seventhwardhustler

On 8/25/2019 at 8:42 PM, cruisegirl1 said:

Royal Caribbean Dude,

 

 Last month on Grandeur, I noticed that the woman who played piano in the Centrum, was also one of the sales personnel in  the shops. Is it common for entertainers/musicians to have a second job?  Is it required or do you folks do that for extra income?

 

 Thanks and look forward to seeing you on mariner in a December

 

m

On 10/19/2019 at 11:02 AM, bilyclub said:

We were flying in 2 days before a cruise out of Miami. It was an early evening flight to Fort Meyers because we were stopping to say hi to some friends. The flight took off 2 hours late and only made it to Nashville because of a fuel pump problem. Hung around in a closed Nashville airport for hours. Finally a flight from DFW  arrived and the plane and crew were shanghaied to take us to Fort Meyers.    When we got to RSW, the pilot tried landing twice but bailed out due to fog. We diverted to Miami and after deplaning in MIA were told your flight is now canceled. This was at 6 AM.    After dealing with an angry mob of passengers. the still sleepy station manager ordered a bus to take everybody to Fort Meyers.    I talked to the manager and was able to get a room in Miami and spent a wasted Saturday in a hotel.  We get spoiled by living near O'Hare and having a lot of flight options, but no longer take  evening flights out.

i'm spoiled by living in atlanta so i always think "there will be more flights/options available". this is a good reminder that things can still go wrong. on my last flight, we were diverted and trapped in huntsville alabama due to weather and lack of fuel.

On 5/7/2019 at 5:40 PM, colesc15 said:

Anyone recently stayed at the Embassy Suites? 

On 10/18/2019 at 9:09 PM, sdrocks said:

Cruising on Anthem tomorrow for a b2b.  Booked our flight s in July to get specific times & seats.  That plan fell apart at 1 am this morning when Delta begin

texting changes.  After 4 changes finally got a final departure time of 6:15.  After we scrambled to the airport to find seats downgraded and an extra leg

added with no current seat assignments I was in a panic.  (Had totally confirmed the flights 24 hrs before with no problems identified)  The upshot was we

had extra transfers added and didn't get into Newark until 5 pm.  Didn't get out of airport until 5:30.  (Our original time was arrival of 145 which still would be 

late for same day cruise.

So just an example of how flights can go wrong & we don't take the chance of waiting to fly the same day.

We were excited our luggage actually arrived the same time we did.  LOL !

 

i needed this. this is the first time we have to board a dog for so many nights so i was thinking about saving on hotel costs and reducing the time we're away (because i feel bad) by taking a chance--on DELTA out of atlanta lol. i never go the day of the cruise but this one time i was at least entertaining the idea. we'll just suck it up!!

On 5/7/2019 at 5:40 PM, colesc15 said:

Anyone recently stayed at the Embassy Suites? 

curious about this also. i checked a couple weeks ago and didn't see any recommendations.

On 2/16/2019 at 2:54 PM, Bossladyn said:

We will have a full day after our cruise in San Juan and I am trying to decide what to do.  The Bioluminescent bay boat tour isn't operating the day we are there, and I am worried the kayak will be too difficult for my 7  yo boy to navigate (with all the other kayaks and the mangroves, etc).  I also looked and it will be 3 days before a full moon on the night we could go.  Is this difficult for a child?  Would the rain forest be better?  I've seen where a lot of it still isn't open since the hurricane, so i wasn't sure it was worth the trip.

 

We will have done Old San Juan the day before our cruise, but i didnt think there was enough to do there for 2 days.  Any thoughts?

i did el yunque with my daughter who was 5 at the time. it was a pretty decent hike but, when we got to the waterfall, there were SO many folks there that, due to congestion, it was going to be very time-consuming (standing in a forever line) to get down there. we glanced at it for a minute and headed back (waterfall photo is taken from a bridge). although she was ahead of me the entire time, heading back got tiring (i think i remember covered benches along the trail to stop and rest, if you need to) for her at the very end but she pressed on and slept on the bus the entire way back. if your child loves nature, the hike is a cool experience, but otherwise, if you get other recommendations, go for them. 

1 hour ago, Maddycakes said:

Interesting... I have been playing with the idea of taking the Freedom of the Seas in June of 2020.  However, the cruise seems to not be listed any longer for the months of May, and June.... I wonder if they pushed back dry docking or possibly it could just be a glitch in the search engine I was using.

i just did a price check (they doubled) for my 5/24/20 booking. it's there. 

