digitalshawn

41 minutes ago, Beagle Rancher said:

I am on this sailing and have no idea what I should do. I would like clarification of what price protection means (ie per night?). 

Same here - I was really looking forward to Odyssey but not if my nine night costs the same as a five night or eight night.

3 minutes ago, Wtr_Logged_Isiot said:

Plot Twist: Instead of refunding our Credit Cards we get on board credit.

 

I got the 18 dollar deal and thought it was too good to be true but heck if I wasnt going to purchase it based on that. 

 

We always get the package and RC always comes out ahead on it. Really the only people that will lose out if this doesnt get cancelled are the RC employees. Cause 18% of 18 a day is a hell of a lot lower. 

I do wonder what the transaction fees will be for purchasing and then reversing all the charges.

Did this cruise in April; you're going to have a blast. Great food, wonderful people and exquisite cars :)

Yeah - I am super excited!

Hello - is anyone else sailing on the Havana overnight out of Tampa?

Empress of the Seas - July 24th - 29th

Havana overnight

First time solo here, any others?

Enjoying your review.

Thanks! I have two more posts that I am writing out:

- Day 7 & Disembarkation

- Star Class thoughts

I should have probably changed it to a semi-live review, but, I did try to get any questions that were answered, answered while I was onboard.

Sounds like our Allure shows are going to be scheduled a lot more to my liking than last two weeks on HOTS. Hope this remains the same!

I enjoyed all of the shows, more than I thought I would.

I do wish they did later shows, that allowed for a later dining time. There were somethings I wanted to do that conflicted with the reservations we had. I couldn't ever get a flowrider lesson in, nor could I do the Single & Solo Cruiser meet ups. But, all in all I can't complain because it was an amazing trip.

Please give me an idea about show times. Last week on HOTS many shows were at times that either conflicted with cocktail time or dinner time, or were at 11 PM. Not good for me. Also, was the aqua show ever cancelled? It was several times because of winds on HOTS.

They never cancelled the Aqua Show. For us the shows were always between 7:30-8:00PM.

It made for very early dinners. But we made all the shows by the time Daniel requested us to be in the venue for our seats.

The goal for the day was to do two things; zip-lining and the rock climbing wall. I’m terribly afraid of heights, but, wanted to experience both before getting off the ship. In addition to those two items, I also wanted to have lunch at Giovanni’s table. Daniel was able to work a massage in for mom, and I wanted to do the Crown & Anchor Meet the Stars event that was happening during the early afternoon hours. All in all a very busy day, for a sea day.

In addition to all of the morning activities I signed up for another cycle class in the early morning (9AM, hey for me that’s early on vacation). Fortunately it wasn’t as rough as the first class, and I was able to burn another 800 calories before really starting my day. Again, when you’re used to a cycle studio on land, it wasn’t bad, just not as great as I am used to locally. Obviously I liked it enough to do it again.

One of my favorite things to do in the morning was to get my cup of coffee and sit out on the balcony of the ATS. It was large, inviting, and a nice quiet start to the day. It is definitely the thing that I liked most about the suite, and the thing as I miss the most as I sit in front of my computer at home writing this.

Getting back to the day, after a quick shower from cycling, the doorbell rang to the suite and it was Daniel who walked with us to take mom to her appointment in the spa. It was her first massage ever, and a birthday gift from my dad to mom. After dropping her off, Daniel accompanied me to Starbucks, and then up to Schooner’s where we chatted for a bit before the Meet the Stars event happened for the Crown and Anchor Members. The stars were gracious and entertaining as they fielded questions from the audience. It was a quaint Meet and Greet, and I enjoyed it.

After the event, I went down to the Spa to pick mom up from her appointment where we ran into Dad, and all three of us went to Giovanni’s for lunch. I had the tuna, cheese plate, and the meatballs. The food was tasty, but the service was a bit slow. Not a bad thing for a Sea Day, but not exactly the pace I was wanting either.

