Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 23 Author #101 Share Posted July 23 1 hour ago, Bead Pirate said: Getting off wonder on Sunday (been on this one 3 weeks). Going home for 2 weeks and then getting on Utopia for 3 weeks (B6B)... Hoping all of the turnaround days go as smoothly as this one appears to have gone. Thanks for the review! BTW Did manage to snag 2 reservations for the train so far... We didn’t but it seems really cool. As a former New Yorker it has a station with flipping letters that brings back memories of the old Penn Station in NYC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 23 Author #102 Share Posted July 23 Effectors homecoming parade up next 🤷♂️. My little guy is upset it’s not the normal pirates parade. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted July 23 #103 Share Posted July 23 17 hours ago, Hooked.on.Royal said: I wonder if 150 is the right venue for the 3/4 night clientele. Izumi sushi was empty last night too...only four tables and one was all officers. Agree the B2B process was smooth for the amount of people! There were a handful of us that they didn't have new SeaPass cards for at the theater. Those folks were told they would pull them up by room number when we reboarded and then they would have their cards at Guest Services. 1 hour ago, Hooked.on.Royal said: My little guy is upset it’s not the normal pirates parade. What did the kiddo think about it? That parade alone is enough to refute the argument that this ship is too much of a party in my opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiselvr04 Posted July 23 #104 Share Posted July 23 Oh boy. We’re going to have to get TOGA outfits! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare perfect match Posted July 24 #105 Share Posted July 24 On 7/22/2024 at 9:20 AM, little britain said: Just watched the blog lengthy utube video - it certainly is a lot more 'colourful' than your average RCI ship - but wow, that outside seating on Giovannis looks incredible. Not sure if I would like to be in those first BW balconies though! I guess they could always throw you a bread stick! We almost booked a Boardwalk Balcony on Utopia. However, my DH has very much turned into an early to bed kind of gut as he’s gotten older, so our daily time schedule has had to change to meet his needs. We were going to be all the way aft on the Boardwalk and I was afraid the noise would be too much for him especially with the late start time of the AquaTheater shows. I’m a night owl so I would have been out on our balcony watching the but DH would not enjoy the cruise if he couldn’t sleep. I looked around and found an OV balcony that I liked for as decent a price as I could find and booked that instead. We’ll be a lot happier there. If I really want to go to the late show in the AquaTheater I’ll just go there and see it. 6 hours ago, Hooked.on.Royal said: Effectors homecoming parade up next 🤷♂️. My little guy is upset it’s not the normal pirates parade. How did your little one like the superheroes on parade? I wouldn’t be surprised if he got over the lack of parading pirates really quickly once he saw them.At least I hope he did! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 24 Author #106 Share Posted July 24 5 hours ago, perfect match said: We almost booked a Boardwalk Balcony on Utopia. However, my DH has very much turned into an early to bed kind of gut as he’s gotten older, so our daily time schedule has had to change to meet his needs. We were going to be all the way aft on the Boardwalk and I was afraid the noise would be too much for him especially with the late start time of the AquaTheater shows. I’m a night owl so I would have been out on our balcony watching the but DH would not enjoy the cruise if he couldn’t sleep. I looked around and found an OV balcony that I liked for as decent a price as I could find and booked that instead. We’ll be a lot happier there. If I really want to go to the late show in the AquaTheater I’ll just go there and see it. How did your little one like the superheroes on parade? I wouldn’t be surprised if he got over the lack of parading pirates really quickly once he saw them.At least I hope he did! We bring a little white noise machine for our boys and it hasn’t been a problem. The wife and I were sitting on the balcony tonight saying how nice it was to be able to see the ocean from our boardwalk balcony. The noise from the aqua show hasn’t been a problem for us and I would say it’s quieter during the day than a Central Park balcony that deals with the noise from the pool area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 24 Author #107 Share Posted July 24 Thoughts from day 5: I know this update is a little later than my normal updates. Spent some time in the casino tonight and they didn’t really kick anyone out on the tables till about 4am. Today was a Nassau port day and I have to be honest I’m not sure a ton of people got off the ship. Just my observation the ship didn’t have that port day feel to it. I think many passengers will skip Nassau and go bigger on Perfect Day (just how Royal would want it). We saw the “Effectors Homecoming Parade”. After explaining to my kiddo that it wasn’t the usual parade it didn’t seem to matter. My three year old was into it and had a blast even if he didn’t know all the characters. It seems like the parade won’t be a thing on the three nighters but the 4nighter crowd might get a chance to see it at least once. I would describe the the parade as more of a performance than your typical parade. But like I said my kiddos loved it and isn’t that all that really matters. My wife and the boys a called it an early night so I went out with my mom since she had a night off from babysitting. We had dinner in Mason Jar and the service was much improved from embarkation day. Highly recommend the