metgame24

Great! Thanks. Looks like a nice alternative to the pool area.

Sailing on the Summit in May. I see they have loungers and a movie screen in the rooftop area of the sports deck towards the back of the ship. Do they offer bar service in this area? Thanks!

It seems like the My Time Dining option requires a reservation. Are you able to just show up at a different time each night depending on your preference that day? Do I need to decide now what time I want each night? Also, which of the dining rooms is used for My Time? Are we given a choice?

It's been a while since I have sailed Royal so trying to remember how it was done in the past.

Sailing Anthem for the 1st time. It's also the first time sailing such a large capacity ship so any tips for how to maneuver the crowds would be appreciated!

Thanks!

The Great Outdoors...best place on any ship ever! 

Although I have never sailed on the Escape, I always sail from NY with the exception of one past trip. Only two occasions we experienced delays, one was major (ship was delayed an entire day). From all I read on all the boards, this can happen any time at any given port. And food reviews are so subjective. We enjoy the food on NCL and have avoided cruising Royal recently as we found their food to be rather boring, bland and not exciting....see subjective!  I don't like to complain at all about the staff...ever! Any issues, unless life threatening, we take up directly with them. If problem does not go away, we just deal and then unfortunately it gets reflected in the additional tip amount at the end of the trip. (and those comment cards have come to mean a lot to the staff for reviews by their superiors. Anything negative written there has a huge impact!)

I understand that everyone has different experiences to share, just that like the saying goes....any cruise is a good cruise!

Enjoy!!

(and I am not even going to comment about the statements about the passenger demographics...I mean really??##!!!)

Thank you for the info. Hopefully we hit a good day! 

Leaving from Tampa on the Dawn in March for a relocation cruise. All the cruises we have taken, have never sailed from Tampa or anywhere in Florida for that matter. How is the embarkation process? Fairly smooth? We just reached platinum status prior to our last trip out of New York. Priority embarkation was seamless. Can we expect the same?

Also, traveling on the Dawn for the 1st time since she was refurbished a few years back. I understand there is no Spinnaker...so where is the best interior place to hang out with a view of the outside?

Just got back from a trip and purchased cartons for some friends. Allowance was 5 cartons per person over 18 in family. 4 MUST BE PURCHASED IN ST THOMAS, only 1 allowed from other ports. We went through with no problem. Its a verbal declaration, so unless you are bringing back over $1600 worth of goods, you don't have to fill out the form they just question you at customs.

Looking for a beach day in Barbados. Copacabana has been mentioned as an option, but I can't seem to locate a lot of info about it. Anyone know about cost for chair rentals, how far from the pier, do they have facilities, changing rooms, etc.?

We are not interested in water sports, but enjoy a semi-quiet environments, but with access to a bar/restaurant.

Thanks

Is it the bone-in rib eye that is off the menu? or just the regular rib eye?

How can a steak house not have a rib eye? And when did they introduce new specialty dining menus?

Last 2 years on the Gem Hendricks was what my husband and brother in law drank. There were no additional charges and it was covered by the beverage package. Sounds like they possibly raised the cost and now there will be an upcharge? It's good liquor, but that seems a bit much.

Thanks for the updates. Just wish they were open in the evening....even if just when we are cruising the islands.

Getting ready for our next GEM cruise. Wondering if anyone knows who the bartender currently is at the Great Outdoors. Also, are they staying open in the evening hours? On our trip last year they closed down well before 8:30 several nights. Wasn't weather related, they didn't really give a reason.

Any other info you can share about your recent GEM experience...please do.

We have been to Bermuda several times. Island is so easy to get around on your own. After a few visits to the island we decided to do a tour with a taxi driver for a day trip. Walked off the ship and there were many taxis lined up. We spoke to some drivers and chose a lovely lady who drove us everywhere we wanted to go on the island, along with her taking us to her Mom's home and her neighborhood! Was great to see some of the island that we missed on previous trips. We did a 4 1/2 hr trip and had her drop us off at the Swizzle Inn when we were done. I wish I could remember the cost, but it was so reasonable. Don't be fooled by the regular taxi rates around the island which can be very high. A driver for the day or a few hours will give you a fair price.:cool:

I thought that they posted it upon check in, as usually when we get to our room there is a note stating what the amount of the credit was that was applied. We have OBC from NCL, which shows currently on the account for an upcoming trip, but the amount we are getting from the travel agency does not show yet.

