LuCruise

DH and I did this exact thing last July. We were 2 points away from Diamond and our next booked cruise was December. So we booked a 3 day weekend cruise so we would get to enjoy Diamond benefits for the New Year's cruise. Crazy thing for us is we flew from Toronto to Los Angeles (5 hr flight) for a 3 day cruise ...and with a time change. We didn't regret it and has a great 3 days  Free drinks, coffee machine and treats in Crown Lounge, free photos for cruises going forward. Those are the main perks for us .

1 hour ago, Tlbecker1 said:

We also booked it on all of our cruises when it was on sale.  Best decision ever, we have enjoyed it so much.

Great to hear! 

3 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

It may have even been before that- they had this weird "national lunch day" or national pasta day...something like that... and the lunch prices were just SO low, I think even lower than they were for Black Friday. I couldn't NOT grab it.  Recently there was another good one so I grabbed a Chops lunch for Embarkation day, but just canceled that one because I know the boy just wants Pizza, and since we haven't done Liberty yet, I'll want to stroll around until the room is ready. So Pizza and maybe some WJ for lunch it is! 

We don't book specialty often, and have never done lunch, but we couldn't pass on that deal. It was $18 CAD so we grabbed it.

12 hours ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

We always eat lunch at Giovanni Table at least once on each cruise.  We were on the Liberty last August.  I think I wore shorts and a polo shirt.   Nobody was really dressed up for lunch.   I alway get the Filet, wife always gets Branzino (spelling).  Both are outstanding!!   I also always order the Seafood Linguine.  Also outstanding.  Lunch at Giovanni’s Tableis maybe the best deal on the whole ship.

Sounds great.  Wonder if we can order the fish and then some linguine on the side.  Both sounds great.  Glad we went ahead and booked it. Looking forward to trying Giovanni's Table.

2 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

There are two Giovannis, they are different. Giovannis Kitchen has pizza, like fancy, bring to your table pizza, nothing like Sorrento's thin, free to eat pizza. 

 The one on Liberty Is Giovannis table, no Pizza. 

Too bad it looks like Liberty has the one without the pizza as I've seen photos of their pizza and it looks really good.  Then again, there have been mentions above of some dishes that all sound really good so it's one less decision...lol  

19 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Shorts and polos are allowed in both SR and MDR for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  If you go to your sail, there should be a sample menu for you to peruse.  By the way the menus are basically the same from ship to ship, however, there are 2 Giovanni's restaurants--one is called Giovanni's Kitchen and can't recollect the other.  I know that one has pizza on the menu.  

Ours is listed as Giovanni's Table in the cruise planner, if that mean's anything. (No pizza in the sample menu).

Thanks for the reply.  Sounds like we'll be fine with regular day clothes.

31 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Dress code is casual. (As are all dining venues on board). Shorts, polo's. etc.  IMO lunch a Giovanni's is very good with a nice selection of pastas and seafood.

11 minutes ago, ScubaCat3 said:

@LuCruise
The menus are different on different ships and I haven’t sailed on Liberty so I hesitate to recommend specific dishes but they usually have a seafood pasta (with shrimp and/or clams) and sometimes a salmon puttanesca which are both good. There are also pastas with sauce only. 
 

Just as long as you don’t come barefoot in a dripping wet bathing suit you won’t be underdressed for lunch.
 

Enjoy!

Both very helpful. Thanks. 

Pasta with shrimp or seafood sounds great.

Looking forward to it. We booked it on one of their great deals a couple months ago. 

16 minutes ago, roupa said:

Step off the ship, turn right, step on the boardwalk.   Maybe that’s simplified, but not by much! Enjoy!

From maps it looks like it's much further up.  Sounds like it's right when we get off. Thanks.

OP here...one additional question.  Where do you catch the boardwalk (relative to the cruise port)?  Not sure if it's obvious when we leave the ship or if we have to walk through streets first.

Thanks.  By shirt and shoes, you mean causal right?  i.e. shorts, t-shirt as long as it's not bathing suit for example?

Dh and I have lunch booked at Giovanni's on our upcoming Liberty cruise. Two questions...

1. 1.  What is the dress for lunch?  I'm assuming showing up in shorts and t-shirt isn't really appropriate?  (Or maybe it's fine for lunch)
2. 2.  I know everyone's tastes are different but any recommendations?  DH and i don't eat meat but we do eat fish and seafood (and pasta of course 🙂).

Thanks.

Thank you. Will definitely look for the boardwalk vs the road 

9 minutes ago, dobelover said:

Our plan in August is stroll along the boardwalk to the Maritime Museum and lunch on the way back to the ship.

Anywhere specific for lunch?  I've heard lobster rolls are really good but not sure from where.

8 hours ago, roupa said:

Correction… Fairview Lawn Cemetery is the correct name of the cemetery in Halifax where you will find the Titanic  markers.

