Marc Van Niekerk

I'm having the same trouble with this package. I have gotten multiple emails and I have had my TA look as well as called RCL myself and the story seems to be that it "isn't loaded yet" for our sailing. Our sailing is further out than yours and we were advised to check back in the future. If you are booked with a TA it may be helpful to have them call.

Thanks @Matt for asking that question and @twangster for the answer. I have been wondering the same with the fabulous photos of both the ice show and musical. Can you go any further into the deep dark proprietary details on what ISO / Shutter combo you used on some of the shots? Also a quick thanks for the live blog in general. Wonderful work as always!

We have done both and my suggestion is Yes, upgrade. The beach for the bungalows is further away but far superior condition. Adrenaline Beach where the beach beds are is a little rough due to coral and you will probably want water shoes. The beach for bungalows is Columbus Cove and I didn’t need water shoes at all getting to the water. The general services from your attendants is similar. The shade and privacy of the bungalows is fantastic where beds are in the middle of one of the more populated beaches. Attached are a panoramic of Columbus Cove and a photo of the beach bed and a couple of the bungalows. Absolutely worth it! One piece of advice, use the trams provided to get there. Generally then shorter of the two trams will take you all the way to Columbus Cove without having to transfer at Adrenaline Beach.

You should be just fine with your Royal Refreshment package. We were just on Oasis and had that package and used it for many lattes and espressos at the coffe bar at Cafe Promenade which is a similar concept to the Cafe Latte-tudes on Explorer.

Feb 2, 2019 Symphony of the Seas Oct 14, 2019 & Oct 18, 2019 Mariner of the Seas (4nt, 3nt B2B) Deb 29, 2019 Freedom of the Seas (RCL Group Cruise)

We are on Oasis starting Sunday. Can you tell me if there is currently any musical entertainment in Central Park in the evenings? I have heard sometimes keyboard player of string quartet on other Oasis class. Thanks

We are sailing out of Port Canaveral for the first time in about 3 weeks and have booked a hotel and shuttle through Go Port Canaveral (https://www.goportcanaveral.com/) Hopefully it all works out. Prices seemed comparable to booking hotel and shuttles separately.

LOVE this topic. My tastes outside or cruising are are generally pretty eclectic, leaning towards alternative, indie, and 80's new wave / punk. I generally classify as what I call ABC (Anything but Country). I also have a cruising / vacation playlist on Apple Music and I look forward to checking out some of the lists and suggestions shared here! https://itunes.apple.com/ca/playlist/vacation-mix/pl.u-q25xu2l7gYV

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Just locked in 11.99 VOOM for Symphony in Feb 2019! (used incognito too)

@Lovetocruise2002 thanks for the wonderful live blog. Doing a B2B on Mariner Oct 2019 and can't wait!

Bahamian Cookin' Restaurant and Bar is a small place offering authentic local foods. We found out about it on the Tru Bahamian Food Tour. http://bahamiancookin.com/ https://www.trubahamianfoodtours.com/ I would highly recommend both the tour and the restaurant when in Nassau.

Thanks for sharing this @twangster

You echo my thoughts. This seems like a really bad idea. I am quite familiar with the IndyCar race in Toronto as I am a corner worker there and I just cannot see how this could work. Track construction generally begins almost 2 months before the event and the tear down takes weeks. That alone would be a huge impact on traffic not even considering totally closing it for a weekend which I would Imagine is the busiest of times for the port from a tourist perspective. The reason I asked about the RCL terminal is the proposed layout seems to use the roads directly in front of that part of the port. I would imagine that the tunnel could be used to access the ships further up the port but I think the existing RCL building would be completely inaccessible.

Does anyone know if RCL plans to stop using the existing terminal when they open the new one? I am a racing fan and have been following a conversation about F1 coming to the streets of Miami and the proposed track layout comes from the Bisacayne Blvd / Bayside Marketplace area across the bridge to Seafarers Park which would likely cut off the existing terminal for at least a weekend not to mention track construction. See this link for some details. Miami Herald

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I did shoot 80%of Alaska RAW and I can see a definite difference in post processing with Lightroom. I started a trial of Lightroom CC and prefer the classic app on my pc. I am considering upgrading to a 77D body and will look into renting to see if it makes financial sense before biting the bullet to purchase.

Loving this thread as I was on the recent group cruise with @twangster and am now considering whether to upgrade my equipment. I have older Canon consumer grade kit. I enjoy travel / nature photography as well as Motorsports and while I recognize it is largely in the eye of the photographer, I feel it may be time to begin to strategically upgrade. Here are some recent (un retouched) shots from the cruise Here are some motorsport shots for reference: Here is what I have Canon EOS Rebel XSi Canon Zoom 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 Canon Zoom 55-250 1:4-5.6 Canon Zoom 10-18 1:4.5-5.6 50mm 1:1.8 Any suggestions on biggest bang for my buck upgrading? Thanks in advance. P.S. Sorry for the hijack...

Thanks for the response and technical explanation of what the issues are. Very informative. I have already paid for VOOM so I will likely leave it as is. As a Canadian I will have to see what the cellular coverage is like and determine if I want to go that way as I will be charged a daily roaming fee by my provider. I do have a travel data SIM for my phone but not too sure if it is a better deal than my roaming charges which allow me to use my full data plan for $6 a day. Travel SIM is $30 for 2GB over 15 days.

All around the world, the flat earth theory is catching on.... Sorry, couldn't resist.

We are on the group cruise to Alaska on Explorer in June and I have a couple of questions for those who have done the same or similar itinerary. 1) Is VOOM functional / worth the price? I have heard that due to the location satellite coverage is quite inconsistent and causes outages. Being Canadian, we will need to use roaming for cellular internet which isn't a showstopper but I an trying to determine if the cost of VOOM will be worth it. 2) Does the cruise change time zones and does the ship generally follow those of the ports? When on caribbean cruises this is somewhat inconsistent and I am looking for peoples experiences on this one. Thanks in advance! Marc

We have visited the Beach Beds on Adrenaline Beach twice and really enjoyed them. I will agree that the beach is a bit rocky compared to others but as you note, water shoes can help that. The distance to food was not too big an issue and the proximity to the bar kind of made up for it. We really feel that in terms of value for the money this was a good deal. The attendant to get you drinks, cooler full of water on ice, and floating mats mad for a very enjoyable day.

Looks like more updates have rolled out to the website. My cruises are now sorted in a logical order (departure date) and the countdown reappeared.

Actually only one of the 4 are actually paid in full but that is another issue for Royal to sort out. The Freedom in 2019 is certainly not paid in full yet but if Royal considers it so I will not argue with them. I cannot recall the order I entered or which I entered, but I do recall that some were already there. In the end, they all appear and I guess that is the key.

I see the website is evolving. Has anyone determined what the sort order is of upcoming cruises? I have 4 cruises listed and they do not appear alphabetical by ship, chronological by embarkation date, or numeric by reservation. My OCD is triggered

I figured they may be a little outside of what others listen to. I have always been a little more progressive in my tastes but I like to share and I appreciate all music.

We just bought those as well. One additional feature I like is that they are a good dimension for using a business card size for other travel like when I travel for work.