Ditchdoc

Back home and almost unpacked from this cruise. Overall it was a good trip. For Christmas, the Centrum was very nicely decorated. Most all the crew members wore Santa hats. Many of the guests wore Christmas themed clothing. A lot of cabin doors were decorated. The weather was great. We got out before the dramatic Arctic chill hit most of the US and we got back just in time for warmer temperatures at home. Most every day during the cruise the temps were in the 70s and 80s. We attempted to get photos taken but the waits were long and the end results were not good enough to take advantage of even though we had some free ones we could get. Overall, the food was very good. There were a few duds but considering how much food and the variety available, I would not complain. As usual, there are always a few guests that could stand to have more patience and consideration. Jewel was near capacity and probably the most balanced group I have seen with young children, teens, family's and older adults. Entertainment was somewhat lacking I thought. There was a 4 member band, Kronos, that were excellent but there play list was almost the same every time they played. There was a 3 piece Latin group and a classic violin and guitar duo. That was it. The rest of the entertainment was crew members trying to engage people in trivia and karaoke. The RC app was helpful at times. Other time it was not up to date with schedules/events and times were wrong. It has a lot of potential but I miss the Cruise Compass. I missed some of the attentiveness of past cruises. Nothing major but things like Windjammer staff offer to get you get you water, coffee or refills. This just does not happen much anymore. Dinning room staff seem to be short handed. You don't see them as often, they seem to be always rushed. Service was generally timely and if something did not meet your approval, staff was eager and willing to make it right. Jewel was tidy, clean and a good looking ship but again, lack of attention to some details was present. In the past, it seemed every opportunity in port, crew members could be seen touching up paint, cleaning windows etc. Jewel had a few rusty spots and some windows need attention. Minor stuff but things did you would not have seen ten years ago. Yes, I am being picky and nothing was noted that would keep me from cruising RC again. It just seems RC has lost a little of its edge. Maybe its due to COVID, maybe inflation. Cruising is still the best bang for the buck but I see and read a lot of things where cruise lines are raising prices and catering more to the wealthy. At the end of this cruise I found myself owing about $300 just for tips. I don't begrudge the staff tips and I should have expected it but it is disheartening to think you have paid everything in advance to be hit with a sizable bill when you get off. So that's it. My totally biased opinion. I have some other RC cruises I am looking at that are interesting to me but the general trend of decreased service and increasing prices are starting to make me look toward other types of vacations other than cruising.

$1000 charged = $10 credit. $10,000 = $100 credit. You have to charge in the neighborhood of $60,000 to get a buy one cruise get one free. If you have that much cash flow to make it worthwhile, good for you.

Good question. Obviously paid performers bring various instruments on board. If you are a beginner trumpet player and decide to practice during the cruise, I doubt your practice sessions would be appreciated and probably terminated. On the other hand, if you are a classical violinist that plays with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and decide to entertain the masses or you are Jimmy Buffett, I suspect you would be well received.

Generally, ship time will change to match local time. However, not always. Its pretty much Captains discretion if the change would only be for a few hours while in port then go back to what it was. As a convenience to passengers and crew, ship time may not change for the few hours spent in port. There will be numerous announcements on board so passengers will know. Current ship time is on the TV and will be published in the daily schedule or Cruise Compass. On longer voyages, ships generally go by longitude. 360 divided by 24 is 15. So every 15 degrees of longitude is a new time zone. Then there is GMT or Greenwich Mean Time. GMT is the same everywhere but is adjusted to local time as needed. Confused yet? I know, I know, you just want to get back on the ship before it leaves. Just make sure you understand what ship time and local time is when you get to port and then make sure your excursion returns before scheduled departure. If it is questionable, do not go on the excursion. Its just not worth it to miss the boat.

I'm sure the water will be fine. A wet suit would be over kill. Perhaps a skin (1 or 1.5mm) would be good for sun protection. Every cenote is different. I have SCUBA dove in some of the caves. These 'sink holes' are pools of water in the jungle and the surface area varies. The edges are rough, porous rock cliffs that are surrounded by jungle. There are some that are developed with zip lines overhead, floating swim docks, picknik areas and so on. I highly suspect this is what RC will take you to. As far as 9 hours, you will probably spend an hour or more getting there and another coming back. Most of these excursions come with lunch. Its not uncommon that along the way you get dropped off for a bit of shopping along the way. So it will be an adventurous day with a lot of activities to keep you busy.

