ILOVEHI50

I discovered this yesterday morning, when I was looking at cruises. My daughter was booked on that cruise for her honeymoon. Luckily this worked out ok for them. The did receive the $300 on board credit. They had a boardwalk balcony room booked. They are now booked a few weeks later on the Harmony in another boardwalk balcony room; since they were price protected. The taxes/port fees were about $20 less; so they are actually saving some money on the cost of the cruise. I think they are going to like the Harmony more than the Allure also; since they will enjoy the slides. Also I think the ports will be a little bit enjoyable too. Flights were booked through Southwest; so there was no change fees. It was a little bit more for the flight going to FLL; but the flight home was quite a bit less. For anybody that is on this cruise, the main thing is to remember that the cruise fare is price protected; so as long as you get the same category, the cruise itself will not cost you any extra money.

I was able to do this on the transatlantic Harmony cruise. We turned Diamond on that cruise, and they were able to get me the Diamond discount for the cruise I booked on board. They just had to send an e-mail to have the adjustment done manually, and I had an updated invoice sent to me showing the updated discount.

Thank you for the replays. I guess I will just try when we get on board.

I have a quick question. Can the spa discount that is automatically added to my Sea Pass Card be combined with any special daily offers that they have. Also, if they have discounts if you book the first day, can the Sea Pass Discount be combined with that. Just trying to figure out when the best time is to book a massage. My friend traveling with me wants to do this on her first cruise. Any tips and advise would be appreciated. We leave tomorrow. Thanks.

I called Royal about an hour ago and they said they didn't have any information to confirm this change for the Empress. I was really hoping they would so I could book an excursion in Cozumel before heading to the ship on Thursday. We were thinking this would happen, too.

Maybe I will try to give them a call tomorrow to see; if I can get a different answer. Of course sometimes the reps are the last to know anything. Maybe have a list of a few excursions, and try to get something booked as soon as you are on board. Hopefully the compass you can pickup as soon as you board will confirm the change. I have friends that are on the Freedom right now, and they let me know last night that they were changing stops.

DH and I will be sailing with you on Empress on Thursday. I will miss not going to Coco Cay and Key West (I was looking forward to chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick), but we will have a great time, regardless of where we go.

 

We will find a beach in Cozumel to enjoy.....that is all I can say.

 

Just so you know people embarking on our cruise are meeting at 2pm at the Pool Bar. Join us.

I have not been to Coco Cay previously, and we were looking forward to Key West; but anything will be great. We will try to meet you at 2pm.

I work at Cruisport in Cozumel and we were just told that we would receive the Freedom on Thursday and the Empress on Saturday .

Thank you for this post. I will be on the Empress leaving Thursday, and have been watching the weather. I thought there was a good chance this might happen. Now to plan what we will do there.

Thank you. Great pictures. I am excited to go with my friend on her first cruise in a couple weeks on this beautiful ship.

I am sure they have the soft serve stuff. What I would like to know is if it is any good or not. I would think what they have would be the same on every ship; but I have found that it is not the same from ship to ship. Generally I don't eat it; because it takes more like ice milk, like they have at many buffet restaurants in the US. Not what I like. I was pleasantly surprised with what was on the Brilliance though. I really enjoyed that ,and had it multiple times. the rest of the cruise. Then we went on the Adventure a couple months later, and it was the worst experience I'd had with the soft serve. The station was not always open; so the line was very long. After we had it once, I did not go back; since it was the taste was not to my liking.

Thanks for the replies. That is what I wanted to hear. Even on the large ships I book as far back as I can. That way I can get some exercise; so the walk to the back of the ship doesn't bother me. I am actually pretty happy with the price and cabin. I was just looking for some confirmation that I made a good choice.

Trying to get some opinions regarding which JS would be best on the Empress. Currently we have an aft cabin on deck 7 booked. There are several JS that are not aft available on deck 9. I know the balcony is larger with the aft cabins. Is there a difference in square ft. I understand there is probably more noise on deck 9 balconies. Any information would be greatly appreciated. This will be a first cruise for my friend that is traveling with me. I would like for her to have the best experience possible on this ship. Thanks.

