kontraxed

For me, one of the big benefits of a JS is the bath tub/shower combo. It gives you so much more room to take a shower than does their skinny little shower stall in other rooms. I also did not know about the double points which will be nice!

I'm really sick of going to the RCI website cruise planner and getting the same old message, "Sorry, we cannot reserve this right now." I'm beginning to think the folks who designed and administer the RCI website are the same folks who brought you the Obamacare website.

On one of those "at sea" days when there is no rush, we like to have breakfast on our room's balcony at least once. Yes, it is a little cramped, but it is beautiful watching the sun rise over the ocean and having a cup of coffee with my wife. It's just one of those nice moments that makes cruising special for us.

I love a frozen Mud Slide! (or two!)

My wife and I each use CPAP machines to sleep at night. I know we are not alone in this. I don't understand why all the cruise lines refuse to put outlets near the bed so you can plug in night time equipment next to the bed. Before all the flamers jump on me to say that the cruise ship will provide an extension chord - twice I have asked for one. Once, they didn't have one available and the second time, they came in with this 100 foot coil of an extension chord. Since then, I always bring my own chord and (knock on wood) I have never had a problem.

This was a great inexpensive shore excursion. They have a great web site and you can book on their web site. I highly recommend them!

I love cruising out of Houston or Galveston because it is within an hours drive from our home. I particularly like cruising on Royal Caribbean and then NCL or Princess. I don't normally like cruising on Carnival because of its booze cruise reputation. That all being said, Carnival is the only cruise line looking at changing their ports of call and cruise lengths for ships going out of the Houston/Galveston area. I'm tired of the Cozumel - Belize - Honduras - Jamaica - Grand Cayman ports. I personally think they are some of least desirable ports in the Caribbean. Why can't Royal Caribbean (and NCL and Princess) go to some of the Eastern or Southern Caribbean ports or go to Key West or even the Panama Canal? I would think Texas and the Gulf Coast is a pretty big market and would support the expanded sailings. I guess Carnival will be the only one to know.

Well, I'm down to 69 days before my cruise and I still can not make any dinner reservations on the RCI web Cruise Planner. I know some people will say that with MTD you don't need to make reservations ahead of time, but I want to. If RCI is going to offer a web based capability then they should either make it available or discard it. Of course, this issue could be easily resolved by RCI say that the on-line dinner reservations will be open on a given date and then make sure it is open on that date. This would address items like, Clear Communications, Honoring Commitments and last but not least - Customer Satisfaction.

I can't comment to the couple's massage but I normally get an individual massage. I nicely tell the masseuse up front I will not buy any products and won't appreciate any attempt to sell me anything. They have always understood that any extra tip takes this into consideration.

I will be cruising on the Navigator in 74 days (May 3rd). I elected My Time Dining. In the past, on other cruise lines, that meant (No Worries!) just go up to the MDR when you want to and maybe have to get in a brief line. Now, it is my understanding that I am supposed to go on-line and make reservations for dinner. My first thought is, wouldn't it have been simpler to just sign up for the early seating? OK. Well, I have been checking the cruise planner daily and still no joy. I just keep seeing a message, "Sorry, we can not do that right now. Sign up on the ship." Well, that's what I wanted to do in the first place but I don't believe them. At some point, the sneaky folks at RCI will suddenly open up the on-line reservations and I'll be lucky to get a stale cracker in the MDR. It would be nice if they actually communicated with their customers and said, "for this cruise, we will start accepting reservations on XX/YY date" and then actually do it on that date.

Well, I've got to go and check the cruise planner again. Who knows?

Maybe it's a good thing they don't have peanut butter cookies. I can resist most cookies but not a good PB Cookie! Of course, the problem with most cookies anywhere (not just on the ships) is that most places don't bake the cookies enough. They ought to call them "doughies."

This was just one Peanut Butter Cookie lover's opinion!

If we see our room steward often and he or she is friendly and does a good job, we will normally give them $20 at the end of the cruise. We use MTD so we normally have a variety of waiters. As a result, we don't normally leave anything extra for the wait staff.

I like cruising and one thing I like is getting a massage on the ship. On my last couple of cruises, it seems that the spa prices have skyrocketed. An hour long massage with tip will run you almost $200. My wife likes to get a manicure and facial and they are getting ridiculous. I don't mind being "nickel and dime'd" but having to throw hundred dollar bills around is getting to be a little bit much.

My wife and I both use CPAP machines. I always bring an extension chord in our luggage and I have never had it taken away from us. It is my understanding that you can ask for distilled water and an extension chord and they will be provided but I bring my own extension chord anyway. Before I get flamed for that let me just say that if I can't use my CPAP machine, then I can't sleep and my vacation would be ruined. I would much rather bring my own chord than risk the ship not having one available.

I can't answer your question about the fan. We have generally found the rooms to be quite comfortable.

Have a good cruise!

I like to book the side that is least expensive!

I have contacted RCI Customer Service twice about issues with my next cruise. One contact was by phone and the other by E-Mail. Surprisingly, I received very good responses both times. It did take a little over a week to receive the E-Mail response. On the phone call, the young lady helped me out "over and above" and then when I asked her to confirm our conversation by E-Mail, I almost received the E-Mail before we hung up. I know there are a lot of customer service horror stories, but I have been very fortunate. It must just be a reflection of the person you get to talk to and how YOU approach them.

We are sailing on the Navigator in May. We booked the Mystery Dinner through the Cruise Planner - Onboard Activities. It was only offered the first night of the cruise and it was $55 per person. I haven't been to one before so I hope that it will be fun!

I looked at wraps for my wife and I. The ones that Royal sells seem to be kind of short in length. If your husband is 6'6" tall he probably has at least some girth. Nothing worse than a towel that doesn't really go all the way around. Amazon has some nice long ones and they're less expensive too.

One cruise gift that I have received (and thoroughly enjoyed) was a massage in the Spa. They are expensive but still very nice in a pleasant environment. You could also get reservations for a nice dinner in one of the extra charge restaurants. No matter what, I'm sure you will both enjoy the cruise!

Under a 100! 99 days to the Navigator!

I have seen on most of my cruises, that the casino slots seem to pay out best the first day or two of the cruise and then tighten up for the remainder of the cruise. Suck you in and then bleed you dry! You might call it a coincidence but it has been pretty consistent for us.

I look forward to more of your review. We're leaving on May 3rd!

We went to Little French Key and really enjoyed it. It was not offered by Princess Cruises so we booked it directly with Little French Key. They have a van pick you up at the port and drive you to their boat dock (about a 10-15 minute drive). You pay your balance owed there and then they have a boat that gives you a ride out to their island (five minute boat ride). Rather than try to tell you everything they offer, I suggest you google their website. It was a wonderful way to spend the day!

We just booked the Mystery Dinner for our May 3rd cruise on the Navigator. It was $55 per person. On our cruise, it is only offered one evening which happens to be the first night of the cruise. We've never done one before, so I hope it is worth it!

Well, this should be interesting.

Yes, I bring an Electrical Extension Chord on every cruise I go on. My wife and I both use CPAP machines and most staterooms do not have outlets near the bed. They have never been confiscated.