tispwisp

Hooray! We will now likely cruise more with Royal Caribbean! :) Good move RC!

 

I've seen a lot of guessing as to what that may be, but as far as I know no one who has been on the ship has actually 100% confirmed what it is or taken a picture down that sideways corridor where that is.

There is something there but I won't be able to check it out until September 27th. The bonus is that the center D4 cabin balconies on Marina, Riviera, Aloha and Caribe decks split that space and they are larger.

Thanks for your responses. Guess I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for reviews and pictures from that aft location. We have an aft cabin reserved on the Baja deck on the Regal next year and I'm just curious what might be in that center location. While I like the idea of having the bigger balcony on the Marina, Riviera, Aloha & Caribe decks. I like the idea of having a partially covered one more. Thanks again!

Does anyone know what the white space is that goes down the center of the aft? is it storage for the room stewards or a staircase for the crew or just nothing?

Thanks!

I feel like we're missing some guesses. Hairspray and Chicago were not obvious bets when they arrived. I also wouldn't have guessed on Saturday Night Fever (Liberty). Maybe we need to think broader? Cabaret? I'd love it but the Chicago-haters wouldn't. Dreamgirls? Billy Elliott? The Producers? Grease? Les Mis?

Grease would be another good one AND a great sing-a-long! ;):)

I LOVED Chicago on the Allure. Am looking forward to seeing Hairspray on the Oasis in October. And would LOVE to see Wicked on the Quantum and Mama Mia on the Anthem! :)

Another great review, Gambee!! Thank you so much for posting!! :)

 

I will say this much in defense of those who like to buy art onboard the ship. Which would you rather have? Something pretty to hang on your wall forever which will give you pleasure (such as the FIL) or a bill at the end of the cruise for hundreds of dollars worth of alcohol that will never be seen again? Personally, if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on a cruise I want to get something for my money other than a three day hangover.

Bingo! My husband and I have bought several pieces of art from cruise ship auctions. Not because they are an investment. We are smart enough to know that. But simply because we like them and they remind us of our wonderful vacations together. We do buy original oils and have our favorite artists. We have bought from Park West, Global Fine Arts (Princess) and bought our first piece from Royal when we were on the Allure in November. We are happy with all of our pieces. However, we don't gamble, buy jewelry, and drink very limited alcohol.

To buy art from a cruise ship its crucial to answer these two questions before buying:

1) Can you afford it? They do like to give you the "champagne" and give the spiel to butter you up. It's easy to fall into the trap of "you can always earn it back tomorrow".

2) Do you like it? I mean really like it and have room for it? Think about it logically before you have the "champagne". Forget what they say it will go for in land galleries or what a deal you are getting. blah blah blah. Buy it because you like it. period. You will seldom get back the money as an investment.

If you buy art after following those two steps. Then put it on the wall when you get home and enjoy it as we do. Our art adds beauty to our home and we could care less what the dollar value is. They are priceless to us.

We've done it several times. I usually take the time do my ship pictures and then enjoy the ship when it's nice and quiet! Wonderful time to relax.

When we were on the Solstice last March, they auctioned off about 5-7 of their best pieces. All proceeds went to charity. All except for one went to a scholarship fund for glassblowers to the Corning Museum glass blowing school/studio and the last piece - a beautiful pink vase - was auctioned off for breast cancer research.

We loved watching the glass blowing shows and ended up with a beautiful piece at the auction! :) The artists are so talented!

Thank you for posting the pics, I really appreciate it! It makes me even more excited for our cruise in March! I enjoyed your other thread as well.

We went to the Boardwalk Dog House and had our hot dogs with a soda at a little table near the Boardwalk bar area between Rita's Cantina and Johnny Rocket's. Not crowded at all and a great way to start our cruise!!! Went to the Park Cafe for lunch most other days though. Too crowded on boarding day.