chicken pot pie and the gumbo. We spent time in the Music Hall and Schooner Bar before making our way to the casino. Phoenix was the band in the music hall and were phenomenal. The bartenders were heavy on the pours and we enjoyed ourselves throughly. We also spent some time listening to the piano player in the schooner bar Louis Coupe. Such an easy listen. After a few more drinks we made our way to the casino. Mom is a slot player and did okay in the smoke free casino. I played roulette in the regular casino and didn’t lose too much (promise not to tell me wife 🤣). As I said there wasn’t really a push to close tables until almost 3:30am and the casino bar was making drinks well after 4am. Tomorrow is a sea day and we plan on trying all the drinks in the pesky parrot. More reporting in the AM but my boys are going to wake up in 2 hours so wish me luck as I’m heading to bed now 🤣🤣. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BecciBoo Posted July 24 #108 Share Posted July 24 18 hours ago, Bead Pirate said: Getting off wonder on Sunday (been on this one 3 weeks). Going home for 2 weeks and then getting on Utopia for 3 weeks (B6B)... Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Life is hard but somebody's gotta do it! 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajathree Posted July 24 #109 Share Posted July 24 (edited) 21 hours ago, BecciBoo said: OUrs is Sept. of '25 but Monday thru Friday...hopefully the same lack of kids. Post covid I have found that there seem to be as many kids on the big ships during school time as school vacations.....doesn't seem to matter anymore. We were on Odyssey first week last dec and the ship was packed with kids....some were even on for B2B....they seem to be pulling kids out of school. Edited July 24 by bajathree 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 24 Author #110 Share Posted July 24 7 minutes ago, bajathree said: Post covid I have found that there seem to be as many kids on the big ships during school time as school vacations.....doesn't seem to matter anymore. We were on Odyssey first week last dec and the ship was packed with kids....some were even on for B2B....they seem to be pulling kids out of school. Kids sail free and with these prices better to pull them out of school for a week then take a second mortgage on your house to pay for a cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted July 24 #111 Share Posted July 24 19 hours ago, Bead Pirate said: Getting off wonder on Sunday (been on this one 3 weeks). Going home for 2 weeks and then getting on Utopia for 3 weeks (B6B).. I never enjoy turnover day on 7/7 or 6/8 B2Bs. I can’t imagine doing 5 turnover days in less than 3 weeks. I will pick a 7 day cruise over a 3/4 B2B every time. I have three cruises booked on Utopia right now, but they are all 4 day cruises with friends. I have no interest in doing a B2B on Utopia. Having said that, I am sure you will have a blast on Utopia since I assume turnover days aren’t an issue for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alishac Posted July 24 #112 Share Posted July 24 On 7/21/2024 at 8:38 PM, h20skibum said: on our sailing, it was available two days ago. Sold out in less than a day. Did it show up in the app under the dining section? Or onboard activities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare h20skibum Posted July 24 #113 Share Posted July 24 9 minutes ago, alishac said: Did it show up in the app under the dining section? Or onboard activities? It showed up in the web version of the cruise planner under dining. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 24 Author #114 Share Posted July 24 1 hour ago, alishac said: Did it show up in the app under the dining section? Or onboard activities? Was just talking to our waiter at Giovanni’s at lunch. He said Railway is booked solid for the next 2 months of sailings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alishac Posted July 24 #115 Share Posted July 24 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hooked.on.Royal said: Was just talking to our waiter at Giovanni’s at lunch. He said Railway is booked solid for the next 2 months of sailings. I hope that's not true. I'm not sure how that could be possible when you can't book it ahead of time in the planner. I've been checking every day for the past three months for our September cruise, and it's never been an option. Edited July 24 by alishac Wanted to lighten tone of post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boz575 Posted July 24 #116 Share Posted July 24 (edited) I sent an email to Royal Dining asking if we can book for our Oct sailing. They replied and said they have only opened inventory thru 8/30/24. They did not give a date for when they will open inventory beyond that. Edited July 24 by Boz575 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUgwoz Posted July 25 #117 Share Posted July 25 9 hours ago, Hooked.on.Royal said: Kids sail free and with these prices better to pull them out of school for a week then take a second mortgage on your house to pay for a cruise. Even if kids sail free in the summer I wouldn't go in the Carribean, far too hot to be enjoyable. Ideal cruise months for me is mid October thru early December and April thru May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhody135 Posted July 25 #118 Share Posted July 25 Can you describe the process that was used for B2B cruisers on turnaround day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted July 25 #119 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, SUgwoz said: Even if kids sail free in the summer I wouldn't go in the Carribean, far too hot to be enjoyable. Ideal cruise months for me is mid October thru early December and April thru May. I assume you live up North? I live in Florida and the Caribbean isn’t any hotter than a typical day where I live. The heat in the Caribbean doesn’t bother me at all, although I still sweat a lot. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 25 Author #120 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, Rhody135 said: Can you describe the process that was used for B2B cruisers on turnaround day? Check post #91. Let me know if you have any other questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted July 25 #121 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, Rhody135 said: Can you describe the process that was used for B2B cruisers on turnaround day? According to a good friend of mine who is doing a B2B2B on Utopia, the first turnover Monday was as smooth as every other B2B he has experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUgwoz Posted July 25 #122 Share Posted July 25 23 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said: I assume you live up North? I live in Florida and the Caribbean isn’t any hotter than a typical day where I live. The heat in the Caribbean doesn’t bother me at all, although I still sweat a lot. Nope, live in Florida for over 25 years. Also like most locals, never go to theme parks in the summer either. I spend plenty of days outside in the summer heat, but I am not going to spend thousands to do so when I can spend same or less when weather is much more pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hooked.on.Royal Posted July 25 Author #123 Share Posted July 25 The thoughts from Day 6: Seeing that I got all of about 3 hours of sleep due to some late night casino fun it turned out to be a relaxing day of lounging around the ship. We did our normal routine of splashaway bay/ pool in the AM. Splashaway bay and the pools haven’t felt over crowded but remember they are not sailing at full capacity so YMMV. In the late morning/early afternoon the activities staff put on a nice family carnival on the boardwalk. It was similar to what I have seen on other Oasis class ships. There was popcorn and cotton candy and activities for the kiddos. Every seemed to enjoy it and it didn’t feel overwhelming. We headed to Giovanni’s for our sea day lunch. The new space is really spectacular. Since when you go into Giovanni’s you have to go down stairs to what is floor 11 (and there is no entry point on 11) to be seated we asked the waiter where the elevator is for scooter and strollers etc. He happily showed us the crew elevator anyone who needs assistance uses to get down or up within Giovanni’s. A member of the wait staff calls the elevator, you board (there were 4 chefs heading to the WJ on our 1 floor journey) and they are waiting for you on either 11/12 depending if you are going up/down. My little guy love the mini behind the scenes tour with our 30 second elevator ride. The food was really good and I would highly recommend Giovanni’s even if it’s to experience the new space. After Giovanni’s I volunteered to put the kids down for a nap ( more because I needed it than they did 😀). The kiddos had WJ for dinner because my wife and I had reservations for Chops. Once thing I have noticed in the WJ is the selection of food hasn’t felt on par with other Oasis class ships. The food is excellent but I guess there isn’t the variety you get on a 7 -night cruise. Not a deal breaker for us and maybe it’s just in my head. Chops was great but very busy. Our waiter told us they have been averaging approximately 200 guests a night. Other than hibachi I would be shocked if other venues were doing half that amount. I guess Chops plus 1 is selling well. After dinner the wife and I walked around the ship. There is just something about watching the wake of the ship that is so peaceful and relaxing. There were multiple Aqua shows today but we had already seen it so we just took a pass and called it an early night. I didn’t mind as I could use a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is our last day and we are back at PDCC. We will be in port with Harmony so the island should be busy. We plan to hang around the island and just enjoy the day. More tomorrow my pillow is calling me 😀. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted July 25 #124 Share Posted July 25 45 minutes ago, SUgwoz said: Nope, live in Florida for over 25 years. Also like most locals, never go to theme parks in the summer either. I spend plenty of days outside in the summer heat, but I am not going to spend thousands to do so when I can spend same or less when weather is much more pleasant. Interesting. I live in a 55+ community with lots of Northerners, among others like West coasters. They are the ones who struggle the most in the Summer. The long time Floridians, to include the native Floridians, don’t seem phased by the heat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUgwoz Posted July 25 #125 Share Posted July 25 8 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said: Interesting. I live in a 55+ community with lots of Northerners, among others like West coasters. They are the ones who struggle the most in the Summer. The long time Floridians, to include the native Floridians, don’t seem phased by the heat. I won't claim I am not phased by the heat, as one can not walk to a mailbox without sweating. However, I will run 3 miles in July at lunch break, but again I am not going to use my vacation time/money to spend most of the time sweating profusely when there is several months a year where it's perfect out and ports is a short drive away. In my 20s I routinely played golf in the summer in evenings as it was the cheapest and humidity at 90%, along with the courses being virtually empty. Floridians are used to the heat, but they also don't seek it out like Northerners don't seek out freezing conditions if they have options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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