tonyfsu21

3 hours ago, RCVoyager said:

Agree on Nassau.  With regard to Jamaica, Montego Bay is a pit for sure.  I have not been to Falmouth.  However, when Ocho Rios was the preferred port there some years ago, my group enjoyed it a lot.  We did the Mountain to Sea bike tour.  They bus you into the mountains where bikes await you.  It was a 90% downhill ride to the sea.  You ended up at a horse farm with a 20 foot high jump into the ocean.  The place was beautiful.  It was sweet.  Did it twice actually.

Ocho Rios was “ok” but still a one & done. The locals are very pushy towards the tourists and just a simple walk off the ship turns annoying really quick with the “show some respect” comments regarding tips and buying useless garbage. It’s worse at Port Falmouth.  

Well……. There’s a storm brewing. It’s not much but might shake up the weather in the Caribbean just a bit. 

Nassau and anywhere in Jamaica. Could do away with both stops and be totally fine. 

2 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Helpful. Something to think about. Is the one place really more party vibe then the other? Looking for calm and quiet. It's just Mr Sanchos had much better current reviews. Are there cabs waiting outside these places or does a call have to be made? Thanks.

Nachi or Paradise beach club are both very relaxing. To be fair I’ve only been to Mr Sanchos a few times and every time I went it was a bit more of a party crowd. It could have very easily been coincidence. In any case, I would go to any of the three w/o hesitation. 

11 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

I just read reviews of both places suggested above and that one has some really bad reviews that are recent. Reviews by people who have been in the past and say it has gone down hill recently. Just fyi.

Also, Mr Sanchos looks interesting (even though I specifically said Royal excursions only). Because I stress a lot about making it back to ship in time. I know there are plenty of taxis at port, but how plentiful are they out at Mr Sanchos for the return? (The stress part) And just how far is it?

Like everything else on planet earth on a post Covid world, things are not the same…. I would put little to no emphasis on the reviews. I do find that both Paradise beach and Nachi are more laid back than Mr Sanchos but I don’t really think you can go wrong at any of them. They are all pretty much located adjacent to one another so the drive time is the same. Also, I would not be concerned about taxi rides back as we have never once had an issue getting a taxi on the decade + we have been going to these beach clubs. Have fun. 

12 hours ago, asquared17 said:

for those of you who have been, about how long of a taxi ride is it to nachi cocum? it seems like the quietest of the beach clubs and that's totally our vibe.

15-20 minutes at most. Easy drive and a great relaxing day. 

2 hours ago, Pooch said:

Forget Royal excursions & look at Nachi Cocum or Mr Sanchos.  Both are very reasonable taxi rides (plentiful just outside the port area) and have beautiful beaches.  Food and drinks are included.  Your time is only limited by what time you need to be back on the ship & they will call a taxi for you to get back. 

^^^^ This

36 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

There were almost no kids on our visit and those that we did see were generally with family at the beach. There is a kids-only pool somewhere (from pictures on tripadvisor it seems like it is removed from the main area) but we never saw it.

This

Above, the kids pool.

 

Below, an aerial view of the main area when you first walk in. As you can see, the kids pool is not visible in this area.

I think it's okay for families; it does feel like it was designed with families in mind. The vibe was chill but not stuffy. I have a very vibrant inner child and tend to feel more comfortable in areas designed for young adults than for real adults, and I felt super comfortable. Never too old or too young.

I didn't see anything like a splash area and at the time we were there the teen club didn't seem to be occupied. If the kids are fine to splash around in the beach or pool, eat food, snorkel or play on the grounds - probably fine. Oh! there was a trampoline area set up, too, on the way to the teen area. Again, no one was using it but I imagine it's something you could get set up for if you asked.

Thank you, this will be perfect. We are going to book for our Thanksgiving cruise for sure. 

4 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Yay! I'm helping!

Do you think it would be a good family type place? We’re there kids running around at the pool? What was the overall vibe?

This is awesome, thank you! I think we will give this place a try on our Nov sailing. 

We just got off Freedom last Monday and nobody (I repeat nobody) I ran across even mentioned Covid. The terminal employees do a half assed check when you are on the way in and then once you are onboard it’s literally business as usual from what I can recall of pre pandemic cruising. The crew members still wear masks but there are literally no more protocols. It’s actually a wonderful thing. 

24 minutes ago, jaedam0820 said:

With this weather in Miami, would we ever enjoy the sun? Also, would there be a sail away party in Freedom on Friday if it rains? I am really sad about the weather not being sunny.

 

One thing I’ve learned after my 45 years in South Florida is to NEVER trust the weather forecast. Even if it “rains” it’s not the same kind of rain systems you see in the mid west or other parts of the country where its just sheet rains all day long. Most of the time the sun is out 15 minutes later. Yes, the freedom will have a sail away party and do not base your decisions off of the forecast.  

