Geezer Of The Seas

Then there's this. In the ticket contract is language to the effect that at their sole discretion, RCCL can change terms/conditions of the contract and sailing at any time without notice. Just like Carnival, Celebrity, HAL, Virgin, Disney, MSC, Princess............ I never set foot on a cruise ship til 2022, but I certainly know these times aren't like 2019. Carnival collateralized 17 ships across its brands to borrow money to stay in operation. RCCL took on considerable debt in the form of high yield corporate bonds (AKA Junk Bonds) with short maturities paying 12% yields to bondholders "to keep the lights on". NCL, similar debt assumption. All made staffing reductions, including crews cuts to minimum levels to tend to laid up ships. Commodities costs are still all over the map, most still trending higher. When a cruise line goes grocery shopping, it ain't with a cart in the nearest Wally World. Its measured in semi-loads per ship and barge loads of fuel. These companies feel the same pain each of us do, only in greater magnitude. Amazing the Southern District Bankruptcy Court in Miami isn't wall to wall with cruise line attorneys filing Chapter 11 (or worse) petitions yet. But OP, do what you gotta do................

People come and people go in their employment situations. It has always been thus, only Mr. Van Fleet & Royal Caribbean know for sure. And for FWIW my opinion; was his job more a PR thing as a consequence of the incident at sea mentioned? There are TV meteorologists and there are meteorologists. There is a difference. And there are hybrids like Dr. Greg Forbes and Tom Niziol formerly of the Weather Channel. Dr. Forbes was a scientist & academic before he was in TV. Mr. Niziol was "in the trenches" for 30 years, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. These guys knew their stuff, especially Dr. Forbes, who made nerdy weather understandable and enjoyable. Mr. Niziol's specialty was winter weather.............in Buffalo, NY! The TV meteorologists in our market in Orlando probably are better versed in hair, makeup, & wardrobe selection. And, everyone's source that they spin into a forecast is the same, from NOAA or member nations of the World Meteorological Organization and their arsenal of satellites and computers.

Curious about the engine fuels. When on Jewel last November, we took the behind scenes tour (some of the best money we spent on the cruise I thought). Naturally full of questions, I asked the engineer on duty in the engine control room if a lighter fraction of fuel oil is used since the motive power is supplied by turbines. As I recall, he said the turbines are run on #6 oil and the complete fuel complement for the ship consisted of #6 oil and gasoil, which I understand to be a lighter fraction with a bit less sulfur. He even quoted the quantity of each and I do remember the #6 quantity was greater than the gasoil. Coincidentally, the ship bunkered in Bonaire a day or two earlier, but don't know what was taken on. The engineer did explain the #6 oil goes through a water separation and pre-heat process similar to the diesel engines prior to combustion. 3 cruises under our belts, the wife wants a good time, I wanted to learn how the ship works more than she did; the whole operation from propulsion to people fuel and everything in between overwhelms me. How does any cruise line do it????

Correct. I knew the vessel class was called Navigator; it was the first in class, Mariner was the last? It was our first cruise, just a 4 day hike to Nassau and my wife's favorite new theme park Perfect Day. Birthday present as it were. Didn't do me any harm either. 16 months later, 3 cruises have sailed nearly 6000 miles and visited places we never dreamed we would. Do we have a problem? Mariner, we'll meet again 1/29/24................

Our last trip from Port Canaveral, we had a 1:30 check in. Stayed in a hotel in Cape Canaveral night before and forgot to opt for late checkout time; they let us stay til noon. Dropped wife at terminal with the luggage, went to the private parking facility 2 blocks away. Well before our 1:30 check-in. What did happen though, we were denied access to Suite check-in line access by one of those lovely port contractor staff members herding the cattle. Didn't care what was on the Set Sail Pass, he got borderline ugly about it. We survived but my back could have used the expedited "herding".

Bigger is not necessarily better IMO; maybe for the RCCL executive suite and the bean counters, but not for my wife and I. We've sailed three classes of vessel, Navigator (Mariner), Radiance (Jewel), and Oasis (Wonder). Mariner was our absolute favorite and our first. We sailed in early 2022 when capacity limits were still in place. We sailed with only 1800 passengers (and a Grand Suite for $1800!) Jewel was at 100% double occupancy. Both were a joy to be on, though Mariner was definitely an outlier. Then there was Wonder last month. We came, we seen, we experienced, but we won't do it again. But that's us. Doesn't bigger also mean there's some ports excluded due to size? As it is, our ABC trip on Jewel last November was I guess among the last before Bonaire imposed port visit restrictions/ # of ships/passengers daily? The day we visited Bonaire, Celebrity Edge, HAL Rotterdam (I think) were also calling. Since it seems a ship service life appears to be 3 decades, we'll miss Mariner when she winds up beached somewhere for breakup. Until then................

Our last cruise (Wonder April 23rd-30th) we ate in the MDR.......wait for it, not at all. That was by design. We ate in Windjammer, twice in 7 days (dinner, both rather disappointing). 1 dinner at Izumi and 150 Central Park each, Sorrento's one night, Johnny Rockets one night, & Playmakers once (no problem at all falling into line for Aqua Theater performance). One lunch at Giovanni's, one at Hooked, one at El Loco Fresh, & one in port at St Thomas. Breakfast was room service every day but 2. Call it 'Our Way' cruising. Wanted to deconstruct the structure a little. No real 'beef' with the food except that alleged pork chop my wife had at Windjammer. What was that?????????

