karl_nj

My daughter will be sad to not always have the pasta bolognese and the strip steak as options, they were frequently her go-to's. It was almost like the "picky teen menu"

On Cunard they don't even put the plain chicken/steak/salmon on the menu. But it's available if you don't like anything else.

Well, it turns out embarkation for my cruise last week was super smooth. Much better than it was Christmas of 2021. Disembarkation was amazing too... looked at my watch when leaving our stateroom and I was opening my front door in just under one hour...

We had a French class on Anthem last week. There were 3 sessions; it was fun. We are going to visit Paris for Spring Break next year, so it was a nice little refresher.

Yes I was really surprised how smooth things went October 2021 on Oasis (they were checking set sail pass times, etc.) and then what a mess it was just a couple of months later on Anthem. Nobody was checking any times. I was told JS's could not use the suite line for check-in, and that there was no line for Emerald or even Platinum and was sent to just one huge check in line. I even tried asking nicely again and was yelled at by overwhelmed port staff. Lots of fun.

Yeah... I realize... I'm just a little amused that yesterday they sent out an alert to give yourself more time to get to the terminal, and then today they sent out an alert that said basically said you will be punished if you arrive early. Based on how things went the last time I sailed out of Bayonne (Christmas 2021) I fully expect to see lines like the ones in the photos you shared. Nobody pays attention to the boarding times, and the terminal staff doesn't seem to do much about it.

It's been a long time since I've worn a tux on Royal Carribean. I think it would be overkill. I'll still bring my tux on Cunard though. Sometimes I will bring a suit on Royal. Other times just a sports coat/blazer, and sometimes none of the above. It does depend on if we are driving or flying, and if we are flying how long the rest of our trip is (sometimes if I fly for a cruise I'll add some time pre or post cruise to do something on land.) It also depends on what the weather is, am I packing mostly shorts and polo shirts, or do I need clothing that is more bulky and heavy? Yes, it is possible to pack a suit in a regular suitcase. There is a way to fold it to avoid too many wrinkles. If it's the last thing you pack and the first thing you unpack, the wool fabric tends to de wrinkle itself pretty well. usually. When I first started sailing on Cunard 15 years ago, I would bring my tux, a suit *and* a blazer. The blazer (no tie) was for "casual night" on day 1 and the last night.

But whatever you do, don't arrive early!!

I'm enjoying the emails i'm getting from Royal Carribean for my cruise tomorrow: tl;dr: Don't be late! Leave early! tl;dr: But don't arrive early! I'm not sure they can really have it both ways... In any case I'm actually kind of surprised that "last call" boarding time is 2pm, seems a little early.

Wow... well at least you tried. If you don't end up getting your diamond pin this time around, you can ask at the C&A desk on your next cruise and they will give it to you. Now you don't need to feel bad about giving any scores less than "10" on the survey.

Minors sign if they have charging privileges and order a drink have to pay for, so I don't see why they wouldn't sign a voucher one. I know I had way too much fun signing for virgin pina coladas and virgin strawberry daiquiris as a 12 year old on Norwegian Carribean Line's Skyward in the late 80's. Mom was a little upset when she saw the bar bill at the end of the cruise... lol

There are a few advantages for eastbound to westbound (again from the perspective of a North American) Little to no 'jetlag' when arriving in Europe. If you plan to spend a few days being a tourist in Europe, you are already mostly adjusted to the timezone and you can be productive on day 1. You aren't a zombie for the first day, as you are if you fly over on a redeye in coach. If you can take a car service/drive to the cruise port, fewer worries about having issues with flights and missing the cruise. Less stress about taking a COVID test away from home (but hopefully this will stop being a thing soon)

If I recall correctly "First Gen" Voyager class ships (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure) have metal sided balconies with no door so there is nothing to open. It might be possible on the 2nd gen ships (Navigator, Mariner) but I've never sailed on them so I can't say for sure. (QM2 has similar metal balconies, but they do have doors that can be opened) Radiance class ship balconies sort of look like they could open, but apparently, they don't. I'm not sure if they actually don't open, or if they just can't be locked in an open position, and it's more of a safety issue. I've been on other ships on other cruise lines where they open but don't "lock" and that was ok (at least at the time). You just sort of stick a deck chair there to keep it from flying shut. But with bad weather they might start to fly open/shut and something could break. As far as I can tell, the "real" reason these things open is to make "balcony cleaning day" easier for the crew. Making a 'mega balcony' like your photo is really just an awesome side effect. But it works out really well for me, especially when I can't get a connecting room.

Yes, you can ask your cabin steward about it. He doesn't have they key needed to open it, but he can usually find someone that does. On some ships it's not possible, but it is on Oasis class ships, like Symphony. If bad weather is predicted, the captain may tell the crew to keep them locked. I request this on most cruises, since we usually have 2 adjacent balcony cabins. I would say I'm able to get the opened about 90% of the time.

Ah, how funny. I think we were both on Oasis of the Seas for the October 24, 2021 sailing too. Ok thanks... I pulled up google maps in the satellite view and I see what you mean, much appreciated!

Well doesn't *everyone* in NJ have family in Miami they might want to visit? lol

No, they didn't *have* to have everyone disembark. This has been handled in other ways in the past (e.g. do it onboard, as they have done in Bar Harbor) Seems like someone in CBP in Miami decided that this was the way to handle it in this particular case.

Apparently it was "ok" to wait until noon to make your way off the ship, while keeping everyone else waiting outside....

These US "zero out the ship" rules are so crazy. In Europe Royal has cruises where you can embark/disembark at a selection of ports. On Transatlantic crossings on Cunard's QM2 from NYC to the UK, immigration officers from the UK board the ship with you in New York and you are assigned a (large) timeslot (at a reasonable time of day) to take care of all immigration formalities before you even leave the ship in Southhampton. There are so many better ways to handle these things.

We got to park in the garage last Christmas. I figured the "overflow lot" was only needed when they had Oasis + Another RCL ship + Celebrity Summit going out of Bayonne. But now aren't we back to just having Anthem sailing out of that port? So I'm a little surprised they are still using the overflow lot. Where is this overflow lot anyway? How far from the terminal is it? I'm boarding Anthem on Sunday.

I think after all of this you are allowed to vent a little... Yeah, after all of that I wouldn't have wanted to scoot over to the main C&A desk either (the one next door to Guest Relations). My recommendation would be to stop by the Diamond Lounge tomorrow morning or this afternoon. Play with the fancy coffee machine if you like coffee, and say hi to the Diamond Concierge. They will usually have office hours at various points during the day. It's listed on one of those sheets you didn't get because of the people that stole your room. Then you can sit down at his desk and give the quick version of your story, mention how you didn't get any of the papers you should have, etc. At minimum he should be able to give you the papers you missed. Often the pin comes later on during the cruise anyway, but he can confirm that. He can also make sure that C&A knows what room you are in, so you will get any more treats they may send to the room, etc. Since you missed your boarding day cookies and the can of water. On Wonder the office hours for the Diamond Concierge were 8am-11:30pm and 4:30pm to 8pm. Morning might be less busy than the afternoon.

Yeah... but they are in a sealed envelope with your name written on it... I think the response from the customer "service" desk is the *really* crazy part of the story.

That story about the family in your cabin is so crazy! You said parking was an issue too? Are they still having people park in a lot and not in the garage?

But you didn’t pay for the cup. You paid for a drink package that gave you access to beverages during a specific time period, no? You had a right to use that cup during that period.

Along the same lines, one could also ask why it's ok for a foreign flagged ship to do a repositioning cruise from NYC to Puerto Rico, but not from NYC to Miami.