jetta8300

5 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

If you are in a grand suite in addition to having meals in suite restaurant.  You have. Access to all shows without reservations, suite deck is excellent!  Suite lounge also wonderful.  The suite concierge excellent.  Of course priority boarding and disembarking. In addition if you go to labadee or cococay, you have a nicer private beach access with a deluxe barbecue .  Junior suite nice but grand suite nicer IMO 

 

Imo worth it if you can afford it

I definitely think it's nice, but I don't know about $3000 nice.  Especially with small children with us, I don't see spending a lot of time in the lounge.  I'm willing to pay for something that's truly worth it but I'm not sure it is.  And we wouldn't use the concierge.  However I didn't know about the private beach at Coco cay.  Is this a thing?  We are not going to Labadee.  But I'm intrigued by this with Cococay.  

I thought the priority boarding was included with the Junior Suite.  I also am not really interested in the coastal kitchen.  The menus don't  look good and we like the specialty restaurants.  But that's a GREAT point about the suite deck as well.

So we are booked in a Junior suite now, and are thinking of upgrading to a 1 bedroom grand suite.  However I think the price difference may not be worth it for us.  It's $3000 more which I feel is insane, especially for the room.  However our other family members are booked in a Grand Suite 2 bedroom and have access to things we will not have.  We are mostly concerned with not being able to sit with them at shows. They have two small children and want the extra bedroom, while we have only one child and actually like the layout of the more open junior suite.

Do Junior suites have priority check in with the other suite guests?  We are sailing out of Miami.

The coastal kitchen menu doesn't interest any of us much even though we would have access to that at dinner.  And we like eating at the Specialty restaurants anyway.  But is the suite lounge also off limits to Junior suite guests if we are eating at the Coastal Kitchen for dinner?

And with the suite guests with reserved seating at the shows, they will have their own section?  And i'm guessing the kids can't sit together then at the shows?

And do the junior suites have the pillow top mattresses or are they the same as a regular room?

thanks!!!

20 hours ago, martini_guy said:

First off, I really liked most aspects of the ship in general. Booking on the newest/largest ship in the fleet I did expect it to be at least be to a certain standard. Eventually I would've settled for even an average standard. My first experience on the ship was going to the English pub to get a drink. My total wait was over 20 mins even though less than 10 people were in the bar. Other people in the bar told me they had to wait similar or longer. Throughout the whole trip bar service was extremely slow, and most bars closed at midnight or earlier which I've almost never heard of. Bartenders refused to tell me when they were closing and some bars just seemed to close at whim. After 3 nights I asked to get my drink package cancelled as it's clearly a scam as drinks are only available for 9-12 hours at best and they refused. I would like to start a class action suit against them. I will NEVER go on a Royal cruise again. The food is sub-par anyways but why have to deal with this $70/day drink scam when I have to spend 10 hours of waiting time per cruise just lining up for overpriced drinks?

It has been like this on every single ship on every single cruise we have ever taken.  There are certain bars open late, but very few.  But there are one or two open, just not all.  We cruised the Norwegian breakaway and were excited about having a martini bar, and we never even saw it open once.  They have all of these venues all over the ship that are not open much, usually from like 5-10pm and that's it.  Most of the bars open during the day are- the lobby bar, and pool bars.  And then other bars open in the evening.  and late at night your dance club bars and some restaurant bars are open.

On 2/3/2019 at 1:37 PM, Andy C said:

We book grand suites.  Last 3 on Harmony.  Our children sleep on that bed.  However, on occasion they want to jump into bed with us and when I can't stand it anymore I go sleep on the double. I am almost 6'1" and I fit if I sleep on the outer portion.  If I sleep on the inner portion my feet make contact with the couch arm portions.  It is actually remarkably comfortable.  If you look for my last two live reviews I posted photos where you can see the double bed set up.  

Thanks for your pictures, i was able to find them and get a good picture of the bed situation.  I got caught up reading your reviews as well for a while, which were extremely informative.

