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Since I grew up watching Love Boat, my favorite headliner was Charo whom I saw on Adventure of the Seas. She was exceptionally talented, too, and very entertaining.

 

She's the first one I thought of too. I never realized how talented she was with the guitar. It was also fun when she pulled Brian up to dance with her; fortunately I had the camera ready.

Jane - It was great to meet you and John on these cruises, and we are really enjoying reliving it! It's great to see the pictures of you and other people we met in the Concierge Lounge!! We'll email you some of the pictures we took.

 

We really loved the MDR breakfast area for D+ & Pinnacle; I think we went there every morning. We agree that they did a great job sanitizing the ship and keeping us informed.

 

Hopefully we'll run into you on a future cruise!

Our first cruise was on Song of Norway in 1987.

 

Me too!! It was 12/5/1987.

We went to the prohibition party and had a great time. Quite a few people dressed up to some extent, lots of boas for the ladies, but you wouldn't be out of place if you didn't.

 

They did a great job of getting the crowd involved, and the drinks flowed freely. There is a limit on how many people can go, so I would recommend booking it online before your trip if you are interested.

Thanks for letting us know. We'll be on IOS next and will be following this thread to learn more about people's experiences. We're very interested to hear if the CL was still open for cocktails in the evening, and more about experiences at the bars and what cocktails are included.

The luggage valet is a program available only with certain airlines. They check you in, give you your boarding passes, and check in your bags. You don't have to worry about your luggage until you get off your flight. I believe it is about $20; that does not include any baggage fees you have.

 

I haven't tried it, but some of my family did and they raved about it! To not have to worry about taking your luggage off the ship to the airport and just pick it up at home was great; especially with my 83 year old mother who needed extra help.

Is shampoo provided on the ship?

 

 

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Yes, they have the shampoo/conditioner combination in a dispenser in the shower. I find the shampoo fine, but like better conditioner so I bring some of that.

Where would the best place be for salads?

 

In the MDR at lunch they have the Tutti Salad; it is a great salad bar where you walk through it, tell them what you want, and they put it together. MDR is typically only open on sea days.

We love all the activities on the ships, but we can also always find a quiet spot to sit and play cards, have a drink or just visit with people.

 

We really like that they have traditional dining in the MDR, but also offer flexibility with My Time Dining, the buffet and specialty restaurants.

 

Also really enjoy their entertainment; especially the ice shows.

 

Totally agree with previous comments about the layout and decor of the ships.

We bought our pendants at Imperial Jewelers.

 

In 2009 we found earrings and cufflinks on Enchantment like the pendant covered with diamonds someone posted earlier. We were told that they don't get them often, and haven't seen them since so we are glad we bought them.

So, if you have $100 in OBC from another offer, then you can't get the additional $100 shareholder OBC? Not sure if that would be considered "combining", or just two different credits.

 

It depends on where the other offer is from, but I believe they just mean you can't have multiple credits of a certain type on one reservation.

Yes, you can get onboard credit if you own at least 100 shares. It is not combinable with some other discounts and onboard credit like the onboard credit you get booking a future cruise on board. Sorry, I don't have all the details about what is combinable, but I'm guessing someone will chime in with more details.

 

Edited to add: I'm glad to see that ehfl had great information for you & sorry mine took so long to post. I think my computer is slower that Royal's onboard ones today!!

A highlight for us was going to the Prohibition Event. There were quite a few people there who dressed up at least a little; especially the ladies with feather boas! They did a great job of getting people involved and out dancing; probably the first time I've been out on a dance floor with about 20 other women doing the Charleston. It was definitely worth the $35; fun and the drinks flowed freely!

 

Since we went on the January 5th sailing, we really appreciated getting out of MN because the 6th was the coldest day of the winter so far. Unfortunately, it looks like Mother Nature is trying to get back at us by bringing the cold weather back this week!

We've had Royal Delights and really love them!

 

If they aren't included in a drink package, but you can get both specialty coffees & alcoholic drinks, we have a tip on making your own. We love getting lattes (sp? - I have had a drink or two today, so I'm not sure!) in the Concierge Lounge and then pouring in about half a Manhattan! We're not even really coffee drinkers, but this is more an excuse for a sweet, yummy drink! You could do the same with drinks from the bars.

 

Enjoy!!

I've asked the pharmacist for an extra label when getting mine refilled before the cruise. I used the little zip bags they sell for medication and put the label on that.

