larka

Free one 24 hour period internet is not listed as a Crown and Anchor Benefit.

Does this vary from ship to ship? Not starting rumors. I am asking is anyone has any clear information.

We just returned from the October 9th sailing on the Freedom OTS. When reviewing our final bill I noticed two charges for Internet usage, one on my account and one on my wifes account for 19.99 and 9.99. I called Crown and Anchor and Guest services and they took the charges off and stated that one days internet usage is still a benefit for now. The way she answered the question however leads me to wonder Is the Free internet usage for diamond members going away now too!

Just off the October 9 sailing of Freedom of the Seas. I can tell you there was no Beef Tenderloin, no prime rib and no Beef Chateaubriand. It was not a wide range of choices. And most of the food was way over cooked. So we just sent several items back and ordered different ones. I still gained weight. lol

Recently all the major cruise lines have had passengers and crew members caught smuggling Drugs both on and off the cruise ships. You will see more and more random searches being conducted. However, neither crew nor passengers are given bogus reasons in all the ones I have seen conducted. And I have never seen a person searched for food by ship security officers.

Usually K9s are utilized but are not always available for immediate access for the ships security officers.

I have three. Captain Rob Hampsted, Captain Johnny and Captain Marek.

The staff in the terminal was fine. I know they are not NCL employees.

My issue was assigning guests to arrive at 1030am and not starting the embarkation until 1150am. The waiting room was over capacity with a lot of people standing. There were no CG or USDA Inspections to delay the boarding process. Just making a suggestion.

In response to some of the comments to my original post:

All drinks were free. We did not pay for anything either before, during or after our cruise. Only once was a drink a bit weak. Otherwise they were good pours. We liked not having any charges on our bill. We did tip $1 for each drink and service was superb. Most people did not tip.

The food on all ships is not what it was years ago. However, we have sailed NCL before and the food on this ship was not comparable to any other cruises. We ate in the MDR and the Garden Cafe and both were very bland.

Disembark was a breeze. We waited until about 9am to leave and just walked off the ship. We were getting a taxi within a few minutes. Very smooth. Not sure how fast early disembark was.

Just off the Sky.

Very brief review for now.

Ship is in great condition and well kept. Crew was awesome

We had the All inclusive Drink plan. Worked out well especially if you tipped $1.

Awesome Dining room staff From Mr Collins to Waitress Ni to Asst Waiter Milton.

Great stateroom Attendant

Food was terrible. Had three good meals. One was breakfast. The other two were Steak Chimichurry and the Prime Rib.

Embarkation was very unpleasant. They scheduled us for 1030am. Finally started to board at 1150am.

Room Service is $7.95 added charge.

For a last minute quickie vacation it was fine. Would not be our first choice. This was our 33 cruise, Fourth on NCL. We booked this because our already booked cruise was cancelled with another line.

Comedian was also very good. Other shows - not so much.

Refrigerators in the rooms? We are in an ocean view on Deck 9.

Empress of the Seas sailings were cancellled up until the April 24th sailing. We are on the April 30th sailing. Any word on who the Captain will be?

Any word on who the master of the Empress OTS will be. Sailing April 30th.

Thank you so much. We are going to have the cab stop at Super Max for our wine. Thanks again.

Do they still have a place in the terminal to purchase water and soda after you arrive at the terminal? Haven t been to San Juan in a couple of years.

Mechanical space is any area not designated as Food, Beverage, Housekeeping. Stateroom, Public Rooms etc. It can even be a utility closet or locker area storing equipment. It is generally not the Engine Room. Can also be ventilation, fans etc. The smoke dissipation system is very sophisticated and a lot vents through the stacks, up and out,

Congratulations to the crew and staff for the handling of this situation.

Anyone have any recommendations for a moderately priced hotel with free parking for the week?

I tried to book on this cruise but the price for SOLO was twice the price of a single and I wouldn t pay it. Last year I went and they only charged me $60 extra.

Spent 45 minutes on the phone with RCL and with C * A to get a reliable price difference for an upgrade to a Junior Suite. They kept quoting $1300 higher than the website. I finally got someone who knew how to use their own program. I was told that in the future to tell the operator to remove the Cruise Now feature from my reservation. Why don't they just instruct their operators? Frustrating.

Yesterday, they replaced the trolleys on the sides of the ship that they use for cleaning the sides of the ship and the windows. They replaced the starboard side first in the morning. And then in the afternoon they turned the ship around and did the port side. They had to be lifted in place and attached using a 200 ton crane. So they started the turn around procedure around 3:30pm. They finally finished at around 5:30pm. Quite an operation. They had to wait until most of the luggage and stores were onboard before they could turn the ship around so they would stay close to schedule.

Only a limited number of seats are put online for for advance booking. Once you get on the ship, go to Studio B and your friends can make their reservations. We did this back in May on the Allure because we did a last minute booking and were able to get the dates and times we wanted for the Comedy Show. It is always our favorite show also.

I agree with you that Blue Planet needs to be revamped. Definitely a bit disappointed.

What is the name of Captain Johnny's parrot? I forget. He has lunch outside the Park Cafe most days.

We did Oasis Last October and Allure this past May. Both ships are very similar. I preferred the staff on the Allure better. Both crews were excellent, just the Allure seemed more friendly.

Just received the email that the Drinks will be on our sea pass card for our Allure sailing October 5 2014. According to C & A I spoke with on Friday, all ships will on the new system by mid September.

When leaving the ports in Florida, the propulsion disorients the baitfish in the water and the dolphin have a feeding frenzy. I see this daily at Port Canaveral on the port side of the RCL ships and the starboard side of the Disney ships as they leave their berths and approach the turn basin. It's a wonderful sight. Usually see between 6 and 8 at least.

I just spent over two hours on the phone with RCCL over this issue. I booked a cruise on the Allure back in November 2013 for a cruise in October 2014. We booked two rooms with my name on one and wifes name on the other. We told the Loyalty Ambassador that our sister and brother in law would be joining us, and she assured me that we could add their names at a later time with no rate change. Well, today when I did that they wanted an increase of over $500 per room because the price went up. They ended up calling C & A and then subsequently a Past Guests supervisor before they would allow the name additions without a rate change. After making all the changes I had the young lady call the supervisor back and ask how to make these types of reservations in the future. The supervisor she spoke with then told her I could do it the same way or make it a TBA (To be Added) reservation. Huh? Apparently it all depends on who the supervisor is you talk with. Or are the Loyalty Ambassadors are not giving out the correct information? FYI same last names on the reservations.