Jamesszy94

Alas.. the Windjammer closed right when we got onboard. Oh well. Lucky Fish and Ships is right outside.. 

Oceanview Room... 

Overseas Passenger Terminal is relatively empty.. I guess that's expected when you choose a late check in time.

Boarding soon!

Taking the train to Circular Quay now. T Minus 1 hour to go!

Boarding Day!

2 hours until we board! Just waiting for a lift to the station now then catching the train to Circular Quay to get to the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

Update: Looks like they retroactively applied the Double Points for me... I was doing all the pre-cruise day check-in stuff and found out I had 36 points which looked super weird to me, because it was originally 22.

1 day before boarding day!

I've started packing... finally just throw a bunch of clothes, underwear, socks, pants and shorts into a suitcase and call it a day!

I would have also liked to visit Dunedin.. but alas, this one didn't include Dunedin.

Two more days until we board Ovation of the Seas... this will be my third time on her, but I don't mind, she's a great ship, and it's not like we (people who live in Australia.. ) have any other choice that doesn't involve flying..

Our itinerary goes:

DAY 1 (TUE 12 MAR) - Sydney, Australia

DAY 2 (WED 13 MAR) - CRUISING

DAY 3 (THUR 14 MAR) - CRUISING

DAY 4 (FRI 15 MAR) - Picton, New Zealand

DAY 5 (SAT 16 MAR) - Napier, New Zealand

DAY 6 (SUN 17 MAR) - Wellington, New Zealand

DAY 7 (MON 18 MAR) - CRUISING

DAY 8 (TUE 19 MAR) - Dusky Sound (8:00am - 9:00am), Doubtful Sound (11:00am - 12:00pm), Milford Sound (5:00pm - 6:00pm)

DAY 9 (WED 20 MAR) - CRUISING

DAY 10 (THUR 21 MAR) - CRUISING

DAY 11 (FRI 22nd MAR) - Sydney, Australia

Not entirely sure why Royal are doing it this way but lol okay... you'd think they'd go through the Sounds first, up to Picton, over to Wellington, then over to Napier and then north past Auckland back to Sydney, but I'm not questioning it.. as long as Royal gets me to the places, I'll be a happy camper.

WHO: Myself and my father (my mum doesn't like cruising, cause she gets seasick often)

CABIN: Oceanview on Deck 3 right next to the Music Hall (upgraded from an Interior through Royal Up) - I wish I could afford staying in a suite...  maybe later this year when I turn 30... I'll treat myself.

My house to the Overseas Passenger Terminal is ~35-40 minute train ride. It's a 5 minute walk over from Circular Quay to get to the port.... 

Let's hope they reserved us a table for 2 in the MDR like I requested... 

I think Explorer, Liberty and Adventure are/were also supposed to be getting amplification's too, but noone knows when. I think they already did a small amplification/upgrade for Explorer earlier this year or sometime last year if I remember correctly.

I made a similar post a while ago - some good insights.

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

That is not the phone number for Crown and Anchor.  it is the phone number for sales and reservations in Australia.  The reason they are telling you to email them is because the person you reached is not part of the CAS team and they can't perform CAS related tasks.  

In North America the toll free number for Crown and Anchor is 1 ‭(800) 526-9723 or ‭1 (541) 285-9723‬ as a long distance call‬.   The second number can be reached globally but would be charged as a long distance call.  The concept of using a provider like Google voice is to be able to call North American toll free numbers from foreign countries such as the UK or Australia.  If you can find a method to call CAS directly during North American daylight hours your issue could be dealt with immediately.  Yes it sucks that the CAS department doesn't provide in country phone numbers around the world but it is what it is.

Well, that's the number that's listed on the Australian website under the Crown and Anchor society page...I've emailed them now though, so will just wait for a reply. 

3 minutes ago, twangster said:

The amount doesn't matter, the presence of the line on the invoice is all that matters.  If that line item is present with any amount including zero then it shows the fare was booked on a solo basis.  

Hmm, I guess that makes sense, I'll see what they reply with on the email (hopefully they do) and will keep you updated.

4 minutes ago, mattymay said:

It ends in school holidays so there is potential for more expensive flights.

Too bad we can't look up flights now...

But one way would still be cheaper than Return, so it shouldn't be too bad either way.

On 3/5/2024 at 1:36 PM, mattymay said:

Booked! 

I'm trying to convince my dad to go with me on that repo, so I might bump into you. He's not too sold on the idea that we have to fly back from Singapore though... one way on Qantas shouldn't be too expensive right?  Especially since you get 30kg of checked baggage included.. don't really want to pay an arm and a leg for Scoot where they charge you for literally everything.

When I got my RoyalUp bid accepted last month for an upgrade from an Interior to an Oceanview, I bid the absolute minimum on the 2nd bar of the wheel. 

Like Mike said, it's purely anecdotal, you could bid the absolute minimum and win, or you could be 10,000 (just as a hypothetical number) over the minimum and still win, my guess is it's about demand and what other people are willing to pay.

14 minutes ago, Tanner said:

We are able bodied and have travelled on Royal several times.  We booked an accessible balcony room on an upcoming sailing as my wife will be coming off of a surgery and may require a wheel chair OR if recovery progresses well enough maybe only crutches.  

All I know is that if she does not require a rented wheel chair we do not want to take up an accessible room.  But we likely won't know until a couple weeks before sailing.  Does anyone have any similar experiences or know what happens if we try to give up the accessible room, such as what type of room will we get, is there any price reductions/increases we may face??

