Srp431

Never ever pass up a Southern Caribbean route, especially on the latest and greatest! 

Shoot as long as there wasn’t a rat in me drink , I’d have not thought twice. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Rub some dirt on it. 

PLEASE don’t be “that guy”!!!! You will be one of the most annoying and hated individuals on the ship. NO ONE likes walkie talkie guy!! The only person likely to be less liked than you is Bluetooth speaker guy. 😂🤣

Royal Caribbean is not worth any price! 
Summary - I have no idea why anytime books this cruise. Literally every aspect of the cruise is worse than a bad all inclusive resort. Anything you want to do will be better at an all inclusive resort than on any Royal Caribbean cruise.
Pool(s) - Extremely small, imagine the size of a backyard pool, not even 5 foot deep. At least they were heated, but no frills and packed.
Food - Ouch! Unless you go to the buffet, you will wait 45 minutes+++, for a table to eat mediocre food. We paid for my time dining to eat anywhere between 630 and 8pm. Regularly waited 45 minutes to an hour...then got sat with waiter that barely paid attention to us. Just awful dining experience. Buffet is somewhat better but mostly filled with cheap dishes - pizza, pasta, hamburgers and other cheap entrees.
Activities - Nearly all of these are a scam designed to extract extra money from you - whether it be drinks during trivia. extras for everything, etc. 
Gambling - Holy shit this is the worst part! RC literally screws all of its passengers due to its own greed! The table odds and slot odds immediately change in international waters to grossly exceed any resemblance of fairness. As a .ere example, RC keeps like 90% of bingo fees. Texas Holden cash rake and tournament rake are absurd. Poker cash ga.es are even more brutal. You have to be an idiot to play slots on any RC ship. Just an awful weather to treat its customers.
Maintenance - Literally every restroom has multiple broken sinks and/or soap dispensers. Rusty railings everywhere. Soap and sanitizer everywhere is broke. 
Room - we booked a balcony room - ok but it is very small and shower is similar to a RV shower. 
Overall, I have no idea why anyone books RC over an all inclusive resort. Literally every aspect of a "bad" all inclusive is way better than RC.
Stay away from this tourist trap!!!

Fashion police at it again.  My husband wears neat clean shorts and a button down or polo shirt to dinner.  I will wear a sundress or other dress probably with a light sweater.  We keep our elbows off the table, napkins in our laps, use our inside voices and chew with our mouths closed.  I’m not having dinner in the WJ.  I’m afraid you will just have to deal with it.  Pay attention to your table mate instead of other diners.

There are no reservations for Freedom class ships. First come, first serve

Our family is planning to stay on the ship during our Freedom of the Seas Christmas cruise this December, hopefully they may start to notice an increase of people staying onboard, similar to Nassau (minus the political instability)

Our family is planning to stay on the ship during our Freedom of the Seas Christmas cruise this December, hopefully they may start to notice an increase of people staying onboard, similar to Nassau (minus the political instability)

Tips at 18% were added to the UDP, so you should not be made to feel like you need to tip additional at any place you eat with that package.
 

My wife and I recently went on a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas out of Galveston and thought I would share my trip review.
This was our first Star Class experience and we didn't really know what to expect. For what its worth, my wife and I are, what  we believe to be, low maintenance.
We arrived at the terminal around 11 am and the parking lot was busy!!! It took us about 15 minutes to get from the entrance of the lot to the drop off spot for Star class #6. Once there, our luggage was taken by the Star Class Attendant and we were walked right in and the check in process was quick and painless.  We were in the suite waiting area less than a minute when our Genie Claudio met us and another one of his rooms and he took us right in to the ship.  We entered Deck 5 and I asked the Genie if we could get our visit to the muster station done as it was in the main dining hall on deck 5 ( visible from where we were standing). He said he would prefer to take us to our rooms and let us come back later on our own.  Once inside the cabin, a Star Loft, Claudio went over our itinerary.   -backstory
 
The Shore "Genie" Jerryme caused more work than if there would have been no communication before getting on the ship.  He reached out about 4 weeks before the cruise. We exchanged about 3 emails each.  After the first email I'm not sure he read any of the others.  We requested which restaurants we wanted to eat at, mentioned a few we didn't want to go to and he just added all the restaurants whether we wanted them or not.  I also mentioned that we were celebrating my wife's birthday on day 2 and that I was hoping for a cake and some room decorations.  I wasn't too worried because I kept reading that there were similar problems with other cruisers and that the ship's Genie would take care of everything.
Back to Day one of the cruise
 
Our Genie Claudio took care of everything.  Any reservation we wanted, and show any time, he got it done.  No worries.  Days 1-5 there was always some kind of treat waiting for us, Charcuterie boards, chocolate covered strawberries and cookies were the norm.  
 
