bossdog421

1 hour ago, WannaCruise said:

Funny...we have all 3 of those booked  .  Departing from NY is a bonus for us too.

Are you thinking Freedom is too "small"?  We're been on Indy and it's a great ship.

What time of year are you looking at?  If cooler temperatures, then Anthem is indoor ship. 

I've only been on 2 cruises. One was the Disney Dream the other was Harmony of the Seas. Royal is more my speed. I really liked the size and features of the ship.

I have not been of fan of any of the ports in the Caribbean and Bahamas outside of the private owned islands, castaway cay / coco cay.

I would probably enjoy the Canadian ports more but honestly I'm more interested in the ship. I could see my daughter not enjoying the Canadian ports at all.

The amp up on freedom looks nice but not sure I'd get much use out of that new pool deck in october by Canada lol. I'll have to double check the itenteraries again to see if there is something else in summertime. Or suck it up and go south again

3 minutes ago, ChrisK2793 said:

Oasis after its amplification is actually WAY BETTER than Harmony.  It has a huge Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade where Sabor and Starbucks are on Harmony.  Our 8yo son had a lot of fun playing all the free games in playmakers over thanksgiving.  He also LOVED the new kid’s club design on Oasis ....... they have a really nice video game area and it’s just setup a lot better.  The cruise director on Oasis also was a lot more involved and had more fun things going an all week than the cruise director did when we were just on Harmony.  We’re actually going on Oasis again this Sunday.  If you’ve never tried the Crown Loft Suite yet, I HIGHLY recommend staying in one!

 

I just got off Harmony on Sunday and stayed in the Crown Loft Suite! It was great.

Time of year depends on which itenterary and ship we pick really. If we go into the Bahamas or Caribbean I would do with sometime between March and June. If it's a  Canadian destination, probably around October.

I voiced my concern to the manager of the area with no real resolution. 

It was safety related. I took pictures of the hazard (oversight their part). Then removed the hazard so no one in my party was injured. Informed the manager found another hazard and pointed it out.

Looking at my next cruise. I was just on Harmony out of Port Canaveral and had an amazing time.

This time I'm looking at sailing from Jersey so I dont have to worry about flights.

Very interested in a Canadian cruise but not sure how my then to be 10 year old would do on those ports. The cruises into tropical areas would all he at ports we have already been to though.

Freedom looks to be getting  amped but the ship size is a bit of a turn off.

Oasis looks like it would be identical to Harmony.

Anthem is at least different but big.

I am big into ship features and suite amenities.  Sell me on a ship!

On my recent cruise I had a significant issue that I would like to report to the higher ups.

I expressed my concern on the appropriate spot on survey but I think it should get more attention.

Does anyone have any email address at royal besides the generic ones? 

Before anyone asks, I do not want to discuss the issue here. I will say that it did not ruin my vacation in any way, but it did create an negative perception of a huge feature of Royal Caribbean to me. I'm sure the issues will be resolved without any intervention from me. I just want someone to know about the issue and see the pictures I have.

Thanks!

This map helps too

1 hour ago, KJones said:

@bossdog421 posted this picture of the cabana map. Looks like Breezy Bay is by the area marked 31-60 (purple), while Chill Island Daybeds are the pink 1-30.

I can confirm. Tons of beach beds close to the overwater cabana area.

Cant speak to them 100% but they definently have a good view. They may not be completely unimpeded but it would still be great.

25 minutes ago, Vangrizz said:

I was kind of hoping more for the all important 10 1/2 and 11 year anniversary cruises. It was a really fun read. Thanks again for the great live blog.

Did a next cruise deposit on the ship. Looking at either my birthday or the wife's birthday next year! I'll probably sail out of Jersey. Maybe a Canadian cruise? Such smaller ships going there though!

19 minutes ago, Ike_317 said:

In the past I went straight to the ship’s excursion desk on embarkation day and picked my cabana location. Do you know if that can still be done with the overwater cabanas  or is it just luck of the draw? Also, any recommendations as far as which overwater cabanas are more desirable? We have one reserved in two weeks. Thanks

I was told we could not pick. But I do have insight if they let you pick.

