WAYNO

interesting, cruise or cruise-bashing sites such as this, folks pile it on in saying the lobsters are horrible. Then simultaneously, folks are critical of the thought of lobsters being curtailed or eliminated on menus. I am a lover of lobsters. Maybe my all time favorite food. And I thoroughly enjoy the lobsters aboard ship. Apparently I was not born with a silver spoon, so to speak.

I suspect they alter their delivery methods on a whim, to match supply and demand at the moment. When we were supposed to receive our block, aboard a cruise, we were told they ran out, and they would have to mail the item. It was many months, but we did receive the block.

The steak would have been my choice. My Wife had a steak on the first night. It was cut very thin, and very overcooked. She didn't want to try it again. I guess my point is, all these new choices may be exciting and/or acceptable to some, but for me, the menu is sorely lacking of comfort foods. Had I been there, I also would have opted for the Windjammer. And I would have remained happy. Folks on this forum ask to see menus. I shared one.

I try not to be the complaining Karen. Mostly, I eat what I'm offered and I am pleased. And mostly, I do like the MDR. I can find something pleasing, in spite of the updated menus. My Wife sent this tonights menu to me today. She is aboard Navigator, on the last evening of this cruise. She said she'll be eating in the Windjammer tonight.

VOOM service has been pretty poor for us, throughout the fleet. As we speak, my wife is on Navigator, and we are experiencing the best wi-fi service we've ever had on a ship, anywhere. I don't know if Navigator uses Starlink, or if it's on a conventional, earlier Satellite internet system. Whatever it is, it's working very well on this cruise.

I often buy cigars in port while on a cruise. I bring them home, share them with the boys, and we thoroughly enjoy them. What I've bought have been very nice cigars. But the real cigar experts continually tell me whatever I've bought down there are counterfeits. Feel my balloon deflate? If they are counterfeit, or even if they are just re-labeled, they must have done so with otherwise nice cigars, as these have truly been good cigars, at least to me and the boys. I continually look at the cigars for sale on the ship. I buy individual cigars only for immediate use. The cigars I used to get in the cigar lounges were very high quality and well kept cigars. The cigar lounges were well tended. A good cigar, a good whiskey, and good company... I miss the cigar lounges.

And with two days to go, my Wife has all her ducks in a row! I didn't get invited on this cruise, but I will join her next month on the same cruise.

From the Left Coast, I too would dearly love to escape. None of the downfalls presented by other posters would keep me from moving to Florida. I've spent quite a bit of time there, and I love it. The only thing keeping me from such a move, is procrastination. I've been undecided long enough it's now unlikely to happen. We have a friend and a couple cousins that have made the move, and they wont ever come back to Oregon (or Washington). Good luck in your decision. I envy you if you can truly pull the trigger, so to speak.

We of course saw the Statue of Liberty while we sailed from Port Liberty a few years back. And yes, it was from some distance, but it was still obvious and remarkable. Other than barely seeing it from the air one time, this was the first real viewing I had experienced. But when we returned to port, the Skipper gave us a real treat and circled the Statue of Liberty multiple times. Also a pay-back, as we returned to port 12-hours early in out-running Hurricane Dorian.

As we speak, I have 3 upcoming cruises on the books. They've been displayed accurately for quite some time. Two days ago, it also said we have zero cruises booked. Today it shows we have three. Royals apps and sites are complex and busy. Sometimes when they're behind the scenes tweaking stuff, (read: making it more difficult and confusing), information temporarily disappears. In the end it has always re-appeared. Let me add... I always print any and all itineraries, contracts and agreements.

On the other hand, I would think continued, incessant emails offering Royal Ups just might be signalling they have some vacant rooms. That in itself might cause some folks to bid, when they otherwise might not, knowing the odds for many have been quite low. If I'm not interested, I'll just ignore the email.

We usually have scheduled dining. During and since covid, we're mostly seated at a table for two (or 3 when our son joined us), without asking. In fact, I prefer a fuller table, so I've asked on multiple occasions to have other folks' tables slid over with ours. I like to dine with new friends. And I've found other folks like this also. My point is... Ask for a table for two, but you might've been at a table for two, already.