After the Sea Day I knew that the Zipline was opening up and wanted to make my way up to the Sports Deck to get in line. It so happened I was a little early, and was able to wait a few minutes before the venue opened up. Louis from the UK was my rigger, and made the experience slightly less terrifying, but, still terrifying when you’re afraid of heights. I don’t remember looking around as I ziplined, I just kept my eyes focused on the catcher at the end of the line.

After the zipline, the parents went back to the suite, and I went to the rock climbing wall. Fortunately with being Star Class I was able to skip the line, get rigged up again, and began my ascent up the wall. Climbing the wall was more challenging than the zipline. The zipline all I had to do was look forward and not down, and I was okay; rock climbing, I had to keep looking down for places to move the feet and I felt the height with every movement up. However; I was able to conquer my fears, I made it to the top, rang the bell, and then rappelled down the wall. When I got to the base, the spotter asked if I wanted to go again, and I couldn’t. My hands were shaking, and all I wanted to do was go get a margarita from the Sabor bar to help calm my nerves.

After heading back to the suite, my brother messaged and he and his girlfriend were up in line for ziplining, so we made our way back up to the Sports Deck to watch them zip over the Boardwalk. They both have skydived before so I am sure they had no issues, and watching them zip along, they both had smiles on their faces.

After ziplining, I milled around the ship for a bit before returning to the suite to prepare for dinner. It was the second formal night, and Daniel had made a reservation for us at 150 Central Park. Earlier in the week Daniel and I colluded to celebrate Mom’s birthday tonight, at his recommendation. This happened unbeknownst to anyone besides us, and I was excited to surprise Mom during the dinner.

The server we had at 150 was exceptional, I really wish I remembered his name because he brought something truly magical to the evening. I had the lobster gnocchi, veal bolognese agnolotti, and the server brought out the duck confit for the table to share. For the main course, I was going to have the 20 oz for two, but, he insisted we switch the order to the 23oz Dry Aged Ribeye for Two, and it was the most amazing steak I have tasted. Dad ordered the tableside Tuna Tartare, and I ordered the Central Park Martini. At the end of the dinner the birthday surprise happened, and beyond the cake from Daniel, the restaurant also prepared a mini cheesecake surprise for mom. It was the finest dining experience I have had on any ship, and that includes the Chef’s table.

After the dinner we made our way down to Blue Planet, which was unique. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was expecting, but it was a great night activity to end the day. After the show, mom and I walked around the promenade a bit, exploring different shops, I had wanted a shirt, and she wanted to buy a razor because she left hers at home. Then we went to the rising tide, and rode up to Central Park and then back to the suite.

Upon arriving in the suite, there were gifts from Daniel and Hubert in the living room. Tailored to the questionnaire that I had answered, along with a card. “Family is a gift that lasts forever” is what the card had inscribed, and I was presented a leather bound notebook engraved with “Notable Occurrences from Shawn’s Adventures” as well as a Royal Caribbean pen. There was also a throw, two shirts, and a king and queen cruisers mug. It was a very nice surprise on the voyage.

Ships in port with us: Star Legend, Wind Surf, Silhouette, Eclipse, Nieuw Amsterdam

St Maarten was Sea Trek day, the tour that Daniel was able to open up for us through his Genie magic. I don’t know how he did it, but, am glad he was able to work with the tour operator to have one last session added to the docket. We were required to meet on the pier next to the ship at 10:15AM which gave us enough time to get up, and get prepared to go out on our Trek.

One of the more amazing things I have noticed throughout the voyage with Star Class is that once people see the card, they rarely if ever swipe for things. For example, on our way out to the Sea Trek excursion I went and got towels for the family and when I handed the attendant my card, he was prepared to scan the number of towels we took but then saw the color and handed it back to me waving me on. Also, for theatre productions as you make your way through the crowd and up to the attendants, they again just look at the color and wave you into the theatre.