Thanks for the suggestion.  Must be something to just be there, thinking of those people and honoring them.

We never get internet and find the Royal chat works ok.  Sometimes there is a delay but really happy they added it as it makes it so much easier to keep in touch.  There are notifications, but sometimes it is delayed.  You can message individuals or even create a group chat which is helpful.  

Thank you!  DH and I are middle aged and in ok shape so hills, etc are ok (unless my back is out).  Kids will be at home for this cruise but will keep in mind if we decide to walk to the Citadel. Neat they do a daily firing.  Good to know there is a boardwalk, which sounds much nicer than a street.  Will look for it and take that route.  Point Pleasant Park sound lovely too for another option.  Appreciate the suggestions and feedback!

We are on Royal Caribbean and stopping at Halifax in 3 weeks.  Have never been there but didn't book anything as others said there is lots to do near the port.

From reading and looking at a map, I'm thinking of maybe the following.  Would appreciate feedback, confirmations, and any additional recommendations.  Note that we don't plan on having any meals off the ship unless really something is really special.

Option 1 -  With Maritime Museum

1.  It looks like the cruise terminal is at Pier 24.  Correct?

2.  Walk along water (Lower Water St), head to Maritime Museum.  Any recommendations along the way?

3.  I saw a recommendation for Peace by Chocolate so stop there next.

4.  Turn onto George St and walk to Citadel National Historic Site

5.  If time, go towards Halifax Public Gardens.

Option 2 - Without Maritime Museum

Any other suggestions/path/route if we don't want to spend time in the Museum?

Thanks.

We did this in March. Our flight was originally early afternoon but WestJet changed it to 11:30am, also to Toronto.

We did self disembarkment, lined up for 6am, grabbed an Uber and we were at MCO by 7:30am. WestJet counter wasn't even open yet. Obviously everytwas smooth, and we were a bit worried but it worked fine. 

Definitely too much of a difference for us. Only exception would be if it brought you from Emerald to Diamond (as JS gets you double points), but even then 2k is a lot.  Then again, for us, lately we've been booking interiors as even the difference to a balcony is up there.  We'd rather book another cruise than be specific with the room.  In your case, both have a balcony so both will be great rooms I'd save the 2k and select the large balcony room.

Anyone know what ships have (or will have) the middle dining time?

We always select early dining, but for our Harmony cruise it's as early as 5pm so we selected late dining instead, which is 7:30pm.  Something in-between would be perfect.  

(Don't want to wait until we get on ship as we would book shows around dining)

We always book refundable, including bookings post covid (we don't book suites or guarantee rooms). On Royal's site, you need to go to the last page and click refundable (where you pick you dining time). I've noticed for some booking the refundable difference can be a lot, but it depends on the cruise. 

Note we are Canadian as I'm not sure refundable is available for all (e.g. UK)

As other have said, only one Broadway show at most, but if your daughter enjoys theatre and entertainment, I recommend an Oasis class. They have an Aqua show (very impressive and different from anything you've seen) , an ice show, and most have an additional Royal produced show. 

Note that Wonder doesn't have a Broadway show so maybe avoid that one if Broadway is priority. 

On 4/22/2024 at 9:17 PM, taglovestocruise said:

And to add more stress, some have received the upgrade or the denial while waiting in the checkin line. 

We've put in a royal up bid for our upcoming cruise.  It can go either way as we may not get it (as we got a good deal on our current room so others may outbid us) or we may (as there are a bunch of rooms in the category still available).  Wondering though...what happens to your luggage if it is accepted last minute?  Do you need to go to the hallway of the original room mid afternoon to look for it (or whenever it is dropped off)?

16 minutes ago, rrraydon said:

I just left the cafe. I spoke with a different guy this time. You CAN get small lattes, macchiatos and cappuccinos for one punch each on your card. It’s Refreshers and Frappuccinos you cannot use your card for. 

Glad it is straightened out and you can get most items as expected.  That makes sense and more in line with what others have said or followed.  Its shows you to not always trust the crew as they often don't know themselves.  Thanks for reporting back.

9 hours ago, rrraydon said:

Forgot to mention…while strolling the promenade earlier I stopped at the cafe to get the 2 coffee cards I ordered. They only had me down as ordering 1 card (they’re cheaper if you purchase online prior to sailing, $31). So calls had to be made and what not but we got it settled. Anyways, he informed me the rules of the coffee card have changed. Used to be you could get refreshers and frapps with the card, they just took off 2 punches for those instead of the one punch. Not anymore. With the cards you can no longer get those at all, nor can you use them for macchiatos or cappuccinos. Well what the heck is the use in buying them then?????

What?  We've used the coffee card a few times (If memory is right, including on Liberty).  The only restriction we had was not allowing Frappuccino's, but everything else was allowed. That's ridiculous if not for macchiatos or cappuccinos.  Things like iced coffee were 2 punches and anything over a small was also 2 but otherwise allowed.