djjamesanthony

My partner and I had a very nice, handsome gay couple in the stateroom next door to us on our last cruise.  Who would have thought...two gay couples right next door to each other on a straight cruise?  What luck!  We struck up a conversation on the balcony.  By the end of the day, we had the porter remove the divider between the balcony for us.  We had some good times!

Has anyone noticed in the past two years how much the drink menus have shrunk- ESPECIALLY the frozen drinks and by the pool bars? I noticed that they've switched frozen drink mix vendors from Island Oasis to Sunsational (which is a Nestle brand). The Island Oasis machines at the bar have all been replaced with Vitamix blenders. Even going back two years, ALL the bars had menus with an extensive drink selection and an extensive selection of flavors (ex: DAQUIRIS- strawberry, lime, peach, banana, guava, mango, wildberry etc...). Now there's very little advertised frozen ANYTHING. Most people just order a Pina Colada or a Strawberry Daquiri by default because they're the most familiar frozen drinks. Remember the days of frozen Rum Runners? Guava Lavas? Frozen Lemonades? I asked the bartender if he could make me a frozen peach daquiri and he was like uhhhhhh maybe...

I find it odd that with so much $$ spent by passengers on specialty drinks by the pool that they'd cut the selections so drastically.

Good for Royal! Partner and I always have a great time and feel very welcomed by the staff and crew!

Just got off the 9 day Southern Caribbean on the Navigator.

Partner and I both like to drink and have a good time...a few margaritas by the pool, wine with dinner, cocktails in the evening til we get tired. You know the deal...

Went into the cruise with 400 OBC. In the weeks before the cruise I noticed on the RCCL cruise planner that they were offering the drink package for 44$ a person per day. With my OBC that would have worked out to about 540$ total. For whatever reason, I said ehhh what if we decide not to drink a few days especially towards the end it won't pay for itself.

Flash forward to the cruise...the drink package would have paid for itself by Day 4!

Note to self: NEVER do another cruise without buying the drink package in advance with the discount offered! (Already booked 9 days in May on the Anthem...and already pre-purchased the drink package for $41 day per person!)

thanks so much!

UGH...I need to remember their names for my review and for the life of me it's like the minute I stepped on dry land I forgot everyone's name. Does anyone know the name of the hotel director on the Navigator? Also, the port shopping guide? I know his first name is Ross....

Anyone? This stuff is notoriously impossible to find elsewhere online!

Thanks!

Just got off the Navigator today. I purchased the internet for the last two days at a cost of 30$. It's advertised as fast enough to stream video. That's a joke if I ever heard on. It took minutes to simply load a website in my browser. Facebook barely would load. NOT worth it. Luckily, I have Verizon Wireless with an international plan, so whenever the ship was in port, it would automatically connect me with the local provider there for 10$ a day. The internet package is NOT WORTH THE MONEY. If I had bought it from day 1, I would have been at guest services demanding a refund. Just my two cents!

Question for those of you who have visited Aruba before...The ABC islands are ports of call on my upcoming cruise in two weeks on the Navigator of the Seas. I just noticed that my US passport expires in January 2018. I know some countries have rules that your passport must be within 3-6 months of the expiration date. However, most Caribbean countries I've visited in ports of call they don't even look at your passport. Anyone who's been to the ABC islands have any info? Should I get an expedited passport or will it not be an issue?