firegal2539

I have booked the GC, Ocean View on Deck 11, November 17. I am so excited. WAAAYTOOO I tried to book the Transatlantic but nothing available. My TA is checking tomorrow if there are cabins available. Candie

fmanke, Like you I am a planner, everything has to be organized. When I start to look for a cruise I will make lists of the cruise lines, sailings, prices, etc., and narrow it down to my perfect cruise. But as all others have said, the old quote "You have to take time to smell the roses". You paid a lot of money for this vacation and you need to slow down your pace and relax into the vacation. To me, a lot of planning should go into a cruise after it is booked, shore excursions, ports, etc. It is a good thing to research everything so that you will do what is good for you and your family. As Matt stated he might want to do four other things but when family is involved you have to decide what is best for all of you. Just relax, enjoy and remember to breathe.

According to Tapatalk, Symphony of the Seas is selling right now, but you have to call the Crown and Anchor Society number, no other number works, they tell you Wednesday. Crown and Anchor is booking, about 20 people have booked the Transatlantic on December 10, 2018. Balconies are going for about $3200 for 2 people. As I said this is according to postings on Tapatalk.

Royal wheelchair rules do not allow for parking the chair in the hallway, it impedes traffic and the stateroom attendant from doing their job. I took a cruise about a year ago and there was no way the scooter was going in the cabin, so Royal would take it when I was through with it at night and put it in an employee only area, but they did state they don't normally do this. Candie

As FloatMe said, learn to relax. It is funny how you know who the first time cruisers are, they are running from one spot to another, asking everyone, where is the theater, the Royal Promenade, what time is the parade, they always seem to overbook their days and nights and try to do too much. I always bring magnetic hooks, duct tape and a hanging shoe bag (I know a lot of people don't like them, but they have really saved me space in the bathroom). Candie

I have rented scooters three times from Special Needs and it was wonderful to have it in my room when I arrived. It is expensive but it provides peace of mind. There are several things to remember when renting, you can't leave the chair out of your room, it blocks the hallways and Royal will ask you to put it in your room, if you didn't get an accessible cabin that can be a problem. On one of my cruises it was parked in the shower because there was not place else for it. If you use a Royal wheelchair it isn't yours for the whole cruise, if a passenger breaks a leg, sprains an ankle, it is taken away from you and given to them if they have no more chairs. Royal doesn't allow their chairs to go off ship, so can't take them on a shore excursion. If in a tender port, most of the time you can't get off. Even a port with a gangway, I think it was on my Panama Canal cruise, as I approached in my scooter to get off the ship, the gangway was about a 30 degree angle and my chair wouldn't go up it and Royal doesn't allow their employees help get it up the ramp, so I couldn't get off. These are things that cruise lines don't bother telling you. Candie

monctonguy, I am not giving this review to show that Royal is better or worse than any other cruise line. I have sailed Princess, Royal, Norwegian, Carnival, and Celebrity and I wouldn't do another Carnival, ever, and my favorites are Royal and Princess. They seem to offer more bang for the buck and more to do onboard. I was just disappointed because there was so little to do on the ship. It was like everything was abbreviated. I was just trying to give my review. I have sailed Royal many times and 95% of my reviews are about how amazing the cruise, ship, cabin, crew was and I would definitely sail again. Sorry if I upset any members, that wasn't my purpose in giving my review. Candie

