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The Fun Researcher

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  1. On 4/4/2019 at 4:32 PM, nanowerx said:

    They aren't replacing it with anything. Essentially just saving the money they were spending to use the characters. You might get a couple of extra lame parades, but don't expect any new kid-friendly characters or events.

     

     I think you just have to look a little harder,  or consider how Royal is now spending their money on the kids . For instance, the Navigator just got two waterslides added, laser tag, and an escape room,  all of which my kids vastly enjoyed more than DreamWorks material.

     

     Royal has tons of activities for kids. To me, DreamWorks felt like  an afterthought anyway versus everything else that was already available. 

     

    Dan

  2. 3 minutes ago, kag19 said:

    My husband and I would love to do this on our next cruise!  Is this something available to book ahead in the Cruise Planner?  I don't recall seeing it for our sailing last month on Oasis.

     

    It was in my cruise planner for our cruise on the Navigator a few weeks ago.  I'm guessing it depends on the ship though.


    Dan

  3. 1 hour ago, Mikew0805 said:

    This is one of the things I prefer at Carnival. There are beach/pool towels for each person upon arrival on the ship in the stateroom. Anytime you need them exchanged, just put em on the bathroom floor with the other towels, or if in a hurry call housekeeping. Plus they are bigger and softer. 

     

    Ooh, that is nice!

     

    Dan

  4. 15 minutes ago, trophy_23 said:

    Fins will be helpful snorkelling with the turtles, then you can dive down for photos.  Too hard to dive down with no fins.

     

     Great photos! 

     

     I think it depends on the person. I have no problem getting down that low without fins.  

     

     I’ve injured my flexor tendon before with fins, and I just don’t like having them on my feet. To each their own though.

     

     My wife loves them

     

    Dan

    • Like 1
  5. We've done both the standard island tour, and a custom tour with Bernards and it's been fantastic both times.  Highly recommend it.

     

    They are the first tour operation we ever went with that drove us around most of an island and gave the history, all the while stopping at great beaches and fun locations.  After Bernards, we've looked for similar tours on all the islands we visit.  I love that style of touring, and getting a better appreciation for each Caribbean island that we visit, rather than just plopping at one beach for a while and then returning to the ship.   We've done that and enjoyed it too, like Magens Bay on St. Thomas, but sill prefer a full tour.


    Dan

    • Like 1
  6. Agree OP.  Watch for towels charges! 

     

    A couple of weeks ago on the Navigator, we would have been erroneously charged $125 for towels (5 towels total) if I hadn't reviewed our paper invoice the last day of the cruise.  It didn't show up until the morning of debarkation.  We made sure to check in, and check out towels properly.

     

    ...and $25 for one of those ratty old Royal Caribbean towels?  Are you kidding me?

     

    I wonder how many passengers RCCL is profiting from with these "errors"?


    Dan

  7. 14 hours ago, billys5764 said:

    Does Nachi Cocom have parasailing?  I was at Mr. Sanchos last week, but didn't try it.  I want to when I'm back next month.

     

     I don’t remember parasailing being offered in particular .   I could be wrong but I don’t remember that. Nachi Cocum is it’s own stretch of beach, very nice beach, but not like the built-up area where Mr. Sanchez is at .    It is a much more relaxing place 

     

    Dan

    • Like 1
  8. 4 minutes ago, poncho1973 said:

    From someone who has done both lines, there is no way I'd compare Majesty to any other ship in the Royal fleet other than Empress.

     

    I can't say that Majesty would represent much of anything in the Royal fleet of 2019.  She's a lone wolf ship with nearly 30 year old bones.  The best possible news is that you sailed her just out of dry dock!  That's the best news.

     

    Everything else considered?  She doesn't have much of anything compared to the other ships in the fleet.  Like I said, excluding Empress of the Seas, which is a tiny micro-beast all of her own.

     

    Majesty in Norwegian terms is the Norwegian Spirit of the fleet.

     

    I'm actually impressed that the Majesty stacked up as well as it did all things considered.  That says something for Royals care for their entire fleet IMO.


    Dan

    • Like 2
  9. 1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

     

    I read your trip review. Sounds like it was an awesome trip and one I'm sorry I missed. Great job on the writing: detailed enough without being to wordy. Someday I hope to sample what your FIL considered he best hamburger ever from the food truck on Bonaire (I think??).

    Thank you!!!  It was our best cruise yet.  Yes, that burger was at Kite City, the food truck located on the beach just south of town.  You could still see our cruise ship in the distance from the beach.   Granted, we were very hungry by that point at around 2pm, but my son also got the same burger and still says how great it was.

     

    https://www.google.com/maps/dir//12.1341172,-68.2798469/@12.1346257,-68.3477123,12z

     

    Dan

    • Thanks 1
  10. I would look to RCCL's other line, Celebrity for longer itineraries.  They seem to cater more to that.

     

    Having said that, and having just sailed the new Amped Navigator on a 9 night to the ABC islands, I'm really bummed that the Navigator is only doing 3 and 4 night sailings to the Bahamas for the foreseeable future.  It's by far our favorite ship in the fleet now.  Can't wait to see how they "Amp" the other Freedom and Voyager classes.