7 hours ago, Rogillioville said:

We had a lot of fun and pulled a lot of money out of the Heidi's Bier Haus on Harmony back in January.

 

Oh the Bier Haus and that song!!! Haha 

The wheel of fortune with the gold spin options ($10/pull). I’ve won a pretty penny many times on these machines. 

Can anyone confirm the Odyssey Cafe two 70 has the bagel bar during breakfast hours similar to Park Cafe on the Oasis class ships? Although the bagels are a bit tough, it’s still a nice option to customize a bagel as a breakfast option and I normally enjoy it. Thanks in advance. 

On 9/9/2022 at 6:22 AM, Dannyboy72 said:

All, 

As a first timer cruiser I thought I would add my views / advice for newbies as there was some stuff which I didn't get or things I didn't expect. These are my views and I'm sure others will have different views so please don't judge me! 

We travelled as family on the 18th Aug on Adventure  

I'll start with the bad stuff: 

Chair Hogs - just annoying. I rise early and I saw people at 7am just laying towels and not returning for hours. Just felt this was a little rude to others  

Lack of time in some ports - we had just a couple of hours in San Juan and felt we could do with a little more time. I get that we booked this and should have understood but as a family we like to explore and felt we didn't or couldn't as we needed to get back on board. 

Windjammer - Breakfast was just a free for all and was busy all the time. Getting a seat was a pain and we would walk around to get a table, 

Food - For me, the waste is incredible, people just stacking plates and plates full of food as if it's it never going to be served again.  I saw one kid with a plate of 10 donuts, I just hope he was sharing them as it was just crazy. I also felt guilty when we arrived in Haiti as we are sitting there having pancakes and bacon looking at one of the poorest countries - just me being a little globally conscious. 

Kids Clubs - The Opitx or the younger one neither looked very inviting. The staff weren't engaging and it looked very dated. The teenage one just looked like a free for all and my 12 year old was not really comfortable with it, I do think 12 to 17 is kind of an aged gap.  The staff were the most uphelpful on the boat but quite some way! 

Sea Days - I've said we like to explore - we had a 4 sea days and I felt that was too many for us as family. I did think that the sea days would be a great chance to relax but we felt a little bored and a bit trapped - strange really as there was stuff going on but we either didn't make it or didn't want to leave our pool beds! 

Activities - A lot of the activities seem to last just 45 mins and by the time you get in to what is happening it then ends. This was a little odd but assuming you get used to it. 

Beer Choice - just me I suspect on this one but it's just the standard beers and I like IPAs or something different and the only place I could this in the pub but then I would miss out on some other activity somewhere else whilst getting a beer.  

Dress Code - just pointless.  I saw people on Dress to Impress in shorts and flip flops.  Either have it or don't..... 

Wifi - Don't bother! Slow and drops out. Leave your phone in the safe with flight mode on.  

 

The Good Stuff:

Food and Service – just excellent. The Main Dining room was excellent with a great range of foods with our servers (Glen and Hubert) being just amazing. The food in the Windjammer was also very good indeed.  You won’t go hungry and if you do then you have something wrong with you.

Lots to do – there was loads on with some activities over lapping making it hard to do everything you want. My advice is scan the QR code for the planner as the apps isn’t as good.

Relaxing – At times I did nothing. And that’s great as I have a very full life so anytime I get to sit and read a book is time well spent.

Sea Ports – Although I did think we could spend a little more time in certain ports, I do also think it’s a good chance to see ports and countries you wouldn’t go back to for a week’s holiday.

Bed – I’ve never slept so well. Every night I was out like a light and slept so heavy. It was either the motion of the boat or the just because I was very relaxed.

Safe – I felt with safe on the boat, not just with covid but with other passengers. My kids (9 and 12) felt ok walking around on their own and liked the adventure of exploring the ship.

Drinks – Although I think it’s expensive, the drink package was excellent and saved so much effort when we went to the bars. Nothing was too much trouble for the bar staff and would make any drink you asked for. Service again, tops!

Flow Rider – loads of fun and well worth trying!

Labadee –Some people have concerns around Labadee with it being a little older than CoCo  Cay but I thought it was excellent, the beach was in very clean, the food was very good. The kids loved it and so did I.  The local market is a little pushy but not too bad.

Balcony Cabin – we stayed in 9622 which was a spacious balcony on a hump (I think that’s the term). Very clean, good size for 4 of us to sleep. The Stateroom attendant was excellent and I loved that he put the sofa bed up and down at night. The only issue was the shower went hot and cold at times but not really an issue. 

