IrishCC
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Posts posted by IrishCC
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Old San Juan is still closed at this time and no power. While they are trying to get it fixed promptly yes the hotel might be open because they are using it for volunteers but no power etc. I will be there soon to volunteer along which some of my friends that are violenteering. there already. Otherwise only volunteers are allowed in at this time. Not sure byt then what will be happening. You will need to check when closer. There is also no phones at the hotel which would be your best bet.
Do you know if the hotel La Terezza is up and running? My daughter has reservations there for her honeymoon. Thanks!
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Where did you see that Wednesday 's cruise was cancelled?
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It's on the Royal Caribbean site . . . the next cruise looks iffy too.
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I hope some of these posts are wrong . . . we tried Celebrity a few years ago and missed the live music by the pool and the contests . . . . so we stay with RCCl for the last 6 or 7 cruises . . . we are getting sick of the kids running wild on RCCL and so are back on Celebrity at the end of January . . . .We'll see.
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Hello!
Can anyone please tell me if it is easy to get a taxi from Miami port to the airport on day of embarkation from Reflection or do we need to book a transfer before. We are travelling independently so need recommendations of transfer taxi companies if needed. Thank you.
We love SAS transport and have used them multiple times.
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Sorry, not quite awake yet, I should have narrowed it down. We are looking for things to do in New Orleans. We will be there for two nights 3 days during Mardi Gras. We are an active couple, walking not a problem, history, beaches, Casinos, seeing the sights, shopping etc.
Be sure to take in a Parade!
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We have paid a deposit on a RCCL Canada/New England cruise to take place next Fall. We're thinking of driving instead and I'm very interested in a Celebrity cruise to Antarctica. I know I can cancel the cruise as it's not even close to final date, but because there's an association between the companies, can I just change my reservation to Celebrity??
We were not able to but I believe it was because our deposit (I learned the hard way) was non-refundable. I learned a hard lesson and will now read the fine print very carefully when booking on board.
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I added it to our car for our 7 day stay and it says $388.xx
Is this the discounted price meaning normal price is almost $470?
Ultimate shows $437.78
Just booked this package at full price . . . it came out to $405 each for a 7 night cruise
Colleen
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A million kids and Football! Lots of families go at Thanksgiving.
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Great review, thanks! We sail on her Nov 1!!
So do we! Can't wait!
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Do they decorate the ship for christmas day after thanksgiving?
Not the time we went on Independence.
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We are looking at Indy for thanksgiving week and I need to be convinced I am making the right decision.
Here is the situation.... I will be traveling with first-time cruisers. They are excited but they have a few concerns. They really want to rest and relax that week but are concerned that it will be too many children running everywhere. They are also concerned that it will be too cold during Thanksgiving week.
Please help me convince them. Please share your Thanksgiving Caribbean cruise experience.
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We went on Indy for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago . . . 1200 kids were on board. it was AWFUL . . . never again!
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We were recently on Serenade and ate one night at Rita's Cantina. The only thing that was half way decent were the margarita's. The food was horrible. We are from Texas so we know Tex-mex and this was really bad. No wonder the place only had about 4 other customers in there. Has anyone else had the same experience? I think Royal have Rita's on other ships. Are they this bad also?
Thanks!
We thought the food was horrible also . . . . the nachos consisted of stale chips, canned chili and cheese whiz! What a waste of space.
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US family of four, two adults (50's) with two kids, one 19 and one 16. Looking to go to take the Allure in July, 2015 from Barcelona for the 7 day cruise to all of the normal ports (Barcelona, France, Italy, etc.). Been to Caribbean the last 4 years, want to change it up this year and go to Europe. Going in July, do you feel this is a good family cruise? Kids really have fun doing there thing on the boat with other kids, so want to make sure that this is more of a family cruise then maybe the older folks. Meaning at night they will be able to find other kids (not sure if a lot of American's go on these cruises or is it more European).
I know this is very port intensive, but all of us have never been to Europe, so feel that it maybe a great experience for all of us. Just want to make sure maybe other family experiences that have kids our ages would enjoy. Thoughts?
We cruised out of Barcelona this past August on Serenade on a 12 night cruise. I was amazed how many kids there were. somewhere between 500 - 700. Yours should be fine.
Colleen
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I love her . . . Spa was great as well as the food. Service was awesome and everyone was super friendly & attentive. We were on her in August and are going back next week for a cruise out of New Orleans. Also we have one booked on her for March 2016. She is a radiance class ship . . . . one of the smaller ones with tons of glass!
