Neesa

Mine have been showing up on Saturdays after my sailing if debark was Saturday or Sunday. I second the about a week response.

I'm so late to this party, what a hoot! Life my friends...yikes. Kiddo finished year one of college in High School so she only has 3 years for that first degree, problem $44,000 a year as of today. My spreadsheets came out months ago, I'm forbidden to even think about any more sailings! Cabash can sense it. LOVED your picture, it was beautiful. I always love when we all do this. Such an amazing family here. It's scary to post that first picture of ourselves but after that...watch out! Quick responses to the last 7 pages off the top of my head, scary place right now! I'm trying to refrain from processed sugar since I'm not sailing forever and the only thing I'm loosing is my temper, gees! Weight still gleefully there I forgot Cabash underwear once, I told him I packed it and he didn't have to...well thank goodness he packed a few. As soon as we hit port it was off to Cariloha Store, they have bamboo underwear. We still laugh about that one! Use the hangars the stateroom host used for the hanging towel animal to keep those curtains clipped closed, I did this on our Serenade sailing, works so well. Finally, yes keep Batman blissfully in the dark about the blog. Cabash always wants to "help" then "preview" its exhausting. Loving your adventure! I'm here for the tram story as well!

@PPPJJ-GCVAB wishing you loads of strength and I am so sorry for the loss of your mother. You are in my thoughts and prayers, Denise

@asquared17 AGAIN with you in my head. I was thinking the same thing, "let me lay my chubby self up here and everyone else swim below & alongside me!" Yikes the angle Looking forward to all of the Icon videos, while she is not for me I'm sure it will be quite entertaining.

We moved here to Florida 20 years ago, we are north of Tampa in Pasco County as the schools were highly rated & the taxes were amazingly low, we moved from New Jersey just out side of New York so our taxes up North were 3X as much. We also prefer the West Coast of Florida as I prefer the Gulf of Mexico over the Atlantic. It wasn't as expensive...until it was! Everything has gone way up & while we do enjoy living in an income tax free State, I feel they get us in every other area as far as costs go. My property taxes have doubled in 20 years and the cost of insurance being home or vehicle is Sky High. Vehicle registration is also in the hundreds of dollars. The water bill is CRAZY. We pay sales tax on clothes as well. Every where you turn there seems to be fee's such as HOA for example which are power hungry individuals who enjoy rules for the sake of rules & wait for it, more fee's. So as @bluer101 states it's expensive. The "Florida resident rates" are a joke, pennies on the dollar just silly at this point. Snow Birds impact our area in ways I did not realize, forget a doctor appointment while they are here, how about next Tuesday 3 months from now? It is super congested on the roads & while the State works on our infrastructure it does not seem to ever be fast enough. It is starting to look ugly, gone are the Orange groves & the farms we used to drive by when we first arrived. If not for the Palm trees just by observation you would not know you were in Florida, it is so sad. Now it's not all bad..... we love our location as we can drive to the *cruise ports and the beaches. We enjoy the weather as well as we hate the frigid cold, when it gets oppressive with heat & humidity we just retreat to an air conditioned space or our pool. The best was during "C" we had the ability to choose a lot of things for ourselves, kiddo was back in school right away & they provided an amazing on line opportunity for instruction as well, not much missed learning. We do have some amazing Technical & University offerings that will entertain merit and need based scholarships such as the Bright Futures Program. Finally the Pizza and Chinese food restaurants are disgusting! * Cruise Ports Tampa, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades & Miami This is so personal & there are so many Counties you probably can find one that suits. Ours was amazing at first, but the growth started to slowly occur & before we knew it we were in the thick of it. After kiddo is on her own we may change our location & downsize but I'm confident we will stay in Florida...somewhere. I'm sure you will get a great deal of input, off the top of my head calling @WAAAYTOOO @SebagoSue @OCSC Mike I wish for you to land somewhere you LOVE! I hope this helped some

You are amazing and kind taking the vintages, when I think of you with them it makes me smile. My father and his wife went on the Mariner (PC terminal 5) in June and they could not walk up the ramp I'm told. Dad reported while they were out of breath hanging on to the side rails other passengers reported their situation and Port employees showed up " out of no where" and put them in wheel chairs and placed them on the ship. My dad said they were compassionate and kind. They were fine once they were on the ship, it was the long steep ramp. I know this doesn't answer your question but there are angels in the most unexpected places. I wish you and the vintages the most amazing sailing!

Oh my goodness, I was thinking the same when I stepped off my demon ship experience. THE.SAME.EXACT.THING. You are in my head, SCARY!

