Rogueperson

Oooh, I've had issue with this and its tricky. A while back, a friend of mine and I were looking at 2 solo cabins specifically for double points. A gty popped on I think it was Brilliance and it was cheap. We were talking to one another when we were in front of a computer. He clicked the gty and it gave him a price like 300 for a 4 night on Brilliance. But when i went to the site, I did not see this price. Turns out, there are THREE studio cabins on Brilliance. one was available and in the gty pool. That's why he got 300 and I got the regular 600+ with the solo supplement. Funny thing, some time after that (this was when covid was on the decline), we ended up booking solos for December 2021. We had planned for the solo supplement and ended up sailing without them when they dropped them later that year...AND we got the double points promotion, so it was a win win for us.

Is it only 7-10 days? Or is that an additional 7-10 sea days? I kinda of feel that 7-10 days is a little short. My rough estimate is its almost 10K nautical miles to sail around the cape from Oman and make it to the mouth of the Med, vs. 2500K nautical miles from Oman to the Med through the Red Sea and the gulf. An additional 7500 nm is like 2 weeks of 18 knots average with no port stops. I'm not sure if its relatable, but our 14 night Greenland Cruise, Nuuk, the farthest port was about 1650 air nm from Bayonne. I mean, 13 since we actually overnighted in Manhattan and left the US coast straight to Nuuk. We needed 4 full sea days to cover that distance. 7500 would need at last 16 sea days by that math. That's not counting the day we left manhattan and coming in at 10am, later than our scheduled arrival of 7, i think?

This is such a lynchpin in the itinerary. If the Red Sea and Suez is closed off, then you either disembark early, and an entire segment is cancelled, or they have to go around the Cape of Good Hope adding significant time to that next leg to get you back to Miami.

Hmmm, these pictures looks so familiar.....😁 Did you know that where they are Serenade is about 150 miles from the Antarctic Circle? Nuuk is about..150 miles from the Arctic Circle. I'd say we got pretty decent weather since they're in the middle of summer and we were there around the equinox.

@little britain, You're already on another cruise? You stayed on after Greenland. I don't cruise again until April 😞

This maybe more work than you want to do, but if you're like me who needs a good cup of coffee and feel that Royal's coffee is not up to par, I bring my own. I go against my instinct by grinding my coffee before i board (because i don't want to chance losing my grinder). I bring my aeropress coffee maker and all you need is hot water, which most ships have available 24/7. The only issue is that its not THAT hot, which does affect the quality of the brew. Edit: Also, if you use an aeropress, take a couple coffee mugs from the MDR as the ones in the Windjammer are narrower don't fit the aeropress well.

I did a B2B two years ago on Adventure. So i said... The b2b consisted of a 5 night to Bermuda and then 9 nights to Canada. We did the UDP for 5 nights and then MDR for the remaining 9 nights. We also threw in Chef's Table because of the discount for the 1st 5 nights. Adventure has Izumi's, Giovanni's, Chops and Johnny Rockets, but since i don't like Johnny Rockets in general, that really wasn't in the running. I ended up eating at Izumi's once, Giovanni's twice and Chops, 3 times. Anytime lunch was offered, I took it. I also, at the time, was able to get chili cheese fries from Johnny Rockets, but i'm not sure you can do the same thing anymore with that silly one time credit they have now. Did i enjoy the UDP? Yes, but to be honest, after 5 nights of nothing but specialty restaurants, I was done. The menu is fairly limited and visiting twice, with someone, and you've tried everything on the menu already. After that, it starts to get dull. Second, i realized that with Giovanni's and Chops, I skew heavier on steaks there. When i came back to the MDR, I was like "no more steak!!!" I did not eat another steak until maybe day 4 of leg 2, i was that done with it. I do have to say, that Chops burger at lunch is amazing. For a while, best burger at sea was Guy's on Carnival. Then i went on Princess and Salty Dog Gastropub blew Guy's away. and then at the last lunch on Chops, I got a burger, and was like "wow, this is an amazing burger" and Royal took the prize. They never had the prize. However, the burger is absolutely not worth the price you pay for Chops at lunch and even less so if they offer for dinner, which i don't think they do. So, technically, yes, they have the best burger in my mind, but I will ONLY get it if i get the UDP, and given how expensive its been since i got it 2 years ago, its unlikely I will get it again. How did I fare going from all specialty to all MDR? Easily. MDR service will ALWAYS be better than the specialty restaurant. The MDR mixes it up a little better, though the new menu has a little less choices, they still mix it up more meaning they go longer. Also, the specialty restaurants are even more limiting if you have any dietary restrictions like my wife, who is gluten free. She was quite happy to go to the MDR where they tried a little harder to accommodate her. Bottom line. I will get a meal or two at a Specialty Restaurant, but that's it. I even stopped going to Chef's Table because they haven't change the menu since 2017. I used to go to it for every cruise, but until Royal changes up the menu, its getting kind of stale.

