purplegrapefruit

The class was listed in the daily activities on the Royal Caribbean app. I believe it was 35$ per person. Considering one of those cocktails would ring in at 14$ each, it was well worth the money. 

11 minutes ago, k9cop said:

We are going on this one in a few weeks.  How did you like the trip overall?  Anything in the ports you think shouldn’t be missed?  Looking forward to Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia as we’ve not been there before.

You can't miss Getsemani, in Cartagena.  We booked a separate tour through Viator that visited the Getsemani neighboorhood.   None of the ship excursions visited Gestemani, only the walled city.   It far exceeded my expectations and our tour guide was amazing.  This is the tour we booked: https://www.viator.com/en-CA/tours/Cartagena/Walled-City-Cartagena-Tour-4H/d4498-59388P49?mcid=61846

We booked the "Mixing up the decades" Mixology class on our 11 night cruise on the Vision recently (Jan 2023). What fun!  It was super intimate, and it was held at the Viking Crown lounge on a sea day afternoon. We sat at the bar with about 6 other people.  I thought this was a tasting, but it turns out they make FULL SIZED cocktails for everyone!  The bartender showed us how to make the most popular cocktails from the 1960s-2000s on Royal Caribbean ships. We tried the Manhattan, Tequila Sunrise, Sex on the Beach, Cosmopolitan and finally a Mojito.  Did I mention these were FULL SIZED COCKTAILS?  As the drinks continued so did the fun!  It was a great intimate group, and we stayed for about 2.5 hours just chatting and sipping.  This is a great value and a really fun and social event on a sea day.  Highly recommend! 

51 minutes ago, Donsyb said:

You can browse them in the app but you can’t see prices. On the app click on the calendar and change ship/date. Pick the cruise you’re interested in and click on excursions (I just tested this on a random cruise and it worked). I could see the excursions on offer but not the prices.

Thank you so @Donsybmuch, this worked.  Turns out there isn't as much to do in Trinidad and Tobago as we would have liked, so we might select a different itinerary.  Hence why it's important to be able to access shore excursion options prior to booking!  

Does anyone know if you can browse shore excursions before booking? I feel like previously we could browse a particular port and see what shore excursions might be available.  I spoke with Royal and they said we would have to book the cruise to have access to the shore excursions available for that sailing. This what they replied. Does this make sense? How do I choose a sailing if I can't see what will be available for tours ahead of time? Anyone else find this odd? 

Received the official word from Royal pre-cruise for stops in Colombia 🇨🇴 

38 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-i-have-to-take-a-test-before-i-cruise

 

Even though it says guests fully vaccinated or  17 or younger do not need test I would still take at home test and take a photo of negative results to be safe.   

Oh wow I read that page and totally skipped over that line. Thank you. I agree with you though, I will take a photo of the test just to be safe.  

6 minutes ago, Rondo said:

On Ovation in Australia we just took a picture of our negative test strip and that was sufficient.

 

We are on the Vision in February with a stop in Columbia. My understanding is if you are fully vaccinated you do not need a Covid test. Are you unvaccinated and need the test? Am I confused on testing requirements if vaccinated?

It's for all passengers on cruises stopping in Colombia,  regardless of vaccination status. It's Colombia-specific rule apparently.  I guess Royal is just doing it to meet their requirements.  

Thanks for all the replies, we will take a photo of the test and bring it (along with our vaccine records,  which we need to board a plane from Canada to the US). 

Hello, we are sailing on the Vision in January 2023. Since our cruise stops in Colombia,  we are still required to show proof of a negative Covid test prior to boarding. The Royal website says it can be an at-home test without supervision.  

What proof did you show at Checkin? Just a photo of the test kit? Just wondering of anyone can comment on their recent experience.  

Thanks!

