jcross2

Thanks for the link, DShock!

I found it interesting as well.

Jan

Hi jcross! Thanks for the link, I will sign my party of two up and will see if my business partner and her husband will sign up as well. That will get you up to 21 if all four of us sign up. It's been a long time since I've done a M&M on Royal, but they are nice events. Happy to try and help you get to the magic number of 25! :D

Thanks so much, Ella! That is so kind of you. We are taking our nieces on this cruise and know they would enjoy a meet and mingle. Hope to meet you and your friends there!

Jan

Max and Ruby, how was embarkation? I know you asked about that in the West Coast Departures board. Just wondering if it was as chaotic as has been reported. I'm on the July 28 sailing. Would love any input you'd be willing to share on embarkation/debarkation and your ship experience! Thanks so much.

Ella2, if you are on the July 28 sailing, hope you will either stop by the rollcall and say hi, and/or sign up for the meet and mingle ... we are not meeting the minimum number, though if everyone on the rollcall signed up, we would. Darn! Here's the link: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/ccEntry.do

Can't say enough about how great our packing cubes are. We have used them for years and they are still in great shape. Also really love the pack-it garment folders from Eagle Creek! They come in several sizes, medium for my shirts and large for DH's, and a super-large size for dresses and pants. If I fold everything according to the instructions, it is amazing how few wrinkles there are when we take stuff out to hang in the closet.

And re: cubes, once an airport managed to slash our (new!) luggage clean through, top to bottom. If we had packed everything loosely (not in cubes) I am sure we would have lost a lot of stuff ... as it was, nothing slipped out because it was all in cubes. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a pretty sight on the carousel, that's for sure!

If going to Cuba, my advice is to pack a couple of small hotel soap bars to take on excursions. We found most restrooms did not have soap. You could leave them behind for the next customers if you'd like. :)

Also, if you have leftover British pounds, Canadian dollars, or Euros from another trip, take those to exchange for cucs to avoid the ten percent penalty for exchanging US dollars.

Hth,

Jan

No, sorry to disappoint you- just using the iPhone. [emoji4]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well the way you have framed your shots is just perfect! You have a great "eye" for photography. (I used to teach photography, back in the days of the darkroom. We would have killed for an iPhone ... :D)

Your photos are amazing! Are you a professional photographer? Thanks for sharing!

Jan

There might very well be a large group or two on your sailing, as dkjretired suggested.

We had a very sparse rollcall for a Celebrity cruise to Norway, a few years back. Turned out there were 800+ in a group (an Argentinian oil company) that brought their own entertainers, security, etc. on board. What a lively and interesting group!

Perry Grant was entertaining in Michaels that cruise, and instead of his usual packed house, there were maybe 6-8 of us in his audience. And the elite+ cocktail hour was definitely not crowded, to say the least.

We also have a very slow rollcall for an Alaskan cruise this summer on RCL. Did some research and found there is a large group of dentists on board! And someone else found a group of Shriners on the sailing. Good folks all. :D

Jan

Enjoy, hope you post a Cuba review.

Will do. So glad Royal is visiting Cuba now. Our previous trip was on Fathom's Adonia, great experience, but Fathom will soon be no more. :(

The fact that Royal's websites are frequently inaccurate.

No kidding! ;) Wonder when they will hire an A-list IT team.

What Bob said. We have been on twice since she returned to RCI and what others are saying on CC is correct.

Thanks Scotty G, appreciate your confirming the facts. Thanks!

LMaxwell, going back to Cuba will more than make up for the lack of amenities, so no problem there. And we do like the smaller ships. Just wondered about the discrepancy.

Thanks, everyone, for clearing that up!

Jan

I'm confused. Royal Caribbean's own site describes an actual Concierge Lounge on Empress, which should also be available to Diamond Plus as it has not yet been re-named "Suite Lounge."

See: http://www.royalcaribbeanincentives.com/ship/empress-of-the-seas/accommodations/ (Scroll down to see the lounge described at length.)

But posters here on CC answering the Empress concierge lounge question say that there is definitely no lounge, just the 3 pre-loaded drinks and a reception on boarding day.

(I know some posts are referring to a diamond lounge not existing, but others also say there is no concierge lounge either.)

What am I missing here? TIA for info.

JetBlue also flies out of Hobby....

Southwest is the major tenant of Hobby but American Airlines also has flights in and out of Hobby.

Thanks so much for setting me straight! Have seldom flown into or out of Hobby, but had always thought it was Southwest's bailiwick. - Jan

Hi Sybird, you might try asking this question at the rollcall thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2373674 or the Gulf Coast Departures thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414 .

Would love to have you join our rollcall!

There are several companies that offer airport transfers to IAH or HOU.

