PhillyFan33579

Thanks for the information. That makes a lot of sense about being in the cabin when they call. I literally am only in my cabin to sleep, change or shower. So it’s possible I have gotten calls before but was never in the cabin to answer the calls.

Who calls you? I have been on 75 cruises and on dozens of them have never stepped foot in the MDR. Frequently it’s because we bought the UDP and other times it is due to a combination of eating in a few speciality restaurants and the WJ. I have never been called asking why aren’t we in the MDR. We have never stayed in anything above a JS and I am only a D+. Maybe you are called because you stay in suites or you are a Pinnacle?

I cruise out of Port Miami regularly and was there as recently as last Friday (no NCL ship in port). Both the entrance and exit to the parking garage were blocked. If the exit wasn’t blocked anyone could easily enter the parking garage and park there, especially considering there is never any port staff around the parking garage and terminal on days when there isn’t a ship in port. In the emergency situation you described, NCL would likely make arrangements with the port if the family needed to get their car early.

Good idea but this approach only works if NCL has a ship in port the same day your cruise begins and ends. On days NCL does not have a ship in port the entrance and exit to the parking garage for Terminal B are usually blocked.

The last several times I have cruised out of Miami from Terminal A I have parked in Parking Garage D since it is significantly cheaper ($13 less per day). I am in my late 50s and it is an easy 10 minute walk from Parking Garage D to Terminal A. However, I understand a 10 minute walk is not easy for some people for many reasons.

My guess is the OP (irun5k) is not that familiar with MTD and the reservation process. Like a lot of things in life, they will probably have a more favorable view of MTD if/when they are more familiar with the process.

I have been on a ship for March Madness multiple times in the past. Last year I was on Freedom for the first weekend of the tournament and the year before that I was on Independence for the second weekend of the tournament. They showed the majority of the games on Freedom and every game on Independence two years ago the last three days of the second weekend (I wasn’t on the ship for the games on Thursday night). The only downside for you is all these games were shown in Playmaker’s, which Allure doesn’t have. That is one rule I follow religiously in the Fall…I will not cruise on a ship during football season that doesn’t have Playmaker’s.

I am on Freedom right now. Olive or Twist (Viking Lounge) is open until 2 AM. The only bar open later is the casino bar.

Every city has its bad parts. Miami is beautiful in certain areas, but it definitely isn’t cheap.

I am currently on Freedom on a comped cruise. I have talked to many other people at the casino bar yesterday and today. The consensus is most people are like me…they lose more often than they win but they are happy with the amount of cruise offers they get. The only time I hear about people who say they always win or who say they won a free cruise after only betting $200 are on online sites like this one. There are always the exceptions who win a big pot or have a very good cruise, but they are the exceptions. The casino program wouldn’t exist if the majority of gamblers usually won.

If you like being in the water, I think it is worth it in the cooler months. I was at Coco Cay today. The Oasis Lagoon pool was freezing but the pool water in HB was perfect. However, I wouldn’t pay much more than the $21.99 PP I have paid both times I went there. Also, keep in mind I live in Florida so what I consider cold water is possibly different than someone who lives up North.

Or if towel charges are a frequent issue, go on Celebrity where they don’t track towels for all passengers.

I am on Freedom right now. I got to the port a little before 1 PM yesterday with my luggage in hand and went straight to my cabin when I boarded the ship and unpacked everything. More often than not I am carrying on my own luggage instead of dropping luggage off with porters. I like knowing all my luggage will be in my cabin after I board the ship. I have never understood the mindset that a lot of people have that they want to be on the ship as soon as possible. Getting on the ship a few hours later than the first passengers has never impacted my cruise.

I understood what you meant, but the name of the cruise line is Royal Caribbean International (so you don’t confuse more posters lol).

When we were on Symphony last week the lights in our cabin worked without anything being in the card slot. I don’t know if that was just limited to our cabin or if the card slot was not required ship wide.

I am a life long Eagles fan and long time season ticket holder, although I no longer have season tickets. It got to the point as I got older (late 50s now) that I would rather watch the Birds at my house in Florida instead of flying up to Philly numerous times every Fall. I don’t always wear a lanyard, but when I do I always wear one of the dozen or so Eagles lanyards I have (I have made exceptions and worn a Phillies lanyard multiple times).

You always share a cabin with a Pinnacle?

Like a previous poster mentioned, everyone’s favorite ship(s) is subjective. All things being equal I prefer bigger ships like you, but I still frequently cruise on smaller ships because I like to feel like I am cruising on water. It’s very easy to forget you are on water on an Oasis class ship. Icon is an improvement in this area, but there are several things on Icon that I thought were a big step backwards compared to Oasis class ships, although not to the point that I wouldn’t cruise on Icon again.

I thought Grand Turk was owned by the Carnival Corporation? Am I missing something or has something changed recently?

I just saw the screenshots you posted, but unless I missed it, I didn’t see the confirmation screen confirming your purchase.

This comes down to personal preference but I prefer Allure over Harmony because Allure has a pool in the Solarium, which Harmony doesn’t have. I agree Oasis class ships are overall better, but Mariner has two of my favorite bars (Bamboo Room and Playmaker’s) which Allure snd Harmony don’t have.

I just did several mock bookings. Prices for Christmas 2024 cruises are significantly lower if you stay away from Icon, Oasis class ships and newer Quantum class ships. Based on the current demand for cruises, I don’t think you will see any significant reduction in cruise fares around Christmas on RCI’s newer ships like the two you mentioned (Wonder and Symphony).

If your kids are like most 8 and 11 year olds, they probably won’t have fun at the Beach Club. I have been to the updated Coco Cay over thirty times and have experienced every combination of ships there. With the exception of the swim up bar area at the Oasis Lagoon pool and the floating bar at South Beach, I have never felt any part of the island was too crowded, including the dozen or so times I have been to the waterpark (I am in my late 50s but still a kid when it comes to water slides). And with the recent opening of Hideaway Beach at Coco Cay, that spreads out passengers even more. We spent the day there when we went there last month on Icon, and there were a lot of people at Hideaway Beach. I never left that area but I plan to walk around the island when I am there this weekend to see how other areas look with Hideaway Beach open.

Have you been to Nassau since the new terminal opened? The flow of passengers is much better since it opened. The port area right outside the terminal is also significantly better.

I think your definition of drinking is significantly different than a lot of others definition of drinking. People who “drink” definitely save money with the deluxe drink package. Of course it gets more complicated buying the drink package when you start getting free drinks based on reaching Diamond or higher and/or if you are Prime or higher and get free drinks in the casino. I cruise often with friends who are D+ and Signature and they still buy the deluxe drink package every cruise.