Thanks for any advice 

 

I'm not an expert or anything, but your best bet is to probably call/email Royal Caribbean and explain the situation to them and see what they say, or wait until you get on the ship and go to Guest Services and see if there's any unoccupied rooms they can swap you to? 

I'm probably going to be checking every nook and cranny in the room now for hidden cameras... you never know what kind of people these cabin stewards are...

I feel like this isn't just an issue with cruise ships though, it's a problem anywhere where cleaners have access to your room. 

3 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

There is a line for it, but with $0 discount. 

My husband calls overseas with a free Google number - can you get one of those in Australia?

Yeah, I'm wondering if that line has to do with anything.. it would make sense I didn't get double points if there was actually a discount under the ReducedSingles line... but it's $0 which logic would dictate meant that there was no discount... 

5 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

There is a line for it, but with $0 discount. 

My husband calls overseas with a free Google number - can you get one of those in Australia?

It's okay, I called them up... the operator was a bit passive aggressive and it seemed like he didn't want to help me. I explained the problem to him and he said It would be better if I emailed them, I told him I emailed them 2 years ago and never got a reply, and then I asked him, what if they don't reply to me this time, and he seemed pretty confident like they would and was like "They will definitely reply to you this time"

What exactly is the point of the CAS number existing if they can't help me over the phone..

The number I called is 1800754500 which is the number that's on their website.

Update: 2 years later and still no reply from Royal...

Maybe I should call the CAS society and have it cleared up..

Update: I called the crown and anchor number... they said I had to email them, what exactly is the point of the number existing then if they can't help me over the phone. I told  the operator that I emailed them 2 years ago and never got a reply but he said I'd definitely get a reply this time...

My dad did this on his last Royal cruise. We'd have dinner around 5pm (that was our selected dining time) and then at around 7:30-8:30pm when it was less crowded and people were at the shows, he'd go to the Windjammer to get more food. 

Yes absolutely.

There's noone at the door that will stop you and be like "nope, you've already eaten in the MDR! Access Denied" 

lol. you can go into the windjammer as many times as you want provided it's open. 

So I'm guessing 2024-2025 will be Ovation's last season in Australia then?

On 2/25/2024 at 10:31 AM, TheMaxRebo said:

Part 5: Costa Maya and Fun and Games

 

This was now day 4 and our first port of call which was Costa Maya which we had never been to. 

 

We were doing the Chacchoben Extreme Tour through Native Choose. Within the Facebook group for this cruise a few others decided on this tour so we made plans to walk over together ... Though we were a bit unorganized this morning and they left before we were ready .... In the end it works out well as we all got along great and each of the other families had kids close to Peter and Emma's ages and we hung out a lot later in the cruise too

I have to say, this port area was like a maze to get through and tons of shops and pool areas with people lounging out and just was a bit stressful and felt like it went on forever - maybe we just haven't been to that many ports but this one seemed a bit excessive 

The Chacchoben Extreme tour is a combination of tow tours, first stopping at the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and then to the 7 Color Lagoon.

Seeing the ruins was one thing I really wanted to do this trip and I really enjoyed it - I thought they were really cool and we had a really good tour guide who provided a lot of interesting information - like how they would only sacrifice members of Royalty which is why they would fight other groups to capture their royalty to be sacrificed rather than their own.

At the 7 Color Lagoon we were at a resort that first provided a taco lunch (with beer and margaritas included) and then time in the lagoon including kayaking 

 

It was really beautiful and something a little different.

The tour overall was about 5.5 hours and we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Definitely recommend.

The Icon was docked next to the Radiance of the Seas and can definitely tell the slight size difference

Once we got back since we were already in our swim suits Judi and I decided to check out the Swim and Tonic. This is a really cool addition but kinda feel they shouldn't allow kids at the actual bar or at least better enforce them wrestling there and splashing people. But we still enjoyed our drinks (we both got the lemonchello and tonic)

 

We then had dinner in the Main Dining Room again and overall enjoyed it - felt like the food overall was of better quality than our cruise last year on Symphony, and everything was hot and fresh, etc. only slight negatives was bar service as sometimes was slow and a few times got us the wrong wine.

After dinner we had reservations for the AquaAction Aqua Show - though quick tip, you only need reservations for the wooden beach area, the comfy chairs at the top aren't subject to them - we sat in them (ones at the high top tables) later in the week with no reservations and they are more comfortable

Anyway, the show is phenomenal, tons of great music and high energy. I think the slack liners are my favorite part. They definitely are still working on it/it isn't complete (they showed us a segment they are working on later in the week and during the day you could see them working on the skateboard ramp). Can't wait to see the whole thing some day

 

Judi and I went to the Perfect Couple competition with the other couples from the tour that day and it was historical. Definitely helped that another couple we knew from the other Facebook group activities participated and wound up taking 2nd place. Definitely a hard PG-13 rating for it so probably a little uncomfortable for the kids their with their parents, but a good time.

When we got back our invitation for the Super Club was waiting for us .... But that will be for another update.

 

Coming up: well, the Super Club, but also another excursion and other fun

I always love pictures like those ship comparisons... really puts it into perspective how much larger these ships truly are... I was in Sydney Harbour the past weekend, there were two cruise ships - The Ambiance by Ambassador Cruise Line, she isn't a small ship by any means, she's slightly smaller than Grandeur and she didn't really block much of the view to the other side of the harbour and then there was also the Celebrity Edge, which is almost twice her size, and she blocked a lot of the view.. let me see if I can find some pictures for reference. 

If I ever get to sail on Icon or Star... I'll definitely come back to this post and refer to it, great write up.

When are Anthem/Voyager expected to start making their way down to Sydney/Brisbane?