Nicci

If you walk the stairs as much as possible, and avoid the bread at meals it will somehow negate the salt air affect.

My wife and did the 3 day Nassau Bahamas cruise out of Miami on July 22nd on the Freedom of the seas ship. We purchased the Best of Nassau City & Paradise Island shore excursion ahead of time mainly to tour the Atlantis resort. It was $49 per person.  It turns out that due to Covid-19, the resort now only allows hotel patrons to enter the hotel itself. Tour guests are no longer allowed inside. There was no mention of this in the description on the Royal caribbean site. It was told to us while we were on the van after the tour started. We were disappointed this wasn't mentioned as the Atlantis part was the reason why we purchased the excursion. We had to wait in the hot sun for the tour company to get a van to pick us up. The tour guide Vance was great and informative. It wasn't his fault so we didn't take it out on him. He did a great job. Beware if you do this excursion thinking you will see the inside of the hotel and the grounds.

I'm not sure which ship you're on and where it will dock, but I was there in August on Oasis.  This shot shows an Oasis-class ship in port, and it's exactly where we tied up.  The red star shows where the tenders to take us to Blue Lagoon were.  It was less than the length of the (admittedly massive) ship.

I've done Halloween on Harmony of the Seas in 2018 and on Spectrum in 2019. On both, they had decorations, carved pumpkins and a huge selection of scary cakes at the buffet. Really amazing stuff. On Harmony, they also set up Haunted House in Boleros, which was small but still fun to go through. 
Spectrum was a cruise to Japan from Shanghai and about 80% of the passengers were Chinese. They seemed to disappear from the public areas by 8 or 9 PM, no idea if they went to bed or what. Anyways, this left the rest of the international passengers, some of which wore costumes, they did some kind of Halloween Show and costume contest at 270 with an amazing Halloween themed backdrop projection.
Next will be on Wonder of the Seas which leaves on a transatlantic crossing on Oct. 30 from Barcelona, so I'll bring a costume this time and hope it will be as much fun as the previous times.

Wow, so much negativity toward Nassau.
I am also amazed at all the people on Caribbean cruises who are not "beach" people.  That is one of our main reasons to book Caribbean cruises!  I have been to many different ports, and each has its own flavor.
I happen to really like Nassau.  It has a lot of great stores for shoppers, some land/beach tours, especially the awesome Atlantis, and many, many water activities.  I have snorkeled there many times, and husband who is scuba certified, always enjoys a scuba experience there.  We have also done the resort for the day (hotel with lunch and pool and beach access) at some of the different locations.  Also, you can just get right off the ship and you are in the heart of everything.
I find Freeport much more sparse, with the ship distant from all, although husband is off scuba diving and having fun.
My least favorite port is probably Grand Turk, but that is because it is very small with not a lot to do for land tours.
I love all the Mexico ports, but then I especially enjoy visiting archeological sites.
For me stopping at any port and going in the water is pretty fun, because the ship pools are just too small to enjoy nonstop.

For me, Nassau was added as a last minute due to a cancellation of another port (damn cartel).  I got tired of waiting for RC to update the shore excursions.  But even after they added the shore excursions, there was not much available that was not a beach or some resort.  Why would I want to go to a resort when I have a ship resort. So, I made up my own shore excursion that had something for everyone in my party (a party of 6).  Rum, chocolate, wine, zoo (Ardastra Gardens & Wildlife Conservation Centre), and biking.   I would not do Ardastra Gardens & Wildlife Conservation Centre again.  Very small. I did not like the rum.  The chocolate only had tours at a set time and we missed our tour.  So, the wine at Graycliff was the only thing worthwhile.  Oh and the biking - SCARY with those roads and drivers. 
At the port, there are very pushy vendors but since we were forewarn, we stayed away from where they set up.

I'm curious why all the hate for Nassau? Dispite having sailed 15+times out of Florida we have never had Nassau as a port stop (we did stop briefly once for a medical emergency). It looks like a beautiful island but I am well aware of the fact seasoned cruisers do not like this port. Is it because it is a frequent stop for short cruises? Is it pushy vendors? Less than desireable port area?

Nassau isn't a popular port so if you have it, be forewarned that lots of people stay on the ship. It might be the most crowded port day. My last couple of times I thought I would have the ship to myself and a couple of thousand people thought the same.

Whatever port on disembarkation day. Hate it.?

@Aron_Ross - sorry I never got back to you.  The food was good.  But I don't think it was anything special.  My family had too many restaurants picked out so it made the Taste of Royal almost meaningless.  If we were not doing any other specialty restaurant, then the Taste of Royal would have been a treat. Just my opinion. 