On 2/3/2019 at 1:37 PM, Andy C said:

We book grand suites.  Last 3 on Harmony.  Our children sleep on that bed.  However, on occasion they want to jump into bed with us and when I can't stand it anymore I go sleep on the double. I am almost 6'1" and I fit if I sleep on the outer portion.  If I sleep on the inner portion my feet make contact with the couch arm portions.  It is actually remarkably comfortable.  If you look for my last two live reviews I posted photos where you can see the double bed set up.  

 thanks i'll try and find it now!

5 hours ago, gerif said:

This configuration is NOT available in a Grand Suite - however, you should be able to request a roll-away for the second child in a GS. 

That is a great suggestion.  But I'm thinking a junior suite may be a better situation for us.  Seperate twin beds, and more open/spacious room.  The Grand suites 1 bedroom seems a bit tight with all that furniture packed in there, especially with a rollaway.  I miss the Grand Suites without the room divider in the middle, with a bigger wide open space.  I love the suite perks with the grand suite, and my sister's family has a 2 bedroom grand suite booked, and we were hoping to get the perks they have.  It would be harder to travel with them when they have access to the suite lounge, suite sun deck, and restaurant, and special seating for shows.  

6 hours ago, Lesalita said:

We had a junior suite on symphony  and the configuration was a twin sized trundle pulled out from the couch and the top of the couch, cushions could come off to make a second twin bed.   And we had a Pullman from the ceiling.   We opted to use the Pullman and trundle and keep the couch part like a couch.

I'm sure your picture would be extremely helpful to people generally searching for the bed configuration for a regular balcony room or junior suite.  These pictures are very hard to find on the Symphony and Harmony, and my understanding is that it's different from this on the Oasis or Allure.  It's a rare picture!!!  So thanks!

But as someone said above, the Grand Suite couches are different.  So I doubt i'll find an actual picture of the bed pulled out as a double in a Grand Suite.  My understanding is that they do not have the trundle.  Maybe one will pop up at some point.

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

S/he doesn't mean Pullman.  Trundle is the word.

Yes I'm sorry I did mean trundle. thanks!  But either way this has been very helpful...although not really what I wanted to hear.  I was hoping there would be two separate twin type beds in the suite for little ones who don't want to sleep together.  I like and miss the pullman bed coming down from the ceiling to make a cabin sleep four, instead of forcing two people into the same double pullout bed.   and this makes for less floor space as well.  even the trundle situation would have been better...all well.  But thank you!

2 hours ago, Loonbeam said:

Wondeland is very much love or hate because of what it is...

 

I enjoyed it on the Anthem but the food itself wasn't always to my taste, I just appreciated the creativity and presentation.   If those are things you find interesting and/or you are experimental, you will probably enjoy it.

 

If however, you are looking for a traditional fine dining type experience (and many are) you will probably be disappointed...

 

 

I have to disagree a bit here...I had some of the same feelings as the OP.   Like I posted above, we didn't love or hate it.  We were just expecting the food to taste as interesting as it looked, and it didn't.  I don't think anyone walking in would  expect a "traditional" fine dining experience.  We sure didn't, but we are very adventurous eaters.  And I think the whole point of the post is that one would expect something unique, interesting, and flavorful from a restaurant like this.  And our main entrees had less flavor than some of the poorer dishes in the MDR.  They were truly flavorless.

If I went back, I would not let the server choose our dishes.  He said they typically ask for dietary preferences and then bring out their favorites.  I wouldn't do that again, and I would choose myself...maybe things would be better.  But I believe we had the fish in paper, which tasted like a steamed weight watchers, TV dinner.  And my husband had a very traditional, bland underseasoned chicken dish.  I'm sure we'll try it again on our next cruise, and we will steer clear of those dishes and choose everything ourselves.

8 minutes ago, BCirlin said:

We had a GS on Harmony, and the sofa did pull out into approximately the width of a double, but seemed to be shorter.  It was fine for our 10 year old, and probably would have been room enough for another child as well.  

 Thanks so much for your reply!  So it was like an actual pull out bed?  Not the Pullman that comes out underneath where one bed is lower than the other?  

I’ve also seen the beds on Oasis and Allure where it folds out flat like a futon to make a double bed. 

