Lachase

I can't eat sugar. Am I going to starve? Going to be on Freedom; suggestions?

I agree the crepes at lunch were fantastic. I kept hoping they would be offered again in the MDR one evening, but no such luck. I agree with the others, the key lime pie, the tiramisu, the souffle were all really good, as was the creme brulee.

I like the library idea. The one on AOS was cozy. I also am a real book fan and prefer them than being tethered to electronic devices constantly.

These posts seem to be dated but I'm putting my opinion in that I do NOT recommend renting from Arthur's. We had a BAD experience last month renting here. We were driven to another location where he told us we would "pick out a car", but instead he drove us downtown and then he pointed to an old piece of crap junker car parked on the street and told us that is what we were to drive. At first he wanted us to bring it back and leave it on the streets downtown where it was parked when we were through with it because he wouldn't be in his office when we got back. I asked him how we were to get back to the port and then he said we could return it to the office. It was so bizarre. It was like driving a car headed for the junkyard. The passenger seat didn't even seem correctly bolted in. It clunked back and forth, bouncing you every time the breaks were applied. The ac vent was missing. It was like NO rental car I've ever been in. You couldn't even lock it up. Even if this business seems convenient, close to the pier, I would suggest if you want a decent car to drive, go elsewhere. I have read bad reviews about other rental businesses in St. Maarten, also, but surely there are a couple that are on the level and good businesses. This guy drove a very nice car himself, but for his customers, at least for us, we didn't get that pleasure. Our day was a misery after renting here. You can and deserve to do better. Good luck!

We recently returned from our first RCL AOS cruise and we enjoyed it. I thought the food was plentiful and good in the Windjammer (we mainly had breakfast there). The staff all over the ship seemed to always be busy working and adequate. Our food was decent in the main dining room, maybe not 5 star, but mostly an enjoyable dinner. Our bed was comfortable and our steward was a busy bee always working when we saw him, and he did a great job in our room. Unlike other comments, we liked the entertainment on AOS. I can't remember names exactly but we saw the Las Vegas Tenors and though the show seemed brief, they were really good. We loved sitting and listening to the guitar talents of Reggie nightly. He was so relaxing to hear after an active day. We also loved the reggae band (Positive Vibrations, I think). We were early birds, being so busy all week, so we didn't get to check everything out. What we saw, we liked. Since this was our first experience, we can't compare to other RCL ships, but we definitely want to go again in the future.

I don't love dressing up either, but on our recent cruise I found that most people dressed like they were going out to a nice restaurant in the dining room on all nights, whatever the theme of the evening was. I'm sure you wouldn't be turned away, but in tees and casual duds you may feel out of place. I think the food is better in the dining room than the Windjammer, so I'd pack a couple of dress up outfits and go enjoy being served the nice dinner. It's worth the extra effort even if it isn't our preferred casual style to do so.

Our steward wouldn't empty our fridge either. We took everything out and stored it under the dressing table, then returned the stock before we checked out. It was annoying, but not so difficult to do.

Different strokes, different folks, but I can't imagine getting any rest with all the noise going on late hours with the rooms overlooking the Boardwalks. Plus, people on the streets are looking up while you are looking down, meaning lack of privacy. I personally, would never want one of these rooms.

We tried an inside room for the first time and it was fine. Actually, the balconies aren't all that large, and in my opinion aren't worth the double price upcharge. I had a peek at the aft balcony and it wasn't even that great, kind of claustrophobic really. The stability of the inside cabin was great too. We barely felt any ship movement the entire cruise. I wish we had decided on inside rooms many cruises ago as we probably could squeeze a few additional cruises out of our savings. You find you are mostly out of your room anyhow, except for sleeping and changing clothes. If you want to sit and enjoy the water view, there are much better places to do so around the ship. Who wants to just sit in their room anyhow while onboard?

We just returned from our first RCCL cruise and what I noticed is that most people dressed fairly nice on every night in the dining room, like you would for going out to a nice restaurant at home. On the formal nights, there were probably more shorter street length cocktail dresses than longer formal gowns, although you saw some of those, as well. I'm sure you wouldn't be refused service, but you probably will feel less "out of place" if you just dress a bit for dinner every night.

