J&SLowery

7 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Please post about your cruise experience and the ship.  We will be sailing her at the end of next month. 

Where in NoVA? Prior to yesterday, you’d have noted my profile had a Nats avatar and we’re actually from NoVA ourselves. We were season ticket holders for 10+ years before moving to Florida when Scheila retired. Go Nats!! 

52 minutes ago, closecruiser said:

Yes that is exactly what I got.  Thank you.... I was looking for the ABBOTT name or who knows what else.  When do you sail??

Monday on Silhouette. We test on Saturday. That was my December cruise result. Enjoy your cruise!

Yes. They have been 3x for us. You should get an emailed report you can print or show on your mobile device. Your report should look like this (my info removed) 

Agree. We’ve had the IDNow done several times. Typically have results in 2 hours. In fact, just scheduled this morning for Saturday test for Monday sailing on Silhouette 😎

Harbor Shops on 17th St. Just west of the port entrance. There's a Publix supermarket and Total Wine there.

Completely agree. Have picked up our 2 bottles of vino and sunscreen there via cab/Uber on multiple occasions:cool:

Completely agree with BND. We've done both 12 days on Enchantment and 9 days on Grandeur in the past during the late winter/early spring months with consistent demographics. The longer itineraries, generally, span 2 weeks which makes it difficult for families with kids they have to pull from school. The result is, for those of us DINKs and/or those who just prefer less/no kids, certainly a very appealing trip. As well, being a drive up port for us in the mid-Atlantic region makes this even more so.

So much so, we're looking forward to 1 month from today:)

Jay

Regarding Radiance class and they're size- they are slightly bigger.

And simply put, yes, it would be a better option for Baltimore.

However, this has been debated both on here and discussed in many Captains talks and Loyalty Ambassador talks. Net result.....no Radiance class to date, which I believe suggests the actual answer...they're too tall. If they weren't they'd have been in Baltimore, as RCCL has been very successful filling ships year-round. Just like Bayonne, it's a drive up port proximate to a high income area. If RCCL could, they absolutely would. Of course, that's just this guys opinion.

See the post above....the debate continues:)

Considering Tampa's location relative to the equator vs Baltimore, I wonder how much greater the tide range is in Baltimore? 3-5' could make a significant difference.

Also, answered another Pax question as to “why no large®ships sail out of Baltimore. Heconfirmed that a larger ship is not able to pass under the bridge(?). However, he went on to say that thereare/have been discussions with Baltimore officials about moving the embarkationprocess before the bridge, therefore allowing for larger class ships

Referring to the Key Bridge. Its the east side of the Baltimore Beltway I-695 as ships enter/exit the Port of Baltimore. They also pass under the Bay Bridge further south which is US Rt50, but that Bridge provides a greater clearance.

Really. It's been discussed for several years that Radiance Class vessels are too tall to get into Port of Baltimore. The issue is the a Key Bridge. There was much hope when Enchantment came after being lengthened and then moving back to Florida routes. (Ultimately, that's when Grandeur returned for year round sailings) They've had great success filling the Vision class ships and are probably confident they could fill a Radiance class ship....if only they could get one into the port. There has even been discussion (I heard during both a Captains Corner and C&A event) of ideas like retractable stacks/masts that might make it possible. These were just ideas, none of which have cone to fruition to my knowledge. It's most likely simple economics....it would not be cost effective to build or modify 1 ship to accommodate a specific port.

Jay

I believe the preferable side is port, as you will go from Barcelona headed eastward towards France and Italy. The return is pretty much straight back across the Med.

Jay

We did this first week of September. Drill was afternoon 4:30 as I recall. Both Diamond and Concierge lounges were open for drinks until 8:00pm afterwards.

Jay

We've done a couple TA's and a couple longer cruises- we are in our 40's and early 50's and we have appeared to be very young on the TAs. Several times, we've been approached in the lounge asking how are able to do our long vacations- short answer: DINKS. To be honest, our 12 day on Enchantment last year may have been the oldest average crowd. We've never seen so many scooters on a ship :D

BTW, I voted 51-60, but easily would agree with 61-70.

You probably need to be more specific. There are, generally, 2 southern routes out of San Juan

1. St. Thomas, St Marteen, St Lucia or Kitts, Barbados or,

2. Aruba, Curacao, St Marteen, St Thomas

For several years the Serenane and Adventure flip flopped itineraries each week; there is surely to be someone who has the most likely Compass that you are looking for.

Just be specific about where you are planning on travelling to.

Is St Martin a good place to buy watches? I like to pick up one on each cruise.

It was for me:D

I have been looking forward to buying a watch on my next cruise. I know the watches are real but it’s always hard to know if you got the best price. On prices on the watches firm or will they negotiate a bit? Also do watches stay the same price through the whole week or get cheaper towards the end? Just a few things I have been wondering about.

With the exception of an individual item going on sale, their prices are fairly firm. They may negotiate a little. Their prices are also usually lower than retail in the U.S.

This is also why you can often secure a better price in port- because in port, you can barter/negotiate. St Marteen and St Thomas have some of the best watch/jewelry shopping in the Caribbean.

That said, you often will find that the final price you pay in port is just below what the ship prices are. Sometimes, it's much better. You really have to do your homework sometimes.

Keep in mind, this is big business for the cruise companies. They're not stupid or naive. They send reps to the islands to confirm pricing as well. Duty Free shops on board are priced to be competetive with in-port pricing. Example-- unless something has changed, I beleive they'll match liquor price if you can prove a listed/posted price in port. (Note I stated listed/posted-- they will not match a negotiated price such as on jewelry/watches).

Jay

To my knowledge (and this is based solely on our experience), the name brand watches are the real thing. Scheila purchased a Citizen on board a couple years ago; we discovered a minor problem when we got home. We went to the nearest Citizen dealer (a local jeweler) who both authenicated the watch and repaired no charge since it was a warranty repair for Citizen.

I did not buy my Citizen on the ship, rather I bought 2 (one for me an one for my brother) in St. Marteen several years back. They sold the same watch on the ship (for more than I paid) and the same watch is available still today in stores (also for more than I paid). These both came with all the necessary Citizen p/w as well.

Now, they do have the populare "Watch Sale" that has many unknown names that are more or less costume jewelry...you're getting what your paying for.

But as far as the name brand products go, the products on the ship are no different that what you can buy in stores.

Jay