Formal Night – This was great as most people dressed up (apart from the swim wear and flip flops!) and the Dress to Impress night seemed more dressy than formal night.  I think it’s night to dress up and sit as family and enjoy a good meal. 

The Staff / Crew – they make it. I don’t have a bad word to say about the crew, each one had a smile on their face and was willing to help all the time even when they are very busy. The main dining room staff were amazing with nothing being too much trouble.                            

 

I would say that I will cruise again but I will research more on the ports and the sea days so we aren’t all at sea as a family!  Royal, I thought as a company seemed to be excellent and I would consider booking again in t future but I do thing that I might need to try another cruise company to compare as others on the cruise did say that P&O and Carnival were better.

If you haven’t cruised before, like me, try it, it’s great but accept that it's a flying visit to ports on what is a five star Vegas type floating hotel. 

The newbie mistake you may have made is sailing Adventure & not an Oasis class ship for your first cruise. Many of the issues including “feeling bored and trapped” are less likely on the massive Oasis ships because there is so much to see and do.

1 hour ago, CruiseGus said:

Absolute mess today.

Worst Port I've ever sailed from based on traffic coming to terminal.

45 minutes out of tunnel and still not out of Uber

Blame that on the Uber driver as there is more then one way into the port that does not include the tunnel (the drivers app would show the traffic pattern). We went out of Miami last week (Friday traffic) and left our house in Fort Lauderdale at 10:30am and I was drinking a Red Stripe on the pool deck by 11:15am. 

If you are booking grand suite or above then the suite neighborhood on Wonder should be taken into consideration as well. 

If the decision is based on the cost, I recommend you stick with Oasis which happens to be an exceptional ship. The differences between itineraries would be the only decision IMHO and are you willing to pay premium for the Wonder itinerary? 

On 9/5/2022 at 11:44 AM, rjac said:

My wife and I went to the Moomba Beach Bar & Restaurant at Palm Beach back in April. Good food, good drinks, loungers and shade. Took a taxi to and from the port. 

Is this basically a bar/restaurant on the public beach? If you just tell the cab driver “eagle beach” is this where they would drop you off? I am trying to find the best place to hang out with the family for the day whether that be the public beach or some kind of resort pass. 

1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

honestly, i'd kind of love two days at coco cay. gives you more time to enjoy.

I agree. It’s about time for overnights. I could see adding some nighttime venues (bars, clubs, casino, possibly a fire show). This would be perfection. I actually wonder why they haven’t done this yet. 

14 minutes ago, Ryan79 said:

In that case, have a good time! It’s certainly going to be more calm on the ship, than home. I’m actually headed to Ft Lauderdale on my next cruise and looking forward to it as well. If you want any tips about the LA area, let me know. I’ve lived here my whole life, 40+ years and glad to help out.

Awesome thank you. I may take you up on that. Same goes here, I have lived in Fort Lauderdale my entire 40+ years so if you have any questions let me know. 

3 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

Friday morning is actually the best day for weekday traffic. You will be long gone before the horrible Friday afternoon traffic kicks in. Don’t rent a car for one day. We have tons of Ubers and Lyft drivers here that it won’t make sense. You won’t enjoy driving around on a weekday, if you aren’t from here. With that said, please know that this sailing will be a party cruise. There will be a lot of college aged people who will be drinking a lot as this is a very popular spring break option here in So Cal. While RC is no Carnival, this will not be a relaxing cruise.

Thanks for the info. We are Fort Lauderdale locals “the spring break Capitol of the world” so the party kids will be just more of the same. I expected this to be the case on this sailing. Looking forward to it. 

We are planning to take the kids on the trek to the West Coast for spring break next March and I’m trying to do some pre planning. Can anyone please assist with the following?:

1. Flying into LAX the day before the sailing with wife & 2 younger kids. Thinking about renting a car at LAX and then returning it the next day at the port. Is this an easy process to return at port or should we keep the car and just spend the money to pay for parking to make sure we have a car for the couple days of sightseeing we planned after the 5 night sailing? 
 

2. Thinking about staying at the Beverly Hilton and heading to the port Friday March 17th. How bad is the LA traffic on a Friday mid morning? I’m thinking we will most likely get an 11-12pm boarding time. 
 

3. Any recommendations for a Hilton resort to stay at before we take the kids to Disneyland after the cruise? 
 

Any advice helps, thank you.

Anyone just hop in a cab and take it to the beach for the day to avoid time restrictions set by tours in Aruba? If so, where exactly do you go (public beach resort pass)? We will be looking for a family friendly beach that is not DePalm Island which we tried once and it was way too much of a tourist trap & not for us. Thanks in advance.