MainerRN92

2 hours ago, LuCruise said:

I know...this is all so hard and depressing. We were on the first wave of cancellations.  I had started packing (a pile for me, and pile each for our kids) but then just halted.  Even after we/Royal cancelled I had the clothes sitting there for a week before "unpacking" ... or putting stuff back in our closets.  Lost the cheap drink package, great cruise price (booked 2 years earlier) and the excitement.  And then when our cruise date hit, I kept thinking "we should be doing x now...".  Really disappointing. 

I'd started packing for my April 19 cruise on Freedom. I finally unpacked it all when Royal officially extended their suspension of cruising, but I'd accepted it wouldn't happen well before that. It was very heartbreaking putting it all away. Even more heartbreaking cancelling my cruise planner purchases, which I'd done a few days before the cruise was cancelled. It'll be hard when April 19 comes and picturing what I should have been doing 😔

32 minutes ago, truffles2 said:

Smyrna was a Greek city on the Aegean and several states have a city named Smyrna...such as Tennessee and Georgia in addition to Florida.

 

oops..should have read to the end before replying...

We have a Symrna in Maine, too 🙂

5 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you that's very kind of you.

It was the circumflex artery that was blocked but I had only slight discomfort and ECG,xray and CT scans were fine,it was the blood test that showed protein that confirmed the HA and the angioplasty confirmed the blockage.

That's amazing your husband had a heart transplant I hope he is well.

As a Cath Lab RN here I'm the States, it warms my heart to hear you talk so knowledgeably about your medical care! Most patients in the US have no idea what their medical history is because they don't pay attention/don't care. Glad everything went well for you and that you're on the mend!

7 hours ago, Pedro2400 said:

BTW

 

Air Canada Announced this morning, Free change or cancellation for all flights with Future travel credit...

 

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/travel-news-and-updates/2020/change-fee-waiver-existing-bookings.html    

I live in Maine, but I'm booked on an Air Canada flight out of Montreal to San Juan April 18 for my cruise on Freedom leaving the next day, so I've been following what Canada is doing regarding travel restrictions closely as I'll have to cross into Canada (and then back to the US on the other end). Not to mention flying into and out of Canada. I'm hoping we'll still be able to go, that's our current plan, but things have the potential to change in either direction. This either gets a lot worse, or it starts going away. But it's good to know we have options with our flight in addition to our cruise fare!

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Sunset from the S9+

Got an Android update yesterday, and a lot of functions look/act differently 

Just upgraded my S9+ to the S20 Ultra, you'll have to check it out when you get home. You'll have some amazing pics taken with it! 100x zoom...

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

Most ships have been added either before or during their dry-dock so I would expect the same for Freedom.  don't expect  the texting feature though. 

Oh perfect! I couldn't find if any of the others were added during their amps cause I didn't know if they'd been on before or not! I don't need the texting, I just enjoy being able to look at the days schedule without carting around my Compass! Thank you!

Hi all!

I've searched and searched but cannot find an answer - will Freedom be available on the Royal App after it's Amplification is done? I have a cruise on Freedom in April, and my app is currently telling me Freedom isn't supported on the app. I did enjoy using the app on Harmony (I know people have mixed feelings about the app, and that is not what this post is about), and I'd like to use it again on Freedom. Any insight anyone can give me would be great!

Hi Betty!

I was at Cococay in Dec on Harmony. We were the only ship there that day so I can't speak to what your specific experience will look like, but we loved the waterpark! I am a thrill ride kind of person, so I thoroughly enjoyed my day there. We got off the ship as soon as we could, and beelined straight for the slides. The slides that have tubes or mats to sit on do get lines pretty early and stay steady throughout the day, so I'd hit those first. Then, the tallest ride, Daredevil's Peak, has a ticket return system to minimize the wait in line. I'd stop by there and see what the return time is and get your ticket. The other slides in that area didn't really get lines at all throughout the day, se we easily rode everything multiple times. These slides are no joke. They are truly fun, and if that's the experience you want, you will get it, even with a small line. We planned our day to do slides first thing in the morning, do lunch, we did the zipline after lunch, hit the wave pool for a bit (cold like everyone says but you get used to it) headed over to Oasis pool for awhile, then hit up the slides again to end the day. In the last two hours the ship is in port the lines essentially disappear. They stop handing out tickets to Daredevil's Peak as it essentially becomes walk on. If this what you want to do for your day, you won't regret spending the money! Or the time in a few small lines.

