CaribbeanCrushed

18 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Unknown whether she will just drop us off and sail around offshore and return in the morning or whether she will remain berthed for the day.

Thanks! I guess we could check the webcam before heading down.

Will she be in port on the 26th? We are cruising out of port Everglades on the 27th, but would love to drive down if there is a chance to see her. 

We will book a specialty restaurant if there is something we are celebrating during the cruise. 

39 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We cruised Alaska on Ovation 2 years ago May.  It was a very smooth sailing..... until the day before we reached Victoria and it got very rough to the point RC hung bags at the bottom of each stairs. It eased up after we left Victoria and headed to Seattle. 

Each cruise is different.   Your whole cruise may be smooth. One thing that shouldn't change is the beauty of Alaska. I bet y'all will love it.

My wife at times deals with motion sickness.   She takes Bonine each morning.   She did not get sick on the roughest night.

  Alaska is one of our favorites .

Enjoy the cruise.

Thanks!

We have a sailing booked for Alaska in May. I have seen several reports about rough seas, particularly when sailing back to Seattle. I know that on a cruise you should alway be prepared, especially if you tend to deal with motion sickness. I’m interested to hear if others have experienced this and if so, how extreme it was. My wife doesn’t have motion sickness issue, but if it is really rough I might need to be prepared for her as well.

On 12/24/2023 at 8:53 AM, Tlbecker1 said:

We were in Barcelona coming back to Miami in November.  We always leave early and was thankful we did.  They were having a marathon and what should have taken us 15 minutes, took us 1-1/2 hours to get to the port.  I am so glad that we always leave early.

we had a similar experience in Miami last year. Roads were blocked off and to add to the traffic problem there was an accident in the tunnel. 

This was great! Thanks for sharing!

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

I can’t believe how many in the theatre were cheering for the change to Nassau.  Wish they would have changed to CocoCay. 
 

By way of extra info, Labadee was changed because they had heavy rain and flooding that damaged the infrastructure. 
 

Blur Lagoon dolphin swim may be fun for the kids.  We did that once, but who knows what will be offered.  Of course, didn’t they recently have a major incident with the boat that takes you there?

Would be disappointed if we had to skip Labadee, but we have enjoyed Nassau on our visits. 

2 hours ago, newcruzer2 said:

My check in starts on the 14th ( yes I could just wait to find out, BUT that wouldn't be me LOL ) I am already planning on doing it at 11pm (my time) on the 13th, as per other threads has mentioned.

my questions , what are the usual times available??( like 10-4 or less... like 11-2)

I've downloaded  app so I can grab a time and finish check on the 14th, but app is pretty  bad, I have reserved all my shows thru website and it shows on website but a week later app still shows nothing on my calendar,

so my final question is.... when I go on app at 11pm on the 13th, will the check in/ choose a time,  be apparent and easy for me to understand 

Thanks in advance 

We are the same, one hour ahead of the east coast. Worked great and was pretty easy (even for a guy who was half asleep). Picked our check-in time that night and finished the process the next day. 

7 hours ago, beth555 said:

We are booked on Harmony of the Seas for Jan 21 and cannot book anything yet. Per the website they are still putting the finishing touches on the entertainment lineup. I thought it was suppose to open Dec 1. I wish it was more consistent. 

You would think that it would be, just like the online check-in

It was Dec. 1st for our Jan. 27th sailing on Symphony

I have heard that the jazz club is being converted to the smoke free casino. Wondering if they have moved the jazz to another venue.

3 hours ago, APDMOM said:

The Verdict on Symphony:

 

For perspective:  Our last cruise on Royal Caribbean, prior to this one, was November 2019.  Our most recent few cruises (post Covid) were with MSC and Celebrity.   

 

Overall, it was truly a week of gratitude for us to be able to cruise.  We did notice the cutbacks. Considering the economy and inflation, I prefer cutbacks (within limits) over hiking the price out of my reach.  We love cruising so much, but this was one of the most expensive cruises we had booked.  I will put in a chart later for comparison.  If the value is still better than a land vacation, we will keep cruising. 

 

We LOVED:

 

The friendly service - from fixing a charge at guest services to our room steward, to our Solarium dining service, to almost every bartender - it was clear to me that the Royal Caribbean crew members are much happier than those on MSC.  

 

The diamond vouchers - This is a huge improvement to the program, in my opinion.  It allowed us to enjoy non-alcoholic drinks, including specialty coffee and milkshakes!  DH and DS do not drink alcohol, so this was a nice adaptation to the program.  The fact that it is available all day is another plus.  That couple of hours in the diamond lounge was never our cup of tea - especially with the location and lack of views in the diamond lounge on this class ship.

 

The itinerary - We love Aruba and Curaçao, and we always enjoy the fact that Labadee is so easy to access.  Many sea days are not ideal on a sold out cruise, but we always found a fun and quiet spot, whether on our balcony, on deck 7 aft, on deck 5 aft, etc.  There were always non-crowded spaces to be found on sea days. 

 

The ship - This is still my all-time favorite class ship.  After 43 cruises on a variety of cruiselines and classes, Oasis class tops the chart for us.  Of course, I have my bucket list... 👀Keeping an eye out for dropped prices on Icon class!  