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One of the better reviews, I have ever read. We will be on the serenade in two weeks and looking forward to your on-board experience. Appreciate you taking time to detail all of your NOLA experience.
We'll be on that cruise too . . . can't wait!
Colleen
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we are spending our pre-night at the Bahia Mar in Ft Lauderdale on 3-6-15...has anyone out there stayed at this hotel...looking for feedback...good...bad ...or just so so...actually spending 2 nights there...want to get out of the long winter in Minnesota...
Stayed there a few years back . . . . just so so . . . .the Hyatt pier 66 & the Sheraton at the airport are much better!
Colleen
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This is the first time that I am writing a review but I feel compelled to do so.
We sailed the Caribbean with Carnival Glory in 2010. The Grand Med on the Magic in 2011. Northern Europe and Norway on the Legend in 2013 and now 17th Sept 14 on RC Serenade of the Seas, the Adriatic.
We were obviously spoiled by Carnival as our latest cruise did not meet our expectations at all.
For the first two days we had no idea what was happening on-board as there were no announcements in the room and somehow the daily "Compass" had not been delivered! Our first thought was, did the cruise director jump ship? Upon enquiring we were told that they stopped making announcements in the rooms as there had been too many complaints...surely the choice should be left to the guest to opt to have the system on or off. So that was a very bad start.
The ship: Do not expect the grandeur of Carnival's ships. The bars on Serenade are tastefully decorated. The theatre is nothing to write home about and there is only one. The cinema is terrible. There is only has 1 main dining room for its 2100 passengers. The Windjammer is definitely much better in appearance than the Lido but that is where it stops.
There is no serenity, the deck chairs are plain plastic without any cushions, so they are uncomfortable and are crammed so close together that it is difficult to sit down on one as you have to climb onto them...difficult for seniors!
The two pools are very much over salted and hurt your eyes.
The staterooms are much smaller than Carnivals and the bathroom is minute, there is only one wardrobe to be shared (on Carnival you have his and hers) and in it are the worst shelves that I have ever encountered they were hopelessly inadequate in depth therefore whatever you packed on them fell off.
The food: RC must be on a big saving spree, to same food seems to be dished up day after day not much to choose from and is typically canteen type food.
Admittedly Carnival's food was not much better but there was FAR MORE variety to pick from. One thing is to be said, the deserts at the Windjammer were very good. Now and then the Windjammer had something special on offer at 6pm but invariably when we decided to eat there after 7pm these dishes were not replaced and we had to ask the chef why, he then very kindly brought us a big plate of the missing item to our table.
The lunch time menu was disgusting and so was the room service. The room service coffee was undrinkable.
BTW do not expect a "gala" welcoming lunch on embarkation day, you will just get the same slop as any other day!
Oh and I forgot to mention that the best kept secret is when they will serve the shrimps, that day the electronic display of the menu outside the dining room, was mysteriously out of order!!! Gone are the days when they served you lobster!
The entertainment: mediocre to say the least; some shows were not repeated to accommodate both dinner sittings, which was no great loss as they were luke warm. Do not expect illusionists, comedians, acrobats and Las Vegas style dancing. There was one decent show but it lasted only 10min in the sentrum, all this on a 12 night cruise!
Ports of call: These were great, but unless you are going on the ship's excursion do not expect any information to help you find your way in and out of the port, this should be the cruise directors field but no…sort yourself out before the cruise or pay through your neck for the excursions! They also did not stay in port for as long as possible thereby not leaving us enough time to do all we wanted to do.
Customer services: Poorly managed. On embarkation day in Civitavecchia we were told that all Italian passports were to be kept by them but no explanation was given. You would at least expect to receive a copy of an official letter by the Italian authorities informing you of this rule to be applied and the reason why. The second incidence was on the last evening, we received a note saying that we were on a cash basis and had to pay our account. We had given our credit card details TWICE but they did not have it on record! So we had to stand in a queue for 40min to sort this out as they only had 2 consultants to help at such a peak time...most upsetting!
The staff: They were great, well trained and very helpful, no complaints there.
Lastly another annoyance was that they kept on changing the meal times so you could never count on e.g. breakfast to be served until a certain time, they said it all depended on the time we docked in the port.
Yep, we were definitely spoiled by Carnival, unfortunately they are no longer operating in Europe.
