Al Miller

In with your B2B instruction letter, there should also be a little business card that says "Consecutive Cruiser" or something like that. Just show that to anyone who gives you a hard time about being in the halls before the other cabins are ready. Nobody even asked to see mine last year. I think they just recognized me from the previous sailing and assumed I was B2B.

I love the transition from cold to warm and back. I like it better than stinking hot from day one. A hint of snow on the ground when I embark in NJ and a day and a half later it's shorts and flip flops. Waking up that Tuesday after a Sunday winter embarkation is like a magical reverse White Christmas. But different people have different tolerances for weather.

I wonder if there is a reason, other than being Panama Canal compliant, that smaller (IE shorter) ships can't be built wider? Similar to Oasis/Icon ships. Probably not as wide as Oasis class, but wider than is currently the norm for a smallish vessel. I realize that more than just height is a limiting factor in some ports, but for a lot of debarkation ports bridge clearance is the largest issue. Do the stacks have to be as high with LNG engines since there is less soot and what-not to worry about? A 12 or 13 deck ship that was wider than Vision or Radiance class but still shorter than Voyager or Freedom class could still have a lot of the newer amenities and support a Royal Promenade. And maybe a scaled down 270 or Eden style lounge. Just thinking of some of the newer venues that could be scaled to smaller ships. Maybe a more prominent Promenade deck like Prima/Viva? It would be nice if Tampa, Baltimore and other ports could get some newer ships.

The terminal there does not have the best reputation. but I'd be up for some more options in the mid Atlantic.

No, that is absolutely the case. Nothing to be sorry about. They tried for a while with the Quantum ships but they never have really went all out like NCL has. Kind of halfhearted IMO. The amazing part to me is that the Solo rooms ALWAYS sellout. Yet they keep scaling them back. None on Icon. None on nearly all Oasis class ships. (Harmony has some I think) Odyssey has less than half than the previous Quantum ships. I am sure they have stats to back them up as to why it's not worth it for them. But I know when I can get a solo cabin at a reasonable rate I spend more onboard and I cruise more often per year. I am going to miss Anthem out of NJ tremendously because she has 26 solo cabins and I could sometimes snag one if I was quick enough. It usually was not half, but it was significantly less than usual fare. Odyssey is coming after Anthem, but it only has 12 solos. This is the only reason I have any interest in NCL at all. If you don't care about double points Matt's trick of pricing out 2 guests can sometimes save you big money. I got an inside on Oasis for two in October for about $1000 before taxes, grats etc. Pricing the same room for one was $1600.

On Anthem I am pretty sure the water was better than I have at home. I found no need for any type of bottled water. Older ships may be a different story. Also, FYI, anyone with any cup can get ice at the freestyle machines as the chip scanner only control the soda flow.

I'm on her for this sailing b2b with the previous 8 days. Can't wait.

Booked this a couple of weeks ago. Solo back to back with the following week for 16 days total! Might get her again in April for a grand send-off.

Royal should announce a ship called "Monstrosity of the Seas" on April 1st.

I had to go force stop the RC app in the "Apps" settings. Then down to "Storage and cache" and tap "Clear Storage." Then fired the app back up and it never even asked me about the TOS again. you will need to sign in again. So have that password ready.

I think it would be nice if they gave you the option of when to pick this up. Like they'd keep it some place cold for you until you pick it up. Picking up the bag and 6 Ice Cold beers on the way off the ship onto Coco Cay would be ideal IMO. The "Cooler" in the cabin is only slightly better than room temp.

Just to give you even more to think about. No water slides on Odyssey. 3 On Oasis. And the Ultimate Abyss dry slides are on Oasis now too. However, on Odyssey they do have the Skydiving simulator, North Star and a bigger and IMO better windjammer than any Oasis class ship save for Wonder. And the Solarium on the quantum ships are just spectacular IMO. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

I know a lot of people don't like the Freestyle machines because there are so few of them and they break down often. But I've had good luck with them and the one redeeming thing is they usually have a wide array of flavors you cant get at any bars. Like diet Dr Pepper, Barqs Root beer, power ade, fanta orange, seagrams ginger ale etc. and usually the "Zero" version of all of them too. So while carrying the cup around can be a pain, if you are a soda person, there is a lot there for you. Except for Pepsi Products naturally. LOL

