ksawyercruiser

Our 10 night canary cruise next week has a guest lecturer on our destinations. She is on our roll call so she is giving us advance notice. Topics sound very interesting!

There was an NYU professor on our only Celebrity cruise. Very good talks about the Caribbean and coral reefs. Thoroughly enjoyed.

The Canary cruise is the first Royal cruise I've been on that has a featured speaker beyond the port shopping presentations. And we've cruised Royal a lot. Maybe the Caribbean is considered more of a party atmosphere? But I also enjoy a little learning when I'm on vacation. :)

Soooo much to do! Your daughter will be cruise spoiled. :D

My daughter loves the cupcake decorating class. Its for an extra fee ... maybe $15? But she got to keep and eat her two cupcakes.

She also loves all the shows. Especially the ice show and the aqua show. And the DreamWorks show and parade.

I also take her with me to play a Bingo session. Kids are allowed to play with adults.

We also usually see a movie together on one of the sea days depending on what's playing. Grab some treats from the Promenade Café and go to the movies! It's free.

Putt putt can also be a fun deck activity. As is watching the belly flop contest.

Oh -- and we always do the walk for wishes together. Where we buy T-shirts and walk the mile with the officers. It's for Make a Wish and has become a nice cruise tradition.

Have a great sailing! :)

OP probably posted more than I, ahem, remember about our trip on the same route 2 weeks later but if I can offer some tidbits...

 

 

 

Be wary if you're in 1278. We had a little “water in the bathroom floor” issue. You’d step on it and water sort of squirted up through what would be a hole in the “grout”. Probably something that should have gone down the floor drain, but missed, and not sure how long it had been there. They would’ve liked to move us and work on it but had nothing equivalent or better available and really didn’t want to “downgrade” us. They patched things up while we ported in Cozumel—it wasn’t an issue the rest of the trip-- and hopefully started on the floor-tear-out about 10am on Sunday. I don’t want to make a mountain out of a mole hill, because this issue was minor in our book. Nadja and everyone on RCL’s part was awesome how they dealt with it. Just saying : be wary in 1278… just in case.

 

 

We are in 1278!!!! :eek: Thanks for the info.

 

-Kim

Hi Kim,

 

We will be on her Feb 6th could I ask you to report back two items after your trip:

-Will Ricardo be back?

-If you get the wifi package, would you please run a speed test and let me know what kind of speeds you average?

 

Thank you!!

 

-Brandon

You got it! :D

Nice review! We will be on the Navigator (for the first time!) on Sunday. We are in a Grand Suite, and we just received our email from Nadja yesterday. Maybe she's subbing this week? I hope the original concierge is doing well.

You gave some great info and tips, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share.

-Kim

Just as a tip, for future reference or for others who may be reading, if you need a passport faster than the typical expedited service, the other option is to make an appointment at a Passport Agency.

 

 

 

Of course, if you don't happen to live close to a Passport Agency, that may not be a good option, but there is one in Miami. SO, that may have been an option for you, but I'm glad things worked out with rescheduling your cruise.

Great tip. Thank you!

Glad it worked out well for you. I know the feeling of thinking something is supposed to expire later than it really does. I thought my license expired in December 2014. The SC license is good for ten years. I knew I got my last license in 2004 when we moved into our new home. Unfortunately, it was just an address update (I thought it was a complete renewal).

 

 

 

Anyhow, in late October 2014 I was rear-ended at a red light. When the officer checked my license, I was told that I had been driving on an expired license for ten months :eek: I was not the one at fault for the accident, but my husband had to come and pick me up from the scene. I had to get another co-worker to give me a ride the next morning and go to the DMV. I had to retake my written AND driving test over b/c my license had been expired for more than nine months.

 

 

 

Talk about a bonehead!! :)

Glad I'm not the only one! We should hang out sometime. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for all the well wishes! And regarding Rob Lowe ... I know, right?!

And as far as the title of the thread, we did have to cancel our cruise due to our error. We were lucky Royal offered to rebook us. But can't post anything on this board without a little criticism. I apologize to those misled. I was just trying to remind folks to check your documentation.

Luckily it worked out for us. Thanks again for the positive comments. :)

Just a helpful reminder to check those passport expiration dates.

We were on the April 16th sailing on the Liberty. But over the weekend, we realized our daughter's passport was expired (a major DOH!) and went to the courthouse yesterday to get it renewed. Yes, I know this is dumb, dumb, dumb, but it was simply an oversight. We thought it expired later this year.