HOU (Hobby) is much closer but only serves Southwest. To book on Southwest, you have to go to Southwest.com as they will not show up on the other airfare booking sites.

We drive to Galveston, so I don't have any recommendations for you re: transportation, but you will find a lot of info on those other threads.

Jan

If you are going on the April 18 repositioning to Hawaii, you may not be allowed to take flowers on board.

We did a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to LA that stopped in Seattle. Got off really early and bought a nice bouquet at Pike Market; no problems bringing it on board and then going back out again for the day.

However ... when we re-boarded, mid-afternoon, the railings were lined with Pike Market bouquets that had been confiscated by the powers-that-be. Guess they hadn't arrived yet when we re-boarded that morning.

So, like gagirl, yes, we have seen them confiscated. Guess it depends on the luck of the draw, and possibly the agricultural rules at your destination port.

Australia, California and Hawaii all have very strict laws about importing any agricultural products (and rightly so, not complaining about that ... ) so I would check first before spending money on flowers to take aboard.

Of course, if you are on a roundtrip out of Sydney, none of this will probably apply!

Hope that helps. Have a great cruise!

Jan

We have a cruise out of Galveston way in the future. But, I already have a question. What is the earliest reasonable departure out of Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH)?. We are docking on a Sunday morning, so it there won't be weekday rush hour traffic.

I see you are from Chicago. Southwest has a nonstop at 2:20 p.m. on Sundays that would be very doable. I don't know if you ever fly Southwest, but it is just over 2 hours to Chicago, a short flight ... and their airport, Hobby, is WAY closer to Galveston than IAH.

These flights won't show up on most airline booking sites; you have to go to Southwest's site.

Just something to consider...

I'm not a travel agent, but if I were I would certainly not book anyone on Pearl Seas. Ever.

(You are perhaps confusing me with quiltsnh, with whom I agree: this does look like a rip-off.)

I also agree with you completely that Pearl Seas should be issuing refunds much more promptly, but in addition, I believe they should be compensating passengers for other expenses they incurred by having to wait until just days before their cruise to hear it was cancelled. (Not to mention that "administrative fee" of about $900 that some people report being charged for cancelling.)

If these cancellations had happened only once or twice, at the beginning of their Cuba schedule, that would be one thing.

But apparently this has been happening for almost nine months. How can they string people along like this, when it seems obvious Pearl Mist will not be sailing to Cuba? And especially when they have this same ship concurrently sailing other itineraries hundreds of miles away in the Great Lakes and New England?

In fact, at the time I spoke with my friends and learned they were still left hanging on word from Pearl Seas, there was likely no way this company could have physically sailed the Pearl Mist down to Miami from the Great Lakes or New England in time for my friends' cruise itinerary ... yet they would not return their calls and would not tell them their cruise to Cuba was just not happening. Why?

Pearl Mist is apparently scheduled for a 10-day Cuba trip today, but the ship is docked in Norfolk right now. Wonder when they told pax on this sailing that it was not happening?

Here is the site that shows a Cuba sailing as starting today, but also shows the ship in Norfolk: http://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Pearl-Mist-1185

By the way, you said that Pearl Mist was different from Adonia in that one was a cruise and the other a people-to-people tour; this is incorrect. Pearl Mist is also advertising, on their site, as offering a people-to-people cultural tour: "Pearl Seas Cruises is excited to offer this opportunity to delve into Cuba through our cultural exchange voyages. Our people to people exchange ..."

So the only difference here is that Fathom obtained the necessary permissions, and Pearl Seas did not.

This is understandable considering the volatility and uncertainty surrounding travel to Cuba. What I object to is the way Pearl Seas handled this situation with the passengers whose money they had accepted.

Even if Pearl Seas had received last minute clearance to sail to Cuba, it was clearly NOT going to happen for my friends, yet all ten were still allowed to believe it was, up until just days before their cruise.

And what was Pearl Seas' plan if they DID somehow get their ducks in a row for Cuba sailings ... were they going to suddenly cancel those Great Lakes or New England cruises and leave those passengers high and dry?

My disgust with this company really has little to do with politics, adventure travel, or flexibility and adaptability when one travels.

As someone who traveled all over the world, often on my own and before age 21, I fully understand the need for "going with the flow" when things go awry.

So you do make valid points about the volatility of the political situation and the need for travelers to cope with change, but I just don't think these points are all that relevant to the facts previous posters cited, showing that they were treated very poorly by this cruise line.

I am just incredulous that a company can treat its clients like this and get away with it, and I feel so sorry for my friends and the other posters here who wound up so disappointed, and likely out some money as well.

You seem determined to criticize these posters for their lack of flexibility, blaming the victims rather than putting any blame on the cruise line, at all, for their actions or rather inaction.

This is where we disagree.

?....

 

"This"?

