natefish95

I for one am really glad to see this happening. I've never sailed on Royal, but I think this would make a very unique introduction to them. I usually sail solo, so not sure how they'll be treating any solos, but I don't mind dining alone every night if it will get me back on a ship. 

I'll be fully vaccinated next week and don't mind wearing a mask if needed. I have already started looking at flights. I hope the prices aren't too outrageous, but I have a travel credit anyways. 

I much prefer the single sex steam rooms/saunas. I hate sweating in a bathing suit. Much better to just wear a towel. No better way to relax!

18 minutes ago, sammee said:

I don't think it's because people are being "anti maskers". If you're comfortable taking a cruise with the mask than go for it. If not, we wait it out. Not sure where you are getting "akin to sacrificing your firstborn child". I don't see anybody stating they are an anti-masker.

People are saying they won't cruise if they have to wear a mask, social distance, and abide by other restrictions, so not sure how else to interpret that...

On 1/24/2021 at 10:14 AM, Oakman58 said:

What I miss besides cruising is reading the trip reports others would post on this forum.  Those trip reports helped to fill the void between our cruises.  I hope when cruising begins again people will continue to take the time to write trip reports and hopefully include some photos.

Agreed! The search feature on this site is not great (What kind of website doesn't accept Boolean searches???), which makes finding older reviews difficult. I'll be reading the reviews in your signature now though! 

I didn't realize wearing a mask was akin to sacrificing your firstborn child...it's really not that big of a deal. I'll be on that ship with a mask and fully vaccinated whenever cruises start back. 

Y'all anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers can stay on land. I'll send y'all a key chain. 

Well, with literally zero information provided, I'm not sure what type of helpful information you think we can provide here. 

My April cruise was cancelled last week. My Personal Cruise Consultant gave me a call and I was able to book a cruise in January, which included using the 10% discount mentioned in the cancellation later I received. Try calling someone and have your cancellation letter handy that shows you're entitled to a 10% discount. 

Sooooo...while I was cleaning out a backpack on a recent trip, I came across a relic from a bygone era known as the Before Times when we could actually go on cruises. At the bottom of a rarely used pocket, I found a Fun Times from my March 5th sailing on the Carnival Paradise. I believe this was the 2nd to last sailing on the Paradise before cruises were halted. Pour yourself a drink and read through what you would do on sailaway day. It's not quite 3pm on the east coast yet, but who cares? It's a pandemic and day drinking is encouraged. I'd be several drinks in on Lido by now too. 

If anyone is interested, I could turn this into a mini review. Since it was *checks calendar* 9 months ago, I don't remember the finer details, but I'd be happy to give an overview and throw in some pictures. 

I attached pictures of the Fun Times, so let me know how those display. 

On 12/21/2020 at 11:44 AM, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

I see that the JADE has been moored in Naples for some time now - we are booked on it - Transatlantic from NEW YORK - departing in April 2021 - the ASSUMPTION is that they will NOT bring the Jade back across the ocean - just to go on a Transatlantic ???

Any comments ? - I guess we will just wait and see - have up to 15 days prior to sailing before we cancel - assume that NCL will cancel before that ????

I'm supposed to be on the repositioning cruise from Tampa to New York right before the transatlantic and have begun mentally preparing myself that it's not going to happen. It makes me sad because the Jade is my favorite ship and she won't be back to the US for at least several years. 

I have a cruise in April (we'll see about that...) and just checked my cruise planner which shows prices. A 50 minute couples deep tissue massage is $289, so about $230 with the latitudes discount. 

I love getting massages and the massages I got on the Pearl last year were two of my favorites. There was a brief consultation beforehand where you could discuss any problem areas or injuries (not always done on land in my experience) and the masseuse I had asked very often if the pressure was okay. I wasn't pressured into buying any products or anything like that. Overall, really enjoyable experience. 

I did a bamboo massage and a hot stone massage later in the week. Would highly recommend both (don't think they're offered as a couple massage though, but you can always ask onboard). 

9 hours ago, hallux said:

That really needs to be decided at the time of booking the cruise (or at least prior to final payment), and should be almost automatic for most people when a flight to the embarkation city is involved.  I'm actually surprised they changed your flights after they were ticketed, or were those just the placeholder flights that appear prior to ticketing?

You honestly expected NCL to book you in first class?  That's unreasonable, IMO.  But once you get your reservation number it's certainly your option to pay to upgrade your seat if you wish.

Not sure how you're interpreting any of what I said as me expecting NCL to book us first class? That's why we called to upgrade...

We booked our cruise about 9 months out and said we'd like to fly first. At that time the flights were not available that far out so they told us to call back closer to departure. We called back once the flight information appeared on our account, so we called and were able to get upgraded. On that same call we had to pay a separate fee to fly in the day before. We couldn't change anything until the flight information appeared on our account. 