Hi Matt, I have sailed on the Explorer, 4,029 passengers, Serenade, 2490 passengers, Vision, 2416 passengers, and the Jewel, 3343 passengers and leaving in 2 weeks on the Indy, 4370 passengers. On Princess, I have sailed the Royal Princess, 3600 passengers, Golden Princess, 2600 passengers and Grand Princess, 3100 passengers. On NCL I have sailed mostly the biggest ships, Escape and Epic. I am kind of all over the place on the size of a ship I will sail. I think what the problem was, I felt there was nothing to do. There was a huge group of teenagers (great kids) from Brazil, all young ladies, celebrating their Quinceaneras, and I felt like there was nothing for them to do. Mostly you would find them in small groups huddled around their IPhones, up by the pool. I found I spent more time in my room then anywhere else because I didn't feel good but I couldn't find anything to do that interested me. The Cruise Compass devoted only one page, (the 2nd page) with what was going on, where it was at and what time. Most of the time there are two pages. I try not to go in to any cruise with high expectations because almost always they get shot down. I expected to have decent theater shows, at least 4 or 5 dining choices, a large choice of things to do each day and most of those weren't met. I couldn't find many really bad things to complain about, such as the toilet didn't work or the room flooded. None of that occurred, the room was freezing and the lights around the window were like having the aurora borealis in my room, not really RCCL's fault. I guess I was just disappointed in the ship, the venues, etc. Candie

Raye, I was so confused after the casino host tried to explain the CR and the VIPCR, these are two difference programs, is what she said. She stated I was a CR, free cruises, certificates and discounts on cruises. To be a VIPCR, I would have to accrue 1,000 points on my SeaPass card, in my 4 days on the Enchantment, which is impossible to do, so she suggested I try for VIPCR on my 5 day on the Indy in March. She told me she had lowered it from 1800 points to 1000 because they want my business. Sure they do, they want the money. When I am a VIPCR, I will receive the 5% waived and the free drinks. I can tell you, the last cruise I booked, the Indy, was a free cruise, so I do get those, the one I booked before, my TA went through CR and got it for about 46% off, much cheaper price than the website, so I do get CR benefits. Whatever, I will just play in the casino, talk to the host and find out what I have to do and if I don't make it, Oh Well, I was still on a cruise. Candie

ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS 4 DAY BAHAMA & KEY WEST CRUISE FEBRUARY 20-24, 2017 A little about myself. I am a solo cruiser, in my 60s. I retired 3 years ago and most of my friends are still working and I wanted to cruise so I decided to do it by myself. I love to solo cruise, do what I want, when I want and where I want. On a cruise, you won’t find me at the pool, I don’t like playing Lounger Lotto, (hoping to get a chair), or at the bars, I don’t drink, but I will sit and watch the entertainment, you will find me in the casino, at the shows, trying the restaurants and walking around the ship, just to see her. February 20, 2017-Embarkation Day, Monday I flew from DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth International) at 7:05 am to Fort Lauderdale. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale about 20 minutes late, approximately 9:45 am. I headed to the luggage carousel, the airline asked for volunteers to check their carryon and I did. I always hope they will do this so I don’t have to schlep the luggage around the airport. I retrieved my luggage and looked for the Royal reps to get on the transfer bus. I always buy transfers from the cruise line because they guarantee you will make it to your ship. I found the stand and the rep. told me there was an hour wait until the next shuttle to Miami because they had so many people at Terminal 1 and 2, they filled the bus, so they were putting another bus in service. There were 20 people waiting for the shuttle. After waiting 75 minutes the shuttle finally appeared. Arrived at the Port of Miami around 1230 pm. The check in was Eazy Peazy. There was no one in Terminal H. The people that got off of the bus were what was in the terminal. Even the check in reps were commenting on how few people there were. Around 1245 I was on the ship and was told the rooms weren’t quite ready, have a seat and a drink and they would announce when we could go to them. At 130 I got up to check the door to the hallway and it was still closed. Around 145 it was finally opened. I went to my cabin to see what it looked like. I always book an Ocean View cabin this one was on Deck 4, Cabin 4048. It is the smallest Ocean View I have ever stayed in. It was an adequate room but I couldn’t see how two people would fit and still be talking to each other at the end of the cruise. The bed was a queen, right under the window, so in order to look out the window you either kneeled or stood on the bed. There was a tiny end table about 16†wide on either side of the bed. There was about 16†of walking room to get to the head of the bed. A couch was against one wall and across was the desk with 3 drawers. There was no refrigerator in the room, it had been removed. The closet was two doors wide and had a safe in it. The bathroom was so tiny, part of me was in the shower and part of me was in the bathroom, I had wet floors all the time. There has been much discussion about the mattresses and yes, the mattress was hard (I asked for a topper but was told Royal doesn’t do toppers any more, something about cleaning them) but I found it easy to sleep on, what I didn’t like was the 4 hard pillows, not one fluffy one in the bunch. A serious problem was the cabin was freezing. The room attendant tried to fix it but couldn’t, called maintenance and was told that was as warm as the thermostat would go. By Wednesday I had an ear ache, a sore throat, runny nose and cough. Another serious problem was the window in the cabin is one that is lit up when we are sailing. There are lights all around the window and there was a curtain but it didn’t stop the light from coming in. I didn’t have to turn the room lights on because the window was so bright. I finally put towels all the way around the window and held them with duct tape (a woman’s best friend) to stop the light. The t.v. showed the same programs for four days. I have just gotten off of a Princess and a NCL cruise that ran brand new movies, 1 or 2, every night in my cabin. I watched 12 movies that came out in 2016. Royal shows two movies on the outside screen, and it is the same movies every day, Deepwater Horizon and the BFG, over and over but not in the room. I saw the same episode of The Big Bang Theory 20 times. Seriously put a few new movies on the t.v., I like to fall asleep watching t.v. My Fair Lady is the MDR on Enchantment. Deck 4 is the set time dining that starts at 6 pm and Deck 5 is the anytime dining that starts at 545 pm. There was never a line at the set time dining but always a line at the anytime. My table mates were a couple from Los Angeles, he is a fire captain and I worked for a fire department for 30 years, the other couple was from Michigan and a solo lady from Washington DC. They were fun and engaging and we were always last out of the MDR. The food was very good, I was pleasantly surprised. The theater had a comedian, Steve Miller, unfortunately it didn’t bode well for him because about 60 to 70% of the seats were empty, and people were getting up and leaving during the show, including me. The casino was small, 5 tables, and 150 slot machines. Some chairs were marked “For Players Only†but the smokers ignored the signs and sat and smoked. Went to bed about 11 pm was really tired. February 21, 2017, Tuesday, Coca Cay Private Island I ate breakfast Tuesday in the MDR but the food arrived cold and the eggs looked like jello. Didn’t eat there for breakfast again. Instead I went to the Café Latte-Tudes for the free breakfast pastries, also the lunch sandwiches and desserts. They were delicious. The Café is the home of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. This ship had the coke machines, one right next to Café Latte-Tudes and in Windjammer, which was very convenient. I stopped at the R Bar, Oasis Pool Bar, Boleros and the Casino Bar to have my cup filled. Went to look at the Art Auction, I never go but like to look at the pictures. Very small, only about 40 to 50 pictures. The Internet Café and Library had 12 computer terminals and terrible connectivity. The Library was a joke, it might as well be removed and two more computers put in. There was four shelves with about 40 books. Deck 9 was the Solarium and Pool area. Only 1 pool and adult only pool in the Solarium and it was crowded all the time. No loungers available because the towel hogs took them. The Solarium Pool area was beautiful, quiet and peaceful but children were still allowed to run around the area. Today was Coca Cay but it was misty and windy and I am not especially fond of tenders, especially when they are bobbing all over. I stayed onboard, did a puzzle, watched the pianist, got a sandwich and a dessert from Café Latte-tudes, brought it to the room and ate there. Tonight was formal night according to my table mates. Passengers were turned away at the door if they had shorts, (women & men), hats, and tank tops. Royal really stuck to the dress code. I wore a pair of capris in Chops but no one said a thing to me. Dinner at