Anyways, back to Sea Trek, we ended up having just about fifteen total people in the tour, six from the ship and nine from various hotels in St Maarten. The small number of participants made it nice, as there was a bit more time for each person, and you didn’t feel as rushed. When we got to the platform, which was a mere ten-minute boat ride away, they weren’t quite ready for us, so they had us wait at the Tiki Hut. Once the other group finished the water taxi took us over to the Sea Trek platform and the other party hopped on the taxi to go back to the ship, they all looked like Royal Caribbean cruisers based from the color of their beach towel.

The tour operators gave us some very basic hand communication protocols and then we began the descent down to the platform; there were a few people in the group that had trouble with the pressure or the helmet and opted out of the experience. It took my dad three times to go down, but was finally able to make it to the bottom when they gave him chewing gum. The experience was neat, and I would like to become diving certified on my next voyage. It was just such a unique experience, and I understand why divers enjoy diving.

After we made our way back to the port, the family got off to go back to the ship, and we did a little bit of knickknack shopping around the stores in the port, I bought some chocolate and made my way back. I was a little hungry and knew we were going to Izumi for dinner later that evening, so I didn’t want something large for a late lunch. I ended up going to Park Café for one of their roast beef sandwiches that people rave about. The sandwich was good, I also had a panini, and then walked around a bit enjoying the ship before going back up to the suite to prepare for dinner.

Dinner reservations and show reservations were tight; we had Izumi at 5:30 and then the Ice Games at 7:30. However; we must meet Daniel at the show between 7:10-7:20 to claim our seats, so it’s not a lot of time go get from one place to the other, especially when dinner is a show as well. I am just going to come out and say it, I’m not a Hibachi fan, and this was one area I think our wires were crossed in dinner reservations, in emails back and forth with Daniel I had originally asked for my brother and his girlfriend to have reservations there, while he made reservations for us at another restaurant.

Now, just because I don’t like the experience doesn’t mean the food was terrible or that it was bad, it’s quite the contrary. The food and service, as with every specialty restaurant were amazing. I just prefer a quieter dining experience. I caught the egg in my mouth in one try, which I think I was the only person at the table that could do it. My dinner was the strip and lobster, which in hindsight I would have rather had the filet than the lobster. The strip was a fatty, but it was cooked and seasoned well. But, how could anything be seasoned poorly when it’s coated in butter?

After dinner was the Ice Show, which is based from monopoly highlighting various venues around the ship. The skaters were fantastic and the moves they can do are astonishing. It made me wish my one friend who is an ice skating aficionado was with us, as I think he would have loved seeing the performance.

That night was the night of the prohibition party and quest, but, after all the excursions and food, I skipped them both to come up to the room and relax a bit before retiring to bed. One of the many activities they had in the Aqua Theatre was a fountain show before one of the movies they performed. The force at which they can get the water above the Crown & Anchor in conjunction with the music was a nice touch to end the evening.

Are you able to visit Vintages, is Gemma still working there?

She is not she just left for vacation.

Congratulations! Losing 60 pounds is quite an accomplishment.:)

Thank you.

Other ships in port with us: Celebrity Silhouette.

At this point in time, my family, whom I love dearly, began grating on my nerves a little bit and was relieved that both my brother and his girlfriend, as well as my mom and dad were doing their own thing today. It gave me a break, and everyone got some time for themselves.

One of the things I should mention, last night during dinner at Samba; Daniel got us into the SeaTrek excursion in St Maarten, and we had to go sign paperwork and have the SeaPass cards swiped to charge the account. We could either do it from 10-11 or from 5-6. With the family out doing their own thing we waited until 5:45 to go through the steps to book the excursion; but, a major win from Daniel.

While the family was out doing their own thing, I walked around the port a bit, this was probably at least my fifth time to St Thomas, and didn’t find an excursion that I was interested in. I went and asked the Shore Excursions desk about what options were good for one person, they of course gave a line that they all would be. However; after sailing and doing a few ships tours in my time, I knew that not every option is good for a solo cruiser. Ziplining, Catamarans, and Kayaking are all built for groups or at least two, and I didn’t want to be the one person looking for an activity partner.

