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JohnnySB

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  1. Hello folks, as we get ready for our inaugural cruise this summer. I’m trying to get as much info as possible. This blog as been a wealth of knowledge for first time cruises like us. I have a question concerning passports. Do we need a passport to board the cruise ship? And what about port days. I kk is USVI is a us common wealth. But what exactly does that mean? And what about st. Maarten?
  2. I don’t mind smaller portions just don’t sacrifice quality and taste
  3. I see. So if we ate at windjammer for breakfast or lunch then had hibachi for dinner one night. Then the next day have Izumi prefix for lunch and maybe Jamie’s for dinner. Thanks for clarifying things. It was a little confusing in the beginning
  4. Thanks for the info. What if we wanted the teppanyaki style dining. Is that prefix? And is teppanyki included with the UDP I purchased. Let’s say I wanted a bowl of Raman and my daughter wants chicken teriyaki for lunch. Can we still do teppanyaki for dinner same day?
  5. Good morning all, ive been following this blog regularly and the YouTube version to get as much information as I can before my family’s maiden voyage on harmony of the seas this august. Today there was a video blog on this exact subject concerning changes and cutbacks. The narrator Matt pointed out some changes and he makes a lot of good and strong point about the changes to 1 a day housekeeping or the increase in gratuities to the 1 lobster rule in the MDR. I have 1 topic that I’m a little confused about. It’s regarding Izumi. I purchased and UDP. What’s the difference between the fixed price option versus the UDP? That’s the only section I was totally confused about. Is the fixed price dining something different from the package I got?
  6. I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m perfectly ok with raising prices just as long as service and quality doesn’t suffer. I think that cruises are a great bargain for the family. When we were deciding on this years end of summer trip for the kids. It was between a cruise or Disney world. The cruise was a better deal. And you are correct about booking early. We got a crown loft for like 11k. We added unlimited dining and beverage. Day excursions and on ship activities and it was still cheaper than Disney world. And I don’t really mind cutbacks to get out of debt. But I hope they don’t go the route of the airline industry. Where they keep raising prices and keep cutting things. I’ve traveled for business for over 30 years. And it’s outrages that the airlines industry has become. You’re basically cattle being herded to your seats. And unless u pay for business or first
  7. Oh good I’m glad to hear that. I am so much looking forward to our vacation. We’ve been planning this for 2 years. But since it’s our first cruise. I did t have any expectations. Only what I’ve read and heard. So either way I feel we will have a great time. It’s hard to be disappointed when you do t expect anything
  8. And I hope you’re right. I am just concerned because these big corporations Just care about the bottom line. We live in an era where it seems that their main goal is to fill as many rooms as possible and fill as many seats as possible while cutbacks are the norm. the one glimmer of hope is Las Vegas. In order to attract customers Vegas has had to reinvent themselves. Offer the customers more value and keeping costs at a manageable number. It’s worked for them as they’ve rebounded very well after the pandemic. We were there for the Super Bowl weekend. Complete pandemonium. Rooms sold out. And these rooms weren’t cheap. But the amenities and restaurants were all great
  9. I agree! My expectations are none because my family have never been on a cruise. Any experience will be new to us. So I won’t have anything to base this experience on. If it’s great then great! If it’s not so great then there’s something better to look forward to. But I have read elsewhere that the cutbacks be more noticeable to people who have traveled in the past. Seasoned travelers who are “frequent “ cruise passengers who are used to certain amenities might be upset if those things are missing. Especially if there’s a price increase. Airline’s industry is a classic example. I remember before flying was something different from what it is today. Even in couch you used to have drinks and snacks. Nowadays, the seats have gotten smaller as the industry tries to squeeze more and more seats in. Checked bags used to be first one free. Now you have to pay for everything. And now there’s not just coach but a second tier couch. And the airlines industry never got their issues straightened out. I hope the cruise industry doesn’t go the way of the airlines where they pack as many people in as possible and give the least amount back as possible.
  10. Good to know about St. Thomas leaving at around 3. We’re not early rise people so I think after breakfast aboard the ship we’ll just relax at Magens beach for a few hours. Looks like at. Maarten is where we’ll do some sight seeing
  11. Me too! This is my family’s first cruise ever. I have no expectations. The only things I know about cruises so far are from what I’ve read on blogs like this one and trip advisor or when my kids show me a YouTube video of a family’s cruise vacation. I think my friend was letdown because his family go on cruises all the time. They’ve gone on 3 so far in the past 12 months. So his expectations are based on previous experiences. Despite the cut backs and lower quality food ect ect. I’m still looking forward to spending quality time with my family.
  12. Yeah it makes sense. In any business, if revenue goes down there’s usually a lay off or cutbacks to services that follows. I.E google. And when you cut back staff that means service suffers because there’s more work and less people to do them. Quality is affected because now they’re just putting out anything for the customers because high end stuff are more expensive. You’re right and it’s sad that this is the new reality
  13. I have a friend who is a frequent cruiser. This couple just got back from a recent cruise on independence of the seas. I was surprised by the negative feedback I got about his experience. He basically said that while prices have gone up, quality and service has gone down. He says the specialty dining restaurants were a let down. The portions were smaller and the quality of the taste was mediocre. The buffet was a letdown as well. I’m not a big fan of buffets to begin with but the specialty dining is a cause for concern if what he said was true. And he said that royal Caribbean posted that they won’t clean the rooms twice a day? I’ve never been on a cruise so I didn’t quite understand that statement. Anyone been a a very recent cruise on Harmony’ of the seas? What did you guys think? Did you guys notice a decline in food quantity, quality and customer service?
