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kadmgs

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Posts posted by kadmgs

  1. On 3/25/2022 at 9:29 PM, jay1021 said:

    Just curious, I'd like to know where you found that the new beach area, 

    As Ashley said, an additional food option is an assumption. I would expect them to increase food options with another snack shack location or the like due to increased capacity. I thought I read the area would include a pool, but I may be confusing it with something else. Regardless, it would still give a more quiet location without kids and increase capacity of the island. 

  2. Theoretically, yes it would because people would choose to use the adults-only pool or food option rather than the current options. I for one would fit this description. I prefer the more laid back, quite areas of the island, but that's not possible right now if I want to go to the pool unless I pay for the beach club. Hideaway beach will be free, so it would give me an option rather than going to the oasis pool. 

  3. 6 minutes ago, jay1021 said:

    Fruit for thought -

    Would you want more than one or two ships, especially if they are Oasis Class ships, docked/anchored at Cococay at a time.  I think it would be a little over crowded and long lines would form at the eating and rides venues.  Just my opinion.  If, in the future, Royal expanded the size of their pier there, but not the size of the island/amenities, and it turned into a hurry-up and wait situation, I think I'd be a little disappointed.

    JMHO

    They are currently in the process of expanding the island/amenities with the addition of hideaway beach (the adults only area). This would allow for more people to be on the island in the event two oasis class ships were there at the same time. 

  4. 7 minutes ago, Jzx1103 said:

    The 1 to 2 ships already docked at Cococay is the only legit reason I see here, even then. I'm sure Royal can allow 1 ship a week or even every 2 weeks outta Galveston to dock there. The sale number argument dont make sense since Royal never actually attempted to sell a normal Cococay itinerary out of Galveston thus far. The only sailing to Cococay from Galveston thus far has been repositioning cruises.

    This... Since the re-design of Cococay, there hasn't been an itinerary out of Galveston that included it. Therefore, there is no data to prove how it would sell. The number of ships at any given time/scheduling of ships is the only reason I see as justification. I have a feeling there are many of us that sail out of Galveston who would jump at the chance to go to Cococay. There are a few Radiance sailings that include Cococay, but those are times in which I can sail aka they are during school. Radiance data can't be used either because the majority of people with school aged children are not going to sail when Radiance is sailing out of Galveston (Spring '23). 

  5. 3 hours ago, twangster said:

    A mix of politics and merit.  

    Real people were impacted by actions of the Cuban government.  However the US government and/or many states will gladly take your land when they need or want it right here in the US.  Here's 10 cents on the dollar.  Eminent domain is alive and well.  

    There are many people who did have land and property seized in Cuba so the issues are real and like everything else opinions fall depending if you and someone close to you was impacted.  

    However at this point it's mostly a political conversation. 

    I agree. Without getting too far into political ideology/judicial philosophy, etc., I teach my GOVT students to pay attention to who appointed a federal judge when examining a ruling. Usually, it will give insight into judicial philosophy. However, this is not the case for this particular ruling. She was appointed by Obama, so we don't really have any basis for understanding her intent. We can say that this wasn't politically motivated. Its not government overreach because its a civil case. In a civil case, proof the cruise lines violated the law isn't necessary. There only has to be proof the defendant's actions caused injury to the plaintiff. Tort law is different than criminal law. 

  6. This is interesting and almost guaranteed to go to the 11th Circuit on appeal. I would like to see the evidence to prove the "cruise ships were taking passengers outside the travel categories allowed by law." If I remember correctly, cultural education was a listed travel category. The judge is splitting hairs if she states that "excursions to nightclubs, landmarks, rivers and beaches when they began traveling to Cuba in 2016" are not a part of cultural education. I would question her understanding of culture if that's the case. 

  7. 1 hour ago, Pooch said:

    Coastal Kitchen:

    First night dinner filet night at CK.  What to say?  Frankly not great.  No one cared much for anything.  Daughter & I had the crispy pork belly and it was a big hunk of fat.  Filet was not good.  Overcooked,  under seasoned and the sauce had a funky taste.

    I find the "fat" on pork belly a problem as well if it isn't cooked long enough. Honestly, they have to basically fry it or smoked it to the point that it looks like bacon for me to get past the gross mouth feel of the fat. I figured out with the filet that I don't in fact like truffle (I already knew this, but gave it the ol' college try), so I know going forward to order the filet without the truffle oil. I have a feeling that's what you tasted that was funky. To me, it has a medicinal/petrochemical flavor that I just can't jump on the bandwagon for. 

  8. 19 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

     But I am thankful that I am Type A and pack the way we pack.  Otherwise, it would have not gone well at all.  

    I told DW last night about your fiasco with the luggage and how I am now going back to packing an extra set of clothes in my carry-on like I did before we were married. She hates dealing with carry-ons and would check everything if it were up to her after her years in the military dealing with carrying gear on a plane. She just looked at me. Nope, not spending a week in the same clothes because you don't want to deal with a bag. Sounds like you otherwise had a great spring break. We are now counting down the class days left. My seniors can tell you exactly how many they have left (so can I 😆). 

