Bonnie Voyager

Can just say how much I love this forum? :D

 

Can't wait for the first person to recognize my new text message "ping." Or is it a "bing?" :confused::p

I personally think of it as being more of a "doink"! ;) And I too, have been using it as my incoming text message notification sound. My ringtone is the theme from "The Love Boat"! :D

Thanks so much for your quick reply. Would it be possible to request one in advance or would I need to wait and ask my room steward?

Did you book directly with RCCL? or did you use a TA? I would contact whoever you booked with and make your request known. :D

I just booked cabin 1400. Does anyone know if I can get a rollaway in that cabin? My kids don't like to sleep together if they don't have to.

You can definitely FIT a rollaway in the cabin with no problem! Whether or not they will have one available, is a different question. ;)

BecciBoo, I love your hammock idea! :D Some day I want to try that! And, 7388/7688 are certainly big enough to hold the hammock, for sure! I do want to clarify though...you say in your post that 1688 "has a regular door, not a sliding one". I'm not sure what you mean. 1688 has the same double slider that 7688 and any other balcony cabin has. It is the corner/aft balcony cabins on decks 8 and 9 of Voyager/Freedom-class ships that have the "regular" single door. ;)

Here is another photo of 1688, with my husband doing his favorite vacation activity (he thinks 1688 is GREAT for lounging! :))...

Thanks, Bonnie! I think you may have sealed the deal for us. The balcony on 7688 does seem inviting, but I can't imagine what it would be like to have our daughter hovering over our heads for nine nights at sea. 9320, while very nice, isn't going to cut it if only two of us could be on the balcony at one time.

 

It seems that the balcony opening on 1688 is a bit small, all things considered, it looks like it's the best way to go!

The photos don't do the balcony of 1688 justice! It is a very large balcony with a very good view. It also has a nice shaded area in the corner where you are always protected from sun and/or rain. For a 9-day cruise, I think you will be much happier with the larger cabin too! Enjoy!

And last, but not least, here are photos I found of 9320 (these are not my photos)....

Here are some photos of 7688 for comparison. If you don't mind the smaller cabin, it is a nice balcony. I included a photo of the pullman bed opened up...

I have been in all three of your choices, and in my opinion, 1688 has the best bang for your buck! 7688, while having a HUGE balcony, has a pretty small cabin for 3 passengers. Plus, your daughter's bed will pull down from the ceiling and hang right over the head of your bed. In 1688 you will have a huge cabin and your daughter will have a full-sized sofa bed to stretch out on. The balcony of 1688 is plenty big for the 3 of you (usually has 2 lounge chairs and 2 upright chairs) and has a GREAT view! I will attach some photos of 1688 below, including a photo of the sofa bed made up as a bed, but I'm sure you've probably already seen many photos. The middle hump D1 cabin would be fine too. It is a normal cabin with a sofa bed, but the balcony is also normal-sized and will only have 2 chairs, so not optimal for a family of 3. Good luck deciding! All choices are GOOD choices, so no matter what you come up with, you will be in good shape!

We have our TA holding cabin 1245 for us, we are currently booked in 1206 (aft). We were wondering about the size of the balcony on 1245. We know it's at an angle, but would there be room to put 2 lounge chairs out there? We love to nap on the balcony in the evenings.

Thanks!

Hey EBQ!!!!! Glad to see you already found your way here! I was doing a little research trying to find the answer to your question too! I'm impressed! It is not usually YOU doing this "ground work"! ;) I think you, and "what's-his-name", will make out GREAT with 1245! I think you will be able to accomplish your mission of having 2 loungechairs! (i.e.....pre-bedtime naps)! :D

Thanks for checking in, Bonnie. I tried for the likes of me to refer her to your blogs, couldn't think of your CC name (I think it is called "having a senior moment).

