Kissmya63

I've only been on one other cruise as an adult—Carnival Magic last year. My boyfriend and I are sailing on Oasis in December and I am just. So excited.

 

I'm just about dying right now because I booked out December 2016 cruise in August 2016, and that wait was agonizing enough. We booked this cruise right after we got back from the last one, so I've already waited 8 months...and I still have "The Wait" from last year in its entirety to go...if that makes sense at all.

 

But I am really stoked to try Royal Caribbean for the first time and to be on such a large ship with so many restaurants and activities. I'm also getting +3 on the list of countries I've visited, so that's pretty cool. I just really hope this wait goes by quickly!

OMG - I can relate!! We booked our next cruise on our last cruise. So, in June 2016 we booked our April 2018 cruise! Talk about being really excited! 259 days we still have to wait, LOL!!! We couldn't do anything this year so we're just sitting here counting down the days. BUT instead of saying we have 259 day, we only have 38 Saturdays until our next cruise, LOL!!! :D :p

This is a forum about cruising. This murder occurred on a cruise ship. You had a choice to open this thread or scroll along and not read it as the thread is clearly identified as to what it contains. If you didn't won't to read about it, you don't open it. And if you do open it, you don't complain about it.

We really need a Like button! This is perfect!

I don't see an Ultimate Beverage package anymore. Just the premium package. Am I missing something?

We enjoy RV'ing too. We have a 40 ft fifth-wheel camper and love vacationing in it! In 2019 we're going to either southern Utah or Montana for 2 weeks. We use it almost every weekend in the summer at a campground 2 hours from home where we have a camping lot.

I like going cruising every once in a while because then we get to be pampered. In the RV you can't get that :)

We did one-way - Anchorage to Vancouver. MIL went a month later and did round trip Seattle and said the seas were pretty rough.

I think you see far more of Alaska if you do the one-way.

Carol

Following! Enjoy you're cruise! I hope you guys have a fabulous time!

We're on Freedom for the first time in April 2018. I'm hoping one day to do a Med cruise, so can't wait for your posts and pictures!!

Have a Blast!!! :p

Carol

We cruised Adventure last May and our taxi driver new exactly where to take us for the suite line. We were in a JS. We walked right up and we were on the ship in something like 15 minutes! There was no one in that line. All these people waiting in the other line and we got right through! I couldn't believe it! We've only cruised out of San Juan twice. The first time was in 1992, so we don't have anything to compare this to.

I would have probably never found the suite area either. As another poster said it's not easy to see.

We had priority boarding with a JS on Adventure last May. Don't know if there's been changes since then.

Enjoying your review so far! We have a long wait before we're on Freedom! Love following along on the reviews!! ;)

Thank you!! I am actually really paranoid about that very fact!! The email says to meet at 8:50 am in theparking lot - that obviously is 8:50 am ISLAND time - what time will that be on the ship? I feel dumb even asking that - but i want to be sure I dont miss it!

We've only went on a couple cruises and never even thought about island vs ship time. Bernard's Tours is the best and you won't regret it and you definitely get your money's worth! We didn't ask about time difference, but with all the talk on CC about it, I think I will always double check to make sure in the future!

Mailman with Bernard's was fantastic!! He was so informative and very funny! He seems to really enjoy showing tourists around the island!

We had everything from shorts to winter gear and I'm glad we did! We did a land/sea cruise through Princess and it was the vacation of a lifetime!

The day we were glacier cruising we went to the front of the ship and had our winter coats, gloves and rain pants on to block the wind. I'm glad we had them! There were people that didn't and they weren't up there too long! But then we went down a level or two, blocked from the wind and in the sun and we were peeling off our layers!!

We had perfect weather, but even then we wore clothes meant for all four seasons! We had temps anywhere from probably 30 degrees or less inland to 70's when we were in Skagway and Ketchikan. When we were in Ketchikan they hadn't seen the sun in days or maybe weeks! When we were there, there was not a cloud in the sky! The locals were literally dancing in the streets because of it!! It was surely a site!

Anyway, I bought a pair of ultra thin gloves so I can still take pics with my camera and not keep taking off my gloves. Make sure to bring hats to keep the sun from your face - you can still get sunburned when it's 50 degrees and the sun is out! Bring sunscreen! Layers really is the key to an Alaskan trip. Make sure to bring binoculars if you have them! We used them on land and at sea! I don't have a Alaska packing list on this computer - I must have archived it to my back up hard drive. But google stuff. Make lists and notes. I researched so much and I don't think we forgot anything. We definitely had extra baggage fees, but it was well worth it - this was a 15 day trip for us. I think maybe the only stuff I didn't wear was the 1 or 2 sleeveless shirts. Oh, and also we bought waterproof coats that had layers. This is important. You can leave the ship with beautiful weather, and then an hour later its raining. I don't know what you plan to do when in port, but one day we went into the Yukon Territory and it got cold and somewhat rainy so having those coats was a life saver for sure!

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask! I never get tired of talking about trip :-)

Carol

If you have questions

Following! Good Luck with everything! I hope your trip goes off without a hitch!! Can't wait to see your reports at your vacation goes along!!

DH and I have limited cruises - 2 RCCL and 1 next year, and 1 Princess to Alaska. I would really like to cruise on Celebrity so I've been searching around their boards.

Have a great vacay!!

Carol

Following! We have more than a year before we board!

