natefish95

2 minutes ago, Coralc said:

 

 

Really? They have something like that? 

yes! It's so good! I just googled the recipe and it's blue curacao, midori, Malibu rum, and spiced rum. 

6 minutes ago, MorganClark said:

 

Shot glasses? Are you referring to the coffee mugs? Because what was on them are way too big to fit on a shot glass, lol..

 

I'll have to find out about the specialty shots in in the bars. I'm always up for a challenge involving shots.

Lol yes, clearly I did need a second look because I didn't realize they were coffee mugs. 

(sung to the folgers tuns) The best part of waking up, is...not appropriate for Cruise Critic!

4 minutes ago, MorganClark said:

 

Crown Royal Old Fashions at the Duck & Dog Pub (listening to live music).

Oh I have bad, bad partial memories of Crown Royal...Are you listening to Kieran Cox? He's awesome! I first heard about him from the YT channel "The Ship Show" Really great channel if you haven't heard of it. 

I cannot believe you would post those shot glasses! My sweet, sweet virgin eyes! I need to get a closer look to see if I'm still offended. lol

Here's a nighttime and/or sea day task for you @MorganClark Do any bars do speciality shots (that are covered by the drink package)? On NCL, the mini beers and liquid marijuana shots are pretty common. 

Loving the review, and especially all the food pics!

I'm an aviation nerd myself, so I'll have to remember that restaurant near MIA next time I'm down there. 

I just think it's funny that there is another post of someone who boarded today and arrived at almost the same time, but was onboard 30 minutes later. Looks like Celebrity transfer folks directed OP to the wrong line, but when something seemed amiss, OP never double checked what line they were in. 

3 hours ago, long4acruise said:

Was on last week also... 

You can make appts for the gym, but also walk in as it was never crowded.  Unfortunately the steam room and sauna are closed.

Thank you Maryland neighbor! Too bad about the sauna and steam room.

This thread is great! It's 90+ and humid in DC today. I'd much rather be sitting in the Solarium with a cold beer in my hand. 3 more weeks! Can't wait to follow along this week!

Sidebar-Can you still show up to the gym whenever you'd like or do you need reservations? Also is the sauna/steam room still closed in the locker room? 

3 minutes ago, MorganClark said:

 

I am having a great time and I just got here! The local Bahamian people are VERY friendly (& nice). Even the "street hustlers" trying to sell you something aren't bad at all (unlike Jamaica). All I've had to say is "no thank you" and they go on their merry way.

 

Yes, I'm a Coastie (retired). Semper Paratus! Yeah, do what you can with the TSP because it pays off when you retire. A 100% Gov't match is nothing to "sneeze at". Too bad you're not on our cruise. You sound like a "cool dude". And, I could always use another solo friend. Stay in touch (by continuing to post here).

I like to think I'm pretty cool haha. I'm hoping I can find some cool drinking buddies on the ship.

In addition to Adventure, I have two more planned so feel free to jump onboard! 

20 minutes ago, MorganClark said:

O.k., now I've literally seen it all. On the beach earlier today, I was out in the water (beautiful water btw; so clear and was aqua, blue & light blue) about shoulder deep when a girl (about late 20's or early 30's) came along, running on the beach. She wasn't just running. First, let me tell you that she was wearing a sport top with a bikini bottom. She was very muscular and very tan. While she was "jogging" down the beach, she was shadow boxing. She was throwing left & right jabs, upper-cuts & hooks. And, she was going back & forth on the beach dodging, ducking and weaving (like she was in an actual MMA match). Plus, she had ear buds in and holding a cell phone (probably rocking the Rocky theme, lol). So, here I am, out in the water watching her in amazement thinking to myself; "is this really hapoening?". It was like dinner with a show but it was swimming with a show, lol. I was afraid to get out of the water because she might kick my a_ _! (don't look her in the eye). Then there was the local Bahamian dude up by the bar (the "Tiki Bikini", lol) who was mimicking her every move and shouting at her. Again, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? (Lol). And for icing on the cake, I look to the left down the beach a bit and there was this girl straddling this guy and I won't tell you what they were doing (they had their bathing suits on, thank goodness). Mind you, this is all going on at the same time! Only in the Bahamas, lol. So, not a dull moment here in Nassau and I just got here! I can't wait and see what tomorrow brings, lol.

 

 

 

Sounds like you're having a great time! I'm going solo on Adventure in a few weeks, so I'll be following your adventures all week. 

Further up I saw you were with USCG. I've done some work with them. Gotta love the Coasties! I need to up my TSP contributions so I can do B2B2B2B2B cruises when I retire! 

4 hours ago, Rob-Bob said:

I see the steam room on the Jade deck plan but how do you access it?  

For the free one, enter the gym on Deck 12, and the locker rooms are on the right. In the locker room, it's tucked around the corner, but I'm sure you can find it once in the locker room lol. It's pretty small but room for maybe about 4 people comfortably? 

I highly recommend taking the spa tour on day 1. That tour influenced me to book the thermal suite. Worth the price. Always nice, quiet and relaxing, and a great way to meet people if you're traveling solo (like I usually am). 

Not going to lie, I generally dislike when people start threads so far out, but I really like your style of writing and will be eagerly following along!

I'm really curious to see what the thermal suite and gym are like as well as how Serenity and the more exclusive sun deck compare. 

2 hours ago, victory2020 said:

Ok, no free steam rooms in the locker area?

