Jasukkie

Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to Toad's comment about Anthem.

2018? I was on that sailing. I'm sure there's a long thread here somewhere. Never again.

I would do this in a heartbeat if I were retired. Alas, that will be a while. I will consider Buenos Aires to Valparaiso though when the details come out.

This is sad. It's a shame they didn't build in heaters but I guess it's cheaper to just buy new plants?

Oasis is my least favorite WJ. It's just the setup there; the line, the close together tables, the lack of overall space. Radiance Class is my favorite design-wise. Navigator had the most impressive service and food of my recent cruises. Anthem's is solid and reliable.

I love the idea of gifting drinks. If only there was a rubber bracelet for no-package/no-vouchers to make people easy to spot.

Some of the rolls are huge but some are not. I could see cutting the big ones down in size. I tend to order the seaweed first course, and share it, so the bulk of my experience there is in the main plates. It's not a deal breaker for me but I will probably order two of what I know to be big rolls to give me 8 substantial pieces. Does anyone know if the number of sashimi pieces have also been reduced? My husband always gets that.

Personally I wouldn't do it at that price. Only an oceanview balcony gty. I'd choose an oceanview window over boardwalk or central park balcony.

You may want to check out the Margaritaville Resort for day passes. It's walkable from the ship. It was clean when we were there and we really liked the lazy river. The beach was rather crowded but we didn't sit there, just went swimming which was very nice. There's an infinity edge pool with a great view of everything. The food is expensive but generously portioned and good for snack bar type food. I went outside at the British Colonial Hilton when we were waiting there for a cruise and the beach didn't seem that big.

hmm, guessing for rice but I'd love to know. I once saw a family bring on their own table and chairs at Bayonne.

I love it! We had one server in Izumi take pictures of all the details of a trike style scooter because he wanted to try and make one back home in his shop. He sounded like a real MacGyver.

I have taken out leftovers from eating at Izumi and you can also get it to go, so at least since the restart I know this has been allowed. They tend to run this in the late morning. I recommend eating a very light breakfast because it is a lot and you will want to eat it. It was a fun experience, you have me thinking of doing it again now.

How wonderful Royal permits both. My big bag would never fit through the scanner to board anyway so I have to let go and trust the process. So far, I've never had a problem. I certainly wouldn't leave anything valuable out in the hall.

This seems like such a hassle to me. One of the nice things about traveling light is not having to get an elevator that morning. I check it all through, minus my daypack for important stuff. Just take the stairs and get in line to leave.

I can't imagine them offering this if you couldn't eat it at the end. That would just be offensively wasteful.

Only the diamonds get diamond vouchers but they are free to share with you. It's like buying someone a drink at the bar, they just tell the bartender or server to use a voucher.

The last time I did this, we paid $25 for two to get on a group van that just filled up with people coming off the ship. I had planned on Lyft but there were two spots left and away we went. Probably the speediest departure from a cruise I've ever had, time is money, vamonos!

I've cruised a few times with family members using scooters. The housekeeping staff can be very helpful with both taking it overnight to charge and trouble shooting mechanical problems (they seem to love riding them lol). Elevators can be a problem but there are some ways to make life easier. The rear elevators are going to be busy at meal times. The forward ones when shows get out. Just waiting 15 minutes can make a big difference. Weather permitting, travel from one end of the ship to the other outside on the pool or promenade deck, rather than through the shops area. Keep a positive attitude, yes there will be a few people pushing past you on to elevators but more who offer assistance.

I've seen groups in the Windjammer that clearly had some special arrangement beforehand if those prices are more than you want to spend. I know that's not private or really what you are looking for, but perhaps it's an option. Good luck.

I've used it as well and really wished all ports offered it. So nice to travel light and not worry about luggage.

I love to eat breakfast on my balcony so I bring a small tray. I've been mostly on Radiance class lately which is an easy pickup at the solarium cafe and down one flight of steps. I rarely cross paths with anyone on this short journey, certainly less than walking around with a plate in the buffet. The tray makes it easy to carry a cup of coffee and a couple of little plates.

Yes, it's included and generally available.

I did this a couple of years ago on Anthem and found it all very interesting. I think it was around $120? Yes, worthwhile if you've never done it and are interested in ship operations and logistics. I would not do it a second time at $159, but if you've never done it and have the money, go for it.

It's an added charge but Virgin Voyages has a tea with the tower of snacks on each table. I saw it walking by and it looked very nice.

It's pure capitalism. If people keep buying more and more cruises at higher prices with lower production costs, why would they not go right along with that? Remember those fancy midnight buffets? They're not coming back either. I'd settle for a cup of coffee served at the same time as my dessert in the main dining room. Cruising is still my favorite vacation though, and a relative bargain to land travel unless you are self-catering.