I used GoPortCanaveral this past December. We used the Fly Snooze Cruise package. Our flight got into MCO later in the day so we chose a hotel near MCO. We used the hotel shuttle to get to the hotel. The bus picked us up the next morning, we were the first stop, and we only picked up at one other hotel literally next door. It is a larger coach bus, but very comfortable. On our way back, we got to the line for pickup when there were only about 15 people in line. We waited maybe 10 minutes, probably less than that, and the next bus arrived. There were some people in our line that didn't make it on that bus because the line filled up quickly behind us, but another bus was pulling in the slot next to ours as we were pulling away. Fair warning, there is only one drop off spot due to the way MCO is set up. The drop off is at terminal A, so if you're flying out of terminal B you have to hoof it across the airport. It's not GoPorts fault, it's just how MCO is. I loved GoPort, I would recommend it to anyone. It was very user friendly! 

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'm really considering booking Mardi Gras next year.

Two words: Havana Room!

We stayed in a Havana inside cabin on the Vista in 2017, the restricted access to two hot tubs and pool to Havana only guests was so worth it if you like a quieter pool. Especially since the pool situation is not ideal on Carnival, way too small/not enough. 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! I'll have to look back, but I don't remember seeing any comments on the Cats movie, just on the changes they made to Oasis' production 😉 I've seen you tease in several other threads you wouldn't comment on the movie until this Live, I'm a little let down 😂

1 hour ago, mickeyhereicome said:

We got about 3 inches last night and the last few days it has been in the teens with terrible wind chill! Do you have any children going with you?  Is it school vacation in Maine like it is in MA?

It is school vacation, no kids going unless you count my newly 18yr old step sister! She's graduating high school this year so we're making it a girls trip with my sister, her, and my step mom to celebrate. We're getting the snow now, expecting 6-9 in here in Bangor. Less than 100 days until my toes are in the sand and the temps are above freezing!

1 hour ago, mickeyhereicome said:

Hi from MA! We are on the same cruise! So looking forward to it.  Try "cruise deck plans" site (sorry for not putting the websites name, I read on here that you can't promote other sites).  There is a video for the room across from yours (1814) with the same angle.  However it is labeled as handicap so I don't know how much is different or if just the bathroom is different.  Hope it helps!

 

We had a similar situation when we found out the Pullman was above the main bed and not above the couch.  Thankfully I was able to switch our room to one with the sofa bed.

Hello from the freezing north! I don’t know if you guys are having the same cold snap we are, but planning for this cruise is all that’s keeping me warm! I’ll look for this, I’ve seen some pictures of that room too, and I don’t know what exactly the differences are, but it’ll work for me! Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I've searched for this topic but can't seem to find the specific answer in any of the threads I found. Does anyone know what the couch situation is for a third and fourth guest in this cabin? Is it a pull out full bed couch, a couch and trundle, or a couch and Pullman? Pictures would also be very much appreciated if anyone had any! We'll have 4 people in the room for the April 19 sailing.

Thank you!

Same as above. I was there on Harmony, only ship in port. Get right off the ship ASAP, do the Daredevil's Peak (big red slide), then go do all the tube slides. Throughout the day, the longest lines were the tube slides. For the most part, we were able to essentially walk straight onto all the slides with the exception of the red slide and the tube slides. At the end of the day, you can do the red slide multiple times in a row as they stop doing the return cards and no one is waiting. It is a significant hike up to the red slide, so keep that in mind if you're planning on doing it again and again. The climb gets daunting after while, and I'm a young fit healthy person 😂

I think you should do it because you sound very excited about it! I live in Maine, and it is a great time of year to visit! You may be a little past peak leaf peeping season in Bar Harbor and the farther north ports in Canada, but it'll still be fun! Plan on it being "cold" as a Florida resident (my Jacksonville family freeze with anything below 80😂), but to us New Englanders it'll still be very mild, nothing too crazy. I do highly suggest doing it again when your kids are older, say 10 and 12 range, because most of these port stops are rich in history, and they will enjoy and appreciate that a lot more at that age if they are anything like my sister and I growing up! As for the size of the cabins, I've never been on Empress but I've never been a fussy person with space in my cabin, I don't care if I have to side step around suitcases on the floor cause there are no more shelves and the bathroom is barely big enough to turn around in, because I'M ON A CRUISE SHIP!! Which is what is most important ☺️

Yes! I've been waiting for this, I'm dying to hear your thoughts on the Cats movie!!😂 Enjoy the cruise, living vicariously through you! Also wanted to thank you for your Adventure cabin thread, I'm on Freedom in April in cabin 1864. It's hard to find good pictures and reviews of those cabins, I appreciated the in depth review of the entire situation on that entire area!

