goodgriefer

We didn’t find our boardwalk balcony noisy. Depends on what you consider noisy I guess. It is ‘busy’ on the boardwalk in the daytime, but it’s a good vibe, people having fun but not loud to us. Nights were quiet. The carousel shuts down early enough, and if you are inside the bell wont interrupt a conversation.

The view of the aqua theatre was cool, you get the bonus of watching the rehearsals.

Way too many "germaphobics" on this site.

 

The bacteria won't hurt you.

People need toughen up and to build up some immunity...

lol either you are trolling or you really have no clue about how easily disease spreads. It’s not just your family and friends, like a group of 10 or 20, we’re talking swapping spit with 100’s. Not a germaphobe, once something starts on a cruise ship it spreads like fire and you won’t find out until too late.

Back on topic, have never had an issue taking water off the ship. Most times am asked to empty the bottle coming back.

We have all of ours. As some others have mentioned, if you run into points total confusion and having the cards clears it up in a jiffy....this happened to our parents

I thought things were decent in Phillipsburg. Yes you can tell there was a hurricane and one of the hotels is being torn down. New stands selling the claptrap that used to be carried around and sold. I heard they might be removed.

Mano beach lost some sand but is coming back. The restaurant/bar is open.

Likely the worst area we saw was Cupecoy.

The people who live on the island are trying to encourage themselves as the island gets back on its feet.

I must say the Dutch have been outstanding in their support for the island. Too bad Puerto Rico doesn’t have that kind of friend.

I finally got on Oasis this year and loved it. It did NOT feel any more crowded than Voyager or Freesom class with the possible exception of the stop at Labadee which was heavily loaded with the number of cruisers.

They have done a great job of breaking up the space, and created some really nice smaller entertainment spaces.

I think you will like it!

If by brochure you mean the catalog of cruises we’ve been able to scare up a copy until this year.

It is, for us, a superior way to shop for a cruise. The itinerary maps tell you what ports at a glance, deck plans are handy and large....and away you go. We tend to shop by itinerary and if you use the internet that’s a giant pain in the butt. Deck plans online are a pain because you have to scroll around.

We like the Explorer class for size and the ease in getting around.

It won’t hold up to Oasis for variety and number of venues but if you are doing the Alaska itinerary you will appreciate the amount of exterior deck so you can sightsee from the ship.

If food and entertainment is your real focus then maybe just do Oasis, Caribbean, and stay on the ship.

Why anyone should pay more for a hamburger is beyond me in the first place. Having said that, You either go or don’t go.

If you’re trying to say this should be free like the pizza or park cafe, hot dog shop etc. then I totally agree with you. Remember to include it in your feedback after the cruise.

Here is a link to a Cruise Critic article. It's a good starting point. Personally I would use a travel agent. They should offer a good incentive in price or OBC for this large group. At the very least I would use a Royal Caribbean cruise planner. At one time they offered a free room for every 8 rooms booked. I don't know if that still holds true.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=272

Excellent article.

It’s one free berth, not room, for every 8 rooms. Of the same class. There are not a lot of other real goodies but that one alone is huge. Also for best rate have the TA reserve a block of rooms, individuals won’t be able to pick the rooms, they will be assigned. Use a TA who has a lot of experience with cruises especially groups or an RC cruise planner.

You will be doing a lot of communication with the group so be prepared and know how much you want to handle yourself and when to send them to the TA . Likewise when on the ship know when to send them to Guest Services. I assume they all know how to use the internet so be ready with some good websites where they can get started on answering their own questions and encourage them to talk to each other.

Good luck. Group cruises are a blast although slightly more tiring for the organized than travelling with 1 or 2 other couples.

Likewise have brought home many of bottles of rum without breakage. Pack them in the middle of the suitcase.

I was off at Home Depot. Picked up a Moen cartridge and fixed my own faucet. Saved a bunch over a plumber. :D

 

Is that cheating the local plumbing industry? :confused:

What an interesting example, better than you think. Moen cartridges are guaranteed for life if you are the original purchaser. Hope you didn’t cheat yourself ;)

Or start trying other cruise lines. I have been curious to see what other lines are like lately but since we've become diamond the drink perks (which are just right for us now) make it too tempting to stay with RC. If this diamond perk goes away and only diamond plus and above have access, I will definitely try other lines. Not saying I won't sail RC anymore but there will be nothing to keep me loyal. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one thinking this and I'm also pretty sure RC doesn't want to risk upsetting all of those diamond members.

We are D+ and this perk has made the difference for us since we were D. We take 2 cruises a year and haven’t sailed on another line for a decade. Keep talking about if but we really like the lounge and drink service level. Without this we would definitely be giving Norwegian and Princess a try just to see what they have to offer.

Maybe 1 point per cruise,2 points for JS and 3 points for GS and above and 1 extra point for single cruisers.

This would enable full suite users to move up C&A loyalty quicker.

Loyalty is loyalty, don’t think it should be for sale. Enjoy the Suite Lounge, Coastal Kitchen, Concierge etc that doesn’t require loyalty.

We were on with you for the 2nd leg. Agree the crew was the most engaged we’ve seen lately. Liked the food, it also seemed better, reversing what has been a declining trend.

Weather was meh until we got to the islands. The rainiest cruise ever for us.

Sorry you were sick. Not fun, and when you’re supposed to be kicking back and getting a break. As others have said, thanks for staying away from the rest of the cruisers, germs spread too easily. Too bad you can’t get a credit for that!

The company I work for has a production facility in PR. They will not be ready to manage tourism in any volume for some time to come (4+ weeks)

On a related topic our flights to SXM in November have already been cancelled.

You can do a lot. Go for it

Also, we've had some cruise sales people who seemed resistant to giving us the OBC on the future cruise. One even told us it was not possible. I had to request to speak to the supervisor. So if that's what you want, you may have to insist on it.

Our experience as well, the resistance that is. Was before the NRD though.

Ashland, thanks for confirming. This was the first time that I understood that 'it's different' if the OBC is applied in the traditional (next cruise) way, the noise over NRD must be drowning out the fine print.

Thanks Bob this helps a lot. So if I take the OBC on the next cruise instead of this cruise,the deposit is still refundable.

How come nobody mentions that?

It's known that the further north you sail on the Atlantic the rougher the sea is likely to be. That said, it isn't rough every day.

Martinique. Best pier ever. Too bad the port town doesn't live up to it!

Best cruise ever!!

Because we got married in Maui. Reception was on the ship. Super fun.

That was our crowd ripping up the dance floor most nights.

We hit most of the spots you did. Great photos!

I've been away from the RCI board for a couple of months. It's good to see that nothing has changed.:)

I just came across this one and 100% agree with what you posted Sept 2016.

After some adjustment from what we were used to, we liked it. Silk as a restaurant was crappy but that could have been fixed easily.

However as long as they offer suite guests more options it helps avoiding the crowds. Especially a dedicated restaurant and lounge like newer rc ships

lol yes if you are a suite guest. The rest will be more crowded.

Tender will run all night. Service will be less frequent of course when there are not many using it, that is, there may only be one tender available and if it has just left you will have to wait for it. Doesn't take terribly long.

We tip $1 per night at the lounge. If I'm using the bar coupon $1 per drink/pair of drinks if we're together. I don't see many people tipping but then again I'm not really watching. We don't do it to get better service although there's no doubt it helps. But it also helps to shoot the breeze a bit and get the rapport going, we look forward to the servers in the lounges.