I would completely agree with you strangely enough. We are huge foodies and love trying anything and everything.  We enjoyed the entire experience, and would definitely do it again.  However the actual flavor of the food was just not good.  It's funny, my husband almost vomited after eating some sort of clear tomato soup in a vial, with things floating in it.  He was just so grossed out by it that he couldn't get past it, and I"m lucky he could even sit there to finish the meal.  But the main courses were definitely the most bland and flavorless dishes we had all week.  The food was interesting LOOKING but not interesting tasting.  

13 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

I thought Symphony had trundle type beds for the sofa beds.

I thought so too and after scouring the internet I can only find one picture of a bed on the Symphony or the Harmony with the bed "pulled out".  It's a picture of a regular balcony room, and it is like a trundle.   However...the couch in the regular balcony rooms are a completely different couch than the ones in the suites.  Something tells me it's going to be difficult to find an answer!

We are thinking of booking a Grand Suite 1 bedroom on the Symphony.  It says the rooms sleep 4 with a "double sofa bed".  I'm only familiar with the rooms with the couch that converts to a single twin, and then a pull down twin bed in the ceiling. 

But does this room really have a bed that pulls out into a double?  It doesn't look like there would be enough room for the bed to pull out.  or is it one of those little pullmans that comes out of the bottom of the bed?  I can't seem to find a single picture of the actual sofa made into the bed anywhere.  Just trying to figure out sleeping arrangements!  any help appreciated.

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

There should be a symbol indicating if it connects.  On Oasis, only one in each hump is the coveted non connecting 

Thanks for the info!  We are looking at the cabin right next to that and it looks like it's still a JS but the balcony is just slightly smaller but on the hump still.  8236.  hopefully there is no noise, we aren't worried about it in the hallway but my sister had a nightmare of a time on the Carnival Horizon, with a large family harbor suite that was right next to the galley.  But it looks like a great location!

5 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

That deck 8 hump is awesome. You will hear Chops in the hallway, but not in your cabin. 8240 Oasis was our cabin for 6 weeks in . No connecting door.  Not sure numbers are the same, but look for the one in the center with no connection, even if it means booking deck 6

thanks so much for your reply.  the cabin next to that 8236 is open, and it doesn't seem to connect to anything.

Hello!  We are going to be booking a Junior Suite on the Symphony or Harmony today.   Deck 6 and 8 have these rooms available with bigger, deeper balconies than deck 7, yet it looks like they are behind public areas.  On deck 8 they are on the other side of the hallway from Chops Grill and 150 central park.  And on deck 6 they're on the other side of the Schooner Bar.  Does anyone have experience with noise coming from these areas into the cabin?  The balconies are significantly bigger.  We are specifically looking at 6240, 6642, 8236, and 8636.  Vs. the cabins on deck 7 such as 7226.  Any advice is appreciated!!!!

following :):hearteyes::hearteyes:

I am not the kind of person who really likes change. We want to do Alaska cruise in 2020 and I've been looking at NCL. (Carnival hasn't listed Alaska yet) ncl has a special right now where you can get the drinks for free and $50 a day towards excursions. Looking at carnivals 2019 rates for a balcony room is pretty comparable even with the extras . Not sure why I want to stick with carnival for this cruise other than getting closer to platinum, and I'm curious where people will say on this board. all of our cruises have been on Carnival, and we live close enough to Seattle so will actually be able to drive, which will make it nice. I guess I'm really not sure what I'm asking other than any input someone might have. ( or to be convinced to just book with NCL)

I don't understand sticking with one cruise line at all. However There are things we like better with Norwegian and things that are better with Carnival. I personally would choose the cruise based on the itinerary, and features on the ship.

On Norwegian you will be blown away by the entertainment compared to carnival. It's phenomenal. If you like balcony cabins, Carnival has TINY balconies compared to other lines. Norwegian and RCI balconies are like extended balcony cabins on Carnival.