 

I typically just bring mine in pill boxes, but I love this idea!! I'll have to remember to ask for a label next time.

 

Thanks for the great idea.

The first time I went I thought 'okay, I like a good salad bar', but I never expected this! It has spoiled me for every other salad bar. We should start calling it the salad extravaganza!!!

 

I look forward to it on every cruise.

Hello!

 

I have to apologize, I've gotten a little lazy, and add in frustrating internet :-) equals no posts...

 

We had a great day in Labadee yesterday, near perfect weather!!

 

To the poster who asked about times....

This cruise traditional dinner is the new 5:30 and 8, the concierge lounge is open from 4:30 to 8, although they aim to please and will gladly ensure anyone who wants to stay later will have one last drink.

 

For San Juan, yes...right down town, the pier we were at was located across from Senior Frogs.

 

This cruise, all the shows have been 6;30 and 8:30, although last week there were a few early on that where 8:30 and 10:45. I have copies of all the compasses and will get them scanned when we get home

 

Speaking of late shows, tonight is the QUEST!!

 

Thanks for the information, and definitely no need to apologize! Have fun at the QUEST.

This is great; we are enjoying your review so much!!! We'll be on Gandeur for the first time next year, so we are really interested in everything we can find out. We have a few questions for you.

 

When you docked in San Juan, did it dock right in town so you are right in Old San Juan when you get off the ship, or was it over a mile away?

 

Looking at the show times we were wondering about times for a couple other things. Were the traditional dining times at 6:00 & 8:30, or moved up to 5:30 and 8:00 (or of course anything else!)? You mentioned the Concierge Lounge, do you know if the hours for the lounge were 5:00 to 8:30 or earlier?

 

Love your style of writing and all the great information you are sharing!!

 

We're pretty envious since we're sitting here in snowy MN, but we hope the rest of your cruise is wonderful!!!

As long as it isn't full, you should be able to change on board. I would recommend trying to do it as soon as you board. If it is really important to you to have My Time, you might want to change your reservation now, but I know sometimes people want to wait until they board to use their OBC for tips.

Have a great cruise!!

I recommend the Mayan ruins of Lamanai. If you're interested, you may click on the link below to see the slide show my wife put together with pictures she took.

 

Lamanai Mayan Ruins in Belize

 

The excursion also includes a boat ride that takes you to the ruins. It's a long day, so if you go, I would also recommend booking through the cruise line.

 

That looks great; thanks for sharing your photos! As I mentioned in my earlier post, we really liked Xunantunich and Cahal Pech; now we have another one to see next time we visit!

We highly recommend the Royal Caribbean excursions to Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. If you like historical sites, these Mayan temples are excellent. The Xunantunich excursion was a long one, and definitely worth it.

Love reading about everyone's great memories from Song of America!

 

She was my first RCI cruise too. When I met Brian, he had been on 12 RCI cruises, including Sun Viking, Nordic Prince and Song of Norway. I had been on several cruises on other cruise lines. I am so glad he suggested Song of America for our first cruise together; I often thank him for introducing me to Royal!!

I call Shenanigans on you! :D

 

 

 

Earlier ships - I like that! :) This year, I have sailed the Jewel, the Enchantment, the Allure and now, I'm off to the Grandeur. I've debated with myself whether or not people would be interested in a live review from the Grandeur, because every week, we have live reviews of Oasis and Allure. Nobody seems interested in the older, oops, earlier ships. But, this thread has given me hope, maybe people would be interested. :D

 

We absolutely love Allure & Oasis, but we've loved all the ships we've been on. Ships sure have changed since our first cruise on Song of America. We made a point of going on Majesty before she was sold, and we were so glad; the ship and crew were amazing! We just booked Grandeur for next year; one of only 3 of their ships we haven't been on, so we would love to read a live review on her!!

Thanks for the review; it got us even more excited about an upcoming Allure cruise!

 

I just wanted to mention a couple changes to policies since your cruise. They have changed the smoking policy so there is no longer smoking on balconies. Also, the new drink packages do include the cup that can be used at the freestyle machines; I believe it is included with any package that includes soda.

 

I love seeing how RCI listens to feedback and adjusts!

The Diamond Event has free wine, champagne, soda and I think beer. Plus you get 25% off cocktails. This is as opposed to the lounge where basic cocktails are free. Also, on many ships the lounge has hot appetizers while the event has nuts or trail mix.