barb65

Bushwacker and Mango Meltdown

Basically, it's no one else's business.

Just received the following e-mail from Royal Caribbean re: our upcoming cruise on Symphony in February. Kudos to RC for taking action/precautions about the Coronavirus.

Dear Guest,

We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard! Before you embark on our adventure, we have some important information to share with you.

After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we’ve decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this, but due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases around the world, this precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.

Additionally, we’ve tightened our secondary health screening requirements and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal:

• Guests or crewmembers that have been in contact with individuals that have traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the last 15 days.
• Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport - regardless of when they were there last.
• Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms.

While these measures are conservative, our responsibility is to reduce the spread of coronavirus, in an effort to keep our ships safe and to ensure you are able to enjoy your time with us.

If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us at 1-800-256-6649 or visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number.

Your vacation and your health are very important to us, so in an abundance of caution, we’ve taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships. This includes:

• Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing,
• Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day,
• Adding extra medical staff on each sailing, 
• Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests & crew,
• Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard.

And, you can do your part too! To ensure we all have an enjoyable cruise, here are some important tips to help keep you healthy and prevent colds, flus, and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land. 

• After using the bathroom and before any meal or snack (it’s a cruise; we know there’s lots of that), make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
• If you happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve). Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth.
• Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry.

And remember, if you don’t feel well while you’re onboard, it’s imperative that you immediately visit our medical facility on Deck 2 for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always ready to assist. Your safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities, but we also want you to have an amazing time. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay happy

I'll add a few of my favorite frozen drinks: Mango Meltdown, Miami Vice and Bushwacker (tastes like a chocolate milkshake).

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 2:13 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

There's a map on the inside of your stateroom door.

Thanks for the tip!

Are you going through a travel agent? (No, I'm not a travel agent). Sometimes they have blocks of cabins reserved that you won't be able to see if you book online. We always go through a travel agent and she always was able to get us the cabin/deck we wanted.

In Royal Caribbean's detailed policy/restrictions is the following:

Unsafe Behavior

Sitting, standing, laying or climbing on, over or across any exterior or interior railings or other protective barriers, or tampering with ship’s equipment, facilities or systems designed for guest safety is not permitted. Guests may not enter or access any area that is restricted and for the use of crew members. Any other unsafe behavior, including failure to follow security instructions, is not permitted.

My personal opinion, I think the above policy was violated. Too many people don't read the fine print of RC's policies/restrictions before their cruise.

I use CBD oil for anxiety. Packed it on my recent NCL cruise to Bermuda without any problems. According to all the above posts, I guess I'll have to leave it at home and pray I don't have any anxiety on my upcoming cruise.

I would put the $830 towards another cruise and spend the day on the empty ship.

SAS Transportation. They will also drop you off at Miami hotels if you're flying in a day early and will pick you up after your cruise to take you back to FLL. Very reasonable.

We always stay at the Hampton Inn/Brickell in downtown Miami. Great restaurants nearby. We take a taxi or Uber to the port.

Need advice/suggestions on some good ship or independent tours to take in Puerto Rico for our upcoming Symphony cruise in February. Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

We booked this for our February cruise on Symphony. At the time we booked, it was around $60. From what I understand, if you have the Ultimate Beverage package, it is included at Coco Cay. Since it also included the buffet, we felt it was worth the $.

We're sailing seven nights (eastern Caribbean) in February on Symphony of the Seas. Anyone know which nights are formal nights? Thank you in advance for replies.

Looking forward to your report on the spa. This is one of my favorite areas of the ship.

Friends of ours are going on their first ever cruise to Bermuda on NCL Encore in May. They questioned if they need any immunizations before sailing. I told her we sailed twice (on the Escape) to Bermuda, plus other Caribbean ports and never were required to get any immunizations. Or is this optional? Anyone know the answer?

Looking at Bliss or the new Encore to cruise Alaska. What is the best month for an Alaskan cruise? We've only done warm weather cruises, so don't want to go when it's too cold/rainy. Thanks in advance for all your replies.

The entertainment schedule opened yesterday (Wednesday) for our Feb. 22 Symphony cruise. Booked everything through our Cruise Planner. Like that we were able to book in advance so we can plan other activities, meals, etc. around our entertainment schedule.

Day 1 - Solarium Bistro (free meal/booked under dining)

Day 2 - Hairspray (afternoon show)

Day 3 - Standup Comedy Show

Day 4 - HIRO (Aqua show)

Day 5 - 1977

Day 6 - Flight

Day 7 - Standup Comedy Show

5 hours ago, tagpsu said:

 

I would take that. I’m seeing $57.50 or something like that for Black Friday. I guess I should book at that rate and then watch. Have time but don’t want to miss out and don’t want the $65 one. 

Good rate. Take it. If it goes any lower, you can cancel and rebook at the lower rate. Daughter booked it a few months ago for $57 and I was able to get the refreshment package for $24. Black Friday refreshment package rate (for Symphony) dropped to $19, so she cancelled the original and rebooked it at that price.

5 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

$50.99 per person right now with the Black Friday sale -- almost $20 cheaper.  Cancelled and repurchased :-)

So did we for our Symphony cruise in February. The Price is Right.

NCL just launched their newest mega ship this month, the Encore, and it includes an Alaska sailing. Check it out. We love Norwegian Cruise Line. Freestyle dining, no formal nights and very casual.

If you like the taste of a frozen chocolate milkshake, then try a Bushwacker. Another great frozen drink is a Mango Meltdown. 

A woman died on our NCL cruise to Bermuda this past May. They held her body in their morgue until we returned to port in NYC. When we disembarked we saw a hearse at the port presumably waiting for her body. My daughter was on the elevator on the ship and her husband broke down and told my daughter that his wife had died that morning. Poor soul having to wait the rest of the cruise until they returned to port.

Just showed up in cruise planner for our 2/22/20 Symphony cruise. Price was $64.99 pp. We booked it. Meal is included. If you have the Deluxe Beverage Package, it will also be honored.

Looking at an angled balcony cabin (10784) on Escape. If you've stayed in one of these cabins, is the balcony slightly larger than the other balcony cabins?