staceur

They can replace one alcohol with a cheaper alcohol in a cocktail recipe, but I don't think there's any (legitimate) way to ring up a shot of single malt as something else.

It's certainly not a deal breaker it's not included and we would have to lay I was just curious how it worked. I've only ever cruised Royal Caribbean and with their package you only have to pay the difference in price not for the whole drink.

Can anyone tell me what happens if you have the UBP and you want to purchase something that is over the $10? Do you have to pay full price or just the difference? My boyfriend likes to have a glass or two of scotch at night and it looks like none of the single malts are included as they are in the ultra premium category.

I've tried to read through the thread and I have looked at Norwegian's website to try and search out the answer, but I can't seem to find it.

Thanks in advance.

I have been searching and reading various old threads regarding this topic. I am going to call Verizon later on this morning, but I want to be sure I know exactly what I am asking for when calling.

I will be boarding Independence of the Seas on Saturday doing the 8 day Caribbean itinerary. My questions are as follows:

1) If I have International calling turned on I should be able to make and receive phone calls for $2.49/minute?

2) Texts should be 0.05/received and 0.50/sent?

3) $20/100MB of data plan will cover basic email and iMessages?

If anyone has experience using all of these plans together I would love to hear about it. Has anyone actually been able to receive a phone call? I have cruised many times before and just locked the phone in the safe, but this time my circumstances are slightly different and I would like the option of having family members keep in touch with us.

Thanks in advance :)

Thanks for the responses.

Does anyone know if there is anything open within walking distance to The W at that time of night?

Hello All,

I have been debating this in my head for a couple of weeks now and am looking for some advice since I do not know the area well.

We will be arriving at FLL at 8:45 pm the night before our cruise. Once we arrive at the hotel I hoping there will be a place within walking distance to grab a few apps and drinks before bed. Does anyone have any recommendations? I know we are arriving a little late, but it will be a Friday night (4/25) so I am hoping there will be something.

Would like to keep the room below $450.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

Was just curious if anyone had an estimate of how much it will cost to get from FLL to the W and then to Port Everglades the next morning.

I am thinking about $25 from the airport and then another $25 to the port.

Thanks in advance.

I would choose the Jewel. You said you weren't partiers and like a laid back quieter atmosphere. I think the Jewel will give you more of that. I thought the food was a little better on RC and the ships are a little nicer even on an older ship. Jewel also has the larger aft balconies. They are much larger than Carnivals. To me, carnival is hit or miss with the party atmosphere.

 

I personally don't think Carnivals new ships have that much more to offer and do for an adult. We were on the Dream and the only extra thing there was the water park with slides. Other than that, it was a regular ship. Breeze just adds the 4d theatre, guys burgers, cantina and pub.

 

You can always choose a table for 2 if you eat in the dining room. That's what we always do.

 

Did you look into the Adventure out of Puerto Rico too. It offers the Southern but has the Royal Promenade which your boyfriend might like if he's never cruised before.

 

Good luck.

I currently have an aft cabin held. Do you think this is better than a regular balcony (D2) cabin?

Adventure isn't sailing out of San Juan at the end of April or I would have gone for it.

We just came back from a cruise on the Breeze. We did like the ship, although we found it really difficult to navigate at times. There are only a few decks that you can walk across from end to end. So it seemed like we were constantly waiting for an elevator to take us to a deck that would let us go to the other end of the ship, then we'd walk across and wait for another elevator to take us where we were going. That was our pet peeve!:(

 

The Breeze is a lovely ship. It's nicely decorated, although it doesn't have nearly as much art as the Jewel. Both are pretty ships. We thought the Breeze seemed dark much of the time, while Royal's Radiance class ships seem brighter and more elegant.

 

We hated the layout of the shops on Breeze. There was always a huge bottleneck of people to get through if you were trying to pass by the shops. It's a major thoroughfare (remember how you have to get across on certain decks - this would be one) without adequate walkway space in front of the shops, especially when they have tables of stuff outside on display.

 

The Breeze has a very nice thermal suite in the Spa, and we had a spa cabin on this cruise. The Breeze spa cabins give you free access to the thermal suite, plus robes & slippers, and sample size spa products. We esp enjoyed the thalassotherapy pool and the warm tile beds with a view of the sea. So that's something different - the Jewel doesn't have spa cabins. Advantage to Breeze on this one!

 

Cabin - we prefer the cabins on Royal. We had an inside spa cabin on deck 12, which was adequate, but TINY. Seems like this inside was smaller on the Breeze than on RC and didn't have much in the way of seating. (No loveseat or chair, only a stool at the vanity.) Royal offers a little more storage too, or maybe more convenient storage, in the cabin. Our friend's balcony cabin seemed more similar to RC's balconies in terms of space, storage and seating. We like the beds better on Royal. And if you're considering a true suite, the suite perks are better on RC.

 

Burgers & Pizza & casual food - the Breeze has Guy's Burgers. They are excellent, at least as good as Johnny Rockets, and they're free. We also really liked the pizza on Breeze better than RC pizza, although we thought the location on Breeze (all the way aft on deck 10) was a little inconvenient unless you are out at the Tides pool in the aft. The Blue Iguana had nice burritos and a really good breakfast burrito. Another interesting place on Breeze was the Tasting Bar where you could sample items from various menus on the ship. Advantage to Breeze on this one.

