JPSemprini

Does anyone know if Royal Caribbean sells a transfer to Hobby that includes a stop at some other Houston area attraction (maybe Johnson Space Center)?  I once did an airboat ride after a cruise on the way to the Miami airport.  I am contemplating taking a cruise in April and looking at a potentially late flight home. I can't seem to find any info on Royal's website unless I have already booked the cruise.  

According to the only on-board account I have seen so far  https://jweekly.com/2023/10/17/on-board-a-massive-cruise-ship-americans-escape-israel-to-cyprus-and-parts-unknown/  the cost for the voyage is estimated between $300-500. 

So the Windjammer was open, of course, and Rhapsody has a live-in rabbi during its Israeli season to make sure kosher meals were available.  "Standard entertainment"--a reggae band by the pool and movies were provided and the gift shop was open.  (No word about the casino!)

I guess I missed the point about there being only 159.  But I still am curious about the specifics.  I did just read an article that said that Rhapsody was just the first vessel (as if more were expected). I also suspect most amenities weren't offered but I still wonder which ones were.

Not to forget the gravity of the situation but I am really curious about the logistics of this operation and just what type of amenities these passengers have access to.  I am sure that food would be available in the WJ and probably the MDR, but what about specialty dining restaurants and cocktails?  I know that the journey doesn’t last more than a half day or so, but I am sure that some of the passengers will be happy to be able to just take a shower or lie down in a real bed, or yeah, maybe a dip in the pool.  Pray tell, do you think the casino is open? 

Sure, Royal is recouping some of the money of an otherwise idled ship until she returns to the Caribbean.  I also wonder if there will be more than just one trip out of Israel during the meantime.  Certainly there is the potential of some goodwill rubbing off on some of these evacuees. 

Yeah, the same thing came to me after I posted.  It didn't dawn on me at all before.  Still it seems pretty lame in any event. 

I received a recent Casino Royale "multi-line mix" offer.  I thought maybe they were offering a sailing on a RC sister cruise line--but no--it wasn't any different from the many other offers I get for losing so much money in the casino.  I'm very curious what they meant by that, but I don't want to waste my time on the phone waiting to talk to someone who won't know the answer anyway.  I thought maybe the creative people who read this board would probably have some idea (or at least make something entertaining up).  So what do you think they meant by multi-line mix?

So I didn't mention it on the survey, but I did submit an email comment to guest services and received a response (both copied below).  They apologized profusely. 

HI just completed the online survey but didn't find a place to mention about the experience in the Platinum Theater.  I sailed on Liberty of the Seas from Bayonne on May 13.  There was a screening of the "80 For Brady" scheduled one evening in the Platinum Theater.  About 10 or 15 minutes into the film a crackling sound started.  At first it wasn't so bad since the film was also subtitled.  But it kept getting louder and louder so that you couldn't hear the dialogue at all.  I realize that films on the big screen in the theater are not the most popular attraction on board (I guess there were no more than 50 people in the theater at the time.)  But after a few more minutes of no one coming to fix the problem my wife and I had to leave.  I was very disappointed--not just for missing the movie--but that I don't think that there was even a ship employee in the theater at the time to even know that there was a problem.

Thank you for reaching out. We apologize for the extended delay in our response. More customers than ever before are choosing the convenience of correspondence as their primary mode of communication. As a result, the turnaround time for responses has increased substantially.

We're saddened to learn of the disappointment you describe regarding your theater experience. Kindly note that our goal is to provide the best quality of entertainment for our guests. That being said, we're disheartened that the difficulty you encountered reflects poorly on our commitment to meeting this goal. Please accept our sincere apologies for the dissatisfaction you faced. Additionally, it’s unfortunate that our onboard staff was not aware of the issue to review and rectify the concern while you were onboard. Nevertheless, I assure you that the feedback you share is a valuable and essential part of our ongoing improvement endeavors. Your perspective is extremely important and helps immensely as a method of measuring our performance. Therefore, your comments and observations have been forwarded to our operational teams for internal evaluation.

Sam, we greatly appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. Have a pleasant day.

Sincerely,

Ily Rendon

Royal Guest Experience Management

Actually I never mentioned it to anyone on the ship.  I'm sure they would have apologized profusely.  But I will mention it in my after cruise survey that I haven't done yet..

I just got back from my 5 night cruise to Bermuda.  Although weather was inclement much of the cruise everything went mostly typically well.  But I did want to post some info about my Liberty of the Seas cinema viewing.  It's not that I think movies on board are all that wonderful (or even that popular--there were maybe 40 or 50 people for the screening I went to) but seeing a film on a large screen in a real theater is just a much nicer experience than on a big screen by the pool, or little screens in the karaoke bar (yes they do show films in there), on your cabin television or even tinier hand held screens of mobile devices.  That said, I was kind of looking forward to a presentation of  80 For Brady playing in the Platinum Theater one evening.  The first 10 minutes or so were fine then a crackling sound became audible.  At first it was bearable especially since the film was sub-titled.  But the noise kept getting louder and louder so that you couldn't hear the dialogue at all.  Nobody came to fix the problem; hell, there probably wasn't anyone from the ship even in the theater. After a few more minutes my wife and I got up and left.  It was very disappointing. 

