heartscontent

When you got off the train in Civitavecchia, did you need elevators to exit or did you have to carry your luggage up any stairs? 

On 5/24/2023 at 9:34 AM, euro cruiser said:

No, there are no elevators at Roma S. Pietro:  Roma S.Pietro (rfi.it)

 

May I ask where you are staying?  Balduina is well outside the normal tourist area, you'd be eating up a lot of time each day getting into and back from the historic center of Rome.

Thanks so much for your help. We will change our plans accordingly! 

We will be traveling from Rome Balduina train station to Civitavecchia but this requires a train change at Roma San Pietro train station. Can anyone tell me if elevators exist to make train track changes with luggage easier? I am having trouble finding accurate info from Trentalia.  

Thanks everyone! I will dig out the old ones and bring them along then

Can someone tell me if Royal Caribbean is still selling RFID wrist bands instead of having to use your sea pass card? Thanks! 

Will be on Symphony next week.  Can anyone tell me if Royal ever does anything special for the Academy Awards? I’ve been on many Super Bowl sailings and they do a great job of those parties so I just wondered if the entertainment staff makes a party out of the Oscars?  

I hope for your sake that you do not have to move to a gluten free diet, but if you do, I wish you greatly improved health despite the dining challenges you will face.

Royal Caribbean cruising has proven to be a very good vacation choice for me and my dietary needs (Celiac). I prefer to eat in the main dining room because I have the opportunity to work directly with one head waiter who typically takes responsibility for my special diet by going over the next day's menu and having me order one day ahead. Having said that, I have had great success in dining at other venues such as Windjammer, Solarium Cafe and specialty restaurants by asking to speak with the manager first. I never eat from the gluten free buffet in Windjammer because of the risk of cross contamination. After explaining my level of need to the manager on Independence last year, they offered to make gluten free hamburgers (yes, with great gluten free buns) and french fries, cooked in a separate fryer. I just had to order ahead and wait a good 20 minutes. The same manager also arranged for me to have a gluten free hamburger waiting for me at the Colombus Cove dining station in Labadee. I believe you can also order the same gluten free hamburgers from Johnny Rockets if you wish to dine there and pay the extra fee. The managers and head waiters are my best friends when it comes to a safe dining experience so I treat them well and tip them well.

We always bring refillable water bottles with filters when we cruise. While many do not mind the taste of ship water, I personally don't find it enjoyable. For those of us who are a little more sensitive, I have found that the taste of water varies from venue to venue on any given ship. I once asked why the water in Cafe Promenade tasted so much better than the Wipe Out Cafe and was told they had "a fresh filter". I am going to guess that the bars always have fresh filters! At any rate, if you don't like the taste in one location, try another.

Apart from the bars, Cafe Promenade and Windjammer Cafe are my 'go to' refill locations as they always have filled glasses of water and ice available. I would also strongly suggest that you bring a small funnel to make it easier to pour water and ice from the glasses into your bottle. As many mentioned, you cannot simply pour from a tap into your bottle for hygiene reasons. I have cut down a small orange juice bottle to make a funnel that perfectly fits and easily lets the ice into my KOR Nava bottle, incidentally a choice I would highly recommend.

In the last month or so, Margaritaville recently opened its new location on the International Pier. The website shows a waterfront location just before the security entrance leading to the ships.

We are on Oasis in a couple of weeks. Our flight gets into MCO late so we are staying at the Country Inn and Suites Orlando Airport which has a free airport shuttle. We are then getting picked up at the hotel between 10:00 - 10:15 the next morning by Cortrans Shuttle at $20 per person to be taken to the ship. In the past when travelling with our family, it was more cost effective to pick up a rental car at MCO and drop it off at Cape Canaveral. Just depends on how much luggage and bodies you can fit into your rental vehicle and whether or not you want to drive the 45 min - 1 hour trip on your own.

