2Cruzin Fools

We will be on the Barbados route (third time) in January. Does anyone know if the formal nights are still night 2 and night 5?

 

Giovanni's Table just opened for booking today. :)

 

Thanks !

Hi, we were on the Barbados route last week and formal nights were night 2 (St. Croix) and night 6 (Barbados).

Our GS on Adventure in April

 

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What GS were you in? Was there a lot of noise from the pool deck above? Thank you.

We received an email from Bank of America last Thursday saying there were possible fraudulent charges. After reviewing our account online we reported there were 2 fraudulent charges and they automatically closed the account and will send new cards. This seems to happen to us with this card once a year. Probably because we use it for just about everything so we can accumulate points. As much of a hassle it is to wait for new cards we are glad they are looking out for us.

Good luck getting your new cards. Ours will hopefully arrive today or tomorrow.

If caffeine gave you migraines you would think otherwise!

:mad:

We were on Oasis last week and were very disappointed that their specialty coffee machines in the Concierge Lounge and Diamond Lounge did not have a Decaf option. Instead they only had decaf in carafes and only in the morning. (We were on Oasis last year and the machines they had then did have a Decaf option.) DW can only drink decaf and loves cappuccino so she mentioned it to the concierge. He suggested adding the foamed milk from the machine to the decaf coffee from the carafe. It just wasn't the same. Hope they don't change the machines on all the ships, but they probably will. Just a warning to others who can only drink decaf. Don't expect specialty decaf in the special lounges!

Food from the first night in Chops - the day they started the new menu.

 

Prettier bacon - the one that hooked me. I won't go to Chops without getting this no matter what else I order.

 

My Petit Filet, before I decided to be more daring and try something new the next time.

 

The plated tater tots before they had the new little crocks to serve them in.

 

The new cookies for dessert. I have no idea what they taste like but they look good to me.

In the pic with the tator tots, what is the meat with the bone sticking out? Is it the veal chop? And was it good? It's looks delicious. Can't wait to try the new menu. Thank you for sharing all this great info.

We did a Christmas cruise on Serenade out of Puerto Rico in 2009. DH thought he could escape the holidays on a cruise, but it was everywhere - decorations, huge trees, caroling, Santa, egg nog, presents. I cried too Christmas morning when Santa came down the elevator to the Centrum and gave each child a present. I even sat on his lap and had my picture taken. Best Christmas ever for me!

Just made the cookies per the original poster's recipe and they taste good, but didn't flatten out much at all.

Are you supposed to flatten them before putting in the oven?

On the Butter Flavor Crisco package it said to add 2 Tbsp water if substituting for butter, but I didn't do that since the recipe called for Crisco and not butter. Do you add the water?

Thank you for any tips. I have a lot of trouble baking cookies. It really stresses me out! :eek:

We have Trac Fones and they do not work once you leave the US or Puerto Rico. Not sure if they work in St. Thomas or other US Virgin Islands. They do not work with the ship's cell phone technologies like most other cell phones.

It was a nice location if you have to be forward. We prefer a mid ship or aft location, but booking late...you can't be too choosy! We unpacked our carry ons and then went to the Windjammer for lunch. One nice thing about Freedom is the fact that D+ can eat their WJ lunch in Chops and get away from the madhouse in there. Very nice perk that we enjoy. They didn't do that on the Independence. It was very quiet in here and a great place to eat lunch. All drinks were available in here.

When you say "All drinks are available in here" at Chops during lunch, does that include beer, wine and soda at no charge?

We ate there twice last November we liked it so much. Highly recommend the bison as well as the barley risotto. Enjoy!

We wish more ships had a Solarium Bistro. It was much better than Samba on Allure.

I haven't been on Navigator since the drydock, but I was on the TA in November. Vintages does not have the tapas menu like Oasis and Allure. I was disappointed because I love the nice choices that were on the menu on Allure and Oasis. They just offer a few things each night (complimentary with wine purchase).

Thank you for the info! We really liked the choices on Allure and Oasis too.

Great review Cindy!

Did you happen to notice if Vintages is like the one on Oasis and Allure where you can order tapas as well as wine or is it just wine?

Thank you!

I don't believe the above information to be correct. We did express walkoff last November from Oasis and there are specific times for it to be done. They want all the express walkoffs off before they start calling people with numbers to leave the ship and collect their luggage.

I know they can't deny you to leave later because everyone has to leave the ship eventually, but it can get very congested having people leave with their luggage at the same time as everyone else.

We would probably use a private car or shuttle service and either do self disembark walk off or try to be in the first group off after walk offs.

We are D+ so I don't know if that gets you off the ship any faster. Some ships it does matter and some it doesn't.

