KMagz

On 7/13/2019 at 6:59 AM, jean87510 said:

We rented a car back in april. We visited the donkey sanctuary, Philip's garden with the animals, 2 beaches for snorkeling and the mines. We were there for about 8 hours.  If your son likes animals he'll like philips.

If you don’t mind my asking, how / where did you rent the car?  Pre-arranged before the trip? Or did you “wing it” and rent after you got off the ship?  TIA. 

On 7/14/2019 at 2:22 AM, mattR said:

Will be renting a jeep to tour around Aruba is there public parking at Eagle Beach ect is there a charge?  

Can you share details on your Jeep rental?  With whom did you arrange this, how did you contact them, is it near the pier, etc?  Thanks in advance. 

4. Please make an edible hamburger that I don't have to pay extra for.

If you happen to be in a Central Park Balcony cabin you most likely have the perk of one free lunch at Jamie's. The burger I had a Jamie's this past May was one of the best burgers I've ever had -- land or sea.

On my recent Harmony cruise I loved ** LOVED ** the adult Solarium area. Though there is no pool in the Solarium (unlike Oasis?) the upside is there were many available lounge chairs thanks to the extra space. I never had a problem, any time of day, even on sea days, finding prime lounge chairs. This was a great escape from the kids at the pools.

I'm late to this thread but... on our flight a few weeks ago to FLL for a Harmony OTS cruise there were 2 dogs on our flight.

Dog #1 One was an Emotional Support PitBull, as evidenced by its Official Yellow Emotional Support Vest. The owner (-- aka: "The Needer Of Emotional Support" --) gave the Emotional Support PitBull an Emotional Support Tranquilizer. This essentially rendered the dog Emotional Support CarryOn Luggage. (The dog was in an Emotional Support Daze for pretty much the whole flight.) So not really sure how much Emotional Support a comatose dog could provide, but... at least it didn't make an Emotional Support Mess or fuss. Or snore.

Dog #2 was Small LapDog. Small LapDog proceeded to bite the ear of the passenger seated in front of her. The LapDog's owner said "Oh, LapDog was just being friendly! Nothing to worry about!" The ear's owner was not pleased. My opinion, the cute girl from your calculus class nibbling on your ear under the grandstands after school is being friendly. A strange dog seated in 14D biting your ear at 30,000 feet? Yeah, not so much.

PS - The cruise was AWESOME!

And.. I’ve answered my own question.. [emoji5] in case anyone is interested, the balloon experience is 10 min, and accommodates 30 people. For our trip on the symphony they want 74$ per adult and 44$ per child. Not positive if 12yo qualifies for child rate, but at a minimum it would be $236 for our family, possibly more.. sooo not something we’ll be doing.

 

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Sure $236 seems like a lot of money, but you'll miss seeing Coco Kay! But from **even higher!** (<< Sarcasm. Personally don't see the point in this.)

There are two options: Surf (good for texting, email, maybe some web browsing) and Surf & Stream (good for streaming video, uploading photos videos to cloud drives, etc...) We had a One Device Surf & Stream and were able to stream Youtube videos and FaceTime. You can share the login credentials with any / all people in your party but only one device can log on at a time. We found that when a "new" device logged on, an existing device was knocked off.

Also note: As of last week, iPhone users can text other iPhone users (even those not on the ship) without purchasing any internet packages. Put phone in Airplane mode, turn on Wifi and connect to the Royal WiFi network. This is a gap by RCCL's IT department that may be shutdown at any time I'd imagine.

PS - Set you device to "Automatically Connect" to the Royal WiFi" network to avoid disconnects.

PSS - You'll save money if you buy it before boarding the ship.

sherezada:

"Do you know if there are any live bands doing a "Karaoke night" or Open mic night on the ship? I was on the Allure a few years back and one of the bands had a night where passengers could come sing with them. It was wonderful! Hoping I can have the same experience again when I hop on the Harmony in August."

