dbrown84

WOW. I'm making the exact decision for the last week in March. Encore looks good because the DR stop is later (11-6 vs 9-4), but it doesn't have Spice H20 or moderno. Really, I think I'm most interested in it because it's a little newer ship. On the other hand, Escape is a Sat-Sat cruise, so I'd have a rest day before returning to work.and the flights are cheaper from DC to Orlando vs Miami. I've never been on either ship, so that's a toss up. I'm really leaning towards Escape, but I'll be following this thread

If you happened to have the casino drink card, you can get cans of soda at the casino bar, as well as specialty coffee and water (including Pellegrino)

my last cruise I didn't have a pen in the room, and I thought it was just an oversight for my room. I went to guest services and they gave me one. Guess I'll have to start remembering to bring my own. I actually only need the pen to fill out the breakfast door hanger. I'm actually surprised they haven't moved this to the app yet.

this looks nice. I could power it with my portable battery pack

They still provided the port maps on the Getaway last week. First port, there was someone at the gangway passing them out. 2nd port, they were on a stand at the gangway. For Nassau, our last port, they were packaged with the freestyle daily delivered the night before

I'm going to have to look into getting a fan. I was just on a cruise, and although I kept the AC on the lowest setting, it seems like the room still got warm overnight.

I'll 2nd it as nice throne reading

was on the getaway last week, and they didn't show any baseball all week. The had NFL on Sunday, Monday, and thursday and also show two NBA games on opening night. Other than that, it was soccer and women's rugby

no limit on appetizers, sides, and desserts. the 1/1/1 limit is for the platinum dinners, not the dining package dinners

If you check the FL departures board, you'll see plenty of recommendations for shuttle service. I personally recommend Cortrans. Nice husband/wife team. $30 each way

funny, I never attached it to smaller ships, but I did my first solo on the Pearl, and two of us showed up for the solo gatherings on the first night, and I was the only person on the 2nd. Since then, I've done solos on the ships (Breakaway and Getaway) and the meetings are almost standing room only because they are so well attended. I just got of the Getaway yesterday and we routinely had two long tables full of people go to dinner. We had the meet-up in Bliss rather than the solo lounge and were still packing the place.

I got to the port around 12:30 and rooms were already ready. so, I don't know if they offered the luggage drop off area

just returned from the Getaway. On Sunday, they showed a 1:00 and 4:00 game on the room and bar TVs, as well as the Sunday night game on the big screen at Spice H2O. they also showed the Monday night game on the big screen. They showed the Thurs night game, but not on the big screen. They showed two NBA games on opening night. didn't see any baseball or hockey. They keep the TV in the cigar lounge muted, which sucked

and if it's refundable, yes you can get it refunded at the end of the cruise. You can go down to guest services on the last night and get it back as cash

did you have the $50 excursion credit? If yes, the excursion was probably the same price, but if you book before the cruise, the $50 excursion credit is applied right away and your credit card charged the net price (in this case, $80). If you book on board, you're charged the full price when you book($130) to your ship account, then the $50 credit is applied after you've completed the excursion. so in the end, it's still $80.

there may be a few exceptions to this. for example, on the Getaway, you have to have a collard shirt and closed toed shoes in Ocean Blue and Le Bistro.

1. You get body wash and shampoo. they are in refillable dispensers in the shower, so you don't know what brand it is. I didn't look too hard at the shampoo, so I don't know if it's a shampoo/conditioner mix. If not, then there is no conditioner. And there is no lotion provided. I don't know if you can request lotion or not 4. yes, you can request coffee. the pot itself may be tucked away in your closet. Either way, you can ask your steward to keep you stocked with coffee. You can also order coffee (and other continental items) for breakfast for now fee.

Unless you're already on the ship, you'd probably be better off cancelling now so the refund goes back to your credit card. If you cancel on the ship, the refund will be OBC, so you wouldn't be gaining anything except that OBC would be refundable so you could cash it out on the last night if you wanted

Our coordinator on the cruise I just finished did have a section for the solos to sit together, but we still had to do our own reservations for the shows.

Just finished my 5th solo cruise this morning. The only thing I'll add is that it looks like the solo gatherings are no longer in the solo lounge. I was on the getaway and we had most of our meetings in Bliss. I asked our coordinator why the change and she said it was a hassle and safety issues with propping the door open to the studio area for those not staying in the studios

I'm glad you're able to still stop in DR. I just got off the ship this morning and I was very disappointed to find out we were going to Nassau, as we're plenty of others. We also skipped GSC, so we started the cruise with two sea days

No reason was given

Unfortunately, I just boarded to find out DR has been dropped on our sailing. We're going to Nassau now. I'm definitely disappointed, but a few more beers and I'll be alright

Just boarded the getaway. Coffee maker is stored in closet

ahhh, I've never encountered this but this would be a good reason to either re-book if the rates are the same, or call them to see if they can switch the card on your current reservation