So is today a "turnaround day" where this leg of the cruise is over, and the next one begins? Do the world cruisers act like b2b2b (x274 days)? Or even segmented cruisers. Did i miss a post about that? We are on page 65.

When I was on Adventure for my B2B in 2022, our lunch was shared with the Key lunch. We had the same menus and were able to eat with friends coming aboard who had the Key.

I saw pictures elsewhere that noted this. I am not surprised unfortunately when you get such a big city, you're going to have a huge separation of wealth 😒

I decided to do a little digging. Fortaleza is HUGE. It dwarf's Miami's 56 square miles and 450K population, though this I think it just within the city limits. Fortaleza is 120 square miles and 2.7 MILLION people. If you include the surrounding counties of Miami, then you'd have a similar population base, but still, that's a MAJOR metropolitan area. Chicago has 2.6 million. for scale. Before this, I've never heard of the city before.

Hopefully, it stays consistent for you. I was on Jewel in September, and it was all over the place. When it worked, it was wonderful, but it was inconsistent and frustrating. I don't board Vision until January of 2025, but I'm following along.

The 4 drinks was after covid I think so that's a relatively new perk. Probably the best upgrade I've seen. It took me 10+ years to get from nothing to Diamond. I had only 2 cruises after hitting diamond before Covid hit. Not counting the covid year, It only took me a year and a half to hit Diamond plus. Why? That sweet sweet double point promotion. I did 2 short cruises alone, (a 3 and 4 night) that got me 28 points. They also had no solo supplement because in 2021, they were doing everything to entice people back on board. I had two long cruises (a 12 and 14 nighter) with the wife and accrued 52 points That 80 put me right over to 176 last year. I had a friend who went with me on the first 3 night in a separate room. She did NOT get double points promo because it was her first Royal cruise ever and her first "real" cruise. She did get the normal 2 per night for sailing solo in a double occupancy. She got addicted and well, she hit Diamond in a year thanks to the double points that she got after the first cruise.

1005 kiddos on Oasis isn't that bad. 1005 kiddos on Grandeur, different story. (about what we had in 2014 on my NYE cruise)

It takes a while sometimes. I had to email CAS AND visit the Loyalty Ambassador on my next cruise after that 7 months later. I think I got it maybe 3 months afterwards, so a total of 10 months. However, when i visited the Loyalty Ambassador, they said they had "no record of my request, even though I submitted my request when i got the notice onboard AND emailed CAS about 6 weeks after my milestone cruise.

Dude, I had an ex that hit the spa at least 20 times on a 10 night cruise!. Our (her) bill was $3,600.00 after our obc and refunds from a missed port (about $500.00). I say her bill because I broke even as I spent about 250, overall and my share of the obc covered my portion. Neither of us drank or bought anything onboard. It was all spa...

As I said, it was probably particular to our cruise on the Jewel as we had 8 days at sea and going to Greenland where it was cold. Breakfast and Lunch was basically on deck 4 of the MDR and 5 was open. They closed it at 2:30 to start preparing for dinner when they used both floors of the MDR. In fact, they actually had at least one gaming lesson in the MDR, I *think* it might have been for Bridge, or something like that. I found out about it late in the cruise, so I"m not sure how often they did it.

