PopeyeDaSailor

21 hours ago, cured said:

Hang in there, this too will be over. It will not be forever. The 1918 pandemic ended as this will too. Flying is normal again now after 9/11. Stock market is up today, it is fluctuating so much it is wise not to obsess over it.  

 

We will all cruise again without worry. It may be a year or two, but it will happen. At mid 70's you are youngsters.  

 

Set up zoom or google hangout calls with friends and family to feel more connected.  It is not quite the same, but you are still talking to each other and getting some social interaction.  Things get back-ordered even without a pandemic happening. It will all be resolved eventually.  

 

It is tough right now, no doubt. Hang in there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

This.  Just take care of yourselves as well.  Get plenty of Vitamin C & D, eat right excise as you can.  If you do not have underlying medical conditions you will be fine. Remember there is a 98% recovery rate of this thing.  I understand you are older but if you do the things above you'll be fine.  What the media is barely covering is the people that recovery from this.  They are of all ages.

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

OK Sgt. Hulka. 🤣

 

https://media.giphy.com/media/TcTRNzyihZgVa/giphy.gif

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Port of call has absolutely nothing to do with it. Jamaica isn't the only Caribbean port you can get weed. 

Lighten'up Francis I was kidding. 

We sailed out of Miami back in May and used Avis.  Avis is a few blocks away but offered a free shuttle to/from the port.  I would have walked but getting over the causeway bridge looked dicey on Google Maps.

We did the same thing you're talking about when first boarding.  Since we were sailing in a Grand Suite the porters took everything from us and my wife and kids just went up to the Suites boarding lounge and waited for me to return the car.

Let me tell you it's so much easier just jumping in the shuttle with NO luggage for the ride back to the port.

When we disembarked we were going to do the reverse if the Avis shuttle was full but it was not and we were all able to jump in and load our luggage in the back.  With my corporate rate it was so much cheaper to rent a car one way from the airport instead of taking Uber/Taxi/Lyft. 

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

I find that hard to believe it even happened. 

Yeah because non of these ships go to Jamaica.  😉

2 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

You post is well stated - thanks. As we know, the slides have size limits for a reason (to avoid injury being the main one).

 

In our case, our 5-year old grandson is 50" tall already, weighs 48 lbs., and is a pretty good swimmer who even dives underwater intentionally at the neighborhood pool. So those slides won't intimidate him, but the height might...we won't know until we try. If it works out great...if not...there are plenty of other water activity alternatives on Coco Cay.

 

Oh it's really up to the parents and child.  Like I said I saw a kid barely big enough just walk right up to the blue slide that went straight down and just plunge right in it.  This is a slide most adults were afraid of.  If you do take him in start out with the smaller slides and if he's okay then go for the bigger slides.  I will say this the workers are on top of things and it's safe.

20 hours ago, mariapd719 said:

Hi, I see you went with a 5 year old. My son will be 4 almost 5 (big kid though, really tall) when we sail. Is it even worth the money for the big slides? Can he even go on all of them?

 

This depends.  Some of the slides are pretty scary/intense.  With that said I did see a kid barely large enough just fire himself right down one slide with no fear.  One thing I always ask myself is if my child is "just" big enough how safe will they be?  Remember most of these rides only require height but to me weight is equally important.  A tall thin child is going to be thrown around in some of these slides and you will get a lot of speed built up.

I will say this, if your son is tall enough, weighs enough and can swim without any support devices then it may be worth it if they use the slides.  Has your son gone down larger water slides yet?  There is a kids splash area that has smaller water slides right outside of the water park that is free to use.  Had we known this going in we probably would not have bought my 5 year old a pass.  She did use the wave pool (with her swimming arms on) but did not go down any slide.  My five year old is about 44 inches tall and weighs about 43 pounds.  She will probably learn to swim this summer but still isn't comfortable putting her face under yet.

You may be able to contact RCCL and ask if you can get her a wristband to enter the park with you, but my wife and I just switched off riding slides with my older son and she played in the free splash area (which is literally right outside of the park). 

