MorganClark

40 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

IMO it was. We would up changing some of our Chops reservation to Giovani’s. We preferred the food and staff there. A really fun group! BTW don’t forget to fill out the Royal survey and mention special staff members by name. It help them with salary and promotions. There were so many on this cruise. Luckily my DD wrote all of their names down. 
 

The filet:

 

Oh, I forgot to tell you. On the dock in Freeport, I was about to reboard AOS when I look to the right (down the dock) and the Captain is walking down the dock examining the ship's hull. He walked right up to me when I waved "hi" to him. He ended up talking with me about 5 - 6 minutes! He was a real nice guy. He was from Poland. I took the opportunity to personally tell him how awesome his crew & hotel staff have been on the cruise. I also told him that I loved the AOS and that the cruise exceeded my expectations. I really appreciated that he took the time to talk with me.

41 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

 

Enjoy!! The cruise went by so fast. Don’t forget to have that second antigen test. If your hotel does not offer it walk next door to the Hilton. They had it. Talk to you soon on our other thread. 

Thanks! Yeah, I found out that there will be a mobile medical team here at the hotel lobby (Holiday Inn Express), giving rapid antigen tests tomorrow (Mon) at 3 pm.

It was so great to finally meet you (& your daughters and friend) and officially have a VERY SUCCESSFUL inaugural RP cruise. Let's do it again!

32 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

 

Thanks for following along. We all had a great cruise. Everything was perfect except for the WiFi. Our cabin was aft and for some reason we had really poor service there. It was great meeting people. Due to the small number of passengers you wind up seeing the same people and getting to know them. 😃

My complaints were; 1. the misinformation RCI gave out (in writing) that a covid pcr test was required 5 days or less from arriving in the Bahamas (which I had) when in fact, it was actually 5 days or less from sailing date. I gave RCI a "3" on their post-cruise survey in the check-in process section solely for this reason (I gave 9's & 10's in all other sections of the survey). 2. the snail-like slowness in uploading videos using Voom. I thought that  uploading pics & text were fairly good with Voom. It was just uploading videos.

30 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

It was a total cluster! YES get VeriFLY. It will cut your time in line. NOTE: you must create a new trip in the VeriFLY app to enter the US. Also, get Global if you can.
 

So many flights were delayed yesterday so people were taxing the limited food and airport facilities. We wound up sitting on the floor. Luckily our flight was not delayed. We would have gotten home by 10 PM but we sat on the tarmac in LA for over an hour. THAT airport is a total mess. Be warned for those flying in and out of LA - the construction is worse. Allow a lot of extra time. We did not get home until 11:30 PM which was 2:30 AM Nassau time. 

@Akina13

Even though I didn't use VeriFLY when I flew in to Nassau, can I download the app and use it for my return flight (to Grand Rapids, MI) in order to by-pass the mess/congestion  at Nassau airport? Also, how about Global? (I didn't use Global for my flight to Nassau either). Is it worth it to have both?

59 minutes ago, PaulS said:

Since the antigen test you got on the Adventure will be more than 3 days old when you fly home, do you have to get another one while in Nassau?

Yes. Fortunately, the receptionist here at the Holiday Inn Express told me that they have a mobile medical team that will be here in the lobby giving rapid covid antigen tests tomorrow (Mon) afternoon at 3 pm. I'll probably have to pay for it though.

45 minutes ago, CTGen04 said:

Thank you so much @HBCcruiser and @MorganClarkfor this terrific thread! I genuinely enjoyed following along and learned a lot! You got my attention early on when you shared that you flew out of Grand Rapids airport! My dad grew up in Holland MI, windmills, wooden shoes and stunning Lake Michigan. Enjoy your time in Nassau, and safe travels home.

Thanks! I defer all credit for this LIVE thread to @HBCcruiser, who started (& posted to) it.

Yeah, I live in Muskegon, right up 31 from Holland (where your dad grew up). Where do you live? For this cruise, I pretty much had to fly of Grand Rapids because of the connecting flights. Delta connecting in Atlanta was the best choice (shorter layover & decent airfare). But, I am trying to book with United because they have a "shuttle" flight (United Express) to/from Muskegon Airport from/to Chicago O'Hare Airport. From O'Hara, you can fly anywhere. As  matter of fact, for my next cruise (Celebrity Edge, Oct 2-9, 2021 out of Port Everglades), I will be flying out United out of Muskegon. But, for this particular cruise, flying Delta out of GR was the best choice (for the aforementioned reasons).

