ChristieNJ

4 hours ago, mugtech said:

Getting off was just as easy, showed no one our passports, did facial recognition, no customs or any paperwork, fastest ever.

 
Wasn’t it awesome??? It’s amazing how technology speeds things right up! It was the easiest on/off ever!

2 hours ago, red devil said:

Red Devil here (Lakewood) Call C&A  Diamond they may help change the time. Long time since i saw your last post. Have a great cruise.

 Hey Red! Yes, it has been since 2016. Crazy, right? From 2017 onward, we’ve had something major going on every year since then and were unable to cruise. . Oh, how I missed it! Even though I now have Covid from the cruise lol, it was so great to be on board again! Great to hear from you! 

Hi everyone!  And thanks again for the tips.  They definitely did not check our check-in time when we boarded.  It was probably the easiest boarding I've ever experienced, actually.  Our boarding time was supposed to be 1:30, and we got there around 11:20.  Practically walked right on, it was great.  But thanks for all of your insight, I really appreciated it!

39 minutes ago, Giantfan13 said:

So let me add, that we also sailed out on Cape Liberty several times, the last being a few weeks ago on the Enchantment. We had the earliest possible check-in time, but it really meant nothing. Whoever was there was checked in. I even asked if they are enforcing the check-in times, They grinned and waved us thru. I can see if there was a real mob there and everyone wanted to check in ASAP, but that just wasn't happening when we were there.

 

Cheers

Len

Good to know, thank you!

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have sailed out of Cape Liberty several times and check in time was Not checked since Spring of 2022.    Our last sailing was end of March and no one was checking then either.   

 

The line up of cars getting to the pier can take a while.   We have sat in this line up for 30 to 45 minutes depending on the time of day.    So if your Daughter is in a time crunch you might plan on getting to the dock somewhere around 10 am and hopefully avoid the traffic.   Worst case you may end up sitting in the cruise terminal waiting for passengers to be allowed to board the ship.  

Hope you Have a Great Cruise😃

Thank you!  I so need it. 🤪🤪🤪

On 4/28/2023 at 3:35 PM, mrchips14 said:

Hi 

Can anyone tell me if the pools at Puerta Plata and La Romana are free to use or is there an entrance fee.

If free is there a charge for chairs, I know food and drink are extra.

Just had my tour in La Romana cancelled and now trying to make new plans. Leave in 5 weeks.

Thanks

Hi, can you explain what pools you are speaking of?  I haven't been to La Romana in years and never to Puerto Plata.  Thanks for any info!

Wow, some interesting experiences for sure!  And very different.  But ok...I guess it's a "wait and see" type thing, lol.  We aren't supposed to board until 1:30 but that will make my daughter very late for work after the dropoff.  Oh well, this should be interesting! lol

Excellent info!  Thank you all so much!! I mean, we kind of have no choice because of my daughter’s work schedule so we will just have to go with the flow! Lol

Thanks so much for the info!!  Much appreciated!

Hi all!  I’ve unfortunately had a 6-year lapse in cruising so I was wondering now - I see we are given check-in times. What happens if we arrive earlier than those times at Cape Liberty?  Do they still let you board? My daughter has to drop us off early because she has to work so I was wondering if we will be sitting around or if they will let us board. 
 

TIA!

50 minutes ago, SamTimeDining said:

 

GREAT SUGGESTION! Thanks so much!!!

No problem!

In case there’s nothing on the computer itself, you can always use Google Docs.  It’s Google’s online word processor, and you can access it from any browser. 

We will be taking the Independence of the Seas out of Fort Lauderdale with a party of five. The cruise leaves from Fort Lauderdale and goes to Mexico and returns. Four of us have current passports. The other person has nothing. I have read that because it is a closed loop trip that a Current Drivers License and an original birth certificate is sufficient. Has anyone ever sailed with this?

 

Or would you recommend just getting the passport card?

 

Thanks

lol This sounds like our EXACT situation last week, as we just flew home from our cruise this past Saturday. Four out of the five of us had passports for our trip, but my husband only had his DL and BC. We went out of Ft Lauderdale and cruised to Mexico. There was no problem at all using just the DL and BC. You don't need to bother with the passport card. :)

Loving this thread, Robyn! Just got off Freedom this past Saturday and already miss her. One of the greatest cruises, ever!!! Enjoy!

And just my two cents: My group went to Chops last week aboard Freedom and it was AMAZING! My husband is especially picky and he couldn't eat enough there. We was an awesome meal!

Yikes! Don't give them any ideas!

 

It's bad enough that the newer classes of ships don't have decent locker rooms for the fitness centers and only have the thermal suites for a fee. We want them to leave the Voyager- and Freedom-class ships alone so we can continue to enjoy the nice locker areas with the large saunas and steam rooms.

lol Couldn't agree more!!!

Thanks for the responses. I know they did a big refurb on Freedom and I thought I had heard they took the showers out of the fitness area? Maybe it was a different ship.

Since it's been 10 years since I've been on Freedom of the Seas, do they still have the locker rooms in the Fitness Center, along with the shower stalls?

TIA

It's only about 7-8 minutes from the port and the first beach place you come to on the malecon. You'll see the lighthouse and it's right beside that.

Wow, I just checked out your review and pictures. It looks BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for all the details! Great job.

It's only about 7-8 minutes from the port and the first beach place you come to on the malecon. You'll see the lighthouse and it's right beside that.

Awesome, thank you!!

Check out my review on Blue Kay along the Malecon. Beautiful place with excellent service. It's the very first beach you come to on the malecon. My review with TONS of pictures is located in my signature line. :)

How was is this from the port?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I never had a problem with traditional dining before, never even thought of how a change might be better.

So when we booked our Quantum cruise before the ship was even built, I had read about DD. I was SO, so excited to try it! I thought it would be great to come back from an island and not rush to get ready for dinner at a certain time. Also to pick whatever restaurant I felt I wanted to dine at, depending on what mood we were all in. I couldn't wait to try it!

Then after about the 2nd or 3rd night on Quantum, I severely missed traditional. Our reservations that I made previous to our stepping foot onboard QOS had disappeared once we got on QOS, however fortunately we were able to walk right into any restaurant without barely a wait, so that wasn't an issue at all. I found the service was not like you had with traditional dining at all, and I felt the servers felt the same way. A number of them had even stated that to us. And you could just tell. Something that I thought would make a perfect cruise even more prefect, I came to severely dislike. I missed walking into a dining room and knowing which waiter I was going to have. I missed the personal aspect of it all. I missed a lot of things! I cannot wait to go back on Freedom in November and get back to traditional dining.

So I was one who actually was eagerly anticipating DD with every ounce of soul in my body, but who ended up pretty much loathing it. The majority of the passengers on our cruise felt the exact same about DD. I do hope QOS and AOS finds something that they can work with and succeed for long-term, given all the different restaurants that there are. But I can't wait to step foot in the same dining room every evening once again! :D

Hey you! I know we will not be in Cozumel the same day, we will just miss each other. We will be there 11/6, you? We were looking at Paradise Beach but would like an all inclusive so looking at Carlo's & Charlie's

Darn it, Terri! We will be there on 11/10! Aw man, figures! I've been there twice before, and I think I remember it being about a 15 min drive to Paradise Beach, but it's been awhile lol. I was hoping someone might've just been there more recently.

Thanks yet again!!! :):)

Great, thank you again! Lol How far of a taxi ride is Cucumber Beach or any of those other resorts?

Great suggestions, thank you both!