Google "Oasis of the Seas Western Caribbean Cruise Compass" and you will be directed to a website that has numerous cruise compasses listed. The most recent Oasis of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise compass posted is dated October 8, 2016.

I see you are from Georgian Bay, Ontario. If you are flying out of Toronto Pearson Airport, you can rent a wheelchair at very reasonable rates from Baby to Senior, 1035 Queensway East (Queensway and Cawthra Road) in Mississauga. 289-521-5003. I recently broke my ankle and rented crutches and a scooter from them as I recovered. We are cruising in January and I will be renting a wheelchair at that time because I am still wary of making my way through the airports, let alone the cruise ship. My plan is to bring my own rental wheelchair, and request disembarkation assistance from Royal Caribbean. May we both have wonderful cruises even with our injuries!

I am so sorry that you had this experience. I am well familiar with the challenges of celiac disease and hope these suggestions help in future. I always slip my head waiter in the main dining room a generous tip on the first day, saying that I know I am extra work and I appreciate that he/she will be working hard to keep me safe. Then I do the order a day ahead routine. Before dining in a specialty restaurant, I will always go one day in advance to speak with the manager. I then do the celiac song and dance (you know it well, I am sure) and have not had a problem to date. I also speak directly with the chefs on the occasions where I have dined in the Windjammer or Solarium buffets and have food specifically prepared for me. As you mentioned, I always stress that mine is not a casual gluten free dining choice, but a very serious food allergy. We both know that celiac disease is not an allergy, but I always use that term because it is clearly understood in the food industry. The last time I was accidentally glutened on board was five cruises ago but I have been fine ever since, so I consider that to be a good track record. My most recent experiences have actually exceeded my expectations: on our latest cruise, the Windjammer head chef even arranged to have a gluten free burger specially prepared for me at the Colombus Cove dining station in Labadee. Last year on Allure, I sent back the bread in the main dining room at lunch because it was too good to be true, only to discover that the chef who baked the gluten free bread was simply amazing! I would hate to think that you would give up on Royal Caribbean after your last experience, as I know there are so few vacation options out there that offer generally safe celiac dining. My last words of advice are "Always be assertive in expressing your needs and always be generous with your tips!" This strategy has worked very well for me.

Self assist off Indy is more complicated than usual as you have to carry your own bags down a couple of flights of stairs. They don't have the elevators going all the way down on disembarkation day - don't ask me why! In our experience in April, it took well over an hour to get off the boat. It was the worst disembarkation experience to date and reading the latest CC reviews confirm that this problem still exists. Just be prepared for it and plan accordingly.

We were on a 5 night Independence of the Seas cruise in April shortly before she sailed to Southampton and yes indeed, they did serve lobster one night in the main dining room. There was one formal night (Day 2),and one top tier Crown and Anchor event but no Gold level C&A event. Hope this helps!

Udi's Gluten Free cookies have been in generous supply at Cafe Promenade on my recent cruises on Navigator, Allure and Independence, with no need for a drink purchase. I always take the time to send an email to: special_needs@rccl.com advising them of my gluten free needs. I believe that when passengers let them know in advance, they do make sure they have extra stock on board for that sailing, so it is worth taking the time to send the email. You will just need to provide your name, booking number, ship and sail date.

Note to self: Don't waste money on a pedicure for my daughter!!

 

Too bad they can't wear water socks. They are so fitted, they can't fly off. They are meant for water sports.

 

My son's feet bleed sometimes from doing martial arts barefoot, and the constant rubbing on the mats. I'd hate to see how his feet get torn up on flow rider. Seems to me water socks keep it more sanitary.

 

Kids are excited for flowrider, our last two Royal cruises they were to young/too light. Only 8 and 10 but they are both tall enough to stand now and we don't sail until November. Now, if only I can figure out how to keep their little feet in tact.

