rubrrick

Great to have Fox news on our 9/3/17 Oasis cruise. Thanks Michael Bayley, and Ken Rush for making this happen, as promised on the Presidents cruise last year.

Rick

What I don't understand, is if they decision was made, now over an hour ago, to head for Miami, why is the Liberty of the Seas still just sitting, dead in the water, outside of Galveston?

Rick

I'd say that Carnival has it much more together than Royal Caribbean at this time. Here is a quote released just a short time ago on the Royal Caribbean website and I quote.

"August 25, 2017

We are still actively monitoring the path and progression of Hurricane Harvey. At this time, Liberty of the Seas will keep her original schedule for Sunday’s turnaround in Galveston, Texas. Should we make any changes to Liberty of the Seas' itinerary, we will make sure to inform our guests.

We will post another update on Saturday, August 26, 2017 by 12:00 PM CT. "

Just for comparison with "classless" Carnival, here's their statement as of about an hour ago.

 

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE STATEMENT 8/25/2017 4:11PM

Prior Updates

 

View All UpdatesAugust 25, 2017 3:45 PMSTATEMENT FROM CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE

08/25/17 – 1:00 PM (EST)

Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom are currently keeping a safe distance from the storm as they make their way back to Galveston.

 

Carnival Breeze is currently docked in Cozumel and will now overnight there. The ship will depart for Galveston tomorrow afternoon to be in position to debark guests when the port reopens.

 

The Port of Galveston is closed to all marine traffic. It is expected to remain closed until the storm has passed and a port assessment has been completed. Please do not proceed to the cruise terminal until you have heard from us.

 

Our intention is to dock in Galveston as soon as port officials have reopened the port. The duration of your cruise will have to be shortened and the itinerary modified. Cruise details will be finalized once we have confirmed our arrival into Galveston. Guests who sail will receive a pro-rated refund of their cruise fare for missed days and refund of any pre-purchased Carnival Adventures for canceled ports. Additionally, guests who pre-purchased any of our beverage packages will receive a pro-rated refund. Gratuities will also be adjusted to reflect the shortened duration.

 

We certainly understand the impact Hurricane Harvey is having on your cruise plans. Should you wish to cancel and receive a future cruise credit, please call 1-800-CARNIVAL, contact your Personal Vacation Planner at 1-800-819-3902, or your travel agent.

 

We continue to actively monitor the storm and will update you tomorrow at 3:00PM CDT. To stay up to date, please sign up for text alerts by texting the codes below to CRUISE (278473).

 

Carnival Freedom 08/26/17 - CCL1

Carnival Valor 08/26/17 - CCL2

Carnival Breeze 08/27/17 - CCL3

https://www.carnival.com/travel-alerts.aspx

August 25, 2017 11:57 AMOn Friday, Aug. 25 at Noon the Captain of the Port set port condition Zulu for the Port of Galveston and surrounding area. This means that gale force winds are expected within 12 hours.

If you knew anything about me, you'd know that I am probably one of the least likely people to be rude on here. My comment "what's your point" was not intended to be offensive, but rather simply ask that exact question. My apologies if you interpreted it any other way.

Happy sailing [emoji572]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Robyn is about as laid back, kindest people here. On the subject of the Diamond Desk, I met one of the top managers from Oregon when I was on the Presidents cruise last September, and he told me that during the day, there are 5 people that try to get the calls that dial the extra digit.

Rick

Most ships offer a private dining area for breakfast for suite passengers and Pinnacle Club members only.

Rick

Thank you OP for your guidance on how to change back to the old format.

It's good to know that one has a choice.

Rick

Happy New year Pat and Bucky. I'm loving following you on your cruise. We were aboard over Christmas, ate most of our dinners in the CK, once in Chops, and a couple of lunches in the Park Cafe, for their famous Kummelwick roast beef sandwiches.

Miss you both!:)

Rick

We had one with Hotel Director Robert on Radiance. Was very nice! :)

Robert Taggert is one of the best HD's on Royal Caribbean.

The reason that many of the Captains Tables have disappeared on many ships is that corporate is frowning on captains doing tables. We were invited to one on the Serenade of the Seas last month.

Along with that, some captains also will invite Pinnacle Club members to their cabin and that of the Hotel Director, but that is now also frowned on by corporate. After being in many captains quarters, I was amazed at the size of the captains quarters on Oasis class ships. Much smaller than even the Freedom class or Voyager class. They are not made for entertaining.

Rick

I'm pretty sure I've forgotten a few of the details. All in all, it's been a good run. :)

Pete and Karen are among the very few top Pinnacle Club members. Thanks for sharing what happened in the way of celebrating your status. You have wonderful stories to share and know that you have made many cruising friends along your way.

