yarlenna

I did have lunch on Johnny Rockets on the first day on Allure. It was lovely

I enjoy both lines. The one thing that Carnival has that RCI doesn't is pizza. RCI's pizza is lame. Carnival's is PIZZA. There are a lot of good things to eat on the RCI's ships. Oh, and my last cruise was on RCI and my next two are on RCI.

In most cases, 11 or so, BUT there are been times when it is more like 2 PM. If the feds want to inspect the ship it takes houses. Another time it might be that the ship needed a deep clean. I have seen this. I am also sure that there are other things that hold you up When that happens, there is little that can be done. Royal doesn't like it either.

There are a lot of things to do on a cruise. If you don't want to watch a movie, then don't. If people do watch a move, then it good for them. There are things on a ship I don't want to do. So, with the exception of the boat drill, I don't. If a good movie is there to enjoy, I may watch it. It is all about choices.

I also have cruised on both. I did like the food on Princess to be better than on RCII. But, I did enjoy RCI's food well enough to gain 5 lbs. in the week. The only bad thing on RCI was the pizza. It was pretty bad.

Yes. I know that they do changes for people. I cannot eat crab. I told my waiter. So no problem. They gave me something else. The food at 150 is wonderful.

The one I am on

I loved the Nordic Prince. I also did the 14 day in 1980. I loved every RCI ship. Some I even did twice or more. My last cruise was the Allure. Wonderful! Next year, we are going back to the Oasis. After that - who knows

RCCL is no longer very friendly at all to smokers.

LuLu

~~~~

Yes, but very friendly to people who breath

Please remember that the Beachline is a long road. I use it often. Most times it is a time saver. BUT if there is a bad accident, it can be a problem. You cannot just get off the road, as there are few exits. Even if you can get off the road, the local roads are LOCAL full of stop lights, slow traffic, and other tourists like yourself.

If you do decide to try it, please have a back-up plan. A Taxi might be expensive, but it can save you in many ways. Good luck

TIPPING 101:

 

In the USA, it is customary to tip 15%-20% for services. So, most people on the crusie use that number as a starting point. Many tipped people, share tips, or tip back to busboys and/or kitchen help. Part of the behind the scenes customs that we don't see.

 

In other countries, tips are automically added as a service charge. Not much different other than it is added to the bill. Works well also. I'm sure this "service charge" is shared.

 

Cruise ship. Most people forget that the cruise ship is not the USA. The "tip" is really a "service charge" that gets shared with all the service personnel. In my opinion, I really don't care who gets it and why. It's a sysem in place, that does not follow the USA way of thinking, and therefore, I don't get concerned with the process. Ask all the workers, and you will get any answer they feel will make you give them more of a tip.

 

So, I pay the "service charge" and leave it alone. Let the cruise line figure it out, and therefore, I'm not involved with figuring out the customs of the ship, or international crew.

 

A tip, is somethign I give on top of the "service charge" to a person or persons, that make my trip extra enjoyable. Did the server attend to my special requests? Did they always get the food timely to me? You get the picture. The tip is what I had to an individual, and not what is pooled. I accept many people share the service charge, and I don't care. It's part of the price. It's not even that much of an amount, and way low.

 

Personnally, I wish they would just call it a "service charge" and make it so it translates into all customs and is understood by all travelers.

Well said! I hope that the powers that be read this and do something about it.

Blue Lagoon Island has dolphin and sea lion encounters or you can get a beach day and snorkel or just hang on the beach, they also have food and drinks there too. We did the dolphin encounter and it was worth every penny.

I loved my last time there It was the greatest day on any ship. Yes, it is $$$$. but after 50 cruises plus, this is the best cruise day ever

I have a hard enough time looking after myself let alone worrying about what others are doing, especially if it not effecting me at all. I was lucky years ago to realize that the only thing I can change is me! I cannot change anyone else so why even try! Life became much easier when I realized that I cannot change others.

well said

We were there at the same time, Thought it was a great cruise

I love my TA. She gets me good rates, price drops, and great advice.

I hope for Bermuda from Florida

The Bahamas is not in the tropics. The weather is like spring in the north. Some days are hot, others are cold. Bring layers.

Blue Lagoon! Yes, it takes time, but it is wondeful

Sorry - no price drops after final payment

Loved your review.

Just please remember that anything can happen. Do have a plan B if you need to fly early in the day.

I was at College - in a town called Dallas - Pa. At first, I head it on the radio and I thought somebody local had been shot. Then I got back to the dorm and they had on TV.

I love the dolphin encounter at Blue Lagoon. Next time I will do the dolphin swim

I am going on another RCI cruise - and I do NOT want to have to deal with second hand smoke. I found this policy on the RCI site

Smoking is not permitted inside any stateroom and any stateroom balcony. This applies to all stateroom categories onboard. If a guest is in violation of this stateroom policy, a cleaning fee of $250 USD will be applied to their SeaPass® account and may be subject to further action pursuant to the "Consequences Section" of the Guest Conduct Policy.

It sounds like "stateroom balcony" is a no-smoke zone.

If anybody is watching the port cam we'll be arriving shortly for a one hour detour from our scheduled route

 

Captain announced we had to pick up a 'technical part' from Miami so they turned the ship around (we were almost at Key Largo) ... good thing today is 'at sea' day so overall itinerary is not impacted

 

I hope its an air conditioning part ... we've been having a lot of AC problems in the room and they have not been able to fix it

 

other than that we are having a blast

It is amazing to see the Magic - I hope your cruise is going well and that what ever that they needed is easy to get.

Like you, I have had many cruises on many lines. My all time favorite is Regent. The one I use most is RCI. I have enjoyed 10 Carnival cruises - and I do mean ENJOYED! If you in the market for a new line, Carnival may fill the bill.