suntan

We are a day away from booking a 2016 Med cruise on RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas. I know, crazy right, booking 16 months ahead.:D We could not pass up the current promotion of 50% of the second guest! This will be my first cruise on RCCL but have sailed with Celebrity in the past. Since RCCL is the parent company for Celebrity (I hope I am correct with that statement) will my loyalty points/benefits with Celebrity transfer to RCCL?

We sleep on the ship, but spend the day on Bermuda enjoying the beaches, shops, and a restaurant or two.

We are close to booking a Bermuda cruise. What restaurants do you recommend we try while we are there? Thanks.

We are a family of 3 and get a concierge cabin. Specifically C1 aft for the extra large balcony. It has a sofa bed. Cruised on the summit in 2013 and will be going again this August.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'll be sending our travel agent an email tonight to look into the staterooms for us. I will also check on those concierge cabins. We haven't picked our date in August yet but TallJerseyGirl we may meet you on the cruise if we choose the same date.:)

The weather outside is frightful (snow snow and more snow :mad:) so I've been looking at past passengers videos of their cruises to Bermuda. My question to those who have sailed on the Summit is this: we are a party of 3 - do the "regular" veranda staterooms have a sofa bed in them as opposed to the bed that comes down from the ceiling, or should we focus on the family veranda staterooms? Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Norris. Another great set of pictures taken in Grand Turk. What was your overall opinion of Grand Turk? If you had the option, would you go back to GT or would you rather go back to Princess Cays? On this cruise it was my first visit to GT and hopefully my last. Too many people at the beach and pool area. I'd rather go back to Princess Cays but that's just my opinion.

Hi Norris, I'm waiting to read your review of Grand Turk. I hope your experience there was better than ours. This has been a great review, the pictures are wonderful.

These things...

 

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The door above was closed all week. It is deck 16 forward in the elevator hallway outside the Hearts and Mind chapel and if you could go through it you'd be in the port side of the Tradewinds Bar. So many people tried to use it and had to take a detour to the Starboard side. It is also the closest door to the outdoor Handicapped elevator up to deck 17 where the Sanctuary is.

 

This gate, also deck 16 port and starboard prevents you walking to the front of the ship and looking down on the top of the bridge (which was also closed) so getting shots of the bow of the ship and where we were going were ruled out. It was open in port.

 

 

Now if the ship was in heavy seas, heading into gale force winds I could understand this being "for passenger safety".

 

Here's the thing about wind. Humans can feel it. So if I walk onto a deck and I am at a 45 degree angle trying to walk forward, like a French mime artist, and my cap has already blown off and my hair is in my eyes and I am gulping for breath then maybe that's uncomfortable and I will turn around and skeedaddle.

The wind where this gate lives was a gentle zephyr so let me through and take a chance on being blown aloft over those high railings. Certainly during this cruise with all the food I ate I was heavier than any kite on the market. Smooth sea, no wind-let me enjoy the whole ship.

 

I've enjoyed this little deck as a photo-perch on every ship including the Ruby in the past-but not this trip.

 

 

OK, rant over for now...

Norris, I totally agree with you on this point. We tried as did you and probably others to go up to these decks but as you have pointed out and pictured that was a "no go".

This was our 3rd time staying at the MHB. It is close to the exit for the port and usually Boat Nerd Norris walks the 3/4 mile along the shifting sands to film the ships leaving at 4 pm. However by the time we checked in and unpacked I would have had to run to catch the ships in close-up and if there's one thing I don't do it is run.

 

Instead I like to sit and sip a rum drink, whether a mojito or a dark rum (Myers) and Coke.

 

You can still see the ships from the hotel as they sail out to sea, full of very happy people....

 

Look! There goes the Zuiderdam or the something else dam

 

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The Hotel

 

We sat by the beach on the deck of the Sea Level restaurant and enjoyed a snack of delicious crab salsa. We had booked a table at the hotel's estimable 3030 restaurant for 7 p.m so didn't want to spoil our appetite for dinner.