Great review! Thank you so much for taking the time to post all of this. We just booked the Allure and sail in two weeks. We were hesitant about booking on such a large ship because of the crowds. However, now that we are booked I'm very excited - especially after viewing your pictures.

BTW - we had a room attendant on one of our Princess cruises that was named Rolex. The only room attendant that I remember the name. He was THE best attendant we have ever had. Tipped him very well - he went above and beyond the call of duty without us even asking for anything. Wonder if it is the same one? Wouldn't it be funny if there were two Rolex's out there?!?! :)

Ship: Solstice

Cabin #: 1523

Deck #: 11

Class: AQ

Area: Port/forward

Bed near: Bath

Quiet?: Very quiet - great location

Balcony view: Great view

Balcony size: Normal

Wind a problem?: No

Soot a problem?: No

Problems/comments: Great location! We will be in the same cabin again on the Eclipse in 2013! Very close to the relaxation room which we used several times.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We are in AQ 1125 on the Summit in Oct. and was concerned about privacy from the deck 12 viewing area. These pictures eased my mind tremendously! Thank you!

Thanks Dan! I'll be eagerly waiting as we are booked in an AQ cabin on Deck 11 on the Summit in October.

Congratulations to you and I wish you and your husband a lifetime of happiness and cruises!! :)

Thank you so much for posting your wonderful pictures! I can't wait to sail this itinerary some day. But what I really appreciate are your pictures of the food in Blu. We will be sailing in AQ on our next three cruises just because of the great reviews we've read about Blu. Looks like we will not be disappointed.

Thank you! Thank you!

I, too, am curious to see more photos of the balcony/privacy issues on the deck 11 aqua class cabins. We have one booked for the Summit in October. It looks like the railing on deck 12 might be in more which would give more privacy, but it's hard to really tell. Also the overhang doesn't look very large so it may be more open to the elements.

Great review! We've been on the fence about booking this ship as it seemed almost too big and thought we may miss the ship feel. But after seeing your pics, I think we're just going to have to try it! Looks like it would be an awesome experience!

Thank you for taking the time to post your pictures and review! It is much appreciated!

This is such a great thread! I have been thoroughly entertained all evening!

We have seen many things that make us chuckle. We are avid people watchers and find that to be our greatest entertainment!

On our Dawn Princess cruise, we had "thong girl". She and her husband or boyfriend were probably in their late 20's maybe. They dressed up in formal wear EVERY night of our 10 night cruise which was strange enough. He was always in a tux and she was always in a pale pink or white frilly formal dress (like Princess style). The funny thing was that the material of her dress was kind of sheer and she obviously wasn't wearing a slip of any kind. You could clearly see the outline of her thong underwear.

Another, I would consider tragically humorous, thing we saw was on our Liberty of the Seas cruise. There was a very very very large woman probably in her 40's playing (yes romping around on her own - no kids that we could see in sight) in the waterpark area. We had to take a second look because at first we thought she was naked! :eek: Turns out she was wearing a tiny white bikini but you barely tell because it was hidden under the folds. My DH looked at me horrified and said doesn't she have someone with her that told her she shouldn't leave the cabin wearing that??!!! It was a very odd sight.

I agree. A great cruise would be a 14 day southern Caribbean cruise roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale on a Radiance class ship. Islands like Curacao, Grenada, Bonaire, Trinidad, etc. We did a 14 day itinerary like that on the Constellation and the Grand Princess, but the Radiance class ship is our our favorite. Would book this cruise in a heartbeat - for both our fall AND spring cruise!

We've been on 17 cruises and it STILL takes me about a 4-5 days to get my land legs back! We can be in the roughest of seas and I have no problem. I don't take any seasickness meds. But once I hit land for a few hours, I do have some balance issues as I feel like I'm still moving. DH always wants to play mini golf with me AFTER a cruise because he knows he will always beat me!:mad::p:rolleyes:

DH on the other hand does not have this issue at all. The human body is so strange!

7 1/2 weeks!