I was in cabana 10. There are 2 sections 1-10 and 11-20. 1-5 were not ready to be occupied, 6 -10 were "ready" but there were some unfinished parts to the cabana. Little details not everyone would even notice... like the decorative ropes were only on some poles. Cabana 9 didn't have curtains... etc. I was told 11-20 were 100% but I was not over there to confirm.

Cabanas # 1, 10, 11, 20 will have the most view as there is nothing on multiple sides. You will also have more swim space until you are in someone else's area. However they will get the most wind (very noticable on my day where there was 20+ mph winds).

I would say the least desirable would be # 4, 7, 14, and 17 as they are sunk back in and you will be the backs of other cabanas on 2 different sides. I would have been unhappy in these locations. However these would also get almost no wind. While there was noticable choppy water on all sides of my cabana I could see # 7 had no chop at all.

All of the other cabanas would be perfectly fine.

This map explains what I am talking about.

8 hours ago, Matt said:

Thanks for sharing these photos!

Were you out there on Saturday @Matt ? Saw a blog from you on that day and saw someone flying a drone in a RC shirt.

I was out there waving from OW cabana 10 lol

Just got off harmony. Can confirm 11-11, they made me anything that didnt require a blender.

They also had port wine which surprised me because I couldnt get it anywhere else.

Loved my bartenders too. Everyone in the lounge knows your name if you are in there enough! All the staff were amazing.

4 hours ago, SnickerTail said:

Thanks for the pictures and info! Were they controlling access to the docks used to get to the Cabanas? 

Yes. Beach Club entrance had a check point for the entire area, then the docks for the overwater cabanas had someone standing there all day. Multiple cabana k too, they all knew us after an hour or so.

Some of my guests didnt come until later in the day. I let the people at beach club entrance know they were going to be late. They walked them up when they arrived. 

On 1/31/2020 at 8:35 AM, Tigerlaw said:

Love your night time pics (and of course this whole report)! what time in the night could you take those of everything being empty?

Some time between 1am and 2:30am. I was actually surprised more people werent out. I was completely alone on every deck except the promenade, even that had less than 10 people on it.

Even though I miss the ship already, it's good to be home.

We really missed the dogs and it looks like they missed us!

17 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Thank you for a great live blog @bossdog421 and also for all the pics of Cocobeach Club. 

Thanks! It was fun writting about everything, it made me want to take more pics too.

Could have written out a lot more too but there wasnt a ton of down time.

The lotion smelled like playdo to me. My wife said she didnt think so until I told her.

I wasn't crazy about any of it but I'm a guy so what do I know lol

Not sure if I'm going to get to the rest of the pics tonight just got home.

This is what we came home to... could be worse could be a couple inches of snow this time of year.

Sigh.. is it time for the next cruise yet?

6 hours ago, Ken23 said:

Glade to see the Slide Safety Rules #1 "recommended" was NOT followed.  I know I would have also.

Daddy has to make sure the slide is safe for his daughter after all.

They actually said it was ok. I was probably the first one in all the cabanas to use it that day. A few others followed suit after I went

Edit: what you calling me fat?!?!? Lol.. that's cruise weight... yeah..

32 minutes ago, wstephensi said:

Is the minibar complimentary? 

Everything exepct the champagne and wine on the top.

The cabana attendants  will get wine and champagne from the bar and any other mixed drink if you have the drink package

Shout out to "Big Daddy" 

This guy was amazing in both aquatheater shows.

Couple more pics

5 minutes ago, spiralqueen said:

Ok I don’t know why it’s not letting me quote and type new stuff, but @bossdog421 for that picture you posted of the towel station with brown and white towels, are those just for the cabanas or are they for everyone who has a day pass too? It would be really nice to not have to remember to grab a towel beforehand or wait in the towel line when disembarking. 

Those are for everyone at beach club. The towels were very nice too.

Cabana came with 8 or so of them and we had 8 more delivered since the mother in law was cold and taking them all 

Getting use out of that slide. Dont care how windy or cold the water is!