Thisguylikestocruise

3 hours ago, Bradleygirl said:

I have two children in their 20's.  I am torn between the Odyssey and the Wonder of the Seas. Can you comment on your Wonder of Seas now that you have done both?  My kids like to have fun and party.  Thank you.

Can’t go wrong with either one. They both are loaded with activities. It’s a matter of preference. Wonder: Aqua theater, boardwalk, zip lines, ice rink which turns into a night club, water slides, huge dry slide, Central Park. Odyssey: SeaPlex sports area with bumper cars, ifly, North Star. Both have silent discos.

I’m really looking forward to the Odyssey. It’s being used for our 9 night-fall 2024 Greek Isles cruise. First junior suite. Hope we like the ship as much as Wonder which set the bar pretty high. 

I really enjoyed Wonders solarium. They had windows open, so there was a comfortable breeze flowing through. 

I wish parents would supervise their kids in the Windjammer. Some touch the food directly with their hands, one even used their hand to grab spaghetti 🤮

4 hours ago, aimcat said:

I want to think I am not the only one who feels this way.....

 

 

🦗 🦗

4 hours ago, Lets Cruise!! said:

It may be too early but does anyone know the following?

 

1. Who will be the cruise director?

2. Who is the pub entertainer?

3. When does entertainment reservations open?

4  Is there a 70's show on the promenade?

5. Is there a Quest show, which night?

 

 

We really liked the cruise director Michele, he was a lot of fun at the 70’s disco on the promenade.
 

Shows will be available April 1st to reserve.

As somebody mentioned above Andy C at Schooners is very good, arrive early to get seats. Great singer and piano player, plays classic songs from the 70s-80s mostly, but takes requests too.

On 3/12/2023 at 9:54 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

It is just as true today as it has ever been.  The opportunities available to EVERYONE in the USA are as plentiful now as they ever were, and are more plentiful than most other countries in the world.  What has changed is the willingness for many Americans to make the sacrifices necessary to exploit this opportunities. Many citizens "want it all, and want it now"

No doubt there’s QUANTITY in regards to opportunities, unemployment is at historical lows. The QUALITY of those opportunities has drastically changed overall. 

20 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

The minimum wage in the US is intended for school age children doing after school

work; it isn’t a “living wage”. If one wants more, then one needs to do what is necessary to acquire a higher paying job. There is no shortage of opportunities. 

Perhaps that was true of previous generations. Yes there’s still opportunities…opportunities to be exploited, and for 2 people to be working to provide a standard of living that took 1 income in the past. 

ROUNDTRIP FROM:Amsterdam, Netherlands

Frozen mojito 

The captain made the announcement at 1 that cabins were open, on my Wonder cruise last month. 

I wonder if the local police would actually take customers to jail for refusing to pay the outrageous bills. People leaving reviews on Google maps have been charged up to $2,000 and are brought food & drinks they never asked for. The restaurant needs to be shutdown. 
 

https://nypost.com/2023/02/08/furious-couple-stuck-with-860-bill-at-notorious-greek-restaurant/

Restaurants in great locations can be a trap. I’ve witnessed it in Miami Beach. Also, around popular attractions like the Eiffel tower. They look good from the outside and later you regret it because the food, service, and prices were awful, and their goal is to gouge tourists. The best restaurants are often the ones locals dine at, off the beaten path, and they display menus with prices.

DK Oysters. They charge 600€ and threaten customers if they refuse to pay. Never eat anywhere that doesn’t provide a menu or prices when you sit down there.

I was on this same cruise. My tip is when you walk into Windjammer, stop, look left and right. It’s divided in half, same food is served on either side. I noticed sometimes one side appeared to have less people. One night I’d estimate 2/3 of passengers went to the right, so I’d go left and enjoy a peaceful dinner.

Take the stairs to burn calories, especially before and after popular events, because elevators can be crowded during peak times. 
 

I’d rate the food 7/10. A few dishes stood out as excellent, and others were just okay. Drinks were 8/10, liked the frozen mojitos and expresso martinis. Staff was 9/10, very friendly overall.

Mykonos is listed as a tender port. Is it true you take a water taxi from where the dock is to the town of Mykonos? How much does it cost? Reason I’m asking this here is because I vaguely recall a post that said Odyssey tendered passengers to a dock closer to the town. 
 

In Chania I heard a bus is arranged at the dock to transport passengers to old town Chania. How do you get back to Souda where the ship is?
 

Plan on exploring both places without an excursion.

24 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

We board the Wonder in a week, and despite all of the negative reviews on most things Royal Caribbean lately we intend to have an enjoyable week.  Glad you had a positive experience!  We dealt with the same thing before our Discovery Princess cruise in October, a lot of negative reviews and we some how had a great week.

We sailed Wonder 3 weeks ago. Best vacation ever. I spent 10 months prior to our cruise reading mostly negative reviews: creaking noises in the rooms, awful food, magnetic bathroom door slamming noise, etc. Got onboard and all of the complaints seemed extremely minor to me, didn’t affect my experience negatively. Main dining room meal was fantastic, both the service, speed, and food. Showed up without reservations and was seated immediately. I’d give Wonder a 9 out of 10 rating, and we actually have another cruise booked for Wonder next year.

I’m skeptical how accurate the websites listing port schedules are. My September 2024 Greek Isles cruise itinerary swapped days for several ports due to congestion. Websites are still showing my ship at Santorini for the previous itinerary’s schedule when 4 ships are there. Nothings been updated. Something to consider. You might be surprised to arrive there and discover there’s less ships than expected. 

Anyone seen RC excursions that combine snorkeling & sloths?

2 hours ago, njsmom said:

Is it at something like 12:01 am on the first day of the month? 

My shows were available to reserve 15 minutes before midnight on the app, January 1st for a February 5th cruise. The cruise planner on the website didn’t display show reservations until around 12am-12:30am.

They can be reserved on the app under the “entertain” tab, or through the entertainment section of the cruise planner via the desktop website. 

It’s the first day of the month, the month before the cruise. For 4/2, that means they’ll open 3/1.

2 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

Interesting, I'll be curious about this. I expect as always, it depends on ship/sailing on what additionally they are willing/able to do!

I’m vegan and had a great experience on Wonder. Got the spaghetti bolognese on Italian night and minestrone soup. Food came quickly and was reasonably portioned so I didn’t leave the table hungry. 

We paid $67.99, which was $1,123 total for our Wonder cruise 2 weeks ago. Broke even, and enjoyed trying new drinks. However, with higher prices I don’t think it’s worth it. 2 more cruises booked, and not getting another drink package. 

July 4th sales are decent. Black Friday had good deals on refreshment and Wi-Fi packages, excursions, specialty dining. Deluxe beverage package was highest during Black Friday on my cruise planner, and fell a few weeks later when I finally booked it.