nancy2vues

The only thing that we would miss would be ice as a previous poster mentioned.  

DH and I exclusively have dinner in the Main Dining Room, but usually wind up in the WJ for beverages and a quick look around, before they close for the evening.  We "also" have found that there are sometimes interesting meal options that would have been good options for us if we hadn't already eaten, and some great dessert options.  I have been particularly happy to see expanded sugar free options on some ships--great lemon cookies, maybe a bundt cake, etc. that are never on the MDR menus or in other locations on the ships.  

My husband  and I were also on the July 26 Jewel sailing.  We agree that some of the port days were shorter than I imagined, and I booked 3.5-4 hour excursions. I was disappointed that we didn't have a lot of time for shopping/eating in each port.  Having said that, I also TOTALLY agree that this route as fabulous and I truly don't regret the longer excursions. 

The town that Ashland referred to a ghost town was okay with me--we had taken the Blue Puffin tour as well and loved the shopping at the North Cape and overall experience.  The one open shop was sufficient for me (and I am 1/2 Norwegian and a pretty focused shopper).

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Amsterdam was a great port!  We spent two nights there beforehand and one after due to the times of the return flights.  Beforehand, we walked around, toured the Anne Frank House, took the canal boat tour, etc. After the cruise, I wasn't sure that we could get off the ship and get to the airport in time, so we stayed an extra night near the airport.  We took the "Windmills, Cheese, and Wooden Shoes" tour from Royal upon departure.  They dropped us off at the airport and we took a hotel shuttle to our airport.  After checking in, we walked into the town of Hoofddorp and had a great Italian meal.  The front desk hooked us up with a taxi as their airport shuttle started running at 6:30 am, which is when we planned to be at the airport. 

In short, I don't think that you can make a bad choice, but we highly recommend the Arctic Circle/Fjord cruise.

We have snagged the Chef's table twice for about 1/2 price.  The first time, we were asked by a staff member while in the Windjammer shortly after boarding.  They were having a difficult time filling the first night's table.  This was just for my husband and I.  The second time, we were traveling with a  party of 11--our immediate family and two others.  We bought the whole table and were also granted off the 1/2 off pricing. 

Someone once told me that there are sometimes offers to be had while in the Diamond Lounge or Suite Lounge, etc.  when staff are trying to fill the tables.  We do not spend much time in the DL, so I can't say if this is true.

Having said all of this, we have cruised 5 times since last August, and have not been offered a discount since 2019.  LOL!

Good luck!

On 8/15/2022 at 9:54 PM, unclegrandpa said:

Line to where exactly? Not to the gate and not at the gate, then where? 

The line was immediatly after the secuirty line, before the trek to the gates. My husband says that this was a customs line.  I honestly don't think that there was signage saying this.  If it matters to you, we flew Delta->Detroit.

On 8/11/2022 at 8:55 PM, unclegrandpa said:

You mean the line to board the plane? That one doesn't matter because you can't be late once you reach that. Or was that something else? 

It was a third line right after the luggage drop off line and the security line--not at the gate.  That would be a fourth line:)

Nancy

The third line was a line where we just had to show our passports and boarding passes. Yes, we had checked in online and had previously already shown our boarding passes and passports. 

We were also on the July 26 sailling and stayed an extra night in Amsterdam due to an early-ish flight back to Detroit.  Our experience at the airport was better than expected.  We got to the airport at about 6:50 am. It took about an hour to drop off our luggage using the automated method and then maybe another 40 minutes for the security line.   Then..., we had a third line for a boarding pass and passport check.  All in all,  we made it to the gate in about two hours.  Delta has suggested showing up at the airport 4 hours in advance, so it all worked out okay for us.  Our luggage also came through both coming in and out of Amsterdam. 

7 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I've only seen carnival going to progresso since restart. If they went to progresso I think they went on carnival.

 

Every short rcl I've seen goes to costa maya. Maybe there were some I missed, but havent seen rcl and progresso. I've had all the costa maya I ever want to see.

We did a five day on the Adventure out of Galveston that stopped in Progresso in March.  The reason that we chose that particular cruise is that we had never been to Progresso.  Unless we plan to the Mayan ruins, we don't plan to go to that particular port again.  