I think Royal Caribbean currently has 24 ships in service. I got to looking at my history and determined I have been on 11 different RC ships. Then I determined 3 of the ships have been sold to other cruise lines including Empress, Legend and Majesty. So I have only been on 8 of the current ships. I thought it would be (for us anyway) a somewhat lofty goal to sail at least once on every current ship so only 16 more (17 with Icon coming on line) to go :). I searched around the web for a bit to see if anyone was claiming to have sailed the entire fleet but did not find anything. I am sure there are a few out there somewhere. Maybe even here. The current fleet includes: Adventure of the Seas Allure of the Seas Anthem of the Seas Brilliance of the Seas Enchantment of the Seas Explorer of the Seas Freedom of the Seas Grandeur of the Seas Harmony of the Seas Independence of the Seas Jewel of the Seas Liberty of the Seas Mariner of the Seas Navigator of the Seas Oasis of the Seas Ovation of the Seas Quantum of the Seas Radiance of the Seas Rhapsody of the Seas Serenade of the Seas Spectrum of the Seas Symphony of the Seas Vision of the Seas Voyager of the Seas

We did New Years on Harmony for 2020. We enjoyed it. New Years was celebrated ship wide. I can not say what crowds were like at the other venues. Other than the promenade, I think the next biggest party was up on the pool deck, near the big screen TV. Next were some of the larger lounges and on down to most anywhere people could gather. We went to the promenade, maybe 2 hours early, and found seats at one of the shops right in front of the band. Our backs were pretty well covered and as midnight approached, the crowd grew and got crazy in front of us. We were pretty well protected and were able to get an occasional drink. I felt bad for the wait staff trying to navigate the press of people and deliver midnight favors and champagne. None of this was much of a surprise and we were fortunate to secure a relatively secure spot in the middle of the madness. Crowds broke up pretty quickly after midnight and we were able to bar hop and dance a little before calling it a night. As we all know, it was late January, early February 2020 when we first started hearing about COVID. When we got home, both of us suffered somewhat unusual respiratory issues. Not hospital serious and we got over it in a couple of weeks. We still wonder if we were on the leading edge of COVID cases due to that trip, packed with a thousand others on the promenade from who knows where. Anyway, we had a great time and this Christmas sailing is our first time cruising since then. My best advise, find you spot somewhere you think you will like, get there early and enjoy.

We will be on Jewel of the Seas Dec 22 — Dec 31. We have sailed during the holidays before but never on Christmas day. We are taking Santa hats, red/green apparel, door decoration, battery powered lights etc. We hope for it to be a festive occasion. If anyone has any input/feedback on things to take or do for the occasion, I'm all antlers ..... err..... ears. Afterwards, I'll try to come back here and relay some our thoughts and experiences and perhaps a photo or two. Thanks in advance ... 17 days and counting down ...

Only hurricanes last all day/week. There .... feel better

On the subject of magnet hooks. Many of these magnets are STRONG. They will snap together at light speed and it will take a large pair of pliers and a vise to separate them. If you are unfortunate enough to get a bit of skin between them when they mate, they will pinch it off leaving you bloody and cussing. Moral of the story, keep them separated. This is best done by buying suitable screw top plastic containers just big enough to hold one magnetic hook. These containers can be found in hobby stores etc. Moral of the story, again, keep them away from each other at all times. On a side note. In our home, our full, unfinished basement serves in part as a home gym and there are metal columns as well as air conditioning ducts that make great places to hang exercise equipment using the magnetic hooks. There are no doubt many uses for these under the right circumstances.

1) Sunny days 2) Calm seas 3) Spouse 4) Friendly people 5) Wine

I expect they spend it on new Teflon seals and high resolution optical motor controls and maybe a little chrome bling to impress their robot friends.

The fine print will most always be biased toward the seller. The fine print will not always seem fair. I cannot say for sure but my guess is RCCL probably had the legal right to keep the $4,200. Would it have been fiscally responsible to go to court over it? Nope. Would it have been fair? Nope. In my experience, RCCL generally does right for its customers. At the same time, all cruise ships basically hold you hostage in the middle of the ocean and are only obligated to give you a bathroom, a bed and meal. Everything else is extra.

First, let me say I understand a lot of frustration in and with the cruise industry due to COVID. Its supposed to be a great vacation and customers pay a good price for the experience. The media likes to dwell on cancelled ports and sick passengers and empty ships sitting at anchor. All the misery and misfortune in the headlines sells. No one wants to go on vacation and be limited to mask wearing, subjected to nasal swabs, flight disruption, port dismissal etc. On the other hand, trying to take a purely scientific view point ... Though ships have been called a Petri dish (generally with negative connotations), at the same time they are a somewhat unique controlled population sampling. Here you have literally thousands of people that are vaccinated and following masking protocols etc. Its not perfect but when you look at infection rates, those aboard ship are less than one percent compared to over 30% on land. To me this is a perfect example of how an experiment works. You have two populations, one with generally well kept protocols and controls, and the other, not so much. The difference in infection rates is dramatic. It just shows vaccines, masking and isolation of known cases works. Ships have other issues such as limited space for isolation and medical facilities. Their systems are not perfect but the numbers show they do work.

I am a RN. I work two jobs. One is in an addiction clinc where as many as 200 patients needs are addressed daily. Some of these patients are known to be Covid+ and are seen in an isolated area. All the medical staff wear masks and patients are required to wear masks. All the medical staff are very much pro-vaccine. All my vaccines are current including flu and booster. The second job is in a hospital administering monoclonal antibodies to Covid+ patients. Here I am in a room for 8 hours a day with as many as 5 Covid+ patients at a time. In this case, I all but wear a space suit all day. Here is the deal. The cruise lines and a lot of other places commonality ask if you have been in contact with someone that has Covid. Well the truth is obvious for me but at the same time, I am not inclined to answer yes for fear of loosing my rights to cruise or attended whatever function is asking me. Is this fair to health providers? What is your opinion?

