights

Loving this double cruise report!  We were on Anthem in March.  Really enjoyed her....It's exciting reading through both your experiences!  

Is the cruise director still Joff Eaton?  He's pretty good (although we only had him for 2/3 of our cruise as he disappeared near the end of our cruise due to the nasty C).

Hope you're both having an amazing time!

Wow...that Harry Potter exhibit looks amazing!  Like you are really in the movies!

So glad you made it safe and sound, negative tests, etc!

Looking forward to following along with your Anthem cruise.  I know it's not your favorite ship (DH feels the same about Anthem, but DD and I really enjoyed her)....but seems this one isn't about the ship.   

What an incredible vacation...and your cruise hasn't even started yet.

33 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Hey! We are on this one together! 

Cool!  We almost booked the week prior, but it will be our son's first year of university and not knowing where he'll be and his last exam, we booked this week instead.  Never been on a New Year's cruise before.

10 hours ago, Matt said:

Yes

That's great.  Thanks for confirming.

Another question about the coffee card.  Can you use it in the MDR for a coffee after dinner?  Or is it only at the coffee shops (e.g. Cafe Promenade, WIndjammer)?

Just noticed my currently booked cruises aren't on the master list:

• Liberty - Dec 19, 2022
• Oasis - Mar 12, 2023
• Odyssey - Dec 31, 2023
• Wonder - Mar 10, 2024

Thanks.

On 6/8/2022 at 12:05 PM, fireclan said:

We bought a coffee card on Anthem during Jan. 2019 cruise. The crew member told us to save the card if we didn't use all the "punches" and we could use it IF we sailed Anthem again...which we did in Jan. 2020. The card was honored even with us mentioning it was bought the previous year. 

Actually  have another card with a few punches left just waiting to be allowed on Anthem again! ️

Question....does that mean that the card is specific for the ship?  

20 minutes ago, PatsFanBrian said:

Oddly, one of the best shows we've seen was Charo on Freedom back in '06.  People of my age know who she is.  We went to the show expecting the full Coochie-Coo act and waiting for a train wreck of a show.  The first part of the show was what we expected, but then she went off-stage ad came back on wearing formal wear and carrying a classic guitar.  She explained that prior to her Coochie days, she was trained by one of the great classical guitarists in the world.  She then spent the rest of the show displaying skills that I never imagined she had.  It was truly incredible and memorable.

That's funny.  I don't really know who she is....except that she was a regular guest star on The Love Boat (which is the show that got me into cruising).

13 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

Our favorite too! We don’t ever miss.  

Cats was probably our least favorite, even though the cat ‘attitudes’ on their faces were amusing. Edited to add: Spectra Cabaret ties with Cats for least favorite. 

I found there were some neat visuals in Spectra's Cabaret...but my main thought was "very weird".

I'm biased as Mamma Mia is my favorite musical all around...it's just so fun and upbeat.  Have seen it 25x to date (with one of those times on Allure).  But I would have to say that We Will Rock You on Anthem was amazing...done really well and was able to go twice during the cruise.  It's my DD's favorite.

I also really enjoyed Hairspray on Symphony and Grease on Independence was good.

Gonna guess Cats will be my least favorite but haven't seen it yet.

For production shows...the one on Navigator wasn't my favorite as it felt like old cheezy Vegas show (even though the performers were talented).

We were on Anthem in March and it was not running.  They had a "puzzle break" activity that I suppose they were trying to mimic that was open to everyone run in the Music Hall (different puzzles/things to solve)

1 hour ago, RCCruiser said:

Ask at the various coffee service locations... Park Cafe, Cafe Promenade, etc. 

We bought ours in the Beverage package section, precruise.

I assume the card is left in your stateroom when you arrive? Drink packages are very pricey now but am considering the coffee card for our next cruise.

1 hour ago, Joybean said:

I am so disappointed in the prices at Royal Caribbean's Thrill water park.  Almost $150 per person for a water slide park????  We paid less than than for Universal and Disney.  Even parks like Kalahari and Great Wolf lodge aren't even close to that.   I don't mind paying around $50-75 but $150 per person is ridiculous.  We have an upcoming cruise and with those prices, I will probably bypass the Thrill Water Park.  My kids will be so disappointed.  

When is your cruise?  Same thing for our Oasis cruise next March. It shows regular price of $191 CAD and current sale price $172 CAD.  That's insane!  We just went this past March and paid $65 CAD  (and for that, we were the only ship and not full capacity so no crowd issues).  Our kids loved the park so hoping it's just so high off since the cruise is out 10 months.  They too will be upset if we don't purchase it (but not at that price)

Everyone has their own risk tolerance and how they look at things.  

The way I see it...If nothing is going on in my life, then sure, I don't want to get sick or pass things to my family, but it's not quite as big deal.

But if something is coming up...vacation, or as an example, we have my DD's bat mitzvah next month....then yeah, I personally am extra nervous and we are extra cautious.  Since catching covid = goodbye trip or event cancelled, etc.  Huge disappointment, big loss of money we put out, and missing out on the event we soooo look forward to.  So we definitely take extra precaution AT LEAST the 2 weeks leading up to the event.  

We cut back what we could for the 2 weeks prior to our cruise meaning:

• kids had no get togethers with friends
• extra curricular programs stopped
• no family get togethers or seeing friends (didn't do the latter much anyways since covid)
• kids wore N95 masks to school (normally it's just triple layer)

Things that continued:

• kids went to school
• DH and I worked, but luckily for our last cruise we were both worked from home (that'll be partially changing soon though)
• N95 masks when out (supermarket or in stores)

Until testing is removed (to get on a plane or on a cruise ship), I will be nervous and do what we can to try and avoid covid.

9 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

Yes. Northstar definitely.  Same with the other activities.  Do you have to reserve time slots for Bumper Cars? I did not know that.

Yes.  Bumper cars needed reservations as well when we went in March.  Don't think it was required before covid.

OP, another item to mention....If you are on a ship where you need to book things, then it's good to book as soon as you can in case it fills up.  This can include shows, any dining, etc.  Also for ships where you need to book activities, such as on Anthem.  We booked iFly and North Star right away.  Some were disappointed who waited and couldn't get a spot later in the week (the free one or pay option).  We also booked bumper cards early in the week, and then we were able to book it again for a second time.