I did a live thread for it here. It may only be for Radiance class, because of the multiple entries available on this ship. I know on Vision classes and maybe the Voyager classes, there are only entrances on one side, so its easier for them to close off totally then for Radiance classes.

In the Windjammer, the food section was closed off, but the entry from the side was open. The back entry was also open to allow for movement through the seated areas of the Windjammer. Granted, our cruise had 8 sea days total due to going to Greenland. The combination of cold weather which excluded the outside deck area for most of the cruise may have had something to do with opening the MDR. I can say that this cruise was the first time I felt overstimulated indoors because it felt louder than usual and finding a quiet spot was *much* harder than other cruises i've been in.

When I was on Jewel in September to Greenland, they actually opened up the MDR for gaming specifically. I've never seen that before. I don't recommend this, but I also noted that the windjammer tables were open (at least on Jewel) for use in between hours, but i don't recommend this only because you would have to move (or should move) once the windjammer opens to serve food.

Of course. Technically I don't own any of these images once i post them here, I think. But thanks for asking. I got the cruise compasses images and will post them here once i figure a way to turn them into images, and not pdfs.

I got food poisoning from the beef Carpaccio. Took me down for a couple of days. when i came back up, maître de insisted i go to medical. They tagged me with Norovirus and quarantined me for an additional 24 hours. Imodium would have fixed me up quicker had I had it with me. Now i take it with me on every cruise. Total, I lost 4 days on the cruise and Curacao.

Not to besmirch that cruise, which was in no way bad, however, that's a low bar there. I would consider that the worst cruise I've been on.

Oh, one major thing I missed. MDR menu. This cruise, they added an Indian option on the menu every night. This is ALWAYS a good option. The dish regardless of the name, will look similar like this. The only difference is the type of meat they use and the sauce will change slightly. But its the same. But its ALWAYS good. This is the best upgrade on the menu despite the downgrade of choices.