We did walk off last November from Oasis and it was OK but not a real fan of lugging the suitcases through the ship. I ended up pulling my shoulder out and needed an adjustment. Not a fun way to end a great trip.

We are looking at sailing on Navigator from Galveston in September 2014.

What is the earliest flight we should consider to go home from Hobby Airport?

Is fog a factor in September?

We already searched the boards and didn't see anything recent or specific enough.

We also posted the same question on the Gulf Coast Departures board and only got a couple of answers and are looking for more.

Thank you.

We are looking at sailing on Navigator in September 2014.

What is the earliest flight we should consider to go home from Hobby?

Is fog a factor in September?

We already searched the boards and didn't see anything recent or specific enough.

Thank you.

Is the Concierge Lounge on Deck 10 totally enclosed or are there windows that look out to sea? It looks like it is right next to the glass elevators so I am hoping it has windows.

Do they serve hors d'oeuvres at night with the cocktails and continental breakfast in the morning?

When you went to the overflow in Vortex you said it was empty. Was that empty of guests or totally empty with no bartenders?

Thank you for all your info.

Great review! We were also on that sailing and had a wonderful week. We found Garry on Day 1, but didn't have the camera with us. It drove us crazy the rest of the week trying to find him again, but we didn't want to ask any of the maintenance people because we thought they would think we were crazy. Glad to know he wasn't a figment of our imagination.

Here's a tip about the TV's. They are on an adjustable wall mount so if you pull the TV forward you can then turn it left or right and then watch TV in bed. :)

We did the mojito class on Allure in September and it was quite well organized and a lot of fun. There were about 15 people participating and you didn't have to finish one drink before they showed you how to make the next one. On Allure it was held at 3:00 instead of 5:00 so you still had time to get ready for dinner and the rest of the evening's activities after the class ended. We walked by Bolero's last week when one of the classes was supposed to be and didn't see anything going on so we thought it was canceled. I think they should give a better description of the class in the Compass so people know ahead of time that they will be making and drinking 4 different types of drinks so you can be prepared and not drink too much ahead of time. $15 was a great price for 4 drinks and they didn't charge any gratuity.

Thank you very much for the information and pictures on the airboat tour. We are still on the fence about doing it but definitely appreciate your input.

"Embarakation sounded average by many reviews I've read. In 2011 we early disembarked and walked right off the ship. This year my flight wasn't till 4pm so we did the Everglades Boat ride, a second time for us. Our group was called to leave the ship right on time. It took us about 20 minutes to get our luggage, find out way to customs and get through customs at that time (8:45am) It was organized and went well. I think there were about 8-10 customs lanes open. No problem. "

Hi, thank you for the great review! We were on Oasis last year so we are familiar with the ship size and are looking forward to seeing the different shows Allure has when we sail her in September.

We are considering the Everglades Boat ride since our flight home isn't until 2:33pm and have some questions:

Did both you and your wife enjoy it?

Did you feel unsafe or worried about gators or snakes at all?

Please briefly describe the tour (better than RCCL's description) so we will know what we might be getting ourselves into.

What time did you get back to the airport?

Thank you for your thoughts!

Does the Allure have the Wipeout Cafe near the flowrider? I had a delicious pretzel dog (similar to a corn dog) from there when I was on the Oasis.

We never had a pretzel dog. That sounds better than anything listed at the Dog House, so we'll have to check out the Wipeout Cafe on Allure. We never went in the one on Oasis. Thanks for the info.

Hi, can you get corn dogs on the boardwalk? Oasis has them at the Boardwalk Bar and we were wondering if Allure has them there as well. Great review! Thanks for all the valuable info.

Did you feel good about the tour company you booked through? What is the timeline for the shuttle back to the port, do they run on a schedule or do we have a certain amount of time at the beach then have to go back? It appears buying in port is about $6 cheaper than going through the ship.

They start running about 10-10:30 then about every 1/2 hour. The vans keep dropping people off and taking them back to the ship as well. I was hesitant at first, but someones gotta try new things. This beautiful little beach is privately owned. As they continue to make profit, they add more.

They have guards at both ends to keep the locals out. They have a small gift shop so they do not let the panhandlers pester you.

Where exactly is the kiosk, how much did it cost, and did you have to go past the gated area to get to the van? Thanks

Kiosk in the middle of the shopping courtyard. Van picks up where all other excursions pick up, inside the gates.:)

Fee was $18pp.

Red Stripe beer was $12 a 4pk.

Other blender drinks were reasonable.

Jerk chicken with festival bread was $8

Beef patties were $4

Lounge chairs were $5 ea

Quiet, clean, friendly, great place to pass the day in Falmouth, PRICELESS:D