Just an FYI: Royal has given away leftovers at Labadee on a daily basis for years. At the end of the day you can see the locals lining up at the entrance gate just outside Nellies Beach. Royal has owned the property for some 35+ years and there have been many, many, many tried and failed attempts all across Haiti to create resorts and vacation destinations. Royal has been the only successful one. So as far as an employer and economic impact on the country as a whole, Haiti has done very well with Royal purchasing a dilapidated, old resort way off in the north of the country where no one ever goes.
Now this is just me talking smack, but at some point when Royal has its' debt under control and they have completed their onshore venues at Paradise Island and Vanuatu; I think we are going to see a spectacular remodel at Labadee. Spectacular because Haiti is a near perfect 1/2 point between Florida and Mexico. Also because there is already a dock in place that is deep enough for Oasis class ships that is only 6 or 7 years old. And exceedingly spectacular because Haiti has far less hurricane potential than the Bahamas. And, unlike the Bahamas which is made of sand, Labadee is made of rock and boy can we build some sturdy foundations for whatever your imagination can dream up. The sky will be the limit. 

Wh had the Taste of Royal lunch on Anthem last week, it was on the last sea day in Wonderland. No tickets delivered to the cabin, but a phone message the day before.
The menu was seafood-centered, and I had hoped for the World dessert, but it wasn’t. I have gluten intolerance, had informed them ahead of time, but still they did not have a substitute for the first course. And one of us is 17, and they did not offer the kid an alcohol free option for welcome drink, which was really surprising. 
 
Here’s the menu (photo) and a picture of my seafood-free risotto and main (sorry about the flipped pictures)

@berkeleykel, can I just throw out a suggestion to you for your Cinque Terre explorations? We've done it twice and it's amazing.
First off, I can confirm that the walk to the train station is around the 20-30 minute mark. There's a bit of an uphill stretch on the way there but it's not too bad and, of course, it's downhill on the way back when you're tired. We were totally unable to find any taxis to take us there from the port.
We really loved Riomaggiore. Note that the main street is quite a steep hill and you might have to bribe the kids with an ice cream! 😁  I'm not sure if you'll be able to see the video (fingers crossed). If you can't, at least the pic (sorry not the best) will give you an idea.

20160928_121027.mp4  
Something you might like to consider is taking a couple of beach towels and wearing your swimwear and going all the way to last village, Monterosso. It's really not that much farther on and it has a great beach with beach restaurants where you can enjoy a bite to eat and let the kids run around. Another benefit is that, because it's the first village on the way back, when you get on the train to head back the chances are you'll be able to get seats. The whole journey only takes half an hour but by the time the train gets to the second village on the return journey pretty much anyone who boards from there onwards has to stand.
These two pics are Monterosso. We didn't make it that far the first time we went and the second time we wished we'd known to bring our beach stuff!