My inability and lack of desire to find something to do allowed me to walk around a virtually empty ship, and I was able to get a lot of photographs of the various venues without lots of people in the photos. I stopped and had a hotdog and a beer from the place on the Boardwalk and then came back to the suite to write up the adventures to have posted.

I’m going to stop this blog midway and will pick It up again. Today is St Maarten and need to get ready for SeaTrek.

A little backstory on me, earlier this year I was a little over 230 pounds, I’m 5’9” (on a really good day and if I wear shoes with an appropriate heel), and I got the fitness bug in me through my love of indoor cycling and was able to drop anywhere between 55 and 60 pounds (depends on the day really). I was interested in doing the indoor cycling as much as possible on my voyage to keep my activity level as high as it in on land. However; the thing I hate the most are morning fitness classes, especially if you drink heavily the night before. So I have no idea what enticed me to sign up for a cycle class at 8:45 in the morning, but, I did.

It’s disingenuous to try and compare cycling on land versus cycling on the ship, but I do enjoy the experience at my local cycle studio more than on the ship. I did manage to burn about 800 calories in an hour and then went charging from the Vitality Spa & Fitness Center back to the room for our private Galley tour. Daniel was waiting for us down on deck five with the executive sous chef and then we began the tour. We went through the galley on decks three, four and five. Talking about food prep, consumption, and recycling efforts.

One of the interesting facts is that all of the recycling that is done on the ship goes to the crew fund used for parties and events and is offloaded every week when the ship goes back into port. Food waste is virtually non-existent as they use the leftovers for other items throughout the week, and any food that is thrown away is essentially decomposed and let out in the ocean to feed the wildlife at an appropriate and safe distance away from shore.

After the tour, we happened upon the Dreamworks parade, it was cute, and I can see how it is appealing to the little ones, but I left about half way through to grab some lunch. I decided I wanted to check out Sabor, I love tacos and chips and salsa, and you can never say no to a good margarita so I went and was seated and proceeded to have the calamari, and red snapper and both were delicious as was my drink.

After lunch I made my way back to the suite got mom and we went and did a bit of exploring, up to the flowrider and to see the zipline in action. After that we came back to the suite, I wrote about the experience to post onto cruise critic. After that, I got cleaned up, went out and got a predinner drink and met the family at Samba for our next meal.

Samba is an incredible amount of food. Between the salad bar when you start and then the nine courses they deliver to you, you do walk away feeling slightly gluttonous. Of all the restaurants, we have tried to date, it is the one I wouldn’t go back to a second time on the voyage. The food is good, but the service was a little slow. It seemed as if they didn’t have enough guachos for the tables they had seated.

After dinner, I walked around Central Park a bit more and the Royal Promenade and then made my way down to Oceanaria one last time. This time from the Star Class seats that were reserved for us. This was the only time I have heard people audibly complain to the Genie about the reserved section. I should also clarify, the seats are reserved for Star Class up to ten minutes before the show starts and then they are released to the general public to sit in; and during Oceanaria’s seating it was the only time I heard someone complain about them being taken and reserved.

Oceanaria was even better on the floor than it was from the balcony, and I recommend the show, even a third time. The athleticism and the skill that each of the performers possess is astonishing and there are things that you see on the floor that you miss from the balcony of the stateroom.

After the show, I stopped for one last drink before heading up to the room and retiring. The next day is at St Thomas.

Are you able to visit Vintages, is Gemma still working there?

I haven't been yet, I'll check it out and report back.

After watching Oceanaria from the room from the previous night, and not getting the best sleep from the stay at the Hampton Inn, we were all tired and after ordering room service; we all essentially turned in early. This was my family’s first time at Nassau, I have been before, and we decided to spend the morning in port wandering around. It gave my family the opportunity to get a few souvenirs for friends and family back home.

