Skid

What a fun topic/post! It really made me laugh because we actually watch Love Boat on a local cable station here. Gotta love the short shorts on the crew! The best line to me was when Capt. Steubing said "I am responsible for 600 people!" Haha---the crew alone is triple that now. Anyway, back to your question. First cruise was a 2 night/3 day cruise to nowhere on Carnival--forgot the ship name. Went from New York City to Atlantic City NJ and back. It was a test to see if we'd like cruising and we did. Next up was another Carnival cruise on Glory. Suffice it to say it was HORRIBLE. Wrote them a letter and their answer was basically "too bad, so sad". Not even an apology for the multiple issues. Anyway, then switched to Royal and never looked back. Next up, unless we book something in between, is Symphony in May. Thanks again for a fun post!

Sooooo...just a weird thought I had....Normally, if a passenger doesn't return, the ship leaves without him/her. Now, with the ship either not actually leaving port or coming back anyway, what happens to the passenger who decides to go camping overnight? Ship's jail?

Just curious (NO JUDGEMENT HERE) why you do not just pay yourself each week or month and keep your money working for you? We keep a separate vacation account for that. And if you have refundable deposits it's that much less refund you have to wait for should you need to cancel. Everyone needs to do what works for them and makes them feel comfortable. Cheapo me likes to hold on to my money as long as I can. Just my two cents----that I have in my pocket ?

That is a GREAT idea!!

ooh ooh--a "non-blog" like mine?? Nah, yours are soooo much better!

On Adventure May 11 sailing no reservations or tickets for any shows. Theater shows still had decent seats getting there 15-20 minutes early, BUT make sure to get to the ice show at least a half an hour before door opening. Doors usually open ½ hour before show time. There's an hour you'll never get back, but the ice show is actually worth it. Enjoy!

@twangster

YOUR contributions to this site are also greatly appreciated and encouraged. Thank you!

Hello @twangster - two questions please: 1. I just did a mock booking and the website did show the refundable option after filling in the passenger info. I booked my 2019 cruise on their website earlier this month with the refundable deposit. Seeing as I have NEVER seen any misinformation from you, do you think that maybe they are showing only NRD on some sailings and not others? 2. Can you share who your travel agent is?

Glad l helped! But remember I was talking about Adventure. I guess it's possible they are redoing everything on Mariner, but I don't think so.

And I pretty much knew that would happen the minute I said to go with deck 9.??ENJOY!!!

We were on Anthem in March 2016 and Adventure in May 2017 and May 2018. If memory serves me correctly, under similar circumstances Adventure will rock more. You have already experienced Anthem in less than perfect weather. If that bothered you, help yourself by staying midship on 9. Might I suggest getting seabands? They have worked for many people. Happy sailing no matter what you decide.

Hi, S. Not a junior suite, but we just stayed midship on Adventure (also Voyager class) in a hump balcony deck 7, also sandwiched between stateroom decks. Had the metal box balcony, but that really was not an issue for us. The new deck 11 cabins were right off of the peek-a-boo bridge feature (very cool). With all the public space on deck 11, I'd go with deck 9. The only other thing you should consider is that, at least on Adventure, the deck 9 cabins were refurbished but still had all the old furniture and bathroom, while the deck 11 cabins were brand new. I guess I just confused you more than I helped. Sorry! ?

Joe--don't know if you have been there before and we have not been to as many places as others on this blog, but Horseshoe Bay Beach is our favorite. Crystal clear water and pink sand. You and the family will love it. Our second favorite is Harbor Lights in Barbados. Sand is like white powder.

OMG. If I show her this, my daughter will now officially hate you. Every time she made the 6-7 hour drive to Pittsburgh, they lost, including playoff games. I could never hate you, but I am certainly jealous! Funny thing...when prices of everything in an arena started getting crazy I had customers actually saying to me "l can no longer afford the free tickets you give me!" Souvenirs for their kids, snacks, etc. are insane.

We have watched many losing teams over the years and never considered going to the games a waste of money. Frustrating maybe, but think about the good moments of some bad games that somehow stick in your memory. And what a pleasant surprise when they did win. Yup, good times.

C'mon, tell us how you really feel! ? I'm sure there are some good ones, but many have certainly earned the title of vulture.

Very true. On a port day there is sooo much more to see than just staring at water. And other islands may come into view besides the port you are in.

That's the only good part about the Pens losing. It would have been very awkward rooting against Fleury! Doesn't matter all that much to me, but my daughter has been a huge Pens fan for many years. She's been known to make 6-7 hour drives there to attend home games. Viva Las Vegas!

@Beachbum Thanks for your great review. We have not sailed Oasis class yet but are looking forward to our booking for next May. You have now made me wish that we booked it for an earlier time! We did just get off Adventure and, like your experience, the head waiter came by to chat every night and also at CocoCay and even during breakfast. And never asked about tipping-even on the last night. Hopefully people are having this good experience on all RCL ships. Thanks again.

I happen to like this one.

FYI, we sailed Adventure (Voyager class) out of Cape Liberty 2 weeks ago and had uploaded our pictures when we did the online check-in. That was not the case when we sailed her last year out of San Juan.

@fonemanbob What a small world (but I wouldn't want to paint it!) Brother in law lives in Celina. We visited there and Nashville last September and loved it. The best comment we heard was "Wow you guys are REALLY nice for Northerners!" They were truly shocked. And @JLMoran , the local pizza there was great-found place where the owner was from NY. Sorry for the thread hijack, so to get back on track, we had great embarkation experiences in Bayonne every time and San Juan. Will be getting to Miami next year,

Loving your review. Your sense of humor and touches of sarcasm are great! We were on last week and had mentioned that this just may be the best crew we have ever had. Make sure you introduce yourself to Fernanda on the CD entertainment staff. She will make you feel like you are best friends and wow, can she ever dance! Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Safe travels.

I know you said not Western Caribbean, but we love Jewel Paradise Cove in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. Their beach is actually not the prettiest of the 3 Jewel properties there, but they are adults only and they include some excursions at no additional charge. They also have a great swim up pool bar! We are going there for a second time next month. Their service was amazing. Moving east, our children stayed at Turtle Beach Resort in Barbados and they highly recommend it. One of our favorite beaches is Harbor Lights. Not sure if Turtle Beach is near there, but worth checking. Both places I mentioned are truly all inclusive--meaning alcoholic drinks, gratuities, etc. They have their share of chair hogs also, but we actually never had a problem in that regard on the beach or at the pool. As much as we love cruising, there is a lot to be said for land vacations where there is time to fully explore a place without being limited to just having a few hours there.