Rick

I believe that when one is ready to become a member of the Pinnacle Club, there is more pomp and circumstance if one is on a smaller ship.

That said, we celebrated our 100th cruise (before Royal Caribbean created the Pinnacle Club) on the Mariner of the Seas. There was the presentation of a stratum, indicating we were celebrating our 100th cruise, along with a special captains table dinner, special cake, special drinks, pictures that were presented in a wonderful folder, and many more things that never happen today, when one reaches 700 cruise points.

Even reaching 1400 cruise points, which we did on the Presidents cruise, was not nearly as much fun as what Royal Caribbean did for us on our 100th cruise.

I congratulate everyone that has become a Pinnacle Club member. All that it takes is time and money, and Royal Caribbean awards those that have spent the money with them, and whether the passengers book insides and cruise one night for one point, or a single spending money in an inside, getting 2 points per night, or a couple spending one night getting 2 cruise points in a suite, including a JS, or a single spending each night in a JS, getting 3 points per night.........everyone advances at a different speed.

We love to cruise, don't expect any recognition, but do enjoy meeting new cruisers as well as new and old Pinnacle Club members.:)

Rick

Will be getting on Serenade this Friday, and fortunately this time we have a GS!

How was your cruise? Any comments on Chops or Giovannis?

R&D

R & D, it has been a long time since we have cruised with you two. Got off of the Serenade on December 23rd, and food in both Chops and Giovannis was very good. They had a suite party that had an incredible food selection for lunch one day.

The Pinnacle lunch was fun but the food not as good.

Enjoy your cruise!!:);)

Rick

I used Orlando Black Limo service last month and was very pleased with the driver and service. They are part of Orlando Shuttle Service, and have many different types of vehicles and price points to choose from.

Rick

Just got off Oasis yesterday. There were 12 pinnacles sailing. 112 D+members. Our group was over 10% of the D+. Just for kicks we counted up the D+ members in our party under 25 with more than 175 points on their own. Then asked the kids about their friends that were on the ship (not in our group) and also D+ ON their own with their owns point total. They ran into friends from school, home and many past Christmas cruises. Being from GA, and FL, they run into lots of people they already know.

 

You would be surprised at how many young D+ members there are with over 175. While they may not pay for the cruises themselves, they do earn the points. I keep reading that people are assuming that most kids that are D+, are only D+ from inheriting it. That just is not the case! They cruise as a family and the kids do have the points! I heard too many Diamond members in the club saying the young adults should not be there. Like it is a club for older people only.

This cruise was the first time I heard people actually complaining about the age in the lounge being too young and they did not belong. The young adults were also well behaved. There were very few kids! I just don't get it...

 

This cruise was also the first time I heard people in the lounge checking that others were Diamond like them... I was actually asked by other guests about my status. WHY?

Interesting that the Diamond lounge was checking on D members. You need a card to get in.

We were in the top 12 Pinnacles....actually were the top cruisers. So what? It is all about the number of cruises that one obtains.

We will never have more cruises than Pete and Karen, or many other "top" cruisers on Royal Caribbean. I honor them, and wish that Pete has his health.

Rick

Maybe I should have said not many people use it. They announced the app on our sailing also (ending 12/23) but when we walked in the MP line there were two people in it (who were through by the time we reached the reader) and everyone else was in the regular line (about 30 deep at the time). This was fairly early during departure - about 10 min in. Some of this may also depend on the terminal and the number of staffed queues vs. MP readers (only one in Terminal 25).

Biker19, was hoping to meet you on the SR, but I missed the M&M. Hopefully next time!

Rick

Off of the SR on 12/23/16 and we had loaded the mobile app on my phone. Took selfie pictures and had it pre programed the day before. On disembarkation, we turned on the app, and headed for customs.

Once there, we were surprised that they also had a GOES line (Global Entry) that was empty. Needless to say, we were thru customs faster than anywhere I have experienced.......international airports included.

So we didn't have a chance to try the mobile app, but certainly like the whole idea.

Rick

The quietest (is that a word?) GS's on Vision Class ships are the ones just aft of the forward stairs. So, look at 8016 or 18 or 8516 or 18.

Normally when we cruise on a Vision Class ship we pick cabin 8502 which is an OS. We hear muffled sounds early in the morning, but it's nothing intolerable for us.

Enjoy your GS.:)

Rick

Royal Caribbean has pretty much done away with egg crate toppers, as they say they are not really sanitary.

We always ask for a bed topper, and now they are using the duvets, under the bottom sheet, which are washable, and we find them just as comfortable as the old egg crates.

