Rose City Cruiser Posted March 5, 2019 Report Posted March 5, 2019 3 hours ago, twangster said: The arcade style video games have a $1 charge. The other games like pool, shuffle board and Jenga are free. Can you please check on the fooseball table? On Mariner, it was no charge but it looked like someone hot-wired the machine because the card reader was removed. Quote
twangster Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Posted March 5, 2019 9 minutes ago, Rose City Cruiser said: Can you please check on the fooseball table? On Mariner, it was no charge but it looked like someone hot-wired the machine because the card reader was removed. There is a coin slot on the side of it but the balls are sitting on the side of the table in a slot and there is nothing stopping you from dropping a ball into the game and playing it. I couldn't see the coin slot becoming operational since nothing on board accepts cash (or coin) so at the moment it appears to be free. Rose City Cruiser and JennyB 1 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Posted March 5, 2019 Here is a closer look at the resort style pools Ala_Paul, Matt, CazV and 4 others 5 2 Quote
Matt Posted March 5, 2019 Report Posted March 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Pamp said: Do you need to have a drink package to use the freestyle machines? Are they like the machines at Disney that you need the specific mug for it to work? Here's an overview of the Freestyle machines: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean Quote
rjac Posted March 5, 2019 Report Posted March 5, 2019 I wonder how long those life guards are on station? Talk about BORING! I was a lifeguard many many years ago. We, at least, had elevated chairs to sit in. And it was BORING and the pay was so-so. But, the fringe benefit of meeting young ladies offset the boredom factor. I've always been a "glass is half full" kind of person, just don't ask my wife to verify that. JennyB 1 Quote
Zambia-Zaire Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 @twangsterGreat closeup of the pool...i was almost getting that closeup, in the pool, vibe for a minute. One thing I think Royal need to consider...hiring bands that can play 70s, 80s, 2000s, & todays music, with different flavors & genres. No dispect to people who love reggae or carribean music...just seems like no one really wants to here that. I know bands are local & cheap; but, come on Royal...at least have your DJ out there. Great vid twangster... Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 1 hour ago, Zambia-Zaire said: @twangsterGreat closeup of the pool...i was almost getting that closeup, in the pool, vibe for a minute. One thing I think Royal need to consider...hiring bands that can play 70s, 80s, 2000s, & todays music, with different flavors & genres. No dispect to people who love reggae or carribean music...just seems like no one really wants to here that. I know bands are local & cheap; but, come on Royal...at least have your DJ out there. Great vid twangster... I love reggae and it suits the cruise perfectly. They do play other music at times. To each their own. SouthernYankee 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Alright, I finally managed to get those pictures uploaded from when I first boarded. Voom is pretty sketchy in the Southern Caribbean so I apologize for bouncing all over like this but here they are in no particular order: The temporary fitness area in the Solarium: Blaster tube conveyor belt so you don't have to carry tubes up the stairs: This area on deck 12 port is a smoking area. And now back to our regularly scheduled cruise blog... The Cruise Junkie, lauraodonnell86, Marc Van Niekerk and 6 others 5 4 Quote
WannaCruise Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 Wow...amazing photos. Thanks for posting! Brilliant with Royal building a conveyor belt to carry the tubes up for you for the slide! PS - Its funny as I was watching one of your periscopes last night and the pools looked really long and narrow. But in the photo above, they look normal width/length. I guess it was just the periscope angle? Or are they extra narrow? Quote
Matt Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 Great photos, as usual. In the name of science, be sure to check out those hot tubs on deck 12. I think that's awesome they added those there. Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 10 minutes ago, WannaCruise said: Wow...amazing photos. Thanks for posting! Brilliant with Royal building a conveyor belt to carry the tubes up for you for the slide! PS - Its funny as I was watching one of your periscopes last night and the pools looked really long and narrow. But in the photo above, they look normal width/length. I guess it was just the periscope angle? Or are they extra narrow? They don't feel narrow. With benches down both sides there is lots of seating area and if empty you could try to swim laps. CazV and WannaCruise 1 1 Quote
