TexanTwoStep

6 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

So do I. I tried to get them to fix it once but a forlorn hope I think.

 

Congratulations to @Matt for the published recognition as well as becoming a pinnacle. All the hard work and dedication has paid off.

Mine was addressed to my wife as well! 

15 minutes ago, JazzBassMan said:

Another good point for these rooms is that they were all added well after the ship was built. The decor and overall condition of the room is much better than the rooms in other parts of the ship. 

True!  The only problem with our stateroom was the lack of outlets.  There were two, and they were both on the vanity.

Thankfully, we had a cool stateroom attendant who provided me with a couple extension cords to reach the nightstand!

When are they going to make you the OFFICIAL RCL blog?

Congrats @Matt and keep up the good work!  This blog is the reason I chose to cruise with Royal!

We just stayed in Suite 1854 (Oceanview panoramic suite) a few weeks ago and I say DEFINITELY go for it.  The view is fantastic, and I honestly enjoyed it more than our balcony from our last cruise.  You'll be two decks above the bridge and see exactly what the bridge team sees.

My only downside to the room was that it *did* get kind of hot if you did not close the curtains during the day.  Other than that, it was great.

On 6/21/2023 at 12:30 PM, Xaa said:

Labadee is a beach day.  The activities, if you're interested in coaster, zip lines etc are fun.  I like to head over to Columbus Cove and relax.  You can take the ferry over if you don't want to make the walk, but you do need to walk back.

Puerto Plata, I'll be hitting for the first time later this year, we've booked a snorkeling boat but also considered a horseback riding excursion. (both outside of Royal).  If you check Viator, the popular ones seem to be around the Damajagua falls

Awesome, thanks for the recommendations!  We were planning on this to be a beach-heavy trip since we're stopping at Labadee and Coco Cay.  I just didn't know if there were any "must dos" at any of these ports

On 6/18/2023 at 5:43 PM, Weezie57 said:

I don’t want to insinuate the food was horrible it was just kinda of blah.  Hope you have better luck.  The positive side was the pizza in Cafe Promenade was very good.

Our last cruise was on Voyager July 3 - 8 and we had the exact same experience.  MDR food was just "meh" while the specialty restaurants, promenade pizza, and windjammer were pretty good!

I too hope that RCI gets the MDR situation figured out sooner rather than later.

Just booked our next cruise on Adventure OTS June 1-7!  We're (thankfully) NOT going to Cozumel and Costa Maya, so I'm looking for recommendations, especially for Puerto Plata!

So please, tell me what you liked/disliked about Puerto Plata and Labadee!

Thanks for this!

I just booked our next cruise on Adventure OTS and visiting Coco Cay for the first time.  We're gonna hoof it to South Beach because that sounds pretty perfect

There's a popular saying down here in Texas regarding the weather

Don't like it?  Wait five minutes and it'll change! 

Seriously, it could be 10 degrees or 100 degrees when you leave at that time of year.  Wind could be blowing out of the north at 40 mph or dead calm.  However, night time the winds USUALLY calm down around here.

On 6/3/2023 at 5:52 AM, Weezie57 said:

I have this covered parking reserved for a June 12 sailing.  

Parked here last week, it's great! 

Be careful when leaving though, they tried to double charge me and I had to show them my receipt from pre-paying.

I just got off of Voyager, and honestly, it depends on your style of cruising.

We spent 5 days in a family oceanview panoramic suite.  The crew was amazing (as always), the entertainment was meh (comedian just *had* to be political), food was edible.  On our cruise they ran out of the following:

- grapefruit

- grapes

- multiple selections of beer

- multiple selections of rum

- butter (for the table)

And this was on a five day cruise...

Dinner service was spotty.  Our first night we were in and out in 50 minutes.  The next three nights were 75 minutes, 128 minutes, and 70 minutes.  

Several things were down and broken during our cruise including:

- three public bathrooms (that I counted).  In the bathrooms that were open, several urinals and toilets were roped off

- one of our sinks in our suite (was fixed on day 3)

- two elevators

- One out of the two slides

- No coke/freestyle machine

We made the best of it, but it was definitely not what I expected.  We sailed on Grandeur last year on the same itinerary and she seemed in better shape than Voyager.  I was ready to be home by day 4, so I couldn't imagine taking that long of a trip on Voyager.

We are because they sail out of Galveston and I can drive to the port.  Plain as that.  Not saying we won't fly to a cruise, but it makes it very convenient when you live close to port!

We've sailed on Grandeur for our first cruise last year and absolutely loved it.  The crew REALLY shine on the smaller ships.  I think yall would love it!

41 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

Our experience on Jewel last year with photography was this:

2 crew from shore excursions were our guides. The rules were everyone stays together, still photos were permitted without restriction, and NO video anywhere we were taken to visit. 