We also just returned from our first RCCL cruise (AotS), and didn't purchase a drink package and survived nicely. With only 1 sea day, we were mostly off the ship, with little time to make up the cost of the packages, unless we purposely over drank each night. I found the juice, water, lemonade, punch, and teas, supplied with the price of your package, adequate to be fulfilling. One really great bargain and fun thing is to try the drink of the day that is offered. For, I think, around $6.25 you get an interesting sizable mixed drink and get to keep the glass, as well. The glasses can be used as souvenirs later. Being first timers on RCCL, we didn't know what to expect, but you can be satisfied without the additional packages. It's a personal choice, and for those wanting to continually imbibe, or with particular tastes for products they must have, go for the packages, but you can be comfortable and satisfied with the regular offerings, I can attest.

I have seen several of the drinks with elderflower liqueur and I am not familiar with that. Does anyone know what it tastes like?

Wow, so sorry! I hope you are compensated by the insurance plan. It is a shame if you realized your symptoms as something you have experienced before and knew how to handle it but they over reacted (most likely from fear of being sued). Many people suffer migraines. It is a shame if people are cowed into fearing being upfront about issues. It seems like RCCL overreacted big time. I can imagine the stress it caused from being thrown overboard, so to speak, not to mention the expense and trouble to you. Very sorry!

I've seen a drink menu and prices but nothing mentioned about shots if you wanted to purchase them. Are these available and what would they cost?

If you go for one, just remember the cabins above you are able to look down on you while you are on your balcony. No privacy.

True, Windjammer is a choice, but maybe you'd like to sit and be served, just not have to "put on the dog" so to speak because it is a designated "formal" night. To call people "tatterdemalions" is kind of insulting. You are not a lesser being because you prefer casual clothing. Integrity is from the inside out, not the other way around.

I like casual. That is my personality and I dread having to drag along extra dress up clothes, just to "fit in" with themes. I love the idea of allowing people to choose whether they want to be formal or "come as you are". When you are doing daily excursions off the ship, and then have to come back, tired and just wanting to relax, it is annoying to have to dress just to make a presence. If you want to play the game, fine, but everyone is paying a good sum of money for their cruise, so there should be options for all. They could segregate the casual dressers and have a formal section, etc. to keep everyone surrounded by their "own kinds" if they chose. To each his own is a good thing.

We are soon going on our cruise and the thing I dread the most is having to drag along dress up clothing for dinner. I am a casual person and don't like pomp and circumstance. It's not fun for me to have to pack more clothing, just to fulfill dress code requirements. I wish they would make it formal optional and make it comfortable for everyone on board. While fun for some, burden for others.

Can you purchase travel insurance anytime before your cruise, or do you have to buy it at the time of booking your trip?

I believe a lot of people like drinking kefir, particularly the flavored types that are very similar to smoothies. I have drank it daily for some time now and I do believe it helps improve both your digestion and your immune system function. It's more popular than some of you might think and more people who learn about it adding it to their diet. Yogurt would be a second choice, but kefir is much better.

Since we will be going on our first RCCL cruise, I don't know a thing about the loyalty program. With all the talk about segregation by exclusive tiers, I suppose the best we can hope for is a glass of toilet water down in the lower level hole.

Considering the latest viral outbreak, thinking about how to avoid germs on my upcoming cruise. Was wondering about picking up some Lysol before boarding and spraying down my cabin. Is it allowed to bring aerosols such as Lysol onboard? Ideas for germ prevention onboard?

I've checked out the beverage packages but I haven't seen anything about these type of offerings. I know I have been on cruises that offered special daily drinks and martini sampling clinics. Going on Adventurer of the Seas soon and wondered if these will be available.

Just wondering, do they have corkscrews to open your wine in the cabins or do you have to bring your own or pay some fee to have them open for you?

If you wanted to wait until last minute, prices could go down for rooms not sold, but most likely airfare would be a lot more expensive for last minute flights.