 

Chris

Senior "moment"? I've been known to have an entire senior "week"! ;)

Help! Two will be traveling on Liberty and have a choice of cabin 7408 or 1400 both aft cabins. One is directly under Windjammer cafe and wondering about noice and privacy. The other is a smaller cabin with the porthole type deck, unsure which would be our best choice. Thanks.

I prefer 1400!!!! It has a much larger cabin (almost the size of a Junior Suite) and still has a very large balcony with a great view. We had no problem with noise from the Windjammer above. Privacy is as good as any balcony. If you stand right at the rail, you can be seen. Otherwise, it is very private. Of course, 1400 is a more expensive category than 7408, so that might factor into your decision. It is the best bang for the buck in my opinion though.

7408 has a small cabin (in my opinion) but does indeed have a HUGE balcony. Noise and privacy are not an issue. You do have the superstructure on the back of the ship to contend with, but most folks forget it is even there, since you have the huge balcony and the great view through that huge porthole on the side of the balcony.

Be aware that with BOTH of these cabins, they are designated as "triple" cabins, so if you are booking them with only 2 passengers, RCCL can decide to move you out of these cabins if they need them for a family of 3. I just had this happen to me last week! They are both great choices though and worth the risk!

Here are some photos...

Here is 1400...

Here is 7408...

Called TA this morning and managed to switch our boardwalk balcony cabin on deck 14 down to deck 11...same location about 10 back from the aqua theatre. I think we will have a much better view of the fountain show and high dive show at the aqua theatre during the week as well as now should be able to have a great view of the ocean behind the ship. Thanks to everyone for posting your comments.

Very good move! You will love it! :D

Think I would like to aleast see some of the water(sea) beyond the wake, not just like looking straight down at the wake like I was jumping into it.:eek:

 

Jimbo:)

And you WILL see some of the water (sea) beyond the wake Jimbo, :D because YOU will have the best view of all from YOUR boardwalk balcony on deck 10! But the photo I posted before was taken from deck 15 and the OP's cabin is deck 14, so they will also see more of the wake than what is shown in the photo. It's all good! ;) :D Here is a photo of the view I had from cabin 10729...

Hi Bonnie, I think the OP wants a straight out view of the ocean too though.

 

Btw, we are still on deck 10 :)

 

Jimbo:)

Yup! They said they want to see the wake....and I think they will have a nice view of it! :D

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Also wanted to add that I have stayed in cabin 10729 (last boardwalk view balcony closest to Aqua Theater) and I thought it was great and would book just about ANY boardwalk balcony with no hesitation :D I do normally book an aft ocean view balcony on any other ship, but these Central Park and Boardwalk balconies are just such a fun novelty and for me it is worth giving up my true ocean view just for the fun of it on Oasis/Allure! Our friends sailed in a Central Park view and absolutely loved the peace and tranquility of it, but I preferred the excitement of overlooking the boardwalk. I had tons of fun people-watching, I enjoyed all sorts of impromptu activities out on the boardwalk that I would not have even known was happening otherwise, and I still had my beautiful wake-view. For me there was NO negative for having a boardwalk-view balcony! I loved it!

I found this photo taken from deck 15. I think your view of the Aqua Theater will be pretty darned good from 10 cabins back on deck 14! Remember that you will be looking DOWN at the Aqua Theater and the water, not straight over. So that "bridge" should not be an issue at 10 cabins back! :D

Hi Bonnie,

Was it much difference being on 11729? Can you still see the show? Is it noisier? We are trying to decide between deck 10 & 11.

Thanks, Chris

I have not sailed in 11729 yet. That will be NEXT Spring! ;) But, I have sat on the public viewing deck on deck 11 aft and it was just as good for viewing the show as deck 10. I doubt there will be much difference in the noise level between decks 10 and 11 either. :D

I just called Royal Caribbean and they said that while #1400 is slightly larger (214SF vs. 199SF) inside, the balcony is actually smaller that normal (42SF vs. 53SF) Is there anyone who has actually seen #1400 on the IOS? As a family of 4, are we better off with a typical D1 category?

