Goodtime Cruizin

The first week of May when the special BOGHO was introduced, the prices were absolutely phenom on most dates and ships, albeit not all. After that first week, the prices started increasing. The current pricing is pretty much a joke if one thinks that it is a sale. But prices do drop. Some for less than a day.

We enjoyed a dinner at Sabor on the Navigator. It was a great break from the MDR and the food was wonderful. It's more of an authentic Mexican food than say a TexMex variety. BTW, the Margaritas were the best, better than the ones we had from the other bars.

A major mis-type on my behalf and I can not make an edit... my post above should read...

If you reside outside the state of Texas, you should not be paying any taxes.

I paid $11.25 for three bottles. BTW, it is for Texas residents only. If you reside in the state of Texas, you should not be paying any taxes.

Our 3 bottles was boxed in the RC liquor cardboard box, it is for this reason I was requested to move to the table. Once there, I was asked if for my Passport or ID. As a Texas resident, I was required to pay.

BTW, the math in the above post is/was correct. I'm not sure what the 10% discount was that was mentioned, but we received the C&A 10% disount.

Karen, I'm enjoying the review. We have close to the same itenary this Sept on the Liberty. The pics are very nice. Inforutnately, our Roll Call is'nt to active. It appears that the Liberty embarks out of Barcelona and a few days later, Rome, so it's kind of slow on both boards.

You are correct about Suzy Q. She's a great bartender. We enjoyed her service and company on the Navigator out of Galveston. She's been with RC for I think 17 yrs. Wishing she was on the Liberty this Sept.

Looking forward to reading & seeing more! Thank you for your review as I know this takes time!

I think it really depends on 'when' you booked your cruise. I agree the rates have increased and then decrease w/ manufactured sales. But there are still some great rates out there to be found. But I find group rates always to be a bit less than the website pricing whether there is a sale going on or not.

If I'm required to pay for entertainment of any value, I'll just move to the Rock & Blues Cruises. They cruise fare does cost more, but to be able to cruise with, be entertained, and then meet & mingle with some of my all time favs in Rock &/or Blues would be nice.

So far, there hasn't been a show I've attended on RCL that is worthy of an upcharge of any size/kind.

I would describe it as more the beginning of the hurricane season. But hurricanes dont' follow approved schedules and sometimes a names storm may not cross those itineraries till Late Sept or October.

While true that August is the beginning of Hurricane season, it also holds the names of some very powerful and damaging Hurricanes thoughout time.

Hot, Humid & Hurrnicanes does not make for the best month to hit the Caribbean. But any cruise is better than no cruise!

Enjoy it!

tm3750, the really sad part is that I did tip my favorite ones a little extra! Other than the pool bar I had good service just not good drinks. :(

I guess I'm a bit confused. Are you saying that your drinks were weak because the bartenders knew you had the drink pkg?

I find it odd that there are so many comments throughout the CC boards regarding the cost or value of the adult beverage drink packages. It appears that most think the drink packages cost too much and you can't break even, etc. While this may be true in some cases, the fact is, when one puchases any of the Specialty Dining pkgs, one can NEVER break even because you've already paid for a dinner every night as part of the cruise fare.

The value is only found by the individual making the purchase. :)

I know I don't need a reservation for MTD but it wasn't available when I booked my cruise. I was subsequently wait-listed for MTD.

We were wait listed for MTD on our next cruise. Within a couple of weeks, without notification, it 'appeared' on our reservation. We were told that many TAs purchase group or block reservations and dining times as well. These times are eventually released the closer their final payment dates are required. You most likely will not have any issues obtaining MTD.

We're sailing out of Barcelona on a Sunday, A few days later while we port in Rome, some will disembark and others will join the Cruise, including our Son & DiL. I'm very curious as well when formal nights will occur. So far, the RCCL reps are all over the map when I've inquired. It'll be interesting to say the least. By all accounts, the ship will be quite full. Rates are actually going up. JS are sold out, as are the D1 balconies.

It was to me since I booked may 2013 and verified policy with RCCL and travel agent prior to booking

Unless RCL can prove that they personally sent you and/or your TA notification of the change, you have a legal case. Simple as that. They sold a product and changed the product after it was sold.

two reasons this is a non-starter:

 

1. Every cruiser has his/her favorite location. Designating a smoking area would simply start a new argument by non-smokers about how they have now been shut out of the prime real estate or by smokers about how they have been relegated to the worst areas.