Good morning from...bleh, who cares now...🙄 I'm here sitting in my office going "wow, its over now". I've looked forward to that cruise for so long as I booked in March of last year. Pre-cruise. The memory of last year's drive up to Bayonne was still fresh in my mind so i made some modifications and this time, everything worked out absolutely perfectly. As you've seen, we stayed at the Embassy Suites, which overall, I think i liked a little better than the Springhill Suites I stayed last year. Being across the street from the Mall and Starbucks was probably the cincher, but leaving at 3pm as opposed to 6 pm made all the difference in the world. Embarkation. Super easy. 12 minutes, door to ship. We had the earliest timeslot when it opened, which was 12:00. I was on the ship by 11:50. My driver called early and really picked us up at about 11:00 and I worried it was too early, but with traffic, it actually worked out well. Onboard Activities Most of the onboard activities did not interest me this time around. My wife is the trivia junky, but only if she has knowledge of the area in question. I did find the "prizes" to be interesting. Apparently, you got coupons, and if you won enough coupons, you can turn it in for a prize. I only briefly saw the prize list. Its not that large and I remember seeing 10 points = a backpack, but from what i heard, it was a crappy one. Food. Those of you who have followed me before. The pictures do get repetitive. As a repeat cruiser, I'm remembering the dishes more and more. My big complaint really is not for me, but my wife. She is recently Glutten free and now has a nut allergy. The problem is she also can not tolerate artificial sweeteners. Her choices of desserts were...ice cream. When Royal decides to make glutten free desserts...they use..almond flour. I was very worried about the changed menu that was announced in the beginning of the year. I am pleased to say, that the quality of food was not affected. Now, that's not saying much because the food hasn't improved. Its stayed the same. There maybe less choices, but its the food you're used to. The one hit that affected me was Escargot. You only saw one picture of it, but rest assured, I had 2 helpings of it every night it was offered. Previously, i would have done that for every night of the cruise, but it appeared maybe 5 times over the course of this last cruise. Its kind of a blessing and a curse for me. Curse, because i don't get it, but blessing those two appetizers got to be allocated elsewhere. Funny note, on the last night of the cruise, the table next to us came over and said "holy crap, where the hell do you put it all. We saw you every night just putting it away!!!". I probably averaged 3-4 appetizers, 1-2 entrees and 1-2 desserts. Bottom line for food. It was sufficient for my taste. There is one unknown. The food in the MDR and the Windjammer is institutional. That's the best word for it. The ship cooks 20K meals A DAY!!! Its a factory, not a kitchen. The food feels like it. Someone said to me the food is missing soul. Its not bad. Its just missing something. Substance? You definite feel different when eating on land. Chops. I only went to Chops once. It was delicious. Absolute 180 from the last time I ate at Chops on Jewel. That meal was pretty much perfect. Here, I do believe Chops is worth the upcharge as the steak we had was delicious. Izumi's. We did the Sake Sushi lunch pairing. I still think Izumi's is too expensive for what you got. That lunch was over 100 bucks including gratuities. This one is better than the normal Izumi menu, but that's my opinion, that its overpriced and you absolutely do not get what you're paying for. Ports: Portwise, this was an AMAZING itinerary. Definitely bucket list. However, Greenland is a one and done kind of thing in my opinion. If I go back, due to like the arctic repositioning this ship went on before our cruise, I'd do it, but I won't go again just for Greenland. Manhattan. I know this is not technically a port of call and Royal will only do this again if something forces them. But I thought porting in Manhattan is awesome. The only downside. Bring lots of money. Its not cheap. There is SOO much to do in Manhattan, its insane. It was totally anxiety ridden with so many choices especially when we had less than 24 hours to decide what to do as none of us knew we were going to Manhattan until 11pm on Tuesday for a Thursday departure. In the future, if time permits, I think we will make NYC a stop prior to boarding in Bayonne and budget that out as well. Nuuk. This town reminds me a little bit of Juneau, Alaska. However, I didn't feel the town was very welcoming. The boat tour we did was great and our tour guide was amazing. It had the same feel as Alaska where it felt untouched by man. However, after the tour, we went into town, and it felt less welcoming. Even though most everyone in town here spoke English, the signage did not include English, so it was difficult to navigate on your own. I feel bad for those people who came into Nuuk with no excursion in mind. We generally love just exploring, but given the language barrier and also, cultural one, made it difficult even for us. One of the issues, is that the buildings look alike. I could not tell if it was private property, or a storefront. If the door had operating hours, it was a little difficult to figure out if it was a public door, or a back door. Also, the locals seem to keep to themselves here unless they were specifically tourist oriented. Qaqortoq. This was my favorite. The town was very welcoming. It was much easier to figure out what was a store front and what was private property. Everything is fairly close by and the locals were very friendly. The people who worked specifically with tourism spoke English, but the normal population may not. We have a little difficulty trying to get Acetaminophen because a: they sell medicine behind the counter, and B: the guy behind the counter didn't speak English and couldn't figure out what we wanted. It was interesting. One note. And this is probably the only thing against Royal