Engineroom Snipe

11 hours ago, Orange jeep said:

Going on Oasis of Seas March 2023 and stopping in Jamaica and Nassau plus private island which I am familiar with.  How is Jamaica and Nassau for port stops….things to do…any idea's

 

We have been on Oasis few times but not since revamp; how’s Diamond Lounge and where located.

 

Appreciate any information.

I have been to Nassau twice this year onboard the Anthem in April and Oasis this month. We also went in March 2019 as the last cruise on the water before the Pandemic shut-down.

Do you have an idea of what you would like to do such as shopping, eating, drinking, beach, historical, etc?

After two visits, we only spent about three hours off of the ship going to a local clothing shop we like for family gifts (good quality t-shirts and beach clothing) and a local craft brewing company which is a bit pricey for most people unless they are into craft beers. If you are into craft beers, it is actually quite reasonable compared to the states.

5 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

That is odd. I have booked 3-4 person rooms for just my husband and I. And I recently booked for my family of 3 an "ultra-spacious" balcony on Allure that sleeps 6. I wonder if it has to do with how booked up the ship is already when you tried to make the change?

I just booked a three person room for two people recently. 

1 minute ago, shellunderwater said:

I believe you misspelled something as "silt".  Autocorrect?

 

🤣

I used "silt" as a noun which describes sand or sediment in water. In this case, goldminers used to shovel silt into a sieve or type mesh to allow water to wash away the sediment and if lucky, get a few gold nuggets from their efforts.  I did get a laugh though that someone could read it as something else.

🤣😁 You might have read it the way my mind thought of it.

25 minutes ago, Radio said:

Captain Tore suggested that it was 2 reasons for the closure. A hydraulic leak was causing hydraulic fluid to seep into the water causing problems for the divers who are underwater during each show. The water was murky and it was difficult to see the swimmers. The murkiness was by hydraulic fluid. Everything seems to be repaired now. The Aqua80 show is now operating.

Then the hydraulic fluid leak makes perfect sense because the fluid would have damaged the filtration system. They had to fix the leak, clean the entire pool, and replace the filter elements. Thank you for the follow up. I enjoy reading your posts.

9 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Yes, I have found that the "Next Cruise" desk is a lot more knowledgeable and professional.  Hell, they have to be, they are a "face to face" sales force.  

 

My only bad, or not so good experience with the "Next Cruise" sales person was that the items they sell other than actual cruises (BOA C.C. for example) they many not tell you about the more important/critical disclaimers of the product.  For example:  The BOA C.C. points can only be used, when using the points to pay for a cruise, on the actual fare, not the insurance, taxes/fees, or gratuities.

  

On the other hand, the RCCL Customer Service representative I talked to yesterday told me to not pay the gratuities in advance and when I settle up with my onboard account, pay for everything, if you have enough points, with the Royal/BOA reward points, but you have to transfer the points over to you sailing in advance of sailing on the BOA website.

 

And yes, most cruise social media sites, including this one, is a very fine source of information.  You just have to know how to tune out some of the B.S. and accept that we all have different experiences, opinions, writing styles, educational levels, come from all over the world and tolerance levels.  

Your last paragraph is true of almost any blog or discussion in life. I have to weigh all of the perspectives and try and filter the golden nuggets from the silt. It takes effort but the results  can be golden 😉.

10 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Unfortunately, Royal's phone answerers, at least far too many, are just that, "PHONE ANSWERERS".  Under trained, uncaring, and in some cases, have the IQ of a rock.  I've found that it got worse with having people work from home during the pandemic.  They all need to be moved back into the mother ship and trained/supervised much closer.  

 

There are always exceptions.  I booked a reservation directly with Royal, yesterday.  I couldn't have been handled any more professionally.  This guy was amazing.  It was a first that I was so happy with RCCLs reservations agent/representative.  

 

I would suggest to anybody that is not comfortable with the answer(s) you get from a "phone answerer" at RCCL, call right back and ask again.  I've found that if I ask for a supervisor, it isn't any better or they will only tell you that one isn't available and they will have a supervisor call back which doesn't happen.

