Gordo

Looking forward to reading about your experience sailing to Taiwan. Have a fantastic vacation.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Would you sail on Anthem again?

You are doing a fantastic job with your first live review.

We just booked a Freedom cruise so am happily following your thread.

Have a fabulous vacation. Thanks for taking us along.

We board in two weeks and our set sail pass shows Suite.

Awesome! Good for you.

Enjoy the Coastal Kitchen, and the double points.

I think the op has had his question answered and came back to say they had been given good food for thought. I’m also agreeing with OP that it does change the booking system - just as it did when hotels adopted their New non refundable system.

But I’m not sure what is accomplished by judging them and attacking the OPs question, and then their recreational investments?

Agreed.

In regards to the new pricing structure, it is a change for us that will influence how we book our future cruises.

I had it twice last week on the Navigator. First time in Chops which was delicious, then on the last night the MDR waiter offered us ‘surf & turf’ of filet mignon and jumbo shrimp for $12, and the filet was equally delicious. 10/10 both times!

 

 

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Nice. I hope they offer this on our cruise in two weeks!!

How exciting!! Congrats, and enjoy!!

We are on Ovation In Grand Loft Suite do the same genie terms apply as you have stated. Told but not From RCI we have all specialty resturants Chefs table etc are included. I really don't think all these things are included but will see once on board.

Any Information before Genie is in touch would be good.

We were in a Sky Loft Suite with Star Class Service on Ovation last November, and all of the Specialty Restaurants were included free of charge, with the only exception being a $25 per person charge for the wine pairing at the Chef's Table.

Our Genie Wendy was phenomenal, and we were truly spoiled while on Ovation!!! We will definitely miss that level of service on future cruises.

While not soda, with the deluxe package package we have taken bottled water off the ship with us for our shore excursions.

Really enjoying your review and fabulous pictures!!

I look forward to seeing some Halloween costume photos.

We are lucky in that we can get nonstop flights from Chicago to both airports, and so even with a stop over what would make Allure win over Oasis would be the proximity of the airport to the port.

We sailed this week a few years ago (booked last minute after a wonderful birthday celebration for my mom in which she fell in love with cruising). We got a great rate on a guarantee cabin, and were very pleased with our assigned cabin. We loved how they had the ship decorated for the holidays. We would definitely book this week again!

Thanks for sharing your experience, and the tip for Santorini.

Thanks for the feedback.

The cruise line is charging $699 per person for double occupancy.

All of the locals we spoke to are very happy to see tourists. They would love to see more, but realize the conditions need to improve. They are all upbeat and positive and proud of what’s been accomplished to date.

Warms my heart to read this as they have been through so much.

Have a wonderful vacation!

We are sailing on Radiance of the Seas to New Zealand next month, and have not booked a tour for our stop in Dunedin. Last night I went on the RCCL website and noticed a new tour offering that is intriguing (but also on the expensive-side). I am wondering if anyone has done this tour (info below), and could provide feedback on the experience. Thanks in advance.

Multi Day Adventures – Queenstown – Milford/Dunedin

Day 1: Milford Sound – Queenstown

Venture to one of the most beautiful destinations on the face of the earth, Fiordland National Park. The mountain scenery is spectacular and waterfalls are counted by the hundreds. Rushing rivers, alpine lakes, towering mountains and the deep valleys of the Southern Alps. One of the nice features of your trip is the food. You’ll find the lakeside resort community of Te Anau a perfect place to relax and enjoy lunch.

Once you check into your hotel at Queenstown the rest of the afternoon is yours. This is a delightful town, a nice place to shop for souvenirs and stroll by the lake.

Your wonderful evening takes you aboard a vintage steamship and cruises across Lake Wakatipu. An elegant dinner will be served at the Walter Peak HighCountry sheep station, and an amazing sheep-dog demonstration.

Day 2: Queenstown – Dunedin

Arrowtown is a former gold-mining community on the Arrow River. As you strollaround the lovely community, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back to 1860s. TheLakes District Centennial Museum reveals the history of the area. You might recognize the Kawarau Suspension Bridge, which was built across a beautifully rugged gorge. It is where bungee-jumping was born. You may watch as a jumper dives into the gorge.

The Gibbston Valley Winery is the southernmost winery in the world, renowned for its unique caves which provide a near perfect underground storage environment. You’ll have an opportunity to taste the distinct and highlyregarded wines.

The small Victorian mountain village of Clyde is a perfect stop for lunch before continuing through New Zealand’s gold mining country and on to Dunedinand your ship.

Kawagama - sorry you had to miss some beautiful islands. I hope you have a chance to visit there in the future. We sailed from Venice a couple years back and it was incredible.

Also sorry that you received some negative feedback on this thread. The attack was unwarranted!

Over the last few years this type of behavior is the main reasons I am less inclined to visit and share on this site.

Hi,

 

 

 

I am scheduled to sail on the Maasdam out of Sydney on October 21. The ship returns to Sydney at 7 AM on November 22. Holland America advises passengers to book departing flights no earlier than 12:15 PM. I booked a 12:30 flight, but my airline just had a schedule change to 11:50 AM and there are no later direct flights available. Do any of you have a sense as to whether I can make an 11:50 AM international flight? Thank you!

We are sailing on Radiance of the Seas and are having the same issue. The ship returns on 11/29 at 6:30am. We booked a 12:30pm return flight the same day, and United changed the flight to 11:50am. At this point I would hate to try to change the flight because we are confirmed upgraded to business on our current flight.

We will get off the ship as early as possible. Are we better with an uber, taxi or the train on a Wednesday morning?

Please report back on which flight you took. Best of luck.

We don't necessarily have the same routine on each cruise, but as of late have been enjoying the first night in a specialty restaurant to bypass the some of the chaos in the main dining room.

We sailed out of Hong Kong last November on Ovation, and had a fabulous tour with Hong Kong Getaway Tours. Mandy was our fabulous guide, and her tour was one of our favorites of this vacation.

We do not know what they offer post-cruise since our tour with them was pre-cruise tour, but know they will offer options if you reach out to them directly. Good luck with your planning.

We are considering sailing on Freedom, and so am excited to follow along.

Thank you for sharing. Enjoy!!!

Maybe I need to start sleeping with my old sea pass cards under my pillow. :D

LOL. Please let us know if that works, as we sail on Radiance next month too.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

We had a similar experience with the loud music around the pool and the same unsuccessful request to turn it down a bit.

Ephusus (Kusadasi) Turkey has been off limits all 2017 because of terrorist activity in Turkey.

It appears in the 2018/2019 brochure but when i was checking on line today for 2018 Turkey has been deleted.

And now the US and Turkey have mutually suspended Visas. It looks like a visit to Turkey is off our radar now too.