Caribbean. There is a tour that I debated and eventually discarded because it was a $309.00/person tour to the Hvalsey Church Ruins. Its about a 2 hour tour. We had friends do this and they were very angry about it. It was not a tour. It was literally a boat ride back and forth. $309/person is one of the highest tour prices i've seen. For a two hour boat ride with no informative narrative. Once they got to the ruins, it was a self-guided tour. When they complained to the tour guide, they said Royal only paid them to shuttle people to the island. The independent boat drivers were charging 100/person for tours. I felt that Royal is taking a big cut from the locals and sticking it to the passengers. Nanortalik. We had no excursion here. There were only 2 offered if i remembered correctly, and one sold out quickly and then bugged out. It was too short here, but the town is very small. You can walk the entirety of it in 30 minutes. I liked this town for a different reason and I'm insane, i know it. So Nanortalik makes me feel like this is a town out of H.P. Lovecraft. Innsmouth. The locals, were somewhat standoffish. They appeared to go through an act for the tourists, but we had to leave at 1:30. Why? Because something is coming out of the ocean after dark and we don't want to be anywhere in that area when that happens. I'm a Lovecraft fan. Hence, why i'm insane 😛 St. John. I wish we had more time in this town. We barely had enough time to get poutine, souvenirs and get screeched in before we had to go back to the ship. It was slightly longer than Nanortalik, but not too much longer. I felt like we barely scratched the surface on this one. Service. The crew was outstanding. I have No complaints with the crew and the service. I should say that every crew member did their very best and it showed. I thought the Cruise director did the best she could with the situation in hand. Talking to one of the crew the night before debarkation. We made a remark about the entitledness on this cruise and they told us that they were warned before the cruise that this would be a difficult cruise. I kind of understand why Kat stayed on script and did not wander far from the generic. I thought personally, she was a wonderful person. The wifi sucked. When it worked, it was great. But on this cruise, it was the most inconsistent of all my cruises and the inconsistency outweighed the previous slowness of even the non upgraded (non O3B) ships. The ship itself. Two things I had not foreseen. 1 is the lop sided tier that favored Diamond and above. The second was a more personal matter. Because this was a primarily indoor cruise, the ship felt overly loud. On previous cruises, it was easy to find a quiet spot. Here, it was impossible. The Safari lounge, the aft lounge on Vision and Radiance classes, I have found previously to be a nice quiet spot for much of the cruise. On this cruise, that was not the case. The Pinnacles had their happy hour there every day. And there was a lot of things going on there like Bingo and Art Auctions. The Schooner Bar was overly loud and hopping, as that was the 2nd common area for activities. There was always some music or activity in the Centrum that resonated up the levels due to its open air. Solarium was the only "outdoor" venue that was enclosed so that was a popular place to hang. They actually opened up the 2nd floor of the MDR for additional seating because the Windjammer was used for gaming as tables because very scarce on the ship. All these issues to me made me a bit overstimulated near the end of the cruise and I had issues trying to decompress. After 14 nights, I admit it was starting to get to me and combined with the lousy inconsistent internet, I was actually glad for this cruise to be over. Otherwise, I loved the Radiance class ships. Disembarkation. - yeah. My ship to door was 24 minutes, which is average. BUT, that time does not include the waiting to be let off the ship. I made it to the street at 10:50pm. This is the latest I've ever gotten off a ship. We sat in the centrum and then the next cruise waiting for that line to move. It was only when the line started to move, did we disembarked the ship. I would say this is the worse disembarkation ever, but this was all CBP's fault and not Royals. They suspended disembarkation right after we finished breakfast at about 8:30am. Resumed at 9:45, but then quickly suspended it again. There were 4 agents working the ship. No facial rec. I looked at my last live thread and they did not use facial rec last year either, but they had it. It was used as a support stand for the customs agent. Not sure if we couldn't use it because of Greenland, or because it crashed, or because it just never worked. Overall impressions. Despite the issues, I met some really great people on this cruise. Each port, despite its issues, were an adventure I loved. The serenity in each of these ports (except for Manhattan) was awesome and amazing. The extreme luck of seeing Northern Lights for at least 5 nights in a row was awe inspiring. The whale sightings were an added bonus. I had an interior room, and although it has its issues, was perfectly fine. I slept so well in that room and I'm totally relaxed. This cruise is in my top 3. Which now stands like this #1 my wedding cruise Carnival Pride in 2015 #2 my NYE Grandeur cruise 2014/2015 #3 This one. #1 will always be #1 and #2 will be hard to beat. But this one was definitely a contender. so thus ends my 14 night adventure to Greenland. Next cruise, will also be a first. Will be my first Virgin AND Transatlantic cruise. Another 14 night. I do plan to do a live thread there. So, I hope everyone enjoyed this thread. I am absolutely humbled that just looking at the thread now, I have had 33K views. Thank you for reading along. I want to do a major shoutout to @little britain for contributing her images and comments. Its always interesting to see different views on the same cruise as some of you may have remembered with the two live threads on Enchantment I did before and the sharing of the Live thread I did with @FionaMG. Again, thank you all.