tonyfsu21

The Casino Royale as a whole is unorganized and frustrating especially when dealing with the players program. There is absolutely zero consistency across the fleet.

Parking is easy at the new terminal. The way in is much easier then the way out though so be prepared. The elevator at the garage bottlenecks and holds everyone up. Significant delays most of the time during the high traffic hours of disembarkation.

Ok, I figured if NCL adopted that rule then RC would soon follow. I’m really hoping the kids can still sail when we cruise in Nov (provided any ships are sailing).

If sailing resumes with fully vaccinated crew & guests I would assume those of us with younger kids are going to be left out for the foreseeable future? I guess for some this is an ideal situation but it will certainly take the family out of family vacation.

Holiday sailing vibes, best use of company vacation days since many get Thurs/Fri off + The RC Blog group cruise.

Roll it to Thanksgiving which IMHO (and many others on the blog) is the best week to cruise!!

Exactly. They would have a tough time ramping up to 100% in 1-2 months let alone 7 days. It looks like 2021 could be out.

Not intending to highjack the thread topic but have you considered deck 17 lofts? IMHO it’s the best spot to be on an oasis class ship. Your perched up high & the suite lounge + CK are on the same deck. Not to mention the lofts are great options for suites.

Exhibit A:

Think about giving CCL another try. The new ships have so many options for kids & adults. I made the mistake of associating CCL with our pre-kid days partying in college and swore it off for many years. We tried 3 of the new ships and short of an RC Oasis class option I prefer CCL. We find that the new ships with 7+ day itineraries have the same vibe as RC with even better dining options and activities.

100% true. All the “pick 3 free” items you get to pick as part of your cruise fare end up costing a significant amount of money in taxes and fees.

Broward County has not been sleeping during the global pandemic. They have used this time to upgrade and build at Port Everglades. The convention center and a massive hotel are well underway. The Dania Beach area has had several major chain (budget) hotels built in anticipation. Downtown Fort Lauderdale is in the midst of a construction boom as well. When operations resume, Fort Lauderdale and it’s port will be ready. Port of Miami while nice can’t handle everything. Port Everglades is # 2. Based on what I am observing, RC needs Port Everglades more then Port Everglades needs RC.

I have 44 years under my belt in East Fort Lauderdale. 20 of which I have been staring at the Port Everglades from my living room. Broward County is investing heavily in Port infrastructure to accommodate more large passenger & cargo ships as well as hotels, roads, new terminals and parking. As with everything else, it’s all about politics and money. RCL will be back in full force once they suck the life out of the port of Miami. Big things will happen once cruising is back in full operation mode!

I have 2 young children (4 & 7) and we only do speciality dining for dinner. It’s never been an issue at all, ever.

I’m not surprised at all. I wouldn’t stay at a Ritz Carlton in Nassau. Give it a try & report back. I’ve been way too many times and experienced the hotel service across the board from your average Hilton to the Baha Mar resort and the service is the same everywhere. You can’t evaluate this based on a resort day pass alone.

If you take the Oasis class out of the equation they are all the same budget cruise lines with minimal differences between the big 3. I think you might find Carnivals newer ships at least as good or better then NCL and RC. I’m somewhat loyal to Royal but wouldn’t hesitate to take an 8 day Southern Caribbean route on a newer CCL ship or a 7 day in the Haven suites on NCL. They all have good & bad attributes.

IMHO the Bahamas and their government is a complete cluster f***. I can’t imagine getting stuck on the island for an extended period of time and the possibility of not being able to return to the US if there were COVID related issues on the ship. This is a 100% no go for us.

I know the Carrie B very well! I was stuck behind her this afternoon on the way up the river. There’s only one thing worse then being stuck behind the Carrie B and that’s the Jungle Queen. The captain on the Jungle Queen stops for nobody, if your in the way you are going to get hit.

Port Everglades looking sad & empty. Looking forward to the return of the cruise ships!

March 2023.

The wealthier “conchs” don’t want tourists on “their” island and unfortunately are very influential in our local island politics. The venders who own shops that cater to the cruisers as well as the restaurants along the Duval corridor have a different opinion.

Is this USD? That seems like a whole lot of money for a balcony stateroom unless that balcony is connected to the Royal Loft Suite. Even seems excessive for a holiday sailing. I would say even the best price you have listed above (assuming a 7 day sailing) is close to $4k more then casino rate.

I’ve posted this before but here you go. It doesn’t get more convenient then this:

One of my neighbors was worried about Covid on his boat because he was told that passing by another boat with people could transmit COVID19. At some point the insanity needs to get checked. We have been on our boat 100 times since the pandemic with no issues and this particular neighbor finally gave in last weekend and took his first trip out. I am 100% in favor of promoting safety but at some point a line needs to be marked in the sand and people need to try and enjoy life.