Garnet21

Karah, this has been such an awesome blog.  The detail, the great photos, and all the alcohol!!    Thank you for sharing your cruise with us!! 

Another great day!  I ALMOST feel like I am there, too!  

Karah,  please "live blog" every cruise you go on!! I am really enjoying all the great  photos and detail. You and Dusty know how to cruise and have a wonderful  time.  I hope we are on the same ship sometime soon!    

Marianna 

It looks like you have been having a great time!  I am a big fan of the Solarium Bistro.  I haven't tried Wonderland yet but it sounds like a fun experience.  It's always a great idea to pick @PRC brain for great things to do at the ports of call. Thanks for more great photos, Spicy Girl!    hahaha 

Hi Karah! I am late catching up but I have been loving your scopes. Great photos!  

Marianna

Outside view would always be above the waterline, although below might be very cool! 

I love RCI but this is so wrong.  Actually,  I would have to say it's disgraceful.   There is a lot more in play here  than just the ship.  There is vacation time, air fare,  etc.  A family vacation is a precious thing and it causes all sorts of upset when things like this happen.  You may not be a frequent cruiser but in a way that makes this even more important.  When you speak to Sharla, make sure she understands that you want her to go to bat for you and get better compensation.  I hope everything works out for the very best and that you and your children have a great vacation together.  

WOW, that is an awesome rate!  If I wasn't booked on the Sept 1st sailing of Freedom this would be very hard to pass up!  Thanks for sharing.  I passed this along to a friend who has been looking for something like this..  

On 6/29/2018 at 5:43 PM, princevaliantus said:

I get reminders all the time for final payment. 

I get email reminders too.  I get one about 10 days before it's due and then I get one the day before it's due.  

The idea of a B2B is very appealing.  I would stay on the same ship in the same stateroom if the itinerary changed.  I wouldn't want to bother making a lateral move but I suppose on an Oasis class ship it might be interesting to be in Central Park for a week and then perhaps an ocean view.   An exception to an itinerary change  would be something like the Mariner GC.  Unfortunately, it occurs in the heart of tax season. LOL  I would consider hopping on another ship if it was an easy transfer.  I guess it all depends on the ships and the ports.  

I agree that having the WJ open until midnight would be a great idea that would be easy to implement.  

6 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

Depends on what area you are looking to lodge at? Old San Juan, Condado, Santurce, Marimar, Carolina, etc.

I am inclined to stay in Old San Juan, especially if I only book for one night.  

I will be sailing on Freedom of the Seas on September 1st out of San Juan.  I want to arrive at least a day in advance and would love to hear about your favorite hotels and/or restaurants. THANKS!

If they don't have a free style machine I guess you are left with Coke, diet Coke, Sprite, ginger ale. 

Hello and welcome!  I took a 5 night Bermuda cruise on Anthem last July.  There was a great band, Rock The Boat, that covered music from the 70's on up.  It's probably a different band now but I am sure you will enjoy it.  Have a great cruise!  

12 hours ago, twangster said:

If you look at the forecast versus your route I suspect you won't be impacted very much by this system. 

I use an app called Windy.  You can select different layers such as clouds, wind, rain, etc. and you can move forward in time for a forecast.

By Monday as you are approaching Labadee invest90L looks like it will already be mostly through the Gulf and near the US coast.  By Thursday the Caribbean Sea looks pretty clear.

EDIT - I'm surprised Allure is doing Western next week, thought it was doing Eastern. 

 

OMGosh, I am a dope.  LOL  It is an Eastern Caribbean cruise.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Sorry!!  

I am taking a Western Caribbean cruise on Allure in 4 days.  A lot of people booked for that cruise are freaking out right now.  I refuse to worry!  

What's going on in our schools is a nightmare and we can't seem to wake from it.   Yesterday was another tragic day.  My prayers are with you and your school.  My prayer is for us to find solid ways to push back this tide of evil that is overtaking us.  We can't keep saying "this is not the time to talk about it."  If not now, when?  We all have to push back HARD!! 

I LOVE 270 on Anthem.    Otherwise,  any  place I can see the ocean and feel the breeze makes me very happy!  I am taking my first Oasis class cruise in 13 days on Allure so I may find some new favorite spots!

I have a friend who stops in DI at every port in order to collect a "free" charm.  I guess it's a loss leader to get you in the door.  I wouldn't buy anything there.   You're better off shopping on the ship if you really want something. 

I know that TIP pooling is a common practice in the service sector.  In the case of Royal Caribbean, I figured that the prepaid gratuities where the shared portion and what we gave to individuals after that was for them to keep.  I think that RC should make their policy clear to their customers, if just to be above board and transparent.  I have never encountered a room steward who didn't do a good job so if they are pooling tips, it doesn't really bother me.  I think I would feel differently if I had a Genie who was really going out of their way to  make me happy.  I suppose sharing  helps "spread the wealth" because the inclination to tip varies greatly among the passengers.  And yes, the head waiters get a piece of the pie.  That is also a standard practice.   C'est la vie! 

Ginger is a great remedy for nausea in general.  You can get ginger hard candies (I find them in Walgreens) or you can buy candied ginger which is actual pieces of ginger.  I believe that ginger is one of the main ingredients in Dramamine's natural  product. 

If I was going to skip one of these choices,  it would definitely be Nassau.

IF you are going to book a cruise directly through RC, I would recommend using one of their vacation planners.  I found a great one and she spent a huge amount of time working on a big problem that I had getting my cruise credit after my initial booking was canceled due to Hurricane Maria.   

I am using a TA for the first time for the Anthem July 4, 2019 GC. The TA is a lovely person who is quick to respond to email.  So far, I am very pleased with the service that MEI provides. 

I believe that most of the prices for salon and spa services are in line with most available on land.  I know that they skincare line they use and offer is ELEMIS, which is a British company.  The products are good quality but they are not the fountain of youth. LOL You can purchase something if you want to but don't let anyone tell you that you NEED hundreds of dollars of skincare.  Just say no firmly.  You can always purchase products through land based retailers, like QVC.