Moby Dick

Do you know how long they had the wings closed off? Just for sail away, a little while after, or entire cruise?

It's that Flux Capacitor thingy again!

Maybe if you fully explain the options to the kids and ask them what they'd like to do. Majority wins! One thing that really made me feel awful after a vacation, was a vacation that I didn't ask the kids about or ask them for their opinion, it was supposed to be a big surprise, was when I asked them afterwards if they had a good time and the answer was that it was boring. It's supposed to be their vacation, too. Fortunately, I only had two kids and if there was a tie, when I did ask for their opinion, my wife and I made the decision.

I know about the appointment availability. On one cruise, I think my first Royal cruise, I walked by the Next Cruise Desk, I actually had no idea what a "Next Cruise Desk" was until then, and noticed a few people sitting around looking a little frustrated. This is a cruise before I actually got on a cruise where I wanted to go to the Next Cruise Desk. Anyway, I asked, because I though I was missing something, what they were waiting for and one lady said that they had an appointment time for over a half hour earlier and It didn't look like anyone sitting at the desks was going to be leaving soon. So, I made up my mind, right then and there, that I wouldn't be bothered with making an appointment because one thing that really really frustrates me is having an appointment and the establishment can't/won't honor it and I don't need that frustration. So, on the cruise that I was interested in talking to the Next Cruise desk, I constantly looked in as I was on my way to somewhere else. I just happened to be going by late in the cruise (don't remember if it was in the AM or evening) and noticed that there was one open desk, I walked in and a guy came out from behind something and asked if he could help. He did and it was a good experience. Not only did I get a $300 OBC. Also, I opened a BOA/Royal C.C. account and got 10,000 reward points just for opening the account, each, my wife and I, that's equal to $200.00 of additional OBC or can be used to help pay for the cruise. Then, well, I won't rehash what I've already stated earlier about the Big Box TA. Nope, I won't make an appointment at the Next Cruise Desk. I'll take my chances doing a walk-by. Far less frustration, for me, and I go out of my way to avoid frustration. Elevators, I go up to get down, left turns in my car, I'll go right to go left.............. YMMV

It all really depends on what your kids like/appreciate. Some kids will like the educational, cultural, and nature of an Alaskan cruise. While others would prefer the experience and fun of Coco Cay (PDCC). Being that they are 10 or younger, I'd bet on the Coco Cay experience.

We have, in the past, booked at the Next Cruise Desk then transferred the booking, within 30 days, to a TA. Combined with the reduced deposit, which in the grand scheme of things isn't really a savings, the OBC, $300.00 at the Next Cruise Desk and the OBC, $1,800.00 the TA gave us, we had over $2,000.00 in OBC. So, it was well worth the Next Cruise Desk utilization. Here's a couple of things you need to know about that kind of strategy. 1. You have to know what the "big box" (Cruises.com, CruisesOnly.com, et al) TAs are offering before you go the the Next Cruise Desk. 2. You have to be willing to work with a "big box" TA. That's not always a great experience and I find that they either have an integrity issue or just not well trained and give answers to questions they really don't know anything about (which to me is also an integrity issue). You really need to be an educated consumer. I must say, being an educated consumer is a must when dealing with any TA and Royal. Having said all that, I find it hard to get to sit down and talk to a representative at the Next Cruise Desk. On the few ships that I really wanted to talk to them, they were always busy, people waiting for a long time to be seen and the hours are not convenient. YMMV. I'm thinking the sooner you board the ship and go to the Next Cruise Desk, the better, before the newbies fall in love with cruising, the less busy the desk will be. But, I haven't put that to practice yet.

Looking forward to a good positive review when you get back.

Yep, too bad you didn't get to experience the full experience of Dicks. Yes, the food is average. But, I go for the entertainment/bantering/experience. There used to be a restaurant in Chicago that was about the same as Dicks, it was called Ed Debevics, or something like that, I think it closed now. Even it is still open, there's no way in the world I'd ever take my wife, kids, grandkids to Chicago anymore. I guess I'll just have to accept the well mannered servers in Chops.

I'm not sure if this has been clarified yet - Is the policy geared only toward purchasing a Cabana on BB? Or are they also eliminating the exclusivity of the entire BB. If I'm in a Balcony stateroom, can I now just walk into BB? If I'm in a Balcony stateroom but purchase a cabana in BB, do they check at the entrance to BB to verify the purchase before entering BB? I just now found this: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/excursions.php?ship=EX&date=2022-06-25&currency=USD

Good luck. I can only think of the various potted plants and picture frames.

Got any good Mexican Restaurants up there in the North Lands? Go Gamecocks

Hummmmm, first I've heard of a RFID Sticker. Not a bad idea for those that don't want the tumbler.

