JLMoran

Not on the main blog either, at least not with a search for "vintages iPad" (minus the quotes). May be old news for RCI, but it looks like it's new here. 😉

Just found this while searching for an example full wine list at Vintages. It's a good use of technology, not sure how long ago they released this video as there's no date I could find on the page, also not sure if / when this is being rolled out to the rest of the fleet. Should be an easy thing to apply fleet-wide as it doesn't require anything more than getting the iPads and iPod Touches and installing the apps / integrating to the ship's SeaPass card system. https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/video/182/savvy-sommelier-digital-menus-at-vintages/ You can now order wines via iPad, and the order is transmitted to iPod Touch units carried by the wine tenders. It will recommend wines based on your existing tastes, and everything is displayed in a much wider selection of languages than RCI could manage with printed menus. And if you order in, say, German, that order shows up translated to the English equivalent on the wine tender's iPod Touch (or, I'd assume, whatever language that person set as their preference). Apologies if this was actually posted a while back. Searched this forum before posting, didn't find anything.

Ah, OK. Thanks, Matt! My daughter will be disappointed, but at least I can break it to her now. This was really frustrating. I searched their site for any references to "YSpa", and the only two pages I found are the one I referenced above and one other page about vacations with kids. Neither one makes it clear which ships have YSpa, and even the individual ship descriptions don't mention it, only references to the Vitality Spa. :angry:

So the spa treatment options finally opened up in my Cruise Planner and I've been looking through them. One of the things my older daughter noted is that she wanted to get one of the teen treatments; you can see these mentioned on the main RCI site's "Things to Do" page, after selecting the Spa tab: Just For TeensOur YSpa menu features services made just for teens, including facials, hair treatments, nail services and more. Spa services vary by ship. But the Cruise Planner's spa section makes no mention of these, and there's no filter option for "YSpa" that I can see. Doesn't matter if I access the cruise planner from my reservation or the one for my kids. Does Freedom not offer the YSpa option, or is this kind of service only able to be reserved / purchased once you're on board? If it's on-board only, I guess I know what she's going to use part of her $100 OBC for. ;)

Just found these in an Amazon search, have bookmarked them for later as these have a Vibram sole like my New Balance sneakers and should work great for getting a lift put in. Going to keep looking and see what other options I can find, but I think these are the top option so far, even if they only end up working for one cruise. https://www.amazon.com/Merrell-Blaze-Sieve-Water-Black/dp/B00KZOCVXK/ref=sr_1_9?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1486738371&sr=1-9&nodeID=679255011&keywords=water%2Bshoes&refinements=p_n_size_browse-vebin%3A1285070011%2Cp_72%3A2661618011&th=1&psc=1

I think I found the post you're referencing: 5 things to bring to Labadee to make your visit awesome Looked at the men's water shoes Matt linked to there, not sure about them in terms of the seeming thinness of the sole and the surrounding material. These look like they might be a better option. Sole looks thick enough that my cobbler might be able to put a lift in them (he has to slice the sole lengthwise and then puts the lift material in between the pieces like a sandwich). and the surrounding material also looks thicker and more durable. Seems a bit like a Teva shoe in terms of the semi-open sides, but going to put this one in my "Cruise Prep" shopping list on Amazon while I keep looking. Only caveat I see with these is that they only come in a standard "D" width, and my feet are a "EE" (wide). But if they're elastic enough, it may do for the short periods I'd be using them. Thanks, both of you!

They AREN'T that much different, really. Voyager, as noted, is only Different from the latest Paperwhite model by way of an ambient light sensor that auto-adjusts the brightness of the screen, plus PagePress buttons that you can use in place of the touch screen for page turns. Not the same as the old Kindle's physical buttons, in that it's all haptic feedback now (pressure sensors for the "buttons", plus a vibration from the device after pressing so you know it took). And the screen uses six LED lights instead of four on the Paperwhite, for more even lighting. The Oasis model is their premium / luxury model, with a genuine leather snap-on case that, when attached, gives two to three MONTHS of battery life instead of the six week estimate of the latest Paperwhite and Voyager models. Also has the automatic brightness adjustment, and is thinner and lighter and supposedly more ergonomic. And it uses eight LEDs for supposedly even better evenness of the lighting. But the screen on all three is the same size and resolution, and all three use the same display fonts and settings. So it comes down to whether you're willing to pay for the bells and whistles.