 

Buffet - we hated the arrangement of the buffet on the Breeze and much prefer RC's Windjammer layout. Seems like the WJ had more variety, but it was so difficult to find that out with the Carnival layout, who knows? I did see eggs benedict on the buffet at breakfast on Breeze, though!:p Maybe we'd get used to how Carnival does the buffet if we cruised Carnival more, but based on this experience, the buffet advantage goes to Royal.

 

MDR - we thought the food was equivalent and similar on both lines. We pretty much liked both. Both menus offer variety. Seems like entrees didn't have as many veggies on the plate on the Breeze. And in general, we kind of prefer the desserts offered by Royal.

The Breeze dining rooms are pretty, while Jewel's are more elegant. We were in Blush on Breeze and we also thought it was terribly LOUD in there! It was hard to hear our dinner companions with the noise level. The waitstaff perform every night on Breeze - it's fun, and they are very entertaining, but it causes dinner to take longer.

A feature we LOVED on Breeze is the Sea Day Brunch in the MDR. The MDR is open continuously until 1:00 or so and offers both breakfast and lunch choices on sea days.

Both ships have tables for 2 in the MDR.

 

Music - we never saw any live music by the pool, just dj's. The night club had dj's. We saw one group performing in the Ocean Plaza, and they were very good. There was a piano bar guy and maybe one other live music performer? Royal has more live music, and maybe a greater variety. I'd give the advantage to RC for music.

 

Solarium - this is a clear advantage for Jewel. Breeze has an adults only Serenity Deck that has lovely comfy furniture choices (like clamshell loungers for 2, hammocks, etc.), but no pool, no hot tub, no convenient restrooms up there. The Serenity Deck is basically just a sun deck. I also got a chuckle over the fact that it's above, but adjacent to the Water Park area. So your 'serenity' is punctuated with some screams and giggles from the water slides and that big drencher bucket thingie.

 

Okay - that's it!:p Just a few comparisons since Breeze is fresh in my memory. We very much enjoyed our cruise on Breeze, but if I were making this choice, I'd probably go with Jewel. Have a great cruise whichever you choose!:)

Judy

Thank you so much for the comparison. I really appreciate you taking the time to write this out. I am still on the fence, but leaning toward the Jewel because it is $1000 less for the balcony room then the Breeze.

Hello All,

I haved posted this on the Carnival boards too, so I can get varying opinions.

I am trying to figure out which ship to choose for my boyfriend's first cruise. I have been on both lines, but recently my cruises have been on Royal Caribbean ships. We will be going at the end of April or the begining of May depending on which line we pick. I have the 8 day southern held on the Breeze and the Jewel held. The only thing I am certain about is the fact that I know I want the southern itinerary. Also, note that the airfare is not a concern as the price from where we live is about the same flying to San Juan or Miami.

A little about us. We are both in our early 30's. We are pretty laid back go with the flow people. We enjoy eating a good meal and having some drinks. We are not loud partiers. We more enjoy a nice seat at the bar in a quiet venue. The MDR is not really a factor as I doubt that we will eat in there. My boyfriend is horrified at the thought of eating with strangers. We will most likely stick to the specialty restaurants and the more casual offerings.

I am torn between the two as I feel like the Breeze has more to offer a first time cruiser. I know there are huge difference between the two ship as one is brand new and one is in need of a drydocking, but I am trying to look at this from every angle.

He told me that I am the one who is going to have to make this decision, so please help me make the correct one!!!!

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Hello All,

I will post this on the RCCL boards too so I can get varying opinions.

I am trying to figure out which ship to choose for my boyfriend's first cruise. I have been on both lines, but recently my cruises have been on Royal Caribbean ships. We will be going at the end of April or the begining of May depending on which line we pick. I have the 8 day southern held on the Breeze and the Jewel held. The only thing I am certain about is the fact that I know I want the southern itinerary. Also, note that the airfare is not a concern as the price from where we live is about the same flying to San Juan or Miami.

A little about us. We are both in our early 30's. We are pretty laid back go with the flow people. We enjoy eating a good meal and having some drinks. We are not loud partiers. We more enjoy a nice seat at the bar in a quiet venue. The MDR is not really a factor as I doubt that we will eat in there. My boyfriend is horrified at the thought of eating with strangers. We will most likely stick to the specialty restaurants and the more casual offerings.

I am torn between the two as I feel like the Breeze has more to offer a first time cruiser. I know there are huge difference between the two ship as one is brand new and one is in need of a drydocking, but I am trying to look at this from every angle.

He told me that I am the one who is going to have to make this decision, so please help me make the correct one!!!!

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Don't miss the suite (gold card holders) pax breakfast on deck 6 in one of the specialty restaurants. It was in Chops last May. The eggs benedict and the blueberry pancakes are to die for!

Thanks for the tip! Getting very excited!

Hi,

I am looking into booking a grand suite for a May 2014 sailing on the Jewel. Can anyone tell me if the suites have flat screen TVs? Also is there a concierge lounge on the Jewel for suite guests? I know that I was also looking into a grand suite on the Oasis and they provide breakfast and lunch in the concierge lounge. I am assuming the amenities are not the same aboard the Jewel.

I appreciate the responses.

Thanks!