Setting sail for fun

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Every time drink prices are mentioned here, we are often reminded of how they are "on par with any major city bar". No. Ive never had a drink in Manhattan. Ive never even been to Manhattan. I consider Atlanta a "major city" though and i can truthfully tell you I can drink cheaper in Buckhead at upscale bars than I can on the ship now.

 

Thats not most peoples main gripe anyway. The gripe is the 40-50% price hike last year. This Lava Flow pictured below, which would have been $8.05 including tip, is now $14.16 including tip. You can drink a lot cheaper in the tourist traps on the islands than you can on the ship now. Thats what a lot of people that dont buy drink packages are doing IMO.

 

Comparing the prices to a ballgame where you are only there for a few hours vs. a whole week really isnt comparing apples to apples.

 

Agree 100%.

Prices used to be comparable to our local bar/restaurants. We live just south of Wash DC. (Not Manhattan,either, but not an inexpensive area).

A few nights ago I had a beautiful Pomegranate Martini for $7.90 (tip not included) in a local restaurant.

We have been on three cruises since the drastic price increases last year and we now drink less on board!

We have taken the train twice and really enjoyed it. We enjoy sitting on the top deck in the open air. Free drinks are provided through out your ride! We also enjoyed the mini bus trip to the train as our driver gave us a great tour with historical information. We had the same gentleman both times - wish I could remember his name.

Pomegranate Martini with sugar on the rim!

Jane,

Always enjoy your reviews. Thanks for sharing your great photos and information on the beaches. We have not made it to Tortola yet. Was scheduled on previous itinerary on Indy, but dock was being finished.

Gosh, the Huckleberry Cheesecake looks good. Always my favorite at Chops!

Thanks again.

Debbie

Congrats! Sounds like a great place for the Anniversary celebration.

We screen our phone calls also and I am always tempted to pick up in case the Upgrade Fairy may be calling. I am sure a Retired LEO knows what scams to look out for!

Enjoy your cruise!

So glad that you were able to get a flight out and make it safely to your hotel!

Hope you have a great vacation!

We sometimes brings snacks as listed above and then I usually take them home.

We don't get hungry after eating all of the food available on the ship!

That is good news! Hope you have a great time.

Agree, that parking lot looks much better than I thought it would! Although, any snow shoveling at the end of a cruise is too much.

Safe travels home.

Don't worry about security issues. The real problem is that regular debarkation is as big nightmare as self-debarkation. It seems both will subject you to long, slow lines that will be forced to travel down several flights of steps. Personally, I would not want to be bouncing heavy suitcases down the steps. Just prepare yourself for a much longer debarkation than you have ever experienced.

Agree, the regular debarkation was the disaster and we were not in a hurry either. What a mess! I think it is due to all the large number of people now doing the self-debarkation with the 9:00 AM flights. It never used to be like this. There was no organization!

My family was on the IOS in December for a 5 night cruise. The cruise was wonderful except for the disembarkation process. We are diamond members and we usually disembark early. This is the first time we experienced such a delay in disembarking the ship. We needed to wait for all the passengers that were self-disembarking (carrying their own luggage) before we could leave. It seemed that more than half of the ship passengers were self disembarking that day. We observed many passengers leaving the ship without luggage. There was a large back up of passengers by the stairs and near the gangway. Passengers were getting very upset and yelling. We were delayed by over 2 hours. Instead of leaving the ship at 8:30 we did not get off until close to 11 am. We were tired of waiting and decided to just walk down with the rest of the passengers who said they were self disembarking. The staff said that they underestimated how many were self disembarking that day. Has anyone experienced this? We have another cruise planned this summer on the Oasis and do not want to go through this again.

We had the same experience (12-2015). It was terrible and we have never seen anything like it. People were on the steps for a very long time- no direction or help given by the Staff. There was even a fight that erupted due to the frustration. I am a big fan of RCCL and a stockholder but I rated this experience as terrible on the survey. Was never contacted by anyone at RCCL to follow up.

I have enjoyed catching up on your Live Report while being snowed in. Thanks for the great photos of the ship. We have never sailed on Grandeur, but she looks lovely and Baltimore would be an easy drive for us (except for right now)!

Glad you are able to enjoy an additional day at sea and safe travels home.

Yes, have definitely used the steam from the shower to make things look better.

I wish you well and hope you have a great time!

the best solution is to pack items THAT DO NOT NEED IRONING AT ALL.

 

not even my formal gown requires pressing.

 

they make beautiful travel knits that are stylish, easy to care for and are wrinkle free.

Agree, there are so many fabrics that are good for travel now. Every trip I purchase a few more. Time is too precious on vacation to worry about wrinkles!

Amazing photos and review. Thanks again for sharing your adventure!

Safe travels home!

If you have been cruising for a few years, you know a good price when you see it! IMHO the on-board credit, drink packages, Bogo, and the like just add to the confusion.

On our last cruise on Indy (first week in December), I noticed we had what seemed to be the egg crate topper and it felt fine. We did not request this so I don't know how we got lucky. Balcony cabin

Photos from the balcony are lovely (drinks also help). Thanks for sharing.

You have a lovely family! Thanks for sharing the information regarding the Red Stripe Beach.

We were in Falmouth for the second time in December. We only walked around the port and went to Margaritaville. Of course, I caught a cold on board ship and didn't feel so great.

Glad you are having great weather!

We have never been on Oasis, but we have enjoyed Chops on the ships we have sailed on. The Huckleberry Cheesecake is delicious!

Thanks for your review. We enjoyed sailing on her last March. She was the smallest and oldest ship we have sailed on, but we enjoyed every minute!

That's interesting. Have never heard that before.

Yes, we have sailed on Indy twice in the last six months and the Ice Show invitations were by Muster Station. You could show up and if there were any available seats left, you could be seated after everyone else. As I said, last cruise we skipped it as we had seen the show before. Indy is doing short cruises now so you have to pick what is most important to you in the limited time available.

IMO - Things changed after 9/11/2001 and it will never be the same.