1 hour ago, BillOh said:

I agree, and I've never had any desire to do so.  In my 13 years of cruising with Royal, this was one thing I always thought, but then again on any ship there are things I like and don't like.   But it seemed like for a couple of years (maybe less) Park West went away.  This last cruise on Symphony, they are in the hall way leading out of the casino on deck 4 I think.  I do like to casually look as I walk by and I can put up with an occasional approach of a Park West Employee, but last month I finally had to tell the guy, "What part of No do you not understand."

LOL, I walked through at midnight (rest of family was sleeping) and no one was there to bother me.  I saw a bunch of Thomas Kinkade that I use as my computer background.  I was like, why would I pay someone for that?

I always thought it a weird mixture to suddenly buy expensive art while cruising.  If you're going to drop a lot of money on art I would think an independent gallery would be the place to do that, not _______ of the Seas.

17 hours ago, Lorey2007 said:

I want to go on a cruise with at least one port we haven't been to. DH wants to go on the biggest newest ship.  I booked Symphony that stops at St Thomas, been there several times, St Kitts never been and Perfect Day Cocoa Cay never been.   We are partial to newer ships with good entertainment have been on Oasis & Allure a few years ago and liked them. Some reviews I recently read said the Symphony is more for families. We are seniors in our mid 70's do you think we made a mistake? 

No.  The ship has a mixture of everyone on board.  Being the ship is so large there are still plenty of spaces where seniors can enjoy quiet time away from kids.

The schooner lounge on Deck #6 is usually very quiet.  There is a Jazz club on Deck #4 and of course the solarium offers plenty of "kids free zone" space to relax.  The main hot tub/pool at the front of the solarium is usually crowded but the hot tubs to the sides of the solarium (by the entrances) are usually relaxing.  If you sail suites there is even more quiet space available. 

On 5/25/2019 at 9:08 AM, LBumb said:

Deck four stinks for DL

I'm not a Diamond but did sail GS on the Symphony a few weeks ago.  It took me to the 6th day to even notice the DL lounge tucked way down on Deck #4.  What a horrible spot for a lounge.  Might as well put it on Deck #0 with a view of the ocean floor.

RCCL takes this stuff very seriously.  They have assigned a team to look into this.

As others have said the CL is convenient to the CK and suite benefits.  We traveled with two kids and had a GS on Deck #10 of Symphony (10254) and used the CK to eat almost every meal (never ate in the MDR all week).  My kids don't take long in the bathroom but having an extra bathroom is nice.  The thing we did enjoy about being in a GS was it's location for doing everything else.  We were literally in the middle of the ship so getting to Deck #5 where most of the action happens was fast, getting to the front of the ship to drop our 5 year old off at Adventure Oceans (Deck #14) was fast, getting to the pools was easy or just about anywhere because of our location. 

If you're in a CL you have to wait for elevators sometimes to get all the way up to Deck #17 (or you have a lot of stairs).  We hardly heard any outside noise in a 10254 suite since Deck #10 is nothing but rooms. 

Finally as others have said if you can't pick your CL suite you run the risk of over looking the basketball, mini-golf, flow rider area which can get noisy.  To me I would only book a CL suite if you can pick a side room that over looks the ocean. 

If you want a GS pick Decks 9-11 (Deck #12 is right under pools).  Of course any suite is better than a non-suite!

9 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

Yes, your wife should have her own C&A number and you will both get points.

 

Call C&A and they can create accounts for your wife and children and also link them with you so you all have the same C&A level.

Thanks (as usual)!

1 hour ago, Sunkissed Mommy said:

 

I peeked in the water park a few times throughout the day as I walked around and it did not look busy at all. I could not see long lines on any of the slides.  I wasn't physically in the waterpark, but from outside it looked just fine.

 

 

It's hard to tell from outside the WP the line size especially on Daredevil since the line wraps up the steps.  But as others have mentioned RCCL will work out better plans, the staff will get trained better and long lines for good slides are just the norm.

