tonyfsu21

Can anyone who has sailed the 8 day on Odyssey to the Southern Caribbean please post the cruise compass? Thanks in advance

On 8/30/2022 at 12:50 AM, CanHardlyWait said:

Anyone do the day at Margaritaville when in port? Want clean safe beach, bathroom, locker, etc. Not really looking for waterpark activities, but might try lazy river. Anyone think it was worth the price? Is the walk really long? Etc....

I was there with my family today. Overall I would say it’s worth the price for a nice beach/pool day. Positives: Clean, close 10-15 min walk, safe, new property. Negatives: slower then molasses service (but typical for Bahamas), vat and auto gratuity increase prices significantly ($7 beer becomes a $14 beer), no servers by the pool or beach and you need to get your own drinks from either the walk up food/drink window or bar, credit card only across property. We will probably do this again next time or just stay on the ship. 

Ok, so I haven’t really spent much time outside the beach club at Coco Cay but I must say the Taco Bar is on point! The ingredients are fresh and the tortillas were piping hot. Excellent selection of fresh condiments and including a variety of sauces. This is a must try! A+

I think we were the first 4 passengers onboard! The fun has started…

2 hours ago, Ja-sun said:

But I wonder if I ask for an upgrade at the check in counter if they would give it to me?

Probably not. There is a que of people w/ Royal Up they would need to run through first.

3 hours ago, FLTraveler said:

Thank you for sharing this great information. I'm dreading the traffic, but having never been to a launch before this will be amazing if it launches.

Absolutely epic view! I hope you get to see how spectacular it is. 

14 minutes ago, Ja-sun said:

Has anybody ever asked to see if there were any upgrades the day of check in? Like if maybe there was a suite nobody ever upgraded to, and if you did, what were the results?

It happens all the time. In fact, I am sailing today & still may be upgraded at the port based on the email I received from Royal up from OS to RS. This has been the case a couple times where we get into our stateroom and I receive an email that the Royal up is accepted and my sail & sign card has been charged. They send you to guest services to get a new key. 

Is the “health status” aka the “health questionnaire”? I answered the 3 questions a couple days ago but received an email today (24 hrs before sailing) mentioning the questionnaire but when you check the app there’s nothing there other then “heath status complete”. Is this another Royal IT mess or perhaps I’m missing something? Thanks 

2 hours ago, Ron Rico said:

Tack on top of the traffic due to the launch, there are 4 ships (including Mariner) in port that day. Oy vey - the traffic.... 

@tonyfsu21 We will be in the Beachline parking lot, too. Guess I will need to pack my patience and leave early.

BTW - Go Noles!!!  And FYI - Playmakers on Sunday 9/4 @  7:30 p.m. for the FSU Watch Party!!

Enjoy & Go Noles! My parents will be sailing Mariner & my family & I will be watching from Playmakers on Freedom of the seas! They are leaving South Florida at 5am because we have local sources that mentioned a cluster F of traffic by 9am headed East towards PC. They don’t mind arriving to the port extremely early at all for this trip. 

2 hours ago, FLTraveler said:

Thanks for the heads up about this! I am sailing on Mariner on Saturday and hadn't even registered that the launch was rescheduled to coincide with boarding times. I will definitely be planning a slightly earlier departure.

Good luck & leave nice and early for this one.  

37 minutes ago, billdauterive said:

Going to the port wasn't an issue. It was the other side coming back that was a mess.

Perhaps, but this Saturday is certainly going to be interesting for anyone attempting to make it to the terminal for Mariner of the seas.

So for those of you who have sailed on launch day out of Port Canaveral I have a question for this Saturdays 2pm scheduled launch. Has anyone experienced issues/delays getting to the Port via bee line with the thousands gathering to watch a launch? Any traffic control mitigations in place (forced alternate routes) due to the congestion? Thanks in advance. 

I’ve done this several times with my family of (4). This room is large enough to be comfortable for 2 adults and 2 kids and it’s our go to stateroom preference. 

On 8/13/2022 at 7:34 PM, twangster said:

Not a good weekend to be in Northern Baja.

