Tree_skier

I enjoy the fresh squeezed juice available with the package at breakfast and my first stop after breakfast if the coffee place for my Latte. That's $10 knocked out before 9am... On a port day I'll grab a couple waters at the bar to take ashore with me and now we are up to $17 and it is still quite early. When calculating that packages value you have to factor these things in and not just how many cocktails/glasses of wine you are going to order.

Natural light would definitely be a problem if that is something you want or need in the morning. What I liked about the Promenade room that we had was that it felt a little bit bigger. You have a little alcove area that looks out over the promenade and just those extra couple of feet seem to make the room so much larger feeling.

I’d go with the promenade view if you aren’t going to try and be in bed sleeping before 11. You will hear noise until then but after that it is great. I’m usually up and out and about until 11 anyways so it worked great for us. We were in deck 8. I

I just got off Navigator on Friday. Cabins were available at 2 pm. Domestic Beer was 7.49 Foreign beer and cider was 7.99 Soda was 3.50 Grande Latte's at Cafe Promenade were 4.50 Cocktails were 12.00 - 14.00 For all of these you need to add 18% to the price I listed.

One way rentals are often very expensive for cars that cross and stay across the border.

All the info I have says you do not need it anymore. I have crossed the border 3 times in the last two months without it being required.

I'm sure that that is the reason for for why they have never made it part of the suites program. Outside of the bathroom it has a suite feel.

Just thought I'd drop a quick little review of Navigator right here if nobody minds. This isn't going to be a complete or exhaustive review, just a quick synopsis of last week with a few pics and I don't want to start a whole thread for that. Especially since most of this will be the tale of getting to the cruise ship and not as much the actual cruise. Just got off a 4 day on Navigator and we had a great time. This was a unique cruise. It was Papa (me) and my three Grandkids. (14F, 17M, 20F). DW was spending the week with DD so they could spend some time together without the kids getting in the way of their Mommy/Daughter time. The plan was to meet in Santa Clarita right next to Six Flags. DD and the kids were coming from home, just a little north of Fresno and we were driving from Phoenix were I had been working. As Hurricane Hilary approached I started to get nervous. Sunday, in between two speaking events I was glued to the weather.com app. It was looking dodgy. I was supposed to head out Sunday night, stay overnight in Palm Springs and finish the drive to the meet up Monday morning. I really questioned my intelligence when I decided to brave the drive. There were all kinds of warnings and watches and dire predictions. My thought was I'm originally from Vancouver. I can drive in the rain better than any Californian. God smiled on us. The drive in was a piece of cake. All along I 10 all we had was a little wind and the odd sprinkle and I congratulated my wise decision to strike out as planned all the way up until I got to the exit we took to our pre cruise hotel in Palm Springs. The highway was closed and everyone was being diverted off. Rain was now coming down in buckets and there was a hint of flooding along the sides of the road. Thankfully our Hotel, a Best Western Plus, was just off the interstate at that exit we were being forced onto. Surely it will all be open and fine in the morning. It was a brand new hotel, very nice room and we were fortunate because there wasn't a room to be had anywhere in the city apparently. Some areas had already been cut off and the and Hotels you could get too were completely sold out. We were fine though and so at 12:45 am I laid my head down on the pillow and went to sleep with visions the Windjammer, the Promenade and the Bamboo Club in my head. I got up early, showered and dressed quickly and by 7am we were on the road. It was a mess. Streets were flooded traffic was blocked all over and nobody could get anywhere, certainly not the interstate anyways. We followed some truck traffic along a road that parceled the highway that had been flooded it looked like but the water had subsided. Unfortunately, we could see off in the distance the highway was still closed. As we got to the turn where you would turn to get to the interstate I saw three semi trucks, coming from the opposite direction, turn onto the I 10 on ramp. I took a chance and instead of heading down the side road that all of us had been creeping along to who knows where, turned towards the overpass and the onramp. When I got there there were still cones there but someone had moved a couple of them and you a single truck or car could pass through. I took a chance and pulled down it. For 5 miles it was all glorious. Then we ground to a halt... We sat and waited... I cursed my stupid decision to follow those trucks... But a few minutes later we started to creep ever so slowly forward. I had no idea what lied ahead but we were westbound heading the right direction at 3-4 miles per hour in-between frequent stops. Eventually I could see the obstruction. This must be what closed the highway last night. I'm so thankful I wasn't driving in that. A flash flood and completely shut the freeway down but even now with the water subsided the freeway was barely passible. Once we cleared this we ran into a couple of other spots but nothing this bad. It slowed us but didn't stop us. They must have got things shut down again at the onramp after we and those few trucks came through because there was only a few dozen vehicles behind us. We made it to Santa Clarita. I traded a wife for three grand kids and we struck off for San Pedro, I had received an email the day before letting me know not to come to the port until 12:30. We had had a 10:30 checkin time but all of that had been scrapped because of Hilary. When we got there, at about 12:15 there was a very long line waiting to get into the security tent and beyond to the check in point but to their credit they moved it along very quickly. We were on board by 12:55. We must have been in the first 25% to board because, except for the Windjammer, the ship felt empty. Vacation had begun and life was good. It was MDR every evening for us. Lunch was Windjammer Day 1, MDR Day 2, Catalina Island Day 3, El Loco Fresh Day for Day 4. C+ B C- B Entertainment was good and mediocre. The Ice show was great as usual ( we went two different nights) and the welcome aboard show was good. They had the orchestra do a few numbers then a comedian. He was funny and family friendly. The house band who we sat and listened to a couple of times were very average. We didn't go to the showgirls or ball room dancing show. Ive been and am not a fan so usually skip them on this ship. Other evenings entertainment consisted of Karaoke. There was some real talent on board and some very funny talent but it was great each night. Catalina island we did the Semi-submerged tour. I've done but not with the kids. They loved it so I loved it. Ensenada we didn't leave the ship. I booked a Casita and we roamed back and forth between minigolf, the arcade, the waterslides and the Flowrider. There was some Papa only time in the Casino on Day 2 and then the evening of day 4. I lost about $200 for the cruise. An acceptable amount that allows me to say I was worth it because I had fun. 🙂 The youngest granddaughter did the Spinkletime cup cake decorating. She had a lot of fun and enjoyed it. She said it was worth the $35 but then it was my $35 and not hers so that might have biased her review. LOL. Pro tip... Don't get any of that icing from the cupcake on anything or else be prepared to bleach it. That stuff is almost indelible will nearly not come off your skin with soap and water and is nearly toxic on clothing. A few random pics to follow... We'll start with a room tour. Just over 100 days until we board Harmony for our first B2B