Hope you all are sitting down, remember my Hide Away Beach fiasco trying to get admissions to celebrate kiddos 18th birthday on the 18+ beach because I thought it would be an amazing birthday treat? Remember she is 17 on embarkation day but 18 the day before we visit Coco Cay & my entire cancelation of reservations by Royal mess? Well when I escalated the other day the young lady said she would call me back, I was like "sure, not holding my breath" & went ahead and rebooked the beach bed on South Beach for 180.00 more. I made up my mind I would not go to the Royal's Virgin Voyages party beach, humph! Well to be transparent with my fam here & fair to Royal here is what happened. I'm doing my home chores yesterday with my fitness watch on (because I cheat) & it buzzes, Royal Caribbean calling, wait...what? I go & grab the phone & a young lady asks is it okay I called we want to know exactly what transpired please, my name is Janelle & I'm from Michael Bayley's office. Besides being flabbergasted I sit down and painstakingly explain everything, she then brings another person from excursions on the line and all 3 of us interact. Long story short she thanked me & apologized and offered to secure our reservations for the day. This was 200.00 cheaper then my beach bed and she was so nice I did it, I am going to party beach! After reading everything and as @Sharla stated the adults beach on DCL is quiet & included with the sailing fare (we visited in June 2023) I'm bringing earplugs & a great attitude, hopefully it won't be too loud on the beach but this old girl is going for it. How could I not, after all that I could not say....oh, thanks never mind; that's not my nature. My girls will be secured so no tripping & my newly minted 18 year old hopefully will remember this for the rest of her life. I complain when Royal gets it wrong, I must let you guys know when they make an amazing effort at customer care, now if only the suites amenity could be streamlined, LOL!

This, right here stated so eloquently. My last RC sailing I felt "wow, they are going after DCL families hard." Now that I see the advertisement Hide Away Video I went right there, "now are they going after the Virgin Cruise Line market just as hard?" At least my beach bed is on South Beach, so I feel that's a nice location. I am happily anticipating reviews from the Icon & this new adults only beach for sure. Inquiring minds and all, LOL! With the cost of college and/or nursing school we have nothing on the books or planned moving forward after summer 2024. Royal is helping to take the sting of that away, I'm going to sit back and watch her find herself before we proceed. Bringing Celebrity to PC I think is a genius move on the company's part, I am finding myself looking at this sister offering more and more. Exciting times ahead. My neighbors just returned from their Virgin Sailing 2 weeks ago, topless sun worshipping on an upper deck. So DCL is now out as my kiddo has aged out and Virgin is a no go, my boobs would make me trip, okay I'm laughing just picturing this!

Looked to book it for our June sailing. Kiddo is 17 on embarkation day but turns 18 in the middle of our sailing. The day after she turns 18 we go to Coco Cay, so she will be 18 but even after numerous phone calls & I mean 4 plus getting my amazing TA Sharla involved the answer was no can do. I was told to wait & purchase the day she turns 18 on the ship from the shore excursion desk, um no thank you. We thought it would be a nice 18th birthday treat but I am so disgusted by the way they handled this and one representative was just so nasty I will pass. On my first time calling a very kind representative was able to book it for me, I had the reservation email as well but about 10 minutes later they sent my cancelation notification. Just another wonderful Royal experience, gees!! As an aside after my confirmed reservation I canceled my beach bed at a great price, I had to pay 180.00 more to get the bed back to add insult to injury, but Icon is there the same day so I wanted a home base. I should have known better, Rant over, sorry everyone

Yes! We had our vouchers stolen almost the entire week on the Oasis. It was crazy because they have cameras every where & they were always used in Central Park & charged by the Trellis Bar. (now I know the restaurants up there are tethered to that bar) * we were dining in CK that week and never even spent time in Central Park that sailing. We believe someone heard me use it and of course you had to say the cabin number & every day for half of the trip they used a minimum of 2 a night. The concierge became involved, I had to go down to the restaurants manager & so on, thinking how hard could this really be? The day there was a late excursion they were not used. It finally stopped after night 5 maybe and we were never told what truly happened. I always check my OBA at the end of each day so I would see this in practically real time daily. I was made to feel like a fibber as I sat at the concierge desk & could hear the other person accusing me of trying to get additional vouchers. The best part was the drinks that were purchased with our vouchers were hard liquor drinks nothing we would ever consume, but the staff didn't know us so I realize this didn't mean much, we were afforded 4 vouchers per day at that time & it cut into our bottled water supply that week.

Enjoyed your journey! Safe and uneventful travels.

Tumble....bounce, lol. All on our security cameras, oh, so embarrassing! Cabash was nearby and helped me to my feet. Twisted ankle and really swollen and stiff knee. I don't do ER's or Dr's unless there is something we can't handle so I'm off me feet right now, at least I'm fluffy! Probably saved me from breaking my hip!