The superb band, "Rock The Boat" had Karaoke ("Rock-aoke" as they called it) on Independence a few years back. Lots of fun. Most enjoyable band we've seen on all of our RC cruises.

Love it. Question: did you use a steadying gimbal for some of the shots like the walking footage on Labadee?

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Empress vs Harmony

Had the same disconnect issue on Harmony. Until I checked off the WiFi option to “connect automatically” to the network. Worked flawlessly from then on out.

Just to be clear, you’re asking about a tour for those sailing that week? Or are you asking about ship tours for visitors (ie: non-passengers?) On a recent Harmony sailing there were visitors touring the ship on boarding day. Announcement came late in the afternoon for them to leave the ship — around the time of the muster drill.

Should this be reflected in your reservation somewhere if you have a CP or BW balcony? I'm not 100% sure this is true for each and every BW or CP reservation. I once got $150 OBC from RCCL in a CP balcony and the other perks mentioned here were not included.

For me, San Juan would be my favorite port on your itinerary. I'd look at walking to the forts and/or Old San Juan. Perhaps get a meal in Old San Juan. I do agree that it's nice staying on the ship sometimes in port to enjoy things with fewer people around - but I'd choose St. Maarten to camp out on the ship.

My guess is that Captain Gus likes your "LIVE" threads for the same reasons that many of the rest of us do. They are straight forward and positive without the controversy that often creates drama on these boards, and you take great pictures. A very nice combination. :D

^^^ This!

Thanks for taking the time to post this. On board by 10:30! What time did you get to the terminal?

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As a D+ , I expect a considerable discount from that full-retail price!!!!

 

mac_tlcs

But of course! (Just a a little fun with PhotoShop....)

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Curious if they're offered on all cruises right from the start? Or are they more like the alcohol "drinks cards" which I've heard are only offered on some cruises at some times. (Presumably when drink sales are slow.)

Thank-you very much for the updated info.:)

Personally I’m still inclined to use the Renaissance Budget office since it may be a little less hectic than Miami Road. And the cost of a taxi / Uber is offset by a direct trip to the ship and scoring a better table at the WindJammer. :)

Budget on 17th in shopping center next to Renaissance Hotel

Quick update which may be helpful to some:

- The Budget Car Rental on 17th Street Quay Shopping Center has moved across the parking lot *into* the Renaissance Hotel and does not offer cruise shuttle (Budget location code: F07)

- The location at 2520 Miami Road is shared with Budget / Avis / Payless and DOES offer the cruise shuttle (Budget location code: EV3.) This location is very close to the cruise terminals.

Budget / Avis / Payless is consolidating the cruise business into the Miami Road location.

It's a crap shoot but for what it's worth, I'm very prone to motion sickness and in all of my cruises, (including the one to Aruba) I've been sick for exactly 1 - 2 hours in total. Also note that the Southern Carib itinerary is worth it. The. Best.

..... But again I ask. What was the story? The DH says just let it flow and enjoy. It was that good. I think he's right.

I've seen probably 6 or 7 RCCL ice shows. They're all outstanding in their own ways but... you are 100% correct - the story lines are either odd or none existent. Always entertaining though!

I'll do research myself and book direct with RCCL especially if there is some OBC or other perk. (Don't be fooled by the smoke-screen of the fake "sales.") Then within 60 days I'll transfer to an online TA for pre-paid gratuities plus (sometimes) additional OBC. Depends on the sailing, price paid, etc... as to what TAs can offer above and beyond what I already have.

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I think the decision is really a personal one. $1000 is a lot of money. And with the ABC islands, you'll remember the things you did on the (gorgeous!) islands way more than you'll remember having coffee on your balcony each morning IMO. If you do pull the trigger on a promenade cabin, look for one near the stairs for a quick trip down to the Promenade -- or if on a high floor, to The Windjammer -- while hubby slumbers.