Oh, I'm sure there are a lot of local or I should say, Ma & Pa restaurants that may have as good or maybe even better than the two mentioned. But, I like the whole package of those two. Great food, great ambiance, not to mention being good friends with the General Manager of both. Yes, they are both owned by the same family. Not sure if you intended to mention the Riverwalk with those two restaurants. They are in the City Market place, not the Riverwalk. However, I'm a sucker, I love walking the Riverwalk and riding the tour boats. Not sure if it's still there but I/we liked Dicks Last Resort on the Riverwalk. I guess I like to be abused. When we go to the San Antonio area, we stay with an old Army buddy and his wife who lives in Seguin. There is a Mexican restaurant there that is very good, too. I wish we had a good Mexican Restaurant here in Oxford/Anniston, AL.

Hummmmmmm, I must have missed the Majestic Theatre. I guess I like to spend my time in La Margarita's or Mi Tierra's restaurant.

On Broadway or other established theatrical venues of note, sure! I'm sure all feel that way about the actual, original show ON Broadway. But, on the Oasis Cruise Ship, very limited stage size, shortened version, Theatrical supervisors/directors not being the same caliber as actually on Broadway, limited props and their capabilities, and who knows what else, who knows. But again, I don't doubt the cast's abilities and their dedication to their craft. I'd bet if you ask them, they'd rather be performing CATS (or just about any other show) on a real Broadway stage, in NYC, 100% would say, "hell yes". I have talked to cast members on a cruise ship, not a CATS cast member though, and while they seem to be happy, they always say one of two things: 1. They are building a resume in hope of getting a job on Broadway, et al or 2. They are between gigs. Yes, some, maybe even many do have experience on Broadway. One of a very few things I liked about Brand X theater was that if you go to the theater early, they put the cast members abbreviated resume on the monitors next to the stage. I was actually surprised at how many of them did have Broadway experience, some with a few theatrical awards. It would be great if Royal did the same.

Well put!

How about doing "HAIR" without the nudity! The music is great. I saw the Broadway version of it in Coral Gables, FL and I was really surprised how good it was. At the time I though there was no way that it could be good if it wasn't on a drive-in theater. Of course, I was a teenager at the time. But, I remember the experience very well, not necessarily the details.

In my several posts about CATS in the forum, I have only criticized the show. I want it known that I do not criticize the cast. Afterall, they are just earning a paycheck. I'm sure some of them love doing CATS and others, not so much, but it's a paycheck.

My wife and I met him on our May 13th cruise. It didn't do any good, we still lost money. I though my handlebar would bring me luck, no such luck. Hey Chris, I want my money back!

What's really funny, I really like beer a lot, all kinds of beer. EXCEPT, I just can't wrap my arms around IPA. I've lived in Germany for 6 years, 3 years twice. The first three years was in Bavaria where beer is great. The picture I posted above is from a local brewery in Vilseck, Germany that I lived just a few miles from. At first, I really didn't care for Hefe Weisse Beir. But, man did it grow on me. There are only a few thing I miss about Germany, the Beer, the Pork, and the partying. Germans make up events just to drink beer. I think it's a full time job for some Germans. Hell, they'd deliver beer to your front door like we, in the U.S., used to have milk delivered to our front doors. The bier fests and wine fests were plentiful.

LOL, that was our experience on the Symphony a couple year ago. I/we no longer take our CPAPs while traveling, not because of anything Royal did, just a preference not to lug around so much crap. Anyway, when we got into our bedroom there was this 50 or a 100 foot yellow/orange extension cord and it looked like one of the crew ran over to a construction site and stole the cord. It had grease, all kinds of discolorings, and just a bunch of crap on it. As it turned out, we didn't really need it because there was 120 plugs on both sides of the bed. Interesting to note, only one cord though(but two one gallon jugs of distilled water) and it only had one plug on it. There was two of us, both using CPAPs and we were both registered in the special needs part of their site. We just threw the cord under the bed. Yes, we did call to have someone come and get it but they never did. As far as I know, it's still there LOL.

Don't believe 'em, Never None of 'em. It's a plot I tell ya. Throw 'em all overboard

Old Yeller

Knowing how much I disliked CATS, I'm surprised that I just now saw this thread. Someone said that they can't believe people just don't walk out. Well, for me, it was kinda like watching the movie Michael. My father and I watched it together and he did get up and go to his room leaving me to suffer along with the movie. I couldn't believe it was sooooooooo bad that I just kept watching it thinking/hoping that it had to get better. Nope, then the "The End" came up. Same thing with CATS. You just can't believe how bad it is until the "The End" comes up and you realize that that's it, nothing left to get better. That was about 2 - 3 hours of my life I'll never get back. But, I can say that about a lot of things I've experienced in my life.