On our first cruise back in 2007 we were sat with another couple from Honduras. We have actually become quite close over the years, and have even been to Honduras twice to visit. Now that their kids are older, they hope to come to Canada too.  We've also made great friends who happened to live in the next town over, we met them on our most recent cruise, not at dinner, but on an excursion!  So you never know. We always go into a cruise hoping to make new friends, lifelong or otherwise! 

Bonaire. Crystal clear water, amazing snorkeling,  not commercial at all. It felt like a small town. The first island I've instantly wanted to stay. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/odyssey-of-the-seas

We are booked on her in Jan 2021. She looks exciting!

39 minutes ago, cruise questions said:

I realize I can purchase by the can but the Freestyle machine has a lot of fun options that my kids love-but literally, will just want 2-3 total over the week.

We were just wondering this exact thing. That's really a bummer. DH wanted the raspberry coke 😞

Without the windscreen the balcony would be unusable. Ever been on the bow in high winds? It would not be my first choice. Have you looked at the panoramic oceanview one deck up? They are lovely. 

Following. 

9 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

 

We did and it was very good. We ended up buying a mixed drink there that we shared.

 

Of the islands we have visited, Curacao and St Martin (also a tough spell I had to google, but then found google was wrong and went with the spelling on the stained glass map we saw in Curacao that I had a picture of) are the islands we could see ourselves retiring on. Would likely misspell my address;), but wouldn't mind the island life at all.

I feel you. We felt the same way about Bonaire.  We thought about not getting back on the ship for a moment.  

16 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

Yup, I spelled it right once when I was looking at the sheet. I guess the years of mispronouncing the Blue Curacao mixer got to me when I was typing, and no I wasn’t drinking it;)  Wish I had the ability to edit them, I will hopefully remember from here on out. 

No worries! Hope you got to try some of the Genuine Blue Curaçao liqueur.  It's so much better than the blue colored triple sec we buy at home. So good in a margarita. 

Glad it worked for you, no way I would risk it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say. With the cost of a same-day flight change,  there's no way I'd chance it.  One little thing goes wrong and you're screwed.

13 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

Caracao

Great review, but FYI, it's spelled Curaçao (or Curacao). Just in case someone is searching they won't find your review.

The oceanview panoramic are lovely rooms, we've had them twice on the Navigator. Floor to ceiling windows, and we loved watching the ship pull into port in the morning.  We are not in the room much, so we have never chosen a balcony, so I can't say if it would be worth it. 

No they are not. Maybe in their home country but they work in international waters. Licenses are locally issued (by state or province).

A Royal massage therapist saved our vacation after my husband hurt his back. It was worth every penny!

We stayed in Promenade cabins on the first two cruises and it was fine for us. The only time we ever heard noise from the promenade was the evening of the parade, but it was fun to watch. We loved the little bay window to sit and people watch. We had more noise from our next-door neighboors!  (kids across the hall from their parents most likely).  We were on deck 7 both times (Freedom and Independance) so we were not directly above the venues.  I would totally do it again if it meant the difference between cruising and not cruising because of $$. We have never had a balcony so we don't know what we are missing. 

18 minutes ago, later said:

I would worry more about your home being burglarizes when your gone.

I think this everytime people post on Royal 's social media posts with the date they are leaving on vacation, under their real name.

12 hours ago, OSUZorba said:

Plus there can be a line for shoes that you can skip if you have your own. They will also notice you have your own shoes and put you on the harder routes.

I'm glad to know that they offer shoes,. When we went on the Freedom it was the first year it sailed and they didn't have shoes. They didn't have chalk either, and it was hot and sweaty climbing. It kind of turned us off since we didn't want to truck our own shoes with us on vacation.  Maybe we'll consider climbing on the ship again now that we know we can borrow shoes. 

We were seriously into climbing when we went on the Freedom years back, and we didn't bother bringing any gear. Honestly the holds are big and the climb is very easy, we did fine in running shoes. Plus it was so hot and humid up there that we only did one climb. Fun to say we did it, but a challenge or needing climbing shoes, no. Save the space in your luggage.  I'm sure it would be a no to your own harness.