Just got off the Oasis, and the bed in our JS was very comfortable.:)

Rick

I have cruised with Super Mario on several occasions in the past, and he is a wonderful person to get to know.

My last cruise with him was on the Allure of the Seas, last September, for the Presidents cruise. We talked about the number of points he has (many) and if all goes well, he plans on being on the Freedom of the Seas next September for the 2nd annual Presidents cruise, at which time he will reach 7,000 cruise points. Yep, Pinnacle times 10! Pretty impressive, but he does it one cruise at a time.:)

I think that the couple with the next highest number of points is around 3,300 points, and that is impressive.

Super Mario is loved by both crew and fellow passengers. If you get a chance to cruise with him, introduce yourself, and you will find out just how friendly he is, as well as his wealth of knowledge of Royal Caribbean.

Rick

I sailed them about 15 years ago out of florida on a very old ship the Melody , reminded me of Costa really good Italian food

We also cruised for 2 summers out of Florida on the Melody. The MSC Melody was "The Big Red Boat" before MSC picked her up for their fleet. Funny thing, every time we docked somewhere, as the ship would rub up against the pier, the white paint would be scraped away, leaving the red paint exposed. The crew were constantly painting the hull. This was back in 1998 and 1999.

We remember MSC fondly, and look forward to once again sailing on some of the newer ships in the fleet.

Rick

Checked in for Oasis at PC on Dec. 18. DH and I each had wheelchair assistance and were whisked past the line to a special checkin station. Must have been lady's first day as it took us about 1/2 hour for her to process us and we had all kinds of forms to fill out (which I had already filled out on line). We were 1st in line and when she finally finished you would not believe the length of the line waiting in wheelchairs to checkin. I had set sail passes printed and passports open and all in order. The longest checkin we have ever experienced. After she checked us in she had to go somewhere else to get our sea pass cards and that took her at least 10 minutes.

 

PC does need a lot of help with their boarding system. Hope they fix it soon.

Our experience with Port Canaveral happened on December 23rd. We were off the Serenade in Ft. Lauderdale, and picked up a rental car to drive north to Port Canaveral. We arrived and returned the rental car, and were shuttled to the pier at about 1:10 PM. The line outside of the terminal must have held around 2,000 people, and it took almost an hour to get to the terminal. Getting through security was easy, but then it was back to just one line to get to the agent, where there were signs for Suite and Pinnacle members, but we were told we could not use it, even tho we are Pinnacle Club members and staying in a suite.

There were wheel chair people that were being helped in a smaller, seperate line.

We boarded the ship at about 2:45 PM. Royal Caribbean needs to address this area of concern.

Rick

I just listened to a blog from a web site I don't think I can mention and the person giving the review of their trip on the Oasis just a few weeks ago was a bit upset that he could not have his mother check in with him. She is in her 80's and uses a walker and they still told him no, he could check in with her but not vice-a-versa. He was a suite guest, she was not. Apparently they were pretty cold and firm about it. Needless to say he did not make his 80 Y.O. mother check in alone.

The check in at Port Canaveral for the Oasis of the Seas is the worst that I have experienced, ever. From the time that the shuttle let us out, we were in line for over 1 and a half hours. When we reached the door of the entrance to the terminal, there were signs for Pinnacle and suite cabins, but we were told that we needed to stay in line with everyone else.

When we reached another point, and mentioned this to one of the port agents, she said that she had told the first agent to let suites and Pinnacles in the proper line, but he ignored her.

We are not complainers, but there were some that had paid many dollars to cruise in the high end suites, and they were complaining, and yet nothing was being done to accomodate them.

All other aspects of the cruise were wonderful, including the disembarking process. Off the ship at 7:45 AM and waiting for our ride, with luggage picked up and past immigration by 7:55 AM. I was quite impressed by that.:)

Rick

Royal Caribbean did away with egg crate toppers earlier this year. Apparently they would not that sanitary, so now if you ask for something more comfortable (we do always) they will put a duvet under the mattress cover to make the bed softer.

Just off the Serenade on Dec 23rd, where they were changing out all of the mattresses, which will be finalized by the end of the year...........that's tonight!

Happy New Year everyone.:)

Rick

7 days till boarding the Serenade, then spending Christmas on the Oasis. Joy to the world!:)

Rick

Following along. We will be embarking after you dis embark. We had planned on going to Chops on night one, but will rethink it after your comments.

Our itinerary is slightly different, but will enjoy hearing about your ports.

Safe travels.:)

Rick

Karen, it's time for a name change of Captain Lis.......last name that is, as she has taken Thore's last name.

Rick