What ever it is, one thing is certain, more money from the cruisers pocket.

Stand on the bow of the ship and yell "I'm the king of the world!"

Humm ... some good tips here already .... let me think ... Don't over pack ... unless you have some really special occasion ... don't try to be formal .... slacks and collard shirt for men ... a nice sun dress for the ladies ... other than that ... T shirts, shorts, swim attire, comfort clothes. Don't forget documents like passports etc. Once you board, you probably wont need them. Don't forget to put your phone in airplane mode to avoid high dollar roaming charges. Take time to explore the ship. I've found rooms, lounges etc I haven't seen after being on board 2 or 3 days. Take time to appreciate the all the work and art they put into Royal ships. Look for alternatives to the Windjammer to eat. A number of sandwich shops and cafe's serve meals/breakfasts that are included and many times they are not as crowded and offer a nice change. The Windjammer is fine, there are just some nice places to eat as alternatives. We usually enjoy dinner in the dinning room. Many times we have met some very nice people at our table. Don't hesitate to order seconds of something you like. Some of my favorites that are served on some nights are prime rib, lobster, hot pie with ice cream .... if you are so inclined .... ask for two ? Often, there is one bar that has a happy hour, or two, just before dinner. Some times specials are listed in the Cruise Compass or ask a crew member. The pool gets crowded in the after noon, specifically on days at sea. Find a spot you like early. Wear sun screen. A walk around the top deck at sun set and sun rise is one of my favorite times. Don't forget your camera. Also walking around the ship in the early morning when few people are out and about is kind of magical to me. There will almost always be a few crew cleaning and shinning glass and chrome and probably some music playing somewhere. It is usually a lot quieter and a good time to take pictures of the many sights around the ship. The days will slip by much too fast and before you know it, you will be packing to go back home. So enjoy everything you can start making plans for the next cruise.

Still planning for early 2023 as per signature . Hopefully a year and a half will be long enough to sort COVID out.

Dont think you would have an issue in most places as long as space and weigh permit you to carry it. I would say one thing. I have used something very similar. Its kind of a lean to or 3 sided wall tent. It provides shade but its crowded, barely allowing two beach chairs to fit, and they block any breeze you might get so they are like sitting in an oven. I would search your favorite online store for "ultra light sun shade" or "tent rain fly" and focus on something that is a "roof" and open on all 4 sides to provide shade and ventilation. This is a bit higher end: https://www.amazon.com/AKASO-Portable-Shelter-Camping-Backyard/dp/B08XMG8XGM/ref=psdc_3258963011_t4_B08YRHY6SF?th=1 Its under 7 pounds and big enough for a family. You can find smaller, cheaper and lighter if you look around. Again, the key is being open all around so it does not get so hot. You will be glad you did.

Generally not an issue. Sea level is sea level. Not much difference from one ocean to the next. Doing a land tour, say from Seaward to Denali, takes place over a few days a and your body has time to adapt. Unless take a helicopter tour to glacier/mountain top I don't think elevation will be an issue. I do remember, several years back, I had a layover in Denver after flying from near sea level. I climbed a couple flights of stairs could have sworn someone sucked all the air out the room. That was a sudden and pretty dramatic change that combined altitude with exercise.

There is an article here that outlines some of the differences. https://www.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbeans-florida-cruise-july-125200634.html In addition RCCL outlines differences here for Freedom of the Seas... https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/are-there-any-experiences-that-are-closed? It becomes apparent that that the exact restrictions/rules will vary a bit from ship to ship since all ships do not have the same venues for dining and entertainment. Perhaps the information is in another forum thread but I was curious as to what kind of controls there might be aboard. For instance, the first articles states UN-vaccinated people will be excluded from the Schooner Bar, the casino and Viking Crown Nightclub among several other locations. How would this be accomplished? Wrist band? Seapass card reader at every door? Security personnel stationed? Honor system? In addition, the Schooner Bar and casino are significant path ways when moving from one part of the ship to another. They are not the only way to get from A to B but again, if you are UN-vaccinated it seems you will be expected to take the 'long way' around. I was surprised at the number of locations UN-vaccinated people will be excluded from. Add the added expense of have to pay out of pocket for additional testing and travel insurance .... even though I understand limiting liability and making people responsible for their decisions ... it seems to me the underlying message is, if you are not vaccinated, don't cruise.

1 from Australia. The US is still trying to figure out what they are doing...or not.

Until FL gets its head out of its butt I just will not be cruising from there. Ill fly to another country that isn't so stupid and makes rational decisions about requiring vaccination on ships.

Good write up by someone on the scene. It gives pretty good insight on what happened and how its being handled. It all sounds pretty straight forward and logical to me with no finger pointing or wouda/shouda/couda. It is what cruises can probably expect in the short term. Who knows in 6 months or a year from now other than it probably will not be the same.