As we were wandering through the town, we came across a Starbucks. Now, it probably seems silly but I collect one of their cups at every destination that I visit that has a Starbucks. In my last Aegean Sea Cruise, I made out like a bandit and was surprised to see a Starbucks in the Bahamas. After a bit more wandering around the town, we headed back to the ship.

One of the things that our Genie Daniel made sure to tell us, is that when you return to the ship and there is a line to skip the line and cut in front of everyone. The line was horrendously long and while I normally don’t mind waiting, having the blessing from our Genie made cutting the line a little easier. Standard fare when you cut the line, you go through security, and a metal detector and make your way back onto the ship.

One of the cool perks was the suite sail away party on the helipad. It was attended by at least twenty different officers and they did a quick introduction down the line on what everyone did as they continuously served you champagne, mimosas, or a fruit punch. After the introductions, we began to set sail and were able to get the bridge to sound the horn a few times for us. It was incredibly beautiful, and makes me want to sail on the itinerary Labadee route to experience that sail away.

Once we got out of the mainland they ushered us inside as the wind began to pick up and were concerned for our safety. After the sail away I stopped at the Starbucks onboard (I’m an addict I know) and got a Iced Ristretto Americano, it was complimentary with the Star Class perks, from there the Rising Tide was on the Promenade level and hoped on board for a ride up to Central Park. As I was sitting there on Deck 8, my brother and his girlfriend walked in and we rode the Tide down to the Promenade.

When I got back to the room, I was in the midst of writing when the doorbell rang and room service had a special delivery from Daniel. He had ordered us another bottle of Champagne and two fruit and cheese plates. I opened the botte and made mom a mimosa while I drank the champagne, and we all began to get ready for dinner.

Daniel had made reservations for the family at Chops Grille at six, so we all moved down to Chops where we proceeded to have a very delicious dinner. Mom, my brother, and my dad all got the dry aged filet where I and my brothers girlfriend got the porterhouse. In all honesty, the porterhouse is the better cut of meat, it was more tender and had a better flavor. Don’t let the 20 ounces scare you, it’s easy to eat. The sides were all delicious, and by the time we were finished I was a mixture of wine and champagne happy.

Daniel made reservations for us for the comedy show, and I am not big on comedians, so we skipped and I made my way down to the casino where I managed to lose some cash in a relatively short period of time. It wasn’t much, but, I got my fill of the casino in and most likely won’t be back down for the remainder of the voyage. When I got back to the room, I realized that I had dropped my camera batteries and started to retrace my steps, stopping first at Chops where they fell out of my pocket and down on the floor.

After finding the batteries, I wandered around Central Park a bit more, where I happened upon a string duo performing Christmas music outside of the Park Café. I stopped and listened for a bit, amazed at how many people were in seats listening to the musicians play. I then again made my way to the room where I watched the tail end of the Oceanaria show. Still amazed at some of the athletic prowess of the performers, and made my way to bed.

Your rolling now. Thanks for the review. Let us know who the headliner is.

It's the Edge Effect.

My son and his girlfriend are on this cruise also:) He won it playing poker last year, and is required to play in a few tournaments while he's on board (poor thing)

 

I'm very interested in this whole Genie thing. I've been in an owner's suite, and we didn't have a genie. Is it just for Oasis class?

There are a handful of suites that get the Genie, you have to be in a Star Class suite on an Oasis or Quantum class ships. The owners suite on either class would you you the perks. I'm in a two bedroom Aqua Theatre suite.

They do, we saw it yesterday. The big stuffing machine looks like cotton candy.

Is it on the Boardwalk?

Daniel has been wonderful, he checks in on us multiple times a day and has arranged a private galley tour and a private bridge tour. There hasn't been many things we've thrown at him that he's not been able to accommodate.

The two things that are outstanding are our own issues in booking:

- The family wanted to do the Sea Trek excursion in St Maarten but it is sold out. Daniel is trying to work with Shore Excursions to open up another section or have us booked if people cancel. It's something we should have done months ago and the only time I've ever experienced an excursion selling out. Live and learn.