You are absolutely better off with 1400!!!! Do not switch! :D

Here is 1700 (mirror image of 1400) cabin and balcony...

Here is a regular cabin and balcony...

We have just booked IOS deck 10 aft cabin 1404. We have been told that it is approx 10% bigger than a standard D1 cabin (at 214sq ft) anything from (225-230sq ft) and that the balcony is 52 sq ft. Based on a previous thread it was mentioned that 1404/704 were only the standard size. Is this from guess work or by measurement? I would hate to get on board and find that it is only normal size.:)

The balcony of 1404 on IOS is MUCH larger than 52 sq. ft. ;) It is more like this...

We are looking to switch from a normal D1 cabin to #1400 on the Independance. I just want to make sure that #1400 will accomdate 4 people?

1400 is the mirror image of 1700. I stayed in 1700 on Freedom. It will hold 4 passengers, but 2 will have to share the sofabed. There is no pullman bed, just the fullsized sofa bed. But the cabin is MUCH larger than a standard balcony cabin and the balcony is HUGE. I will attach a few photos below of 1700 from Freedom (same as IOS). The last photo is the sofabed in the open position so you can see how big it is. That photo is actually taken from the same cabin on Explorer of the Seas, but it would be the same size on IOS...

For a better view of the ocean and the aqua theatre, what deck would you recommend for a B1 cabin? We would like one as far aft as possible but this is only available on deck 12. Is the view good or should we go with deck 10 with a cabin 5 away from the most aft cabin????

If anyone has some pictures of the view from these cabins, could you please post them.

Check out this link for some nice photos and comments...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=27445765#post27445765

If that price is correct then I would go ahead and take the ship's transfer. A legit cab will be about $65.00 (could get 4 in a cab though). Let the ship remove the stress of you getting to the airport, just a bit more money.

 

Al

Thanks! That was my thought too. I don't care as much about the money as the peace of mind. I went ahead and booked the $36 (per person) ship transfer. :D Worth every penny!

With luggage from a cruise, your best option is going to be a cab. That airport is at some distance north of the main town, but it's mostly a super highway going there. That airport is not massive and confusing like at Heathrow, Frankfurt or Paris' de Gaulle. That smaller size helps. It should work out fine if you're ready to get off of the ship when it docks. Stockholm cabs aren't cheap, but they are fairly efficient in getting you there. Most of the cabs take credit cards.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 27,500 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Thank you for the information. Royal Caribbean has a ship transfer to the airport available at the end of our cruise. I wonder if that would be just as simple? The price wasn't bad either ($36 per person). It will just be myself and my 77-year-old mother-in-law. We can handle our luggage (we both pack light). Our return flight has now been changed to 11:25a.m. Our ship docks at 7:00a.m. Anyone have thoughts on the better choice? Taxi or Ship transfer? Thanks in advance!

What is the best way to get from our cruise port (Frihamnen) to the airport? If the ship docks at 7:00a.m. can I make a noon flight?

I just found this thread before retiring to bed last night and I couldn't sign out until I read to the last post! :D I even shared your story with my teenaged son, who hung on to every word of your beautiful story. I fell asleep thinking about you both, Jim and Carol. And I woke up still thinking about you! I immediately ran to the computer to find out how your dinner turned out and as I was scrolling through the thread to find my answer, my teenage son came running downstairs and when he saw me on Cruise Critic, his first remark was...."did Trainman have company at dinner last night?" ;)

So Jim, do you see how many lives you and Carol have touched? My husband and I also spoke about your story on our morning walk today. Being avid cruisers and lovers of the sea, we were both quietly putting ourselves in yours and Carol's shoes as we shared our thoughts.

What a perfect send-off you've given Carol, who is now an "Angel of the Sea". And now, every time you sail, you will again be with Carol.

But, I know Carol will ALWAYS be with you!