unittech

We will be on the Reflection in February and be our first time on an S class ship.  Was on the Millennium last February and enjoyed our time there.  Will be our 21st cruise with most of them being on Royal.  We will be celebrating our 58th wedding anniversary so looks like we will be making reservations in Murano.  

Haven't seen anything on here about cruises for 8 days.  Have read all about masks, no masks, vaccinations vs no vaccinations,  etc but we have an 8 day out of Miami August 28 on the Independence.  Being 8 days and the CDC said nothing over 7 days, is there a chance it can still go but for 6 days?  Final payment is due end of this month and have heard nothing from Royal except wanting my money.  My TA hasn't heard anything either.  Just wondering if I've missed anything on this.

We just got off the Freedom on Sunday, Aug 18.  Our Diamond Concierge was Annabella Andrade.  She was young and very personable.  Sat with various groups and was always willing to help.  Especially on  Saturday night when every one needed boarding passes printed.  

Thanks for the replies.  Hopefully we will only have 2 carry on sizes, which we check at the airport as I hate dragging them thru the airport and they're free with Southwest.  So we'll probably just take them ourselves.  

Hi everyone.  Only 4 more days and we board the Freedom in San Juan.  Question is, as we usually go in the day before and are at the ship around 11 the next morning we know that drill.  However, this time we are going in the day of -- I know, bad, bad and bad -- and getting into San Juan around 1:30 in afternoon. Coming from Florida so straight thru, no stops.   Figure to ship around 3, give or take.  My question is regarding luggage.  Since the rooms will now be open, do we still hand off the luggage to the porters to take on board or do we just take it ourselves?  Our 1st time on the Freedom and the biggest we've been on.  Our last 2 cruises out of SJ were on the Adventure and last year the Jewel.  Looking forward to this as it seems when the Freedom gets reviews they are all good.   

Thanks everyone for your answers.  I was pretty sure that was going to be the way it was but thought I would give it a try.  We have a spacious balcony room and I am quite happy with that -- need my balcony.  Will be our first time on the Freedom.  My favorite ships so far are the Adventure and Jewel.  It's been quite a year so far as last June my knee replacement that was 11 months old got infected.  Had that removed and an antibiotic spacer put in.  13 weeks in wheelchair and spacer out and new knee in the end of Nov.  Almost 6 months with this and still giving me some problems.  But....I will be on  this cruise and I will enjoy it.  I've made so much lemonade out of all the lemons thrown at me this past year I think I'm in vitamin C overload. 

Wishing everyone with upcoming cruises a fantastic time .  August can't get here fast enough.

Going on Freedom out of San Juan on Aug 11-18.  Been watching pricing and today I noticed a big drop -- $335.  Called C&A and got a very nice gentleman, explained I had made final payment May 13 and asked if any chance I could still get a credit.  He was very kind and looked but said no, they couldn't do it after final payment.  I had a feeling this would be  the answer but wondered if anyone might have a way of asking that I missed.  I think I may call back later and try again and see if maybe a supervisor could help.  We are Diamond so I thought just maybe that would help.   Guess not.  Oh well, I tried.  

Two weeks ago got a $200 balcony discount (C&A), a 30% discount on 2nd person of $1140.00 and a FL resident of $152.00.  Total savings, which includes taxes, fees and port charges of $1375.  Total fare was $3318.00.  Total charge after all discounts $1943.00.  This is for an August cruise on Freedom out of San Juan to the ABC islands.  Discount will help pay for air fare which right now is high, but have time to get that.  Must say I was super excited on this and grabbed it right away.  

I love regular creme brulee but the BBB brulee on RC is horrible.

I agree. I am a crème brulee lover. My favorite dessert. Just got off the Adventure last week and had it only once. And that was way to often. The consistency was all off -- more jello than what it should be. Two bites and done. Such a disappointment.

Basically, I was not impressed all week with the dessert menu. Good thing I'm not a dessert lover:).

Thanks mattpro. I hope I don't get someone next door who says they'll just pay the fine and smoke anyway. However, the 3rd option might defer that idea.

Thanks AZcactuscruiser for the info. I was hoping that was the case. Or hoping I was upwind if someone was smoking.

Being a non-smoker - one thing I never picked up - was wondering if RCCL okays smoking on your room balcony.

It's been awhile since we have cruised and I know this has been a hot topic in the past. Just wondering, not trying to pass judgment. I know I can always close the door:).

Just got off Majesty Aug 28. This was a 4 night trip. Hubby and I went to the Viking lounge each evening. There was one small area that had a sign that stated it was for Diamond event. Each night there were just 3 of us. Another couple and 3-4 gentleman. Oh, and a woman and her 3 year old daughter. No one said anything about the child. She was a cutie and very well behaved. Our waiter knew after the 1st night what we drank. Hubby had Johnny Walker black on rocks and I had vodka and tonic ( with an orange). He was there as soon as we arrived and verified if that is what we wanted or a change. He also brought out a plate of appetizers. I gave him $2.00 each night as an extra tip. It was quiet, great view and all free. Hubby took his 2nd drink to the MDR for dinner. We never used the 3 on our card as we just did the event. It was a nice touch.

We also were on this cruise and, as stated, we also had a great time, even with all the rain. Our day in Nassau sounds the same. Didn't get off the ship until around 4 because of rain and just walked around downtown. Not very impressive. Went back out after dinner (early seating) to try and get a picture of the ship in the dark. Got some, but was too close to get a really good one. Our trip to Coco Cay was late morning and as our tender was pulling into the island it started to thunder and saw lightning out over the water. We walked around a little bit, checked the straw market, wasn't impressed with the lunch buffet, and since it was still lightning (and being from Florida where we have nasty lightning) we headed back to ship. Of course as soon as we got back the sun came out!! Key West just walked around.

