sauvichick

Spending the entire time shopping in port is such a waste of time for me, but there are some things I like. The standard Christmas ornament, a unique magnet for my large collection, a tank top for the gym, and something unique to the port such as pottery or artwork. Jamaican Blue Mt. rum & coffee will be next on the list (July 2014). I wish I had brought back guavaberry rum from St. Maarten. My favorite "souvenir" however was my diamond & tanzanite ring which was a wedding gift from my husband in St. Thomas and the white gold ankle bracelet commemorating our 1 year anniversary.

I will be on the Allure June 2014 so your review will keep me checking in. Thanks for posting live!

I was sailing on a weekend cruise after Norovirus had visited the previous week. It was sooo wonderful to see no one touching anything at the buffet except the crew. I couldn't even take a banana. You were not allowed to serve yourself and this is my kind of buffet!!! The only thing you were allowed to do is open your sugar packets for coffee. It was very strange to have someone make my coffee! I do get freaked out when people eat, sneeze, cough, touch their face while on line. So that is why I hate buffets. I am also one of those people that wipes down anything in the cabin that has been touched by previous occupants...remote, phone, doorknobs, handle...but I am sure you all knew that:D

Just caught your review and I absolutely love it! It's more like a fun conversation rather than a straightforward review. We will be on this cruise next year!

Cuizer2:

You have taken some really terrific photos! Looking forward to reading and seeing more!

Royal's pre-cruise planner site IS a mess. Definitely not very user friendly. Called the pre-cruise phone # and learned going through the telephone is the BEST way. We had the nicest staff(Ashley & Shakira(sp?)! It was less stressful for us and easier to have these ladies navigate the system for us to let us know the availability!

Now this is something I find laughable. Why on earth should you have to make reservations ahead of time? It makes no sense. Isn't the entire purpose of flexible dining to be able to decide on the fly when you want to eat? You should just be able to walk into the dining room and request a table. Sure you might have to wait a few minutes, especially if you want a specific size or location of table, but otherwise HAL shouldn't even be taking reservations in flexible dining. It should be just that ... flexible.

 

I know that I have AYWD on my upcoming HAL cruise, and I have no intention of making reservations. HAL wants to stick me into AYWD, then I'm gonna make it work for me by giving myself total flexibility. When I'm hungry, I'll show up for dinner (within the set hours, of course). And since I have no problem sharing a table with others, I expect to be seated quickly as well.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

I absolutely agree about showing up to dinner when you feel like it. The only reservations we'll be making is for the specialty restaurants & that's if we feel like going to them.