WAAAYTOOO

Poor Navigator...??

Yes. There is a master switch that controls the lighting inside the room and the AC (and probably electrical outlets too although I do not know this for a fact...never tested them). If there is nothing in that slot, the circuit is "open" and none of the lights or AC will work. If something is inserted in the slot, the circuit is "closed" and the lights and the AC work. This is a fairly new design feature in the newest ships. Hotels is Europe and Asia have been using this kind of design for years.

You can bet that if the package prices are going up then the by-the-drink prices are going up too. There's no getting around it....unless you plan to drink only what is provided for "free".

Will Navigator be using the new terminal ? We sail on 11-18.

Yes, I believe you are right, Matt.

I absolutely LOVE the gangways they have here ! Nice and SHORT. The one they have getting on/off the ship in Baltimore is MILES long. I hate it. This makes so much more sense to me. The reversing falls is very intriguing. I knew about the Bay of Fundi's tides but I had no idea about a river that reverses its course (same causal factor, I'm thinking). This will be a must-see on our NE/CAN cruise on Grandeur next Sept.

Sometimes, when we have been in full suites, the room attendant will provide pool towels in the room but even with suites it’s not a “given” that you will get them. For the first time ever, Dan was charged for not returning a pool towel even though he DID return it. I called once we got home and they gave the $25 back so for those who think that they don’t really scan your Seapass card when you check out a towel, here is one data point that they DO scan it.

That’s what it looks like !

All of you have a WONDERFUL cruise. I just got back from Bermuda. So beautiful. I always say that the color of the water in Bermuda was the biggest surprise. I think the water in Bermuda is more beautiful than anywhere I have been in the Caribbean. Such an incredible color. ...and there is nothing like the view from the ship when you are at King's Wharf. Just lovely.

You can get loungers on Labadee for free. Only the “special” loungers cost money.

We will be going to St Lucia in December on Grandeur for the Christmas cruise. I don’t recall which day exactly.

Sometimes the email offers are very good. You would just have to call and see what they offer.

That's how Dan and I feel as well. We love the gentle rolling. We had that all the way to Bermuda on Grandeur this week. Coming back was surprisingly smooth. The opposite is usually the case (rockier coming home, usually, as you are sailing into the wind).

He's in a van pool so even though he did not ride in with them this morning, he will be able to get home with them this evening.

It usually is the same comedian and often the same show (except one will usually be family-friendly and the other may be for adults only) but the reason that they will not allow you to book more than 1 is because they don't allow you to book more than 1. If you want to go to a second show you can always do that but it would be on a standby basis. The same is true for any of the headline shows (Broadway shows) that take reservations, too. I guess they want to make sure that everyone has a chance to see the show so they only allow you to reserve seats once.

I know what you mean...going straight to work is a major bummer but we have to save all of the vacation days we can. I asked Dan if he wanted to just come home with me and work from home this afternoon instead of going into the office but he said "no". I fear that with all of the rain we are likely to get, the ride home from the Washington Navy Yard may be quite unpleasant this afternoon. He's quite dedicated though...good for him ! It was raining when we disembarked this morning. You can tell that the bad weather is coming. There was very little wind earlier but it's definitely picking up now. Something else to mention re: the room. We were in Aft JS 7656. It is a lovely room with one of the big balconies on the fantail of the ship but I noticed a couple of the nights when I was in bed early (normally never happens !) that there was definitely a lot of bass noise coming from somewhere. It was either coming from the Viking Crown Room 4 levels up or coming from 2 decks below in the Star Lounge. My bet is on the latter. Last night the bumping lasted until after 1:30 AM so we were not very happy as it kept both of us awake most of the night. We have had lots and lots of rooms on the aft of Grandeur and never remember having this noise before. I'm not sure what changed.

I have never been to or participated in a wedding on a ship but I HAVE heard that wedding parties are the very first to board so my guess is that the answer to #2 is "yes". Also agree with the others that these are things that the wedding planner should be asking on your friend's behalf.

How will there EVER keep those dolphins still for that long ? Sorry...couldn't resist.