aprilgwynne Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 @twangster on a Facebook page there are passengers complaining about their water in the cabins being brown. Have you had any experiences with that? I see such conflicting reports from people on the ship currently. Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Soft serve ice cream has been moved behind a counter and is no longer self serve: The Cruise Junkie, Skigoofy, Matt and 3 others 5 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Deck 12 forward has received a new lift for accessibility to the deck 13 forward sun deck and mini golf area: Ala_Paul, Guy Gadwa, JLMoran and 1 other 4 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 New deck 5 Diamond Lounge: Diamond happy hour overflows into the Star Lounge: Matt, Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and 3 others 6 Quote
marti314 Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 19 minutes ago, twangster said: Soft serve ice cream has been moved behind a counter and is no longer self serve: This has got to be the best idea i have seen in awhile, talk about a mess and very unsanitary conditions on the pool deck with the self serve frozen yogurt. SpeedNoodles and Mrs. RoyalMoyal 1 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 For guests staying a Grand Suite or above (Gold Card) the tiered seating that used to be reserved for Gold Cards is gone. The new Gold Card sun deck is deck 12 port side forward. Talking with the pool deck supervisor this appears to be the permanent location. If it fills up they might block off the starboard side in the same area for additional Gold Card access. JLMoran, Matt, The Cruise Junkie and 1 other 2 2 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 27 minutes ago, aprilgwynne said: @twangster on a Facebook page there are passengers complaining about their water in the cabins being brown. Have you had any experiences with that? I see such conflicting reports from people on the ship currently. Yesterday the toilet had yellow water. At first I though it wasn't flushing but that wasn't it. Sink and shower were fine. Wasn't really a problem. Back to normal today. Matt, aprilgwynne and CazV 1 2 Quote
Matt Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 42 minutes ago, twangster said: Soft serve ice cream has been moved behind a counter and is no longer self serve: I was wondering what that space was for. I think it makes sense, since guests doing it themselves always results in a huge mess around the machine. JennyB 1 Quote
MorganMichelle2001 Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 37 minutes ago, twangster said: Day 3 dinner menu This MDR food looks so good! I hope we have similar menus on Allure next week! twangster 1 Quote
Pima1988 Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 Am I the only one looking at the loungers in the pool thinking OMG chair hogging is going to go to a whole new level now! Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 The new Suite Lounge is occupying the former space of the Diamond Lounge on deck 14 within the Viking Crown Lounge. I'm slumming it in an interior cabin no pictures from inside the Suite Lounge. I think it was smart to move the Diamond Club down to deck 5. The Viking Crown Lounge is free for public use nightly now since the Diamond happy hour overflow is now into the Star Lounge. The port side aft elevators that service deck 14 and the Viking Crown Lounge are not packed with Diamond members trying to reach deck 14 during happy hour. The Star Lounge and Diamond Club has more comfortable seating. The only thing absent of course are the views. However with sun setting early evening that is really not a huge issue and with happy hour drink coupons loaded on Diamond SeaPass cards it's easy enough to enjoy a few drinks in the Viking Crown Lounge (which now has seats available) then move down the Diamond Club after dinner. It's a better overall use of both spaces. WAAAYTOOO, The Cruise Junkie, tiny260 and 3 others 5 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 1 minute ago, Pima1988 said: Am I the only one looking at the loungers in the pool thinking OMG chair hogging is going to go to a whole new level now! The cabanas are the first to be hogged. Crew stacks loungers in the cabanas overnight so that any wind doesn't send them flying. Guest are out early moving the stacks of chairs out of the cabanas so they can claim them long before crew have a chance to put all the deck 12 loungers out for the day. Morning joggers have a time dodging the guests haphazardly clearing loungers out of the cabanas. Chair hog 2.0. Carlos A., JLMoran, Pima1988 and 3 others 2 2 2 Quote