I would hazard to guess that the majority of responses on this site are either totally off point from the actual question, sarcastic, or some attempt at showing what an experienced/savvy cruiser the respondent is. Be that as it may, I think that is why I even browse the site; it's all very entertaining!

Thanks, I just did that--it looks like they are using On Air. I wouldn't think the karaoke bar would be a suitable place--what are they doing--showing the film on a bunch of different monitors? Or maybe they have reconfigured the room somehow. 

I will be sailing to Bermuda on Liberty of the Seas in a few weeks and was wondering if someone who has been on the ship recently might know the venue where they publicly show movies other than the outdoor screen (that is or will be fixed during its one cruise hiatus for “maintenance”).  I really don’t consider the films shown at night on the pool deck as anything but background noise.  I have been on a few ships where they actually have shown relatively recently released films in the main theater primarily in the afternoon when it would otherwise be dark. I really enjoy this and wish it were a regular feature across the fleet.  

We were on the Explorer Aug 20 and also did not have the positional map on the television.  

Sorry, I was thinking sea class but wrote sky class. 

Right now there is no mention in the app about Coastal Kitchen (nor Bistro for that matter) probably because it's complimentary and isn't taking reservations yet.  This is really no big deal; if it's a day by day thing, I will check into it when I am aboard.  I just found it strange missing from the restaurant list and wondered if something had happened.  

From another site I read a couple issues of Cruise Compass from very recent sailings of Symphony of the Seas.  I found it odd that there was no mention of either Coastal Kitchen or Solarium Bistro in the restaurants list.  Does anyone know if they are still operating?  If so, we will be in a Junior Suite on an upcoming trip aboard Symphony and wonder if anyone also knows the current status of Sky Class passengers eating in Coastal Kitchen for dinner.

How can someone else answer if it is worth it for you?  If you play enough in the casino you will get all kind of offers for future cruises.  If you are not sure if you play enough in the casino (maybe that is why you are asking the question in the first place) consider how much the cruise would cost without the casino offer.  Non-gamblers (and those who do not gamble very much) pay a lot to go on cruises, getting one for free (less port charges, taxes, tips, and transportation to port, of course) seems to be a no brainer if you like to cruise in the first place. I am someone who never wanted to cruise, until I started to cruise.  About six years ago our first cruise was subsidized by an offer from a local land based casino.  We are taking our eighth cruise later this month and have never paid an actual cruise fare.  Since we plan on gambling in the casino anyway we just sort of consider it payment on our next cruise.   And if we win (believe it or not-- that sometimes happens) we come out ahead.   

I don't know--maybe keep them both and go back and forth between the two. 

A quick follow up...the three prong adapter worked out just fine.  The euro adapter made it on the ship but not before questioning during carry-on screening, but wasn't used because the cabin outlets were recessed and the adapter wouldn't actually fit.  The suite did have an extra outlet where the coffee maker was plugged in.  

Happy sailing and merry Christmas to all.  

Navigator of the Seas

Thanks.  I kind of figured it was okay and plan to take it along on our upcoming cruise on Navigator.  I was looking for the European to NA adapter I had from a trip a few years back and couldn't find it, but did find the Euro/NA voltage converter which has a fuse in it--I imagine that is forbidden.  Most of the things we have are dual voltage so the adapter, if I can find it, will work for an extra outlet.  This is more of an academic question because In all honesty I don't think we have all that many things to plug in anyway--but I did wish that they did provide at least one more outlet!  Oh, on this trip we will be staying in a Grand Suite for the first time.  Does anyone know if it has an extra outlet as compared to a regular balcony?  

I have not asked Royal Caribbean yet (maybe I don't want to know the official answer) but does anyone know if power tap adapters are allowed on RC ships.  The one I am thinking of is a simple three-prong grounded plug that converts one outlet into three.  There is no surge protection...very old school or USB outlets involved.  Anybody have any experience with this?

41 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

is there a website that shows where all the ships are docked during this pandemic?

 

want to see port everglades, which is still 200 miles closer than port orlando

cruisemapper.com

We just cancelled our airline reservations but are still booked on 4/12 Oasis sailing out of Miami.  We had a guarantee Jr. Suite which got upgraded to a Grand Suite (which would be our first time in such a cabin!).  The whole thing was comped by the casino so the FCC vs cash debate is moot.  I'm sure we will get future casino offers once the emergency situation is over.  I won't cancel the cruise until close to the deadline with the hope that if they cancel they just might give us another suite.  In any event, we will not be sailing on Easter.  

Based on the responses in this thread, most of you agree that cruises won't begin until much later.  Does anyone think that RCI hasn't already made that decision?  I understand their reasoning, but if that is true, does anyone else think it's pretty crappy of them to delay announcing it? 

According to MarineTraffic.com her destination is anchoring west of the bay.