  14. As I start to fine tune the details of our upcoming trip more questions arise as quickly as old questions are answered. So we’ve got the hotel booked for 2 days in Miami before embarkation day in august. That way we can check out Miami. But on our trip back. We leave the ship at around 7 am when we come back from our cruise. But the problem is that our hotel check in time is 4:00 pm? We’re planning on just hanging out at south beach since that’s where our hotel is located. But what do we do with our luggage since we don’t want to carry it around with us. I mean we can rent a car for the day but our flight is at 7 am on Sunday so that seems more like a hassle than it’s worth.
  15. Our cruise will be 7 nights in august. I’m thinking of doing one port beach day and 1 port exploration day. I just haven’t decided which one will be which. Does anyone know how long these port stops are before you have to board the ship?
  16. Hi everyone, thanks for all the wonderful advice in the other posts. Our first cruise is slowly taking shape. We will have 2 days ports o call. St Thomas and St. Martin. We’re thinking of doing some type of sightseeing and tasting the local cuisine. I’ve got a 12 year old who only wants to sit it the cabin and use the screen and I’ve got a 9 year anniversary dl daughter who’s a super picky eater. any suggestions on activities or food? also how long does the sip stay at these places. Time is a factor on our decision on activities as well
  17. All great advice. Big thanks to everyone
  18. Has anyone tried oceans adventure on harmony of the seas? I have an 11 year old son and a 9 year old daughter. I’m thinking of giving them some free time to be around kids their own age. And of course we would have some free time as well. We would do activities together throughout the day during sea travel. But I figured you can only do so much water slides and rock climbing. I’m hoping ocean adventures can entertain them for a few hours
  19. Thanks for all of your advice. So I guess now I have to chose between getting a rental for the day. Then returning it that evening and catching a Uber to the terminal the next day. Or choose a hotel close to the terminal like south beach. ( any ideas on a good hotel?) and then take Uber and explore the surrounding areas the following day. But after our cruise we would spend another day in Miami before our flight home on Sunday morning. So I would have to do that again. getiing the muster drill out of the way seems to be the consensus thing to do first. Then book restaurant reservations and booking activities. Of course I have many other questions but I guess I should post accordingly to relevant topic.
  20. I am grateful I found this blog while researching for our upcoming trip. My family and I will go on our first cruise ever this august for a 7 night Caribbean cruise on harmony of the seas. We’re flying into Miami 1 day before which leads to my first question. should I rent a car because we kinda want to see Miami as we’ve never been to Miami either. If we rent the car for 1 day can we drop it off at the terminal before we board? The second question will also determine wether we rent a car or not. And conversely on the way back from the cruise. We will be staying 1 night before we fly home. Is there a rental near the terminal? once one the ship I know that there’s a bunch of stuff that need to be done like emergency drills and reservations for restaurants. But I’ve read that embarkation day is also the best time to do certain activities like water slides or whatever? The reasoning behind this is that these activities won’t be so crowded since people are still boarding? What about oceans adventures for the kids 12 and 9? Anyone have opinions on this. Because I want the kids to have some time by themselves and vice versa. Any good excursions with kids while on St. Thomas or St Martian. what about dining with picky eater? We bought and unlimited dining package for myself and my wife. Should I buy them for my kids? I know it’s a lot. That’s because I am a newbie to cruises and have a lot of questions so any advice with be appreciated
  21. Thanks for the quick response and clarifying things up. Like I said earlier, we’re planning to go on a 7 night Caribbean Cruise to end the summer before kids go back to school. We have never been on a cruise ever. After doing some research I felt Royal Caribbean had the most amount of things for both kids and adults. My kids (12-9) have been watching YouTube videos of other people’s vacations. That’s where we discovered mat from Royal Caribbean blog. Hie sand others suggested we fly into Miami one day before just in case. So I guess that’s where to start asking for help with my itinerary. But should I post this question as a whole separate post. Since this one is about a suite?
  22. Hello, first time everything here. First time to the blog, first time cruising and so on. My family and I will be going on our first cruise in august. 7 nights Caribbean on Harmony of seas. We booked a crown loft suite. I’ve been doing some research on the benefits of a sky class tier. But i still have questions that I hope someone who’s more experienced will help answer. 1) priority boarding. I know we get early boarding and early departure but what time is that exactly 2) Does being in a suite include unlimited drink package? Unlimited specialty dining? Is room service included if we prefer to eat in our rooms 1 day? 3) how does the concierge work? I mean is there a special concierge number that you call when you need help. We are super excited about our first cruise. I think my kids are even more excited because they keep watching you tube videos of others’ vacation and it look’s awesome. Im still planning our itinerary so we have time. And im sure I’ll be posting more questions
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