- I was interested in doing the Prohibition Party and it is at capacity. Again, something I should have booked ahead of time and something Daniel is working on trying to accommodate for me.

Neither are show stoppers, and something I should have handled earlier.

Your rolling now. Thanks for the review. Let us know who the headliner is.

Will do, tonight is Oceanaria and I believe tomorrow is when we scheduled the headliner.

I will try and figure out the photo thing here in a few.

For some reason when I upload, it's all distorted.

We did choose to use the ATS Balcony for our own sail away party; it's big enough and was nice to just be able to enjoy your own space as you sailed away.

When you started your embarkation process, they hand you an envelope that contains your Internet access codes, we have five people in our party and there were five codes for everyone.

The ATS is also perfect for watching the Aqua Theatre Ocenaria show, I've watched it twice now from our balcony, and will see it again tonight from down on the floor.

I am attempting to upload some photos that I've taken over the past two days, and will post them ASAP.

Embarkation Day:

The family stayed at the Hampton Inn Cruise port South. For being a free hotel, it wasn’t bad, but there are better options. The room I stayed in had a very musty smell, like it had been flooded once or twice. But, it was perfectly acceptable for a night.

We woke up in the morning, futzed around the hotel until 10:45, we had prearranged our arrival time with Daniel our Genie to be at 11:30. We took an Uber to the port, and had to explain a few times to the driver that we went to the suite entrance, and then when we got out of the vehicle, had to tell the porters that we were Star Class. Once they heard the phrase they let us take our own luggage into the terminal.

When we arrived, we gave the Stateroom number to the person at the door, and a few moments later a very nice lady ushered us through the check-in process. They asked us to leave our luggage against the wall as we began the process, and a short time later it was in the stateroom. Check-in was relatively painless, because Daniel wasn’t available, we went through the standard check-in process, but, cut in front of everyone in line. Then we waited about three minutes in the Star Class area until Daniel appeared and took us onto the ship and into our room.

The stateroom is kept in magnificent condition. When we got to the room Daniel went through the reservations that he made for us; we asked him to do the dining and show reservations and presented us with an itinerary for the week. In addition, he spent some time talking about the Star Class perks, everything that you know and including same day expedited laundry and dry cleaning, as well as the movies through the stateroom.

After we got through all of that he suggested we have lunch at the Coastal Kitchen, so we made our way up there, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Once we finished we headed back to the stateroom, met Hubert the stateroom attendant and our luggage was there for us to unpack. In addition, there was a plate of horderves and a bottle of champagne. To be honest, I do wish those items were in the Stateroom when we arrived, as no one was hungry for it when we returned from lunch.

Mandatory safety drill, if you’re in 10330 then the muster location for you will be in the Aqua Theatre, and it’s the standard experience if you’ve sailed on a newer ship. If you haven’t, then you don’t take your lifejacket and they scan your Sea Pass Card when you enter to track who has attended, and they show a quick video on what to do in case of an emergency.

Dinner the first night was at Giovanni’s and it was amazing. Attentive service, more than capable staff, and it seems that when they realize you are Star Class they do pay just a bit more attention to you, to ensure that everything is above base.

The show for that night was Mama Mia; Daniel saved us seats all the way in front, and the show was exactly as I remember it from my local Broadway series subscription. There were a few sound hiccups, mainly microphones not on when they should have been, but, the cast performed well, and they all seemed to enjoy the parts that they played.

After that, I explored a bit more of the ship, but called it an early night as we were in Nassau early the next morning.

Would love to hear more too, have 2br ATS booked for Feb.12.

Any insight on thermal suite access would be appreciated.

The thermal suite access has been removed from the benefits as has the fitness classes. However, I emailed my Genie asking about it, and because when I booked it was listed as a perk he was able to work with the spa to grandfather my access into my perks.