WAAAYTOOO

OMG they have those horrific metal chairs !  They’re horrible. My fanny does not fit in them and they are SO uncomfortable.  Looks like delivery only for us !

There’s nothing wrong with your plan as long as you cancel the reservation you don’t want in time for them to fill your reservation with someone else.  While it’s never happened to me, there might well be a penalty for cancelling a reservation on very short notice.  Not sure about that.

Excellent work !

Are there going to be Star Class ships porting out of a Quebec ?

4 minutes ago, basil said:

I am afraid once I go down that path, I wont want anything else

Be afraid.  Be very afraid

Princess Bride is my all-time favorite movie !

I think it is rare, but I have heard of some who have been upgraded to Star Class.  Those suites generally sell out quickly but there situations where people have to cancel at the last minute for one reason or another.  The bids required to do that are anyone's guess.  Winning bids (from what I have read) have no particular pattern or value.  Good luck !!

What did the final altered itinerary look like ?

44 minutes ago, Matt said:

Unfortunately, not. I'm on the Nov 24 sailing, so I'll be crying when you get onboard.

Don't I know that feeling....sorry we will miss each other.

Just now, Matt said:

Can't wait to get onboard on Thursday!

Matt, are you staying on for the following week (12-1) ?  It would be nice to see you again !!

Wow !  She looks so clean.  ...like she just came out of the car <ship> wash !

See you on 11-1 !!!!

I would not expect Rhapsody to have any USB ports.  ...and I would also expect that Rhapsody will only have a couple of plugs near the dressing table (probably 1 110 and 1 220 each).  The older ships are massively underequipped for charging personal devices. You can give yourself a little bonus by bringing a 220 to 110 power adapter but be sure that any device you use for this is dual voltage and compatible with the ship's power.

Sometimes the special “holiday” meals exclude specialty dining (they have a “special” dinner for an upcharge, of course) but there is usually a couple of specialty restaurants open to the public for holiday meals (we often choose Izumi).

Frankly, our last Thanksgiving MDR meal was the last meal we ever ate in a MDR.  It was horrific.  Everything about it was bad.  Dan declared then and there that he would never eat in a MDR again, and we haven’t. That was on Liberty, I think.

Hopefully others will have a better experience. 

Just goes to show that everyone is different.  I hated the full face mask. I felt like I had to hold my head in a peculiar angle and changed it out for a regular mask immediately.  

I am so happy to help, Jax. So excited for you !

4 minutes ago, Jax said:

Any tips on luggage at Cape liberty cruise port for star class guests I should be aware of? 

Yes !  Boarding is an important and confusing time.  The SC procedure is completely different than that of other guests.

1.  The boarding area for Star Class is Zone 6 at Port Liberty.  Your Genie will tell you this once they contact you.  I don't know how you are getting to the port, but make sure that, if you take a taxi or shuttle, they are able to actually get to Zone 6 !  We have had the WORST luck with getting our rides to actually deliver us to the correct boarding area !  It seems that the SC boarding area is almost always located in an area that regular taxis cannot access !  You will need to be in the far right-hand land (closest to the building) in order to turn right and make it all the way down to the SC flag.  Otherwise, you will be schlepping your bags all the way through the very narrow battlefield of people trying to debark and embark at the same time.

2.  Do NOT surrender your bags to anyone...even if they claim to be SC porters.  Check in with the Star Class greeter FIRST. The greeter will then direct you as to what to do with your luggage.  We now choose to keep our luggage with us but the normal process is to give your luggage to a special porter who will take it to your suite.  We have had very poor results with this process (the bags are significantly delayed and then just "left" at the door) but others have been ok with the process.  I guess my advice to you is just to make sure that the Genie knows that you want the luggage taken UPSTAIRS, whatever that takes.  That's truly the most important thing.  Make sure that the bags that you want upstairs, get taken upstairs for you.

3.  Try not to be disappointed with the suites waiting area at Port Liberty.  It is extremely underwhelming.  Once your Genie comes to get you, it gets WAAAY better.  The Genie will escort you (along with your bags, if you choose for them to remain with you) into a completely separate gangway from the rest of the passengers.  You will go directly to your suite, if it is ready.  I think our suite has only not been ready once but it does happen from time-to-time.  The Genie will make sure you are comfortable, wherever you wait.