Got some great stills of the bridge, coaxed my wife to stand at the starboard wing pedestal on the glass floor panels for a photo, followed by a crew member taking one of us together. That is a long way down when the ship is underway.............

Glad you're able to do that!  Really hope we're able to do it on Voyager this week! 

Also, it's probably a long way down when then ship isn't underway as well!

Oof, I'm assuming that's going to cause a delay with cleanup and the fact that there is one less lifeboat on board.

3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

This is not a popular opinion but I hate the fact that children are allowed to sit at bars on ships. If the legal drinking age is 21, then bars need to be off limits. I am not talking about the space around but the actual bar top. Tables surrounding any bar is up for grabs but it peeves me to my core to see children seated at the bar. Any place in the states would lose their license . In regards to rising tide I sort of agree, its not an amusement ride, it's a novelty bar. Someone under 21 should not be taking space up in a place not designed for them. I think parents also need to be cognizant of the message they send to children by normalizing certain behaviors.

That is fair.  I'd be all about having all bars 21+, but as we know, most bars are also venues for trivia/activities.  Our last cruise on Grandeur, the Schooner Bar was the main hub of activity, even for kid-stuff.

Their ships sink more than Royal Caribbean's and they have cowardly captains.

That's the only difference I know of

This is just an assumption, but possibly because of the problems that Mexico has been having with the drug cartels and whatnot?  I know Cozumel isn't affected, but maybe to provide a sense of security for cruisers. 

Just saw on another forum/website that deposits for a suite are changing from the standard deposit to 10% of the cruise fare per guest fleetwide starting June 1st.  They are also becoming non-refundable.

On 5/11/2023 at 7:04 PM, ChessE4 said:

Wow! While it is fair to criticize Royal, please don't blame Costa Maya and Roatan. Each port can offer amazing experiences. Cruisers see poverty wherever they travel, even in the US. Post Covid we've all had to adjust our travel expectations. Give Royal your feedback, both positive and negative. We've  all had at least one disappointing trip. PS. Agree with you on the spa....

Costa Maya is one of my favorite ports.  Maybe OP gets offended/uncomfortable seeing the "slums".  Personally it humbles me and makes me thankful that I can spend thousands of dollars to board a huge ship and be waited on hand and foot -- it puts things in perspective.

I'll never understand complaints like this.  Short of someone on the crew yelling at me or the boat sinking, I'm probably going to have a pretty good time.

14 hours ago, twangster said:

Sooner or later these practices will motivate Congress to get involved and we'll see a bill to protect consumers.  

Congress will do something when it's inconvenient for a Congress person or their family lol

Quote

The first option is for guests to move to Voyager of the Seas for a similar 5-night sailing departing either June 3 or June 17. Both sailings will visit Costa Maya and Cozumel, but not Roatan.

Travelers who choose this option will not only move to their selected Voyager of the Seas cruise, but will also receive a 100% refund of their Allure of the Seas fare, plus $300 (USD) of non-refundable onboard credit for Voyager of the Seas.

Ugh, the June 3rd is my cruise -- I'm hoping not many people take them up on the offer because on my dummy bookings, there are tons of rooms still available.  I'm now expecting several grumpy families on board a ship they didn't want to be on simply because it's free.

Drink prices do not vary among the bars (if you order a rum old fashioned at Schooners, it'll be the same price at the pool bar, etc).  All drinks will have an 18% gratuity added.  Expect to pay $14 for a mixed drink (plus tip), $6-20 per glass of wine, and $6-10 for beer.

The sizes of beer are 12 ounces except for the Foster's oil can.

I'm not sure about Playmakers, but I believe the do serve some sort of pint/bucket.

Hope this helps! 

On 4/26/2023 at 1:12 PM, Dave26 said:

is there a place to set your bags while at the ruins or do you have to carry everything with you the whole time? obviously we would want different things for the jungle/ruins vs the beach, but don't want to carry a heavy bag with a bunch of extra stuff

The bus you take to the ruins is a charter-style bus with overhead compartments.  We left all of our stuff there.

Also, pro tip, you NEED water shoes at 7 colors lagoon.  The bottom is very rocky/slippery when you're swimming.

On 1/6/2023 at 10:51 AM, USCG Teacher said:

I've seen a few people reference this tour and give it high marks, but as of now it is not appearing in my Cruise Planner.  I anticipate that it will probably show up as the summer draws nearer, but could I possibly ask anyone that is currently seeing it to post a screenshot of the description of either the Chacchoben or Chacchoben & Blue Lagoon excursions?  TIA!

You'll enjoy it!  We did it last year and are doing it again this year.  The 7 colors lagoon is amazing!

Also Semper P!  I was in the CG from 2007 - 2016