@tonyfsu21 so sorry it took me a minute. While putting back our patio furniture after the storm I took a not so graceful tumble, I did not realize you had a question about my Demon ship experience, lol! So, did you follow my live blog Wanderlust on the Wonder? I think it is on page 2 of live blogs now. To be super clear I love the CLS cabin. The location on 18 in the " if you can find it you can use it neighborhood" was the issue. With the ship being over capacity and a huge amount of first time cruisers, the elevators were impossible, when WJ was open they were full. By day 3 people would bring their food and drinks and avail themselves to the suite sun deck, leaving very few if any loungers except in direct sun light. The doors to deck 17 and 18 were never secured. I felt as if I was duped paying extra for the amenity that was being utilized by those who paid so much less. The cabins were in the hallway to the sundeck so we had pounding on our door and doorbell ringing all week, all hours. Teens would find their way up there after hours, it was the teen hang out in the evening, and they were loud. Deck 17 is probably better because we found less shenanigans taking place in the CK lounge and when people came in if the concierge wasn't busy, he would covertly ask those who didn't belong to leave. So I felt paying a great deal for what I was told would be an elevated amenity was not so. It was more the feeling I couldn't shake of feeling ripped off monetarily. I saw all the shows now, and even being D+, the reserved seating was limited and frustrating. Honestly, the only way I would sail her again is if the price was right and it would be in a junior suite or lower. Why would I pay for a suite neighborhood that does not exist? I was euphoric to try that new concept but it was a let down as far as what I purchased vs what I experienced. The smell of Marijuana was a problem on our balcony as well, we could smell it in our upstairs bathroom one evening also. As an aside embarkation was interesting as well, there was no area set aside for Suites, just Pinnacle and Star, they even tried making us go to the long check in lines that I knew were not what I paid for. If I didn't pay for the amenities that I didn't receive I'd like to think all would have been fine. But saving for this vacation, paying the high prices and then not getting what was promised or paid for that turned me sour towards her. I also did not enjoy the views from CK at all, just my personal preference, so many others love her and that's great! So that's it in a nutshell, so very personal. * WJ passengers would ride up to go down and that was problematic in my estimation.

@OCSC Mike so after much thought I would absolutely sail the Wonder again....if it was my only choice. I experienced the suite neighborhood and i didn't like it, at all. While #CK was incredible staff and food the venue wasn't relaxing for me. I would sail again but only for a steal of a rate and in a junior suite at most for the C & A points. Utopia being inaugural and of course in your fantastic cabin plus only 4 nights should be fun as it's our first inaugural ever. But I still prefer the older sisters in the Oasis class and we are looking hard at Celebrity as well. I just felt the Wonder in a CLS was not a smart purchase as far as value for money, no how no way. While she is not off our radar she is near the bottom of the list, if she was one and done I'd be fine. I'm so happy you love her though, I feel that way about Allure. It crushed me when they gave her this new weekend boring itinerary. And like you, I want to drive to the port, no more flying to cruise, for us that is a huge waste of funds. I can spend that money on my larger cabin. Cheers Mike

We are done with PDCC as well. We were fortunate to enjoy the island a great deal after the shut down. We enjoy the beach but it is allowed to be at or above capacity every time now. It's an island of bodies, the beauty is hidden. Add insult to injury the prices for the Beach Club where one could escape are ridiculous, so high yet the club is still packed. Our prices for the June 2024 sailing are "on sale prices" Bye, bye PDCC we will stay in the Solarium for the day!

This! When we are on a class other then O or Q I believe it was the Mariner we visited the WJ and left a few dollars on the table after breakfast. The next time we visited we were walked to a table and my hot tea was delivered to me, what a nice surprise. Sometimes especially in the WJ the small gesture make a big difference!

I'd rather be there right now! Lol! Drama on steroids here in Pasco County Florida. We are just north of Tampa and inland, we have ancient Indian burial grounds protecting us once again. A huge thanks to every PM I received today about this storm, it warmed my heart. What an amazing group of people here.

If Royal wants true feedback the solution is this; complimentary Margaritas for everyone before dinner. That being said and I know I'm in the minority here, but I really believe the after sailing feedback is more for us as guests then them. It allows us to vent, it allows them to read and get a laugh. If we vent on that survey to them full of the debarkation emotions then the venting later is diminished if at all in most cases. Maybe you won't do a negative review, maybe you won't the discuss the problem with friends, maybe now you remember only the great things which there are many. They minimally listen ie. the Chrystal blocks debacle to make us believe they care enough to affect changes but those surveys I believe are used as a tool to help them with crew behaviors most of all. I think @Lovetocruise2002 was really fortunate to have a crew member that cared and probably felt similarly and that is why he called over the executive chef, bad meals mean less gratuity. I'm sure your server was so appreciative of your honest feedback articulated in the most respectful way. Bring on the Sangria ( for me ) and Margaritas for all of my dining companions,

