THinPH

Has anyone walked to Pelican Peak zipline from the port in St. Maarten? They say 10 minutes, but is it a safe, easy walk... and is there a sidewalk, etc.? Or is there a better way to get there and back? TIA

Last year a lot of things were 50% off, including drink packages and excursions, but business is booming this year so may not offer as many deep deals.

On 9/13/2022 at 11:46 PM, CanHardlyWait said:

Did you book that with Royal in the past? Considering it for my May trip.

We went to Playa Mia last week, booked through Royal. It was really good overall and we would go back.

The buffet food was ok, not great, and they didn't have labels... so with the language barrier we didn't know what alot of it was. Not good for picky eaters, lol.

If you aren't big drinkers, I'd suggest doing the regular Beach Break and just ordering food/drinks off the menu for more options. That's what we'll do next time.

If you get the deluxe package and want a waiter to get your drinks, I suggest tipping when you order. Otherwise it seems like you need to go get your own. They're more interested in helping paying customers than all-inclusive people, IMO. 

41 minutes ago, teddy said:

I really enjoy the package with the Freestyle machines because of the options….So many different flavors of soda, Powerade, Minute Maid, etc. 

The bars certainly have soda, but there isn’t much variety. 
 

Over the past week without the package, I only bought two Sprites.  It’s probably healthier for me anyway.

Exactly! Aside from the hassle of going to bars or whatever to get drinks, I typically drink sugar free, non carbonated beverages, so I'm excited about the light flavored lemonades in the machine. 

1 hour ago, teddy said:

I have researched this in anticipation of our October sailing on Voyager, and I have not found that Freestyle machines have been added.  

The ship we’re currently on, Liberty, doesn’t have them either  

The lack of Freestyle machines definitely keeps me from getting the soda package. 

That's a bummer! At least we're in port every day on Voyager so we won't need beverages onboard all day like we do on sea days, lol.

We've never gotten the soda package before so our cruise on Allure next week will determine if it makes sense for us in the future. 

Thanks for the feedback!

2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

They will have sugar free minute maid lemonades and other sugar free/zero sugar drinks. 

Awesome, thanks! We're on Allure next week so that's great news.

47 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

 You can always check the app and look at your sailing under beverages, it will list Freesytle locations. 

Sadly, the app doesn't even have a Beverages tab for my sailing... so not feeling confident.  I was hoping maybe the app was just outdated, lol.

44 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Whether they are fully stocked is the only issue, they will have the same offerings across ships that have them.

I just don't know if they have any of the stuff I usually drink, like sugar free lemonades, etc. so I was curious about what they "should" have.

Also, does anyone know if Voyager has Freestyle machines yet?

Is there a list of the beverage options in the Freestyle machines, or does it vary by ship? 

A lot has changed in the past few years, and the last post I found on this topic was a couple years old... so just wondering if Voyager has Freestyle soda machines yet?

If not, it probably doesn't make sense to get a soda package if we have to deal with a bar every time.

Sailing over Thanksgiving. Thanks!

FYI, as of today all the Labadee excursions are now available for my May cruise (after emailing them earlier this month), so some of your sailings may be available now too.

On 1/28/2022 at 11:28 AM, Diane LW said:

We just received an email from RC yesterday that our Allure trip 2/19 will be rerouting to Labadee because Dom Rep’s port will be under construction.  Because of the change they are also changing  our St Kitts port to Nassau.  We’re disappointed as the St Kitts port was the reason we chose that sailing.  We’ve been to Nassau a few times already, and were not impressed with Labadee during a previous cruise.  Royal is not offering compensation and if we rebook to another ship with stops at ports that we want to see, we will need to pay the difference in fare.   Has anyone ever had luck in getting some kind of compensation when itinerary changes??

I'm a little late to chime in, but if you purchased travel insurance, it might include compensation for missed ports (which includes itinerary changes). I know my Allianz policies purchased from AAA include it.

Or, you could probably find a different cruise at a good price with the current sale. I recently cancelled and rebooked for a similar reason. I'm sure you'd have a good time on this one, but personally, I'd probably rebook and go where you really want...especially if you wouldn't be able to take a second cruise in the near future.

On the website, the 11/15 Odyssey sailing lists this itinerary: Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas | Cruising | Nassau, Bahamas | Cruising | Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I'm scheduled for Labadee in May 2022, so hoping things are resolved by then.