Aron_Ross

I definitely want to sail Navigator. I've had 3 cancelled sailings on that ship over covid and now it moved out west (harder for me to fly to). But one of these days....

Oh yes. For sure Navigator is on our radar, even if it's for a cheap 3 day cruise.  One reason to do that 3 day is for a seafood stand at a flea market in Ensenada Mexico.  If you like seafood, they sell these giant clams grilled in their shell topped with shrimp, cheese and pico de gallo.  Had that when we took a 3 day Carnival back in 2015 and I STILL dream about those clams.  Both the shrimp and clams were amazingly fresh.  Easily, top 5 most delicious things I've ever eaten in my life!

Oh yes. For sure Navigator is on our radar, even if it's for a cheap 3 day cruise.  One reason to do that 3 day is for a seafood stand at a flea market in Ensenada Mexico.  If you like seafood, they sell these giant clams grilled in their shell topped with shrimp, cheese and pico de gallo.  Had that when we took a 3 day Carnival back in 2015 and I STILL dream about those clams.  Both the shrimp and clams were amazingly fresh.  Easily, top 5 most delicious things I've ever eaten in my life!

We have sailed a few times with Carnival and Princess on our side, the Los Angeles side. In 2017 we did a Caribbean cruise for the first time out of New Orleans with Carnival, and the Caribbean was a total game changer.  We fell in love with it.  Yes the Mexican Riviera is beautiful, but we feel it does not compare to the Caribbean.
With all that said, I was pushing to try something new and heard so much about Royal Caribbean it was time to give it a try.  My other half loves Carnival and she is always getting on me about being Mr. fancy in wanting to try Royal and Celebrity.  On this Freedom sailing, I learned about being a diamond plus member from a fellow passenger.  Receiving four or five drinks a day when you reach that level sounds like a huge incentive to me, especially since there is no way we can do an unlimited drinks package.  
Glad you got off on Coco Cay it’s such a great destination, even if you’ve been there several times. That was our first time and I’m sure it will never get old. I’m not a big funnel cake person but the one there was delicious!  Giovanni’s was the only specialty dining we did and it was SO GOOD!  I regret not going to Playmaker’s since it will not be on Harmony.  I wish I had known that while we were on Freedom. It was our first time in Nassau so naturally we had to get off, but I can see why people stay on the ship.  We did have fun with the locals though.
Next year we are together 10 years.  We can’t decide on either celebrating on Matt’s group cruise out of our city, which would be convenient and loads of fun, or Alaska.  I’m sure most would say Alaska. It does look and sound spectacular!
Well let me stop here because I can go on forever about cruising. I guess that’s why we are all here right? 
 

Oh yes. For sure Navigator is on our radar, even if it's for a cheap 3 day cruise.  One reason to do that 3 day is for a seafood stand at a flea market in Ensenada Mexico.  If you like seafood, they sell these giant clams grilled in their shell topped with shrimp, cheese and pico de gallo.  Had that when we took a 3 day Carnival back in 2015 and I STILL dream about those clams.  Both the shrimp and clams were amazingly fresh.  Easily, top 5 most delicious things I've ever eaten in my life!

We have sailed a few times with Carnival and Princess on our side, the Los Angeles side. In 2017 we did a Caribbean cruise for the first time out of New Orleans with Carnival, and the Caribbean was a total game changer.  We fell in love with it.  Yes the Mexican Riviera is beautiful, but we feel it does not compare to the Caribbean.
With all that said, I was pushing to try something new and heard so much about Royal Caribbean it was time to give it a try.  My other half loves Carnival and she is always getting on me about being Mr. fancy in wanting to try Royal and Celebrity.  On this Freedom sailing, I learned about being a diamond plus member from a fellow passenger.  Receiving four or five drinks a day when you reach that level sounds like a huge incentive to me, especially since there is no way we can do an unlimited drinks package.  
Glad you got off on Coco Cay it’s such a great destination, even if you’ve been there several times. That was our first time and I’m sure it will never get old. I’m not a big funnel cake person but the one there was delicious!  Giovanni’s was the only specialty dining we did and it was SO GOOD!  I regret not going to Playmaker’s since it will not be on Harmony.  I wish I had known that while we were on Freedom. It was our first time in Nassau so naturally we had to get off, but I can see why people stay on the ship.  We did have fun with the locals though.
Next year we are together 10 years.  We can’t decide on either celebrating on Matt’s group cruise out of our city, which would be convenient and loads of fun, or Alaska.  I’m sure most would say Alaska. It does look and sound spectacular!
Well let me stop here because I can go on forever about cruising. I guess that’s why we are all here right? 
 