On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 9:59 AM, pittsburghcruise23 said:

I have been on MANY CARNIVAL CRUISES and ONE RCC obviously for me Carnival Wins in most categories for me. Keep in mind I was not on one of the newer oasis class Royal ships. I was on the second newest class. ( Sorry can't remember their name)

 

STATEROOMS- Carnival Wins. Carnival has larger staterooms than any other line I have been on. (except DISNEY) . They also to me just seem to have cleaner lines, and appear newer even on older ships.

 

MDR- Subjective but to me Carnival Wins. Royal food seems to me bland and tasteless. The staples seemed to be Chicken Cordenbleu and apple pie. I can get that at a Cracker Barrel at home. And desserts are far better on Carnival. That melting cake can never be repeated. I will say I loved the Creme Brule on RCL.

 

BUFFET/POOL FOOD- Carnival again wins. The windjammer was not that great and offered the same food every day. Carnival buffet seems to rotate. Also RCL has no poolside grill etc. I really missed other free options on the lido such as Guys and Blue Iguana and Pizza Pirate on Carnival.

NOTE: I will say even though it was a fee I loved Johnny Rockets on RCL. (Better than Guys shhh)

 

SHOWS: This is where RCL wins. I never really LOVE the shows on Carnival.. kinda like a high school show choir; it was good but nothing spectacular. Royal shows are really top quality.

 

Lounges/Bars- Carnival wins here as well. Comedy shows are much better on carnival. As are just about every activity in any of Carnivals aft lounges.

 

LATE NIGHT FOOD- Carnival wins with Pizza Pirate. Coudln't find any late night food on Royal.

 

Ships- Royal wins. They are just a but more classy than most Carnival Ships. But that doesn't draw me back. I'll take everything I love about Carnival, and put up with the GAUDY decor.

 

just a few reasons why for me CARNIVAL WINS over Royal

well thank goodness for johnny rockets. we mostly eat pizza and burgers lol so at least we'll get good burgers. i needed a change in scenery so i went with RC for 2020. i hate how folk act like there is something "wrong" with carnival but it really boils down to preferences. carnival also has more website booking functionality and cabin flexibility. looking forward to the better shows.

19 hours ago, drgonzogoo said:

Hey there buddy.... we sail this Saturday. If you are willing to pay shipping(and blanket cost), i can grab one and bring it back. We return on the 4th(may the 4th be with you) and can mail it out that Monday. Let me know, pm or email or reply and i'll follow-up

please contact me at seventhwardhustler@yahoo.com. thanks!

19 hours ago, drgonzogoo said:

Hey there buddy.... we sail this Saturday. If you are willing to pay shipping(and blanket cost), i can grab one and bring it back. We return on the 4th(may the 4th be with you) and can mail it out that Monday. Let me know, pm or email or reply and i'll follow-up

thank you. i don't know how to message but i will try.

21 hours ago, Number12 said:

The blankets we got as platinum gifts were not as large, thick and plush as the dive-in blankets. They are nice and soft, but not very thick.

thanks!!!

On 4/14/2019 at 6:28 PM, cruisinfanatic said:

you're over thinking this. There is a refundable deposit cruise cost and a non refundable deposit cruise cost. There is no "fee"

finally this makes sense to me. it's seemingly presented as a "fee", meaning press the button and pay $159 to get your full deposit back, but i guess that's just the difference in cruise pricing. 

On 4/17/2019 at 12:41 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

They make up this number, depending on how the monthly fake sale terms change. 

i spent all weekend trying to do the math in order to compare the sale against my booking. i wish i had seen this thread earlier. plus i have a refundable deposit on mine which apparently makes the math even more crazy. 

soooo, i finally watched a movie on board and it was freezing. i get a dive-in blanket, it's cozy, so i decide to buy one for the plane trip home. now that i'm home, i realize how sumptuous this blanket is and i want another one because my daughter wants mine. i see blankets were offered as a VIPF gift and a bunch are on ebay for cheap. the only dive-in blanket available is $85, which is laughable considering they cost $23. are these the same blankets? does anyone know? if you have not been onboard and tried one of these blankets, please do so! they are heavenly.

On 4/9/2019 at 2:54 PM, 919Florida said:

You have all been wonderful with your replies. I really appreciate it. I know I am going to be happy because cruising is better than no cruising right 🙂 you all gave wonderful advice and i appreciate it. Looking forward to trying Harmony out in just a few weeks now. 