However the "free" drink package with Norwegian we didn't like. It was a joke. The drinks were like all inclusive drinks in Mexico. "Martini's" out of JUGS. everything was pre-made in dispensers and poor quality. They also stick a pre paid gratuity fee on the "free" drink package. Ours was $250+ for my husband and I. So we paid still $250 when we booked the cruise for the free drinks, and that $250 would have been better spent on out of pocket drinks of better quality. We were extremely disappointed in the drinks compared to Carnival and Royal.

We also thought the MDR food was better with Carnival. However Specialty dining on Norwegian was phenomenal. The free food was so bad on Norwegian, that's when we began our love affair with specialty restaurants on ships :) We never saw the need before.

In our opinion, RCI blows all of the other lines out of the water...but we have not been to Alaska.

Do you have an age limit you don't want to sit with? For example, our sons are 14 and 20 and have been cruising since they were 2 and 8 respectively and are now Platinum. No phones at our table except to take food porn. The youngest is an athlete but if we are talking sport, it is NFL, MLB etc. The older is an extremely intelligent college biology major who is looking to study abroad for his masters. Would they be too young? How about people in their 20's? I am not questioning your choice, just wondering if you need to be specific about who you wish to sit with and when.

 

We avoid the issue at dinner by doing YTD and requesting a table for 4. Once we find a good wait staff, we request them each night. We do eat breakfast/brunch with others (those are the tables with the good window views) so we find a nice balance of meeting and chatting with others (usually travel related) and having a private dinner.

This is what I was thinking...Before we had kids we would have preferred to eat with adults, if eating in a group. However middle school and above is not the same thing as eating with a 4 year old, and probably never would have had an issue eating with older children.

We are traveling with our 5 year old, and my sister's family that has a 5 and 7 year old the week after next... Doing My Time Dining for sure this time, because we do not want to subject anyone else to that mess.

Carnival doesn't do the packages like RCL. What a bummer, we really enjoyed this on our last cruise with royal.

FYI this thread is 4 years old :) would be interesting to know how their experience went!

am I reading this wrong or do they group 2 year olds with 5 year olds in the kids club?

I agree that this is not ideal. I'm sure since the age for the kids club starts at 2, they can't have a group dedicated to just a few kids who are 2 and 3. But there is a huge difference in intrests and activities between a 2 year old and a 4 or 5 year old. My son is 5, and will probably not want to go to the kids club with the activities they have, while His 6 year old nephew gets to be in the older group with Playstations. He would much rather I'm sure be in with the older group of kids.

Awesome, Thank you! I'm fine with the free coffee, but my father in law claims he bought a coffee package on a Princess Cruise. I'm thinking it was more like Carnivals Cheers package. Lol.

 

 

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With royal caribbean you can get a coffee card for $35 and it gets you 15 specialty coffee drinks. You could pre-pay for the card before the cruise and it's in your stateroom on arrival. He probably bought this or something similar with Princess, because they have this on most lines. However it was a rip-off... and online it said any size drink, 15 drinks. And when we got there on the Anthem of the Seas the would only give us a small drink for one punch, or else they were punching the card twice if you wanted any more than 8 oz. and it would have been cheaper to pay out of pocket. I was pretty ticked and so was everyone else.

I was planning on my husband wearing his Dress Blues (Army) and myself wearing a ball gown. I keep reading that people are wearing jeans/sundresses/etc. Will we be the only ones dressed up??? He just bought a new pair of his uniform shoes (that he'll need for the ball in December anyways...) because I said he had to bring it, LOL. I'd LIKE to dress up like this...but if no one else will be...

The most common type dress I would say, would be what you would wear out to a very nice, fancy restaurant on New Year's Eve. So you'll see a lot of cocktail type dresses, and men in dress pants with a tie. My husband doesn't really wear a suit jacket anymore, just the shirt and tie based on what everyone else wears.

However there are people dressed up more than this, and less than this. I have seen many women in long gowns, like something you would wear to highschool prom, and also men in tuxes. No matter what you wear you wont be out of place, because it's all over the board.

We sailed in October 2016 to bermuda, the week before Hurricane nicole hit them directly. The next cruise scheduled to go to Bermuda did a canada/new england tour unfortunately.