16 hours ago, gatour said:

Navigator and Mariner are much smaller ships.

 

So you are comparing apples and oranges.  I agree there will be growing pains as RCCL figures this out.  Do you want to be the guinea pig using the water park over the next few months (while paying for it) as they figure it out.  It is a risk/reward type thing

 

I had no interest in the water park so headed to our favorite place on the beach.  It has shade and fairly close to the Wacky Seagull junior bar and restrooms.

 

On our two Enchantment cruises last year, their was only one bartender at the bar.  Periodically I would sit at the bar with only a few other people at any one time and a few walk ups.  On our Symphony cruise, the same bar was constantly busy with three and sometimes four bar tenders working behind the counter.  I predict that this bar will be either expanded or more likely replaced with something bigger.

 

Having been to Coco Cay twice before in the last 9 months I felt there was little risk in the beaches being overcrowded as they are bigger than Labadee and it would be a relatively simple process to dump more loungers on the beaches (which they did).  However my back up plan would be to retreat back to the ship.

 

There is a reason why I don't go to new independent restaurants within six months of opening.  It takes time for them to work out systems, learn to work together (and even replace initial hires that didn't meet standards when getting under fire).  Royal Caribbean has never operated a complete water park (multiple slides, wave pools, etc) and have no idea what the demand may be (see the widely fluctuating of admission prices available pre-cruise)

 

You are discounting reports by people that are experiencing waits while yourself not actually having visited Coco Cay on an Oasis class ship within the last month is mind boggling.

 

It looks like your cruise will be on Navigator in November.  Seven months after the "new" Coco Cay opened and on a smaller ship.  My assumption you will come back and say everything was perfect and the people who made bad reports in May and June (and perhaps longer) were wrong.  However you will have had the benefit of seven months of Royal Caribbean getting their systems worked out and being on a smaller ship.  So their reports at the time of posting was correct.

 

 

Agree with this post.  Like I said we were on Symphony there on 5/17 and you could dock two smaller ships at another time and still have less people on the island.

Also like I mentioned way back the slides had green/red lighting systems at the top that clearly were not functioning yet since the staff was using walkie-talkie's and visual to send the next slider.   Once these systems are working I expect the park to function much more efficiently.  I will say this the staff did the best they could.  I did witness a change of staff at the top of the Daredevil slide and the new guy started instructing people how to slide (crossed arms/crossed legs) and the guy he relieved wasn't instructing anyone just saying, "GO".  The staff needs better training because these slides are not toys.

I assume both my wife and myself should join (right now only I belong) the Crown & Anchor club?  We would both get points for the same cruise correct?

If so should I have my kids join as well since they took the cruise?  I'm always leery about putting my kids information out on the net.

Just now, time4u2go said:

Lawyer driven?  This sounds like a profit driven decision.

I'm guessing it is both.  Lawyers have ruined everything fun in the world (and so has money).

2 minutes ago, ChrisTheDBA said:

 

South beach seems largely untouched right now but is next part of the island to get upgraded. No one can really say what will be open when you cruise. What is the date(about)?

On the island maps they said "OPENING DECEMBER of 2019".  I wouldn't hold my breath.

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

It's a Royal Caribbean rule. Must be 18 to be in the water park without adult supervision. Just another way to fleece the passenger.

Did not know that.  I'm glad I didn't grow up in the lawyer driven Nanny States of America we've turned into.

52 minutes ago, Lionesss said:

Ok I guess I will hijack the thread too.

 

Is it possible to just make this a beach day?

Not sounding cheap, but at no extra cost with just a lounger, beach, lunch and relaxation 🙂

 

Thanks ahead of time.

 

Safe travels.

Absolutely.  The only thing you have to pay for is the waterpark which covers the slides, zip lines (extra $$) and wave pool. 

Of course jet-skis and other activities cost more but if you want to just find a spot by the beach or pool outside the WP you will be fine.  There is a large common area behind the free little kids play area that serves food as well. 

The nice thing is with the WP being so shiny and new most people will be there so finding a quiet beach/pool spot should be easier now.

