DunwoodyDad

They are definitely going in an odd order. Already got back full refunds for 2 of our 3 cabins on a June 6th sailing. I don’t think it’s even been 10 days since I filled out the forms. While this was great after seeing it would be up to 45 days, they have only refunded my kids interiors. The JS we were in is still outstanding and was significantly more $. Again, it felt great to see some of it back already.

I received the notice late yesterday that our cruise has the change as well. Does anyone know why they do this?

We are on the exact same itinerary but sailing June 7th. I haven’t received anything about a change but was actually already kind of thinking I wish we had one more sea day. To be clear, we love all the ports and we’re thinking we would stay onboard for at least one. But in my experience, it seems like some of the bigger onboard activities don’t happen on port days. I’m talking things like ice skating, the new laser tag, etc. And other entertainment and casino hours are significantly pared back on port days. My personal concern with the itinerary you have now is that they won’t even do some of these things. We love St Martin but we’ve also been there plenty of times and we really want to experience the upgrades on the ship. I may be off on the assumption that they wont offer those things....it’s just an observation from past cruises. This is just nit picking. We can’t wait to see those islands. My wife and oldest have always wanted to see St Lucia in particular.

Sailing on Freedom in June. I seem to recall Matt saying he arrived at 1030 but I’ve seen other places that it doesn’t even open until 11. What’s the best time to arrive? We like to be on early but don’t want to get caught up in a mess / lines.

Definite rule of thumb is have them go to the teen club for the first night mixer. Usually 8 or 830. I’ve got 4 kids aged 13-19 now that all say to go that first night to make friends. Sometimes they meet people and sometimes not, but it’s the best way for sure.

Does anyone know if the addition of Izumi means Jade in the Windjammer will go away?

Related question...does anyone know if the Escape rooms are generally open on port days? Or only on sea days?

Wow. Smart choice by them. I knew about it but was is in middle of having my cruise rebooked so couldn’t get onto the planner to buy. That’s just how it goes sometimes. I did end up saving about $1300 with the rebook though.

Follow up on this just in case anyone sees this in the future. The rooms were basically right behind the bar on deck 4 of the centrum. It’s also right where the dance floor was and the band would set up in the opposite corner from where our rooms were so the speakers were facing directly at us and every night there was music and dancing. Despite this, I have to say that when we shut the door you couldn’t hear anything! We actually loved the convenience of these rooms to the bar, guest services, the centrum access to other common areas, and the elevator banks were right there.

Great thread. I just booked your option #2 this past week. I mean that actual date...June 7, 2020. We discussed both itineraries and decided on that one because my wife and I have always wanted to see St Lucia. However, I didn’t price the other one...so maybe I need to see if it would change a lot. We’ve got 3 cabins / 6 people so a small price per person can definitely add up quick. All the positive comments for Curaçao also have me wondering. One thing I heard on Matt’s podcast about this boat from a guest reviewer was the pool gets incredibly crowded on sea days. So I’m thinking we will stay on the ship at least while in St Thomas because we’ve been there a few times. It’s beautiful so will actually enjoy the scenery in the background while enjoying the pool deck.

@Matt uh oh....Matt, you are scaring me. We have 4061 plus the next 2 cabins in June on Jewel Of The Seas. I was searching for the ship name and saw this comment. When we booked it I needed 3 together and didn’t have much of a choice. Not sure I realized how close this was to the lobby bar and noise. How bad was it? Was it an issue at night?

Hi James, my family will also be in this cruise. While you are celebrating your honeymoon, we are actually celebrating our 25th anniversary. We will have our 4 teenagers with us in 3 cabins. I’m expecting a pretty big difference in the ship since our last 3 cruises have been on Oasis class ships. But we are especially looking forward to the ports.

Hi, In early June we will be on a 4 night cruise on Jewel OTS sailing out of Rome. We will be stopping in Corsica, Marseille, and Villefranche (Nice). All 3 ports are new to us so we would love any advice. We are a family of 6 with 4 teens aged 13-18. We want to get a feel of the different places and see any key sights but also would like to work in at least a little beach time. Again, please give me any advice you may have. Thanks in advance!

Is the paella,clams and mussels, and tray of fish and chips really for lunch? I don’t remember windjammer lunches like that.

Where do you come in?