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/cartel-threatens-weekend-of-mass-violence-in-all-of-northern-baja/

 

The message in Spanish read: “Be warned. As of Friday at 10 p.m. through Sunday at 3 a.m. we’re going to create mayhem so the (expletive) government frees our people. We’re the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, we don’t want to hurt good people but it’s best they don’t go outside, we’re going to attack anyone we see on the streets on these days.”

 

This is fair enough warning in my opinion. 

And perhaps another increase will thin the herd…… Cruising is a bit crowded these days. 

I’m glad. They should increase them even more because the crew deserves to earn a decent living and they work really hard for the guests. Gratuities is something I don’t mind paying. 

1 hour ago, Bonnen said:

what's the chances of being in a hurricane or a tropical storm going to the western Caribbean end of sept?

Same as it always is…. Possible. I do t think the meteorologists on this forum can predict the next hurricane. I would say book it. 

I’ve sailed Star class twice and I seriously enjoy the suites but find the genie experience to be uncomfortable. I prefer to do things on my own. I did find that the genies respect this and it never turned out to be an issue. I always respect them with a significant tip regardless of the services that I decline. 

The additional tipping varies for each & every guest. There is no right or wrong answer and I’m sure the crew is grateful for anything in addition to the auto gratuities or the 18% added to your bar tab. To just throw something out there I would say $1 extra per drink with exceptional and attentive service and maybe $100 extra to the stateroom attendant on a 7 day voyage (more for suite attendant and royal genie in star class). I end up tipping more cash up front (maybe $200 or so) to the attendant because my young children make a mess and I feel guilty. I’m actually curious if people tip upfront cash like I do or wait until the end of the cruise? 

15 minutes ago, USCG Teacher said:

Please don't take this as an attack, I truly don't mean for it to come off as such, but if you think C&A does an insufficient job of recognizing brand loyalty, good luck with the next cruise company you're headed to.

This is a true statement. RC has a pretty great loyalty program (and suite program). The competition has done catching up to do. Let’s also not forget about the grand slam that is Coco Cay! None of the other cruise lines are making these significant investments in not only the programs but also the infrastructure. 

FYI- some of you may want to check out Uber Charter which is now available on South Florida. It looks like you can reserve from 6-55 guests in the Tri County (Miami/Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) area. This could be helpful for larger families/extended family with lots of luggage. I don’t know about pricing but I would expect it to be competitive & convenient considering it’s Uber. 

It’s generally true that you have to pay to play. I personally think RC loyalty program is rather generous. I think there is and always should be a clear line between what you pay a premium for (suites) and what you earn via loyalty to a brand. It sounds like maybe you should just book Grand Suites and take your double points with the added benefits. 

3 hours ago, Ray said:

The only potential issue with this is the knock on effect from those walking behind you, they see you walking straight in and follow your actions and think " well if they aren't washing their hands neither am i" 

 

 

Maybe they should stop following my actions walking into the Windjammer and start following my actions walking into the casino. Some people never learn. 

2 hours ago, Pooch said:

Eeewwww. You don’t wash you hands?!?!?!?

Haha, yes I wash my hands but not to walk into the WJ where I don’t touch or eat anything. 

2 hours ago, RockerDom31 said:

Currently on Oasis…I would say that it’s “normal” in the sense that I am able to fully enjoy my vacation with only minor inconveniences.

*Walking around ports with my Vax card and a mask since you don’t really know what other country’s protocols are. Plenty of shops we entered said “masks required” (whether it was enforced was another story)

*Getting the testing done (currently on a 9-night sailing so it had to get done regardless)

*Crew wearing masks made it hard to understand them sometimes, especially with music blaring in the background

The unfortunate part is that even disgusting behavior is “back to normal” - people not washing hands after leaving the bathroom, people not covering coughs and sneezes, people bypassing the washy washy at Windjammer, and don’t even get me started on the amount of finger licking I see at Windjammer!!

Yuck. That is precisely why the windjammer is a “no go” for us. I am one of the people who skips the “washy washy” when I walk through the windjammer but I can guarantee you that I would not be caught dead eating in there (for some of the reasons you mentioned). Normally when I enter that place it’s to either find my kids or make my way to Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen on Freedom.