Hope this is useful. 😊
 

Pre-departure plans - the boring stuff
COVID Testing:
For departures out of Barcelona, the current requirements are for an antigen or PCR test up to 2 days prior to sailing, including for kids age 2 or over who are fully vaccinated.  Since our cruise departs on a Sunday and my 6 year old is fully vaccinated, I've booked tests for me, T and M for Friday morning 2 days before embarkation.  We live walking distance to a DocTap testing location and have used them around a dozen times with good experiences, so we are sticking with what we know.  Tests were GBP 29 each for lateral flow/rapid antigen.  Under 2s are exempt from testing so the Monster gets off easy this time.  He will be sitting back laughing as his older brother, who is the worst COVID testing subject ever, will literally have to be held down by two people to have the stick stuck up his nose.  The day when he doesn't have to test any more will be most welcome to us.
Flight to Barcelona:
This is the most annoying aspect of the trip and the part that came closest to husband vetoing the trip entirely. Monster is DREADFUL on flights and we have PTSD from our last vacation on the 4 hour flights to/from Tenerife.  Plus airports in London (as I'm sure is true in many other places) have been struggling with staff shortages and high passenger volumes, resulting in delays, cancellations and general chaos. But like a mother conveniently forgetting the pains of childbirth to have another child, I'm ready to embrace all the stress to get on a big boat with lounge chairs and unlimited cocktails.
We are flying to Barcelona one day before the cruise.  I don't have any extra vacation days to tack on more time and we spent several days in Barcelona in 2019, so we don't plan to do any sightseeing this time around.
To make life a little easier we are flying out of London Gatwick, which is quick and easy for us to get to by train.  This prevents the headache of needing to sort out a car service to the airport that would provide car seats, and the anxiety lest the car show up without the right type of seat.  Also have I mentioned Monster is also DREADFUL in car seats?  Living in central London we don't have a car and he's only been in them a few times, and he will shriek his little head off nonstop for hours until he passes out from the stress and audaciousness of being strapped to a seat.  Gatwick also has a separate family line for security that makes the process a bit smoother with all the toddler junk we have to bring.
From Gatwick to Barcelona we have the option of two budget carriers, EasyJet or Vueling.  We've traveled with EasyJet many times and it's always been okay.  This time, booking only 4 weeks out, EasyJet didn't have good availability so we are trying Vueling for the first time.  We paid extra for front row seats for the extra leg room for Monster to squirm in (and a lack of seats in front of him to kick non stop), and for carry on and checked luggage and a priority check in desk.  All in, the return flights were an eye watering EUR 1700 round trip for 3 seats (Monster in lap as he is under 2, the better for our ears to be as close as physically possible to his screaming lungs).  This is about triple what we paid when we went to Barcelona back in 2019 (on Easyjet with similar seats/bags), which I imagine is a combination of booking late, summer high season, and post-COVID pent up demand.  The flights are just over 2 hours each way. 
Hotel in Barcelona:
As noted above we're only staying one night in Barcelona before the cruise (and flying back same day after disembarking).   Hotels prices were crazy ridiculous compared to our last trip here.  We're booked at the Citadines Ramblas in a one bedroom apartment, costing EUR 350 with a non-refundable rate.  The Citadines is a mid-range aparthotel chain with locations mainly in Europe and Asia that we've stayed with a few times (although not this particular location).  We'll have a kitchenette which will be helpful for the fact that Monster still demands a night time bottle of milk.
Method of transport to/from the airport to the hotel and cruise terminal is still TBD.
 
Next up: excursion plans.

I'm excited to be heading off to Barcelona with 2 kids and a mildy grumpy husband in 2 weeks to set sail on the Wonder!  I've decided to live blog because (1) I'm neurotic and (2) I didn't find many detailed blogs or reviews from people who have done a similar itinerary with small kids.  I will surely forget all of the details that I've spent hours pouring over within a few weeks of my trip, so want to lay it all out in real time for posterity.
My husband (T) and I are Americans living in London, and we are bringing our 2 sons: M (age 6) and A (age nearly 2, aka "The Monster").   M, T and I have been on one Royal cruise, a Greek isles itinerary out of Venice in 2019 on Rhapsody.  Before that M and I had been on a couple of non-Royal boats similar to Rhapsody.  So we aren't first timers but Wonder will by far and away be a new experience for us.
As a bit of backstory, we were originally booked on this itinerary on Allure in Oct 2020.  I actually found out I was pregnant with A only a couple of months after booking the cruise (himself born Oct 2020, so clearly that cruise was never going to happen for us, for multiple reasons).
I told myself after A was born that we wouldn't cruise again until he was 3+ and potty trained, and we originally had a different, and much more boring, summer land vacation planned this year.  But I couldn't help checking out cruises now and then, and originally got my husband on board by pitching a sailing on Anthem out of Southampton (only an hour away from us by train).  But since it was last minute the only connecting rooms left were interiors, and the more we thought about it the more we decided being stuck in an interior room all of the time with a sleeping toddler would be frustrating.  So I gradually socialized the idea of flying to Barcelona and stressed how amazing Wonder would be for the kids, and eventually got my way.
We had been booked in a 2 bedroom GS for Allure which I was really looking forward two given how well it works for families with young kids, but given this cruise was only booked about 4 weeks in advance the best we could find on Wonder was 2 adjacent ocean view balconies (well, the Ultimate Family Suite was still available for $30K but we gave that a miss). 
Despite the amazing itinerary, we picked this sailing mainly for the ship and proximity to London.  Our goal above all else is for this to be as relaxing as possible, which is a tall ask with a Monster and my FOMO combined with a huge ship and an all-star itinerary.  I'm going to try to balance seeing a few highlights on the port days with sleeping in some days and having enough time to fully enjoy the ship.
Itinerary:
Day 1 - Depart Barcelona
Day 2 - Palma de Mallorca
Day 3 - Marseille
Day 4 - La Spezia
Day 5 - Rome
Day 6 - Naples
Day 7 - Sea Day
Day 8 - Kicked off the boat whimpering in Barcelona
Between the kids and some unavoidable work intrusions, I'll have limited time to post while on the ship, so I plan to front load as much as possible in the next two weeks to describe our pre-cruise plans and plans for the port days.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions as I go along!