Park Cafe was open 7:30 to 11:00, 4:00 to 6:30 and 9:00 to 1:30 am. Hours did vary. It was open for lunch on Day 1. Only for breakfast on Nassau day.

 

Your friend should have a great time!

Thanks so much for the information.

Not really a review since I am notorious for doing as little as possible on a cruise. :)

 

This was my first time on the Enchantment and I am looking forward to going back again in July. I was in corner aft JS 7666 and I loved the cabin and the balcony. I am so glad I will have it again next month. Sunkissed mommy was kind enough to post a picture of the balcony to whet my appetite and it is a great one. No wrap like on the Rhapsody of Vision but lots of room for two loungers and a table with two chairs. I confess that I skipped Coco Cay and treated that day like a sea day since I had a wonderful view and a great breeze. Just walked around Nassau and Key West.

 

I don't spend time in the lounges but I did check (since I didn't have anything in my cabin about access to the Concierge Lounge) and my D+ status did grant me access to both that and the Diamond Club.

 

Super Mario had left the building. No other Pinnacles on board either. Top cruiser had 458 points. I came in second with my 447. I attended the Captain's Reception for the first time since there was a note in my cabin that I was to be recognized as a top cruiser. Couldn't figure out how that could be so I went. Only 400 plus repeat cruisers on board out of 2600+ passengers and 300 of them were gold. Only 16 D+. Where was everyone?

 

My solo self just ate in the Park Cafe and the Windjammer and both of these were okay. I am traveling with a friend in July and am looking forward to a dinner in Chops. I thought about dropping by and begging for a slice of Mississippi Mud Cake, but I exercised restraint. Did not show any when it came to the frozen yogurt machine.

 

My cabin attendant (Roy) was great. I hope he's in exactly the same place in July.

 

This is a small thing but for the first time in several cruises my loyalty gift six pack of diet coke was actually in my cabin! No hunting it down. Whoopee.

 

Crew was nice everywhere. Three out of the four Royal Caribbean Singers were fantastic so I really enjoyed their shows. Good comedian on the first night and an Elton John tribute player for Headline Showtime. The casino carried on its fleet wide tradition of taking my money. The other bands playing around the ship were very good.

 

Let me know if anyone has any questions.

Thank you for posting this. We will be on this ship at the end of August. First time cruise for my friend. Sounds like I made a good choice for a great experience for her. What hours is Park Cafe open?

Firm but comfortable, more of a memory foam bed. Choice of two different density pillows again firm and semi-soft. In our opinion some of the best we have had on a cruise.

 

Martyn

Thank you for replying. Choice of pillows is nice. I have memory foam pillows and love them; so if the bed is like that all will be good.

Hi, So glad you had a great time. I know everybody has their own preference; but how were the beds on this ship? Just trying to set our expectations. I have tried to read several reviews of the ship so far; but may have missed this answer. Thanks, and I can't wait to get on this ship in October, no matter what the answer is.

I can only report what I was told on the Navigator in December when I inquired about the mattress. There is a "New Mattress Program" that will change out current mattresses. Different ships at different times and not all mattresses will be changed at once. My cabin steward had some new mattresses and some old ones. It is very likely that not everyone on the Freedom is experiencing the same thing the original poster is. All I know is my experience on the Navigator was very different from my previous cruises including my recent Brilliance cruise in October.

We were also on the Brilliance in October and slept great as usual. Adventure in December was a whole different story. We had the same issues as so many others. After the first couple nights, my husband and I changed sides. The side he had been sleeping on was actually a little better than mine was. I said something to him that morning and he agreed. We did get lucky and get the foam mattress topper for the last half of the cruise. This still was in no way close to as comfy as the previous cruises had been. I did make sure to mention this in my review. I told them to feel free to contact us. They called when we were out, and left a message with an ext. I called back and left a message. I have not had a return phone call. I guess I will give them a call back, and talk to anybody. I'll report back once I speak to somebody in person. By the way I had no idea this had been an issue for others until I got back on here after the cruise, and saw several threads.

I can't think of a cruise where I had an uncomfortable mattress. Could they have fixed it for you? I've actually had my best sleep on cruises.

The problem is they are changing the mattress on all ships it appears. We never had an issue until the cruise 3 weeks ago, and I had just had great sleep 2 months prior on a different ship. They added the mattress topper to ours; but it still was not as comfortable as any of the previous cruises we had been on. Supposedly they are doing away with having these available to add to your bed.

