ReallyThere2

Sky has no library.  Made for some good jokes on the Wake Show since where it was seemed to be the most asked question on the ship.  

We had 4 in one mini-suite and 3 in the adjoining mini-suite with no problems. Last Christmas we did the Regal and were on the Lido deck so even though the balcony is quite small we just had to walk up the hall to be on the pool deck. The mini-suite has a large counter in the bathroom and we assigned each person a set of drawers in the bedside tables, hallway closet, and the room divider. We are doing our 5th Christmas Cruise this year and will have 3 or 4 in our mini-suites this year again. Unless you spend all your time in the cabin it works out well.

On St. Maarten go through the shopping area on the pier and it ends in a little circle where the taxis are.

Just back from the Regal last month. The bathroom did not have a lighted mirror. We were in mini-suites on the Lido deck and the deck above (Retreat Pool) was twice as wide as our balcony so was fairly shaded. All Regal balconies are tiny, much smaller than we are used to. Dolphin looked to be the same width as the decks above.

They were selling the Norman Love chocolates on the Caribbean Princess last month. If they are anything like his chocolate dessert we had in the MDR, they would be worth the extra expense. I'm frugal but I'll splurge on exceptional chocolates.

When it comes to chocolate I have one word "Leonidas". How does the Norman Love chocolate compare to truly exceptional chocolate?

We were in St Marteen three years ago on Christmas Day with the Ruby Princess (it was only ship in port that day) and all the major places were open, such as the Chocolate Shop, Bamboo Shop, Guavaberries, and even That Yoda Guy museum. The smaller places were closed and the shops on the pier opened mid-afternoon. This year there are a lot of big ships in port on Christmas Day so expect more places will be open. We will be on the Regal Princess so will wave to you on the Freedom.

We have found four adults fit comfortably in a mini-suite. You can have twin beds or a queen bed in the main area and then a sleeper sofa with a pull down bunk above it in the small sitting area. Access to the balcony is blocked at night since the steward puts the chair in front of the door. It also has a larger bathroom with enough space for multiple peoples stuff. Since we don't spend a lot of time in the room except to sleep we are perfectly happy with the arrangement.

Does the Patisserie offer complimentary snacks and drinks?

Some pastries in morning, milk and cookies squad hangs around there in afternoon. More pastries are available at the Pizzaria by the Lido Pool in the morning. Coffees and teas require a coffee card or charge to room.

We sailed the Island last December and although the Patisserie coffee bar and lots of seating are located on Deck 5, it was usually blocked off for direct exit in port when they used tenders. The tours met in the Princess Theater and went through the Wheelhouse Bar to the stairs on Deck 7 at the far side of the Plaza and everyone else had to exit the same route on those ports. As Colo Cruiser said Crooners on Deck 7 is a good spot in either case. When docked at a pier we exited on Deck 5 and wheelchairs exited on Deck 4.

We sailed on the Island (sister ship to the Coral) last December traveling from Ft Lauderdale to LA. Our sons were on the Aloha deck in a balcony near the forward stairs by the Horizon Court and we were on Caribe deck in a mini-suite aft. The only heavy motion we encountered was at night after we passed Hispaniola. It was late at night and what we thought were rough seas although the navigation channel on TV reported mild seas. We had trouble walking back to our room on Caribe from the show but had no trouble dropping off to sleep. One son on Aloha was playing games on his computer late and became seasick the next day. My recommendation is to stay on a lower deck if prone to seasickness. One nice feature of being aft on Caribe is that there is a small deck at the rear of the ship that is great for watching the sea and transiting the Canal. Everybody seems to know about the forward deck but not the aft deck. Noise wasn't a problem in either location.

We are not beach people and the stop at Princess Cays is our sole day at the beach each year. We spend most of the day there and the clamshell is a great central place between snorkeling, wandering along the shore, hitting the bars (they do have waiters in the clamshell area), and doing the lunch. Most people go to the clamshells right next to where they let you off the tenders but I like the area across the bridge opposite of where the crowds head. Just find the attendant, give them your ticket, and they erect a clamshell not yet taken. You can adjust them for the breeze but don't expect them to be any cooler than any other shady area.

People mentioned the "secret" doors on Baja and Caribe, but there are also places at the stern that are much less crowded (Aloha, Baja, and Caribe). All doors are at the end of the passageways, the ones in the stern have small windows and there are loungers on Caribe.

Just back from the Island for the Xmas cruise from Ft Lauderdale to LA. It means the ship does a standard transit of the Canal. We entered Gatun Locks about 7:30 am and exited a little past 9 am. We were traveling about the same speed as another cargo ship that was in the parallel lock each time. At Pedro Miguel Locks entered about 2:15 pm and exited about 2:40 pm. We had to wait quite a while at Miraflores Locks because they said they needed the ship in front of us to fully exit so as not to cause us to shift in the lock. We exited about 4:25 pm and then out into the Pacific. Transiting the Canal was the highlight of our cruise and we were going between the front (Caribe and Dolphin decks, unmarked doors at front of passageways (very crowded), the back (Caribe and decks above, doors have window you can see out and deck has loungers), cabins on both sides of ship, Promenade deck to look over railings, and running down to the Emerald deck to look out the window). It was truly incredible!

We were on the Ruby two years ago and on the Caribbean last year, both at Christmas. On several occasions they had the snow in the atrium. The gingerbread house competition was a day before Christmas and you had to sign up for it at the Purser's Desk, one year it took several days to fill up and the other it filled up on the first day. The crew sang carols on Christmas morning with the big thing being the arrival of Santa where he gave a gift (stuffed animal) to all the children. They also had both a Catholic Christmas Mass and Protestant Christmas Service. And yes they do have turkey as one of the selections on the menu if that is what you want. Also lots of decorations and some Christmas movies on MUTS. Otherwise they have pretty much the same activities as any other day.