  9. 13 hours ago, Leighq said:

    I know this was the weirdest question but I had to put it out there!

    Not a weird question at all. Some of us know exactly when we will need said products and for some, its a "surprise." I always pack a small pharmacy as well. Like others have said, no pain relievers post-COVID available for purchase. Depending on your ports, there's usually some type  of general store in the port where you can purchase said items. I was on Oasis in December and the vending machines stopped working about 3 days into the cruise, so I wouldn't depend on them. The 2 non-Oasis (Rhapsody & Liberty) ships I've been on had products for sale in the logo store or liquor store. However, the options were extremely limited. 

  10. 1 hour ago, Larry Muster said:

    Thanks @kadmgs for the clarification.  My next cruise is a Junior Suite level - which does not get me access to the suite lounge I don't think.  But if I were to Royal Up to an official suite, do I get access to the suite lounge even if I got there via RoyalUp?

    You are correct. A jr. suite does not get access to the suite lounge. However, a grand suite or above does get you access. The price difference between a jr. suite and a grand suite for this particular sailing was less than the cost of the beverage package, so it was a no brainer for us. 

  11. 1 hour ago, Larry Muster said:

    Hold up...  Are you saying we get 4 "free drinks" loaded on our card and free drinks in the Diamond Lounge?  If I have four drinks at the pool and then head to the lounge before dinner - do I drink for free while in the lounge?

    No, you get 4 drink vouchers for Diamond loaded on your sea pass card. If you are in a suite, you can go to the suite lounge for complementary beer, wine, or soda from 11am to 11pm. The suite lounge also hosts a happy hour for suite guests from 5:30 to 8pm, time may vary per ship, and the drinks you consume during the suite happy hour do not count against your vouchers. We are in a GS aka Grand Suite, so that's what I meant in my previous post. 

  12. The suite lounge on Oasis in December had a good selection of call and premium liquors, so I disagree about it being lower end products. I drank Pyrat rum the entire week, a premium rum (at least onboard Royal). They also had Whistle Pig whiskey for example, which is a premium liquor. I also saw a bottle of Gentleman Jack as well. The only real limitations were due to supply issues, not because they don't carry it in the suite lounge versus the rest of the ship. 

  13. 57 minutes ago, dancernl said:

    I agree! I don't like Karaoke but I love a sing-a-long and this piano guy was not great for that. We really enjoyed High Voltage and Coyote for cover bands/themed shows, both were in the Music Hall and Boleros all cruise. 

    I agree as well. The piano player in a piano bar should play for sing-a-long. I don't mind a few lyric changes for humor, but it bugs me when they go completely off. We found the same issue in the Schooner on Oasis in December. There is a sacred rule of piano bars in the US...Don't mess with Piano Man, dude! 😂

  14. On 2/24/2022 at 3:58 PM, Pooch said:

    Beer coupons?  Are those different/separate from the Diamond vouchers?

    Yes, Diamond includes 50% off any two glasses of wine, beer, or soda when purchased together (one coupon per person) & 20% any glass of wine, beer, or soda (one coupon per person). I don't drink beer and I'm allergic to wine, so DW can use both coupons at some point during the cruise if she chooses. 

  15. 6 hours ago, TXcruzer said:

    We have cruised twice since the advent of the drink voucher system.  We found some middle ground, and purchase the refreshment package when the price is right, and combine that with the D+ coupons is a sweet spot for us. We drink a fair amount of specialty coffee, fresh OJ, and bottled water.

    We are also going this route in November to test it out since we are also specialty coffee and bottled water drinkers. We also like to get bottled powerades to keep in the room. We will be diamond at that point and in a GS, so we want to see if the 4 vouchers and suite lounge happy hour are enough. I have a feeling it will be for me, but DW may want a few more. She will probably either use all the beer coupons since I don't drink it and we will pay for the few extra each day. 

  16. We have Maya Chan in Costa Maya booked for November. They were sold out for our July stop when we tried to book last week. We bought the port pass the last time we were in Costa Maya and it was fun. The aviary is really cool.

    We are going to Paradise Beach in July. We are looking at this Cozumel Jeep Tour for November. We've been to Playa Mia in Cozumel for a cooking class that we booked through RC pre-COVID, but it is still available if you book directly through the resort. The food was excellent, but their drinks were awful unless you drank beer. Had a blast anyway. Definitely recommend if you like to cook. 

    We've only been to Belize City once and it wasn't good. Our original excursion (Rum factory tour & tasting) was cancelled due to lack of interest. The excursion desk suggested the city tour on the open air trolley, so we did it. We should have just stayed in the port to shop and eat and then gone back to the ship. 

  17. On 2/20/2022 at 9:54 PM, bryresangel said:

    I am having the same issue for our cruise in December. There is only one excursion showing for Cozumel, and nothing for Costa Maya. I know I am pretty far out, but it makes me nervous because there are specific things I want to do at each port, and I much prefer booking through the cruise line.

    We are on Liberty in July and it is the same for us. We decided to book with independent tours as a result. We booked Paradise Beach in Cozumel, Cleve's tours in Roatan, and are going to just take a taxi to the Malecon and eat at the Krazy Lobster in Costa Maya. 

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