We have sailed a few times with Carnival and Princess on our side, the Los Angeles side. In 2017 we did a Caribbean cruise for the first time out of New Orleans with Carnival, and the Caribbean was a total game changer.  We fell in love with it.  Yes the Mexican Riviera is beautiful, but we feel it does not compare to the Caribbean.
With all that said, I was pushing to try something new and heard so much about Royal Caribbean it was time to give it a try.  My other half loves Carnival and she is always getting on me about being Mr. fancy in wanting to try Royal and Celebrity.  On this Freedom sailing, I learned about being a diamond plus member from a fellow passenger.  Receiving four or five drinks a day when you reach that level sounds like a huge incentive to me, especially since there is no way we can do an unlimited drinks package.  
Glad you got off on Coco Cay it’s such a great destination, even if you’ve been there several times. That was our first time and I’m sure it will never get old. I’m not a big funnel cake person but the one there was delicious!  Giovanni’s was the only specialty dining we did and it was SO GOOD!  I regret not going to Playmaker’s since it will not be on Harmony.  I wish I had known that while we were on Freedom. It was our first time in Nassau so naturally we had to get off, but I can see why people stay on the ship.  We did have fun with the locals though.
Next year we are together 10 years.  We can’t decide on either celebrating on Matt’s group cruise out of our city, which would be convenient and loads of fun, or Alaska.  I’m sure most would say Alaska. It does look and sound spectacular!
Well let me stop here because I can go on forever about cruising. I guess that’s why we are all here right? 
 

Ha ha!  I'm laughing because this is a huge difference from the spacious balcony I had on Freedom.  Congrats on your 20/20!!
Freedom 5 day sailing was my first time with Royal back in May of this year, and my 2nd will be this November on Harmony.  It was a good intro to Royal Caribbean and can only imagine what my next experience is going to be like.  Not only am I excited about the ship, but the 8 day Labadee, Aruba, Curacao itinerary with 4 days at sea!  My girlfriend and I LOVE our sea days!  Plus this will be our first time at those ports.  101 days to go!!  
Did you two leave the ship?  Probably not, I know I wouldn't.

Taking in a sunset from an island or a sailboat is a rare opportunity when cruising since most of the time the ship has left port when the sun sets.  There are a number of beaches or beach bars where you could watch the sun go down in Aruba or take a sunset catamaran excursion.  

We just got off Harmony and did all the specialty restaurants at least once. We had Chops scheduled for lunch on our last sea day, but were generally underwhelmed and opted to do Johnny Rockets for lunch instead. I loved Izumi, both the Hibachi and the sushi side. Wonderland was a fun experience and the food was good, just different compared to what I normally eat. Jamie’s was delicious and I got the burger. I am normally not the biggest Mexican inspired food fan and my wife is, but I actually liked Sabor more than her. She was very disappointed with the guac, thinking it was flavorless, but I don’t like guac so that didn’t impact me. I did love the Barbacoa from Sabor and got it both times. My favorite and it was a surprise to me because I was almost expecting to not really like it was 150 Central Park. The bread, the lobster thermidor, the fried cheesecake. It was all so good! All the wait staff at the restaurants treated you as if you were the most important person and you could tell they genuinely wanted to make sure you left happy. Enjoy! I don’t think you can go wrong with whatever you pick. 

I had the burger at Chops and Jamie's.  They are both very good.  The beef is pretty much the same and very thick, juicy, and tasty.  The toppings are what will sway you one way or another.  I like burgers with traditional toppings (lettuce, cheese, onion, tomato).  My kids and spouse loved the Jamie's burger.

