The Fun Researcher

Not by me

 

 

 

 

 

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Agreed, for me there's just something special being on a beautiful cruise ship seeing everyone dressed up and looking nice. For some reason formal nights also give me a feeling of togetherness, that we're all sharing this wonderful experience together.

Dan

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Thank you!

Dan

I've been on 5 RCI cruises in the past 5 years and the only noticeable negative changes for me are the skyrocketing drink prices, and the "less formal" formal nights. Myself, I still like a proper formal night, but my opinion seems to be growing less and less popular.

Dan

If this is a discussion of Oasis class versus Freedom Class, I have to say that we far favor the Freedom class.

I liked the Oasis class, and there are things that will certainly Wow you on that ship like the Zipline, MASSIVE promenade, and Cental Park, but there were things that REALLY took it down a notch for us versus Freedom class.

1) People, people everywhere. Difficult to find quite areas on the ship. Even late into the evening, 12am and later, there were lots of people and kids in the promenade. Just felt like a crowded shopping mall in there compared to the Freedom class. On the Freedom class ships, the promenade is some smaller but far more peaceful and enjoyable IMO

2) Disconnected from the Ocean. On the Oasis class it was far more difficult to find good areas to just look out at sea.

3) We're fit people, but the Oasis class is just so dang big that it can be a chore just getting from point A to B all the time.

We would choose the Freedom, Independence, and Liberty over the Oasis class ships, but we may be in the minority. Our kids LOVE the Freedom class

Dan

We'll be in Roatan in January and are mainly planning to be at West Bay Beach to hang out, snorkel, and grab some lunch. We plan to do a private tour through Rony's.

There are 7 of us (three are kids, ages 16, 13,10). Can you recommend the best day pass from the following?

Thank you very much in advance! -Dan

1. West Bay Beach – Gran Roatan Resort day pass ( for now no charge)
   
2. West Bay Beach – Mayan Princess Resort day pass (+ US$ 25 P/P)
   
3. West Bay Beach – Infinity Bay resort day pass (+ US$ 25 P/P)
   
4. West Bay Beach – Foster Resort day pass (+ US$ 10 P/P)
   
5. West Bay Beach – Bananarama Resort day pass (+ US 10 P/P)
   
6. West Bay Beach – The Beach Club day pass (+ US$ 25 P/P)
   
7. Las Palmas beach and restaurant ( + US$ 10 P/P)
   

Maya Chan also recommended Jaime's at the Blue Reef. A very new operation. Sounds like they are just down the beach and have full accommodations and all inclusive as well. Everything I found about them was very positive, and they were very prompt in their communication with me when I was investigating them as an option.

Kindly,

Dan

Thanks all. Maya chan was able to work us in

Kindly,

Dan

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So sad. Maya Chan is overbooked on our date in port.

Does anyone know of another great all inclusive in Costa Maya?

Looking for Beach, Food, Drinks and a Cabana or Hut.

Thanks!

Dan

Who is filling in for Richard Spacey, and what are your experiences with them?

Thanks -Dan

Anyone know who will be the Equinox CD for the Aug 6th sailing? Any thoughts on your experience with them? Thanks!

(This will be our first cruise on X, really looking forward to it)

Dan

A 5pm flight out of Houston on disembarkation day should be safe right? Has anyone heard of fog keeping the ship out past noon?

Coming from Michigan that time of year, anything above about 45 degrees is spring jacket weather. However, I'm not sure I like the idea of embarking in cold"ish" weather on a Caribbean cruise.:confused:

FYI, the itinerary for the cruise has the two seas days at the end:

• Sea day
  
• Cozumel
  
• Roatan
  
• Costa Maya
  
• Sea Day
  
• Sea Day
  

Dan

Thanks all. Can you explain more about the fog? Is this just in Galveston? We always fly in the day before so embarkation is no issue. There is a 5pm flight out of Houston that I'm looking at on disembarkation day. That should be plenty late correct?

Dan

Thanks all. Sounds hit or miss, but if it's in the 60's that would be fine.

Dan

Have you checked out Freedom out of Ft. Lauderdale? Much better chance of warm weather from start to finish, no fog issues and much easier to get from airport to port if flying.

Thanks. Yeah, I looked at the Freedom, but it's one less day and the kids have already been to one of the ports (Grand Cayman). With the Liberty, they have not been to any of the ports and there is one additional day.

Dan

Our family loves the Freedom class and Voyager class RCI ships, and we are looking at the Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston leaving Dec 31st this year from Galveston.

