rncruiser

I actually found our cabin attendant to be wonderful. He came to introduce himself minutes after we stepped into the cabin we were checking the bed for bedbugs, something we always do, and saw a mark on the sheet. The mattress cover and mattress itself were fine. He immediately offered to change the sheet and got a fresh one and changed it right away. We told him we preferred morning room cleaning and would like a paper copy of the compass. He said he would take care of it. The next morning I remembered that I had forgotten to request bathrobes and left him a note on the bed. We never saw him again during the week, but the robes weee there later that day and we had the compass waiting for us every evening.

We spent most of our time in Odyssey’s solarium. It is covered, and in the Caribbean it is air conditioned. I hope it can be heated as well.

Many years ago I recall getting off the elevator a couple of minutes prior to being allowed to go to our cabin. There are doors that were closed that separated the lobby area from the cabin hallway. Staff opened them at precisely 1:30.

We got the email for both of our cabins but they didn’t pay attention to our request. My kids still had to ask the cabin steward to separate their beds.

I enjoy the lounge as a place to meet fellow frequent cruisers, a place to gather with our adult children when they cruise with us, and a place to have a quiet pre-dinner snack.

I can’t recall how many times I have been to Labadee, but it has to be at least 10. It remains one of my favorite destinations in the Caribbean. Even though I am not a beach lover, and have not gone to a beach in other ports in at least 20 years, I love floating on a mat in the warm, gentle water. I was in Aruba at a resort last June. They had the same mats but the water was rougher and it took effort not to float too far out. At Labadee the water is calmer and as a poor swimmer I feel much more comfortable there. To me, it is the ultimate in vacation relaxation.

Does anyone know if Tampa enforces the check in time?

We always avoid visiting Uncle Bob in prison when boarding. We are Diamond so we get a total of 4 free pictures. We know the boarding ones will not be the ones we choose, so why waste time getting on board. We do visit Uncle Bob on formal nights and even saw him in Labadee. I didn’t feel like I was wasting time in Labadee since I was doing my favorite activity there, floating on a mat. It has been many years since Royal has made money off us on photos. Same with alcohol, 4 free drinks a day is more than enough, and generally way more than we use, for each of us. Even our 27 and 32 year olds don’t drink that much, thankfully.

We also had to have our photos retaken. I thought I had done a pretty decent job on ours. Maybe there was a glitch in the app, which given all the complaints about Royals IT dept, wouldn’t surprise me.

I had no cell service in the terminal. Luckily I noticed a sign saying the terminal had wi-fi. I logged into it and was able to access my SetSail pass in the app. The idea of a screen shot makes a lot of sense. Will try to remember for my next cruise. In general I tend to be old-school, but I hate carrying pieces of paper so I never print out passes.

We were recently on Odyssey. The earliest MTD reservation we could get was for 7:15, which would make getting to an 8 pm show impossible. As I have gotten older it is too difficult for me to stay awake for a 10 pm show. We went to the dining room when MTD started at 6:45 and were told to get in the line for those with reservations. We were seated with no difficulty every night.

Do you recall how the line was for those without a reservation?

I also caved on TSA-pre check. For this cruise we knew we would be cutting things tight at the airport since we couldn’t leave home until our son got home from work. We had an 8 pm flight and he usually arrives home about 5 or 5:15 pm. Since it was holiday time I knew the airport would be busier than usual. Luckily we only live about 15 mins from the airport, but with all of our luggage we needed 2 Ubers to get us there. TSA pre-check was a definite help. Since our daughter also flies back and forth to school she is very appreciative of it as well.

We will be cruising with friends on Enchantment and we have all booked MTD. On our recent cruise on Odyssey, the MTD line for those without reservations was very long and they were very slow to seat people. Even the line for those with reservations moved slowly. What is the situation on Enchantment.? I would like to make reservations for each night but our friends prefer not to.