Chops was wonderful. I bought my meal online and saved $11 so to me it was a bargain. Other places to eat were Windjammers, ate a small lunch there and didn’t like it, Windjammer Marketplace, Solarium Park Café, was open the odd hours, between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, late night, etc. The food was ok. Went to the production show and again, was not impressed, it was almost like the dancers and singers were just going through the motions and not really trying to entertain the passengers. The theater was only half full. Today was non-smoking in the casino and the casino crew really watched for anyone trying to light up. There were no ashtrays but a few passengers tried and were told to go to another area. Went to my cabin around 11 pm. February 22, 2017, Wednesday, Nassau, Bahamas Nassau Bahamas is one of my favorite ports. I just love the rhythm and feel of the place. I don’t find the vendors pushy at all. Majesty OTS and Enchantment were the only ships in port, very unusual. Many vendors weren’t open and taxis didn’t line the port street like they usually do. Our time to leave was 530 pm and we all had the pleasure of watching two people running for the ship at 550 pm. I am surprised the Captain waited because they weren’t on a ship excursion. I am sorry but I love watching them run for the gangway, I know, it is terrible of me. Returned to the ship around 3, after losing more money in the Atlantis Casino, took a nap and went to the dining room for dinner. The solo cruiser and I were the only people sitting at our table. For lunch I went upstairs to the Windjammer but the food wasn’t good at all, so I just left my plate on the table and went to the Café and got a dessert. Tonight’s entertainment was Billy Prudhomme, juggler/comedian extraordinaire. I would like to know how you can do both of those things at the same time. Again, theater empty and passengers were walking out. Went to the casino but wasn’t feeling good, so I went to my cabin. February 23, 2017, Thursday, Key West, Florida We were notified last night that there was an immigration inspection this morning before getting off of the ship in Key West. I have never had this happen before, many passengers hadn’t and you want to see a bunch of riled up passengers who were late for excursions, shopping, etc. If we had an excursion, which I did, we went to Deck 5 and sat around for 30 minutes. Then a crew member came and got us and brought us up to Deck 6, then walked us to the front of the ship and down the stairs to Deck 5 to the theater. Ok, I know this made no sense and now the passengers were getting vocal and a little mean. You walked into the theater, down to the front and up the other side where Immigration looked at your passport and room key and then you could go. I didn’t understand this at all. This is somewhere around my 25th to 30th cruise and I have never had to do this. I wonder if Donald had something to do with it. Key West was wonderful. I think I could live there if it wasn’t so expensive. Back on the ship around 4 and changed for dinner. Casual night and the food was great, Italian, loved it. Said goodbye to my tablemates. Went to the Parade of Flags which was a cool thing to watch once but probably not again. Back to the casino to receive my $200 cruise certificate. Don’t know whether I will use it since there are so many stipulations on it. Went to my cabin to pack and realized all I had was a carryon bag so I waited until the morning to pack everything. There was no entertainment in the bars, with the exception of the Schooner, it has a musician every night. The Atrium had a piano player during dinner hour. Disembarkation Day-February 24, 2017, Friday, Miami On disembarkation day I received a text from American Airlines telling me my flight had been pushed back 2 hours and 30 minutes. I called them and I was told if I could be at the airport at 1115 am I could have a seat on the 1136 am flight. I have never walked so fast, begged to be moved up to the front of the line at port immigration and begged the shuttle driver to leave as soon as possible because I could miss my flight. When I got to the airport I had 30 minutes before my flight to make it to my gate. They put me on a cart with a driver and I was there within 10 minutes, but I don’t think I will ever do that again. My Thoughts (These are just my thoughts, someone else might love this kind of cruise) A four day cruise is not something I will do again. If I lived in Florida or the port where it was sailing from that would be another matter, but when you add air and the cost of the cruise for less than 80 hours on a ship, it just wasn’t worth it. My impressions of Enchantment, she is an old lady who has seen better days and she is showing her age in many places. She is up for another refurbishment in 2017 but they just can’t add enough to her to make her interesting. Worn seats, carpeting, and flooring and rust was showing everywhere. I am not a fan of small ships, which is what I consider the Enchantment. Yes, you can find everything very easily but there isn’t much to find. Limited dining options, limited bar options, no entertainment, not enough computers for internet, no library. There were some nice shops but with limited amounts of merchandise. I like the midsize ships, 2,500 to 3,200 passengers. I want something to do besides trivia, arts & crafts and ice carving. I found the crew to be less than friendly to the passengers. My stateroom attendant was nice but I really didn’t notice his presence most of the time. The rest of the crew, when you passed them in the hallway, a few said Good Morning, Good Evening, but for the most part they walked by with their heads down and not talking to passengers. There was no presence of ship officers. On my last cruise they could be found all over the ship, including the Captain, Hotel Manager, Cruise Director, etc., but not on this ship. The only time I saw them was during the Parade of Flags on the last night. My room steward was helpful, but on the first day I asked for ice in the morning and at night and he stated that if I didn’t use it, he couldn’t refill it, new Royal rules. Sorry, I don’t believe that. He had to find an ice bucket because my cabin didn’t have one. I asked where the refrigerator was and he stated Royal had pulled them out of certain rooms. I bring a sandwich or a pastry to my cabin but had no place to keep it cool because I had no refrigerator. If you like a small ship atmosphere, with nothing for the kids or you to do, then it might be the ship for you, it just didn’t interest me at all. I won’t book another cruise on her or probably any of the Vision class ships. Candie Picture 1, 2 & 3 are the cabin Picture 4 is My Fair Lady (MDR) Picture 5 is Bolero Bar Picture 6 is Windjammer Picture 7 is Atlantis Picture 8 is the Atrium Picture 9 is a yacht docked Nassau, is was bought for $100,000,000. It comes with it's own helicopter, two sailboats attached on the sides and a 25 foot Criss-Craft.

