At5920Feet

Has anyone heard what Eclipse will be doing in Apr '24 in place of the cancelled repositioning? I'd love to see it sail to it's new homeport in FLL via Buenos Aires, Brazil and the Caribbean- THAT would be a cool alternative that i would jump on. 

Royal's email about the new booking season mentioned new Greek ports: Thessaloniki, Chios and Skiathos; but i'm not seeing them anywhere in the schedule. It's possible the new ports are earmarked for the pending Voyager sailings, but wondered if anyone has info?  

In Luminae, vodka, passion fruit and jalapeno martini. Unfortunately, couldn't find them at any other bar in our following cruise... 

32 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Question regarding the VR thing… is it a crowded environment?  I can’t do it (ugh, nausea!), but DH would love to, if it didn’t seem “Covid risky”.

Someone recently aboard would have more-current info, but last August each VR session was a max of 4 persons, and the group leader. You're outfitted with gear on your arms/hands, feet, back and head, and we were masked under that.

10 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Where is this venue? It's the first time I've ever seen it mentioned and I don't see it on any deck plan (but I could easily be missing it).  Thanks!  Will be sailing on her Jan 29!

Hi Speed- sorry, i'm an idiot 🙂  Craft Social was on Celebrity Apex, which we also sailed last year; Apex and Odyssey are very similar design so that's my excuse.

That said, we loved our Odyssey b2b and look forward to April.  You will have a great time!

Coastal Kitchen was excellent, and we alternated that with Cafe 270, WJ and Izumi.

Other highlights were all the activities to try- especially iFly, Skypad and the VR on 15.

Don't miss The Book in 270- the production, performers and technical aspects were great- similar to Silk Road on Spectrum, and we recognized many of the performers from there. 

Odyssey was a great time. We love this ship, and echo all the positives above. Another don't miss are the interesting cocktails and Steven at Craft Social bar. Can't wait to be on again in April.

* Before Odyssey, Spectrum was our favorite, but the immersive experience is not comparable.

Gary in the casino bar is skillful and personable- we sailed b2b on SY earlier this month. Have fun.

1 hour ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

True statement.

 

I was on the Eclipse with a tour group of 500+ passengers from Hong Kong, who randomly hit or stayed on their hands regardless of basic strategy.  I saw different such players stand on a SOFT 6 (A-5) when the dealer was showing a 10.  

 

I wanted to say some choice words, but relegated to muttering ***** to myself a few times.

I like Asia cruises and saw this too- on multiple RCL cruises from HKG and Singapore, and in their land casinos. Hit/stand seemed to be entirely random based on feeling; and sometimes players would even double a hard bust hand when they felt lucky- (and they sometimes won!).  Maybe a cultural gambling norm, but i like the typical basic strategy play and was frustrated like you until i let it go and just enjoyed the spectacle. 

It seemed 90% in the casino were spectators only, or would only bet behind another player. Had some funny experiences with that. 🙂

That aside, travel is indeed wonderful- so many unexpected surprises from different cultures is what makes it memorable.

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

To be clear, was this a dedicated table or can you go to any table, bet $20 and receive 6:5 or bet $25+ and receive 3:2?

It was table-based for tables with a minimum bet of $25 or higher. 

Apex had 3:2 BJ in June on $25+

4 hours ago, funnychick39 said:

Happy Friday Everyone,

 

I have booked the 12-Night New Zealand Cruise for Feb 2022 on the Ovation of the Seas. The cruise leaves out of Sydney, Australia.

For those who have cruised out of Australia, as a US Citizen, do I have to obtain a visa? I have a passport but wondering do I need to also get a visa?

 

Thank you.

FYI, check with your airline because those flying to Australia can typically request the ETA visa on your behalf. United handled that on my last trip to Sydney and it was super easy (IIRC there wasn't a charge). 

A personal data point...

We sailed Spectrum in early January and the two of us were booked in 13642, sold as a 2A when we booked it 6 months prior.

A week prior to sailing, we received an updated invoice that showed us in a new cabin and much less favorable location on deck 9- this was done without asking us or even explaining which is a different story. After challenging this, we were told the reason for the unexpected move was that 13642 had a capacity for only one, and had mistakenly been categorized as a double. We were able to get a nearby cabin back on deck 13 and caught a glimpse into 13642- it looked large enough for 2 but the cabin attendant said it had a smaller bed than the normal king.  

Perhaps Royal has finally gotten around to correctly labeling this cabin as a single. 

With the Key, are there any special benefits on Labadee or Coco Cay?