UkuleleCruiser

I remember a list of drinks we could order while the ship was still in Galveston waters. Here is a flyer I found soeone posted from the Navigator days. Probably very similar....

30 minutes ago, mworkman said:

I knew something would try to block us.  Well this snow storm has delayed our flight till 6:00pm instead of our original 6:00am flight with a delay on the later flight.  Well I called to see if we could get on a flight in Raleigh, NC....all booked up for today.  So I made the command decision...get in the car woman...we’re driving to Atlanta and flying from there..lol Here we sit awaiting our 4:00pm departure to FLL.  Nothing lika 6 hour drive to the airport.  ?I was tempted to drive down to Ft Lauderdale but that would have been a 10 hour drive..non-stop. Didn’t feel like that was the best option for us. ?

Hang in there! It will all be worthwhile when you get onboard!

We got upgraded last year from an Inside Cabin to a Promenade Cabin. It was a cruise over New Years, so being able to watch the balloon drop and craziness from our cabin very positively affected our cruise. But I had to call and ask about upgrades to get it.

5 hours ago, Jason.H. said:

I am picky about good food and I like sorrento's better than johnny rockets. Johnny rockets is terrible. Greasy cold fries and onion rings, Cheap frozen pre-formed patty's with no seasoning, limp greasy undercooked bacon. AND IT COSTS EXTRA! At least sorrento's is free and their sandwiches/stromboli's are good. Carnival has Guy Fieri's Burgers and I have heard from everyone that has tried them how great they are and it's included! Royal Caribbean needs to up their burger/pizza/bar food game. 

Frankly, I was not at all impressed with Guy Fieri's burgers on Carnival. But the pizza was pretty good.

I have strong gastronomic empathy for you. I actually didn't have a problem with the pizza on my last cruise on Liberty. Is it possible that it is different from ship to ship? Or that the recipe has changed since last year? Or am I just a pizza boar, whose opinion is not to be trusted? 

Either way, I trust the rest of the cruise was pleasurable. You might try to grab a passable pizza slice in one of the ports.

Any word on whether Liberty uses this app? We were on it last year, eager to use the app to follow the Cruise Compass activities, and were disappointed that the app was not being used. (Note: Had a fabulous cruise anyway!)

1 hour ago, twangster said:

I've also discovered there can be fine print and nuances to the Next OBC.  The slides they show say 'Can be combined with most other discounts and offers" but in my recent experience 'most' has resulted in 'not in your case'.  I didn't visit Next on the cruise I just got off.  I do better with my regular travel agent.

A lot of people would book something just to book something then change it later on land.  This caused a lot of instability in bookings 91-120 days out as folks cancelled or moved to a different cruise.  The non-refundable is all about locking people in and having more predictable bookings to avoid having to discount fares 60-90 days.  

I get that, but if that's the goal, discount it enough to make it worth my while not to change. 

I agree. I am glad for anyone who can plan their next cruise in advance and know the dates, but I can't. The flexibility of moving the date made the difference. It won't deter me from cruising RCL, but I won't book it onboard. 

Thanks everyone for your help. Based on all your input, I did my research. I wound up buying a brand new Rockland set of 3 suitcases on shopgoodwill. With shipping, it was fifty bucks. They aren't the top of the line, but they have all the features we want. And at that price, if they only last a few cruises, we are golden. 

We are going in February on the LOTS. There is a broadway style show, probably still Saturday Night Fever. There is a cirque de soliel style show. There is an ice show. Do not miss any of these. All are wonderful. Didn't do any dancing or ping pong, so I don't know there. But there's plenty to do onboard.

I've pre-paid my gratuities for my February cruise, but for future cruises I have no problem with this. The staff works hard, and although I don't really know how generously the pre-paid tips are, I have no issue with an increase as long as it's clearly stated when i sign up. Call it a towel animal tax.

On 12/20/2017 at 2:55 PM, AndrewPunch said:

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for making my first cruise on Royal go well with all the tips and reviews on the board plus the blog post.  Just a quick story time.