I'm wavering between a Paperwhite and the Voyage. The newer model of Paperwhite gets rid of the screen resolution advantage the Voyage had, but Voyage still has the automatic light sensor to adjust screen brightness and the PagePress feature that I kind of like, so my potentially food-coated fingers aren't grunging up the screen. But that price difference! :O

Just remembered a really good sci-fi thriller -- Sphere, by Michael Crichton. If you saw the movie with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L Jackson, just forget that and give the book a chance. As typical, the book is WAY better than the movie. Not set on a cruise ship, rather it's about people who have to dive to the ocean floor to investigate a mysterious object that appeared out of nowhere.

OK, so here's an out-there topic... As I've mentioned in a few other posts, I'm mobility limited. Part of the limitation is that, due to multiple fusion surgeries on my right foot, my right leg is now about 3/4" shorter than my left. So walking barefoot is extremely uncomfortable to outright painful, depending on what I'm walking on. That said, I'd like to be able to wade into the ocean a bit, or use the ship's pools, or join my wife in the dolphin swim she wants to do. Aqua shoes seem like an option, where I could bring them with me and change out from my sneakers, but I'm having a hard time finding something that could work with a gimpy leg. I have my regular shoes modified with a 3/4" lift on the right shoe to level out my gait, and I'm going to be checking with him to see if he can do something similar for an aqua shoe (keeping in mind the adhesives he uses to attach the lift may not be waterproof). Even if he can't, just being able to walk around for the little bit to get into the water and buoyant could be good. Does anyone here regularly use aqua shoes when you hit the beach or ocean, or when you go on water-based excursions? If you do, can you recommend a particular brand that you've had good experience with? Cost isn't an issue here. I regularly spend almost $150 on my regular shoes every six months, plus the cost for the lift; spending similarly for a pair of aqua shoes that I'll use only in the summer months for at most a few dozen hours each season will be fine, as they should last a good long time. I do have some caveats with this besides needing the lift, and it may make using aqua shoes a non-starter. Let me know if you think that's the case, I know this could be a long-shot. I use orthotics in my regular shoes. They're 100% rigid plastic and won't degrade from water exposure, but obviously the aqua shoe needs to be able to fit that plus my foot. I could probably get by without them for the limited time I'd use these, so I consider this a "nice to have" My right foot is slightly misshapen after all the surgeries, with a prominent knob of bone on top at the base of the big toe. My regular shoes have to be molded with a bunion stretcher to avoid really bad pain and chafing on that area. I imagine aqua shoes have quite a bit more give and stretchiness, but I do still have concerns about getting a bad friction wound from overuse. Do they make aqua shoes that are shaped more like a sneaker than a slipper? Just looking for a little more ankle support, as torque on both of my feet is a Bad Thing Thanks in advance for whatever help you can give! I figured better to ask now, while I've still got over a year to go!

I agree about the portability of a Kindle vs. a set of physical books. But I still prefer the feel of a real book as well as the better experience with my aging eyes. (needing trifocals sucks!) Maybe if I invested in a Kindle Paperwhite...

Well, in other threads about pricing, some folks were saying that RCI plays with the base price to control how fast the sailing books up. Maybe they didn't have as much booked on this particular sailing as they needed / wanted / expected, so they threw in a base price drop in combination with the promo to spike the sales a bit or get some room classes better filled out. Whatever the reason, believe you me that I'm not complaining! Here's hoping people continue to not buy cabins on that ship and help drive the price down more! ;)

We have a pair of connecting superior balcony rooms on an 8-night cruise on Freedom on March 31, 2018. Initial price was $3,240 each, knocked down to $2,486. I'm guessing the price is what it is because ( A ) it's spring break for a lot of schools, including our kids'; and ( B ) it's Good Friday / Easter weekend and is likely being counted as a holiday fare.

Any other items to avoid, like sausage links / patties, pancakes/waffles, or the generic coffee? I already read the warning in another thread about the "hash browns", so I'll steer clear of those when my cruise comes up! ;) Honestly, to just have some (good) hot coffee and a couple muffins or croissants and maybe a yogurt for breakfast on the balcony would be just fine for me and pretty much everyone in my family, but some hot food options would be good, too, long as they're actually delivered still hot!

Hey all. RC website now shows the WOW sale is going on -- 60% off second guest, bonus OBC, and $50 off deposit. Just got an email about this from my TA. Saved us a TON as the sale knocked just shy of $800 off each of our state rooms (having originally booked during the end-of-year sale) as well as giving us $100 in OBC. I know there's been a lot of discussion here lately about how the rates really are best if you book 18-24 months ahead, and that they just don't get any better even with promotions; but seeing as we could "only" book 15 months out, I'm really glad our TA Heather at MEI Travel was able to get us these savings! And THIS is why you use a travel agent. :D

Some helpful info on what to expect on embarkation day: What to expect on embarkation day on a Royal Caribbean cruise And in podcast form for your listening pleasure ( ;) ): Going curb to ship on Royal Caribbean

I'll add that it's not a bad idea to register your other family members with C&A (even the kids) so they can all start accumulating their points and build up their levels. I was advised to do that by my TA, so that when the kids turn 18 and can actually get their own card they'll already be at a level that reflects however many cruises they'll have been on by that point. I hadn't realized until then that minors can be registered with C&A. For fun and amazement -- I was flabbergasted when I heard DocLC give a rundown of his most recent cruise on the Cruise Dudes podcast and found out that his son, who isn't even 18 yet, has already been on something like 26 cruises and will "start off" at Diamond Plus by the time he gets his card at age 18.

