2chiefs

I was asking about other venues besides dining (pool, bar, sports hours etc.). See the clip below. This is really handy having all the hours on one page without having to click through multiple screens on the app:

YES!! It's great. Usually immediate seating as well.

Oh cool. I didn't see that on our last cruise. Does it also post all the other venue hours in one spot like the compass too? Thanks

You can also download a digital PDF copy of the Compass everyday which we like a lot. The bar code will be on the TV. The Compass is much easier to navigate than the app for certain scenarios. For instance, if you want to see what restaurants are open "now" it's easier to see on the Compass than the app. On the app you will have to open the info about each restaurant to check times. On the compass they are all in one place. Here's a clip from a Compass on our Harmony Cruise this past December: So you can see how handy this would be in this situation. If you are carrying your phone around using the app, the downloaded version of the Daily Company is a very good addition without having to deal with the paper. You now have the advantage of both the app and the Compass at your fingertips.

Yes, this is true. All Royal cruisers are content.

You didn't mention the ship you are cruising on. For instance, on the Oasis class (mega ship) it's important to book your shows. On the smaller ships you probably won't even have booking opportunities (first come first served)

You would have to add the word "like" to every other word when you talk.

I've heard some complaints about this on the threads. I read where most of the upper-forward decks are no longer accessible by non-suite folks on Edge class and Revolutionized ships. Don't know if that is true.

You are right. They don't stop there anymore. I've never been there on Celebrity either. But it appears they have in the past (according to posts on cruise critic). Personally, we love stopping at the private islands. It gives us an opportunity to stay on board and enjoy the ship with few people on board!

To be on the safe side, we always choose a cabin with a cabin on either side. Deck plans are not exactly accurate and some "blank" spaces can be noisy steward cleaning closets, crew stairwells, etc. Although it probably is a firewall like Westscot says, I wouldn't trust that the gap is really a firewall unless I laid eyes on it during a cruise.

Except for HAL's private island, we've been to all these places on Celebrity. Additionally, Celebrity has two private islands (RCL and Celebrity stop there) that they visit: Labadee in Haiti and Cococay in Bahamas. So I'm not sure I understand this post.

Agree. We dislike Martinique. They aren't friendly in our opinion.

We look forward to your reviews

Although they don't have a splashaway bay I think they kids will still have a great time! I'm not sure of the age requirements but they have many water slides and the Sky Pad. Otherwise it has mostly everything that the Independence has. The ships are almost identical except the Independence (Freedom class) is a "stretch" version of the Mariner (Voyager class). We love both the Voyager and the Freedom classes the most. Right in the middle in terms of size.

Ditto

Thanks a lot. That's nice to know about having to keep the curtains closed when the lights are on at night!! Seems to me you could still stargaze as long as there were no lights in the cabin??

Thanks for the photo. I think you answered the same question on our roll call as we are on the Panama canal cruise with you. I remember you said you were unable to flip this picture around. I was able to do it so here it is!!

Yes. As others have said, lower deposits for on-board booking is great for non-refundable pricing. The risk outweighs the cost of refundable deposit pricing in our opinion.

Thanks a lot. The extra space sounds really nice. We are on a panama canal partial transit and thought it might be nice for looking at the locks (if we remain inside the cabin). We'll probably be out on deck though.

Thanks. Let's see; Does 950 steps = calories in one slice of pizza? LOL What was your cabin number? Did they have extra chairs for sitting by the porthole or was the slant of the window restrictive?

We've never booked a forward facing oceanview before. We usually boo a veranda. We booked DO-8104 on the Beyond. Has anyone taken a cruise in one of these? A review would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

It's a great breakfast. The potatoes are great and not available elsewhere on the ship. We ate there every day and never had to wait for a table.

Am I the only person on this thread that prefers the Voyager class to the Oasis class? LOL That said, one comment that the hurricane season is almost over by October so there's little risk there so the Allure out of Galveston might be a good choice. If there is a hurricane, your itinerary can change. We try not to cruise the Caribbean between May and October. We got caught during a hurricane once and it changed our itinerary completely to stay away from the hurricane. We ended up missing islands that we wanted to see. (Not to worry, we got them on subsequent cruises!!)

One other point: The Voyager, Adventure and Explorer are "First Generation" Voyager class ships whereas the Mariner and Navigator are "2nd Generation". One of the major differences is the improvement in design of the balconies. The older ones were inset whereas the 2nd generation were built "external" to the ship's hull giving more space. Look closely at the following picture and you can see the difference:

Same class but not identical. For instance Mariner has a Players pub and Adventure does not. There are other differences as well but not major. We've been on both multiple times and love them both. My advice is to go on both itineraries!!