Neesa

Same here, visited in May second floor roped off all the time. Go early as they packed you in on the first floor, standing room only even in the a.m. Go early to get a seat.

Grab your favorite drink at any open bar you see and head up to Ellington's. The bar isn't open but the lounge is and the views are amazing. Great people watching up there and it's climate controlled. I believe it's on deck 14 aft, just so quiet and lovely. Floor to ceiling windows and you have views of the deck as well as the seas. Oops my bad it's called Viking Crown Lounge I believe. I'm referring to the same one @MikeK is below.

@whitsmom So I just checked the Hyatt on the airport property has a DAY STAY situation. They could spend the day there, luggage secure and enjoy the pool and restaurants. It looks like it is perfectly set up for your exact situation. Look under "offers" & sure enough I believe it is available from 1000-1800. If their flight is at 2000 it's perfect, they could gather their luggage get through security & be at the gate refreshed and ready to board their flight. I would totally opt for this if it was me. I hope this helps Looks like 169.00

On the Mariner we had to be out by 0800, they sent a letter to the cabin earlier in the week saying cabin must be cleared by 0800 so they could clean for next sailing. The cabins were open for us by 1300 on embarkation day so it seems this is the way of the Mariner. On our Oasis sailing it was out by 0900, cabins open at 1400. That was in March. And now that I'm thinking about it everyone has to be off the ship for the ship to be cleared for embarkation meaning all sea pass cards scanned as exiting the ship maybe someone knows more about this?

Your hubby sounds like my hubby, but for what it's worth sending positive vibes your way. If you can't control it, you shouldn't worry about it. I personally know you can roll with, you go @Lovetocruise2002. Enjoy every bit of this trip. I wish we were there with you.

UPDATE: Happy to report I received an email from Dudley! I'm not going to post it because I felt it very personal but I can confirm here the "higher ups" received my email explaining how he made our trip special & in turn notified Dudley. His message was so heart felt, he said he was being recognized from the ships Officers including heads of HR, Food & Beverage and more even to include some team mates. Congratulations Dudley & thank you Royal for following up with this positive action.

I love duck hunting. If I find more then one I go ahead and hide the other. I am not on Facebook so I post here and on Instagram. For the first time I am hiding them, on the Harmony 31 July! If you find it please post it on the sailings roll call! Here she is!

Oh wow, I wish you would have! To be honest I totally understand though. I was in a panic when I landed in the @Lovetocruise2002 star class take over! Would I mesh with the group? Would they think I was a jerk? OMG, the panic! All for naught, everyone could not have been friendlier. I have been fortunate enough to meet so many wonderful people from this site, I hope I can remember them all, @wordell1@SebagoSue and @bellemiche everyone kind and smiles for days. I even waved at @Matt on our first return to sailing cruise from the Bahamas when we both had cabanas in the CoCo Cay waterpark. Back then I didn't want to encroach on his family time and he was clearly documenting the sailing for this blog, so I kept my distance as well. I get it, I really do! Thanks again for your efforts for us on that sailing. My daughter always says "mom I'm not allowed to meet any of my on-line friends, how are you meeting the cruise blog strangers any different?" Because it is! Gees

We've been on six sailings so far after the come back and we never let our guard down. We are not walking around in fear at all but we make conscious decisions based on the reality of the moment. Maybe we have just been lucky; who knows but so far so good. Sailing again 31 July. We are basically practicing healthy habits we did before the pause but like I stated in other threads with capacity ramped to the breaking point and staff seemingly exhausted we feel a break from sailing is in order for us.

Following along for sure, looking forward to your amazing adventures!

The Ice Show Under the Big Top

We stayed here in March, we drove over the day before and they had a parking deck for a safe parking situation. The pool was okay, the food was quality albeit a little pricey. You could walk across to the Publix for any forgotten items. The hotel was clean and no nonsense, we could see the ships with the port view room. Easy short drive over to the port, no complaints this time. We stayed here due to be Hiltons Honors members and have no problem staying in the future.

That was me! Shout out to @Sea Squirreland Leticia, we were only in a CLS and she cleared us into the theater albeit no reservations and we enjoyed the show that was finally happening after so many cancelations. I remember thinking what kind and generous people we were sailing with. We were really touched. We didn't have reservations because they were not available to book as the shows schedules were crazy. Not for lack of trying.

I just perused my Royal Up offers for my July31 Harmony sailing. Typically lately the starting bid has come down, when I looked today all initial bids went up, by a lot. If I remember correctly a minimum of $800.00 for each category. Unbelievable, the Stars especially (which are sold out) start super high minimum bid 2,800 and up from there, wow!

