DunkelBierJay

Your daughter might like the water slides aft as well...one deck up from the pool deck and walk aft through Johnny Rockets. Since the Key lunch is in the MDR, I recommend wearing swimsuits under clothes and not getting in a hurry to do everything.

Adding this for a perspective on this nutty pricing and their glitchy website

Adventure of the Seas May 4 sailing for 6 nights -- the RC site shows $1,612 base pricing double occupancy in an interior. A dummy booking brings the total cost for the booking to $1,860 with the fake discounts. I wouldn't pay this for this ship on this itinerary and can't believe people are actually paying it right now.

If you stay in Port Canaveral/Coco Beach -- Uber/Lyft or one-way car rental (unfortunately, the Hertz office is closed, and I think Enterprise is the best option. (That may have changed recently)

If you stay in Orlando, the GoPort/Hotel package is a good deal and very convenient.

I have used an RC excursion to dive in Cozumel and Roatan. I have used third party in Cozumel and Costa Maya (I walked in a dive shop at Jamie's Blue Reef a couple times).

I am comfortable doing third party in Cozumel and Mahahual...no problem. At a port like Roatan where there is a good bit of travel to the dive shop and maybe to the site, I personally lean toward the RC excursion, although I felt quite rushed the time I did it. The dive experience was really good...it was a mild drift dive each time.

When I used RC to dive in Cozumel, it was a freaking cattle call and an overcrowded dive boat. The first dive was ok. The second dive was a drift dive in the fastest current I ever experienced. It took a while to get comfortable. When I've done third party in Coz, it was much more civilized, and I felt better about the whole experience top to bottom. My signature line has some additional information.

I dove Coco Cay one time. That will be it. The staff was great, but the quality of the dive sucked...we entered from the beach and were pulled by jetskis to the entry point. There wasn't a lot to see except some gimmicky stuff...I do remember seeing some turtles and rays though. I would not do it again.

I'm interested in parking options too. We are driving through Alabama and Mississippi and will spend the night in Hattiesburg the night before our February 1, '25 sailing. The only thing I really care about in NO is a nice breakfast at Cafe du Monde before boarding. The parking I found is called "Best of New Orleans" right by the terminal.

I thought my favorite perk was going to be Diamond drinks...and they ended up going under utilized. I just don't drink all that much any more. If I had two drinks a day, that was a lot.

My favorite perk ended up being the coffee machine in the Crown Lounge and the overall quiet of the space along with the food they had out at most times of the day. Occasionally, I would bring work or a book there and enjoyed it very much.

If the sushi making class is enjoyable, I would recommend the sushi and sake pairing. I did it on Serenade and on Mariner and had a blast on both. They were a little different on each ship...and I developed a taste for good sake, and not that heated up stuff.

48 minutes ago, Bean79 said:

Probably still won't be cheap enough.

Orlando to West Palm is $49 for Smart Class. First Class is $109. The fare to Cocoa Beach is probably comparable. I used the service from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and can't speak highly enough of it. Personally, I prefer this to Uber/Lyft the whole way even though you have to use Rideshare to/from FLL and to/from PortMiami.

3 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Curious what the video title is for Indigo Traveller? I pulled up his Haiti series but it wasn't clear in which video he tries to get to Cape Hatien.

 

I also want to add port stops were cancelled in 2021 when the President was assassinated. We were on Odyssey that year and sure enough, a week before our trip Labadee was changed to Nassau due to the situation in Haiti. I had somewhat expected it and had been keeping an eye on things after seeing the news while in the gym. I imagine there are multiple factors that play into a cancellation, not just the physical safety at Labadee, but also the safety of the local staff, the safety of the ship on arrival and departure, the increased chances of stowaways, the ability of staff to get to work...heck the security monitoring Labadee may also have been pulled to deal with local unrest too.

I watched the whole series, but I think I recall it was his last video because he was nearing the end of his content. I may be wrong. He seemed pretty bummed about it.

2 hours ago, TexanTwoStep said:

We're arriving there May 31st and staying in the Hampton Inn -- is that close enough to walk to port or do I need to get an Uber?  

I think that Hampton Inn is fairly new, so I looked at Google Maps. It brings it up just north of the Homewood Suites, so if this is correct, you're definitely within a 15 minute walk and you're on the right side of Astronaut Blvd to get the sidewalk to the little industrial area a couple of blocks below the port area. You would have to go around a small retention pond to avoid walking in the street to the port (all sidewalk/walking path).