Embarkation day is a very very busy time for the Genies so it is almost certain that he/she will have to meet briefly with you, take you to your suite and then go back and escort their next family onboard.  He/she will return later to chat with you about your immediate plans and plans for the rest of the week.  A lot will depend on what you choose to do for lunch on boarding day.  We usually go to Chops but there are many options.  So don't be disappointed if your Genie appears and then very quickly, disappears.  They are running their butts off during embarkation.

IF you are steak lovers, be sure and ask the Genie which night is Filet night at the Coastal Kitchen.  On most ships, it is night #1 but recently, Allure has moved Filet night from night #1 to night #4.  I believe last February Filet night was night #1 on Anthem.  The Filet at Coastal Kitchen is very very good so if you're looking to enjoy the Filet at CK, it might be to your advantage to choose something else OTHER than Chops for lunch on boarding day (unless you really want steak twice in 1 day !!!).

One of my big disappointments (which I quickly recovered from !!) sailing out of Bayonne was that we were not allowed to go up in the North Star while in port.  I was so looking forward to seeing NYC and the Statue of Liberty from the port but it is forbidden for very logical reasons.  If, for some reason, the NS was to go up and get stuck (which has never happened, to my knowledge), then the ship would not be able to sail.  So they just simply don't let it go up until after they have passed all of the bridges.  It makes sense, but it was still disappointing.  That, however, was the only limitation of going up in NS that I can recall.  Go as many times as you want....in the open ocean and at every port, if you choose to do so.

Yes, Club Royale went to the airline-style annual rewards program a few years back.  Originally, once a qualified member, always a qualified member but now, all members must re-qualify every year to remain eligible for Club a Royale Prime status.  Benefits (cruise discounts, in particular) have diminished and I’ve heard rumblings that the threshold to achieve Prime may increase next year.  All very bad signs for casino regulars.

Welcome, Jax !  I don’t think you will be disappointed with Royal, particularly starting out with Star Class.  
 

We have been SC on both the Oasis class ships and the Quantum class (Anthem is a Q class) and while I will always be an O class gal, I do believe that with the Q class ships, SC is a bigger discriminator that with the O class.  There are simply more activities and venues for which the Genie is critical on the Q class.  I think this is especially true if there are children involved.  If I were a kid and knew that I could go down and ride the bumper cars as many times as I wanted to with minimal waiting, that is where I would be all day !  Many times I have even seen the Genie ride along with the kids and I think that’s a hoot !  Ride the North Star as often as you want.  That’s huge, really.   Go to a Tribute Band concert in the Music Hall and have reserved seats.  True, no ice skating or Aqua Theater but I think the other, unique activities of Q compensate more than enough and having a Genie makes those activities so much easier and more fun.

If you get Yen Lee, tell her Dan and Raye say “hello”.

Each ship is different but we are on Oasis in SC in 2 weeks.  We got our questionnaire 2 months ahead and got our first comm from the Genie 1 month ahead of sailing.  Also remember that the Oasis has been in dry dock so the Genies have no current passengers to care for,  so that may explain why we heard from Joyce so early.

Enjoy your cruise. I think you will soon find the difference between DCL and Royal despite the lackluster pre-cruise communication from Royal.

Yippee !!  Sail day is finally here !  Have A GREAT cruise. 

Love conch fritters !

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Awesome! We do as well this time. I can’t wait to see if they refurnished it. Hoping @WAAAYTOOO can take a peek in a few weeks.

I will if I get a chance.  I will ask Joyce if there was any refurbs on the ATS.

5 hours ago, Kriazerie said:What do you think our chances for getting into Coastal Kitchen are? 

As with all such things, I suggest you expect the best but plan for the worst.  I agrees with Lovetocruise2002, your best shot is to try to reserve the night, first thing.  I would suspect that this will be one of the more difficult nights for JS to get into the CK.

I will add....the one and only time we dove at St Maartens, the visibility was awful.  

I’ll go with Ashley and Pookie.  I’m the BEST at hijacking a thread !