Aquahound

The way I understand it from living with my Spanish-speaking counterparts down here is....

If you are pronouncing the word in Spanish, the proper pronunciation is "kay."

However, since most islands (as we know them) are preceeded or proceeded with English words like "Little Stirrup Cay," the proper English pronunciation is "key."

This is how the Florida Keys came to be spelled K-E-Y, from the English pronunciation of the word.

Guess I'm gonna have to disagree to a significant degree, unless you consider distilled sea water not to be fresh. Many ships use this process rather than the filtration process to which you refer. It's about as pure as fresh water can possibly be.

You are correct. Perhaps I didn't explain it right, which would be my bad. The point I was making is that the water still comes from the sea.

Just so it's clear, no ships have freshwater pools. They all use sea water. Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney, and whoever else advertises "fresh water," pump the sea water through an intricate filter system to remove most of the salt, making it more "fresh."

Cruise ships can not have standard chlorinated pools because they have to be able to drain the pools for numerous reasons. Most importantly, for safety, is to avoid free-surface effect in rough seas.

Not sure how this happens. Any body have any pics??:rolleyes:

No, but I have some great video. ;) My wife yells at me every time I watch it!

Gotta go with a past CD here. My favorite was Matt Baker (the harmonica playing Brit). Rumor has it he is with NCL now. :(

My Seapass card says "Diamond Member" on it. Other than the occasional "Welcome back," I am treated no different than the guy next to me with nothing written on his card.....and that's the way it should be, even pertaining to suites.

As for the gold cards, is it possible they combined the CL key with the room key....finally?

Really nice pictures.I like the size of the cabin.It looks nice. The first picture you posted looks half obstructed with that life boat right there yet the picture with Tine sitting on the window sill doesn't look that bad.Is it because she's seated higher?I like the view from where Tine was seated.I really don't want a big honkin life boat as my view.

Thanks for posting.I enjoyed all your pictures!

Thank you! :)

It really depends. The lifeboat obstructs your view down more than anything. That first pic you saw, I was standing right at the window looking down at the boat. Standing back a little and looking straight out, you don't even see it. You'll still have a great view out to sea.

BTW, thanks for inadvertently bringing a spelling error to my attention. I had my wife's (Tina) name spelled wrong on that one picture.

I was just in SO 9048 last month. Yes, the views are obstructed. Here is what you see when you look out the window:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2625778090080150150ZSiyog

That being said, the deck 9 SO rooms are leaps and bounds better than the others. I was very comfortable in this room.

Feel free to browse all the pics. I took plenty of the ship. You'll notice the window is big enough to sit in.

from RCCL website

diamond and diamond+

Onboard Benefits

Priority waiting list for sold-out shore excursions/spa servicesConcierge service on selected ships +++Priority departure from ship

Cruise Planning Benefits

Priority waiting list for dining room seating ***

 

+++ After 5 p.m., access to Concierge Club is limited to guests 18 and older. During other times, guests under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Please do not confuse the OP. This does not apply to ships with Diamond Lounges.

do they give you a key for the diamond lounge? is there cappucinos and espressos available in there. ..

Yes, and Yes

Do Junior Suite guests have access to the Concierge Lounge ? Thanks!

No, sorry. Only if you are Diamond.

I thought that I was told by RCCL that Diamond & Diamond + members can use the Diamond club & the Concierge Club (along with suite passengers) but only Diamond and D+ could use the Diamond Club.

No, that is incorrect.

As a Diamond member, you will only have access to the Diamond Lounge.

But don't be disappointed. On the Freedom Class, the Diamond Lounge is much nicer than the Concierge Lounge. Oasis probably won't be much different.

The link you posted is for the flag message system. The codes they use over the PA are totally different and may vary from cruise line to cruise line.

The Op didn't ask about the PA specifically. That was mentioned by someone else.

Those flags may not coincide with every on board code, but some do.

Also, let's not forget the sound signals. For example, 7 short, one long means man the lifeboats.

Can someone advise of the different emergency codes being used on cruise ships?

 

Alpha = medical

Bravo = Fire

Delta = ?

Papa = ?

Oscar = overboard

 

any others??

Here is a list of standard nautical codes (by alphabet):

http://www.sailorschoice.com/seamanship/alphabet_pennants.htm

By the way, it was JS 1562.

Sorry, it's the Sovereign in early June.

I stayed in a deck 10 JS on Majesty, Sovereign's sister. I actually posted this way early in this thread. I was kept up every night by a loud banging noise overhead. I don't know if they were moving tables, etc, but it was very load, very annoying, and always around 2 am. It lasted for hours.

It was so bad, I asked to be moved to another room. I was willing to downgrade in order to get some sleep. Unfortunately, it was a full ship.

Anyone have any info on Majesty of the Seas room 7018? The deck plans I've looked at have a large white area around the outside of all deck 7 and I've read that all of deck 7 have an obstructed view, but no one mentions obstructed by what??

The large white area is the outdoor promenade that goes all the way around the ship. I don't recommens deck 78 rooms because it can be loud when people run out there. Although, they do limit the running hours.

The obstruction is the life boats. You're not going to see a whole lot from your window.

Sorry. I don't mean to discourage you. If possible, I highly recommend upgrading to a deck 9 Superior Oceanview.

This hasn't been my experience. In fact, after a few days of cruise food, my toilet.....nevermind.

Usually around day 4, you start noticing more and more smells about the ship. It always seemed to me that things were flowing just fine. ;)

Do not book Junior Suite 1562 on MOS. Every night, very late, there was a loud banging noise in the ceiling. It sounded like someone 400 lbs was jumping up and down on the pool deck right above us.

Turns out, it had something to do with the pool being drained and refilled.

If you stay in this room, expect to be kept awake at night.

Can anyone tell me how far of a walk it is from the pier to Richards.

Richard makes the pancakes. The name of the joint is Blue Heaven. Roughly guessing, I'd say 3/4 mile. The island is 1.5 miles wide and Angela St. is about in the middle between the pier and the Southernmost Point.

If you want to eat breakfast out, do NOT miss Richard's very good pancakes (banana, preferably) at Blue Heaven in Bahama Village.

Bingo! I couldn't agree more! ;)

The closest Blond Giraffe to the Mole would be 614 Front St, or 1209 Truman. The trolleys taking you into town from the pier will take you right to the Front location.

Great advice one more question.......How far is the walk to the southern most point? Forgot the name. LOL Do you sugguest we do this walk first before the stores open and then make our way back? Thanks, Gina

It is a 1.5 mile walk to the S.P. straight down Whitehead St. from the pier. It's worth it. Along the way, you'll pass Truman's Little Whitehouse, Hemmingway House, Key West Lighthouse, the courthouse, and several little shops, restaurants, and bars. From the S.P., you can walk down South St. to the Southernmost House, then up Duval St. Duval parallels Whitehead and will take you back to the pier area with countless shops, etc.

I'm a local here, so feel free to ask more questions. Enjoy your stay. But, I do agree 7-2 is crappy!

My understanding is that RCI has a contract with a Belgium brewery to make a beer specifically for them. It is a tasty beer, but RCI is not pushing it.

 

Give it a try if you like microbrews.

 

Enjoy!

They had it on the Freedom. They have flyers advertising it at the bars, so I tried it. It was called Royal....something :confused: Whatever it was, it was good and strong. It had a high alcohol content. Two of them will have you feeling pretty good.