WeatherFx

Thanks for the information. Heading up in a few weeks.

Just a quick question. Is I-78 E exit to Chosin Few Way to Port Liberty completed or is it still detoured on Ave E - Center Street? Google maps shows it as driveable, but satellite view shows it still under construction.

Last inside guarantee I got, I was assigned Deck-2 in the very front of the bow. I then un-guaranteed it and picked my room.

We just got off Serenade yesterday. Last day of cruise I confirmed that I had no towels that were not returned. Checked my invoice on the app before I went to bed, all was well. On the door in the morning is the paper invoice with a towel charge of $50 added overnight. I went to GS and they "apologize for the charge and will credited me back immediately". Fortunately I caught it before I got off the ship so that it was easily resolved. Seems like they are substituting "towel charges" for the old "mini-bar charges" that you used to get.

I am sure we will enjoy our cruise. There is no such thing as a bad cruise as long as you are not in a life boat or the sea. One of my most memorable cruises was in Hermine in Sept. 2016.

We are Diamond Plus in their loyalty tier system. Over the last couple of years, they cut down the benefits of booking on board, obc and reduced deposits. They are now catering to the Suite people. D+ used to have reserved seating for shows, priority tendering, access to Concierge Lounge - now being converted to Suite Lounge, D+ excluded. The lounges that they are converting are locations that we always enjoyed because of the view. They just came out with the "Key" program which can be purchased and you get the benefits that they are taking away from D+. We understand that it is a business and they can change the rules anytime they want. That is okay with us. We still even have some great perks, at least for now. Royal is still a good choice for cruising and we will cruise with them again. We're not anti-Royal, we're just now "broadening our horizon" and considering other lines due to the diminishing perks that kept us loyal to Royal.

We had a similar experience on the Anthem.They block off part of the Music Hall for overflow for D Lounge. The bar was full with D, D+ and some Pinnacles. This lady comes in pushes her way to the bar, slaps down her Diamond SeaPass card and declares I am Diamond get me such and such cocktail. Everyone just looks in astonishment as everyone is D or higher. Ran into her in the MDR and she was just as rude there.

After 32 cruises on RCL we will be taking our first NCL cruise. We have been on every class of RCL, so ship size/age is not much of a factor. Due to all the changes Royal continues to make, they have watered down the incentives to remain loyal. Now for some NCL newbie questions. We are booking the Gem for 12N out of NY which seems similar in size to Vision/Radiance Class. Are they a good comparison? How is the night life, as my wife likes to dance 70's --> current? What would you recommend for peaceful sitting areas for reading or watching the sea? Any must trys for this ship, dining or activities? Is Hilton Garden Inn still the recommend hotel with park and shuttle, as we live in NJ? Thanks.

Has anybody seen anything on "Caribbean (Phase II)" yet that is due out this week?

We have been considering Celebrity. My wife loves to dance and looks forward to that almost every evening on Royal. Do they have regular club like dancing like they have in the lounges or Centrum on Royal? We do not do ballroom style dancing.

Deposits are still refundable for staterooms inside and up to and including JR Suites. You just have to go through thebooking process to the end until you get a box to check for refundable deposit at an increase in the rate.

We have stayed in interior cabins front, mid-ship and aft. We have also stayed in D7 balconies front and aft. There was no real noticeable differences in the actual room sizes between any of those interiors and D7 balconies. The main difference for interior price in my experience is the locations with mid-ship being the highest, followed by those closest to the stairwells and elevators.

There also is a quiet sitting area with several chairs on deck-5 by the rear elevators, port side as you head towards the lifeboats. It is inside, with doors separating the outside deck area.

We are using the Royal App for the 1st time. When taking your picture with the Royal App for Check In, are you supposed to take your glasses off or leave them on.

We were on Grandeur in April and had MTD. We had exceptional service making it the the best service in the MDR out of our 25 cruises on RCL. We also were on this most recent Dec. 1-12 sailing on Grandeur. We had very good MTD service in the MDR overall, although not at the exceptional level we had in April - which would be hard to match. There was a section next to our normal seating that we were seated in one night whose service was only fair.