Bring back skeet shooting 👍👍👍

There are six engines on these ships, two very large, two large and two smaller.  During normal operations they would call on various combinations of these engines to create the power needed for that moment in time.  While docked in a port the hotel side of the ship can operate with minimal engines operating.  A high speed run has more power demand so more engines are needed online at that moment.  Normal cruise speed require less power compared to high speed operations so fewer engines.  
These engines are routinely taken out of service for maintenance.  This occurs in between dry docks during normal everyday cruises.  Ships engines are routinely taken out of service and overhauled while we the cruising public never know.  They have enough engines so they can completely take one offline, rebuild it and the cruise goes on.  This can take several days while we go about a normal cruise and no one ever knows they are in the process of rebuilding an engine.  If you have ever cruised before it is possible they were doing routine maintenance on one of the engines during your cruise. 
The problem occurs when one engine begins to exhibit premature signs of a problem while at the same time a different engine also needs to be taken offline for normal routine maintenance.  It doesn't mean that engine is dead completely but as they monitor engine performance and things like particles in the oil the advanced computers can throw up a yellow flag that something isn't right.  In an emergency they could continue to use that engine at full power but doing so may shorten the life of the engine and damage parts that can't be replaced so they tend to go easy on that engine.  
Routine engine work happens all the time and we never know.  Normally new parts are flown in and a week later it's back in service at full performance.  That isn't happening right now.  Parts and in some cases the contractors from the engine manufacturer who come on board to do certain work are in short supply right now.  Meanwhile another engine needs to go through the normal maintenance overhaul which will leave them with two engines unavailable at the maximum capabilities. 
It might be tempting to say just delay the scheduled maintenance on that other engine but that has consequences.  Delaying or altering maintenance could shorten the life of that engine but more importantly it could also result in the ship being out of compliance with its operating certificates resulting in the ship having the operating certificate revoked.  In order to prevent a situation where a ship is left powerless at sea the governing bodies absolutely require work be done based on an established schedule and deviations are carefully scrutinized.  During inspections by agencies like the coastguard they check the logs to ensure maintenance is being performed per established schedules.  A ship deviating from scheduled maintenance is a red flag.  Agencies like the coastguard don't care that they can't visit a glacier and guests may be disappointed.  Safety comes before guest disappointment.  If inspectors and regulators allowed for deviations there are less ethical companies in the shipping industry beyond the cruise industry that would abuse those loopholes and make it part of their standard operating procedure so the regulators are very strict about adhering to the established schedule. 
Normally a Quantum class ship can reach speeds as high as 22 - 24 knots.   Those speeds place a huge demand on the engines so it requires they operate at maximum power.  Not all legs of a cruise itinerary are equal.  For Oasis class the run between St. Kitts and Florida is a high speed leg.  Other legs between other ports are performed at lower speeds.  The same is true for Alaska itineraries.  Some legs require higher speeds.  When they can't produce higher power output they can't include the higher speed legs of an itinerary.  Changing one leg of an itinerary has a ripple effect on the entire itinerary.    
As it turns out in August they must take one engine offline for its established scheduled maintenance.  They are not allowed to delay that maintenance.  Unfortunately right now a different engine is showing signs of a premature condition that require them to not use that engine as they normally would.  There are still four engines so there is no danger or risk for any cruisers, it's not a safety issue making the ship unsafe, they just can't achieve the speeds needed for the higher speed legs of the itinerary causing the entire itinerary to be evaluated and altered.

I used to search out sites like this, they can be so funny and entertaining:
 

This is a fan site and great for information so I'm not sure what hope to gather from this besides a vent session. I'm sorry you had such a crappy vacation. 
 
Part of being a traveler and especially for a solo traveler is to be flexible. It's no one else's responsibility to entertain you besides actual entertainment. I'm someone who moves between an introvert and an extrovert, depending on my mood or situation. I'm half horrified/half impressed when anyone on the crew makes it a point to remember my name. I know when I travel alone I have to manage my expectations. I count myself lucky when I meet people on a solo trip and get to share my time with them. I also know as a woman ANYWHERE I have to speak up for myself sometimes. If i'm not "seen" I make myself seen. I agree the spa people can be annoying but no one makes you buy anything. "No" - as many times as you need to say it. A lot of your issues could've been avoided if you spoke up for yourself. This is a life lesson - people will get away with what you let them. 
St Thomas is a beautiful island if you leave the dock - you may have not done an excursion to get the best out of your time there.
You booked Harmony mostly because of an escape room? 
Solo rooms are sometimes not worth the cost, you are not actually paying for two people but you are paying a lot. 
I'm sorry you got covid on your trip, 100% sucks. 
 