I was really surprised when we got back to see that people had gotten emails stating the 28th ship date was going to be delayed as we did not see or smell any problems. We were on deck 9 and everything was fine. Our room steward was a hoot. She kept everything clean and was fun to talk to each day. Our wait staff was also fun and our table mates, tho much younger than us, were fun to be with.

We had carried on our luggage so we left the ship around 7:30. Walked out with no lines and no problems. We had parked in the terminal and were on the road back home by 8. Major traffic but no problems.

All in all, a good time was had by all. Other than rain, which no one can predict or do anything about, all was good.

A ship can go around it I'm hoping it doesn't come to our home town.

We live on S. Hutchinson island outside of fort pierce. Per channel 5 tonite it didn't look like it would come our way. However, it is still a way out.

Unittech, we fly into fort Lauderdale just before 11:00 am and I have arranged for transportation to pick us up at the airport to take us to the port of Miami. Based on internet search, I am expecting about 45 minutes travel time. Depending on how long it takes to get luggage, we might arrive at the port around 12:15 to 12:30.

Super. We will probably be getting into Miami and on board around the same time since we never get out the door when we think we will.

If you're interested in meeting at the Schooner bar, say around 3, let me know and we will figure how to recognize each other. Suzy04, you too?

Diane

davelliott and kelly04. Glad to hear someone else will be enjoying her Majesty with us. We will be driving into Miami as we live about 2 1/2 hours up the coast. Do you have any idea when you will be arriving and boarding the ship? We plan to leave home around 9 am which should get us to Miami around 11:30. Giving us time to get lost , get to terminal and inside we hope to be on board sometime after noon. If you would like maybe we could all meet somewhere and have our own meet and mingle.

Looking forward to next week.

I'm sailing August 24th. Hopefully the bathroom situation improves by then, but I feel like there are always problems with them on the older ships. How was the cruise director? Looking forward to cruising on the Majesty again and going back to Coco Cay- it's been awhile.

We are sailing the same date as you. Been 7 years since we've been on the Majesty and also are hoping for fixed plumbing problems. We are on deck 9 and if problems were on deck 10 we could also have problems. Since no balconies you won't be able to "air out" the room. Oh well, I guess time will tell. Just have to hope for the best.

Still, all in all, I'm looking forward to the cruise.

only valid during cocktail hour and they do not carry over. usually runs about 3 hours so at one per hour( even if you bring a glass into the DR with you, ) that is about average.

So I can take a drink from there into the DR? Well, things are looking up! Thanks.

It will only be in the evening.

 

Also, a section of the Viking Crown Lounge will be roped off for a de-facto diamond lounge. They serve hot and cold appetizers there, no limit on drinks; and they will serve you any drink that would be served in a diamond lounge on any other ship. In my personal experience they dispensed with the nominal discount on cocktails for a "diamond event" and just matched what other ships do that have a proper lounge.

Thanks for your reply. That sounds like a lot of drinking . This is our first being diamond. Will be interesting to see how this works. Can't beat free food and drinks!!!

We will be on the Majesty in a few weeks and my understanding is that there is no Diamond lounge on that ship. So, regarding the 3 free drinks loaded on our seapass, are those drinks only for a certain time in the evening or can we get them any time of the day? There is no way I will drink 3 drinks in an evening. Maybe all day though. Thanks.

Three things :

 

1. Eaton bikes will deliver bikes to you. In front of the Customs House is easy to find for both of you ---> https://www.eatonbikes.com/

 

2. While there are a lot of bikes used in Key West, I don't suggest them. There's only a few bike lanes out on the other side of the island, and Whitehead, Duval, and Simon get a lot of traffic, as do the cross streets.

 

3. Key West is so small that you can walk at your own pace, explore, and linger at places that look interesting. And walking is free.

 

Pjk

Thanks Peter. Was wondering about traffic. Is it possible to walk from ship to the southern most point? I thought that was quite a distance. We both like walking so that might be the way to go. We do have pix of the southern point from before, so not a big deal if missed. Might just get a map, plan a route and walk. Besides, can always stop somewhere if thirsty. Thanks again.

We will be arriving in KW at 10 am in the morning via rccl Majesty. Thinking of renting bikes and traveling around town in the morning. I ride 10 miles a day but my husband maybe 10 minutes a week! Is it fairly safe to ride the streets there? Is bike riding a good idea? I'm assuming we will make stops so hubby should be ok. Besides, will bribe him with a Duval crawl later. Other ideas welcome.

Thanks.

We are using Port of Miami parking - prepaid and also pay for shuttle. After I did this I read about other places that you don't pay for the shuttle. I'll post again after we return and let you know how it was. POM has refund policy that is a pain, so I'll stick with what we did. When we sail out of Ft Lauderdale we use an off sight place, prepay and it's great. And there are signs all over as you approach. So if I see anything I'll take note and let you know too. So wait until after we get back a few days after July 4th.

Wish me luck.

Good luck on all your plans. Hope all goes smoothly and you enjoy every minute of your cruise. Appreciate your thoughtfulness in helping.

VMT514 said:

If you are looking for something to do in West Palm Beach, just ask, we live just north in Palm Beach Gardens. I'm figuring 2 hours to drive to POM, our cruise is the end of this month.

Hello from South Hutchinson Island, just a little north of you (outside Fort Pierce). We are on the Majesty the end of August and are driving to POM. First ever as we were always cruising from Michigan and had to fly into the ports. Wondering -- are you parking at the POM terminal? I have read so many horror stories of parking off site that we figured the extra money was worth the worry of what we might find upon return. Besides, sounds easy to get on and off ship. Also, it is easy to find and park? Sounds like just head south on I-95 and follow signs. Hope it is that easy. Planning on a 3 hour trip. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.