baltodave

We've never cruised out of NOLA before.  Suggestions for getting to MSY from the ship on disembarkation day?  Pre-book xfer from RC?  Taxi? Uber?  (for 2 couples)

TIA!

1 hour ago, brdjnr said:

I have never seen a $5 craps table on RC. Then again I usually dont pay much attn to it since the odds limits are crazy low, maybe 2x?

It's worse.  Single odds!

We just got off Odyssey and men were almost anything.  Even on formal night, I saw one dude with t-shirt, gym shorts and flip flops.  However, most guys wore polo shirts or dress shirts.

I sort of wish they enforced long pants on guys on formal/dress-to-impress nights.

We just got off Odyssey and the minimum Craps bet was $10.  My beef is that every time I ventured into the Casino, the Craps table was closed.  They opened it when we were enjoying dinner or shows and after the shows, I was usually too tired to hit the casino.  The one time, I did go in there and the Craps table was open, it was packed and I couldn't get a spot at the table. 

(I posted this on our FB group but in case people aren't using it)

We are staying at the Courtyard Ft Lauderdale beach prior to the cruise.  Anyone want to share a ride to the ship on embarkation morning?  (we are 2 adults)

3 hours ago, Nick560 said:

We are flying into Ft Lauderdale on March 15th as well, getting too damn excited!!! We decided to cave and grab the 3-night dining package when it was available again, Wonderland looks very interesting. 

We are staying at the Courtyard by Marriott on Ft Lauderdale Beach (I have lots of Bonvoy points).  

We did not go for the 3-night dining package but did buy one meal at Geovanni's.  From what I've read, it one it's a very good restaurant (and we've done Chops before). 

2 hours ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

What cabin number are you now in?  You can look on cruisedeckplans.com to check if there are any YouTube videos for your room.

 

Yes, I looked at that website and there is a video of the stateroom directly above us and a video  2 staterooms to our left.  I looks like we'll be okay but we won't really know until we get there.

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Did you know you were bidding on a potentially obstructed cabin ?

Yes.  At the time I made the bid, there were different balcony upgrade options:  for a regular balcony and for an obstructed one.  The non-obstructed minimum bids were higher than our budget (at the time).  I know we're rolling the dice so that we can look out over the lifeboats at the ocean.  Plus it will give me a place to enjoy my adult beverage while the wife is getting ready for dinner.   FWIW, when we booked the cruise, the obstructed and non-obstructed balconies were very expensive.

We fly a week from today (Friday March 15) and got notified that our RoyalUp bid was accepted.  We are moving from an oceanview (e.g. window)  to obstructed balcony and hope the obstruction isn't too bad.

This does not answer your question directly but I can offer what happened on another ship:

We sailed Radiance in Alaska this June 2023 and the only indoor pool was in the Solarium.  They allowed kids in there 8-10am and 1-3PM (may have been 2-4pm).  It was not a big deal (but Radiance is much smaller than Odyssey).  Kids were never allowed in any hot tubs.

1 hour ago, Phillip Diamond Plus said:

On second thought, for those dining in the middle time before 8:00 could still see the late show in the theater.  Sorry, I was just thinking about the earlier show at 7:00 which works out for us.

 

  

Sometimes, there's an early show that is meant for pre-dining for those eating late and a late show meant for post-dining for those eating early.  I guess it depends on the times of the shows.

I'm on Odyssey and it leaves 3/16

I wrote this under the article but thought I'd repost here:

It will be interesting to see how what changes are made to the entertainment schedule to accommodate the new (middle) dining option.  Up to now, there are 2 shows in the theatre.  The first show is to accommodate the late diners and the second show accommodates the early diners.

On a different note, while we eat early at home, we prefer the late dining on cruises.  This is because we don't want to be rushed back to the ship on port days and gives the wife plenty of time to get ready (while I'm enjoying my adult beverages).  If we're really hungry, we get a slice or 2 of pizza at Sorentos to hold us over.

I remember "back in the day" when there were $5 craps, they'd allow $6 for 5/9.   BFD

We are flying in 2 days before our cruise and staying at the Wyndham.

(I posted this question in our FB group but thought I'd repeat it here)

We will be in Aruba soon and will be taking a taxi to Eagle or Palm Beach.

Which one would be better for renting chairs/umbrella and snorkeling off the beach (we have our own snorkeling equipment)?

Thanks!

For our upcoming Odyssey OTS sailing, the North Star Extended Experience is $49 pp.  I'd like to hear comparisons with the free version and if it's worth the price.

Thanks!

Dang:  I just checked in (6:10 AM EST) and my boarding time is 12:30.  Wondering if anyone stayed up last night and got an earlier one.

In June 2023, we took Radiance one-way northbound from Vancouver to Seward.  We followed that with a 4-day land-tour with "Alaska Tour & Travel" (which included a full day at Denali).  We would have done a land-tour with RC but it would have meant rebooking everything at a much higher cost.  We also booked our flights with Air2Sea.  The cruise and tour were outstanding (and we lucked out with the weather).  My only additional advice is to avoid Air Canada at all costs!

Has anyone done the "Legacy of the Maya: Ruins and Chocolate Tasting" excursion in Cozumel?  Thoughts on it?  is there a 3rd party option where you can book the same thing for less?

Thanks!

I've had OBC given by travel agents that don't show up until the first or second day of the cruise.  So, in those cases, it's not available to use on the cruise planner.  However, once on board, it's just a credit on your which  would go against any purchases in the onboard shops.  Also, if you don't prepay gratuities, they would be charged each day and  the credit could/would be used against those. 

That being said, the best OBC are the ones that do show up before the cruise and then you can use them in cruise planner (as discussed in earlier messages). If they do show up prior to your cruise and you don't use them on the cruise planner, they will not be lost and you can still use them while on board.

We recently became "Diamond" and I always tell the bartender to use one of my "Diamond Vouchers".  I've heard you can't on the robotic bartenders on Odyssey.  Can anyone confirm or deny?

I agree that the price is very very high right now.  I bought at 44 in an IRA account so it's tempting to sell.  The great thing about the OBC for me is that I get $100 for a 7-night cruise for 100 shares being held in an IRA account.  So, I consider that $100 (tax-free!) I can use now.  

For beginners, "Color Up" is a good Youtube channel.

It think it's $10.  Craps is actually my favorite casino game.  However, the cigarette smoke chases me away.  There is typically just one craps table on RC ships and often times, it's not even operating.