We are long retired. All of our cruises are casino and/or C&A comps. That still doesn't make it free. Our biggest expense is airfare and hotels at the embarkation port. Used to be, we cruised 2 or 3 times a year. Since we've discovered Los Angeles, this year will be 7 cruises. That's the live near the port part of this equation. L.A. is an easy and cheap plane ride for us, and it's easy to leave home the same morning we get on the ship, negating the need for a hotel. Of course, cruising from L.A. means the ship and scenery never changes. I am envious of the folks that live near the cruise ports in Florida. They can cruise easily and cheaply, and have many different ships and itineraries to choose from.

And as of just today, my Wife and I are also booked on this cruise! Whoop-Whoop!

I am somewhat mobility limited also. Wherever we go, I always book a low-impact sightseeing excursion, be it a bus, shuttle, taxi, surrey...whatever. The last time in St. Thomas/St. John, we booked a surrey tour in St. John, via a ferry ride from St. Thomas. This tour in St. John was one of the best excursions I've ever done. There are many tour services available on both islands, but I've found a surrey to be my favorite. And what I'm calling a surrey is a pickup truck or chassis-cab with bus seats and a surrey top. There are running boards the full length of this vehicle to allow easy boarding. And once onboard, there are lots of hand-holds. We purchased this tour from Royal, however there are many similar tours available at the port. https://www.godfreytours.com/

We've always found a RC shuttle available for purchase, from the ship to the airport. It's easy and competitive. Get off the ship, and a bus is waiting for us immediately outside the terminal.

I agree. A cousin decided to bypass the passport requirement on a recent cruise. She was assured that "other" ID would be okay. Guess what? The ship left her behind.

We buy the one way shuttle from guest services or directly from the app . For whatever reason, we don't always find it on the app. But it's always available at guest services.

We did CocoCay in 2022 and again in 2023. My wife visited there a couple times previously with friends and family. I'm mature enough I don't do the water attractions, but I still love the place, just for sitting, sipping, eating, and watching.

Good question. Are clotheslines becoming a thing of the past? Years back, they all had 'em. We haven't seen any for awhile. Specifically, on Navigator and Symphony recently, there were no clothes lines in our cabin. Don't know if the entire ship was void of them, or if they had just been removed from our cabin, for whatever reason.

We always get a beverage package of some sort, and we always get these cups. But I can't help but think these cups are not a huge draw for a lot of folks. On our last couple of cruises, we went to multiple bars until we finally would find a bar that had these cups. We find it's much easier to ask for a beverage at a bar, and get a nice new clean glass every time.

One time... We sailed through and/or around a hurricane. Hurricane Dorian. And it was in maritime Canada. The Skipper watched the track of this hurricane during our cruise, and mostly it didn't affect us, until it was time to return to Port Liberty. Then, the Skipper decided to beat the hurricane to Port. We skirted the hurricane, and it wasn't terribly uncomfortable. But it did cause us to lose our last night at sea. To make up for it, the Skipper ran the ship up the Hudson River, and gave us the most incredible birds eye view of New York City until the wee hours of the morning. This was a magnificent tradeoff for us.

My last name also, is two separate words. Very common in Latin or European-based names. Too many data-enterers insist on running the two words together, alphabetically creating two different files than just the one intended. This has created quite an alias problem for me, so I will no longer accept any document with my name misspelled or otherwise ran together. And my insistence is so often misunderstood, as not a big deal. To make them understand the importance, at least a little, I use the example of a former president, Martin Van Buren. That's easily and correctly accepted. But running it together, as Martin Vanburen makes it a different name. Similarly the actor Robert De Niro... Running the words together, Deniro makes for a different spot in a data base. And this is a much closer example of my name and the data storing problems it's created.

Bottom line... That's why I do it all myself. If there's a snafu with a TA involved, there are so many fingers pointed in so many directions, while nothing gets fixed. Now, if it gets messed up, I can only point a finger at Royal or at myself. That's a lot of incentive for me to do it right and get confirmations. Now this doesn't help the OP's dilemma. If the travel agent wont fix it, and Royal wont help, you're kind've out of choices other than to buy the package again at the market rate, and get a refund from the TA and/or otherwise dispute the charge with the credit card company.

I've been involved in only one cancellation. Although ultimately I was refunded every cent, it took many months and many difficult conversations. Each time I talked with Royal, their excuse changed. Sometimes they'd even claim I was already refunded, when I absolutely was not. They claimed they would investigate, but I never received follow ups. Then I would have to start over. Sadly, our airline refund was equally difficult. So although it's comforting to know that cruisers will be refunded for cancellations, be aware that if you're needing this money to book another cruise, or otherwise pinching pennies for any reason, you could be awaiting your refund for an extended period.