The wife and I flew out of MSP on Friday, Dec 8th, 2017 to Fort lauderdale thru Atlanta.  The same day a massive unheard of soul crushing blizzard fell on Atlanta. Our flight to ATL landed 45 mins late but our flight to FLL was a nightmare.  We got on the plane at 3pm and then over the next 8 hours got on and off the plane twice, pushed back and then the flight got canceled because the crew timed out.  ATL only has 8 deicing trucks and they apparently breakdown easily.  MSP has 40 for a comparison.  All the flights the next day were past the set sail time so we had to improvise.  We stood in line for 2 hours trying to get our checked luggage back and Delta said no go at 1AM.  I started the search for a rental car and all the one way, one day rentals were gone and was told there is no way we can rent you a car.  Here is the trick:  If you reserve a one way car but for a weekly rate it will come up and you can get out of there.  It cost more but when in need its totally worth it.  Most programs have an early return policy so you will get a little money back.   In the end we got a car from Hertz for $360 and drove from 2AM-noon to fort lauderdale without bags.  Did a quick Walmart fashion stock up and got on the boat.   During the drive down talk to Delta and got our bags rerouted to Jamaica our 4th day stop and we picked them up there and enjoyed the rest of our cruise.  So we were the casual people on formal night :)

 

Wow!

27 minutes ago, GemsJetsSilhouettes said:

I’m from the UK, so postage charges may be pricey if you’re not from here, where are you from?

I am here in Dallas, TX. Since it's a trade, the postage expense would be on both sides. Not a worry!

I'd like to see this available on Liberty of the Seas.

I blew it! They had dining on sale, and I waited too long! Now it will cost me.... I think $8 bucks more per person! That's two more cheap champagnes I will have to guzzle at the art auction!

My cruise in February will be...2nd? My second cruise on Liberty, and the ports are all ports I have been to, as well. Not that excited about the ship. In this situation, I always go first to negatives about the ship because I've done it before. However, that's not really the experience I will have: I am sure I will love the ship. No ship is perfect, so this cruise just isn't our first date. As far as the ports, we are exploring excursions that are new for us. This should put a whole different feel to the port days. So, yeah: Ship Fatigue is a real thing. But it's not that big a deal. I sum it up with a slightly off color joke: Pizza is like sex. When it's good, it's really good. And when it's bad......It's still pretty good!

This is not good news. With the volume of cruise excursions, I am absolutely amazed this doesn't happen more often. I am so sorry for everyone involved. I hope aside from the fatalities everyone is OK. And I pray that the families affected by fatality are handled carefully and are able to safely get home and find peace.

Wash your hands, people!

I only went on one cruise like this. It was a cruise over New Years, and a very expensive ticket. I think some people felt entitled either because they are just jerks, or because the price of the ticket entitled them somehow. I rarely see rudeness, but it was common on that sailing. So far, they have never run out of food, or run out of seats at an event. Trust me: All the ice cream servings taste the same. Now get out of my way: I have to get to the Lido deck before you.

I went on a Carnival cruise once where they had a promotional deal and provided a full basket of toiletries. Including one of those razors that has like 52 blades. Now, there's always a brief moment of disappointment when I have the standard shampoo, conditioner, bar of soap, and drinking glass.

We are a little limited in Texas because of the state liquor laws. The wife usually has champagne or a white wine. I usually go with a shot of whiskey. Nothing fancy. We simply must get down to the deadly serious business of fun. What?

I don't know if Vision does this (They probably do), but Liberty has a galley tour and brunch usually on the last sea day. It was $35, and wonderful. But you couldn't sign up prior to the cruise. They have a flyer, but we always make sure to tell the poor waitstaff hustling for specialty dining sign ups in the Windjammer on Embarkation Day. Probably, you can do the same thing at any specialty restaurant, if you chose that for your embarkation option.

On 11/20/2017 at 9:51 AM, Scatmanjack said:

 

I think it's just the craziness of the boarding process with all the lines and knowing that you have to be at restaurant by time X... (lugging around your carry-on's too...) One computer glitch, customs officer with an attitude, or similar and all you plans could have a wrench thrown in them...

...Or fog delays getting the ship in. Or Port Authority messes getting people boarded. 

We didn't do lunch, but we did dinner at Sabor on embarkation day. It was weird, because we were sort of still in shore mode, and didn't take advantage of seconds (or thirds!). 

On 12/9/2017 at 12:11 PM, Wilson said:

We have a 5 night Bermuda sailing booked Oct 13, 2018 in balcony. Just checked and we can do a 7 night Bermuda on same ship and in balcony for $400 less if we go Nov 3, 2018. Seems like switching is a no brainer to me. Is there some reason we would not want to be in Bermuda or on Anthem three weeks later? 

Go for it!