 

 

Onboard the Oasis on September 11,  last week, I went to Next Cruise in the late afternoon on the day of embarkation while my wife was recharging her batteries (napping in the Solarium in a perfect place that was not affected by the mist and rain). All three representatives were available. I had unlimited time to ask questions, verify information, and book my next cruise. The representative REALLY knew her stuff. Thanks to reading hundreds of threads on this site, I had a list of questions to confirm my expectations without any gray areas. Thank all of you for posting on Cruise Critic. I feel confident that there will be no surprises or misunderstandings.

On 9/13/2022 at 8:40 AM, robmtx said:

 

Did someone on staff actually say it was a hydraulics problem? At the Entertainment Staff Q&A last week they said it was a "water clarity" issue. The water is getting cloudy with multiple jumps, making it impossible for the safety team underwater to see what's going on. Without that clarity, they can't safely do rapid fire jumps. This is why they were going to drain the pool in Bayonne. 

 

As far as I could tell, all stage floors were working as intended. But I'm wondering now, maybe they have two separate issues? But a drained pool is a good sign they're at least addressing the cloudiness issue.

I was onboard this cruise and I noticed that engineering employees were wheeling around filtration pebbles and other items on Deck 5 aft near the Aqua Door Crew entrance (back of ship, near observation chairs). We walked between 8am and 10am everyday. I believe we were in Nassau when I saw them. I had owned and maintained many salt water aquariums and these items would be used for a sand gravel bacterial filtration system. Your water clarity statement would lead me to believe the explanation is correct.

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

I would think so too.  But, they do heat the water for many many reasons, obviously, and I would think that just adding in hot water for the laundry isn't that much of an increase in cost, all things being considered.  

 

The ship is powered by a liquid/carbon based fuel (diesel) to power the electric generators.  Other than powering the generators, everything else on the ship is powered by electricity, including the ship's propulsion/motors/Azipods (at least on the more modern ships).  On my last behind the scenes tour, on the Symphony, it was confirmed to me that there are no flame producing systems, including the galleys and Hibachi grills, used on the RCCL's more modern ships, maybe all.  Fire is a very very big concern on ships. 

 

Sorry for the extended remarks, I just find ship's operations very interesting.  I'd really like to have access, but it will never happen, to the ship's security systems as that is my background and great interest to me.   

 

   

I would not be surprised if they treated their engines as a co-generation plant with any excess exhaust heat and engine manifold heat being used to preheat water almost to the point of steam. The energy going to the laundry would have been wasted up the stack or exchanged to the sea anyway.

8 minutes ago, BND said:

My DH is a retired US Navy Captain.   I was just posting an experience we had and observed onboard.  He explained to our friends what was going on and why.   

Sorry, I was not aware you had a previous explanation. My post would be redundant after a US Navy Captain explained everything to you. My rating in the Navy was much lower than a full bird Captain. I was trying to reassure any future cruisers of that ship who might be worried the ship would be unsafe. I do not feel that RCL would ever intentionally send a ship to sea with significant safety problems or risks.

11 hours ago, BND said:

Ambulance chaser of the seas. 🙂

On GR several years ago we had a "fire" which turned out to be a smoking light fixture on Deck 8 Centrum.  They called out the fire teams. We were in the DL in the VCL and watched the crews outside.  It was pretty quickly handled and when we went to our cabin on Deck 8, it smelled like an electrical fire.  Problem with fire in electrical systems is it can travel along the wiring.  I googled this topic and got two real hits, one was the link posted and the other was this thread.  Obviously, not a big deal, but I wonder about the fact there was only one passenger who reported it and what the reality is.

On board a Navy vessel, there will be fire damage control based on four categories: Alpha, something that leaves ash like wood and paper, Bravo, liquid fuel like aviation or diesel, Charlie, a fire whose ignition and continuing combustion depends upon an electrical source, or Delta, a chemical or molecular material that after getting hot enough starts to use itself as a source of fuel and oxygen.

In this case for example, an exterior light fixture gets too much salt water condensation, it might short out the base when the salt water starts conducting the electricity instead of the bulb. The surrounding plastic materials might overheat and start burning as they melt. The first thing in damage control is to disconnect the electrical power source. Until this is done, The fire will keep reigniting itself despite copious amounts of water or extinguishing agents. On an exterior fixture on the weather decks, the fastest way to fight it is to disconnect the power and use a saltwater low velocity fog nozzle. They would not have to worry about water damage to the rest of the ship since it will just drain off into the ocean.