Day 5 and wrap-up Last night dinner was at Chops. We both ordered the lobster tail from the MDR along with our choices from Chops. I had the petite filet, which I split with Dan and he ordered the shrimp which he shared with me. The reason that we decided to purchase the Ultimate Dining Plan on this trip was b/c on our last 5 night Bermuda cruise (July 4th), they did not serve the 2 dishes that we most enjoy in the MDR - lobster and lamb shank. We assumed (we all know what happens when you ASSume) that they would not serve these 2 dishes on this trip either, only to find that they were serving BOTH. But we weren’t going to let them deprive us of our fave meals...we just had them bring them to us in the restaurant(s). Nothing much to report about the evening. Casino actions as always. I am happy to report that on this cruise I got both a straight flush and 4 of a kind (Ultimate Texas Hold’em) so I had a profitable trip for the first time in MANY cruises. Dan also came out ahead. Woohoo ! Nothing particularly interesting to report for today. B’fast in the D section of the MDT, lunch at Izumi and dinner at Giovannis (Dan had the lamb shank brought from the MDR and it was disappointing for the first time ever. Just wasn’t as good as it usually is). Casino closed around 9 PM as we entered the Chesapeake Bay. Random musings This is the first time we have been to Bermuda that the NCL Dawn was not also there. As a matter of fact, we were the only ship at King’s Wharf both days. Due to the anticipated affects of Hurricane Michael, Grandeur will be leaving port tomorrow early (New England 9 day) - around 2 PM. Normal departure is 4PM. We are now in the Bay and are having the smoothest seas we have experienced since we left Baltimore on Saturday. Not likely to stay this way. Never saw a drink card but it could have been offered. Was not able to get any information about the unplanned dry dock being discussed for March 2019. We will walk off tomorrow morning and will catch the hotel shuttle back to the hotel where our car is parked. I will drop Dan at work (Washington Navy Yard) and I will go home and work the rest of the day. Next stop - Navigator for Thanksgiving. Then we will be back on Grandeur for Christmas and NY.

Congratulations

From my memory, the non-hibachi Izumi menu is the same on all ships that have Izumi. I have not sailed on Mariner though.

Thanks, John. I will be using LV at a Thanksgiving then. Was able to upgrade our JS today to an Owners Suite. Never tried to change an existing reservation while on a cruise. I went to Next Cruise and she politely told me that they are not permitted to make changes to an existing booking but she allowed me to use her phone and call Club Royale. I was very grateful for that. Otherwise there would have been no way for me to get in contact with CR. The suites on this cruise have been sold out since the day we booked so I knew that this OS would not last long. Yippee !!!!

Day 4 - Casino edition The biggest change I have noted at the Casino on this cruise is that all of the tables (that I have visited) now have at least a $10 minimum. In the past most tables had a $5 minimum. Conversely, the Texas Hold’em table (as opposed to the Ultimate Texas Hold’em table), which had been a $2/$5 table is now a $1/$3 table, which is a welcome change. i have already mentioned that Joyce is the hostess. She has been moderately visible but has not presented a dynamic environment. When Kaia was the hostess here she had lots of fun events like a 007 scavenger hunt and some fun tournaments. Nothing like that going on this week. Not that we expect it, but we have not received any casino gifts at all on this cruise. Sometimes we get champagne or a specialty dining meal (which would have been wasted on us this cruise) but nothing at all on this cruise. IMO the casino on Grandeur needs some TLC. Carpets, chairs and table top felts are looking very worn and dated. I don’t play slots so I have no idea if the games need updating or not but my guess is that some of them have been there a while. I noticed that the chips are filthy. Last night 2 of my chips were completely stuck together. I’m sure drinks get spilled all the time but they need to wash them very once in a while. Gross. I’m certain that someone will have a question about craps odds or other similar subjects. I will say now that I just don’t know but if anyone is interested in knowing, ask and I will try and find out. The craps tables have been very popular on this cruise; they’ve been very enthusiastic and vocal. ?? The Ultimate Texas Hold’em table is very very popular this trip. This is “my” game and I have gone down just to find the table completely full only minutes after the casino open multiple times. Guess I’ll have to get there before they even open to be sure and get a seat. As of day 4, I am dead “even”. I won $700 on the first day the casino was open and I lost $700 yesterday ?? so I’m back where I started. Frankly, by day 4 I’m usually well “in the hole” so being even at this point is welcome.

Good question. I haven’t sailed out of Miami recently but will there Thanksgiving week. Would like to use LV if it is available.

I believe your question is whether you can choose which MDR you want to use. The answer to that question is “no”. You are assigned one of the MDR based on whether you are My Time Dining or Traditional Dining. If you are in Traditional Dining and don’t like your assigned location you can change that but you cannot arbitrarily choose where you want to sit.