Cruiser4Life

5 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I wish!  I'm afraid that I am struggling with no Genie on this one. lol

All my RU bids still say submitted so I'm not really holding my breath. Besides, not only have I never won anything, but I would have some major explaining to do with Hubby if I actually won.

I just got the “your bid will be still reviewed onboard” for our nye sailing. I am debating just cancelling it… I like to unpack and door decorate asap… then there’s the guilt because since this sailing is obviously full, some poor family either had airline trouble or someone fell ill in order for the room to become available… and lastly @Neesa ‘s issues of important tickets and perks still being delivered to her old stateroom is fresh in my mind… this may be too much for this unfortunately neurotic type A to deal with. But I’m rooting for yours to come through!

awww... Did you try for Odyssey? We could have met! Leaving on 12/30, So excited!

Hard Rock Hotel could be an idea. The Guitar Pool is amazing and there are cabanas you can reserve. Lots of restaurants and shopping, as well as the casino

You honestly seem like an amazing person and sound so great to travel with! I hope you feel like you got some R &R on your vacay. Did you happen to snap a pic of the entertainment schedule? Was there a 70s, 80s, or 90s party on board? 

1 hour ago, PG Cruiser said:

If only Royal can hold on to the SeaPass cards until the guests report to their muster stations.  Or probably have guests claim the cards from those stations.

That’s actually a great idea. If people could not access their stateroom (or buy a cocktail) before doing that simple 1 minute requirement on their phone, muster would be done in record time!!

I think you seem like a ton of fun to be around and your jokes actually make me laugh out loud. You are appreciated by people you don’t even know, don’t let anyone take that from you…

I too have been baffled by the burnt tomato. When DD was a toddler, she noticed it on my plate and shrieked “mommy, don’t eat that! They didn’t even wash off the dirt from the garden!” Ahh kids… also good for a laugh.

I am praying Odyssey is a totally different experience. I sail on her for NYE and have Harmony in March so we’ll see how they compare after yours!

14 minutes ago, Debsters41 said:

May I piggyback on this thread and ask how  awkward it would seem for a couple of childless 60 year olds to participate?

In our experience, when they have adults sign up, they try to put them together to decrease the awkwardness… on one cruise where my daughter was signed up, we received a notice in our room that her class had changed times. Not a big deal but inquired at guest services and they said they had made her original class an adult class, so they figured she preferred to be with other children. Sign up! Hopefully if other adults want to join in, you won’t be alone

4 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Nope..same show, same food, same schtick.  Bonus on the Oasis class and Quantum Class ships that have it, the view is great since it's not dark

True! Good point, I didn’t think of! We are on odyssey next. Thanks!

Can anyone tell me if there is any difference in the Hibachi experience for lunch vs dinner? Not so much the food offerings as we are good with anything but I didn't want to experience a reduced "show" if you will, just because we chose lunch instead of dinner.....

2 hours ago, Pen said:

Wow.  Just wow.  First the people who were in my room would be getting out.  After the one experience of waiting for a guarantee room...I only book rooms I've selected.  After they got them out, the steward would have to clean everything, because there is no way to know if they sat on the beds, used the bathroom, etc...  I would make sure that your unsatisfactory experience at guest services gets noted on your survey.  I find it unsettling that they entered your room with your card.  You know....the card you may have a payment attached to.  The housekeeping supervisor should have been alerted to fix the problem, instead of having it be "your" problem.  They probably ate your C&A cookies that they weren't suppose to get.  What a hot mess!

Getting to my room and the keys not being at the door like that is always a fear for me when boarding, never mind the horror to find others in the room you booked!!!... I liked it much better when they printed up the SeaPass cards at check-in and handed them straight to you. 

On our last cruise, our MDR waiters were relentless about bringing up the survey… from night 1 all the way to night 7… to the point where my family was like… this is so uncomfortable… part is on us, we should have asked them not to keep bringing it up like other people did… but I felt bad and was honestly a little bit shocked… it was about 2-3 minutes at the beginning of the meal, then again with the entrees, and again after dessert with the same line….. “please remember when you get the survey, the lowest is a 10 and the highest is a 10” and then just stand there while we all nod our heads in understanding. My young daughter was even like, it’s only the first night of the cruise…. so to hear this statement three times a night for 7 nights was definitely too much. I debated what to do at the end and gave them the same good additional tip I would normally give, but I didn’t answer the survey at all… following the adage of if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all….

15 hours ago, GoGoGoldie said:

Thanks for all the details! I'm just so anxious about knowing what to pack. I really want be ready for whatever there is to do.

Hi Goldie,

I am on this cruise with you and my family likes to dress up for every type of party they have! Idk if you are in a suite, but if not, the concierge will email us about a week out. At that time, I usually ask what types of theme nights they will have on the next sailing for packing purposes… idk if I will remember to come back to this thread with the answers but if you remind me, I will!  

