PatsFanBrian

Wood stoves are an inexact science. It’s nearly impossible to regulate the temp. Once those things get cranking, you’re in a sauna. I’ll stick with my furnace.

You wouldn’t like it at my house. In the winter, 62 at night, 68-70 during the day. In the summer, anything above 75 is too hot for me.

What something is worth is purely a question of opinion. We’ll be there in January for 135/pp and that is worth it for us. Mileage will vary among cruisers.

For me, it's almost always 20% with some rounding involved. If it's exceptional service, we'll add some more, not necessarily percentage base, but increase the actual dollar amount. We also usually give cash, most servers prefer cash for a few reasons. Where it's become crazy is with takeout. Tipping for takeout was not usually expected, but most credit card machine are setup to display a variety of tip options now and the pressure is on to select one. For that, I won't do anything close to 20% and usually just leave a few dollars in the tip can instead.

Point of order, we are now 23 years past the 90's

Walkers and Canes? I'm 63, class of '78, height of the disco era, and I don't know anyone within my age group that uses a cane or walker.

Yes. When we were there last year, my wife got both the lobster and filet. I also ordered 2 entrees.

The Boston-Provincetown ferry is 1 hour 40 minutes in each direction and there's only one ferry in each direction per day. It's a good idea, but you'll only get about 4 hours in Provincetown. I can't say how easy it is to get around PTown, haven't been there in decades.

I get it, sometimes it’s just fun to treat ourselves to something decadent and over the top, even if it’s not logical. We booked the beach club and have zero regrets

I was on the inaugural sailing of Quantum back in December, 2014. When we booked it, we actually didn't know it was the inaugural. We booked it while on Allure 15 months earlier and picked it for the itinerary (I was not too savvy about ships and classes back then). Our travel agent was surprised that we were able to book a cabin given the demand for the new ship, but we were in the right place at the right time. Given that it was an entirely new class of ship, there were definitely bugs to work out. The wait staff were given iPads to take orders in the dining rooms and they quickly ditched them for pen and paper as there were continuous issues with connectivity and the app was full of bugs. The NorthStar was shutdown frequently due to maintenance issues. The wrist bands were giving folks some issues and we found them annoying, we ended up just putting them in our pocket/purse. In general, just shakedown issues with the technology. Those were relatively minor. The biggest thing was the sheer volume of high end tier people and we were amused by the complaints they had (we were Platinum at the time). The exclusive lounges and top tier events were bursting at the seams and the angst was thick in the air. Lots of pushback on the new dining concept of different themed restaurants, the old-timers just hated it (TBH, we were underwhelmed by the concept). The number of motorized scooters was impressive, there were staff that acted as valets to find places to put them while the owners went into the various venues. I can't say that the differences were noticeable other than the volume of D+ and Pinnacle folks. There was no special swag or celebrations, just felt like a normal sail.

I just saved $220 on the Coco Beach Club for our January Odyssey sail. Had booked it last month, big price cut, cancelled and rebooked. Very pleased. We're skipping the UDP as the Diamond vouchers and big on-board credit will more than cover our consumption. The 3 night dining package is still the same price as I booked last month.

We've been to NO once, a vacation wrapped around an NFL game, so the dynamic was a bit different. I can't speak to the cruise terminal. But it was one of the best vacations we've had. We stayed on Royal St near Canal. Bourbon St is one block over. There is so much more to NO than the insanity of Bourbon St. And even there, the insanity is confined to several blocks. Once you get past the section, the French Quarter is beautiful. Jackson Square was one of our favorite places to just hang out. The food is phenomenal. There are some true hidden gems there. The WWII museum is an all day experience and well worth the day. And the people are some of the friendliest we've met in a tourist spot. We hope to get back there in a couple of years when there will be another NFL game for me to consider. We rarely ever make plans to go back to a place we've visited, New Orleans is one of the exceptions.