We got off Serenade in August and we thoroughly enjoyed it . . . . in fact we're going back on her in January. I'm with the others . . . . go ahead and stay with Carnival/WalMart!
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Good grief...................:rolleyes:
Wear your jeans and don't pay attention to pathetic rants like the one above.
My thoughts exactly. SHEESH!!
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Just returned from our 2 week cruise with my wife and 2 sons (12/17).
Boarding was superb, within 20 minutes was in the ship from arriving at the port.
Everything was pretty much what we were use to, stateroom was spotlessly clean, all staff were friendly and helpful, everything you would expect from a cruise of this class.
Right here is the downside.
Policing! Very little.
The rules are there for a reason regardless of what we think of them, just as you would place rules in you own home RCI Have theirs.
Rules we're broke so many times and RCI Did very little or nothing.
Now I believe that if people raise their children in the right way or people carry themselves in the right way maybe I would not be writing this.
I will start with curfew. RCI raised the curfew Time for what reason I don't understand from 1am to 2am a couple of days into the cruise for children(under 18) unless with adult or in their respected clubs. Not policed, free to do as they please, most nights 15 and 16 year olds in the hot tubs gone 1am, yes where was their parents it hear you ask??.
There are no kid free bars on the ship, the only bar that has a curfew is the Oliver or twist which is 10pm but ignored.
I can list many more but want to get to my main point.
My first cruise was in 2007 and I told my children what I expected of them, how you treat people and how you carry yourself. In my eyes I was on a cruise ship not in Magaluf.
I watched young girls strut their stuff in front of testosterone fuelled boys around the pool deck on a daily basis in some of the most inappropriate swimwear.
We heard that one girl had sleep with four boys on the ship! (Proud mum and dad)
We heard of 2 thefts on the ship which one I heard resulted in a fight! And the worse was an alleged rape which apparently a family was removed and the teen held until Southampton.
Now call me snotty but I don't expect that on a cruise.
When I went to speak at customers relation one staff member told me they are fighting a losing battle, they told me how they caught kids taken food from the windjammer and throwing it from the balconies between there lifts on to the promenade.
The problem is I was told is parents don't care.
I understand that people may have had a different experience than me and I except that and I hope everyone else had a fab time, it's just a shame that in my opinion not all but quite a few of us Brits have forgot the way to behave.
We just got off a 12 night Serenade of the seas . . . . we were not expecting many kids and got a very rude awakening. There were 500+ and they were totally out of control! The wait staff was pulling their hair out. Never again will we sail at any time when kids could be out of school.
Colleen
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Just wondering if the JOS has at least 1 Adults only pool?? I couldn't find this in any of the forums and searched for this question.
Yes it has the Solarium where children under 16 are not allowed.
Colleen
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I sailed on Indy in June last year and May this year and ate in Giovanni's Table on both cruises.
If you had asked your question earlier in the year I would have been so positive about my dining experience there. The food, staff and ambience were lovely and I couldn't fault it. However, this May the staff were different and had a couldn't care less attitude. The food was only average and what was annoying is that we had a table booked for ages as we were celebrating a birthday in our party and they didn't seem ready for our booking. They showed us to one table, once they made us stand there whilst they put some tables together (there were only five of us) then they moved us, then they wanted to move us again and we said no. All in all not a great experience.
We are going on Indy again in November....we will not be going back.
We went in January and the food and service was excellent.
Colleen
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To be clear...Main land Honduras is scary. Rated one of the most dangerous countries. The island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras is beautiful and safe. This is where the cruise ships dock.
Many good suggestions already mentioned on this thread. And consult the ports of call threads.
If you are visiting Roatan, no worries. Enjoy.
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We did Tobayana Beach break . . . . and it was one of our favorite excursions ever!
Colleen
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You folks are all in for a great time, she's an awesome ship. Stay tuned, I have a ton of pictures to post up.
I totally agree . . . we were on that cruise too and had the time of our lives!
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To anyone who's been on Independence since the changes, is the smoking side of deck 4 and pool deck the starboard side? We would like to book a balcony and want to avoid the smoking side altogether.
I read somewhere that the smoking sections were on the port side . . . hope this helps
Any update on cruises scheduled to leave from Puerto Rico?
in Royal Caribbean International
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I totally agree! My daughter is supposed to sail on her Honeymoon on AOS 10/14. Given what San Juan looks like there is No Way that cruise will happen but RCCL won't let her change with imposing a 75% penalty. That is insane!!