 

2. Smoke still travels -- you would still have complaints by non-smokers who are in any position to smell the smoke.

My only response to this is... too bad. Suck it up. No pun intended. My point is, if a non-smoker is given the opportunity to distance themselves from smoke and all they want to do is complain about the location, then they have choices to make...

Book a cabin w/ smokers or book a cabin w/o smokers. I'm convinced they'd be complaining anyway about something else, but I also believe they would quickly find a new favorite location or so called "prime real estate"

There is always going to be issues w/ smoking vs non-smoking passengers. By their actions, RCL is attempting to serve both. I really don't understand their current policy to be honest. You either are going to eventually whiff cig smoke or you're not based based strictly on policy. I assume they are catering to both because of revenue. I smoke cigars. Believe me, RCL wants my money as bad as they want non-smoker monies. The policy of placing "smoking areas" at certain locations clearly spells this out. I too think the ruling on balcony smoking is a tad too much. It's outdoors. The wind blows. The smoke moves on. I am a respectful smoker. If my cigar bothers others, I generally move away. But when sitting on a balcony, I pleasure my cigar no different than non-smokers pleasure their time spent on a balcony. If the smell is a bit too much, they move away, go inside or whatever. Having said this, I still perplexed as to why the ships do not incorporate certain sections of cabins w/ balconies that are designated as "Smoking" balconies. These could and should be strategically placed and would appease many cruisers. If non-smokers knew where these cabins were, they would not book a room near this area. Likewise, smokers would. RCL has created 'indoor' smoking areas in the casino, all under one roof. It doesn't make sense. I haven't read this entire thread, so sorry if it's already been said.

Also it should be noted that on the Navigator this past March, the Sky Bar, you could smoke. In fact, the bartenders put out an ash tray. It didn't prevent the throngs of non-smokers from lining up 6 people deep around the bar to get their buzz on with drinks!

After we fell in love with Cruising, my Sundays just aren't the same. Every Sunday, less than 60 miles away, a beautiful RCI ship embarks to the Caribbean w/o us. :mad:

What do you mean with "no children"? If I go there to read with my 2 teenage girls (who will also be reading) will they be considered to be child and ask to leave? They are 13 and 16 yo....

I doubt it. But at the same time, it is indeed an "adult" only pool area. While your girls will be reading and very well behaved, they also may prefer the main pool(s) as opposed to sitting around with strictly adults.

27 days for ours, just completed earlier this much.

I booked a D1 on Liberty out of Galveston for Feb 2016.

The price is $40 lower per person than we paid for a D1 on our last sailing on Navigator this past spring. BTW, it's at it's lowest price since the sailing date has been set. But I'm always hoping it'll go a bit lower.

Intresting timing for this thread. Just this morning, I changed from a hump balcony deck 10 to a rear aft balcony, Deck 10 on the Liberty.

We only have two cruises under our belt & we were on the hump balcony deck 10 both times (different ships), so we wanted to change it up a bit. We're looking forward to the view but I'll admit, waking the length of a football field each time we go to the room does sound daunting, but we'll see!

We've never cruised with an AFT D1 or JS. So we wanted to try it out etc. This cruise does not embark for another 644 days thus the availability I guess. We were able to book and get a great rate w/ the BOGHO sale. Thanks for all the help everyone. The TA is not open this morning so I was able to place 1702 on courtesy hold thru RCCL. I hope to wrap this up tomorrow morning.

Cabin 1700 is on deck 10. Cabin 7712 is on deck 7. 1702 is next to 1700. There is no superstructure to interfere with your view from deck 10. This is the view from 1700 [ATTACH]312206[/ATTACH][ATTACH]312207[/ATTACH]

You are correct. I completely missed on this. The balconies that are available on Deck 10 Aft are, 1702, 1704, & 1404.

Do you recall if there were any obstucted views on these cabins?

Thanks much. I aprreciate your input and help. I think we'll pass.

We really wanted the Aft Balcony 1700, but it has already been taken, so we are looking at jumping into the JS next door, JS 7712.

Are the Aft JS as large or larger than the Port or Starboard JS?

Are there any obstructions that would block views on this balcony?

Does the ship rock, roll or shift moreso in the aft as opposed to midship?

I've placed a 24 hr hold on the aft JS hoping to get a few responses to assist us in the cabin selection.

Thanks.

Yes, frozen included.

Yes frozen drinks are correct. But... the premium frozen drinks are not. The bars (most all of them) have a specialty drink menu. These specialty drinks can be as high as $12 each. The premium pkg covers drinks up to $10. When ordering the specialty drinks, you will be charged the difference. Most of these specialty drinks in the menus are of the frozen concoctions.