Day 2 when we came back from lunch the room was decorated for my wife's birthday celebration.  It was a surprise to have this done for her.  It even had a gift from Claudio which was really unexpected and very nice!!  The cake was made from towels.  Not what I expected.  My wife asked me if I requested an edible cake.   I did not, guess that's on me.  Still very nice that they set this up.  We ate at Hibachi. The host sat us then explained to the table what each dining package covered.  Then he looked at my wife and I and said order anything you want it is all covered.  We ordered Sushi ( a full roll) the hibachi and I had a small carafe of warm saki (one of my only drinks).  We received 4 receipts, all totalled 0$.  The only food or drink item that we paid for on the ship was cotton candy on the boardwalk (3.98 each) and a nonalcohol pineapple drink on the promenade.  
 
For dinners Claudio would come in to the restaurant about 5 minutes after we were seated to make sure everything was as expected.  The shows our Genie would meet us outside the venue to escort us to reserved seats and get us drinks if we needed.  For shore excursions our Genie would meet us at the elevators to cut any lines and escort us to the disembarkation location.  
 
Our room steward and his apprentice were great.  Days 1-5 it seemed that any time we would leave the room when we came back the room was made  up like new.  
 
We aren't alcohol drinkers much so we had different sodas in the suite.  When we were low we texted our Genie and almost immediately they were restocked.  We never had to ask again as they were filled almost daily after that.  
 
Day 2 our Genie said there was a flowrider time set aside for star guests at 9am.   That was the only time any star class event was mentioned.
 
Days 6 and 7 were a little different.  I don't remember any snacks in the room.  We did use room service and our Genie said to text him or if we called room service our suite was on a priority list so the food was delivered super quick.  Also on day seven we had 2 tours, the galley tour and the navigation area.  
 
Also on day seven we requested the tip form to have the tips added to out on board account.  Tips are included as part of the Star Class amenities, except for the Genie and room stewards to my knowledge.  We tipped our Genie 750.00 room steward 150.00 and apprentice steward 75.00.  We also tipped anyone that dropped off room service 3-5 per trip.  
 
It was an amazing trip, we had so much fun.  I'm not sure if star class was worth the extra money.  My wife and I agreed that we weren't wowed, but it was a great experience.  
 
Hope this helps if you haven't tried star class yet.  For those that have, is there anything we could have done differently to experience more?
 

To me it's odd they claim they are making changes to standardize suite benefits across the fleet yet they continue to only have Sea/Sky/Star on newer ships.   On ships with Sky class it's inconsistent between ships with some Sky class ships having beer and wine from 11am to 11pm and some Sky class ships not having this perk.
I really wish they would actually standardize suite benefits across the fleet.  It wouldn't be that hard to put Sea and Sky class on older ships and finally provide full suite benefit standardization across the fleet.  I get that Coastal Kitchen isn't available on all ships but that is just one perk and if they really wanted to they could have added a CK during Voyager and Freedom class amplification.  
It's almost like they want to dabble with a suite product but they aren't fully committed to the suite concept.  
I have a full suite booked on a Voyager class ship which is rare for me because the suite perks on this class just don't have value to me. 

Let me be the first to suggest Waffle House!

Time to start gearing up to cruise again! It's been a busy 7 months since my solo adventure on Voyager. Lots of scouting moving from Cub's to Troop with many plans coming down the pipe line. We actually don't have a cruise scheduled after this one which is the first time that has happened since 2017! This will also be our last cruise with a child 12 and under and our first cruise Diamond.  If things work out I may squeeze in a western Caribbean towards the end of next summer (before he hits 13) but for now it looks like my next time afloat will be a 24 ft catamaran off Great Abaco in 2026! 
That being the case a Holiday afloat for the family is in order. 
For this 5 day sailing out of Galveston departing Nov 25th we are booked in a Jr Suite just forward of the hump. It is a standard Itinerary from this port. Costa Maya and Cozumel are our ports of call.
Sunday Nov 24
Drive to Galveston in the afternoon. Obviously we will be making an obligatory stop at Bucky’s on the way. I think I might get a corner of my “Texan Card” clipped if I skipped this! We try to get through Houston in the afternoon but Sunday traffic is better than weekday madness down there. Check in at our hotel on the island and Supper at Salsa’s is a tradition for us.
Monday Nov 25
We normally have breakfast at the hotel since it is right there and free, however I may try and talk Herself into going to Café Canela. Pancakes are on the menu so the boy will go for it I am sure. This is where I ate in February and the food was fantastic. Absolutely worth a return trip.  Then make sure of all our bags, check out and head for Terminal 10.  I managed to snag covered parking right across from the terminal this time. We use Discount Cruise Parking and ride their shuttle many times but this spot looks pretty sweet. Speaking of Suites, A Jr doesn’t get all the perks but the Suite lounge at the terminal is one of them we do. So check our bags, through security and up the escalator we go. I don’t think we have any set plans for boarding day but I know boy will want to check out the teen area. HE is excited that he isn’t consigned to the kids in Adventure ocean. He loved his time there but has out grown it.
Tuesday Nov 26
Time for my favorite thing about cruising.. _doing nothing_ Yup time to embrace my inner vegetable. Hang out on the rail and mindlessly watch the flying fish. Watch the clouds, cook in a hot tub, Take a nap with the DW. (maybe even sleep) Good chance of Izumi for supper but nothing decided.