I have been working with an agent for about an hour and a half.  We got a price drop of about $350 for our January Brilliance cruise and discovered that they had somehow lost the $75 on board credit that we had for this from booking on the ship.  They are having a difficult time getting this resolved.  I have my receipt for the purchase, so hopefully they don't deny the OBC.  Just saying--double check any OBC that should "stick" with a previous booking.  I know that some go away with repricing.

11 hours ago, Joyfulcruiset said:

When is your cruise? I have been waiting for the ones I transferred to appear on my cruise planner,

Our cruise departure date is July 26.

Hi--Just thought I would share a really great experience with the Bank of America Royal Caribbean Visa points.  I transferred some points on Thursday online,  and they appeared as on board credit today!  I know it is easy to complain about delays and disappointments, but I wanted to share some great service.

Before anyone says that one can get higher points using different cards, I will say "yes" and we do have some other cards that we use for higher points when possible.  🙂

One suggestion that might not have been offered yet, is to keep you eye on the check-in section.  Sometimes people do cancel their cruises, opening up earlier times.

Thank you for bringing this up.  On the Adventure in August, we tried to use these credits on Day 2 and were told that this was a benefit only good on day 1.  We have since been on the Freedom, Brilliance, and then the Adventure again, making sure to use the credits on day 1, just in case:)  We don't evere remember having a limitation on when the credits can be used, so I really appreciate the experience/recollection of othere!  

My husband and I were on the Adventure in August, the Freedom in October, the Brilliance in January, and the Adventure again in March.  No complaints from us!   The service was great and we have had the best table mates ever!  

Michigan couple here--we have flown a few times to Florida for 3-4 day cruises.  As previous posters have said, sometimes it is what works for the schedule.  I think that there is a mix of local FL people, not just retirees, along with families and international tourists on these cruises.  

It was full price on  the Brilliance 1/22 sailing.  We asked to be on a waitlist in the event of a discount, and we were not contacted this time out.

On 2/3/2022 at 2:58 PM, csm5986142 said:

For a Galveston hotel, we absolutely loved Harbor House - it is literally right on the pier (no need for a shuttle if you can walk a short distance with your luggage).  You just walk about block and get on the ship.

 

Thank you!  Just booked this hotel last night for a March cruise. Glad to hear it was a good choice:)

This is our third summer to attempt to go to Norway, and for the other two years, there were excursions showing wayyyy ahead of time.  I am in the camp that is assuming that they are just getting their stuff together 🙂  I can't bear to think that it will be a no go!  

I so appreciate the towel thoughts.  I thought that by watching my account online and looking at the receipt the night before disembarking that I was good.  Now I know to triple check.  Thanks again.

We are in the middle of an after-the-fact towel issue.  Got off the Brilliance on 1/27, having returned out towels on 1/24. The charges for the towels did not show up on the app, nor the statement delivered to the cabin the night before we disembarked.  I have called twice now, and as the OP and another commented, they cannot reverse this charge without the ship doing something on their end. Goofy that customer service can't actually fix the problems.  They were super polite, but not able to refund the $$. 

My husband I booked the Chef's Table for our 35th anniversary cruise, which happened to take place on the day of the big solar eclipse.  As the above poster mentioned, yes there is small talk between diners. We had a nice time.

"Then", a couple of years later, we were part of a group of 10 and we booked an entire Chef's Table, which was FABULOUS.  We highly recommend gathering a group of your own if you are not interested in small talk with other diners. 

After final payment, we all of a sudden showed a balance due on our 1/22/22 sailing. Our TA called Royal Caribbean and after an hour or so, Royal said that our cruise was inadvertently repriced when some Bank of America (Royal Caribbean) Visa $$ was applied to the account.  They fixed it, but it was a goofy thing to say the least!

I've wondered the same thing.  Having shown the vaccination card 3 times for each of two cruises that we have taken this year, one would think that they would get the drift that we are truly vaccinated.  

On the Aug 21 Adventure of the seas, we had purple waxy paper wristbands.  We were told that they had run out of the silicone?  They were not great, but stayed on for a week.