    Dan

  11. I think you tried to be completely fair with your comparisons.

     

    Too bad you weren't able to compare "apples to apples", such as a newer NCL ship to a newer RCCL ship.  It makes it tough to really compare one cruise line to another when you take that into consideration.

     

    The majesty just doesn't offer what the new RCCL ships do, or even their ships that are 15 to 20 years old like the Voyager class.  RCCL is sinking a ton of $$$ into their Voyager and Freedom classes.  I highly recommend trying one of their "Amped" ships if you give Royal another go.  ...or the Oasis or Quantum class for that matter.  :)

     

    Dan

    • Like 2
  12. 8 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

    I hope they don't CoCo Cays-ize it with water parks, etc. I know that have the Zip-line and roller coaster there but it blends in well with the landscape.

     

    Never thought of it, but I agree 1000%.  Would not want to see Labadee go down the route of CoCo Cay. 

     

    Labadee is all about a natural tropical paradise IMO.  I remember our very first cruise, I just wanted to keep circling back to Labadee.  :)  Our other ports were Grand Cayman, Falmouth Jamaica, and Cozumel.  I was not prepared for the ship to pull up to what felt like a city. (Grand Cayman), or a nice port market area surrounded by nothing (Falmouth).  Didn't fit that tropical island feel that I had pictured in my mind.

     

    I've since adjusted and love fully exploring the islands we visit, but I remember our first cruise that Labadee was BY FAR my favorite port.  Mainly for the feeling of more rustic beauty,  ease, and the relaxation.


    Dan

    • Like 2
  13. 10 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

    No, my reply was to a post regarding land based restaurants pre printing “suggested tip” amounts on receipts. 

     

    41 minutes ago, CruisinCons said:

     

    As all human conversations do, we took a minor segue in this one to discuss how tipping percentages are going up at restaurants as well as in these drink packages, and seems to be a trend everywhere.  

     

    Fair enough, however a suggested tip percentage (as in a land restaurant) is a completely different animal than a forced automatic tip % as on a cruise ship.

     

    The only time I see forced tipping in a land restaurant is when the party size is large enough to require it (which I understand).

     

    Land = you still choose whatever you want to leave despite any "suggestions"

    Cruise = You're stuck with what they dictate

     

    Dan

  14. 5 hours ago, brillohead said:


    You can only use it to go to Columbus Cove, not back again.  And it only runs in the morning, from the pier to the dock by Columbus Cove.  

     

    11 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

     

    I never really understood why it was only a one-way trip. I guess the thinking that since just about everyone gets off the ship at the same time, it'll be full. But as people drift back to the ship throughout the day, it might not be worth running half-empty?  The tram will take you back.

     

    Anyway, in the link below, scroll down a bit & you'll see a picture on the right.

     

    http://www.beyondships3.com/labadee-cruise-port.html

     

    4 minutes ago, brillohead said:


    The pier is after the security buildings, so people coming back on the boat wouldn't be processed through the x-ray machines and metal detectors.  

     

    Thank you!

     

    Dan

    • Like 1
  15. 13 minutes ago, zoepipes said:

    It is my understanding that they aren't "true" refrigerators.  Not sure what use they are for.

     

    This is true.  On the Navigator there was a sign on the front of every cabin "refrigerator" that stated that it was not a true refrigerator, but rather a cooler of some sort.  It does not keep food at a safe cold temperature, that's for sure.  I don't recall exactly, but I think it listed the temperature to expect of something like 40-55 Degrees F.  Wish I had taken a photo.


    Dan

  16. 3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

    I never pay attention to the percentages and don’t need to do math. I can assess at the conclusion of the meal what the service was worth to me and that figure is what I leave. 

     

     I thought we were talking about automatic gratuities on drinks, not meals?  If you don’t like the drink service you still can’t leave less than the automatic 18% or 20% amount. 😠

     

    Dan

  17. 10 minutes ago, dukefan4life said:

    Great review!! We use the newer full face snorkels(the re-designed ones) and I'm not a fan of the fins either. Really looking forward to getting to Bonaire to snorkel. I think we are either going to do the golf cart rentals there or the ATV's to get around the island. But I had no  idea what to do in Curacao. Thanks so much for the tip. 

     

    Thank you.  Glad to help!

     

    Dan

  18. 6 hours ago, HBE4 said:

     

    There is also a water taxi that takes you from the ship to Columbus Cove. It's called the Cove express or something like that. It's a 3 minute ride vs 10-15 minute walk.

     

     That’s awesome! Where is it located? How could I miss that?   I would mainly use it to get me from Columbus Cove back to the ship not the other way around 

     

    Dan

  19. 33 minutes ago, GalwayGirl03 said:

    was the laser tag crazy?? My 7 year old son is SO excited for this but I can imagine it being crazy with lines...especially b/c I am guessing there will be a TON of kids on our 4/12 Navigator b/c it is over Easter and b/c it was 9 days long we got Kids Sail Free!

     

     

     It is first come first serve.   We went on the first cruising day around 2 or 3 PM in the afternoon and  maybe we got lucky but we only waited for one group to finish their game and then we were in the very next group.  We waited about 15 minutes total I think.   While we were waiting we could hear and kind of see the existing game going on because they bring you into Studio B where the other teams are playing. It was well organized and did not feel crazy during the game. It was lots of fun for  our entire group including the grandparents 

     

    Dan

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