We paid to have her passport expedited but the passport office couldn't guarantee it would arrive before the 4/16 cruise.

The problem is she was adopted from Central America and does not have the typical U.S. birth certificate. (Although she's obviously a U.S. citizen since she's had a passport before.)

We have all kinds of documentation but RCI was afraid we would have an issue with customs. So better to be safe than sorry.

After several discussions with RCI, they strongly recommended moving our cruise date. So we booked the April 30 sailing.

I cannot say enough good things about RCI customer service. They bent over backwards to accommodate us and we didn't lose a dime. We should have been out 25% but they waived the fee if we rebooked another date. This was completely unexpected but very much appreciated.

I feel like one of those Rob Lowe commercials ... This is me. And this is bone-headed me. :) All's well that ends well.

Happy Sailing, Everyone!

We did it. There were about eight people in the class. You could boogie board or surf. Younger kids have to boogie board. The lesson lasted about an hour and was worth it IMO. We did it first thing in the morning on our first sea day.

Enjoy! :)

That lackluster review made me so eager to sail on that ship! I thought it was very fair and balanced. Can't wait to form my own opinions ... But I'll probably have to wait for the Anthem. :)

I take gravity Pilates but never on a ship. You use a hammock/sling to do inversions, yoga and Pilates strength training. Very fun. You tube gravity Pilates and you'll see what it entails. I'm excited the Oasis is offering it!

In my classes, we go barefoot.

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I was on the same sailing. Great cruise! There was a quest on the last night at 10:15. My hubby and I attended. Lots of fun!

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Awww thanks, Tina! We miss you too! Liberty was great but we missed our role call buddies and Those Girlz.

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I was also on the thanksgiving cruise and echo Tina's sentiments. Fabulous ship, great service, fantastic time. Loved every single second I was on board.

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Entertainment

Simply spectacular. Ocean Aria was great. We missed this show on our last sailing, and I'm so glad we got to see it.

Chicago was phenomenal. (If you go, this is the Broadway version ... not the movie version. There are no sets. It's an orchestra and the singers/dancers.) We sat in the front row and loved every second. We saw the last show for the current cast. The cast had been on board for six months and were being replaced with a new cast. I brought my 11 year old and she loved it. There are a couple swear words and the dancing is suggestive. But no worse than a Britney Spears video. ;)

Ice Games was good. I'm not sure what drugs the person was taking when he/she created that show but it's pretty fun ... especially for kids. The featured ice skater was amazing. Best part of the show.

How to Train Your Dragon on Ice was a cute way to spend 30 minutes. My daughter really enjoyed it.

We also watched a DreamWorks show in the Aqua Theater. "Let You Entertain Me." Also very cute. There is a "secret" deck to watch the Aqua Theater shows on Deck 7 next to the Rock Wall entrance. Check it out.

We didn't make it to Blue Planet this time and didn't see the headliner either.

Ports of Call

We stayed on the ship in Nassau since we were only there for a few hours. We took a family flowrider lesson (around $270 for four of us) instead of doing an excursion. Really fun. Do it early in the cruise so you can enjoy the flowrider for the majority of the sailing.

St. Thomas was our only real major disappointment on this cruise. We had planned to spend the day in St. John but the Allure has propulsion problems so we got into St. Thomas much later than planned. Our excursion was refunded and Royal gave us a $100/per cabin credit. Other passengers received $150. I think it was based on category. That was a really nice and unexpected gesture.

St. Maarten was great. We went to Maho beach to watch the planes and then walked to Mullet Bay to enjoy the beach. Mullet is about a 15-20 minute walk and is much quieter and much prettier than Maho. We did this on our own.

Almost done ... :)

Hello! We were on the Thanksgiving sailing. And what a fantastic sailing!!! This trip truly made me remember why I love RCI and cruising so much. I don't have time to do a full review but will give you my thoughts ...

Cabins

We had two cabins side by side on Deck 7. They were Boardwalk view cabins with a porthole at the back of the ship. Our cabins were directly over Johnny Rockets. There were four of us on the sailing ... so my husband and son (17) took one cabin and my daughter (11) and I took the other. But we all bounced back and forth.

We had originally booked an OV balcony, but I downgraded after final payment and got two cabins for the price of the OV balcony. (Thanks, Royal!)Best decision I could have made. the extra bathroom and closet more than made up for the loss of the balcony. And my kids didn't fight over what to watch on TV when they were in for the night.