Yeah, since I am so close to Holland, I have a pair of formal wooden water shoes. I should've worn them to formal night dinner when I lost my regular shoes on Adventure of the Seas. @RumRunner2021 and @oteixeiraknow what I'm talking about 😉.

1 hour ago, AJain said:

Thank you, I have been on a HAL cruise before, but not these ships.  But I somehow missed the taco bar.  A nacho fix is always welcome, along with a margarita! 

Is HAL "solo-friendly"? And if yes, how so? (i.e. studio cabins).

18 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

The "two bonus Latitudes points" promo may end and not return in it's current form.  I believe that is one that comes and goes.

I think you just wanted to be on this thread because it was started by someone with the CC screen name "ScratchTheRat". I think you were hoping for a back scratch 😉  (*poke*)

Here is the interior of my room (#501);

Definitely not fancy, but it meets my needs and "gets the job done";

The receptionist here remembered me from my 4-night pre-cruise stay, so I think she "hooked me up" with a nice room location (beach view) on the 5th floor. Here's my view (Junkanoo Beach);

*duplicate post*

25 minutes ago, LadyBeBop said:

Is it a buffet?  Or did someone serve you?

 

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, just outside of Houston last month. Week-long stay, visiting family. Free breakfast as well, but we were served. After four days of cold eggs and chewy bacon, we ate breakfast elsewhere. 

Your breakfast looks good. 
 

BTW, do you feel smarter since you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, last night?  (Remembering the old commercials.)

It's a buffet; serve yourself. Food (eggs, sausage, bacon, etc) actually isn't bad.

When looking at the rates of other hotels here in Nassau, yeah I definitely feel smarter.

This will be the only time (one and done) that I'll have to fly to (and stay at a hotel in) Nassau, Bahamas to board a cruise ship (i.e. Adventure of the Seas) that is temporarily home-ported here.

Some of my upcoming booked cruises stop in Nassau for a traditional port call.

POST-CRUISE ADDENDUM

3-night stay at the Holiday Inn Express, Nassau, Bahamas

I thought I'd add on a few more pics & a few more "quips" while I'm doing my post-cruise stay at Holiday Inn Express in Nassau.

Compared to other hotels in downtown Nassau, this Holiday Inn Express is a deal, imo. Full breakfast is included;

3 hours ago, perfect match said:

It’s been great sailing along with you, @HBCcruiser, @MorganClark, @Akina13, and everyone else who has contributed to this thread. Thank you all for sharing your cruise on Adventure with all of us! 
 

Congrats to @ReneeFLL on getting chosen for the Allure simulated cruise! We’re sailing on Allure in September! can’t wait for our turn to come! 
 

@MorganClark, I’ll be looking for you on the Celebrity board after we’re done with our Allure cruise to help me get through my post cruise blues, and maybe to convince DH that we should make the drive to Port Everglades to give the Edge a try.

Thank you for your kind words. All credit goes to @HBCcruiserfor initiating (and posting to) this LIVE thread.

Yeah, I'll be definitely doing a similar LIVE thread on my Celebrity Edge cruise (Oct 2-9, 2021). I had a lot of fun contributing (with humorous posts, hopefully & my pics) to @HBCcruiser's LIVE thread. So, I got lots of practice.

I already have a plan in place to deal with my post-cruise blues. It will be some "fresh water" cruising on Lake Michigan, taking the Lake Express auto/passenger fast-ferry from my home town of Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI and then returning to Ludington. Michigan (from Manitowoc, WI) on the historic (registered National Historic Landmark) SS Badger. Also, on both these vessels, I can even bring my pick-up truck! Can't do that on a cruise ship.

By all means, you gotta convince your DH to jump on the Edge out of Port Everglades. Join me onboard Edge on Oct 2nd! You said "drive" to Port Everglades, so I'm assuming you live in another part of Florida? If yes, even more reason to jump on Edge! Good luck convincing your DH.

5 hours ago, RumRunner2021 said:

Are those the cruises we've seen pictures of?  (i.e. masks everywhere, 20% occupancy in shows and bars, people having to stay in their assigned light circles on the dance floor, etc.)