 

 

 

As we ate Celebrity Equinox tried to sneak out of port

 

We were on the same cruise. As you were watching the ships leave from your hotel my aunt and I were on the 17th Street Causeway bridge watching them leave. I'm looking forward to reading your review to see if you enjoyed it as much as we did.

My GF and I got a trip on the Navigator booked to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. So far we got passports, a list of stuff to pack, a room in Galveston, parking at Park n Cruise, trip to West End with Rony's for hopefully some swimming/shopping/lunch, a little exploration with Cave-Tubing.com, and thinking about seeing ruins in Cozumel. We would like to try some lobster (if reasonable) somewhere, and not miss too much on our day in ports (excuse to go back maybe!). As l long as the credit card holds out, anything along the way ya'll suggest I change or add?

Hi CajunCpl: most people have already commented on what you may wish to take with you on your cruise. The mosquitoes in the Caribbean these days are packing a wicked bite. It's called "chikungunya". It causes fever and severe joint pain for days/weeks/months. I returned from a Caribbean cruise January 31st and we took those Off clip-ons just in case - we never had to use them. I would recommend: 1) research "chikungunya" further and 2) pack Off or other insect repellant with Deet in it. Have a great cruise.

:)Thank you for posting your review. It is one of the best reviews I've seen to date. It brought back a lot of memories for us as we sailed on the Silhouette in Sept 2014 and visited some of the same ports of call.

I don't see how RCCL could possibly be held responsible for someone climbing onto one of the lifeboats and the falling off (if indeed he fell). I'm sure someone will say the cruise line needs to be more aware. I tend to lean towards to 'cheerleader' side when a passenger does something they are not supposed to be doing or going where they are not supposed to be (like the guy who climbed the mast on the Carnival ship and fell off). Stupidity is the fault of the person. Cruise lines are in the business of providing a cruise, not baby sitting passengers who don't have good sense. They can't put safety netting around every open deck (well they could but c'mon, totally senseless.)

Common sense is a thing of the past I'm afraid. It won't surprise me if alcohol played a role in this (I personally like several cocktails a day on a cruise).

Totally agree! I heard today that he said that a rogue wave washed him overboard. I don't know where this story came from but again another example of someone sensationalizing the story to get ratings.

My go to drink is always a Cosmo, followed by a Cape Cod (vodka and cranberry juice). Then if I'm lucky and the bartenders know how to make or have the ingredients, I'll ask for a banana daiquiri and a Chocolate Monkey.

But it's so pretty! I agree, us Canucks would be having a blast:)

New to RCCL - deck hockey! :D

No charge for: Ripcord by iFly (the skydiving simulator), the bumper cars, the NorthStar, the flowrider, all swimming pools, roller skating, the Xbox, foosball, ping pong, basketball, the climbing wall, general stuff in the gym.

 

Fees are charged for: certain classes in the gym, the usuals like the arcade, casino, spa.

 

This is not meant to be comprehensive. If you have something else specific in mind, just ask.

 

:)

Thank you for the list of no charge activities. There is a diving show at the back of the ship, is that correct? Is that free to watch?

I've just watched a video of the Quantum of the Seas and I'm loving all the activities. The first at sea features like the parachuting simulator (sorry forgot the name of it already:D) and the bumper cars have peaked my interest. So my question is: Are all the activities on QOTS included in the price of the cruise or are there added fees to participate? Thank you and happy sailing to you all.

Nice!:p

That must have been a wonderful sight. :)

Here's a visual for you all :D. I saw this on the way to work one summer - young woman walking in front of me wearing a long white skirt with no lining in the skirt and...wait for it...a pink thong!!:eek::eek::eek:

Ok that's off topic but I just want to add if you wear the LBD, do as cb at sea stated - wear something colourful - so I usually add a colourful pashmina to my LBD to give it that "pop".

