Schpoompie

HicksRA, thank you so much for keeping us updated!  We're on next week, and I'm so excited to hear a few things are opening back up.  We booked the Unlimited Dining Package so hoping Sabor continues to stay open.  Look forward to seeing how the rest of your cruise goes, and hope you're having a wonderful sailing so far!! 🙂

Received our Royal Up bid acceptance upgrade today. We’re on the Harmony 01/30-02/06. Originally booked a guaranteed interior, offered to bid on several categories up to Ocean View Balcony, which was our highest bid at $150.00pp, but was considered a “weak” bid on the Royal Up scale. Got the ocean view balcony, placed mid-ship on deck 11. Pricing it out online, we’re paying less than half of what we would have paid had we chosen that cabin ourselves, so we’re very happy with the outcome! 😀

Good luck to those still waiting to hear, and happy and healthy sailing to everyone!! 🛳😀

On 8/30/2021 at 9:20 AM, Saint Greg said:

I saw that Broadway guy in the elevator. I know I just posted one clip and it probably wasn’t his best. By far the best singer I’ve seen on carnival. You can tell he’s broadway level. He has one of those borderline opera type voices.

He was on our Magic cruise last month. My Mom was mesmerized as soon as he opened his mouth 😂. My daughter was very involved in theatre all through High School so we really enjoyed the show, and I agree, he has an amazing voice!  Wouldn’t mind seeing him again next month on our Mardi Gras cruise but I’m guessing he’ll have moved on by then.  Really enjoying your live review. Thanks for all the work you put into sharing your travels with us!! 😀🛳

Anytime you are indoors you are supposed to have a mask on, except when eating or drinking. One twist to that on our cruise on the Magic was in the showroom, where there were signs posted that it was a “sip and cover” venue.  So mask on unless you were actively taking a drink of your beverage. Any other dining venue was just mask on until you were seated. 
 

Having said that, we did see folks indoors and in the elevators not masked up. This was not the majority though. Most people were pretty good about following the expectations. The only place I actually saw a crew member enforce it though was once in the entrance to the buffet.

Happy Sailing everyone! 😀

Our daughter has severe lactose intolerance. Her body does not produce any of the enzymes needed to digest it. Royal Caribbean has always done great with this. The first night is a little tricky in the Main Dining Room but you should be able to find something on the menu. At the end of the first evening, and every evening thereafter, the maitre’d would bring us the menu for the next evening and we would work out what was to be prepared for her. The chef would also provide a dessert that would change nightly. 
 

In the Windjammer, we would have a chef walk us around the buffet to let us know what she could have. 
 

In Sorrento’s, she gets a pizza made with her choice of toppings and has them leave the cheese off. 
 

She’s always been able to have plenty of choices and has never gotten ill from anything she’s eaten on board.

Happy Sailing! 😀

We just got off on Saturday. My Mom is Platinum so we were also able to check in two days early. The earliest check in appt. is 10:30-11. We did arrive to the port earlier (about 9:45) and were able to walk right into the terminal. Check in was the smoothest we’ve ever had and we were on the ship by 11:10 (our boarding zone was A02). 

Looking for confirmation that my transportation plan is o.k.  We are cruising on Anthem, out of Cape Liberty, 06/20.  Flying into LaGuardia on 06/19, staying overnight at the Crowne Plaza Times Square.  Flying out of Newark post cruise, home to Orlando on the 29th.

06/19 - Pickup at LaGuardia, to Crowne Plaza Times Square - 10am

06/20 - Pickup at Crowne Plaza Times Square, to Cape Liberty Cruise Port - 9am

06/29 - Pickup at Cape Liberty Cruise Port - 10-11 am (flight isn't until evening).

Looking at using Dial 7 car service for all three legs of the journey.  Quote came in at $137.75 (not including tolls, tip, etc., but did include a congestion fee).  

A).  Company looks good from what I've seen on here and in general.  Do you all agree?

B).  Any knowledge on how much extra the tolls and what not may add on to the three legs I'm doing?

C).  Does my schedule for pick up at the Crowne Plaza to the port look ok, or should that be earlier?

Thanks for the help!

Just off on 12/6. I've got all the Cruise Compasses for the week. Will try to get them posted this weekend :)

No Freestyle on Indy :(

Is there a logo shop on Indy? Do they have things like the ship models, hats etc.

 

Will be doing a back to back in January =)

We're on board this week as well. We did visit the general store and there is some logo merchandise. We did see the ship model, and they have some things like pens, pencils, erasers, that type of stuff. There is only one magnet that actually says Independence of the Seas. We bought it:). Gotta have that magnet. It's a small, pewter type magnet and cost $8.00. Not sure about hats. There are some, but I can't remember if they had the ship logo on them. Lot's of stuff with the Royal Caribbean logo. They were moving shelves and relocating things so they may be starting to switch up the merchandise since the ship is back in the USA permanently now.

Pulling in to Jamaica right now. Happy Cruising!!!

~ Rachel

Thanks so much for all the great info.! We'll be joining you onboard Sunday. Looks like we'll be in for a little rough weather but hoping for at least a few good days. Sure we'll still have a great time though! :)

Happy Cruising!

~ Rachel

I don't have any great advice but I just had to reply as we are currently 17 days out from our first time on Independence and I feel your pain, the waiting is torture! Cruise Critic has become my best friend and I am WAY too familiar with YouTube :).

Hope your wait goes by super fast and have a great cruise!!!

Thanks for sharing! Heading out of Fll for the first time next month and coming down a few days early, I'm looking forward to watching some other ships sail away before we leave :)

Happy cruising!

I'm on board and agree with readytolose, you can start with the packing if you want to! We live in Windermere, so not too far away from you, and are also on the 11/30 sailing on Independence. November should be a great month for you! Look forward to your review and thanks for taking us along! :)

Same thing happened to our reservation today, for our 11/30 sailing on Independence. I made a quick call and they took it right off. Didn't say why it was there but I'm guessing just some sort of glitch.

Hope yours gets straightened out quickly as well, and have a great cruise! The Enchantment was the last ship we were on and we found her to be quite charming :)

Sounds good! I need to lose a lot more than 30 lbs., and we're cruising end of November of this year. I'd really love to get at least 20 lbs. off by then. In the middle of moving right now, hoping the extra activity gives me the motivation to keep going. Extra encouragement is never a bad thing though. Let's do it! :)

From the Carnival Website:

On embarkation day, each guest may bring a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages on board and only in their carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 bottles and/or cans, 20 ounces each or less.

Hope this info. helps, and best wishes for safe travels!

~ Rachel :)

We're headed out on Sunday on the Carnival Conquest - cant wait! Can someone please clarify if we are allowed to bring our own canned soda on the ship? I'd like to bring a 12-pack of A&W Root Beer. I thought I had recalled on past Carnival Cruises seeing people carrying on soda, but we never have done this before. Do you recommend checked luggage or carry-on?

 

Thanks in advance!

Thanks SO much for the great info.! Was just looking for this the other day, excited to see it's going to be on. :) Going to set it up to record right now!

Take Care,

~ Rachel