 

It sounds like your first cruise ever?  My first cruise I knew nothing of this discussion board or cruise critic.  I got off the ship and was angry because I’d saved for so long and didn’t have the experience I thought it should have been.  You cruised during Covid, which compounds those issues (like the cancelled escape room).  As a female who stands nearly 6ft tall and has done a fair number of solo cruises I’ve been overlooked by staff, I’ve had people just step in front of me on a line (no, they weren’t with the people in front of me) and other things that are just unfathomable because I really don’t think I’m that invisible.  It’s disheartening but don’t let it ruin your time.  instead of saying I’d never cruise again I decided to educate myself, by reading boards like this, and take it one step further, I share my experience and knowledge here and to people I meet onboard.  
I can’t help you with the post cruise Covid quarantine but I’ve no doubt you were told information that unfortunately you cannot prove.  I would reach out to corporate and not include your other disappointments, instead I would be writing about what’s most important, reimbursement for your hotel/food/expenses that they said would be covered, and include your receipts. Also, if you were quarantined in your room you are entitled to a prorated refund for each day in quarantine onboard.

Was never an issue for me. 🙂
 

Well the first is “formal” night, the second is “dress your best”.  There are many opinions on exactly what that means.

Backtracking a bit….
We landed at LHR pretty much on time. LHR was busy, we had to deplane from some random area abs were bussed into T3 because they did not have a gate for us. Luckily, it did not take long to wait for the bus because we were one of the first ones off the plane.
 
Because we have Canadian passports and both kids are over 12, we were able to use the e-gates at UK customs. That sped things up considerably. After that was baggage reclaim and that area was a disaster! Bags were literally all over the place just like what is seen on the news lately. My daughter even commented if we were supposed to search for our bags among the sea of bags. When we arrive at carousel 5, someone had already loaded them off and we found them along the side. That was a Praise God moment. Off we went happily with our two checked bags and thankful I won’t have to deal with fizzy hair like back in March.
 
Blackberry Cars estimated that it would take us 60 mins from landing to meeting them and it took us just a little under that. They send you a text with a link to track the driver about 15mins out. We waited about 10mins for them instead of the other way around. Our driver was professional and helpful. Overall, really impressed with this service from pre-planning right through to the end. We plan to use them again for Friday as long as we stay covid free 🤞
We arrived at The Savoy just after 9:30am. Had breakfast in Thames Foyer (which is beautiful) while we waited for them to finish up the rooms. Because we racked up quite a few points last year with Fairmont (due to staycations in Canada) we qualified for 5 suite night upgrades this year. This is another reason why we are at the Savoy. Those SNU expire by 12/22 if I don’t use them. Anyway, you cannot book a suite for 4 here so we originally booked a junior suite with a connecting King for the kids. Upon checking in, they informed us that because of our Accor status, they upgraded both our rooms to deluxe junior suites (still connecting) with ours being slightly larger than then kids.
 
Below you can see how they connect. There is a small entry way where you can see both rooms. Go one way and it’s our room, go the other way, it’s the kids. It is sort of the like JS/solo cabins on Quantum class ships how they connect family style but still gives you separate rooms if you choose to have it that way. 













Kids room. Also a Junior suite but slightly smaller and no extra powder room. Still way more space than they need. The Savoy also left them a small surprise on the table. It’s little things like this that I love about Fairmont. Hubby claims it’s like SC on land lol. 
 












 
Ending with a super funny story. While Hubby was trying to take pics for the kids room, they were in the way so we told them to get into the closet because the other room wasn’t ready yet. Well as that was happening, two guys rang the bell for our luggage. They brought it into the room for us and then proceeded to ask if we needed extra luggage racks. Then one opened the closet to check if there were any in there before we could warn him. Well, he did not find luggage racks but you can guess what he found. We all could not stop laughing! I tried to explain pictures for the blog thing but I think it was pointless. They were still laughing on their way out! 

This is the key - Bring the empty cups in your carry on, go to Cafe Promenade or Windjammer (or any bar really) on Embarkation Day and everyone with the Soda, Refreshment or Deluxe beverage package can get the chips recoded - if the cup is cracked or leaking or otherwise broken, it can be replaced at no charge (since you've already purchased a package). 
Either that or add a tap/swipe function on the freestyle machine so everyone with soda, refreshment and deluxe beverage packages can just tap/swipe their seapass card and fill their own tumbler/cup with a soda of their choice. 

Totally agree.  In all of the times that we’ve had the DBP - which has been pretty much 100% of the time - we have never once used these cups.  Who wants to carry those things around ?