Ooooh, please let us know how those are on Harmony.  I will be on that ship Nov 12th.  I must try Chops at least once despite more unfavorable reviews.  Had the filet on Freedom in the MDR and it was surprisingly good, so good my girlfriend and I ordered it again on our 3rd night.  I love a good Ribeye, so I'm hoping that will be even better.  As for Izumi, I know many people love it, but I'm just not sold on it yet.  We have our eyes on Chops, 150 Central Park, Wonderland and Jaime's.  
I think someone mentioned the burger at Chops in an earlier comment.  So that brings me to my question...
Burger at Chops lunch vs. Burger at Jaime's?  Which do you prefer?  Thoughts anyone?
 
 

All I know is you had me at....
"I am a classically trained chef turned lawyer.  Fresh made pasta was exactly what sold us here!" 
And of course that was a great review!

Hi all!
After having our flight home cancelled twice and spending two additional days in Seattle, we are back home.  Here is my report on the Alaskan cruise and the Ovation!
Embarkation
Our check in time was 11am and we showed up at 9:20 am to find at least 30 people in front of us.  After listening in on conversations, it was apparent that most of the people in front and back of us were not entirely prepared to check in.  Oh well, their loss.  Thanks to this Forum, we were prepared and when the gates opened, we were on the ship by 11:10 am.  Easy peezy.  MY SUGGESTION for easier boarding....just print everything and have them in order. Set Sail, vaccine records, covid test, just have physical documents ready.  Internet was intermittent and people trying to check in with screen shots were having trouble.
FOOD!
I start with food because that is our thing and the first thing we did other than making reservations was eating at the Windjammer!  Food was overall a 9 out of 10.  
Windjammer - only ate there for one lunch and 5 breakfasts.  Breakfast could use some variation but food was hot, looked good, and filled our tummies with overall joy.
Izumi's - ate lunch and dinner there.  Rolls were overwhelming.  Sashimi plate was excellent for cruise sushi!  Fried chicken appetizer was yummy. I though 2 times was enough for Izumi though.
Wonderland - food was overall imaginative, fun, and tasty.  Some stand out dishes included desserts and the liquid lobster.  Would not go more than once per cruise, but would definitely go every cruise.
Chops - Solid steakhouse.  Good wine selection.  Bone-in ribeye is outstanding.  Lobster bisque and mushroom soup were outstanding! Ate there twice.
Jaime's Italian - OUR FAVORITE.  I am a classically trained chef turned lawyer.  Fresh made pasta was exactly what sold us here!  The sauces were tasty and in the correct proportion to pasta unlike Americanized Italian places.  Funny, Jaime's is British-Italian, but the food here tasted closer to what we have eaten in Italy than most places.  Stand out dishes included Pavlova dessert, ALL pastas, Meat plank, and burrata cheese!
MDR - This is the only place where I experienced service issues but I will address those later.  Food was overall okay.  Above average.  Nothing stood out, nothing was bad.  Oh...order the Baked Alaska! Last time I had Baked Alaska and Cherries Jubilee was in 1984 LOL.
Room Service - prompt, hot, edible.  
Hot Dog Stand - good enough to satisfy cravings.
Sorrentos - Not bad at all.
Fish and Ships - fried to order and worth at least one trip.  By the way, I am not sure this works for all ships, but UDP worked here for fried lobster tails and premium items.
Cafe Two70 - Nice change of breakfast pace and quiet place to enjoy breakfast, enjoy incredible views, and play some card games or board games with the kids after breakfast.
La Patisserie - Not quite Starbucks, but got me going in the right direction every morning and every evening.
Solarium Bistro - It was okay.  I was happy.
DRINKS!
Since I watched many bartenders open new bottles of liquor and paid attention to them making my drinks, I can say that the drinks were not watered down, but not exactly super strong, except for limoncello!!!  Wine selections were nice considering this was a cruise ship.  Cocktails were tasty.  We loved the Bahama Mama and anything with KRAKEN! 
Service
Guest services lines were a little long at times.  I am always up at 4am and go to sleep at 11:00 pm so this was not an issue for me.  The ONLY issue we had was that the pre-purchased Arcade credits were not properly applied to our kids' sea passes and there is no way to figure out arcade balances other than stopping by Guest Services or manual computations.
