bobkat12

That is fantastic. We are cruising next week and as soon as we get home, we will renew ours so that we can get back cruising. Had thought about paying more for quicker processing, but I think now we may just try the regular. We don't cruise again until March, so no rush.

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"...was very reminiscent of the music they would play on Titanic, especially when she actually played the Titanic Movie Theme Song...

 

Wow, choose one song that should never be played on a floating device:(

We were on Brilliance OTS last month, and it was played there also...crazy.[emoji86]

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For our gifts, we each get 2 bottles of water in the room. We refrigerate them, and use the tap water as needed to refill, never a problem!

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The Bahamas weather is very similar to south Florida. I would suggest searching for long term forecasts to determine. Generally, I would say somewhere between 70-80 degrees for low/high temperatures.

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Ask Bob...

 

 

 

We are in GS, if one eats in Coastal Kitchen during the SL cocktail hours, are all drinks on the list complimentary?

 

 

 

We both get DP but looking at this..... we get Complimentary drinks in the Casino and SL..... might be better off without package (hope Royal is not reading)

Free

Thanks for the report. Odd that they allowed cocktails in Coastal Kitchen, but not wine.

We had a GS on Oasis, and as diamond members at the time, I had free glasses of wine while dining in the CK, as well as the diamond lounge prior.

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All ships offer something different for sure. We are now more inclined to liking the larger ships as well. We still cruise the smaller ones as well because they can go places the larger ones can't/won't.

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It can also sometimes be weather related, fog, etc. Wouldn't worry.

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I couldn't tell you for sure, as we're recent converts to RCI, but it appears that most mainstream lines have been making cutbacks. Personally, I think some of them are strictly cost cutting, but I think others may be an effort to make cruising more casual and more appealing to a broader range of clients. I remember even when Carnival had shoe shines - they were rarely used. Pillow chocolates? Saw tons of them thrown away. I would also venture a guess that many of the younger generation of new(er) cruisers don't know what "the good old days" used to be, and aren't really missing anything. From a business perspective, why provide Ritz-Carlton amenities, when Holiday Inn Express amenities are sufficient to meet the clients' needs?

 

Now, I don't necessarily agree with the cost cutting measures, per se, but, if cutting some of the frivolities can help keep cruising costs more affordable, I am OK with that, and I would guess that many others have the same feeling. Would I love to be pampered in absolute luxury like First Class Titanic passengers? Sure. But, I may only be able to cruise every 4-5 years, as opposed to every 2-3 years. I'm willing to "lower the bar" a bit in order to be able to still afford vacationing. Many of the items that the cruise lines have been cutting, are of little or no value to me, perceived or actual, but everyone is different. I have no use for a shoe shine or real silver flatware for dinner, but those things may very well be of at least some importance to you. I also think that the cruise lines will also continue to cut costs until the point that it begins affecting their bottom line. Once their profits begin to suffer, only then would changes be made. The other thought I had, is that maybe RCI is trying to push their older, and possibly more traditional, cruisers to Celebrity, where they may find some of those cutback items still in existence.

I wish they would build newer/larger celebrity ships, I might switch. Some of us still enjoy a more formal atmosphere.

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What are the bathroom amenities? I'm hoping for body wash and shampoo as I won't be packing those because of plane flight.

 

 

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Body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, facial bar of soap

I have highlighted the Tea Kettle and Coffee Maker. The tea kettle works fine. The coffee maker could work fine, IF you have the correct size individual coffee packets that fit in the pot. Check before using.

 

 

 

On our first cruise in a JS, I did not check and proceeded to make my cup of coffee.....to find it made a big mess on the table top. Stateroom attendant, was alerted, and then brought me the right single serve packages. He was not aware that their were two sizes, because they have two different coffee makers.

 

 

 

So check.....on our next cruise in a JS, I found out that they did not have the correct size single serve packages on board for one of the coffee makers at all.

 

 

 

So be forewarned.

We also experienced the coffee all over the counter crisis,lol. We quickly learned the room service coffee is much better, no muss, no fuss, and all for a couple dollar tip![emoji106]

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The ships new builder leaves some to be desired. Our junior suite had wind whistling through it every night, others had same. As you get off, we will be boarding. You have the right attitude, have fun!

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If you do Independence, don't miss the "hidden secret" sun deck by flowrider, one deck down. No one ever came by, and we always got chairs for the 4 of us :). Well, I guess now it's not a secret!!

 

 

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We have a similar spot on brilliance, one deck below the mini golf![emoji41]✌️️

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I agree with Bob, as these are my favorite/second favorite classes of ships, but for different reasons. It just depends on what you want out of your cruise ship experience. We will be on Serenade, Brilliance's sister, tomorrow and Indy in a month.

Small world, Cape Coral here also[emoji41]

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Have done both more than once and my choice is Indy, hands down! We loved the staff on that ship, larger, more to see/do. Brilliance is a very pretty ship, but showing her age.

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Take a quick 10 min cab ride to the forum shops downtown. Very safe, and while shopping with my wife, the merchants had me lit up on free tequilla shots( all flavors) by 11am. Good places to eat there also! Slept well that night [emoji99] Even bought a bottle of mango flavored tequilla.

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Still available, and I'm taking mine on Harmony next Saturday!

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http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7400

Sorry, I knew that, thought another announcement had been made.

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What announcement is that?

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Hello All I have a few questions hopefully can be answered.

 

1. What deck and where does embarkation take place?

 

2. what is served for lunch at Park Cafe?

 

3. what is served for lunch and breakfast at Solarium bistro?

 

4. Is there a new embarkation procedure at port everglades in the past year or so? I thought I read something, but it wasn't clear.

 

Thank you to all that reply.

The Mobil passport works great there, we used it getting off the ship. Downloaded it while waiting to get off. Helpful fellow cruisers alerted us to this.

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I'll make it easier, was the first night mojo?

 

It had mojo pork chop on it.

 

I hate this menu and want to book chops for Mojo night

 

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Lol, we love the mojo pork chops!

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Wish it were a different ship!

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We splurged on a GS once on Oasis and it was terrific, a great experience with all the perks. We usually have a JS and are very happy in there at a considerable savings. It seems your out of pocket wouldn't be that much more, so I'd go for it! Plus, the upper deck privacy area will be nice with all the spring breakers onboard[emoji79]

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Depending where you dock, if at the international pier, the is a pharmacy as soon as you get off the pier on your left. If you dock downtown, there are several, we use one near the forum shops. We get a generic for something else, and it works great.

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Similar situation here. Money is always a consideration. We have decided to spend more on cruising, experiences/memories than say remodeling our kitchen, etc.

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