I'm in the same boat, after taking so many Carnival cruises, I found one on RC at a comparable price. When we didn't have kids, it literally boiled down to the cheapest one with the best hamburgers and pizza (Carnival). Now that I have a child, this particular RC ship has a better kiddie water park at the same price point. I'm actually looking forward to doing something different for a change. I think it's best to take a break from Carnival every once in awhile and try a different line to see what it offers.

6 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Not sure what guest services rep you are referring to as security man the machines as you leave the ship.  We have been behind people who didn't have their sea passes out to get off the ship and were told to step to the side to find them or go to guest services.

newer passports have the pics embedded. my husband and daughter's passport didn't require them to take a separate pic for their card on our last cruise; they literally transferred the pic electronically from the passport. mine required me to take a pic and the only difference is my passport is a few years old. i suspect that's the same technology.

1 minute ago, Judyrem said:

When she was younger, she loved "the claw" and always wanted to do it, she only got a toy once after many tries!  

LOL, that is a major rip off, big time!  She then understood "rip off".

THAT'S THE ONE!!!!!! i had to tell her that the item was actually too heavy to lift lolol. at least yours got one toy!! she even got me excited because she was always getting it but it would never stay within the claws lol.

On 4/14/2019 at 9:15 AM, Judyrem said:

I just completed check in for our Harmony cruise in July,  they asked if I wanted to allow my granddaughter to charge things to our shipboard account.

I dithered about around a bit, then decided to say no.  I imagine I could allow it once on board?    She is not a spendthrift (yet) but I worry if she goes to the arcade she will be😉.

 

Do you allow your children charging privileges?

i put $100 for my daughter, who is 8. it allowed her to use her own card in the arcade and she liked giving her card to scan for smoothies in the dining room. we were with her at all times but the arcade was the best because we didn't have to bend down or keep taking our card off for stuff for her. i would say she spent $30 easily in the arcade (lol i taught her the meaning of "rip off" cause of course they are made to take your money) so maybe that would be a good amount to start for your granddaughter. 

2 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

if you say no one knocked on your door, I rest my case, done. 

maybe she has an invisibility cloak that she puts on her cabin door and the crew doesn't even see it.

DON'T RELY ON THE ATM!!! i was young and dumb and kinda broke on my first cruise. payday fell on a cruise day so i figured i'd just go to the atm on the ship and use that for the second half of the cruise (this was before debit cards). i hit the atm, which was early on day 2, and it was empty! literally. by day 5, i had to borrow from my friends and, because i had to conserve early on, i didn't get to buy stuff that i wanted (sniff, sniff). i didn't even think about them not loading it throughout the cruise.

On 2/12/2019 at 3:17 PM, amyh13 said:

We just renewed our kids passports and it only took about 2 weeks.

they are going really fast on the kiddie passports; my husband also had to renew and it's taking forever.

On 2/26/2018 at 5:46 PM, famof4togo said:

23 days...or 22 and a wake up...or since we are staying in hotel the night prior and that sorta counts as "vacation" I'll call it 21 and a wake up....can you tell I'm excited lol

nice way to look at it! in that case, 43 days for me!

On 12/31/2018 at 11:35 PM, peymas said:

Love cove balconies.  They are enclosed somewhat, but so close to the water.  I don’t want to sit in the sun on a balcony and most of the time it is shaded.  I have been on Magic, breeze, and dream (all at least twice), and I have never had anyone smoking and bothering me.

me either. i did it on magic and LOVED it!! i'll never go back to a higher balcony. 

On 1/1/2019 at 12:26 PM, coevan said:

MDR is NEVER 2 hours. We are usually done in less than an hour. The food is all precooked. The appetizers are served in minutes. 

i wouldn't say NEVER because it happened to me on my last cruise, night after night.

On 1/5/2019 at 6:19 AM, ZoeyVictoria said:

I was on the Conquest two weeks ago and needed the answer to a medical question ASAP, so I signed up for 24 hours of internet (9 hours before we docked).  I never got the answer to my question because I could open absolutely nothing.  264 email messages were apparently waiting for me, but I could see none of them.  I wish I had called to complain and requested a refund.

the only time you can reasonably use the internet is super early morning and early evenings. i get up to run nearing sunrise and, once i'm finished, i do my surfing when everyone else is still asleep. it's also decent early evening on port days before everyone gets back on. forget about it once everyone is up and on the ship.

doesn't work for 3/29 either, probably because of spring break. i must have racked up some points since the initial booking because my points thankfully brought it down to $159.