Kris, that link isn't working for some reason. Says the page is no longer available. I tried looking through the site's regular links for planning, customer support, etc., but it seems that they're now heavily promoting their Air2Sea service for flight booking and not giving information for those who still want to self-reserve their flights.

According to Matt's podcast about the Icon class (both his own and one he did with The Cruise Dudes), the passenger capacity of this first Icon ship will be slightly less than the Oasis class. Estimate at the moment for Icon is about 5,000 passengers.

One caveat with texting: As long as all of you are on a major carrier like AT&T / Verizon / Sprint / T-Mobile, texting should be fine. But if you're on a discount carrier like Straight Talk Wireless, Cricket Mobile, MetroPCS, etc., you'll need to see how they handle texting internationally. Also see how well your phones have worked when in weak signal areas, in case the signal from the ship is uneven. Just as an example, all of my family except for me is on TracFone. Domestically they typically charge 0.3 pre-paid "minutes" for a domestic text, but they don't support international texting at all (per their FAQ page). So for my family, we have no choice and we'll be purchasing a wi-fi package for four devices to allow us to communicate while apart from each other.

So for everyone who's started playing these games, I have some tips I've figured out after playing the mobile version of MyVegas Slots and MyVegas Blackjack for a few days: Unlike the Facebook version of the game, it seems like the best / fastest way to earn loyalty and level up is not just from playing games for hours on end and making huge bets each time. The "Journeys" challenges (which unlock after I think level 4 in slots and level 6 in blackjack) are a much faster and easier way to earn loyalty points, especially at the lower levels where I'm at. When unlocked, you get a "path" to go down with several challenge stops along the way. The challenge at each stop has three levels (bronze, silver, and gold), and from what I've seen they all fall into just a few categories: Find X number of some symbol on a specific slots game (just has to show up on the board, doesn't have to be part of a win) Get X number of wins of a specific type in a specific slots (e.g., get 35 3-Prince wins in Excalibur) Earn X chips in a specific slots game Earn X experience in a specific slots game Earn X loyalty in a specific slots game There are probably categories I haven't uncovered yet, but you get the idea. Now here's the trick with these: For the "find X symbols" or "win X times with this specific win type" challenges, always bet the minimum. There's no advantage to betting higher, as the symbols / win types come out just as (in)frequently with a minimum bet as a max bet. So especially at lower levels, where chips are scarce, going with minimum bets lets you complete the challenges more quickly because you can get that many more spins. For the other category types, bet as much as you can manage while still doing 25 or 50 auto-spin runs. Here, you want to get the goal as fast as possible with the fewest spins, and that means better bigger for larger payouts and better multiples. Where it can really pay off is in the bonus games each slot game offers (like Sir Froggy's Spin in Excalibur), as those have bigger chip values when you bet bigger, and hitting a lucky multiplier can give you a huge chip boost. I haven't done enough yet on the blackjack side to see how much it parallels slots, but I imagine it's pretty similar as I've gotten challenges like "hit on an opening 13 X times" or "get X blackjacks", or "win X chips/loyalty in <specific game>". Hope this helps everyone to get to that free cruise just a little bit faster!

So right now, Bayonne has Anthem and Vision of the seas. Would Liberty replace one of those (presumably Vision), or would Bayonne become home port to three ships?

No luck for me. My sailing is still too far out (Mar 31, 2018).

Thanks, Matt! I was really thinking more about how we all get into the cabana after we walk off the ship, and whether I'd have to wade through water or walk across a big stretch of beach in order to get there. Not 100% clear on what you said there, but it sounds like at worst I'll have to maybe go across a bit of the beach, if there's no direct access from the main path through Labadee.

Same with the mobile apps. Plus I get loyalty for every X number of plays / spins I make, based on this little meter on the side filling up around 5 times. Currently 100 loyalty in Blackjack app, where I typically do 3 bets at 1,000 chips each per play, and I'd say it's about 30-40 plays to get the 100 loyalty. The game plays fairly at least on the single deck games, so I'm able to win more often than I lose.