The only thing that has me nervous is the potentially cold weather. For those of you that have cruised out of Galveston in early January, what was the weather like?

We cruise to escape the cold north, and do like to use the pool deck a lot.

1) What's weather like in port at Galveston

2) How long does it take once cruising to get to the upper 70 to 80 degree weather?

Thanks!

Dan

Our family loves the Freedom class and Voyager class RCI ships, and we are looking at the Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston leaving Dec 31st this year from Galveston.

The only thing that has me nervous is the potentially cold weather. For those of you that have cruised out of Galveston in early January, what was the weather like?

We cruise to escape the cold north, and do like to use the pool deck a lot.

1) What's weather like in port at Galveston

2) How long does it take once cruising to get to the upper 70 to 80 degree weather?

Thanks!

Dan

Thank you for reading and giving me feedback. I forgot to mention that I loved getting preprinted nice luggage tags from Celebrity. Have you ordered yours?

They aren't ready yet, but look forward to it. Bought some nice luggage tag holders months ago in preparation.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01E4SQNU4/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dan

CC published my recent review. Here's the link if you wish to read. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=579440&et_cid=2861228&et_rid=130538813&et_referrer=RCI%20Party%20Data

Wow! Awesome review. Covered all the bases . Thanks for the link. We are also coming from RC (although not nearly as many sailings as you) and look forward to trying out the Equinox in August.

Dan

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2506339

You might enjoy reading this thread. I asked a similar question recently, but from a little different angle.

Dan

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Dan, I have sailed on Voyager,Freedom, and Oasis class. Anyone of those are better suited for your kids. More options for them. The flowrider, rock wall, zipline, ice rink, plus adventure ocean is a wonderful program. We saw our kids at dinner; other than that they were somewhere on the ship doing so much stuff. Princess has the kids program; but does not have all the other fun stuff like Royal Caribbean has.

Thanks for the reply. We want a 7 or 8 night itinerary, and only Oasis class are sailing 7 night itineraries during the weeks we want to go. Our kids have been on Voyager and Freedom classes and they absolutely loved them. Only my wife and I have been on Oasis class, and they weren't our favorite. Plus, my in laws are going with, and getting around on those massive Oasis class ships would wear them out I think. Believe me, if there was a sailing on one of the other two classes that worked for us, we would jump at it. Maybe we'll just stay with our 7 night eastern itinerary on the NCL Escape as we had planned. I'm still not sold on the Escape though.

Dan

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Thanks both of you for the latest two posts. Sounds like the Crown Princess in general gets more mixed reviews than I'm used to, but the nice itinerary and extra day of sailing may offset that.

Dan

Anyone else?

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Thank you very much Tiggerontheseas. Yes, that is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for!

...and I agree, that aft pool looks awesome. Love the open view of the wake, and in the Caribbean it will be all those beautiful shades of blue. I saw that pool in some YouTube videos I've been scouring of the Crown.

Dan

Thanks for the reply all. Sorry if I didn't communicate this well... Actually, I'm not choosing between the two for a particular cruise. I'm just wondering how the Crown compares to the RCCL ships I mention. Just so I have a reference point.

The cruise that would get cancelled would be a NCL Escape over Thanksgiving. The itinerary on that on isn't that great and it's one less night. (7 night eastern vs 8 night southern). The Crown is an early Jan, 8 night ABC cruise. LOVE the itinerary.

The activities for our younger kids isn't super important. They will have fun no matter what, but it's just a consideration we need to weigh in.

Dan

We are looking at a wonderful Southern Caribbean ABC 8 night itinerary on the Crown Princess and need your help. Has anyone sailed both the Grand class (Crown Princess) and the Freedom or Voyager Class on RCCL?

As a side note... This cruise will be with our kids, so I'm a little concerned for them regarding activities. My 15 yr old has said that all the extra stuff (flowrider, rock climbing wall) doesn't matter so much for her, but I'm wondering about my 13 and 10 yr old too.

We've only sailed RCCL to date, on the Freedom, Voyager, and Oasis class ships. We really enjoy RCCL and the Freedom and Voyager class for the following reasons. (but are completely open to other cruise lines)

In no particular order:

• Traditional cruising. Good quality MDR food and we enjoy formal nights (including the kids)
  
• The for to aft Royal Promenade
  
• Great views out to sea from many locations on the ship
  
• Lots of activity options
  
• Great Pool deck Freshwater pools (freedom class)
  
• Large ship without being TOO big
  
• Good entertainment
  

So, how would you compare your experience with Princess and the Grand Class ships versus RCCL and the Freedom and Voyager class?

Thank you kindly,

Dan