No complaints at all about these cabins. They are perfect for two people. I would book again. Deck 7 was a fantastic location. Up one flight to Central Park, down one flight to Boardwalk.

Ship

The ship was absolutely beautiful ... just as I remembered from our cruise two years ago. I enjoyed this cruise even more than the first because I felt no real pressure to do everything. The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly. Really top notch.

Dining

This was the first time we didn't eat in the MDR. My husband I went on the Liberty the following week and we were planning to only eat at the MDR on that cruise. So we decided to forego our table in the Allure's MDR (alerting the dining staff, of course) and tackle all the specialty restaurants.

Chops: We ate at Chops on Thanksgiving. Great food, great service. My son devoured his steak. My husband also enjoyed his. My daughter ordered a chicken breast off the kids' $9 menu. And I had a crab cake for my entrée. Sides were delicious -- mashed potatoes, mushrooms and asparagus. Appetizers were also good -- forest mushroom soup and shrimp cocktail. We missed the roasted potatoes from the old menu. But all in all, a great meal.

Giovanni's: We made the mistake of reserving it for night #1 and it was beyond crowded. The servers were running around like crazy. It was chaotic and noisy. And my entrée was overcooked. Everyone else enjoyed their meals. And the caprese salad was yummy. Not the relaxing, pampering first night meal I had envisioned. But I will go back since we had such a great dinner there on our previous sailing.

Samba Grill: I know this restaurant has received mixed reviews but we all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here. The meats were delicious and the "appetizer bar" was very good. We didn't get to try all the different meats ... we filled up too fast. But there's always next time!

Rita's Cantina: We went on a non fiesta night. Meh. Not bad, not great. We wouldn't go there again.

Izumi: Wonderful food, but pricey. I would eat there again to grab a couple sushi rolls for lunch. But we won't go back for dinner.

150 Central Park: Our first time dining there -- and it won't be our last. Wonderful food, fabulous service. My husband and I split a wine pairing. I would highly recommend sharing the pairing. It was still a lot of wine. This restaurant is well worth the extra $$$.

We ate dinner in the Windjammer one night. No complaints. It was nice and quiet, and I enjoyed the Indian curry dishes. Park Café was excellent as always. Love the salads and roast beef sandwiches. Johnny Rockets was good as well. And Sorrento's did the trick to satisfy late-night munchies.

More to come!

We just became Platinum. We leave on the Allure in a couple weeks and then the Liberty. Our goal is to get to Emerald before our Alaska cruise next June. I have no idea why. Seriously ... no idea. I guess my husband and I are overachievers. Give us a goal and we just can't help ourselves. We must move up to the next level!

Maybe an intervention is in order.

1"

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First off, let's not be too hard on the guy. Imagine all the teasing he got growing up with a name like Harry Mount.

That said, writing a review on a ship you haven't experienced is just plain stupid. It would be like someone reviewing a play they've never seen.

Don't knock it till you try it, Harry! :D

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I'm also sailing on thanksgiving cruise. I just called and they upgraded me to an ocean view balcony from a central Park balcony at no additional charge. The rep was very nice and helpful.

Very nice! Congrats. I hope to meet you on the cruise!

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Thank you for the nice comments! I really appreciate the love.

And I agree about the TV ... We never watch but our kids are back in the room by 10 at the latest so they enjoy watching TV and can never agree on anything. I've said it before ... If bickering were an Olympic sport, my kids would easily win the gold.

One small hassle I should have mentioned: two people had to be cancelled and rebooked because of this switch. So I had to rebook shows, dining, excursions for the cancelled duo. But it was a small price to pay. :)

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I've been watching rates like a hawk for our Thanksgiving Allure cruise. But we were fortunate to get a great rate for the 4 of us during the kids sail free promo so no upgrades possible.

Well today, after another price drop, I called RCI to see if we could downgrade and add another room. Turns out, we could with no problem!

We got two Boardwalk view cabins -- side by side -- for the same price. (Note Boardwalk view, not balcony.) We didn't pay an extra cent. That second bathroom will be worth it alone!

Of course, we'll miss our oceanview balcony. But with a tween and a teen, we can use the extra space ... and extra TV at night. :D

BTW -- the rep on the phone was absolutely wonderful and so helpful. And this swap was after final payment.

Sending good thoughts and prayers. Please ignore any negativity from other posters. You're going through a very difficult time. I hope it works out for you.

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