I did flights through NCL once and it was not horrible, but I wouldn't do it again. They originally booked us on American Airlines from Washington DC (DCA) to Miami. We had to call and adjust to flights the day before. We had to call and pay to upgrade to first class. It was just a hassle and I'd rather book the flights myself on my preferred airline. Also on the way back, we had a 10pm flight out of Miami and spend the entire day in the airport trying (without luck) to get on an earlier flight. 

If you're flying from the NYC area to Miami, you have a wealth of airline options, times, and prices. I'd book yourself. It's not hard to find good hotels in Miami either (I usually do the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon). 

I personally feel like an addict that can't get a fix 

I never imagined my April cruise would be in danger, but here we are. I have a Royal FCC to use and I'm trying to decide what to book for summer/fall 2021

15 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Don't think anyone said CocoCay was not part of the Bahamas. 

Well you said earlier CocoCay probably won't be affected...even though it's in the Bahamas and subject to Bahamian laws and regulations. 

8 hours ago, Cruise Stud said:

Very interesting...always love a nice plunge in the hottub, especially if I don't have to wear a bathing suit.  😉

 

On the Jade class ships, are the thermal suites gender-specific or co-ed?

On the Jewel and Jade there is a central co-ed area with heated loungers and a thalassotherapy pool. In the men's thermal area there is a jacuzzi, cold plunge tub, steam room, sauna, rainfall showers, and comfortable chairs to relax and read a book in (plus the obvious normal showers, lockers, bathroom, etc.)

On the Pearl and the Gem there is a larger central co-ed area with a thalassotherapy pool, jacuzzi, and rainfall showers. On the mens side there is a steam room, sauna, comfortable chairs, single person jacuzzi and a cold plunge (plus the normal bathroom, showers, lockers, etc.)

There are some really good tours on YouTube. I've done the thermal suite on the Gem, Pearl, and Jade and really enjoyed it each time, but the Jade is definitely my favorite. 

27 minutes ago, mjs99mjs said:

Which itinerary on the Jade in April? That transatlantic one caught my eye. --Mark

I'll be doing the repositioning cruise from Tampa to NYC. The transatlantic does look awesome though! 

On 4/20/2020 at 3:07 PM, Repositioner said:

 

Well, just to be clear; none of the four (NCL Jewel, Gem, Jade, Pearl) has a mens community whirlpool.  The Pearl once did, but it was removed.  That having been said, the elaborate facilities on these ships remain the best of their kind.  NCL's regrettable practice of charging $20 - $30 a day for thermal passes discourages many passengers from ever using them.  

I'm a bit late but I was on the Jade in February 2019 and it had a large whirlpool in the thermal suite. You can also see it on the deckplans. I'll be on the Jade again in April 2021 and hope it's not removed by then. If the cruise lines are cutting costs, I can't see that maintenance being a priority. 

I got hooked on the thermal suite on the Jade and now get it every time I cruise. 

16 hours ago, kwokpot said:

There's a water fountain across from the showers in the men's locker room. 

Awesome, thanks man!

On 5/12/2020 at 8:53 AM, Jimmy_g88 said:

We sailed on Indy after the 2018 Dry Dock and the sauna and steam room

was still there to use.

 

Not sure on Navigator sorry.

On Independence is there any type of water fountain in the locker room? Never sailed Royal and looking forward to some steam room time after working out (or to sweat out the hangover haha). 

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

There are two threads here about the The Key -- one is basic discussion, another is reviews of people who actually used it on a ship.  That might help you decide.  General consensus seemed to be that it was only worth the cost if you were on a shorter cruise.  

Keep in mind that The Key has to be purchased for everyone in the room age six and above, and also that Voom is heavily discounted if you're getting a multi-person/device package.  (I usually get a 4-device package and split it with others, often paying ~$9-$11/day per person.) 

So if you're getting the Key for four people for a five day cruise at $25/person/day, that's $500.  If you got a 4-person Voom package at $44/day, that's only $220.  It would be up to you to decide if the possible benefits of The Key are worth the extra $280, or if that money would be better spent on excursions, souvenirs, drinks, gambling, or a deposit on another cruise.  (And for longer cruises, the difference just gets higher, with no increase in benefits.)

I went ahead and looked up a thread of reviews for you, since I had the time and the search engine here can be... uh... "special":  

 

Really appreciate that, I had not seen that thread when I searched a few days ago. I'm traveling solo, so it's not super pricey for just one on a 5 day. 

Just now, Scoobydobe7 said:

If the drink package comes down you can cancel the one booked and rebook at the lower price up until I think 48 hours before sailing

Awesome, that's what I assumed, but wanted to double check with the experts on here. 