I managed to snag a $48 for my Freedom cruise in April a couple weeks ago, without the Voom add on. It's been at $54 since then.

I saw a woman go down with swim shorts on, and I also saw a woman with the little skort/skirt bottoms on. In fact, on daredevils peak those swimsuits might be an asset! You go up to 60mph and if your a smaller person like me, you do not go down in the stream of water, you're off to the side on the dry part. Let's just say typical bikini bottoms were not my friend 😂

We just got off Harmony in Dec. Izumi sushi is flat out amazing. The ramen bowl I highly recommend. We had the 3 night dining package and Izumi was definitely our favorite. You'll love the ship, Port Canaveral is easy to navigate, and they have the new facial recognition so getting off the ship at the end is easy. We also found Windjammer busy and hard to move through due to crowds. If you try to get there as they are opening on a port day, don't bother, the line waiting to get in is beyond long. Central park cafe had a great breakfast and lunch but was just as crowded, if not more so than, as Windjammer. 

8 hours ago, Gr123 said:

Did you find that the cocktails etc were covered on your anthem cruise. 

I keep seeing that the package covers up to $12 a drink but the cocktails and wine glasses are showing in pictures of the menu as above this mark? 

I can't answer for Anthem, but on Harmony my husband and I would frequently order the specialty $13 drinks figuring paying the difference would not be a big deal, and we were never charged anything extra, the expense on our onboard accounts would show $0.00 at each card swipe. And this was in different bars with different bartenders. This was just our experience, YMMV based on the staff you get. We did find "our bar" by the 2nd day that we would frequent most, and made friends with the bartenders there, and it paid off. Once they knew us we would get alcohol upgrades, like from house tequila to Patron silver, this one guy who was a mixing master would just see my husband as we walked in and start making him some fun drink off menu because he knew he was adventurous. This was in Boleros and the bartender was Silviu. We tried all the bars but it pays to find one and stick to it. And we don't tip until the end of the cruise, so this was all done for no incentive. He got a very nice reward on the last night 😉

I saw people getting water with regular cups on Harmony, it shouldn't be an issue.

I find the food on Carnival better, and I found the FUN squad above and beyond compared to the cruise director staff on Royal. In the end, you can ask a bunch of different people and get a bunch of different answers. You just have to try it to see. I would willingly sail either line and plan to do so based on budget/ports/ship and what works best each time I'm planning a cruise. I will hands down not sail NCL again, it was so far behind my experiences on Royal and Carnival. People say Carnival is low budget riff raff clientele and all that, but I saw a fair amount of that on my Royal cruise as well. Give it a try, and let us know what you think!

I just did this same itinerary at the beginning of Dec and nights 2 and 6 were indeed the formal nights!

6 minutes ago, Desert Cruizers said:

Nothing neurotic or weird about packing light and bringing only carry on. Many will plan their wardrobe for the week or two weeks. In many cases depending on where I am cruising, will only use 22 " suitcases & one gets checked then have the majority of my clothes in the other one. 

I also bring only a carry on and backpack. See my above comment for who I was referring to. It was not you or I.

4 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Actually, some people travel light, and cruise with only smaller (20-21") suitcases and/or duffel bags/and or backpacks.  It's not neurotic.  

 

Salt air means salt deposits on the clothes.  It's not a matter of them getting "dirty" later.  It's  wanting a clean bathing suit now.

 

 

I so was not talking about those people when I made that comment. I was talking about the people on this board who openly admit they don't trust their luggage to be delivered, and the people I see on embarkation day with my own eyes rolling multiple 28in suitcases around til the rooms open 😂. If you took that personally, I apologize, not my intent. Again, it appears you took my salt air comment personally, and I don't know what to say other than I was giving my own opinion. Once I've worn my suit once, even rinsing it out before hanging it to dry, I consider it dirty anyway. I typically bring like 6 suits on a cruise because that is one of my neuroses 😉 but it works great for my husband, he's happy as clam in his dirty suits!