 

The food - The soups were consistently good.  Salad in the Park Cafe was amazing, except on one day when it was a bit limp.  Salad in Solarium Bistro was excellent - all those Mediterranean options were very good (except the lamb).  Ice cream from the soft serve, and vanilla milkshakes from Johnny Rockets were very creamy and good.  Of course, the campfire cookie was a repeater.  Curry dishes were great most of the time, especially the last night in Solarium Bistro.  Those are the high points of food, but there were plenty of 'usuals' like the coconut cookie!  

 

The shows - Royal Caribbean obviously continues to spend a lot of money on the shows.  They were excellent! 

 

What we did not like too much:

 

Lots of chair hogging, loud music (that I don't call music) at the pool, and the app occasionally not showing the correct time.

 

 Thankfully, we did not run into too much rowdy behavior this cruise, but there were some kids sliding down the stair rails, including young children just supervised by older siblings.  It seems like the ship did apply discipline warnings, as there were 3 cabins I walked by with a Discipline notification stuck on the door one morning. I was tempted to open it and read what it said, but I refrained 😇🤣

 

We did have loud teens in the cabin next to us - I think the adults allowed them to room together.  After two nights, they quieted down, so another neighbor must have reported them.  This can happen on almost any cruise, on almost any ship, so it is not related to this specific cruise.

 

In summary, we are very grateful that we can afford to cruise, that we are healthy to be able to take the stairs (elevators were BUSY!), that we have a family that gets along so well, and that we have another cruise booked!  We will gladly go on Symphony again, if the opportunity arises - it is a great cruise experience.  

 

If I think of anything else, I will add tips... I have MANY ship pictures.  

 

 

We sail in Jan. This was actually the most expensive cruise we’ve booked.

3 minutes ago, doghog said:

You select your check in time to show up at the embarkation terminal. Not boarding time. 

Understood. Just wanting to make sure the process was the same as our last cruise. 

3 hours ago, JHU said:

 Heads up all:  I'm sailing on Vision in January and CANNOT do check in on a computer.  You must check in via the APP or stand in a longer line at the pier (for me, Baltimore).  Royal is doing this experiment with the Vision and the Grandeur (info from Royal representative) with the idea of extending to the entire fleet.  Luggage tags will be emailed.  I've reserved my arrival time via the APP but will probably do my check in in person.  Don't like being forced into using tech I don't quite trust (yeah, I know, get over it).  

Thanks for the heads up

4 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

 

If you check in using the app you can skip ahead and get your boarding time and then come back later to finish checking in. When you are ready to finish checking in you can do it on the app or online. 

That’s my plan. We wanted to make sure to have the earliest boarding slot, so I was up at 11:00 (central time). It worked out great. 

37 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

My View: End of day 8 - At Sea

 

Thankful we had these 8 days of relaxation and family time.

 

The Cruise Graveyard:

This is the worst part of cruising! 

2 minutes ago, yogimax said:

The problem is that at this time of year it could be too cold to sit outside.  It just seems to me that Portside Barbecue is a dining venue and the limited indoor seating area should be for those who are actually eating.  If there are empty seats... no problem but we had to stand around until the performer finished and people left.

Time of day could also be a factor. On both of our visits there was plenty of seating indoors and outside.

8 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Guy with a guitar in a cowboy hat.  Finished with Sweet Caroline.

He was great! I was surprised to have live entertainment. I thought it was a nice touch and the outside seating is an option for those who might not want music. 

1 hour ago, SquishTheWhale said:

Hi, I'd like to try Portside BBQ on Oasis on our May cruise. I can't see any reservations on the planner- do we need to book when on board, or is it just a walk in and wait for a table situation?

 

Thank you 🙂

We ate there twice on our last cruise. The food was great. Relatively quick. There are tables  outside to enjoy if the weather is favorable. 

24 minutes ago, pretzlaff said:

Just a quick note on disembarking in Fort Lauderdale. 
 

The schedule showed 7am for self getting off. We got in line at 5:45. They started at 6:15. 5 minutes thru immigration. Many, many cabs waiting. Got to the Brightline train station in 15 minutes. Tickets in hand and in the waiting room at about 6:45. 
 

Good cruise. 

Just spotted the ship on the webcam. Looks like you left her in good shape. 😂

If the vaccine works why would we worry about those who don’t get it? Not trying to be a smarty pants, just trying to understand?

5 hours ago, LorraineP said:

If you’re driving to port take whatever makes you happy. No need to eliminate anything & stress out. 

We are definitely looking forward to the TAD. I doubt we'll leave the ship at this point, just relish to fact that we don't have to deal with all that comes with getting to the ship, i.e. getting out of the hotel, traffic, rental car return and check-in.

5 hours ago, snichols23 said:

Plan wardrobe around 1-2 colors. Neutral bottoms and colored tops. Couple of scarves and jewelry will change outfits. We packed for a week and rotated.

 

Go to camping department at Walmart or similar and buy detergent sheets for hand washing. Smaller than package of gum and don’t leak. Take clothes line and some magnetic hooks. Pick up travel sizes of Downy wrinkle release and Febreeze spray. Hang clothes in a way that they can “air”. Take stain treatment such as Spray N Wash towelettes.
 

When you get laundry bag, roll clothes up tightly to save room. November/December 2019 did B2B for 31 days. Did laundry 2x. Worked well.

Thanks!

11 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Yes-People watching is always fun, especially on the first day.  Sometimes we stay on the promenade of a freedom or oasis class ship and watch the passengers jaws drop when first get on board. 
 

m

That sounds like fun!