Service at all specialty restaurants and bars was excellent.  MDR service wasn't bad.  It was slower than I would expect, but I am not one to eat in 45 minutes and run off.  A 90 minute full service meal is more than acceptable.
Ship Condition
Did I mention that the Princess Ruby ship in front of us was rust stained and looked dilapidated?  Ovation was immaculate!  Enough said.
Activities and Entertainment
Enjoyed all of the shows and trivia.  We did Flowrider, Ripcord, Bumper cars, Northstar....pretty much did everything.  I highly recommend Northstar at a port and not at sea.  We did it twice, once at port in Seattle and once at sea.  Nothing much to see at sea.  Ripcord by iFly was simply AMAZING.  Do it.  All ages.  Do it.
Internet
We had one surf and stream and one basic.  Get basic.  Either way, internet is slightly better than DSL from 2005.  
Complaints
A. Stupid people.
B. Dumb people.
C. Some public toilets did not flush automatically and were inconvenient when I forced my kids to poop outside the room in the public restrooms.
D. Nothing to do from 4am to 6am.  
E. Too much to do from 8am to 11pm.
F. Either Pixels has two different versions, or I fell asleep at the first one.  My friends showed me pictures of the second showing and it looked quite different than ours.
G. Make Solarium pools aged 25 plus please!  Too many teenagers and college kids.  It was gross.  Spent more time in the indoor pool with little kids and enjoyed it more.
HIGHLIGHTS, KEY TAKEWAYS and TIPS
1. Got to meet Chris Wong.  Nice guy.
2. Stop gambling while you are ahead.  I made out with winnings of about $370 from penny slots.  Not bad.
3. Take advantage of the trivia games in between activities and meals.  It is a waste of time to go back to your room for 30 minutes and come back out.
4. If you get the Food packages, RESERVE AS SOON AS YOU BOARD!  We saw too many people complain about wait lists because no reservations.
5. If you are unsure of the Deluxe Beverage Package....I drink one glass of wine or beer a month.  Period.  On the cruise, I had at least 4 cocktails, one beer, one glass of wine, and 3 specialty Americano or Lattes each day.  On top of that, I had one soda a day and took back 4 bottles of water to the room each day.  It is worth the money to get a package.
6. Find the secret spots early.  The outside seating at Windjammer ALWAYS had seating, and we spent breakfast there while the ship's back was turned facing Dawes Glacier.  Trust me.  Also, Deck 5 next the the Art Gallery, but aways from the smoking section...chairs facing the ocean and unusually warmer than most places on the ship considering its outside seating.  Grab a glass of wine from the Wine bar and sit here to relax.  Quiet and peaceful.
7. READ THIS ONE. Finding whales and other sea life....Watch the TV channel that tells you where you are and shows the ship's front camera.  While watching, you will often see streaks of water (wake) left behind by dolphins, orcas, or whale....then grab your binoculars and look outside, you will see them passing!  Great way to find sea life.
8. BIGGEST TIP FOR ALASKA RIGHT NOW! DO NOT OVER PACK.  We each had one carry one rolling suit case and a back pack.  Wore suits and dresses on formal nights.  You do not need all of that clothing.  You simply do not.  Pay $35 to have underwear and T-shirts washed.  Its cheaper than checking in suitcases on the plane.  Plus, our flights home were cancelled twice and we were lugging around our luggage alot of that time.  Thank God we packed light.  You do not need all of that clothing.  
HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU AND MATT for making this trip so amazing despite Covid, anxiety, the long wait, staffing shortages (which we experienced none), and despite raining the entire 13 days we were in Alaska or Seattle.  Thank you!

Taste of Royal on the Allure of the Seas was AMAZING! The signature cocktail (St. Germain Elderflower, Aperol, lemon juice, topped with prosecco) was decent but not to-die-for but I am a more savory than sweet drinker. When my husband and I do again, will probably get the wine pairings. Tuna tartar... marscapone risotto w/ crab, peas,and Parmigiano cheese...filet mignon and shrimp with green veggies and mashed potatoes....fried cheesecake with Nutella, whipped cream, and caramel corn.  Every dish was a treat! Delish!!!