Hi Suntan,

Always glad to bring back some memories of past trips!

 

As far as the camera goes, i am not one to lug around a big DSLR. I prefer the convenience of having something compact that will fit in my pocket and that I can easily carry with me for my trips. After some research, we bought a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V. It is a great little camera, basically a higher end point and shoot. It has a 16x optical zoom, 16.2 MP, and full 1080 HD video. It is not great in low light but otherwise it has worked well for us over the past few years.

 

Thanks for your interest and safe travels!

Jerry

Thanks Jerry for the data on the camera. I'm going to check that out as I need to downsize my cameras (currently have an 1980's Minolta Maxxum 7000 SLR).

Sue

I called Princess this morning and they sent a request to Captain's Circle to reset the password and that was done within 10 minutes of hanging up. All is good with the world now! :D HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY SAILINGS IN 2015!

I've seen both long dresses and cocktail dresses worn on formal nights. I'll be wearing a long black dress with a red lace overlay on one of my formal nights in 3 weeks time. Watch out guys! :D

cruisinskier - Thank you for the memories. We were on the Silhouette in Sept. 2014 in the Med. Great pictures. What type of camera are you using?

Thanks for bringing back some fond memories. My first Celebrity cruise was on The Galaxy.

My first Celebrity cruise was also on the Galaxy. She was one classy lady.

Thanks for the info. I just called Princess and they said they dropped my phone number and password from their system. :confused: How does that happen? It's not fixed yet as the folks at Captain's Circle have to reset the password and their closed right now. First thing tomorrow I'll be back on the phone to reset the password and then I will be "coming back new"! :D

I've been trying to log into the Princess website to review our Cruise Personalizer but it's telling me it doesn't recognize my email address and password. Both worked last week and I haven't changed either. Is anyone else experiencing difficulty signing into the website? Or is it just me? :D

I love going barefoot in my house and in my yard. I have garden shoes for when it is cold or wet, but most of the time I love the feel of the grass and even the dirt on my feet and hands when I garden. Of course, it means that I have to wash my hands and feet a lot. I really enjoy sitting on the deck, drinking a glass of wine and soaking my feet in Epsom salts after a long day of gardening. DH always wears gloves and shoes and just doesn't understand me on this one.

 

 

On a ship, however, I don't think so. We always carry airplane/hotel slippers in our luggage to slip on if we ever want to leave the cabin without bothering with shoes--i.e. for a quick trip up to the buffet for hot water.

We must be twins! :D I love going barefoot but on a cruise ship - never. You never know what you can pick up as you walk around. I always wear a pair of flip flops on cruises and I have started taking slippers on planes to be more comfortable, especially those long flights overseas.

We had a similar experience on Celebrity in September. We had MDR seating for 6pm however in one port of call we advised the waiter and maitre'd we would be late getting back. They said "no problem go to the anytime dining restaurant and they will be able to accommodate us". NOT! We arrived at the anytime dining restaurant around 6:45-7:00pm only to be told they could not seat us because "a thousand passengers could come back on board at any time and where would we seat them if we seat you now". The dining room was practically empty. "We" being 3 people! I was livid! Never in my many years of cruising have I been turned away from a restaurant on a ship. Yes we filed a complaint but nothing came of it - a small gesture of apology would not have gone amiss (like a complimentary bottle of wine, free snacks, not asking the moon here). We went back to the MDR just before the 8:00pm seating and we met up with some people we knew, and we were seated but we had to change our MDR time to late seating dining for the rest of the cruise - we were not happy about that either. Very poorly handled by all staff on that day.

I suggested to Celebrity on their post cruise survey to do what Princess did on our November 2013 cruise when we had a late stay in port and most of the ship would be getting back for dinner late - open up both restaurants and let the passengers come in as they arrive. It worked perfectly for us and the wait staff - we didn't have to get dressed for the MDR either, arrived at the restaurant in our day clothes (shorts, pants, tops). That was efficiency at its best.