euphio

So for your 2 upcoming vacations, how many hours will you spent in planning versus the actual vacation itself?

Probably at least double. :-)

I tentatively budget 4 or 5 different options out and then my wife gets involved. We decide which 1 we want to do now (and often which is next) and then I really start planning. I generally make cruise/house/hotel/train/plane reservations early (especially when using points/miles). I travel A LOT for work so I have to lock in my vacation time well ahead of time.

Then, a few months before the vacation I start working on the things to do lists Yes, lists plural. There's never just one list. NEVER.

Harry:

You (and the folks in this thread) are my kind of people. My wife likes to joke that I like to plan vacations almost as much as I like going on them. Love your writing style, your kindness and your photos.

As I won't be going on another cruise until the earliest 2019 (we already have our next two vacations planned - see how we're alike?) I like to occasionally check into the boards here to see what's up. I've spent quite a few lunch hours over the last few weeks reading your review. Thanks for injecting some much needed fun and frivolity into my life!

I guess it depends on your specific experience but here was ours:

My wife is a pretty strict vegan. We went on the FOS last year. She told Royal ahead of time and was notified that vegan food would NOT be guaranteed. We went anyway and she had a great experience.

As has been mentioned above, the Windjammer was a pretty easy place for her to get vegan food, especially the Asian area with Indian and Japanese food.

As for the main dining room, we told our waiter and head waiter the first night and they bent over backwards to make sure she not only had good food but even had choices each night. She picked what she wanted the night before and without fail her food was good to great each night.

Thanks for the comprehensive review. We are considering a southern Caribbean itinerary and this is one of our options. Your grace in the face of the bathroom troubles is VERY admirable.

Does any body know if the muster drill is at the life boats or in a lounge?

Both (sorta) - where you go to muster depends on your cabin. Some folks report outside to deck 4 or 5 and others report to the dining room.

I see you have read the first book by Joshua Kinser. He also has The Hull Truth and Ship of Darkness which are billed as #'s 2 and 3 with the one you have read as #1. If you didn't enjoy they first you won't enjoy these either although I personally found them amusing.

I have liked both Kinser's and Brun's books - just looking for a different perspective.

I am looking for recommendations for books about life as a crew member on a cruise ship. I am especially interested in ones written by non-Americans, I'd really be interested in getting the perspectives of other cultures.

I have already read these:

Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member - Joshua Kinser

Cruise Confidential - Brian David Bruns

Both were decent but I'd like other viewpoints.

Anyone read anything good that they can recommend?

Thanks/

The booths were in the On Air Club, deck 3, aft.

Right outside the normal karaoke place.

Two small booths where you could do karaoke without being on a stage in front of a crowd - the only way my wife will do it! :-)

We enjoyed them immensely when we were on FREEDOM in May of 2013 but I think that area was changed somewhat in dry dock.

Are the karaoke booths still on Freedom after her dry dock upgrades?

Drop the car off first.

Agreed. We did this in 2013 and will be doing it again next month.

No problems at all.

I cannot remember such a large price jump.

I suspected as much.

This is my two cents (not that anyone asked :D )

Companies that are in very competitive markets tend to not raise prices incrementally but in steps like this. Let's face it: none of us like it when the stuff we want to buy costs more than it did yesterday. Whether that increase is 1% or 40%, we don't like it. If they do it in steps that means that people are mad once rather than constantly for smaller increases.

Personally, I'm not that worried about it. Will it cause me to drink a little less on my upcoming cruise? Almost certainly. Will I now bring some wine on board when I didn't before? For sure. Will it cause me to not enjoy my vacation - without question it will NOT.

FYI - make sure you get Blue Mountain coffee not Blue Mountain BLEND.

you want 100% Blue Mountain, not a bag that has two or three beans of Blue Mountain in it! :-)

Can't wait to get some of my own next month.

I have not been a cruiser for very long so I have a question for those who have cruised for a long time: when is the last time that the price of drinks went up significantly like this?

Question - I read about the hump balconies on here all the time. What makes people want them more than just the regular balcony rooms?

I take travel sizes of Downey Wrinkle Release and hang my clothes in the bathroom so the shower steam relaxes any wrinkles.

Do you think that would work for a stiff men's dress shirt? I plan to bring my shirts carefully folded but I would like to wear same stuff more than once if I'm only dressed up for a few hours at a time. Thanks!

Thanks everyone, your responses are greatly appreciated.

The Nellie's cabanas are very similar to the Barefoot cabanas. They run $175 to $250 per cabana, and hold up to 6 people. The Adrenaline cabanas are not the same at all, more like tents. I don't know the price of those.

Thanks for the info.

Anyone else have info about the Adrenaline cabanas?

Loving the review - we're on the same itinerary in May!

FYI - for those worried about checking red wine in their luggage.

I bought a handy little item called a Wine Diaper (search for that on Amazon)

It's exactly what it sounds like.

A resealable plastic bag with super absorbant diaper material in it. If your bottle breaks the super absorbant sucks up the liquid and the plastic keeps it (and the broken glass) contained. I've used them multiple times and have never had a problem.

We tend to fly into port with a day to spare so we'll pick ours up there.

We bring it not to save money or have wine we love but to have a drink on the balcony in the evening without going out.

hi gang: quick question about visiting Dunn's River Falls.

I have no issues physically with climbing up the falls but my wife would not be able to do so. Would there be enough for her to do there while I climb up and back? How long does it usually take to get to the top and back down?

Thanks!

chicadelcaribe and Ruth - I am so glad you've had good experiences cruising as a vegan!

My wife and I are contemplating our 3rd cruise for vacation this year and since the last one she's changed from vegetarian to vegan. I'm glad that if we do decide to take a cruise she'll be able to have some variety!

Thanks so much for posting about your experiences.

Balcony cabins on the hump are the best :-)

I've heard this before. We have a balcony cabin on the FOS in May but not on the hump. Why is the hump better? More room?

Weird question:

I am coming into Port Canaveral directly from a business trip and meeting my wife at Orlando Airport. We're coming in two days before our cruise leaves because we want to see the space center. I will have business stuff (dirty dress clothes, laptop etc) that I won't want to take on the cruise.

Any lockers available at the port (we're taking Freedom of the Seas - Royal Carribbean)?

If not, do you think the hotel would hold a suitcase for me for a week?

thanks.

Actually for the most part the ship only felt crowded on day one, after that it felt pretty good. The only thing we had trouble with were the elevators, they really should of added more or at least apply a different software algorithm.

Part of my exercise program for our upcoming FOS cruise is to never use the elevator - stairs only. That will (hopefully) at least partially offset all those free cookies!

ok so i'll be on AoS in just over a week.......my question is that i know there is a starbucks onboard...is it a corporate place where I can use the prepaid cards onboard or will it be basically a swipe/charge type of deal here. i'd rather be able to use my ppd starbucks card...better yet, my app on my phone for making a purchase.

 

thanks!

Were you able to use your prepaid Starbucks card or phone APP?