Aquarius50

Irishgal, thanks for this review. We are vaccinated and will be on the 8/27 Freedom cruise and I am seeking an answer to this important question.  Do you have to be tested before being able to re-enter the US after your cruise?  If so, could you get the test on board before the end of the cruise? Please advise as this issue is causing me a lot of stress. 

My husband and I are diamond level and we are cruising on Freedom on 8/27 in a 2 bdrm grand suite with my sister who is a gold level.  As the Concierge Lounge is closed, and she is in a suite, will she be able to accompany us to the Diamond Lounge?

Also, does anyone know if the coffee machines will be available in the Diamond Lounge?

Thanks for the answers.  We have to take a flight from Miami to NYC after disembarking.  Wondering if that will be a problem?

The US is requiring a negative Covid test within 3 days before returning to the US.  We are on a 3 day cruise leaving on 8/27 and returning on 8/30.  Will we be able to get the Covid test onboard so we can meet the return requirement?  I'm not sure if they (US) count the 3 days from the date after you take the test (at which point we will be on the ship) or the actual test date, which we could do prior to embarkation. 

Can anyone provide answers to this?.IS there a CVS or Walgreens near the cruise port in Miami?

We have a cruise booked on Navigator from Miami on Aug.27, 2021.  Since it seems to be moving to CA, what will happen with this cruise?  If it goes, will it be on another ship or will it be cancelled?

We have a cruise booked on Navigator from Miami on August 27, 2021.  Now that Navigator is homeported in CA, what will happen to that cruise?

My friends and I just returned from a great cruise on Royal Caribbean's Freedom OTS. We took the Margaritaville Catamaran Cruise and were extremely disappointed. The boat was fine but the drinks were not plentiful and were not served--i.e. you had to go and get them. In fairness, this may have been due to the rough seas on the day of our trip, but nonetheless it was disappointing.

I thought that we were going to go snorkeling and then also for a stop at a second beach for a few hours. Instead, no snorkeling and we proceeded directly to a sad little beach with scrawny, starving wild dogs wandering along the shore, and corrugated metal shacks reminiscent of a shantytown lining the littered beach along the way to the area with the beach chairs. We stayed only 1 hour and 15 minutes at this beach and then had to wade back into the chest deep water, waves crashing around us, to re-board the catamaran to the port for our tip to the Margaritaville "dance party" portion of the trip.

When we got to Margaritaville, the woman who was escorting our small group of 6 people (everyone got off the catamaran and dispersed in different directions) took us into the restaurant and deposited us at a talble to order food. There was no DJ, no music and no party. Instead, we were handed menus and encouraged to order food.

This is a big ripoff and a huge disappointment. As a big Jimmy Buffet fan, I had hoped to enjoy tropical drinks, dance and party to his music at the venue after the beach portion of this excursion. Jimmy, I urge you to remove your name from this product--it does not live up to your good standards.

Thanks!

We are sailing on a 7 night cruise on the Allure from Barcelona in June 2015. We are half paid up and I am now seeing a lot of posts indicating that the ship will be going to dynamic dining.

We just got off Quantum last week and while dynamic dining was fine for 2 nights, I am not sure I am happy about having to make reservations for 7 nights.

Is it definite that there will be no Main Dining Room? If so, how many different restaurants will there be, and how may will be no charge?

Also, we have an early flight out of Barcelona, does anyone have any experience taking the RC shuttle to the airport for an early flight?

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the information.

Sounds good. When and where?

Will there be one? And if so when?

These questions are for those of you who were lucky enough to take the maiden voyage. First, thanks to all of you who posted pictures! My appetite is definitely whetted.

Can you please provide information on the following:

Casino- DH wants to play live Texas Hold 'Em. Is this available? Do the Roulette machines have those electronic pole things that post the previous winning numbers?

Coastal Kitchen- I hear that the Menu in American Icon was changes fro what had been posted. Were there any changes to the posted Coastal Kitchen menu?

Pool/solarium- We are going on a 2 day sampler from NJ. The weather will probably not be bathing suit weather. Is there an enclosed (heated or at least relatively warm) pool area so that we can swim?

Boarding- Will we be able to take a roll on garment bag (bigger than a carry on)with us, or will we have to check it? And we did our on-line check in really early--and we didn't include a photo. I tried to do it now, but I can't. What will happen at the pier now, and how will it effect our boarding time?

Thanks in advance for your help with these questions!:

I am really excited about my upcoming Quantum Sampler Cruise! I particularly want to try the ripcord but even though I have fully paid for this cruise, when I go to book activities I cannot find Ripcord.

Does anyone know whether you will be able to book in advance for Ripcord?

Also, does anyone know if there will be a big production show on this sailing and can I book it? I haven't seen that either.

Any help would be appreciated!

I loved your photos and explanation. Can't wait to try out the Allure now!

Well, since she called you about the dining options, what did she say?

 

Also, I thought you were going to be able to make reservations ahead of time.

 

We're booked in April on Quantum, but we haven't heard anything. Although, we're not actually going in April. It's just a dummy booking til they open up fall 2015 and we can switch it

 

Really she just asked me if I'd heard anything about the dining options, told me that there would 5 restaurants (then had to pause to look them up) got back on and when I asked the questions she put me on hold for like 15 minutes and came back to say she was getting "mixed messages" as anwers so I could call go to the "dynamic dining" website to see what it said.

Tonight I got a call from RC. I was so excited! We have a cruise booked on the Quantum in November and I was hoping this was my first visit from the upgrade fairy. Unfortunately, not.

Instead, it was a young woman who advised that she had called to talk to me about dining options on the Quantum. Sadly, she was not well informed and could not answer my questions, so now I have more questions than I did before the call.

Does any one know:

1) will there be no MDR seatings on the Quantum?

2) how will they ensure that the different dining venues do not have long lines? Will guests get a timed entry ticket?

3) will suite guest have priority at dining venues?

I have to say I don't want to be standing around waiting to get into have meals. My DH said ,"We can just cancel the cruise." I don't want to do that. does anyone have any information?

Does anyone know whether they have priority boarding for emerald members in NJ?

We did a 7 night cruise on AOS in January. We had a Grand Suite and overall, we had a really nice time, but there were a few problems. So we wrote to RC and not only did they send a lovely letter back addressing our concerns, but they noticed that my next booked cruise was close to my birthday and sent me a nice birthday package to celebrate.

Now that is a class operation!:D Kudos RC, you've earned our continued business. Thank you!

Thanks Gumdrop. We live in the NYC area, so we don't need to sightsee. I was really trying to find out about the pier/port itself. We are taking the Quantum on 11/21. It looks like it will be really fun.

I have a few questions. We have been on many cruises (all 7 days or longer) but we have never taken a short "cruise to nowhere". Can anyone let us know what to expect--i.e. are there shows (a show)? Dress code for dinner? Are the shops open? Also, we have never left from Bayonne. Any information about the pier?

Thanks for the advice!