22 hours ago, JoeFan said:

I have been threatening to cancel Thrill Water Park and Zipline for my 15 & 16 year olds because I would have to pay to walk them in. Well I finally did it today. After reading reviews of hour waits for slides and the extra $66 fee so an adult walks them in pushed me over the edge today.

 

Canceled. 

Why did you need to walk your kids in?  They are just towers in the waterpark and easy and safe to get to.  When I was 16 I drove to NY City for the day with a buddy who just got his license.  My mom said, "Okay be careful and no drinking." 🙂

Yes, it was like $30/person.  I actually found it cheaper to rent a car one way each leg.

So we (four of us) flew into FLL the night before the cruise and I picked a car up at the FLL airport and drove to the Courtyard by Marriott at the Miami airport that offered a room with a free shuttle service to the port.  We flew in, checked in, shopped a little, went out to dinner, dropped the family off at the hotel, then I turned the car in at the Miami airport and took the free Marriott shuttle back to my hotel. 

The next morning we took the free shuttle to the port (about a 25 minute ride). 

After the cruise we jumped on the free Avis shuttle which took us to 2nd ave Avis rental center right near the port.  I rented another car one way to FLL and we dropped the car off at the airport and checked in. 

We knew we wanted to stay the night before no matter what so the hotel costs was going to be part of it anyhow.

Totals:

Car from FLL to MIA airport = $45.

Hotel room with free shuttles (and breakfast) = $200.

Car from Port to FLL airport = $37.

For four people we were looking at $240 worth of shuttle service ($120 each way), so my rental car saved us about $158 dollars.  It was a little more hassle but worth the $$$ to us.  Plus we had a car to drive around Miami the day before the cruise so we could buy things like wine, suntan lotion and eat where we wanted.

6 minutes ago, rikkimiller said:

Spent a lot of time on the phone yesterday with different workers. Mass cancellation of Cabana's for tomorrow's Navigator sailing as they're now having Symphony dock on a day that they were supposed to be cruising, and having Mariner dock with us. We were both supposed to dock on separate days. What I've learned - they will cancel cabanas for another ship. The capacity of the island is 10,000 people. There are supposed to be attendants helping everyone find chairs. There aren't enough chairs for people, especially when two ships are docking. Their advice? Purchase the plastic floating beach mat or be the first person off the ship 🙂 

Wow.  Like I said the waterpark was MOBBED with just our ship there.  Navigator can carry around 3,800 (full) and Symphony around 6,600 full.  I'm assuming they both aren't full but it's still close to 10,000 people.  The waterpark is going to be saturated (pun intended).  If you're going to the waterpark better hope your ship docks first and be ready to run for the slides!  

RCL should never dock any other ships there when an Oasis class is in town.  I'm curious to hear how this works out for you.

3 hours ago, Andy C said:

 

I can tell you from firsthand experience that children are not welcome in the Suite Lounge and CK and in particular by the owners of the ship (you'll know who they are by the little gold lapel pins).

 

The staff is another story - they will fawn over your children and play with them and high five them.  Many of them have children and they see their children in yours.  They are real special people.  Your family will form a bond with them.  

 

Godspeed on Allure in late September.  You will be on a ship and time that should be prime for NSPPs.  

 

My 12 and 5 year old were very welcomed.  We of course made sure they acted like they were in church while they were in there.  Jennie & Jackie the suites concierge's lorded over them and treated them like gold.  As a matter of fact they loved my 5 year old daughter and when we had the "sail away" reception for the suites at the front helipad they grabbed her and escorted her right to the center of the activities.  My 12 year old would ask me if he could go up to the CK to say "hi" to them he was so welcomed.

I didn't notice anyone giving us the "eyes" about them either, but like I said we made sure they were behaved.  We ate later dinners so by then my 5 year old was running on empty anyhow.  As for breakfast I saw a lot of families up there with kids.  There was one large family who had one 7 year old that never took her face out of her tablet all week.  I felt sad for her because she seemed ignored by her family but to each their own.