Just off of Navigator and I was very interested to see how disappointed I was with 1x a day room servicing. My concern was that I was cruising with myself and 3 grand kids in an Ultimate OV cabin. It is designed for families. It has a small little room with bunks and my intention was for the girls to be in there and I in the little bedroom and my Grandson on the sofa. My concern was the sofa. With one cleaning I was worried the our Cabin Attendant would want it out all day long. Thankfully, he did one service before lunch and then came back while we were at dinner and set up the sofa bed. There was no service done to the room in the evening beyond that but at least we weren't tripping over the bed during the day. So to answer the question originally asked... I didn't miss the 2x a day service as much I thought I would. Our attendant loaded us with towels at the morning service so we had fresh towels both that afternoon and in the morning. We got a towel animal everyday except embaraktion I was pleasantly surprised. In the interest of full disclosure... We keep autograts on plus I slipped him $30 on embarkation and then $40 on the last afternoon. This was a 4 day cruise with 4 of us in the cabin. I'm not sure if the tipping got me any more service or not. If anyone is interested to see the room makeup I have included the video below. It was taken on day 2 after the room had been serviced but before the kids had come back to the room.

Just went a looked at MSC's prices. They are pretty good indeed. We tried MSC back in 2017 on a Med cruise didn't enjoy it as much as we hoped. Part of that was our own fault. Part was because it was a different experience than we expecting. Service was mediocre in my opinion. We enjoyed our ports of call and all but we found the ship crowded, the entertainment lacking and the announcements in 6 languages every time long and annoying. That being said, with pricing the way it is, I might be inclined to give them a whirl again in 2025. I'm booked solid through Royal through March 2025. When I look at what I have booked and what they are charging for that now I'm just shocked people are paying that. We'll see how things unfold.

My experience with any of the chops breakfast that come as a suite perk have been excellent. I’ve had it on navigator, liberty, and serenade. Each and every time it has been exceptional.

Score,! I’ll take a free cruise, even if it’s not in a preferred cabin

That is what got me addicted to cruising. I got a Hilton Vacations time share deal that offered a free stay (3 night) in Orlando at one of their properties as well as a free Royal Caribbean 3 or 4 might cruise to be used at a later date if I sat through a time share pitch. We did. It was excruciating but after it was all done we did, in fact, get the 3/4 night certificate. We ended up taking a 7 night cruise on Liberty. The certificate ended up being worth $500 towards the cost of the 7 day cruise. I've been addicted to cruising ever since.

I heard from my TA but not directly from Royal...

Happy Anniversary Andrew and Lisa https://bmacards.com/VH2fC7

I'm very curious about the Passport book line. We have cruised with our grandkids using only their BC and state ID along with the required notarized consent form. Is the Passport line a new requirement in addition to the clarification about notarized letter. Checking in for my GS right now for a cruise 30 days from now still shows BC and state ID as an option... A change to this at the last minute would cause catastrophic chaos.

I'm always amazed when running into staff who actually remember you like that. They have seen thousands of people yet still have some nugget about you tucked away in their memory.

I’m here just in time for the party. There are very few things on CC better than an @A&L_Ont review.

Ditto.

Yes they do. If there is a wind the side shades can be a bit of a deal but you definitely have cover overhead.

DW was a teacher in BC until she retired in 2016. The funniest end of the year gift she got was a goat, donated in her name, to some African family in some country we have long since forgotten about. It came with a nice certificate in a plastic frame. We still laugh about it to this day. Over the years there have been thousands of mugs, Christmas tree ornaments, framed pictures of students, baked goods and so many knick knacks and trinkets we couldn't even begin to catalog them. Everything eventually found its way to the rubbish bin. The best gifts she got were Amazon gift cards or Tim Hortons gift cards. They equal cash 🙂

I remember getting Orange flavored Kit Kat's in London a decade ago... I'm still hoping to find them again.

You're not kidding. I just found figured it out. The annual plans they offer do not seem to include any cancellation coverage.

I tried looking at insuremytrip.com but couldn't seem to get a quote for an annual plan?

I'm looking at doing the same. Which plan did you purchase