Also, pre-Covid for the NYE celebrations, they had multiple parties in different venues around the ship, promenade, pool deck, bars, etc. They put ropes up along the main promenade for people to stand, but if you’d rather be comfortable and have your own little space, they sell tables with appetizers and a bottle of champagne… this is usually what we go for but I can let you know what they are offering for the big night as soon as I find out. Congrats on booking an NYE cruise… you may become hooked on them like I did!!! . I started a roll call for this sailing if you want to check it out in that section. 

1 hour ago, starbrat said:

these ports sure are not shutting the door on planes full of unvaccinated people flying to visit them. I think they will be fine. As long as the cruise ships just drop things slowly (1 mandate here then then next week another mandate dropped there. Just do it little by little.) won’t be a cause for panic. 

Exactly! These islands that have “vaccine mandates” have them for cruises only. You could fly into the Bahamas long ago without a vaccine. This is why people have long speculated that it really wasn’t the islands, it was the cruise industry that wanted the islands to keep it in place because they believed  the vast majority  of cruisers were pro vaccine and so therein the money lies…. I have no problem with a vaccine mandate… if the vaccine is proven to work like a vaccine is supposed to. We aren’t getting chicken pox and polio boosters every six months so that is a clear fact they those work and this one doesn’t. So reclassify it, call it a seasonal Covid shot just we have the  seasonal flu shot and treat it the same.

I’m not sure they are still performing it and also can’t remember the ship but Columbus the musical was absolutely the best Royal show ever for me!!

4 hours ago, Neesa said:

I continue to take pics of their name tags along the way. It helps a great deal when trying to remember a name I am unfamiliar with. When I tell them why I am snapping their name tag they usually beam, and for sure include their name and station on the after cruise survey. 

On the Allure in Coastal Kitchen Leo our server & Bikram head server. 

Both were true stand outs. 

Junior Allen the suites concierge was a genie in training, a very kind & gentle soul, yet understated pit bull. 

 

I second Junior! Is he on Allure now? We were with him and Conrad in the suite lounge on serenade last august in Alaska. He is amazing and glad to see he is moving up the ranks!

We did a whale watching tour (apologies for not remembering the city) and they did have a small bathroom on the boat. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t assume they all do, so it may come down to asking guest services to confirm once you are on the ship. I’m not sure you will get an accurate answer until then.

Opulence of the seas

pharoah of the seas (Egyptian decor)

Extravagance of the seas 

I thought I used all mine too but my TA found about $168 and change. She said reason being is that you can choose to apply the whole amount but sometimes they don’t use it for the taxes and port fees and that becomes part of your cruise balance. So a small amount may have kicked back later but customer and TA not  always notified.

Shoes stay on and they have a sign to compare the child to, much like a roller coaster 

Thank you, my cruising friends! Shows how much I know… never thought about kind of liquor.. my college days erroneously taught me that daiquiris are frozen and anything served in a martini glass is classified as a martini. Trying to help others who followed my train of thought when looking at a cocktail menu… the lesson is.:: try new things! You are on vacation and have nothing to lose by ordering a drink you wouldn’t normally due to the description… Cheers!

I was on my fifth RC cruise before I was informed that the Lavender Daiquiri on the menu at Schooner  was not a daiquiri but a delicious straight up martini…. I don’t like frozen cocktails so I always skipped over it… now it’s one of my favorite drinks on RC… still have no idea why they call it a daiquiri.

Ever since my daughter was about 5 years old, she has been obsessed with live music and piano bars and it started on a Royal ship… of course I cannot remember the ship or performer name…. But in schooner, the piano player started playing Baker Street… and another crew member walked up with a saxophone and completely blew the crowd away…. The look on her face has shaped a love of music that I could have never predicted. Still don’t know if it was planned or impromptu but now at 12 years old, every time we walk in there, I know she’s hoping for something similar to happen. It was a truly magical memory for our family. Appreciate all the Royal performers and would love to see more “non traditional” entertainment such as what happened that night. 

So… funny story about the MDR grilled cheese… that as a previous poster stated was toast with a cheese slice between…. My daughter (at the time 6 years old) said mommy, this isn’t cooked….so the next night DH suggests we ask for it “well done” figuring this will totally solve the problem…. We could not stop laughing when her plate arrived… two burnt slices of bread… with a slice of cheese placed between them… DD not amused but we still laugh about it

21 hours ago, ellipses127 said:

I don't remember where I saw it for sure, but probably posted here, that it might be opening back up in May. If it does I'll cancel the other excursion that we have booked at this port to go to the water park. We did it in 2017 & it was so much fun! 

Agreed! Dare I say the best water park ever due to the elevators to take you up to the top slides… sure they smell and are gross on the feet… but when you get tired and want to keep riding the awesome slides and ziplining, it’s a lifesaver. We have missed this park the last couple trips to costa Maya!

On Oasis a few weeks ago, we docked at coco cay with no issues during super  heavy winds. However, the captain said we pulled in on the side they don’t usually dock on and at a certain angle… a smaller ship was docking there that day as well… not sure which one…. And the Oasis captain positioned the ship to protect the other ship from the wind, otherwise that ship would have had to skip the port stop for safety reasons. Thought that was really cool… and everything was open on coco cat except for the hot air balloon ride.