Nope, it is all shared on the Getaway/Breakaway/Escape/Bliss/Encore.

On the Jewel/Jade/Gem/Pearl/Dawn/Star, the sauna and steam room are in the respective locker rooms with heated loungers, hot tub, etc in the shared area (this is a paid area which is usually about $150 for the week if I remember correctly).

On the Jewel/Jade/Gem/Pearl there is a free steam room in the locker room off the gym. On the Sun and Sky, there is a free steam room and sauna right outside of the spa I believe. 

On 7/3/2021 at 9:25 PM, HLR said:

Hi Howard! It's Howard! Look at you toasting with your loverly wife there in your picture!

 

Nope...that email was rejected by the demon in the mailroom also.

 

So...any clue as to the open-ness of the steam and saunas? One person at a time? I'm single and sail as a solo....if I were to sail NOW I'd be pretty lonely have to sit, sun and eat alone and barely able to meet and mingle...

 

Howard

Seems hard to get concrete answers. I know on Adventure of the Seas, the sauna and steam were closed on the first sailing. I'm hoping they open it up soon since I'm sailing in August. The gym was operating normally and all guests are vaccinated. We'll see. Curious what Carnival is doing now on the Vista and Horizon. 

Thank you so much for posting! Quick question: what is the deal with the gym? Is it fully open with no equipment blocked off? Also, is the thermal suite or the free sauna in the locker room open? 

Really enjoying your detailed review so far! Appreciate you taking the time to share what worked and what didn't with American. 

1 hour ago, mpdog42 said:

So John was lying when he said it was a US law enforcement Officer???

Lying is bit of a stretch, but it seems like he was just mistaken and caught up in the emotions 

I want to echo everything that @chengkp75 has said. Chris Wong was able to travel to the US from the UL just fine because he was traveling on a C1/D visa since he actually works on a ship and was able to quarantine on the ship. John is traveling for business on an ESTA and therefore subject to Presidential Proclamation 10143, which limits travel of individuals from many countries, including the UK. No disrespect to John, but he is not an essential worker (the show will go on without him) and his business in the U.S. is non-essential. 

There have been ZERO changes to travel from the UK to the US in the past 24 hours due to the Delta variant. That may have been the explanation given by someone, but they were mistaken. PP 10143 is the primary mechanism limiting travel right now.

Also, I doubt it was a US Customs and Border Protection officer since they do not have a presence at LHR. Preclearance is only done from Dublin and Shannon in Ireland. CBP would not deny boarding to someone at LHR. 

Agreed! I had two cruises cancelled in one week and my PVP at NCL kept talking about the "30% off sale" That's not a sale and we all know it! My only incentive to book another NCL cruise is to use up my Future Cruise Credits (which are close to expiring despite trying to use them four times...). 

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

How do you know if carnival hasnt resumed out of the usa.

 

I was just watching rcl that cruise critic did a question and answer on, and they recommended getting a reservation.. yes for the buffet. They are doing social distancing on their vaccinated cruise. I havent seen john asked this question, but if they are also socially distancing us on carnival for safety why wouldnt it be harder to get in. 

 

I want to see someone who is on vista in 2 weeks say wide open to get into the buffet.

 

And I expect first vista to be very low capacity .. going to have more booking maybe once it restarts and people feel safe. I just dont know how anyone can say until carnival restarts, but I do like oriental and was doing it and maybe once at steakhouse if np to book.

 

I was thinking chefs table but saw john said cancelled july and august ..and sept cant buy either so far. Lots of unknowns so far to me. I'm a show me lol. 

You mentioned needing a reservation on Adventure of the Seas and I was just pointing out that they're not required. You can still show up to the Windjammer without a reservation. I don't know what Carnival's plans out, but since you mentioned Royal, I just wanted to add a point of clarification. 

4 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Seems unpopular, and only a few ships have them. Maybe I'm the only one that loves oriental type fares.

 

I'm worried when I read about adventure that it's best to reserve a time to eat in the buffet for breakfast and lunch ...buffet will reopen for dinner when rcl hits around 65% occupancy. That solo is a problem to eat.

 

Well I'd be fine family style but I'm solo and idk if I can order a little bit of all but one thing. Not a whole helping of each. I hope some others eat here when vista restarts and can say how it is.

As a quick note, you can still show up at the Windjammer without a reservation. They're probably requiring reservations to make sure it doesn't get too crowded at one point. I haven't seen any reports of anyone getting turned away. 

3 hours ago, Joe817 said:

"Go where you want, but wear a mask: The new rules for cruisers in Cozumel"

 

From The Points Guy:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cozumel-cruise-ship-tour-covid-rules/ 

 

I'm disappointed if this the case. I hope the rules are relaxed by the time we sail.

So sorry you're disappointed. Cases in Quintana Roo are the highest they've ever been right now, so the mask mandate makes sense, especially since vaccinations are sluggish in Mexico too. 

17 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

For those of us that need a bit more pampering, the Spa has a full menu. 
 

 

To use the gym, do you have to make a reservation or can you just show up? Also, are the steam room and sauna in the locker rooms open? 

Seeing this post brought a smile to my face! Cannot wait to follow along! Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences! 

Too bad that this has put a damper on the cruise, but breakthrough are bound to happen. Testing everyone has its "consequences". Thankfully, everyone is vaccinated, so it's unlikely for others to get infected by those two. Just have to follow the quarantine protocols and wait and see. I am personally not concerned or deterred from cruising later this summer.