rncruiser

I am booked on Enchantment. The current prices for specialty dining are as follows: Chops Grille lunch 26.99 Chops Grille dinner 55.99 Chef’s Table dinner 94.99 All prices are per person. An 18% gratuity is automatically added. Also remember that this does not include any alcohol or other beverages.

I wish…

Just a couple of comments on your NYC itinerary as a native New Yorker. There is no need to purchase a 7 day subway card. Just tap your credit or debit card or your phone if you have your payment card on it. As long as you use the same card or your phone each time, once you hit 12 rides in any 7 day period,the rest of the rides will be free. You will have paid the same amount for the 12 rides as if you bought a 7 day card, but without the risk of buying the card and then not using it at least 12 times. As to your choice of museums, I went to the Guggenheim last year for the first time in decades and was sorry disappointed. Of course it will depend on what exhibits are there at the time. Instead I would recommend MOMA, Museum of Modern Art. I went there recently and enjoyed the varied exhibits much more. Sorry I don’t have any photos to post.

Having been on cruises out of Bayonne in October, I would definitely recommend waiting until you hit warmer weather. Not only will the water be calmer further south, but the air temperature will be much more conducive to your enjoyment of the show.

Harry, your pictures of the art work are fabulous, far better than the pitiful ones I took. I rarely write a trip report, but the couple of times I have, I never include pictures. They are never anything worth sharing. Thank you for refreshing my memory of the walking tour. Your memory is also far better than mine.

I was in Aruba in June and never broke a sweat because of the low humidity and constant breeze. My understanding is that the weather is essentially the same on both islands. It certainly was the same on both islands during this cruise. Hot, humid and breezeless both days.

One correction to your memory of the tour thus far, Harry. It was not a typical warm Caribbean day. It was a typical hot Caribbean day with virtually none of the breeze that is usually present in Curaçao. My husband and son left the tour early because being big guys, they couldn’t take the heat any longer.

I have to agree with you about the Las Vegas Tenors. They were just ok. In fact, by the end of the week I had actually forgotten that we had seen them. When I responded to the RCI survey I didn’t even mention them in my comments, although I commented on all the other entertainment I had seen. I had not remembered them at all.

No real pool in the Solarium on Odyssey. Just a series of 4 areas that range from about 1 inch to maybe 1 foot deep. Good for getting wet and relaxing but certainly not for swimming.

As a native New Yorker I can say that no one is prepared when the weather is a crazy as it has been the past few years. A couple of years ago we had heavy rains in NYC. The sewers are not equipped to handle heavy deluges and about a dozen people who lived in basement apartments drowned in their homes. There has been severe damage to the NYC subway system such as during Super Storm Sandy. It took years for the damage to be repaired and for some subway stations to be reopened.

I didn’t go to the Christmas morning brunch but the menu in the app was the same as all the other brunches for the week. I am not a fan of the brunch menu so I did not go at all during the week. I will be sailing on Enchantment the end of August. The app is currently showing that there is breakfast in the MDR every day and lunch in the MDR on sea days. I hope it does not change by the time we sail.

You should probably wait until November to book anything. There is usually a Black Friday sale (which lasts much longer than a day) and generally has the best prices you will get.

There are more savings involved than just 56 cabin attendants. That’s also 56 less people that need to be fed and if you are building a new ship that’s 56 less people who need cabins built for them. 56 less uniforms to wash. 56 less people who need to be transported from their home country to the ship. 56 less cabin attendants may also mean 1 or 2 less people needed to supervise them. I’m sure there are other items I have left out.

I’d never had buche de Noel prior to the cruise so I don’t know if it tasted how it is meant to, but it was delicious.

Thanks. I guess I will not choose to sail on the Wonder

I’ve never been on Wonder but I have sailed on Oasis and Allure. Recently sailed on Odyssey and did not enjoy it nearly as much. I love the Boardwalk and Central Park on the Oasis class ships. The varied entertainment, including Beiadway show. Ice show and Aquatheater make for much better entertainment. i do prefer the Solarium pool on Odyssey but not the Solarium itself. Odyssey’s solarium is fully enclosed and is air conditioned. I never felt the heat of the Caribbean and always felt slightly chilled.

Don’t forget robes. They are not automatically placed in your cabin but you will get them if you ask your cabin attendant. While this perk starts at Platinum, it remains one of my favorite perks. I love sitting on the balcony with coffee every morning while wearing my robe.

We were on Odyssey Christmas week. I thought for sure there would be plenty of Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacles. I was wrong. The lounge was fairly empty all week and the Concierge said that it was busy compared to the week before. In other words, there is no way to predict in advance if Diamonds will be allowed in during happy hour.

The watermarks didn’t stop my son from taking a screenshot and posting on Facebook. He just told his friends there was no way he was paying $25 for a photo. It actually doesn’t look too bad.

Many years ago when our daughter was young, she wanted to go to DI to get the free charm. I think we were in Saint Maarten. We went to the store and she got her charm. I stopped to look at the necklaces, which of course is the point of their offering the freebie. I saw a lovely necklace. When I asked the price I was told that it was $10,000. Now I had absolutely no intention of buying the necklace at that price or any other and decided to leave the store before they started to get pushy. As we headed out the salesman called to me”$6,000.” I’m sure I could have gotten it for even less if I had actually wanted it. I wonder how many people pay full price for their jewelry. It’s not like Saint Maarten is known as a place for bargaining. I certainly can’t imagine going into Tiffany’s and getting a 40% price reduction as soon as I start to walk away.

Interesting that the cup has ice skates on it when there is no ice skating rink on Odyssey. More likely it is the same cup for each ship with the only difference being the name of the ship.

To add to the legend, I had heard that the owner of the house is the man who invented the ZipLoc bag.

I used this on our cruise. It is an adaptor for use in the UK, EU, and Australia, as well as the US. I had bought it for our recent trip to Europe. With 4 USB and 1 type C it was perfect.

My favorite time to use the balcony is first thing in the morning. My husband and I order the free room service of coffee and fruit (we do tip of course) and start our day watching the sea as we sip our coffee. We have a balcony in our apartment at home, but without the water view it’s just not the same.

I found that 270 is way more similar to Park Cafe than to Cafe Promenade.