Raye, I forgot to tell you the CR rep. I spoke to said they would wave my 5% fee. When I got on the ship, no way was the casino host waving that fee. I asked them to look into it and the next day got an answer of "No can't wave the fee". I am not believing what anyone says at Royal now. Candie

My win was one jackpot while playing a whooping 80 cents, I hit the bonus for $1700. The casino hostess paid me in cash because I specifically asked for a check, I was uncomfortable with everyone watching the win and possibly knowing what cabin I was in, but they wouldn't do it, they paid me cash. It was NCL. Candie

That didn't print right. Here it is again. Week of March 6, 2017 Europe (Phase 1) Week of March 13, 2017 Alaska and Cruisetours Week of March 20, 2017 Europe (Phase 2) Week of March 27, 2017 Northeast and Seasonal Caribbean Week of April 3, 2017 Australia & Singapore Week of April 24, 2017 China Sorry for the first message. My TA didn't know what parts of Europe are in Phase 1 or Phase 2. Candie

My TA sent me the schedule of 2018-2019 Deployments with the date they will open them. Candie DATE Week of March 6, 2017 Week of March 13, 2017 Week of March 20, 2017 Week of March 27, 2017 Week of April 3, 2017 Week of April 24, 2017 REGION Europe (Phase I), Year-Round Caribbean, & Bahamas Alaska & Cruisetours Europe (Phase II) Northeast & Seasonal Caribbean Australia & Singapore China

Yes, I won $1700 on an NCL cruise and they didn't give me any paperwork while onboard but I received a win/loss statement from them for my taxes I filed this year. Anything of $1,199.99, in other words, $1,200 is taxable. Candie

Floatme, That is a good question and I can't answer it. I just got off a cruise two days ago and was going to book a cruise and I asked the rep if I book when I get back on land can I change this to a Casino Royale cruise with the casino discount and she told me yes. I was positive I had read posts on the blog that said you couldn't do that, so I didn't book. I called CR the day I got back and the rep told me, no I can't move a booking made on the ship to the CR rate. I would have to cancel and book through them. I am totally confused because every rep tells you something different. Before you get on the ship I would call Royal and see what they say. Candie

I agree with Floatme, I just called my TA and she calls Royal and they will give her the current price with promotions to see if it is better than what I have now. Just remember if you rebook and you have Onboard Credit, you will lose it. So you have to weigh that in to the rebook price. In other words, if you rebook and save $100 total but you lose $100 OBC, it is not worth rebooking the cruise. You keep the same booking number every time you rebook. I had one cruise that I rebooked three times and the same number applied each time. Candie