Good Morning everyone,

I have my first Royal cruise booked for September of this year on Independence of the Seas. A few weeks ago I saw the Deluxe Beverage Package was $45 a day. I stupidly didn't jump on it then and now it's $65 a day. If I book now and then the price drops, can I call and rebook with the new price or am I locked in? 

Also, does anyone have experience with The Key on Independence? Seems pretty interesting especially since I was planning to get Voom anyways. 

If anyone has any tips or tricks, drink recommendations, etc for Independence or what you wished you would have known for your first Royal cruise, I'd love to hear that as well. I feel like I'm really going to like Royal and have my eye on a few cruises next year too. 

Thanks!

Really glad I found this thread! I've been browsing for the past few hours, but just wanted to say that I love your posts. I've lived in Atlanta my whole life up until last year when I moved to DC. I went to GT and lived in Midtown for 5 years and have been to so many of the restaurants you're posting about. If you haven't tried it, highly recommend Babalu in Midtown off West Peachtree. It's one of my favorite places and the margaritas are STRONG! 

I'm going to go binge-read your Horizon thread now.

Great review! I was on this sailing as well and had an incredible time! 

42 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

From the look of your cabin photos I see you had a PrivaSea balcony.  What did you think of it?  I know some CC members think it's horrible to have one of those balconies but when we had one on the Dawn I was very satisfied with it.

Some members on CC think minor issues are the end of the world, so I'm not surprised they feel that way. 

I thought it was great and did not take away the view in any way. I still enjoyed sitting out there and watching the sea go by like on a "normal" balcony. 

2 minutes ago, Von & John said:

 

In looking @ the menus & your reference to the noise from the Champagne Bar below leads me to believe Jasmine's is similar to Chin Chin on the Jewel...  We enjoyed both Lunch & Dinner there.  Dinner was our first meal & better than the lunch (flavor).  During dinner we did enjoy the live music wafting up the stairs from the Champagne Bar...

Yup, they are the same thing, different name. I did not even know they had a lunch option! Thankfully the musician was very talented, but just a bit too loud for me trying to talk with new friends. 

So for day 2, we moved our clocks back an hour. I woke up about 8:00am and decided to make a smart choice and go to the gym. I ran on the treadmill for about 30 minutes. That's the most exercise I would do all week. Afterwards I decided to check out the thermal suite, but the doors were locked. I was yanking on the door when finally one of the spa ladies said it was't 8:00 yet. Ooops, forgot to turn my clock back. 

I decided to check out the Garden Cafe for breakfast and it was very crowded for 7:45am, but I had no trouble finding a seat. I could not find Eggs Benedict for the life of me, so I finally asked someone. He took me over to the omelette station where the chef made it fresh for me. They don't set EB out and you have to specially ask for it. No big deal-delicious as always. 

I finally went back to the spa, which was now open, and relaxed in the thermal spa for about 90 minutes. The comfy chairs by the hot tub on the men's side were great to sit and read in for awhile. The sounds of the jets from the hot tub made it a bit loud, but it wasn't a big deal. Plus, you had amazing views out the front of the ship. 

We had our Cruise Critic/FB page meetup at the beer and whiskey bar at 10:30. There was no official meetup set up with Officers or anything, which is my first, but it was still nice to meet people you've been chatting with for the past few months. 

The Garden Cafe was supposed to open at 11:30 for lunch, but it was closer to 11:50, so I was rushed since I was trying to make trivia at 12. I inhaled a burger and ran down to trivia. Now here's a tip, the daily displayed on the app may not be 100% accurate. On the app it said World Currency trivia. I'm a geography nerd and would have crushed it. When I got down there, it was Cartoon Character trivia, which is what the physical Freestyle Dailies said. I made it a point to always carry the physical copy with me the rest of the week and not rely on the app. I never noticed any other discrepancies throughout the week though. 

For the rest of the afternoon, I laid out by the pool, spent some more time in the thermal suite reading, relaxing, and making new friends. There was definitely a nap involved. We had our solo meetup at 5:30 like normal and then went to the Alizar Main Dining Room for dinner. Menu pictures below 

Crab and cheese wontons were a big hit!

The gumbo was pretty good (but I have high gumbo standards)

And then the beef sirloin medallions were excellent! The steak was cooked perfectly.

That night we went to the show, which I believe was Palace of Lights, a Cuban themed singing and dancing show. It was good, not great, but good. It was far better than any show I saw on the Getaway last year. It was enjoyable and only lasted about 45 minutes. Brenda, the solo host, had us reserved seats in the balcony, so we had a great view of the show. I definitely had my fair share of martinis that night. Mat, the bartender at the martini bar, is excellent! There was another bartender who did tricks with ice and your key card, but I forgot his name. It's a really enjoyable bar to sit at and have some great drinks. 

Next up-Costa Maya