CruiserEK

21 hours ago, emknott0711 said:

Does Texting work with unlimited wifi?

SMS texting over Wi-Fi appears to work as long as your carrier and phone is capable and enabled to send texts and calls over Wi-Fi. I was able to send some texts over the ship's Wi-Fi. However, calls over Wi-Fi don't appear to fully work at least under the basic internet. It only managed to ring out but there was silence after that.  I tried this with the Free At Sea 150 minute plan using Google Fi. YMMV. 

I wonder if the Joy is also getting the Thalassotherapy Pool like her sister ships have. I really enjoyed them on the other ships.  I just got booked on this ship the other day for a group family cruise and will unfortunately miss it as I'll be on one of the last voyages before the drydock. 

Yikes! I am currently on the Bliss and we had some itinerary changes too. We were supposed to go to Harvest Caye today and that got switched around for Costa Maya Mexico. We are headed back south to Harvest Caye tomorrow and then back north to Cozumel on Thursday. On top of that the arrival and departure times changed for Costa Maya, Harvest Caye, and Cozumel which caused an issue with shore excursions. The notice said the issue was due to port congestion. We also had boarding delays and it took us an hour to get onboard.

@casofilia

I was under the impression the issue was something widespread on the NCL website and not just a specific cruise in question. I had seen the on hold message under my cruise reservation on the NCL website. In regards to the Norwegian Bliss cruise I was referring to the issue cleared itself up not too long ago so I can access my cruise information and check out the excursions, etc. If there still is an issue with the TransPacific cruise I wish you the best of luck.

@casofilia

The cruise I am referring to is the Norwegian Bliss western Caribbean on December 17, 2022.  My reservation has the same on hold message mentioned in the first post.

On 6/5/2022 at 1:12 PM, lepidoptera said:

Hoping against hope others are getting the dreaded cruise is on hold and time is running out message. I’ve been worrying about the transpacific cruise for a few months since it stops in Russia but was hoping since it isn’t until 2024 that they would leave it until things got closer. Crossing fingers for IT problems not a cancellation. 

I was just booked yesterday by the travel agent and I am also receiving the same message on the website. Maybe a IT issue?

Ship - Allure of the Seas

Deck - 11

Stateroom # - 181 (11181)

Stateroom Category – 2J - Connecting Central Park Balcony

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? - Not completely but I did not find it to the point that it was overly bothersome. Your mileage may vary depending on your stateroom neighbors and if you want to take naps during the middle of the day or early afternoon. The music from the pool area and the ambient noise from outside can still sort of be heard even with the door closed but it is not or less noticeable the farther away you are from the balcony door .  It was possible at times to hear your neighbors as it is a connecting stateroom. The connecting door is located towards the entrance of the cabin.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes. The connecting door is across from the bathroom.

Balcony View – It overlooks the forward part of Central Park. There is real greenery to look at and it is quite serene to be out on your balcony during the morning and evening hours. Ambient nature sounds are played and changed during the day and night. Towards mid-day and the afternoon the music from the pool area can be heard. Your view looking towards the aft of Central Park is partially obstructed by the vertical ribs that were placed after every third room.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - I found the balcony size to be a bit bigger than other standard balconies in this class compared to other ships that I have been on. A table is standard which not all balconies on other ships in this size class have which allows you to dine out on your balcony.

Was wind a problem? - Occasionally there was a problem on windier days. Out at sea one day it was very windy with the top decks being closed. The wind would travel down into Central Park and blow off a towel or bathing suit I had laid over the back of the chair.

Any specific problems with this cabin? - The room could use some maintenance and a refresh as of May 2022. There is some minor wear and tear with the furniture and water fixtures. When the safe door is left open the sliding closet door can catch onto it preventing it from opening and can also brush past the buttons causing it to lock which required a call to maintenance to unlock it so that I could use it again. I also needed maintenance to replace the cooler as it was not working.  

Any other comments? - The cabin is conveniently located towards the front elevators and stairs and access to the other side of the ship. It is a bit of a walk to get to the aft elevators. 

I've done the thermal suites on the Getaway and the Escape and loved them both. The Escape is a little different and it has some extra space that includes the snow room (which is great on a hot day or after the sauna/steam room). Their thalassotherapy pools are pretty big with plenty of room to move around and have an assortment of massaging jets including a connected section that has many massaging jets from all around that I can only describe as like being in a hot tub on steroids. I never saw it that crowded when I went there usually sometime between mid-late day and left feeling relaxed.  There were plenty of loungers and heated stone loungers to sit on. It was also nice to have access to a private pool as the main pools on both ships were often crowded and there is no adult pool in the Spice H20 area.