I just got off of the Enchantment OTS and the cruise director was Michelle Oliveira from the USA but now resides in Brazil. Candie

Hi All, Just got back from my 4 day Enchantment cruise and I received a $200 certificate. It is hard in four days to build up a lot of play. The casino host presented it to me and I asked if I could use it on a previously reserved cruise, and she said no. She said it states right on the certificate that it is good on only newly booked cruises, must be booked within 30 days, and the cruise can only be 365 days out. You can combine a certificate with another, if your husband got one and you did, the two can be put together. She did state that calling CR reservations, they sometimes will change the rules and let you put the cert. towards an already booked cruise, just depends on which rep. you speak with. As stated previously, the free cruises are specific dates and ships, normally, they are trying to fill a ship when it has low bookings, that is how I got my Indy cruise next month, it is now sold out with the exception of suites. It depends on your level of gambling, is what I was told, in which cabin you will qualify for, interior, ocean view, balcony, I qualified for an ocean view. The casino host told me that there are two different kinds of CR levels, one where you get the free cruises and certificates and one where you earn a certain amount of points while on my cruise to become a VIP CR member. If I had earned 1000 points I would have become VIP but on a 4 day cruise that is nearly impossible to do. I just get more confused about the CR and VIP CR program. Whoever you speak to, it is a different story, whether it is a casino host or a CR rep. The host did tell me to check in as soon as the casino opened on the INDY with the casino host so they could keep up with my points on this 5 day cruise, as far as she knew it would be 1000 points to become VIP. Candie

Yes I am sailing on March 25, 2017. There have been a lot of free cruises given out for this particular cruise.

I use the MYVegas app to log in. When I first started playing over a year ago, I played only on my phone, then I tried it on FaceBook. I liked them both but MyVegas wouldn't merge my two accounts, so I lost the FaceBook points. Has anyone had a problem merging them together? Another questions, because I am stupid is how do you merge them? If I wanted to start playing on FB how do I put them together? Thanks for any help. Candie

Explorer of the Seas has virtual balconies because I am booked in one for an Alaskan cruise in May. I will let you all know what I think. I have to get an Ocean View. I never, ever utilize a balcony, so the money is wasted for one. Since I am a solo cruiser a suite, no matter what size, just wouldn't be used by me. There are certain cruise lines and ships that I have researched and found the largest Ocean Views. I just got off a Princess cruise to the A B C islands and I had a 245 square foot ocean view cabin. Some of the people at the M&G came to see it because they wouldn't believe me when I told them how large it was. Research is necessary to find the weird shaped cabins, the larger cabins and the best view. With Royal Matt helps with that in all of his posts about unusual cabins. Candie

I have used a TA for over 10 years. I wouldn't know what to do without her. As Floatme said, peace of mind is so important. I know that all of the little details as well as the big ones are taken care of. Yes, sometimes I get an incentive but I wouldn't care if I didn't. My TA has traveled extensively so she knows of what she speaks. She has guided me when I was making a bad decision because she knows my likes and dislikes and will actually tells me that the trip or the cabin might not be right for me. When I had to cancel 4 cruises because of emergency surgery, she handled all of it. I had great travel insurance, recommended by her, and I ended up losing about $100, including airline tickets. All I had to do was sign the paperwork she brought to me. Candie

Doc, Thanks for the link to your podcast. Listening to it really helped. I am not a cold weather person and knowing that is really making me think about the decision to take this cruise. I always book an ocean view cabin because I never utilize a balcony, not interested in sitting out there, nothing to see but water. Thanks again, I wish Royal would open their 2018 itineraries. Candie

I want to do a Norway Fjords and Iceland cruise. I don't even care what cruise line, just want to see this wonder filled area of the world. I have a 7 day Norway Fjords booked for May 2018 on Celebrity but am waiting for Royal to post their 2018 schedule. With everyone waiting for 2018 to be published there shouldn't be any cruises left. Candie