yj_eugene

It's all about do more with less. That is the standard across the industry.

 

From the corporate side it may be about doing more with less, but from the customer side what we're getting is less with less.

If it's the Characters you are wanting to see I would book a late lunch or early dinner at Chef Mickey's in Disney's contemporary resort (you get free parking there if you show them your reservation) and go to Downtown Disney after that.

 

There are several character meals at Disney other than Chef Mickey's, both in the parks (requires admission) and at the resorts (doesn't), if that one won't work for you. Here's a couple of lists from the allears dot net site that might help you decide on which one, plus some tips/comments:

 

http://allears.net/din/cb.htm

 

http://allears.net/din/cbchar.htm

 

Another option other than Downtown Disney afterward if you have the time is the Boardwalk, which doesn't require admission either. Shopping is better at Downtown Disney, but I think Boardwalk is a bit nicer for just strolling and enjoying the atmosphere.

You left out the Splendour of the Seas, which was built in 1996.

 

I think it's Grandeur. Splendour's (and Legend's) exhaust stack is at the rear of the Viking Crown, but this appears to have an exhaust stack aft. All other Vision class with aft exhaust stacks were built after 1996.

Was on Explorer out of PC Dec 13-18. No escargot, instead it had the mediocre bay scallop gratin. :(

BUMP!!! old thread - has ANYONE made am mp3 of the boarding/disembarking BONk/DING type sound???

 

https://sites.google.com/site/cruiseshipsounds/file-cabinet/cardreader.mp3

I'm on Vision of the seas now and was wondering time wise how long it would take from the time we pull away to the time we pass under the sunsine skyway bridge.

 

I think it's somewhere around two hours or so.

We too enjoy Enchantment and hope she is at PC for a long time.

 

Not me. I'd rather see Enchantment move to Miami to replace Majesty and something else take her place at PC.

I was talking to a friend today and if current plans stay the way they are we will see the Jewell take over for the Majesty. Or at least that is the one being talked about most around the the corporate offices.

 

Any Radiance class in Miami seems like an odd choice to me: reduced capacity, all that glass for sightseeing, emissions control area compliant, enclosed solarium for cold weather swimming. However, if they decided during that Mariner test run that a Voyager class isn't really feasible to make weekly stops in Key West, then I could see it, although it would make much more sense to me to move the larger-capacity Enchantment to Miami, replace it in Port Canaveral with a Voyager class, then redeploy Jewel to the more scenic and environmentally-fragile areas like Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and the Baltics.

Nobody questioned your right to use the elevator, but rather the necessity of using the elevator to only go up/down one flight. If you have the ability to walk you should. Why waste space and other people's time on the elevator when you don't have to? It comes across as ridiculous, rude, and lazy. IMHO.

 

I'm so glad you are blessed with the ability to just look at someone and determine if he or she is able to use stairs. You could have saved me a lot of time and money instead of going through all the medical tests I went through for my doctors to determine it.

 

I think we all know who is coming across as ridiculous and rude.

LMaxwell had a long time thread running regarding a Majesty replacement... lots of talk there even months ago regarding Enchantment to KW, and maybe a Voyager Class ship taking over (specifically NoS or AoS).

 

Don't forget they had Mariner do a test turn around in the Key West basin back in 2012 on her way to drydock. They didn't do it for fun, so I'm expecting a Voyager class to be the choice. If it's not, then Enchantment seems to be the only other logical choice, since any other Vision class or Radiance class would be a significant decrease in capacity and they aren't about to do that on this cash cow run.

Ever had a peppermint schnapps with hot dark chocolate?

 

Cruise West used to serve that with cinnamon in it also. Quite the warm and comforting drink.

Poor bananas. The freaks & geeks of the fruit world!

 

And sometimes they aren't even recognized as fruit, bless their heart:

the bar is not always opened so if you wanted a drink, you had to go down to the pool deck and bring it back up. I saw a few people come sit down, realize there was no bar service and then leave.

 

We see this all the time, and don't understand why the VC bar never seems to be open in the morning or afternoon. It's our favorite place to spend the day, but having to always go to the pool or schooner bars to get a drink gets old, enough so that we often don't make the return trip back to the VC, instead deciding to stay wherever we got the drink. It's like they are sabotaging its own chances for success.

I'm looking for the BING sound of the check-in kiosks

 

Here's the one I use for incoming messages on my iPhone:

 

RCL Card Reader Mp3

Lava Flow or Love Connection. :)

 

Close. *Wildberry* Lava Flow. :) My DW loves Bora Bora Brews.

Anyone can guess what will be in Tampa on Thanksgiving 2016? I know it has to be a Vision or Radiance class.

 

Or both.

 

I hope it will be Legend or Splendor. I believe Legend was there once.

