zebra36

5 minutes ago, BND said:

From dropoff by family to boarding about 30 minutes.  But we arrived at 1. Too many arrived before noon and had to wait. Debarking was late for previous cruise due to tide issues and 55 buses had to be loaded.  When they said not to arrive early they meant it. This week will be different. Only one bus for b2bers but there will be a few shuttles from the parking garage.  And if they start debarkation on time it will help. We're b2b but they gave us 930 departure time since I didn't pick one cause we don't need one. We actually had to sit for a bit because the gangway got backed up. They scan your pass for boarding on the ship so that caused a backlog. I'm currently sitting by the oasis pool on cc.

Thanks for reply. Arrive in Norfolk pretty early and will wait it out there until about 1

To be on the safe side I would not depend on HOPE and verify that all are checked in by any means.

Seems to be a quality vs quantity thing!

Not a beer drinker myself but I can see the point of the quantity side if only the alcohol side of the equation is most important.

19 minutes ago, BND said:

Yes we are onboard. Currently in Freeport. Great weather and seas so far. We're on next cruise also. We saw that about end of May 

Hope to board next Friday. ?  How was the boarding process for you, I will be cabbing it from the airport and just trying to time the trip there so as not to get to the terminal to early or run into a cluster of folks trying to board at the same time, does the terminal baggage drop-off area get very congested?

Thanks for any response.

Schadenfreude!

I have only seen the Bigelow foil packets of various blends. My preference is just plain mint tea though I believe there are quite a few varieties available.

13 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Come on, ya gotta cruise while ya can!! Eat cruise and be merry! Life’s short!

Reassessing options. Looking into flying down using Southwest points on an early morning flight the day of out of BWI. If flight goes south(problem) I will be no worse off than just canceling or being a no show. Definitely do not want to drive down even a day early and try to find a hotel with parking for the length of the cruise. Hope to see you on board.

PS for me it is usually eat, drink(in moderation) and be merry!

Disappointed with this choice. Will have to think about even going and just eat the cruise fare.

On the ships I have been on hey had  sandwich's, cookies and fruit placed out for lunch in addition to the continental breakfast  and happy hour selections mentioned.

Only as a spectator!

Piggy Back ? Voucher for bottle of wine discount good only once during cruise or available for use each day?

Lighten up folks. barric pretty much covered their expectations and guessing they chose this cruise due to convenience of driving vs flying(?) to port.

Port is usually available as for the cocktail, I have asked for cocktails not specifically listed in the bar menus and as long as the ingredients are available you should be able to get what you want.

There isn't really much they can or will do in the dry dock, though it would be nice if they changed out the bathroom shower curtains for the sliding door enclosure.

IMHO food quality and choices have declined YMMV!

Will probably start looking at other lines as fares for similar cruises on same ship booked this year are at least 25% higher next year.

Looking at Nov 2025 before and after Thanksgiving and code will not apply and says invalid when entered.

Royal is heavily marketing to families and kids will be part of that mix, with the new ships there will be many younger passengers. Also, homeschooling has grown quite a bit since covid so planning around traditional school breaks will be less effective.

The concept of you-tube click bait strikes again!

Unless it is a hagan daze marketing ploy it seems that they have sourced this product from overseas for ages.

Looks like this may kill the prospect of going with a mid-sized class in the near(?) future.

Is that bacon on the lobster? Not a big fan of lobster but always looking for an opportunity to eat some bacon. BTW enjoying following you on your journey and thanks for posting!

1 hour ago, BridgeMates said:

I'm an early (very) bird...so I can get coffee in the Lounge anytime?  Thanks for your quick answer.

As long as the machine is working. May need to acquaint yourself with the basic workings of the machine as sometimes the grinds need to be emptied out  or other basic functions may not be up and running first thing until staff comes in.

When they switched over to the new style I just left mine in the cabin. IMHO the older blocks looked a bit more classy and not so much as an in your face advertisement.

5 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Not Sweetbread, but SWEET BREAD, a  huge difference. A space changes everything.

Enjoy which ever you prefer. 

 

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Not a fan of organ meats myself.