goldmom

Thank you so much for doing this. We are also getting on when you get off and hopefully this will add to the cruise excitement and anticipation until it's our turn. Really looking forward to following along with you and appreciate your wealth of information.

We did the train ride into Berlin many years ago. We felt at the time that it would probably be the only time we would see Berlin and felt it was worth it. The train ride is long but it wasn't awful. The scenery is nice and we probably slept on the way back. That said, I wouldn't plan to do the train to Berlin unless it's part of a ships tour. There is too much of a chance of delays and the timing is pretty tight. My suggestion would be to see if the tour is offered onboard and book it if it is, if not offered then just tour the areas around the port as others have suggested.

Thank you so much for the response. It was very helpful to me. Have a great cruise. I will continue to follow along and enjoy your travels!

Thank you for your response and all the information. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I'm really enjoying following your reports.

I hope you don't mind a techie question as you are tech savvy and I'm not. I noticed in one of your photos that it looked as if you had a charger plugged directly into a USB port. I've been reading articles lately that say to not plug your devices directly into public USB ports as hackers can get your info, which has now, of course, made me paranoid! Do you feel that the ports in the ship cabins are safe to use for your devices? I appreciate any guidance you have. Thanks.

I would also suggest calling CAS. Maybe they will let you take over the reservation. Possibly they may charge you an additional amount to cover the cost of the discount they gave the family member. If that's the case, it might be worth the additional cost rather than lose everything. I'm assuming that you don't have trip insurance.

May I ask a silly question? Why did you rent a car if you're only in the port city overnight? Did you just rent it for one day or are you using it to drive to the port and park it there? It seems it would be easier to just arrange a shuttle or taxi to the hotel and port. Just curious.

That is not good news. Hopefully they will be able to follow Viva's lead and get them up and working. Thanks for the info.

Hah. I agree. When they first put them out I kept asking where the creamers were. Took me awhile to realize what they were as we were used to the little cups.

The only place I can think of that might have something is in the Casino. They sometimes put out little snacks in the evening, it's pretty hit or miss, but might be worth a look. When I've seen them it's usually around 9pm. Enjoy

That's a relatively new development. When we were on the Getaway in March they were just changing over to those half & half pouches from the coffee mate cups. Enjoying your "live". Thanks for taking us along.

Thanks for the explanation. I never knew that! I was surprised when I saw it was a RCCL ship as I knew they docked in NJ.

Watching the Joy sail away now. She is passing right next to another cruise ship in the Hudson going the other way. Don't see that often. Couldn't tell what ship it is.

How was the parking situation? Did you park at the pier? I'm considering driving in for our cruise next month, but don't want to get there and not be able to get parking. Thanks! Enjoy!

Yes! That was her. She was terrific and sounds like there's a lot of us who will miss her. She was the one who told me I would still get a drink card for drinks in the Casino which we now know is wrong. Maybe she just got tired of the cut backs to the programs and being limited as to what she could offer!

Another option is the Astronaut's Hall of Fame museum which is outside of Kennedy Space Center, but relatively close. We were there many years ago and found it fascinating. You can sit in an actual space capsule. Boy are they small! You can probably spend an hour or two there. Enjoy!

Almost docked. Hope everyone boarding today has a fabulous cruise. On another note, does anyone know if the issues with the hot tubs in the Owner's suites was ever fixed? If anyone sailing today is in one of those cabins, I'd love confirmation of the status. Thanks!

Looking forward to your review. We met you many years ago, I think on the Gem. We gave you a tour of the Haven. Have a great cruise. I can't wait for all the info as we'll be on her in a few weeks. Enjoy!

I also lost my rep. She was really great and always tried to work her "magic" for me on pricing. I had sent an e-mail, but never heard back and it wasn't even returned. When I called I was told that she now longer worked there. I had another male rep for years and when he left I worked with my latest one. I now have a new rep and she's very nice, but I don't really have a relationship with her yet and she isn't quite as generous. Although that may just be CAS cutting back as she took time to look up everyone sailing with me to see what she could offer. If we're allowed to say names they were Alan and Kim.

Yes, you can check your carry-ons. Just make sure they don't have any medications, electronics or anything fragile or valuable. Enjoy!

All the suites around the Courtyard area have the same size balcony.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. At least it isn't just me. Guess I'll just continue to ask nicely if I have a special request, but not really expect anything.

I'm not a fan of the pasta dish. I even prefer the pasta at the local. I did ask in the Haven on Getaway if I could have the pasta from the Local (or O'sheenan's) brought to the Haven but was told no. I've heard of others making special requests for the next night but it didn't work for me even though I asked in advance.

If you put the plate of cookies on your balcony in the sun, they become nice and warm and gooey. Also, you are not allowed to bring food items back onboard unless they are in the factory sealed packaging. You should have seen everyone scarfing down their "Holey Donuts" as they wouldn't let us bring them on the ship. That said, it's not like they are going to frisk you but if they go through the x-ray machine they will catch them. Not that I'm advocating breaking the rules!

I agree, the menu gets a bit boring. The last time we were on the Joy, the Haven restaurant did offer daily specials for entrees and desserts. I'm guessing it was just meals that were available in the Main dining rooms but it was nice to have a couple of extra choices. More recently on the Getaway 10 night cruise there were no specials offered so it must be up to the individual staff on each ship.