@SMOKEY0202 put it so well. I am frugal in so many other areas of my life because I enjoy the larger cabin and suite experience. Whenever I sail in a regular cabin I find myself missing some of the perks. BUT the suite product is disintegrating it seems under Mr. Liberty and it stings when I pay for something and get a minimized version of it for the same monies or more. I sent an email to Carlos Jimenez in charge of the guest experience asking a simple question that I wanted a concrete answer for, that was 15 August. Not even the courtesy of a response, nothing. Even if it was lovely to hear from you thanks for being a frequent cruiser with us but go pound salt. Nothing, not a peep. I save Mr. Bayley emails for the most important things like where is my FCC? I personally don't feel the Royal warmth I once did, it's sad but I understand they are in business to provide a product. I just can't help feeling it was better previously. Oh well, here's hoping the money man finds his heart. @Lovetocruise2002 Flowrider widow

Our next sailing is on the Adventure so I'm on Amazon now, (thanks @Ampurp85 looking at travel tea kettles.) There are some nice ones, I'm just hoping I purchase one that doesn't make the Prohibited items table! Ugh, suite amenities on these ships are silly at this point; no included internet, no tea kettle, I'm happy I love this southern itinerary for the 8 nights. While I wasn't a fan of the Wonder I prefer the her older sisters, I may try her again like @OCSC Mike suggests. It's going to be a minute before we sail again so I started looking at Celebrity now. She will have a ship homeported in Port Canaveral starting December 2024 I believe. I'm thinking this is the sign to start spreading my wings. That Pinnacle status is becoming less and less and less likely. I'm sure the company doesn't mind that at all. Enjoying this trip report so much, keep those pictures coming please?

On our one and only Star class sailing our cabin host was amazing, really working in tangent with the Genie. Albeit the gratuity for her was "included" with the higher cost of said cabin, we felt she was deserving of an additional monetary gift. 2 nights before debarkation, we saw her in the hallway, "training" another host for our cabin. We actually knew the second young lady from another sailing. We stopped & chatted to find out our host for the week was finished that evening as her contract had ended & she was going to pack the next day get everything in order & leave the day we did. I would have been so upset as she was most gracious. We went right back in the cabin & grabbed the thank you card we had brought on board with us and placed her well-deserved gift within. I then gave it to her in the hallway that very evening with a huge hug, so appreciative that the universe works in mysterious ways. I would have felt ugly if she had left without saying goodbye. So, like@WAAAYTOOO stated, especially when we B2B we tip along the way if warranted. We don't do it with future expectations in mind but for amazing service we are receiving there & then. Enjoy your sailings, I love B2B's.

We did Adventure on the first sailing out of the Bahamas after the shut down. Hardly any shows and much of the venues were closed. We were aft in a 2 bedroom which I spent a great deal of time in as I loved the balcony. Booked her again in June 2024 due to her itinerary & am looking forward to shows & things we missed the first time around. I found & follow her Cruise Director and he is a hoot! He just left or is leaving this week for his time off but he said his next contract is also on her. I'm still not sure he will be there by June but he was super fun and engaging from his videos. We have fond memories of meeting Dudley Jean on this ship in the concierge lounge, while many many concierges are kind and very good at their calling Dudley remains the one all others are compared to. He was everything plus warmth & personality for days. When we heard from him on our Mariner sailing we were so happy, he greeted us like long lost friends. Just an amazing human being. I even wrote corporate & recommended him to be elevated to Genie status. We are doing a few specialty restaurants & Chops for lunch embarkation day but from what I remember we were seated at the railing on a higher deck in the MDR, we enjoyed the people watching and the restaurant was airy & pretty, so MDR traditional seating for us. We will have a dining table in the cabin so we are mulling over enjoying room service one day as well. 287 more days to go.

Great! I'm glad this helps. I always sit down on the balcony and look through everything in the suites folder. Always the same, but alas not this time. The letter expressed if you didn't do this they would assume you did not want your block, and not deliver it.... so essentially unknowingly you would miss out on receiving it. My positive self told myself, Self...they are doing this so as not not to give blocks to those who are not interested, my little devil side thinks they hope you miss it, forget and leave it behind, thus eventually saving money giving out less blocks in the long run. Bad devil, my Royal would never do that!

I received my block last sailing. There was a little paper in the suites leather folder that said congratulations! Since everyone doesn't take their blocks check here if you want it and leave for the stateroom host. At that point if you chose one it will be delivered before sailings end. I filled mine out and walked it to the C &A ambassador where he took the paper and gave me the block. Just an FYI. I don't enjoy or participate in boiling my water for tea in the coffee machine, it does not taste right! When we are not sailing a Q or O ship class I ALWAYS opt for traditional MDR, the absolute manic chaos that ensues to sit for dinner via MTD takes away my vacation "high" While weighing dinner at 5:30 (early) seating vs dealing with that mess for all of the monies I separated myself from, it's a hard no. It seems MTD is hit or miss and my patience is low for the "miss"