Lido Beach, gorgeous area on the Gulf. Ringling Brothers Museum and grounds is a great day. St. Armand's circle steps from the beach, a very nice place to stop for a day or two. We stay at Lido Beach Resort. The Gulf waters are gorgeous and the beach is huge.

@smokeybandit Here you go! Chops breakfast menu for suite guests on the Mariner of the Seas last week.

We are platinum with Disney cruise,but needed a break with only four Disney ships. Not to mention daughter getting older so my family were sailing for me. I experienced tears if joy every time I laid eyes on a DCL ship. It seems Royal is working overtime to try and takeover the DCL customer after the pause and while initially (before the pause) the sailings were on par with DCL in my opinion @RCLwhyis that they are trying to hard and falling way short. While the food to me personally is hit or miss on each ship and so subjective, I agree I have experienced the shift you speak of. They ramped capacity to quickly and the crew are suffering. They are beyond tired and wearing the masks breathing in hardly any fresh air all day must be taking a toll on them. The activities are suffering. The long lines are everywhere for everything. Entertainment is truly lacking for sure. Less offerings and simply most just going through the motions. The limited showings of favorites and the non existent additional acts, painful. Felt like they placed this on the back burner. The nickel and diming has always been in place vs Disney but it's now quarters and 50 cent pieces. In March the Oasis ship model was 19.99 in June Mariners was 42.99 yikes. Just a price hike example. The kids in adult spaces lately has been crazy. There is no true adult space; our last sailing they were everywhere including bars and lounges running around like it was a playground. This is clearly though squarely on parents who pay no mind to the rules for their "angels" Brings me back to the crew being exhausted, either they are told to look the other way or just don't want the hassle. Either way before the pause we really felt Royal had a better product in comparison, lately and sadly now not so much. After our August FCC sailing we are taking a break, even canceled our November sailing and will be sailing the DCL Wish next most likely. I think Royal needs a minute to figure out and commit to the type of product they are offering at the price point they have settled on and then concentrate on truely getting back to their return to service. I'm sorry but I feel they are going through the motions minimally. We are adding more land vacations to the mix for now also, jumping through crazy hoops for a sailing I just shrug my shoulders at as meh impacts my joy. While I'm so sad you are having a meh sailing, I am sending positive thoughts your way hoping it gets better for you for sure.

@Suite Snob do they like the $2.00 bills? I just exchanged at my bank for them to bring on my Harmony sailing. I thought it would be a fun thing to engage in especially lately when all the sailings are at capacity and the lounges are packed. I am hoping the crew like them!

On the Allure 28 May sailing we wanted to do this, we asked politely and they said no! I said please don't misunderstand I don't wish to eat I just want to see where my table is, still a BIG NO. They went so far as to close all the entry doors. First time I've experienced that.

Front page of this site. The home page. Fill out the form on the right for a free quote an amazing MEI TA will reach out!

I always print my purchases and bring a copy in my suit case....just in case. Once I was supposed to have the room decorated, a bon voyage package and when we entered the cabin, nothing. Night 2 nothing I went down to guest services and showed them my printout and they offered to do it then or refund the purchase. By that time I just opted for the refund. Much easier with proof of my purchase in hand. It never hurts 9.5 out of 10 they have everything. Enjoy!

Oh no, I'm so sorry. While I loved that itinerary it took some fancy footwork to avoid the crowds, and there were a lot of ailing people by that last sea day. I still love when they ask on the after sailing questionnaire if we felt they cared about our health. Lol, No!

You can stop by your muster station and get that out of the way. Then the pools are nice and empty at that time. We finish muster and people watch until our lunch reservation.

We were just there. The hostess turned away men who didn't have on shirts and shoes are a must! She will not let you in without some type of foot covering. Don't dine on the outer perimeters by the plants or you will have many, many uninvited flying insect friends trying to share your dish. Hint, they adore the lobster! Enjoy, Can't wait to return

I'm a big fan of the Coastal Kitchen venue. We have had at least once an inattentive server. We will then try another, if he/she is a good fit we request them for the rest of the sailing. Here are sample entree menus for my 31 July 2022 sailing on the Harmony. The one time I was blessed to sail STAR class I did the specialties, while they were lovely I missed the huge windows, I know weird but so subjective. Glad I tried the specialties, now I know what all the hype is about. On the Mariner last week no complaints about MDR but I missed #CK. If not for the noise level alone.