Boston to the Cape (and further, to M.V.) is a big negative. By the time you cross the bridge, it will be almost time to turn around and go back. Many non-New Englanders don't realize how bad the traffic is, and it doesn't get any better when you get over the bridges. Further, the Cape is a lot longer than many realize. From the bridge to Provincetown can easily be another 2 hours during tourist season. I've lived in this area all my 63 years and I've been to the Cape no more than a dozen times, just a handful in the past 20 years. It is not a place for a day trip. If it's off-season, winter, then traffic is manageable, but no one needs to be on the Cape in the winter unless you live or work there. If you have a couple of days in Boston, just stay in the city. Boston is a very walkable city, most that you would want to do is within a 2 mile radius. The Gardens and Common is very nice, Fanueil Hall, Back Bay shopping, Fenway Park area, Old Ironsides and Bunker Hill, North End Italian Restaurants and the Revere House. Just walk the Freedom Trail (easily mapped) to see so many historic sites. Do a Duck Tour, they are always fun. You will have no shortage of things to do in the city,

I'm guessing that the OP sits on his front porch and yells at the squirrels to get off his lawn.

I see your logic, but my counter is Literally no one is going to book a cruise just to purchase a model. Many people have reported that the models are not available when they are on a ship, so what are they to do in that case? It is what it is, It's Royal's decision to make, I just don't agree with it.

I only started a couple of years ago. I only have 3 out of 8 so far. Have then on a bookshelf in my office. I'll never understand why Royal doesn't offer them for sale on the web, otherwise I'd already have all the ones I want. I'll just get them when I can.

I was able to book 6:45 MTD. A little later than we like, but when we get onboard, we'll go to the dining room and see if we can make adjustments.

Down to 100 days. We booked this well over a year ago, getting more excited as it gets closer.

In June, 2022, we had an unplanned stop in the Dominican due to tropical weather. We quickly picked an excursion with the intent of just relaxing on a beach. We booked the Biyahibe Beach Break. They took us to a resort for the afternoon, about a 35-40 minute trip. The resort was a bit in need of repair. The worst issue was the beach was unusable. The rocks and coral were unpassable even with water shoes. Very few people went in the water. We decided to go to the pool which was just OK. The pool needed some TLC but was passable. They were short staffed at the pool bar, it was near impossible to get a bartender to take an order. For food, all they had was burgers and hot dogs, all of which were left to sit there. Not very appetizing at all. It really felt like a waste of a day and money, we would have been better off staying on the ship. I would strongly discourage anyone from booking that if they stop at the Dominican.

Same here. Signed up for the 30,000 points ($300), made the required purchases in the first 3 months and rarely use it now. We’ll have about $400 in onboard credit when we sail in January. Our primary card has earned enough points to pay for that cruise and the airfare to get there.

Guess they are being posted at the same time for a large number of sailings. Mine is coming in at the 235.99/pp price. Ugghhh....

When we were there a year ago, the offerings for breakfast were not impressive, just muffins and croissants. We were glad we had a good breakfast onboard.

It has never been listed for my Odyssey cruise in Jan 2024. I’ve been checking every week for the past 6 months. Only way into the beach club is to purchase a cabana.

For a long time, Royal was behind the times with providing sports viewing venues. Freedom and Oasis class, prior to amping efforts, had one space with TV's that had to share with other events. For me, being a huge NFL fan and usually sailing during the season, it was always a bit of a frustration. When we sailed on Quantum way back in Dec 2014, the Pats were playing a Sunday night game. When I got on board, it was quickly apparent that there was no space to watch the game other than a couple of small TV's. I went to the Guest Services to inquire about it and was told that the ship would not be showing any NFL games, but that the question had been asked often. By mid week, they announced that the game would be on the big screen on the pool deck and on the one small TV in the Schooner Bar. Glad that Royal has recognized the popularity of sports, especially given the expanded online gambling and the various Fantasy leagues, and has been implementing dedicated viewing locations. I'm looking forward to spending time at Playmakers on Odyssey next January when the NFL playoffs will be in full swing.

Ooops, my bad, it was revitalized in '16, not amped.