Pima1988 Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 3 minutes ago, twangster said: Guest are out early moving the stacks of chairs out of the cabanas so they can claim them long before crew have a chance to put all the deck 12 loungers out for the day. I have to ask, what time is early? Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 4 minutes ago, Pima1988 said: I have to ask, what time is early? 7am-ish Quote
Matt Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 21 minutes ago, twangster said: It's a better overall use of both spaces. I completely agree. Having seen both spaces, I think it makes a lot more sense. Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Day 3 - Labadee Navigator is like a new ship so have to use all the regular spots to photograph her "first" visit to Labadee. spiralqueen, Lovetocruise2002, Guy Gadwa and 9 others 3 9 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Johnny Rockets Express First using the name Express but similar to Johnny Rockets on Anthem also located on the pool deck near the aft elevators. As stated earlier milkshakes are not covered by drink packages. Lovetocruise2002, Guy Gadwa and The Cruise Junkie 3 Quote
Matt Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 One big difference with this version of Johnny Rockets is the built in bar. twangster 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 To Dry For A new feature and first on the fleet is the Blow Dry Salon located in the deck 5 Promenade. For those that don't know the Vitality Spa is outsourced to a company called Steiner Leisure. They staff and operate many different spas on many different cruise lines. 'To Dry For' is also staffed by Steiner employees and the regular Vitality offerings that have existed up to this point remain. Reservations recommend especially for formal nights. The Cruise Junkie, Lovetocruise2002 and Guy Gadwa 3 Quote
JennyB Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 On 3/5/2019 at 9:38 AM, twangster said: Top Tier event for Crown and Anchor last night. C&A ambassador stated there are over 13 million C&A members worldwide. 2,039 C&A members on board Gold 878 Platinum 426 Emerald 254 Diamond 334 Diamond Plus 142 Pinnacle 5 Top cruisers have 711, 729 and 875 points in the C&A program (all the Pinnacles). HASHTAG GOALS...YES, I spelled out hashtag LOL twangster 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Dinner tonight was Playmakers because I had a craving for wings. First a beer. I'll show the menus and more pictures of Playmakers in another post when it's empty on a port day and I can take better pictures but until then these are the hottest wings they offer and they were hot. I literally had tears in my eyes. I just might have to do these again. JLMoran, Guy Gadwa, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 4 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Our progress so far... The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote
Todd W Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 great pics as always @twangster thanks for sharing ! Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 We moved our clocks ahead one hour in preparation of arriving in the ABC islands so that we would match island time. I planned to woke up and try for sunrise pictures but after a night of sampling the Bamboo Room drink menu I was a little slow in start. Around 7:30am the Captain made an announcement. It's unusual for an announcement before 8am so I knew something was up. He announced the need for the medivac I mentioned earlier. We were sailing straight for Puerto Rico to get within range of the Coast Guard station there. As the time got closer we turned to the Northeast to minimize winds across the helipad while the helicopter readied for the landing. Our location: All outer decks were closed except for the pool deck which has no sight lines towards the helipad so I watched from my cabin. Note how all the railings, benches and cables have been removed or lowered. All that was put back in place soon after. Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran, The Cruise Junkie and 1 other 4 Quote
JennyB Posted March 6, 2019 Report Posted March 6, 2019 3 hours ago, twangster said: New deck 5 Diamond Lounge: all "you people" who get access to this...do you all know each other? Inquiring Minds... IslandBoundMama 1 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 Cafe Promenade serves Illy brand coffee. Here is the menu: Guy Gadwa, Lovetocruise2002, The Cruise Junkie and 1 other 4 Quote
twangster Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Posted March 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, JennyB said: all "you people" who get access to this...do you all know each other? Inquiring Minds... Absolutely. We have a secret nod so we can distinguish ourselves from the @BrandonOwen type people. IslandBoundMama, tiny260, The Cruise Junkie and 8 others 9 1 1 Quote
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