Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

drarill

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,874

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by drarill

    81 New Cabins planned for the Navigator

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Scheduled drydock for 2014 has been reduced from it's original 30 days.

    In 2014 the 19th hole becomes the Diamond lounge, Portofino becomes Giovanni's ( we suggested this be delayed until 2016 new restaurants added as P is the suite area for breakfast/lunch, Gs is an upcharge venue at lunchtime) , , outdoor movie screen added , wifi through out ship and Wayfinders on stairwells plus general scheduled maintenance. Several blown windows on deck 11 and 14 need replacing .

    Thanks for the info. We booked the Adventure for NYE 2014-15 thinking that the changes were going to be done during this dry dock. :(:(

    81 New Cabins planned for the Navigator

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We got off Adventure last Sunday. I had several conversations with the current Hotel director, He told me that in 2016 Adventure will have her nightclub removed and cabins added in the space and cabins will be added forward in the Spa area by "adding" a structure.

    I am going to check out Navigator's deck plans. I think it is amazing what can be done .:)

    Did he say 2016? I thought the changes were coming in 2014. RCCL lists the same changes for the Navigator and Adventure in 2014.

    **Jewel of the Seas 9.21.2013 Review**

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    I set my alarm clock for 9am on Friday. I didn’t want to let the day get away from me. I was out of the hotel by 10:30am and headed to my first stop – Pinkys! Now, this popular breakfast spot is located on Ashford Ave, so it only took me a matter of minutes to get there. Sorry, I have no pictures as I was busy eating! The breakfast sandwich I ordered was great and affordable.

     

    Pinkys is a great place to have breakfast, if someone else is planning to stay at the Doubletree I will also recommend going to "Under the Tree" for breakfast or lunch; or "Silk" for dinner if you like asian food. Both are located next door to the hotel. Another thing I like about this hotel is that is across the street from a 24 hrs. grocery store. They have a great selection of wines there, no need to go to the duty free shop on the terminal. ;)

    I wonder if the upgrade fairy will visit us?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We are pretty excited!!!!! Considering there are only 2 of us in a cabin that sleeps 8, there will be lots of space :)

    We are booked in OS 1600 for Feb 2014.

    Lucky you for cruising over NYE!!!

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk -

    You are going to love the RFS. On our first Baltic cruise we booked a GS and a couple of weeks before our sailing date a RFS showed up on RCCL website for our sailing. Don't remember how much I had to paid for the upgrade but it was worth it.

    BTW, will wait for your report on your OS. Originally booked 1598 but just changed it to 1314. Had concerns about noise coming from the port side pool area. Have fun on the Explorer:)

    I wonder if the upgrade fairy will visit us?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We got the call from Crown and Anchor last week, offering us the Royal Family Suite on our Explorer cruise in November.

     

    We were already in a GS, but we paid $200pp more and now we are in the RFS! Sweet deal I think :D

     

    Great upgrade Robyn!!! RCCL's upgrade fairy doesn't like us. :(:( Just booked an OS on your favorite ship for NYE 2014-15. Want to cruise on the Adventure after the refurbishment. I asked my TA if she could get us a RFS, but it's unlikely because we are a family of four. I can always dream. :):)

    Celebrity's Journey to Moscow excursion

    in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

    Posted

    I thought I would bump this up. We will be on the Brilliance this time next year and are very interested in doing this our. Are there still people out there that have done it? I would love to hear what you thought of the tour' date=' the travel part and what you were able to see while in Moscow. Was it worth the price?[/quote']

    We just did this tour and really liked it, but this was our second time in St. Petersburg. If this is your first time there I don't know if it's the best choice. You spend most of the day in airports and buses. Our meeting time at the ship was 6:45 AM, followed by a 45 min. long drive to the airport. Then we had to wait for a 10:00 AM one hour flight to Moscow. As you can see we arrived after 11:00 AM followed by another 30 minutes ride to the city. We were taken to the Red Square, to take a subway ride, followed by a coffee and tea break, then to the Kremlin armory museum (where we spend most of our time), also visited the Cathedral of the Annunciation, and back to the Red Square. Were only given half hour for shopping, followed by a really long dinner at a local restaurant. Our flight back to St. Petersburg departed half hour late, arriving at 11:30 PM. It took a while for the bus to pick us up, another 45 min. drive to the port and we were at our rooms by 1:00 AM. This means that if you want to see St. Petersburg the next day, you are going to be really tired.

    BTW, I'm not complaining, this tour was so popular on our cruise that they had two groups for the first time. Most of my friends were on that group and they had the worst time. Their flight left earlier than ours and although they were taken to more places than us, they ended up on a later flight and arrived in St. Petersburg after 12:30 AM. The problem was that the tour company knew that they were not going to make it on time to the bridges that connect the city to the area where the ship docks. The elevated bridges go up at 1:30 AM in the morning and are taken back after 5:00 AM. Can you believe that our tour guide made fun of the fact that the other bus was not going to make it on time? It was really frustrating for them to watch the bridges go up in front of their eyes. They finally found online a bridge that goes down for periods of 15 min. and were able to go back to the ship after 3:00 AM. Some of them couldn't make it to their tours the next day. Remember, this is Russia, if you don't make it to your tour the next day, you won't be able to leave the ship. My friends tried to take a taxi and catch up with us, but their visa stated a 9:00AM pick up time and had to stay on the ship.

    We liked our tour, but it is up to you to decide if it's worth it. The time that you actually spend in Moscow is really limited. If by any chance you are given a late flight on your way back, start screaming and demand an earlier flight. The tour company hired by Celebrity is going to buy the cheapest flights to make more money. Just my two cents. I tried to research this tour before our cruise and didn't find too much information. Hope this helps.

    BTW, I was concern about the planes used for the flights, if you are too, don't be. The flight was great and were even given a sandwich with juice or water. I do have to say that we felt that we were on a PanAm 1970's flight. The attendants were all really young, skinny and beautiful, wore heavy make up and complicated hair styles. I was also not impressed by either St. Petersburg or Moscow's airports. No restrooms close to the gates, two flights leaving at the same time through the same gate, just a mess!! Before our tour I couldn't understand how Edward Snowden could hide for such a long time on an airport, after visiting Moscow's international airport it just made sense.

    Hope you enjoy your Baltic cruise.

×
×
  • Create New...