 

Very doubtful it'll be Legend since it'll be in Australia/Southeast Asia that spring. It indeed was in Tampa before. We were on it when it left Tampa in May 2007 to reposition to Barcelona. Splendour is repositioning from Dubai to Venice in April 2016, so it's at least conceivable that it could subsequently move to Tampa after a summer in Europe.

 

I would also like Radiance, or maybe a pretty renovation Jewel.

 

Both have been in Tampa a few years ago, and my guess is both will be in Alaska that summer. Either could do a Canal trip to move to Tampa, but I think we'll see again what we've seen for the past few years, a Radiance-class ship doing another Northern Europe-New England-Tampa move. I'm hoping that would be the Serenade, as Tampa's had the other three Radiance-class already. Might as well complete the set. :)

Wow thank you so much for responding! I do have gmail so I think what you mean is just bookmark the gmail website whereas on the iPad and laptop you have it download to Windows Live Mail or whatever Apple uses?

 

No, that's not what I mean. If you log into gmail using the following link:

 

http://mail.google.com/mail/h/

 

it'll load using basic HTML instead of the interface with all the fancy formatting and bells and whistles. It loads much quicker on the Kindle (or on any other device for that matter :)). I've bookmarked that on my Kindle and use it to access gmail instead of the standard site.

Does anyone suspect Royal to return to Port of New Orleans? Serenade leaves in April and they haven't renewed a contract there so there doesn't appear to be any plans currently. It's the closest port for us and we'd love to have it available in the coming years...

 

My guess is the cost of soon being required to run expensive cleaner fuel all those hours up and down the Mississippi is a major part of the reason. I wouldn't be surprised if Baltimore, because of a similar trip on the Chesapeake, may be another port that someday could suffer the same fate.

I would possibly consider sailing an itinerary like that because I'd love to visit Key West. Just curious, but can Navigator or Liberty fit into Key West? I've heard conflicting info about that.

 

Mariner successfully used the turning basin in Key West on a test run, so the answer for Navigator is probably yes. Liberty probably not. Now whether the people of Key West would love a ship of that size (wouldn't that have more passengers than any other ship that currently goes there?) to visit is another question :)

I just checked with Amazon and was told via chat that I can use the 3G on my old Kindle keyboard 3G in Cozumel (in the event I can't find free wifi for my iPad or laptop) - has anyone done this? I know it will be slow but it will be a chance for me to check my email without signing up for wifi on ship. I don't have a phone data plan. I am going to assume I will have to be in port and not on the ship. I also am going to assume I wouldn't be able to do it free on the ship when at sea in spite of it being "free 3G".

 

Mine goes with me on every cruise for just this very reason (well, plus the whole book-reading thing, of course :)), and it works surprisingly well. I will say that if your email provider allows you use basic HTML, like mine (Gmail) does, remember to tell it to do so, as that loads much faster. And all your assumptions are correct. The one which might need a bit of clarification is the one about being in port and not on the ship. While docked, I was able to use it just fine while staying on the ship, even (surprisingly, to me) from inside a balcony cabin that didn't face the shore.

[quote name='Jade13']You do not need their Luxe plan to cover pre-existing conditions. They have a policy with lower benefits that can be purchased at final payment and cover pre-existing conditions.[/QUOTE]

Which policy is that, if you don't mind sharing?

[quote name='sail7seas'][b]Where can you buy day before final payment and get pre-existing coverage?[/B][/QUOTE]

Try CSA Travel Protection. If you're willing to pay extra for their Luxe package, it'll cover it:

"Is it possible to insure pre-existing medical conditions?

Yes, CSA can accept pre-existing medical conditions for you, your traveling companions and family members. Moreover, CSA offers our customers the flexibility to cover pre-existing conditions up to final payment. Pre-existing medical conditions are accepted with most of our plans when you meet two requirements. First, you must be medically able to travel when you buy the insurance. Second, you must purchase the insurance prior to or within 24 hours of your final payment."

Price!!!

 

And it's a classic case of getting what you pay for. Disney is an entertainment company with cruise ships; Royal is a cruise ship company with entertainment. Disney is a resort on a ship; Royal is a ship with a resort. And it doesn't have to be expensive. Like any other cruises, diligent planning, monitoring and flexibility can result in significant savings.

Well now, it depends on what your definition of "proper attire" is and what everyone else's is.

 

It's simple to me: if the maitre d' says someone can be seated as they are dressed, then they're fine. It's his/her dining room.

Was hoping someone else would comment and we see many of the same thoughts we have.

 

We definitely prefer the smaller ships where the emphasis is on what's outside, not what's inside. Of our most recent 15 past and future cruises on Royal, the breakdown by class:

 

5 - Sovereign

4 - Vision

4 - Radiance

1 - Voyager

 

We might go on an Oasis class once if one moves to Port Canaveral and has a cheap sale (much the same reason we're on that one Voyager class; Explorer's briefly moving to PC and the deal on one cruise was too good to pass up, especially going somewhere we haven't been before), but otherwise we have little interest in any of the promenade ships (aka "floating malls").