They are going to keep raising prices until they finally see some demand die down. They have to be really careful to not artificially cause the drop in demand by doing this. Once they drive people away, between this and reduced services and myriad other cutbacks, it may be tough to get the casual "once a year" cruisers back. When the value proposition becomes no better than land vacations, they loose perhaps their strongest selling point. And IMO, they are getting there FAST. Right now, all the lines seem to be in a race to see who can offer the least value for money and still get away with it. I hope that in their race to recoup pandemic losses the industry does not cause its own mini-crash in the next few years through sheer hubris. I am kind of sour on the whole industry right now to be honest. It is not nearly the product that it used to be just 1 year ago. I am worried the decline will continue. It's dozens of little things that add up to a much worse experience IMO. I do feel like my loyalty is being taken for granted. It just seemed like Fain had a different value set and it has gradually been shed in the months since his departure.

On Anthem in February and was great in my room and spotty around the ship. Like in the Pub... forget it! Sorrento's, just 30 feet away... super fast. The vagaries of bouncing wireless signals around a big metal tub I guess.

On Anthem in February the cutbacks were painfully obvious from just the previous November. No snacks at Sorrentos anymore. Just Pizza. I used to love some salami and cheese. WJ had noticeably less selection and lots of empty spaces where there had been items just a few months before. In Solarium Bistro there was basically no attempt to rotate the food in the in the mini buffet to keep it fresh. There was a good chance that my little falafel bites that I got at 8pm had been there all night. They were little inedible rocks. Izumi portions basically cut in half. I rarely saw anyone encouraging hand washing at the WJ entrance. I still had a good time, but the changes thus far have not been subtle.

Uggghhh... Now I really need to start considering the offsite lots. They must be overjoyed at this news. Their business is going to get a bump for sure.

It seems to me if you've been booking your own stuff for a long time, then you probably have a good idea what is involved in any change you might need to make. Some folks have a very detail-oriented personality and don't get frustrated very easily. So far I've never had a problem with any cruise I've booked, but if I did, I know I would not have much patience in dealing with third party customer support. So for me it's worth using a TA just in case. It's no more money and its no more work on my end. And I occasionally get some surprise OBC. Which is nice. This is a similar discussion to the question "Do I need a passport?" and "Do I need travel Insurance?" You don't need it until you need it.

Sometimes they don't even have the "Whole" lobsters. Make sure you ask before you commit. I ordered a whole steamed lobster recently and was brought 2 lobster tails. They did not let me know until it came to the table. I am sure I could have raised a stink or sent it back, but I just went with the flow. Lesson learned.

I think that it has a good chance of not being allowed. They are not going to take the time to let you "Prove" that it is just a charging station. The fact that it looks like a surge protector is probably enough for it to get flagged. Who knows though. Stuff slips through all the time. Something with this form factor will generally always make it through. https://a.co/d/18G9uuW

NCL cant get out of its own way. Del Rio might not be long for retirement. He's made poor calls all through the restart IMO. Maybe in the long term they will be fine but I'll bet shareholders are getting worried at this point.

This is someone just looking to vent. Other than washy, washy, how do you "Be careful" to avoid Salmonella? Can I look at a dish with my super X-Ray vision and see the Salmonella?

The other thing to watch out for is the "Whole Maine Lobster" offered as an upcharge. Make sure to specifically ask if it is indeed a whole lobster. I ordered one in the Solarium Bistro 2 weeks ago and all I got was 2 small lobster tails from the MDR stock. They were prettier than most of the tails in the MDR, but still a far cry from a whole Maine lobster. I didn't feel like raising any stink at the time, but I did feel like I was lied to. If they didn't have it they should have just told me so. I've seen the lobster upcharge delivered before and it has been an entire lobster, so I know they can provide it.

While I welcome a different ship in NJ, I don't like the lack of an indoor pool for the winter months. And as a frequent solo cruiser I hate the lack of inside solos. Royal has REALLY just forsaken the solo cruiser as of late. They are practically BEGGING me to go to NCL.

This cleared it up for me. Thanks!