You may want to scout it out by going to dinner the night before at one of the three or four restaurants right next to the terminal, just to the west or left as you're walking up. I've been to Fishlips and Grills. I haven't been to the others. I like Grills a little better...in fact the bar is a great pace for breakfast and you're right next to the ship that you will be boarding.

I highly recommend looking at the satellite view on Google Maps to get familiar with the turns. Note that the satellite view is not up to date as the terminal isn't in the pic, but it's there. I circled it in red below. The Map View shows it however and the current state is much more developed than this pic shows. If you're on an upper floor of your hotel with a north view, you will see the terminal and parking garage, and in the morning, you will see the ship on the other side after docking.

Late May will be pretty hot and humid, so that would be a consideration. You may not have to exert yourself to break a sweat. If you're ok with that, it's very doable. I hope you have wheels on your luggage. Personally, I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Walking Directions <-- link

30 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

And probably something that won't be done for at least 5 more years.

Brightline has been pretty good at cutting through the red tape...how they do it, only they and the bureaucrat$ know...I bet it happens fairly quickly from land acquisition if they don't already have it to the time needed for construction. The line is already there, and that was the biggest hurdle.

Looking further in the future, I would love to see hotel/train packages like GoPort offers....it would be great to have more hotel options pop up in Port Canaveral, or even a hotel attached to the Brightline station at MCO, which is another discussion.

There are 5-6 hotels that are walkable to Terminal 1, but I'd love to see a couple more that are closer. The only drawback is how long you have to sweat. I've made the walk from the Residence Inn in 15 minutes and was soaking wet, so I dry off at the bar at Grills prior to boarding.

MSC is having a bad day....they banned the Youtube channel Cruising with Ben and David from filming video on their ships and the word is spreading. I have my popcorn out.

I may have missed something, but the videos I saw were of Serenade on its world cruise during some weather in the South Atlantic. Water from a storm penetrated through doors on the upper decks and soaked some carpets.

I am not aware of anything like that on Voyager.

You really don't have anything to worry about, however, because the deck crews on all ships are professional and efficient. If/when there is water damage, they mitigate it quickly, and that fresh clean Royal Caribbean smell is always present. Videos that make the internet are rare, but become viral easily because of the sensationalism. I have not been on Voyager yet, but I have been on two of her sister ships, and can attest that the experience will be wonderful, and yes, the ship is very safe, as are all RC ships. 

Matt has a tour of Voyager on YouTube at this link in case you want to envision being on board.

A visit to Labadee is perfectly fine. To get a picture of the travel from Port au Prince to the north, a Youtuber, Indigo Traveller attempted to make the trip to Cape Hatien with a guide and was unsuccessful because of the quality of the road and demonstrations along the way. The odds of unrest moving as far as Labadee are pretty much nil because even without people on the road, the quality of it would make the trip much longer than six hours.

Cape Hatien, is close to Labadee on the north coast and is known to be much much safer than Port au Prince which is currently in a state of virtual anarchy.

Since 2015, I can only recall one instance that Royal suspended stops there, and I believe some striking workers were demonstrating outside the gate to the peninsula.

I would have zero issues going to Labadee. The only thing to consider is that some travel insurance policies may not allow for medical claims to be made if the traveler is from a European country and they stopped at Labadee, but always check with the company first.

1 hour ago, bobroo said:

I've stayed at the Hampton just south of the airport for it's walkable proximity to a In n Out and a Ralphs. It was a "just shack up for the night" stay. In the morning I went back to LAX and took Royal's shuttle to the port.

Will I do it again for an anticipated Quantum sailing? Well...LA offers so much pre cruise, the "just shack up for the night" is really selling a great port short, and in turn selling myself short. So...likely not.

I shouldn't need to remind you of some really good shore diving in the LA area.

I grew up there, and while I would miss new stuff...the been there done that thing makes me want to keep it simple. The only thing I might do is see if the Dodgers are in town. Thanks.

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I have to mention the Queen Mary as a candidate hotel.  From Long Beach it's a 10-15 minute Uber ride away from the port and I'm a big fan of the QM.  Such amazing history.  

I checked it out actually, and while I would love to do it, the cost is high compared to other options, and I have been on board her in the past.

I am weighing the option of staying at a hotel near LAX or in San Pedro for a cruise on Navi in September the night before embarkation. The rates in San Pedro are pretty reasonable, and its been many years since I have been in that area. In terms of my In N Out fix, it would be much easier by LAX because the one in San Pedro is 2.5 miles away from the Crowne Plaza where I am considering staying.

Does anyone have any thoughts about either location?