We have sailed both. We just got off the Adventure on Saturday, and have previously sailed on the Jewel twice. We enjoyed the Jewel much more. Both are beautiful. The service was great on both. Our cabin on the Adventure had the new hard mattress. The Jewel had a the nice soft mattresses when we were on there. The Windjammer on the Adventure had much more seating; but the selection we thought was more limited, and my husband did not think it tasted as good. I recognized one of the head guys from the dining room on the adventure, and asked him which ship he had been on previously. He said the Jewel. This was his first contract on the Adventure, and he said he was going back to the Jewel next contract. I did not ask him why; but I guess he enjoyed working on the Jewel more.

If we go out of San Juan again, the Jewel will be our choice.

We just got off the Adventure of the Seas Saturday. Same thing as everybody else has experienced. We were on the Brilliance in October and had the usual comfy mattress; so we were very surprised after the first night of sleeping on a piece of plywood. We asked our stateroom attendant about an eggcrate. He also said they got rid of them. After 3 nights we switched sides. Well, there was a difference between the 2 mattresses. Neither was soft; but one was not quite as hard as the other. The next morning we asked the attendant for more blankets; because it was too hard, and that one side was worse than the other. When we returned that afternoon, we were surprised that there was a foam pad on the bed. The bed was still not as comfortable as they had been previously; but it was an improvement.

I am not happy about this change at all. I did make a point to mention this on the survey I filled out last night. I also told them to feel free to contact us. They are going to have to do something; because people may start cruising different lines; if they are not able to sleep on the ships. I would like to know if the person that made this decision to change these mattresses ever laid on these things. My guess is they did get a nice bonus for the purchase though.

I have not cruised with a baby; but you can actually pre-order a diaper bag with several supplies. I read this on a previous post, and have kept this in the back of my mind, just incase we take our granddaughter on a cruise. The price seems very reasonable at $35.00. One less thing to have to worry about packing. The link below appears to work, and you can find some other baby items as well.

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/royalgifts/onboard-delivery/gifts/diaper-bag/

Thanks everybody for your replies. I've never gone solo, and am not sure I would on this one either; but I was just trying to check the prices. The one way to get around this is to add my husband as the second person.

Just checking to see if anybody else has ever run into this. I am trying to price a JR Suite Gty cabin on May 16th, 2016 Explorer of the Seas. For 2 people the price is currently showing $1264 plus $254.78 taxes. But when I change it to 1 person, the JR Suite Gty cabin is not showing as available, and it goes to the option of selecting a JR Suite cabin which is $2038 plus $127.39 taxes. Why is the JR Suite Gty not available to book for just 1 person? I understand not being able to book more than 2 people in the cabin; but I don't understand not being able to book just 1 person. Any thoughts?

I have had a Boardwalk balcony twice and have one booked for the Harmony as well. My parents had a Boardwalk balcony the first time, and then a Central Park balcony the second time. Keep in mind they were in their early 80's, and my mom said she would have rather had a Boardwalk balcony the second time also. The noise has not bothered me; but I would avoid the highest decks. We enjoyed watching the Aqua show from our balcony as well, as from the seating below.

I am sailing on the Harmony in July of 2016 and when we booked all that was left was My Time Dining.

With this selection is there any difference besides not having a set time between this and a regular selection for dining? We would still be able to eat at all the other complimentary restaurants correct?

 

Just a little confused and have heard different opinions of it and was trying to get my facts straight.

Yes, My Time dining is the same; except you do not have an assigned table. I've had both. The cruise we just finished we had My Time dining. I requested the same server every night, and they were able to assist with that. The only problem was, we still had to wait in line to be able to be seated. They only had 1 line for those with or without reservations.

If you would like to eat at the same time each night, I would recommend being wait listed for either early or late dining. This way you can just go to your table each night, after the first night. There is a good chance you would be able to get your choice. As soon as I got home, I requested to be wait listed for early dining on my next cruise. I hope this helps.

Thanks for posting this. I love reading reviews. We are looking forward to this ship in just over a month. I've been on the bigger and smaller ships; but this is the first one in this class. Can't wait.