Have a great trip!!!

My husband brings 1 suit with 2 different dress shirts and 2 different ties. We have done both - changed after dinner and other times we've stayed in our formal attire. Neither of us dress up very often so it's kind of nice to have a reason to dress up!

I called last week because I was having problems with their site and the first thing they asked was I using Chrome and I said yes. That's the problem. Need to use Explorer or something else.

 

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Forums mobile app

That's funny because I'm using Explorer, LOL!!

It's probably just overloaded right now.

I keep getting an error - very frustrating!!

HTTP 400 error

It’s not you, it’s this link (it appears to be broken)

Yes you can. My son and I were in a JS and my sister was in a balcony and she spent the day with us at Barefoot Beach.

Really? Only reason I ask is because RCCL Website says Barefoot Beach is for Grand Suite and above.

Now I'm really confused, LOL!!

:rolleyes:

I asked this question on the Port of Call Private Island area but no one has answered so I thought I'd try here :D

DH and I are in a Grand Suite with a stop in Labadee. We'll have access to Barefoot Beach. However, we have others traveling with us that will not be in suites. Can I reserve a cabana there and our friends have access? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

Thanks!

Carol

The one thing that would have me change would be the great buffet in the Barefoot Beach area! These Cabanas are controlled by the Concierge in my recollection so seems like you need to contact he/she ASAP. You can find the Suite Concierge's email for your ship here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hKBiGZ9Gqcp2G2owtX3RyQy7yQ0ijgxCL0nPjQKK8j4/edit?pli=1#gid=0

 

Also, there is a shuttle to Barefoot Beach for Suite Guests.

I tried emailed FOS email address and it came back as a bad email address.

I have a question about the Barefoot Beach Cabanas. My hubby and I are in a Grand Suite and will be able to have access to Barefoot Beach. We have others traveling with us that are not in suites. Can I reserve a cabana at Barefoot Beach and our friends have access?

There are going to be about 10 or more in my group. Some of us just want to relax in a cabana and others are talking about ziplining, parasailing, dragon coaster etc. So basically I'm thinking of reserving one cabana or bungalow and it could be a central point for our group. Is the entire area easily walkable or easy to get to by the tram? I don't want to get a bungalow, say at Columbus Cove and it be too far away for our group to get to after doing their various activities. I know the max people in a bungalow or cabana is 6 or 8, but I seriously doubt all of us will be there at one time. Is this going to be an issue?

We're on FOS in April 2018 and I can't see where to make a reservation for any of the cabana's or bungalows. I went into cruise planner and it shows the Barefoot Beach Cabana's but that they're not available online. We're in a suite, but we're going with a big group and at this point we're the only ones in a suite so barefoot beach will probably no be an option.

Am I missing something? I think I'd like to at least reserve 1 of the bungalows and maybe 2. I'm getting in contact with my friends now.

Is it too early to reserve?

We were on Adventure in May last year and St. Maarten on Sunday. Lots of stores were closed. We're not huge shoppers, but I remember thinking it was strange that all those stores were closed. We were the only ship in port that day, so I wasn't sure if that was the reason. We had a tour booked with Bernard's Tours and part of the tour was to go to the French side and we went to a French bakery and we shopped at the open air market in Marigot. They had a good amount of merchants at the market and we found some nice deals!

We were just at both of these islands in May/June. In Aruba we did the trikes. So much fun! Great tour of the island! I would love to go to Aruba and spend a week to see more of the island.

On Curacao we splurged a bit. We went with VIP Tours and it was a private tour in a comfortable car with just me and DH. We went all over the island. We are more nature lovers than city people. We went to Christoffelpark and Shete Boka where the sea was rougher and you can watch the waves crash onto the rocks. It was so beautiful!

We wanted to have a taste of local culture and food and our tour guide took us to a restaurant call Jaanchie's, I think in Westpunt. There was no menu. The owner comes and sits down at your table and verbally tells you what is on the menu that day. He puts a little bit of humor in it too! He recites the menu almost like a poem. After he's done you tell him what you're interested in and he makes his suggestions too. The food was spectacular! I had garlic shrimp with what he called a Caribbean rice if I remember and something that was kind of like cole slaw. It was so good. It's like a open air restaurant. There are birds right outside the open air windows that keep you entertained. Our tour guide was going to sit at the bar while we ate lunch but we insisted he sit with us and have lunch on us. When we went to pay the bill we were told that tour guides eat for free. I wish I could remember his name. He was fabulous!

He also took us to the Tula Museum where you delve into African history on the island from slavery to present day.

We saw the salt lakes where we were able to see Flamingoes, and took us to several beaches for photo ops.

Talking about it makes me want to go back real soon!!! :p

Loving your trip report Harry! I love all the detail and all the pics!! We aren't sailing on Freedom until next year (I can finally say next year, LOL)! :p

I think that planning and researching is part of the fun of the vacation! For our Alaska cruise in 2012, I researched for probably about 3 years! I planned every detail and had a spreadsheet with multiple worksheets going! I do this for all vacations we've taken! We've only been on 3 cruises but we try to do one big vacation of some kind every year or every other year. In 2016 we cruised on Adventure and that's where we booked our 2018 cruise on Freedom. The detail in your report and your pics are very helpful!!! Thank you very much for taking the time to do this!

I am looking forward to the rest of your report :)

Carol