@Liverpoolfan181I also just got off the Allure too do you know how many?

I'm not 100% sure but it might be Red Sail Sports Aruba. I did their snorkeling tour but I believe they also operate the diving tours as well.

I was out on deck taking some photos of the sunset when I noticed the Coast Guard plane circling around and something in the water. I stayed until the rescue boat got to the vessel. The small black spot in the water was the drifting vessel. 

I am on this cruise and the CD mentioned this cruise was the maiden call for Aruba and Curaçao and the first Oasis class ship to do so. There was a water salute in Aruba from what he said.

I stayed in an obstructed balcony room #5165 on the Legend awhile back. This cabin is obstructed by the lifeboat tender. Compared to #5151 this may be a bit different if the davit is also in the way. Otherwise, the top of the tender comes up to just above the level of the balcony railing. If you are interested in a balcony cabin at a lower cost and don't mind the obstruction, then you should be okay. You will still get a view and the cabin is pretty much the same as the other balcony cabins. If you intend on taking pictures from your cabin expect the lifeboats to be in the way especially looking towards the front or the back of the ship. I attached some photos to give an idea of what to expect when staying in an obstructed balcony cabin. 

I recently contacted Crown & Anchor for assistance with retrieving my number as I had previously went on a 3 day cruise non-suite with RC back in 2001.  I was given 8 points.

Are GTY cabins normally offered to solo cruisers or double occupancy only? I was able to book a GTY Neighborhood Balcony cabin as a solo passenger last month through the cruise line. I recently checked again just to see if the price dropped and found the GTY option is not available for solo guests only double occupancy.

Ecstasy 1999 Friends and Family Cruise

On 7/26/2020 at 8:24 AM, Aplmac said:

 

Explain... no caption...no info...what are we looking at?

That is a photo of the SS Oceanbreeze being scrapped in Chittagong, Bangladesh back in 2004. As to why it was posted on this thread I do not know.  I remember seeing that ship docked next to ours back on my first cruise aboard the Fantasy's sister ship Ecstasy back in 1999.

5 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Thank you for the information.  I read that Sovereign, her slightly older sister, was also expected to head for the breakers.  Do you know if that has happened as of yet?

Yes, the Sovereign was beached the day after the Monarch was. 

I think they might check and see. I know in the past if a cruise was shortened you still get credited for the days missed. I had a cruise on the Carnival Liberty that was cut back from a 6 day to a 4 day cruise. Per my VIFP account I was still credited with 6 days.

The ship now sails out of Phuket, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I sailed on it's sister ship the Norewgian Wind about 15 years ago. Yeah some of the places on that ship were cramped and overcrowded. Especially the back sport's bar that had doubled as the buffet restaurant. 

The ship now sails for Star Cruises as the SuperStar Gemini. 

I have been sailing on NCL long enough to remember when they still served Coca-Cola products on their ships.  

And what about the food in the main dining rooms? You can order as many plates of food as you want. I wonder how many people have ordered multiple items and only took a single bite out of it. 

I don't see what is fun about paying extra for food that used to be included in the fare. A nominal automatic gratuity fee should have been enough in lieu of a la carte pricing. I remember when I used to order room service there were no fees at all unless if you got a soda or a beer. I would simply give the waiter a tip and that would be it.

On 1/30/2018 at 7:12 AM, Kreiven said:

What if we fix this post so people can take a look here before submitting a new thread to ask what XYZ mean? I think it would be a good idea.

AFT - Back of the ship

B2B - Back to back cruises

FTTF - Faster To The Fun (check Carnival's website for more information)

Lido - One of the decks on Carnival ships

MDR - Main Dining Room

YTD - Your Time Dinner

OV - Ocean View cabin

 

 

Cruise Lines:

DCL - Disney Cruise Line

RCCL - Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

RCI - Royal Caribbean International

 

... (you can post and I'll be adding them here)

S&S = Sail and Sign. It can refer to your card that is given to you for shipboard charges, the room key (if available), and as for access getting on and off the ship. It can also refer to the on board account used by Carnival. The name is officially used by Carnival. However other cruisers may use the name on other cruise lines.