Should be no danger once extinguished. After action remedial inspections should include fixture, cables, raceways, and surrounding cables up to and including the disconnecting protective device (circuit breaker or fuse). Not hard to do for a trained crew. Should be nothing to worry about in this case.

If the current gets too high, the fuse or breaker should react and do an automatic disconnect. The wires are rated for the disconnect so any damage in this case should be limited to the fixture and immediate area wiring.

7 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Exactly...first run may (or may not) be fine.  Someone sneeze or coughs (droplets could easily be on hands), blows their nose without washing hands, and then uses the shared tong...it's spread again.

 

We were on Anthem in March.  Although it slowed things down, and it was harder to take just a taste of something or for example a "small" amount of syrup (no matter how I asked, they always gave me a large amount), I preferred the staff serving at the buffet.  It was just so much cleaner.  I've always been a germaphobe and would often use a paper towel or something when picking up the tongs.  Never trusted them.  

My wife and I were on the Anthem for an 8 day at the end of April and they were allowing self serve. I did notice that they had many premade items such as smoked salmon on a half-bagel with trimmings. They also had the option to allow people to self serve the same individual pieces.

2 hours ago, BND said:

Everyone has to do it regardless of whether they are getting off the ship or not.  You cannot board the ship without it.

There are many threads created about one month ago which went into great detail about all the changes to Safe Sail requirements. The following frequently asked question confirms your answer in the first paragraph. This is on RCL's current website. I know things can change but for now, you said it in a nutshell. You cannot board an RC ship today with Bermuda on its itinerary without the  cruise travel authorization.

Are there any additional requirements to cruise to Bermuda? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

The Bermuda government official cruise visitor authorization:

Make reservations | Bookings powered by resQwest.com (www.gov.bm)

My wife and I are planning an RC Cruise to Bermuda next year and I check them weekly for changes.

4 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

They no longer look at your vaccination card.

 

I just checked in with only my passport and setsail pass.  (on my phone).  Since you have to show your setsail pass a few times before you step on the ship, I wish that I had printed it out.  Easier (IMO) to carry a piece of paper in your hand than your phone, when you are pulling luggage.  I like to put my phone away while on the move.

Boarding at Bayonne on September 11 on the Oasis.  My wife and I were able to put our phones in a personal item bag through security and not need them until after getting onboard. My wife and I had already entered all passport, covid attestations, pictures, etc needed for pre-check online. we only needed our printed setsail passes during the whole process of boarding. Of course we had all of these items with us but did not need to take them out of our carry-ons.

We were waived through one checkpoint ahead of many people who were trying to bring up their setsail passes on their phones. This was more noticeable when there was a group of people (family).

3 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Just got off Serenade of The Seas on Sunday. Many people skipped the hand sanitizer dispener on the way to buffet and MDR. Staff turned a blind eye and said nothing. Hardly anyone wore mask or social distancing. More and more people started coughing around Day 4. Things are definitely returning to pre COVID normal.

I finished a cruise on Sunday also on the Oasis of the Seas. I did not notice people skipping the dispenser and wash station around me but the welcome staff at the entrance seemed to be more focused on counting heads than ensuring hand washing. I saw about 20% wearing mask on-board the ship but they were mostly older cruisers from multiple countries outside the US (I made this assumption when they did not speak English as a primary language). I observed very little social distancing. I did not see or hear much coughing or sneezing, even on the last day of the cruise.

Very interesting observation. Assume everyone washes their hands before entering the Windjammer. The tongs should not be contaminated. Now, I use the uncontaminated tongs to grab a hamburger to put on a roll which I used tongs. Still good good to go. I then use my hands to eat the hamburger. My hands should be clean but now I go back for more food and use the tongs. Did I lick my fingers after eating the last of the burger?

Unfortunately, these very actions occur at any buffet in America such as Golden Corral but they do not request or observe you washing your hands. This also occurs at most wedding events, birthdays, and anniversaries unless you are served sit down plates. In this scenario, you are subject to the good sanitation practices of your servers. Did they wash their hands thoroughly before serving you? Sanitation is at the mercy of the weakest link of storage, preparation, cooking, and serving of the dish.

I have been very lucky to not have been the recipient of any type of food problem on board ships. Everyone has to weigh their comfort level when you have very close contact with a large amount of people in a very confined space.