No truer words spoken there. We have a 5 day Western Caribbean booked on Mariner for late January '24. After completing the reservation I dashed off to the Cruise Planner and grabbed a beach bed rental on South Beach and the Voom package. Currently, you can purchase ANYTHING you want.......except a dining package. Ever increasing commodities costs I reckon. I get Royal is not a charitable organization, but even the beverage package prices for Unlimited & Beverage are, how should I put it, breathtaking. Icon of the Seas? Royal Caribbean should name it Kohl's of the Seas. If you shop at Kohl's, you'll understand the analogy.

Sure. I have never eaten sushi nor drank sake until our trip on Jewel last November. The waiter and I had fun with my inability to operate chopsticks. That's the fun of cruising for me, to boldly eat/drink what I have never eaten/drank before. Certainly could do it back home, but the cruise, trying new cuisine is part of the adventure. Our hibachi chef on Wonder worked me and by bumbling chopsticks into his act. Loved it........and the chilled sake was pretty good too.

We did our drinking a la carte last trip; Deluxe Beverage Package just doesn't work for us, even factoring in non-alcoholic drinks (we did have the refreshment package). Confined our business to 2 bars and 3 specific bartenders between them, never ordered from the roving servers but 1 time. We always added a tip beyond the included tip when we signed the ticket. I will say we netted 4 'no additional cost' gin and tonics and a mojito over seven days. And the gin and tonics got decidedly stiffer. Our gesture was absolutely recognized.

This 'person' worked in IT for a Central Florida city for 16 years. Wonder if his 'predilection' existed the entirety of his now ended employment and beside his own sick gratification, was he selling this stuff to various dark and mainstream websites that cater to others with the same 'interests'? Convict and jail him? Throw him under the jail......... Real Darwinian move, too. Planting a video camera in a public space on a cruise ship with extensive video surveillance. Pure genius.

Never say never.......at least with an Android phone. Last November, my wife and I are sitting on the balcony watching the world go by. Phones were in airplane mode the minute we boarded in Canaveral. My phone was on the table when the following message appeared on the screen, headed by the Verizon Wireless logo: WELCOME TO CUBA! Followed by some gibberish about network use. We were indeed off the Eastern tip of the island with the land mass in plain view; perhaps within 10 miles? I checked the phone I hadn't touched til then, it was indeed back on network. Same thing happened recently in St. Maarten & St Thomas once off the ship. There was an 'R' icon adjacent to the network icon. Time for a new phone?

Speaking of, happened to be gawking at the Port Canaveral webcam shortly before noon today. Lo and behold, there was Oasis bow first at the pier typically used by MSC & NCL. No mooring lines deployed and the water turbulence at the stern suggested the ship was being held in place with dynamic positioning. Looked up location/itinerary, thinking it wasn't a stop for drinks and chips at the nearby Racetrac. The ship was underway again shortly after 12. In our young cruising career, we've experienced more medical emergencies than we've amassed reward points. First trip ever on Mariner, the ship deadheaded to Nassau after departing Coco Cay. The captain explained there was a medical emergency on board the ship doctor determined needed to be evacuated. He added the ship could deliver the patient to Nassau faster than arranging for a helicopter airlift at sea. Pulled into Nassau at 9pm, passenger offloaded, and the ship spent the night orbiting New Providence Island. Jewel, last Thanksgiving. 2 medical emergencies. The first was an 'Alpha' on the pool deck. The second, later in the cruise on a sea day after departure from Aruba was an 'Alpha Alpha Alpha' in the MDR galley on Deck 5. Don't know what the outcome was but the ship was absolutely making top speed back to Port Canaveral. I swear you could water ski in its wake. We arrived in port about 4am, 2 plus hours ahead of the projected time. The most intriguing of all, our April 23rd sailing on Wonder, day 7 at Coco Cay. We were on Chill Island beach area getting ready to return to the ship. Suddenly, a very low flying 'island hopper' passenger seaplane flew past, turned back into the wind and landed, escorted by Royal employees on jet skis. The plane tied up to the jet ski/excursion dock; no one disembarked. Mentioned to my wife, unless there's aerial sightseeing excursions offered I don't know about, that's got to be a medical evacuation. Sure enough, as we waited at the tram stop, 2 carts with Royal security officers, medical staff, and a patient bundled up in a Stokes basket drove past, heading to the dock. Looked pretty serious............ Been retired many years from the fire service and 26 years as a paramedic, still can't leave it alone. Certainly hope all the sick/injured recovered.

I fully get Internet at sea isn't going to be our sticks n' bricks broadband on land. Pricey for the service sure, but for surf and texting was more than adequate. 3 different RCCL ship classes, 2 before Starlink, 1 after. The service on Mariner in our cabin was the worst. Told the suite concierge about it; 3 hours later we found a wired WAP installed in an ethernet port at the desk. Helped immensely. I chalk up the service quality on the older vessels to the technology available at the time. Wonder of the Seas was the best experience though not blistering fast. Fastest speeds we saw onboard and underway was 3.7 MBPS, the best was on Perfect Day, 9.79 MBPS down. Newer ship, better, infrastructure I suppose, and considering the trip was 363 passengers short of a "head in every bed", the bandwidth available seemed to be for the most part, up to the task; was able to reliably stream Sirius XM from my phone from anywhere on the ship and Perfect Day.

Our April 23rd-30th sailing on Wonder, the cabin temp was good for us. Close the balcony curtains while facing the sun, no problem. At night, more than comfortable. No discomfort in the public areas, especially the naturally cooled/heated Central Park. And if I may, the closer we sat to the Trellis Bar, the nicer it was!!

Agree with those who post the scooter is a good idea . You can be dropped off at the terminal entrance, but it is quite a hike through check-in then on to the gangway and the ramps within the terminal to the gangway are "uphill" embarking. Pack the scooter, you won't regret it.