I'm not advocating one particular cruise line over the other in these very challenging times (dealing with covid and covid protocols) but I can tell you from personal experience that I just got off Adventure of the Seas out of Nassau, Bahamas and onboard the ship, masks were not required to be worn by passengers anywhere. (All crew were required to wear masks though). Now, there were some covid protocols in place that were noticeable, i.e. no sitting at the bar itself inside bars & lounges, a crew person would serve you at the buffet restaurant "Windjammer" and at the Coke and soft-serve yogurt machines, some seats in theaters were covered up (reserved) for social distancing, to name a few. But, for me personally, these measures were not over burdensome at all and I fully understood that RCI was erring on the side of caution (probably due to a few + covid cases they had on other ships in their fleet). Another example of RCI's erring on the side of caution is when they "changed course" <- (ship pun fully intended) and decided to require a - covid pcr test 5 days or less prior to sailing date (although RCI "fumbled the ball" on this because their newly implemented written policy clearly stated that the - pcr test was required 5 days or less before arriving in Nassau, Bahamas. (See the AOS LIVE review thread). Btw, I gave RCI a "3" in their check-in process on the post-cruise survey for this sole reason. I also described this issue in detail in the narrative block(s) on the survey.

Bottom line for ne; I would gladly sail with RCI again with the protocols they had in place onboard Adventure of the Seas. Cruising with only 35-40% pax capacity was nice, and I mean really nice. Like I posted on the AOS LIVE thread; it was the "Goldilocks effect", not too many passengers, not too few passengers, it was "just right". 

Cruise now to take advantage of these reduced capacity sailings because once the cruise lines get back up to 100% pax capacity, you'll never see these "Goldilocks" (reduced pax capacity) cruises again. The crowded pool deck and the chair hogs will be back!

4 hours ago, RumRunner2021 said:

Wait a tick...  Are you calling me a cool 🐈 or a dirty 🐀?  I've been called both......just today!  😎

 

But, at the end of the day, @BermudaBound2014 has promised to buy me a beer.  So I've got that going for me..... 🤣

Actually, I'm calling you a combination of both; a cool rat. Speaking of cool 😎,  I think @BermudaBound2014is also because she is from the Great Lakes state of Michigan (like yours truly).

What do you think, are my rodent senses detecting potential RP material here (with @BermudaBound2014?)

31 minutes ago, RumRunner2021 said:

I'm fairly certain that neither @wally4ever nor anybody else in these threads has ever said any such thing.  Do you have a link?  I want 100% vaxed so that I don't have to wear a stupid mask, skip the buffet and sit fifteen feet apart at the bar and in the shows.  Dying is of no concern (well, other than the fact that that fate awaits all of us 💀).

 

Ahh but cats..errr...rats have 9 lives. *Poke*

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

💃💃💃 🥂🍹🍸🍷🍾 Was verified today.

 

Cool 😎. I'll be doing a TA on Allure (Port Everglades, Fla to Barcelona, Spain) in April 2022.

5 hours ago, DonnaMarieNJ said:

I have a question about CC.  If I wanted to follow another one of your (or someone else's) "live" threads, how do I find it?  I've tried searching the threads, and want to search for the word "live" in "titles only," or something to that effect.  Also, since I am going on the Anthem soon, I tried to search for a "live" thread on that ship, and, unless I'm doing it incorrectly, there are none.  I don't mean to hijack your thread (I waited until it was just about over), but I can't message anyone and I did try to find the answer myself.  It doesn't have to be Royal, but in general - how do I search for a word in the title or find threads that a poster creates?

I'm not that tech savvy to give you the answer but I bet @Sailing12Awayand/or @HBCcruisercan help with your question.

3 hours ago, batoryfirst said:

I stand corrected. You ARE a delight. Love your zest for life. 

 

Nancy

Thanks so much again. I'm fortunate to have such zest because I have a passion for ships/cruising and retirement. I have combined them. Also, I shower with a bar of Zest at home 😜.

56 minutes ago, batoryfirst said:

MorganClark - you were a delight.

Still am 😉.  JK - thanks for the very kind words, they mean alot.

26 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

Thoroughly enjoyed following along with all of you this past week.  Thank you so much for sharing your excitement and experiences with us, and all of the helpful details for our upcoming travels!

All credit goes to @HBCcruiserfor creating and posting to this thread.

1 hour ago, GA Dave said:

Me too.  Hopefully, I will join #MorganClark and the other rodents soon by retiring in the next few years.  I would love to compete for the "Most Frequent Cruiser" award!  

You're on!

1 hour ago, HuliHuli said:

You left out clothing optional cruises @At Sea At Peace.  Oh yea, a mask mandate kills that option, right? 😉🤣

Giggity

https://images.app.goo.gl/JmRyUrd29WqrQA1D9

15 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

And there you have it........ an internet disagreement that  ends in a friendly drinking game 🙂

 

I love cruise criitic and believe that when it all shakes out those of us who love cruising have much in common.

He's not called RumRunner2021 for nothing.

7 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Thanks to everyone on board this week who posted here.  This thread was a very enjoyable read!

@HBCcruiserdeserves the credit. She started and posted to this thread.