My husband cruises just to flowride, so I have spent countless hours in the stands cheering him on. From my observations, the hardest falls (whiplash) in stand up flowriding are often taken by the lightest weight riders. If your kids are only 8 and 10, be sure to have them talk to one of the instructors to get specific instructions on how to fall safely. Also, my husband has never had an issue with his feet on the flowrider, but wears a long sleeved rashguard to keep his elbows covered as they take the brunt of his falls.

We had a balcony cabin on Allure deck 14 on the starboard side under the solarium. There was only a moderate amount of noise in the night from deck chairs being rearranged, not a big deal really. My bigger concern was the sound of pounding bass that occurred on the two nights the solarium is turned into a club. I found that I needed to use earplugs, but my husband never heard a thing and slept right through. I would also recommend cabins on the starboard side as there is traffic from the elevators to the lovely wraparound outside deck at the bow of the ship. It is accessed only from a door on the port side. Quite frankly, there was absolutely no noise from the Adventure Club.

I would highly recommend taking a taxi to Carambola Beach Club on Friars Bay. You can reserve chairs and an umbrella ahead by sending an email to info@carambolabeachclub.net. Last time we were there, chairs were $10 each and an umbrella was $10. This is a lovely resort with cushy chairs, a nice restaurant and immaculate restrooms. You can get less expensive chairs down the beach at Shipwreck Bar if that is your preference.

Not only are the cabin walls metal, so are the ceilings. In addition to magnetic clips and mirrors, I always pack a heavy duty wreath magnet into my carry on bag (because it is heavy and I don't want the weight in my checked luggage). I then stick it on the ceiling of the cabin and hang a dollar store plastic hanging apparatus from it. All of our hats, and various other items then hang in an otherwise unused corner of the cabin.

We had a boardwalk cabin on Deck 9 right above the carousel a few years back and the ringing of the bell before every ride was annoying. However, the limited view of the ocean out the back was nice. I personally prefer Central Park balconies because I love to listen to live jazz music while getting ready for dinner, or in the evenings. On deck 12, we could hear children's voices "Marco/Polo" from the pool during the day, but that didn't particularly bother me. I love people watching and live music so Central Park balconies work for me but if you value privacy, ocean view balconies are the way to go. Deck 7 D8 balcony cabins are often only a few dollars more than neighborhood balconies. Regardless of which one you chose, I would avoid Deck 14 as the noise from above is definitely a factor.

Thanks for posting that emergency telephone number. We are flying out Sunday morning so I have made note of it. I have two emergency numbers that were provided by Air2Sea and that one was not one of them! Three years ago we intended to fly out a day ahead and instead cancelled flights had us running into the port terminal with 15 minutes to spare. No judgement here, just a high level of compassion!

We have been on Allure for two Superbowls. In 2013 we really enjoyed watching the game on the big screens in the Aqua Theatre, but last year we were disappointed when it was not shown there. An Aqua Theatre diving show was scheduled for Sunday evening and our guess is that they didn't want to postpone the diving show if the Superbowl game was not over by show time. Various venues had the game playing on smaller screens but the largest party was held in the skating venue Studio B. They had half the seats done up in streamers and balloons in one team's colors, and the other half done up in the opposing team's colors. This allowed you to sit with fans from whatever team you were cheering on. They had tables set up near the entrance with typical football game food like hot dogs and sausages on a bun. It was fun, but we really were looking forward to the big screen Aqua Theatre experience that we had previously enjoyed.

I recently sailed on Navigator and was advised to bring sealed almond milk aboard in my carry on bag. I usually prefer to bring the small 3 packs to keep the milk freshest but could only find a large size this time. I asked the room attendant to remove all the mini-bar items from the fridge and kept the opened container in there. The mini fridges are not as cold as normal fridges but it did the job.

How much of a walk is it?

Walking from Crown Bay to Emerald Beach is not something I would choose to do. The road is narrow, hilly and goes through an ugly industrial area. It is only a 5 minute taxi ride from Crown Bay but from Havensight you must take into consideration extremely heavy traffic when crossing town. It took us a good 45 minutes on a particularly bad day to return to the ship at Havensight.