I ran across this guarantee fare on a one-way from Seward to Vancouver on May 10. How bad can a balcony guarantee on Radiance be? the total price works out to be $2,060.02. Could this be a glitch?

I hear

2 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

I wouldn't count on the "Honeymoon" being over anytime soon. As crazy as Icon prices are, we just booked next May's Icon and still have 3 months to go till our first Icon sailing this May. Figured the price will only increase so we put our deposit down today. All based on the current reviews and YouTube videos from week one. The overall look is more MSC NCL than typical Royal and I'm really digging the colors and multiple styles chairs etc. So I'm already hooked. LOL.

I hear you...I don't think Icon's pricing will let up...I hope that when Star comes online, that somehow the rest of the fleet's pricing will become more reasonable. I don't think that $542 a night on Enchantment compared to $363 a night on Carnival Celebration for sailings in the same month makes a lot of sense in the market, and I think people will go elsewhere. I've seen some of this kind of chatter on Cruise Critic as well. I'm sure Royal is enjoying this wave, but for it's customers, the value proposition seems to be gone right now.

50 minutes ago, Starrynight0154 said:

If we got an upgraded experience overall with food and service I’d consider booking at higher prices. I’m not willing to pay significantly more for less product. Royal employees are being asked to do more with less, customers are being asked to pay more. Jason Liberty is the classic greedy out of touch CEO that reaps all the benefits and isn’t held accountable. 

Did you see his speech at the Icon naming ceremony? Richard Fain he isn't. Liberty came up from being the CFO, and it is showing. If it wasn't for Michael Bayley, the creativity would be dying.

2 hours ago, Carpe Diem said:

It's sad, but true.  Royal Caribbean uses "Dynamic Pricing".  That's code for "they will charge as much as people are willing to pay".  As long as people keep paying these inflated prices, Royal Caribbean will keep charging them. I suspect eventually they will hit the ceiling where people are less willing to pay these prices and then we might see some relief.  Until then, though, I expect prices to remain high.

This speaks to my question about a correction...I have reasonably priced cruises booked through June 2025, and the likelihood I will book again with Royal is almost nil right now. I may cancel one of the sailings too....I have no problem booking elsewhere. I will keep an eye on it, but I think it will take some time for the market to figure it out and tell Royal that their product isn't worth it...once the honeymoon period with Icon wears off, we may have a milestone. The sooner people realize the product doesn't bring the kind of value they are used to and when the novelty wears off may be telling. Utopia probably won't sustain the momentum they are having for very much longer.

While I don't expect to sail on Icon for a number of years...heck, I haven't sailed Quantum yet...I think the dueling piano bar could be incorporated on a lot of ships in the fleet and would like to see it on new builds...same for Food Hall.

17 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

Nothing is wrong with Enchantment or any of the other Vision class ships, I've personally never sailed her, but I'm sure she's still a great ship, just snide comments because of her age and that she feels "dated" and she doesn't have the latest and greatest (waterslides, rock climbing, Flow Rider etc). So people immediately assume she's a crap/bad ship. (Not saying anyone here, just general comments I've read all over the internet)

Enchantment does have a rock climbing wall aft just outside the fitness center...and the pool deck and pool bar are fantastic. I think that ship needs an Izumi in the Viking Crown. I have been trying to get back on board for a while, but it hasn't worked out.

2 hours ago, JFCruise said:

What's wrong with Enchantment?

Personally, I liked Enchantment, but not at those prices.

For kicks I did a Disney dummy booking...I didn't see a Guarantee option

Disney Fantasy -- 7 night sailing on May 18 from Port Canaveral -- total cost for two is $4,985.22 -- cost per night $712 -- for me...AIN'T NO WAY I SAIL WITH THE MOUSE, but Wonder is getting close....I wonder if the market will move to Carnival, NCL and MSC soon. I hope so, because I don't want to sail on them.

Compare with....

• Carnival Celebration -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Miami -- total cost for two is $2,543.30 -- cost per night $363.32
• Icon -- 7 night sailing on May 25 from Miami -- total cost for two is $9,767.38 -- cost per night $1,395.34
• Symphony -- 6 night sailing on May 4 from Port Everglades -- total cost for two is $2,994.48 (the sailings from PE were limited to Symphony 6 night and 3 night -- not a good comparison) -- cost per night $499
• Wonder -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Port Canaveral -- total cost for two is $4,707.94 -- cost per night $672.56
• Enchantment -- 7 night sailing on May 11 from Tampa -- total cost for two is $3,798.76 -- cost per night $542.68 per night