Which cruise line currently goes directly from a US port to a Cuban port? Has a successful history of doing so. ..... This whole thing is still in the experimental stages.

Oh really??

Fathom Adonia has been sailing to Cuba since April. We just got back from our Cuba sailing last Sunday, from Miami. It was fantastic.

Two of our friends had unfortunately booked with Pearl Seas, with four other couples, for the same week. We saw them less than a week before they were supposed to sail and they still had not heard from Pearl Seas whether or not they would be sailing.

Their calls were not being returned, last time we spoke, just DAYS before they were to travel. Ten people, flights, hotels, all kinds of arrangements...

Do you work for Pearl Seas by any chance?

I almost left a pendant in a safe once; it was tucked under the ledge at the very front edge of the safe.

Many (but not all) safes have this odd little ledge, so now we always check under there when we empty the safe. You can't see little objects hiding there, so you have to run your fingers underneath it.

Just thought I would mention that even though it is a little off topic, sorry.

Jan

Well, went back to see if I could find a payment tab I had missed, and got the error message. OOPS! Looks like Royal Caribbean. Com (website not listed properly so I don't get in trouble here) is on vacation! Please call us to book your vacation...

 

So I guess I'll have to call and try to talk to a human. :D

You might try a different browser. I got the exact same msg recently using Firefox, but when I switched to Safari it finally worked.

Fwiw, I cannot log into Crown and Anchor any longer; it suddenly says my first name does not match what they have on file. Hmm. I have not made ANY changes to my C&A account, which I've had for years. Reported it, and was told they couldn't fix it unless I called in. Some day when I have a few hours to spare I will do that. :rolleyes:

We live only an hour and a half from the port of Baltimore, but alas there are no decent cruise ships out of there (IMO). :(

Well, different strokes ... we just flew from Texas to Baltimore with our two nieces and nephew, to take a 9-day cruise on Grandeur to Canada and New England. Had a blast! Older ship, yes, but still way more than "decent" to us! :)

I have heard that many parts of Jamaica our nice... I suppose the issue is to find the right guide... our excursion was bad...

 

I will look into this guide... I am going to guess that the MODS will delete the link or will close the thread... maybe not...

Hi Troy, it is okay to post info about private tour guides that a cruisecritic member has experienced firsthand. It's just against the rules for the tour operators themselves to do that, or for anyone to post a link to a travel agency or a site that has been banned from CC for some reason.

So I think we're okay!

Jan

We love Jamaica; even went there on our honeymoon in 1973.

When we go there on cruises we almost always book with Carolyn Barrett on an hourly rate, which lets us customize our tour to suit the interests of the friends and family members with us.

She also offers packaged type tours which are described on her website: http://www.barrettadventures.com/falmouth-cruise-brochure.html

I highly recommend her tour company.

Jan

Don't know if you had it but there is a discount code "anysail". Herb just told me he would like to go in a day early this time so we may do one of the hotels with free parking if we decide to do that.

Appreciate that info, Lou, thanks! When are you sailing?

We always use Lighthouse. A little bit of a walk from the drop off/pick up point but not bad and definitely not as far down as the other terminal. I don't know what might have changed with the new terminal.

Thanks, Lou! Haven't used them before, so I'm glad to know you and Herb like them.

One of these days we need to get the Alamo Cruisers together again!

Jan

EZ Cruise Parking is allowed to park in front of the terminal, as are others. They stArted charging them more for each load so that's why EZ offers either option. I think it's either 10 or 15 dollars difference in the two rates.

And I think it's great that some lots, like EZ, offer options. Younger folks with no problems walking can save some $ that way! :)

However CruisePark, as I mentioned, does not offer the option of a shuttle directly to the terminals. But it does have good rates and very courteous personnel. And they do offer a shuttle from across the street in front of terminal 1 if you call them.

I think I should mention, for those sailing Royal Caribbean, "in front of the terminal" means only across the street from the front of Carnival terminal 1.

Whenever we have tried to walk, with our luggage, out the exit gate in front of the RCL terminal 2, we have been harshly told by port officers that we could NOT exit there, and must walk way up to the Carnival entrance.

(Others might have had better luck, but we have been yelled at every time.)

Not a terribly long walk for young people, but for us older folks dragging luggage, it might be a problem, especially in hot or rainy weather. Just thought I would mention that, if it's a consideration.

Maybe with the new addition to terminal 2, the port will change their rather odd traffic patterns here. One can only hope.:rolleyes:

Anyway, to Tucker and others looking at parking options, be sure to check the lots' web sites to see if they do actually offer shuttles directly to the terminals, if that is what best meets your needs. Not all of them do, as you said.

There are several good options, either way. On our upcoming cruise we are trying Lighthouse, as we have noticed their shuttles seem to come pretty frequently to terminal 2.

HTH! Jan