Wednesday Nov 27
Costa Maya. The Boy actually picked our excursion here. We are going to take the time to see the Chacchoben Ruins. I was sonly to happy to acquiesce to his choice as I am a bit of a history nut. We are booked on the Exclusive Drive tour so not quite so sardine canned into the tour bus this time.
Thursday Nov 28
Thanksgiving in Cozumel! We are going to take the Twister boat to Isla de la Passion. Something frivolous and fun after a cultural day ashore. The DW loves the beach and the boy will be trying out his snorkeling gear to start getting ready for his Scouting adventure in the Bahamas. Beach food with pygmy racoons for our Thanksgiving Feast!  
Friday Nov 29
Back to my favorite cruising activity. Relax on the balcony and watch the sea ignore us as we drift by. Sure we will have to set aside an hour or so to pack up but sea days are awesome no matter what.
Sat Nov 30
Back to the chill reality of an incoming Texas winter. Hit the road back home to Arlington with another stop to see the Beaver en-route.
 
I am sure things will shift and change as we get closer. Right now it is still 52 days away. Until then we have new cruise shirts to pack, ducks to label and door magnets to assemble. I know once we get through October Herself will go full steam into packing and planning decorations.
Getting close enough though I can almost taste my blueberry nojito!

Just roll them into the cruise fare already.
 
 
 

Really depends on what you are looking for. We like Senior Frogs for some nachos and a couple drinks. Its loud and can be funny. Food is pretty good. 

Was just on Liberty of the Seas on a 9-Night NE/Canada Itinerary and noticed early on that there was some overlap between the MDR and Windjammer dinner menus, so I decided to keep track of the menus between the two throughout the sailing. Here are some observations:
The theme of the night generally matched between the MDR and Windjammer, except for Royal Night (Med night in Windjammer) and Bon Voyage (Indian night in Windjammer) When the themes matched, about half of the appetizers and main courses and a majority of desserts from the MDR were available in the Windjammer The Windjammer had much more variety, usually about 50% more choice and was the only place that had Coconut Ranger Cookies The items that were exclusive to the MDR fell into a couple of categories: Appetizers - Baked French Onion Soup, Shrimp Cocktail, Escargot and Calamari were exclusive to the MDR Seafood - Shrimp, salmon and lobster were exclusive to the MDR. Windjammer had cod during UK night, but otherwise had tilapia on all other nights Beef - NY Strip Steak, Prime Rib and Beef Tenderloin were exclusive to the MDR. Windjammer just had grilled sirloin Dessert - Basically anything containing ice cream (Baked Alaska, Sundaes) was exclusive to the MDR.  Overall, the MDR has better ambiance, service and the temperature of the food is a bit better, but the Windjammer is a decent alternative, especially for people who want more variety. 
For those interested, here's a link to the document where I kept track of all the menus (also has the menus for the MDR lunches we had) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cY7OtmvGn0IfRqM6NTx3yV9NVGd1HLc-Gw2BrP0rYrg/edit?usp=sharing

High end dining is “dinning”?

"High end"? You'll have to find another line to call yourself 'high end'.  No offense, but this just screams condescension.

I think Royal Caribbean has safety at the top of their mind. I really don't think they'd resume sailings there without feeling confident about the risks involved, especially given 95 miles from Labadee is even further when you consider the state of roads in Haiti. It's no I-95.

Flip-side being, in an election year, candidate trolling for the labor vote, will be very supportive of unions and support a work stoppage.

Yes, you are being unreasonable. They are offering you something. Royal UP is run by a third party, and they have no control over them. The risk of doing a Royal Up is your room might not be in an area that suits your needs, it is only about getting a "better" room. Better in a since that you are possibly going from a room with no window to a room with one or a balcony. 

Royal (and all cruise ship lines, for that matter) is loathe to cancel anything where they have to refund money.  If this were me, I would cancel proactive, myself just to be safe.  Nothing worse than a soggy, cold excursion.  

Another reason to use a travel agent when booking cruise
 
 

We're scheduled to visiting in December to Labadee, we also stay on board, the food isn't worth the effort and the vendors (don't want to deal with). Give me another sea day or CocoCay.
 

Labadee was never unsafe. As has been the case for years in Haiti, Port Au Prince is a mess, but is very far away from Labadee.  Now you have Kenyan and Jamaican police forces helping out and the US is trying to get a UN task force sent there, too.