We have cruised out of NYC in March several times. Never experienced any serious weather issues. Light jacket has always been fine for the first full sea day. If the sun is out it gets very comfortable that 1st afternoon. By the 2nd sea day we have been able to be out at the pool in swim suits. Even last March, some rain and clouds on the way down and back, still nice enough with just a light jacket and we were able to be outside on the Gem. Sometimes the winds have been heavy, but never anything that we could not withstand.

Don't know when your looking to sail, but would not hesitate to do a trip from NYC.

How would it work if you had a drink package?

We were also on this cruise! (and on port side deck ten!) It was our 2nd trip on the Gem in March and just love the ship and the crew. Although there were some cooler days going and coming, we LOVE the Great Outdoors for days like this.

We were a bit disappointed that most nights it shut down @ 9:30. Last years trip they were open later each night, but we just adjusted our evening schedule so that we could hang out there each night for a night cap. We enjoyed Leo and the piano player who alternated with him each night at the martini bar. Strange, last year we could never get a seat there before dinner and this year we were able to meet for cocktails with no problem finding seating. Different bartenders from our last trip maybe, or different crowds with different habits.

We are pool people and found the chairs around the pool fill up very early....I'm talking like 7 a.m.!! We were always able to find a place, a few days on the upper sun deck, which turned out to be a favorite location.

We have booked this trip again next year, as we look for a relaxed trip (no airports!) with good food, sun, drinks and nice people!:cool:

@ nissach...in most cases we are back from breakfast in about an hour, husbands along with us claiming our chairs. This is usually all taking place before 9:00 a.m., so we have never had items removed on NCL. It did happen on another line, went to lunch at the buffet because this particular line has no pool side lunch options, our items were removed by crew. We were gone less than 30 min. for sure. They found us new seats....apparently available because crew had someone else's items removed because they vacated the chairs too long. When these folks returned and we were in "their" seats...war almost broke out! Shrugged it off, let them have their chairs back and proceeded to go back to our original seats which were now vacant!!

A lot of turmoil for nothing!

I don't consider myself a chair hog.

I wake up early and enjoy coffee and a book before breakfast. Have sailed in lots of inside cabins, so I have always enjoyed being up on the pool deck as the ship is just starting to wake up, even when I am in a balcony room

Yes my sister and I place towels on chairs for our husbands.

Yes, we leave after about an hour and go enjoy a leisurely breakfast.

Yes the four of us return to our chairs and enjoy the rest of the day.

I don't consider myself a chair hog, or a pool chair obsessed fan....some would...:cool:

We have booked with Park Right for our March trip. We will drop our luggage & passengers at the pier and drive over to the garage. Walk back is only a few minutes. We looked into parking right at the pier, $40 a day for a 10 day trip is steep. There is a discount coupon floating around that was from months back. It will give you a discount to bring the price down to $300 for 10 days. Still high compared to Park Right. Also, beware when trying to use the coupon. I contacted the Manhattan Cruise Terminal Parking facility and they told me they were no longer honoring any discount coupons. But some people have said they have recently honored them.

Last year we used Valet Anytime.....picked up our car from us right ant the pier and returned it to us upon our return. They are no longer in business. There is another company that offers the same service, but have not researched them at all.

Think we will stick with the Park Right garage.

On previous trips we have dropped off our luggage with the porters at the designated drop off at the pier, then just drove up to the parking area and the luggage was not an issue. Into the elevator and down to the check in desk.

Will the program be for all Norwegian Ships starting in February? I thought I read somewhere that is was only on the bigger ships. We sailed the Gem last year, booked an inside cabin. We called for an upgrade 3 weeks out and were given two choices, upgrade for free to oceanview or $160 for balcony (total for both passengers, not each). Since we already have a balcony for our upcoming trip, I thought I would call just to see what they could offer.

On our Gem trip last March we tried to utilize that area for pre dinner libations. Nice to sit and listen to music but the area just got so crowded we usually had a hard time finding a place to sit. We tried the Mojito Bar a few nights, but the bartender there was not very pleasant. Hope to be able to find a spot this March. Any thoughts?

We sailed out of NY at the end of Oct. 2012. Weather in Bermuda was nice. High 70's, but when the sun was shining the beach was wonderful! As far as the sea's....smooth sailing all the way down. Surprisingly had smooth sailing on the return trip the day before Sandy hit!!! Lot's of fog, but no rough seas, so you can never predict!

(we have sailed to Bermuda in May/June/Oct, very lucky to never experience rough seas on any voyage there or back!)