Also for some locations (Cruises sailing from the UK for example) the maximum drink allowed for the Deluxe Beverage Package is $14.00.

As I've been told, the package only covers drinks up to a maximum of $13.00.  
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-is-the-deluxe-beverage-package
Q What is the Deluxe Beverage Package?
A  
 
The Deluxe Beverage Package allows guests to enjoy unlimited drinks and options all cruise long.* With a handpicked array of brands to choose from, you can toast to bottomless beverages with your preferred drink of choice. Check out some of our top-notch brands below.
Cocktails / Spirits / Liqueurs / Beer Bottled still and sparkling water Wines by the glass Fresh squeezed juices / Non-alcoholic cocktail Premium coffees and teas Fountain sodas / Coca-Cola Freestyle® beverages Coca-Cola® souvenir cup included * Package includes any single beverage item with a value up to $13. Plus, receive a 40% discount on bottled wines priced up to $100, and 20% discount on wines priced above $100
So, my guess is that since shots are priced separately, it would be considered as more than a "single" beverage.  But, you never know how generous a bartender is, how well trained he/she is, or what the ship's (beverage manager) philosophy is.  Also, you can only order one beverage at a time while using the beverage package.  So, an extra shot would be more than one at a time.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/beverage-package-sharing-policy
 
Q Can I order multiple drinks at a time with Royal Caribbean's all-inclusive beverage packages?
A  
 
No. As this is a personal package, only one beverage per guest will be served.
No, packages can be purchased by individual guests. All packages are for single guest use and cannot be shared by multiple people.
Any guest wishing to purchase an alcoholic beverage package must do so for all guests of legal drinking age in the same stateroom, for sailings on or after December 31st, 2017.

They have complimentary drip self-service coffee available on the ship. It's Lavazza brand coffee. If you want espresso, that's extra.

Had I known there was no Playmaker's on Harmony (sailing Nov 12th), I would have given it a try on my Freedom sailing back in early May.

Had I known there was no Playmaker's on Harmony (sailing Nov 12th), I would have given it a try on my Freedom sailing back in early May.

@KristiZ good to know glad you enjoyed, and thank you!

I did it on "Vision" last month and truthfully would not do it again. The pre-appetizer (Izumi) was just a piece of cooked shrimp over rice. The appetizer was a citrus tuna tartare (Wonderland) - decent. The next course was a crab meat and marscapone risotto (Giovanni's) that was way too cloying. The main (Chops) was a surf and turf: the filet was good but the grilled shrimp were freezer-burned. The dessert from 150 Central Park was "fried cheesecake" and wasn't good at all... the best part of the entire meal was the paired cocktail that went with it called a St. Peter's Spritzer.

As @WAAAYTOOOsaid as long as they have the space you can dine anywhere. I once met a couple that did 2 specialty restaurants (Chops pretty much every night) each night and playmakers for a late-night snack.

We hope to sail on Navigator one day, but for now we have done one too many Mexico cruises on this side.  I really hope they don't reinstate masks here. 
As for your cruise, I would assume you are doing the short Ensenada sailing?  If you happen to go to the La Bufadora excursion in Ensenada and if you like seafood, at the end of the flea market area there are people selling what they call smoked clams.  It's basically clams that are grilled in their shell, topped with shrimp, shredded cheese and pico de gallo.  Both the shrimp and clams were so fresh.  It was one of the most amazing out of this world bites of food I've EVER had!!  That was seven years ago when we did a weekend Carnival sailing, and I still dream about those clams!

We hope to sail on Navigator one day, but for now we have done one too many Mexico cruises on this side.  I really hope they don't reinstate masks here. 
As for your cruise, I would assume you are doing the short Ensenada sailing?  If you happen to go to the La Bufadora excursion in Ensenada and if you like seafood, at the end of the flea market area there are people selling what they call smoked clams.  It's basically clams that are grilled in their shell, topped with shrimp, shredded cheese and pico de gallo.  Both the shrimp and clams were so fresh.  It was one of the most amazing out of this world bites of food I've EVER had!!  That was seven years ago when we did a weekend Carnival sailing, and I still dream about those clams!