Virgin drinks, cans of soda, bottles of water, coffee drinks at Cafe Promenade or Lattetudes (depending on ship)

We have done MTD for many years. They always try to seat you with the same wait staff. On our recent Odyssey cruise they apologized when they had to seat us with different wait staff on 2 of our 8 nights. They gave us the same wait staff for both of those 2 nights and our “regular” waiter came over to chat with us.

I am definitely an overpacker. It paid off on a trip my husband and I took to Chicago this past summer. We were only supposed to be there for 3 nights. The weather in NY was so bad that all flights to both LaGuardia and JFK were cancelled for 2 days. We were happy to have overpacked. Yes, even for a 3 day trip I was a +2. For our 8 night cruise (we were on the same sailing as Harry) plus one night before in a hotel, for a total of 9 nights, I think I overpacked by about 5 days. On a cruise it’s not so much worrying about getting stuck for an extra night or 2 than about having alternatives for evening attire. And of course there is always the possibility that I may hit the gym, so gym clothes must be packed. I think I packed enough clothes on this trip for a 12 or 13 night sailing. As long as it all fits in one suitcase and one carryon without being overweight I am content. It does not take me more than a few minutes to pack or unpack.

I just did the Christmas cruise on Odyssey. This was our first cruise post-Covid. I have never sailed in Symphony but I have been on Oasis and Allure and loved them. We did MTD because the fixed dining times don’t work for us, either too early or too late. I would say it really depends on what your preferred dining time is. As far as changes in the past 7 years, you will read from many that the food quality and portion sizes have decreased. There are definitely cut backs in the choices offered in the MDR, such as no rack of lamb, but I have not seen a decrease in either quantity or quality. If anything, I found the portions too big, and we are big eaters. The beef was so tender that I ordered it more often than usual. The only portions I found small were the vegan and Indian choices, but those were always small. There is now only once a day cabin cleaning, your choice as to morning or evening. We chose morning and did not feel our cabin needed to be cleaned again in the evening. Cruise compasses are not routinely left in your cabin, but your cabin steward will leave them if requested. Photos are no longer put out for display. They can be viewed on the kiosks in the photo area. You can still get your photos printed if you are buying them, or have them sent to you digitally. All in all, any changes have been minor and have not affected our enjoyment.

North Star is free in port. The charge is on sea days when it extends over the side of the ship. I paid for it on my recent Odyssey cruise and now seeing the videos I wasted my money.

Most likely the earlier times are already booked. MTD starts at 6:45 and then is available in 15 minute increments. I have already booked the 6:45 slot for our August cruise, so I would expect that by now all the prime slots are gone for your cruise. Don’t despair though. We were recently on Odyssey and the earliest we were able to get was 7:15. We just showed up every evening at 6:45, went to the line for people with reservations and were seated. Worked perfectly. Of course if everyone does this it won’t. So let’s keep it our secret. 🤫

I just got off Odyssey, first time on a Quantum class ship. I definitely felt the lack of outdoor space. While the ac in the Solarium was nice, I missed the sea breeze and felt like I was indoors all day long, because I was. Oasis class ships have much more outdoor space and, IMO, much better entertainment as well. At this point I do not plan on cruising on a Quantum class ship again.

I started cruising about 1984. My last cruise in the 80’s was 1989 and my next one after that was 1993. I know the fruit was definitely there in the mid 80’s, but I’m not sure if it was there by 1989, which was my husband’s first cruise. He does not recall the fruit.

It was a disappointment, not a life-threat situation. 😀

I remember the days of cruising way back when. A bowl of fruit in your cabin used to be standard. With all the food available I thought it was quite the waste. I did not miss it when they cut it out.

My son, who at 32 remains a fussy eater, often ordered 2-3 entrees on our recent Odyssey cruise. He sees a cruise as a time to try something new. The entrees were brought to him one at a time, but he did not have to wait until he was finished with one until he received the next. The portions on the meat entrees are huge, but on fish, vegetarian, vegan and the Indian entrees are fairly small.