CaribbeanH2OLover

My hair is super curly and lots of frizz.....I use KMS Therma Shape quick blow dry with Alterna Bamboo Kendi Oil.....the little bottles last a while and you can get them on Amazon....blow dry with a good dryer (I bring my own Elchim because it dries my hair fast), flat iron with a GHD iron and finish with Bumble and Bumble defrizz. When on a cruise I try to shower then hang out on the balcony for a bit to let my hair air dry while everyone else showers. Then it doesn't take so long to dry.

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Love this! Our daughter is always well behaved and sometimes we have had other passengers compliment us in the dining room on her good behavior because they didn’t realize a kid was sitting next to them. DD makes good judgement and when other kids misbehave she tells us “they are acting like savages”. We have also seen adults that behave poorly and get drunk and swear. Sad.

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I'm still super worried about my 9729 cabin. My husband says to let it go, he isn't on the board though.

 

 

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The slide is right in front of your cabin but when you look to the left you will have a great view of the ocean.

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The Abyss is not that bad. The pictures make it look bigger. There is an incredible view of the Fine Line Show. I have to say It was incredibly loud most of the night with the door closed.

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Here are pics of the view from 10729 Boardwalk Balcony on Harmony

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I would suggest the moment you sit down for dinner you tell the waiter that the kids are going to AO. Then they will get their order in and out right away and won't be rushed to eat. It's great!

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We ventured out to try the Carnival Breeze so this is our opinion:

Carnival - great ship but service was lacking. We never received a drink at dinner...it was 8 nights....servers were just overwhelmed and too busy. We had one waiter and 2 Asst waiters and they were serving 40 table tops...too many. We missed the shows almost every night because dinner took too long. More then 2 hours. The crew would walk past trash on the pool deck and not pick it up. They did have better quick lunch selections and more drink stations for water, tea etc...we are early risers and breakfast opened too late. With a little one....we could only find cereal or oatmeal. Carnival has more entertainment in the MDR...dancing on tables etc...they also have a chocolate dessert that is amazing. We had 2 different stewards cleaning our cabin and I could not tell you their names. They were not friendly just talked to each other.

RCI - we are loyal to Royal.....the ships are well built, which makes us feel safe. The flow of the ships are better. You can walk from one end to the other on one deck....on Carnival you have to go up and down and over which was confusing. The food is a tad better then Carnival but very similar. Service is outstanding. You ask for a drink at dinner the first night and they automatically bring one each night. Wait staff and cabin stewards on RCI know your name and will go out of their way to give 110%. For us it's all about enjoying ourselves, service and not having to lift a finger. Other then that, the ships and amenities are similar.

For us it's all about service

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Hair appliances (dryer, curling iron, straightener) are still allowed.

Thanks!

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I just got off the Harmony yesterday and I glanced at the table of confiscated items that contained a bunch of power strips, hair driers, etc. it even had a skateboard. LOL.

They confiscated a hair dryer? I've never heard that...are you no longer allowed to bring one aboard? I've always brought one and never had a problem. The one they provide on board takes too long to dry my hair lol.

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Thanks for sharing! Getting excited for our Harmony cruise next month!

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What port was this that had many late runners from excursions. .

We were in Falmouth Jamaica and saw maybe 50 runners...most had a pink wristband which made us think they were on an excursion

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215&highlight=missed+the+ship

This is a great story....thanks for sharing.

It should be made into a reality tv show called left behind.

I would watch!

We watched a similar situation last week involving a Celebrity ship. The ship had actually packed the passengers bags and had them sitting on the pier. Luckily in this case the ship was able to wait long enough so they were not left behind, they made it with literally seconds to spare.

Wow they were lucky! We were supposed to be all aboard at 4pm and sailed off around 5pm.

This is why we always carry a phone and the port agent's phone number.

I may start doing that!

That is a bad situation. What was the next port?

 

 

 

I hope they had passports on them and a credit card! I would also like to find out what happens..

Our next day was a sea day...then back to ft lauderdale. The father came out of the security area all smiles ready to have everyone cheer for him with his arms up proud. Then he saw the ship moving and that excitement went out the window. It was literally a few minutes. The crew seemed to be looking for someone in the port area.

RCI's port agent will assist with the logistics of making arrangements. The port agents information will be published in the daily Compass on the day of the port of call. All costs are the responsibility of the traveler though; another important reason to have trip insurance.

That's good to know...thanks!

RCI will usually go to your cabin to try to find your passports. If they can find them, they will leave them with the port agent. Other than that, you're on your own.

Someone mentioned they went to their cabin and got their passports. We saw them hand a paper to the port agent. We assumed you would be on your own. That is why we always make our way back to the ship in plenty of time.

We just got off the Indy today...had a great time. When we were in Jamaica there was a family that missed the ship by 5 minutes. We are just curious what happens when you are left behind? Does RCI assist with flights, passports, hotel etc? It didn't seem as though they were on an excursion because the ship did wait for a lot of late runners that were on organized excursions. They were in wet bathing suits and just stood there as the ship was sailing away. We felt so bad for them.

Curious as to if anyone has ever checked a case of bottled water as a piece of checked luggage at the port on embarkation. I'm cruising on Indy next month and would rather do that than lug it around until the rooms are ready.

 

 

 

I have done it in the past but that was a few years ago and not sure if I was lucky or if policy has changed or not.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

-Kyle

We just got off the Indy this am. We carried a 6 pack of Evian (big bottles) and a bottle of wine on with us when we boarded and had no problem. They did inspect it but it was fine. It was inconvenient for about 30 min...we had lunch then dropped it in our cabin.

Sounds good, we will party in the terminal!

Excellent!

So I know the "What time should I get there" question has been asked hundreds of times but this time I'm wondering if there was a real reason.

 

 

 

We are going on the Independence in 5 days out of Ft. Lauderdale and in the past 4 days Royal has been SPAMMING the heck out of me telling me to arrive after noon. Between myself and my wife, we have gotten OVER 20 text messages, voicemails, and emails telling us to arrive between noon and 3:30. I am tempted to get to the port at 9am just out of spite (just kidding). Has anyone else seen a major increase in the communications from Royal on this?

We are on the same sailing and have also received multiple text messages, emails and voice mails. We have never received these before. We also received the messages about the Zika virus. We finally acknowledged them and they stopped. It makes me wonder if the ship is going to be late or if this is something new. We will meet you at the port at 9am lol.

We are Loyal to Royal. We ventured out to try other lines the past few years including Celebrity, Disney, Princess and Carnival. Why are we loyal? Service, amenities and layout of their ships.

IMO Food was terrible on Carnival and service was lacking. I only remember Guys Burgers and a chocolate cake for dessert. I never received a drink at dinner in the main dining room. Breakfast took over an hour and pancakes were cold. On an 8 night cruise on their newest ship I expected better.

We find the layout of the royal ships easy to navigate. On Carnival we had to go up and down decks to get somewhere.

I would suggest trying other lines and find the one that you like best.

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Some ships have extra bed rails available. You have to ask your cabin steward as soon as you get on the ship. Our DD likes to roll around and she did fine. You can also ask the steward to put the mattress on the floor.

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We board the IOS on 20 Apr. Its 0704 am and Im going to the attic to get our suitcases and start packing after these reviews.

It's never too early to pack! It keeps the excitement alive.

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