ATG

Just got the same one for our September sailing on Adventure.

They eat and drink more/differently than they normally do. Not a virus or bacteria illness but overindulgence. Too much sun, booze and rich food.

There’s a big difference between watching the laggers run down the pier when you can see the gangway still out and laughing when someone actually misses the ship. I’ve chuckled at pier runners who can easily get back onboard. They usually just are panicking, maybe they’ll try to be earlier next time. I could never laugh at someone missing the ship, especially a family with children.

On Symphony now. Went to Falmouth instead of Labadee. No credit on our account.

We did our focus group today on Symphony. We had to sign an NDA, so I can’t really tell you what we discussed. (I want my $150!) I think I can say it was regarding a specialty dining idea for a future ship. I have seen mention of it in various articles, so I don’t think it’s a big secret. There were 12 of us and he mentioned he had other groups. This is the first time I have ever heard of them.

On symphony this week. Muster stations E1,2,3&4 were right by guest services. But there are LOTS of crew members who are happy to direct you.

Falmouth is not my favorite port, so I didn’t look at excursions. But I have heard people talking about what they were going to do, so there may have been some offered. I was just surprised by how many people stayed onboard. This cruise has been great so far, but I’m not sure I have ever seen so many teenagers. Not as many small children, but lots of teens. And in general, they have been quite well behaved.

I’m currently on Symphony and we’re at Falmouth. The pools look just as crowded as they did yesterday (a sea day).

We talked about what amount would make us give up an hour of vacation. We figure this will cover our charges and a couple of t-shirts.

Had an interesting email from RC today. Asked me to do a short survey before our Symphony cruise this weekend. Asked questions about how often we do specialty restaurants and whether we get sea sick. I answered them. They then asked if we would consider doing a focus group for an hour and offered $150 OBC each for our time. We agreed out of curiosity. I’m curious to see what they talk about.

I’m also on this sailing and don’t see this anywhere. My cruise planner still has Labadee excursions for sale. I have not received an email about this.

We’re on the Symphony the 23rd also. Grand Turk would be a new port for us. Since we only have 2 other stops, I hope it isn’t just another sea day. But if it is, we’ll have a good day. It doesn’t really matter to us.

Your cabin has not been officially assigned. Mine has shown up any where from 30 to 13 days.

Recently I looked at excursions RC offers for several Caribbean ports. Paraphrasing, they say this is not the US and conditions and laws are different. I had never noticed this before.

Are you perhaps thinking of Princess? Our only Princess cruise in a suite included dinner in a specially restaurant the first night.

We were in a junior suite and should have gotten the old twice a day service. I’ve never heard of “no first day service “.

I have never even considered removing gratuities until our most recent Oasis cruise. We returned to our cabin late the first night and the steward had not been there. We had wet towels in the bathroom. I had left a note asking him to replace the duvet with a blanket. Nothing done. Called housekeeping and they brought towels and blankets. The next evening he knocked on the door and explained he had peaked into the room, but we weren’t there so he didn’t come in. Whaaat? He skipped another night and again I had to call for towels. I complained about it when I called. I didn’t remove them because I know it goes to many people and I didn’t want to use cash. But he certainly didn’t get any extra and got mentioned by name on the survey.

We frequently do the guarantee suite. Most JS are in good locations. The most recent ones we got on Oasis class were 12236 and 10236. About the middle, so lots of walking. One was not assigned until a week out, the other at 30 days. The only one that was somewhat less desirable was on Freedom - we were a deck below the Solarium and right off the stairs, 9244 I think. One morning we heard the chairs being moved, but that was the only day it happened. I figured we have saved enough to cover an additional cruise!

We were there in early February. I had a chicken sandwich and DH had the coconut shrimp. He said they were better than what he got on the ship. We got the $19.99 deal, I’m not sure I would pay more than $30.

I have a question about Pinnacle access. If everything goes right, we will become Pinnacle next spring. On the Oasis class ships we have sailed in full suites in the past but now usually do a junior suite. So we don’t have access to the sun deck or Coastal Kitchen. I’ve read that on some sailings Pinnacles don’t have access. But I’m not sure I understand what they don’t get access to. Is it everything or just the suite lounge? Thanks! Anne

We’re on Freedom now. Tomorrow is Coco Cay. I’m hoping for a less interesting day. We got Hideaway Beach for a very small fee, I’m interested to see what it’s like.

It was very windy when we docked. About 12:30 they announced the weather was deteriorating and they were going to leave asap. We returned and the waves were splashing over the pier. We were on Oasis and were on the wind side. Freedom was on the other side. Captain said we would let them go first and block the wind for them. They left. My understanding is that our captain tried to use the thrusters to pull away from the pier. But the wind was stronger and the ship didn’t move. We waited until the wind shifted direction or let up. Captain said we finally got off at 2:00. We had a sea day before Labadee, so they just went faster and we were on time.

We were there on Tuesday. And I guess Wednesday since the ship couldn’t get away from the dock until 2:00 am. It certainly wasn’t a normal perfect day! My only issue was how they handled refunds. We had gotten a fairly good deal on the Beach Club. We’d just sat down for lunch when they announced the closing. The waitress rushed our lunch out and we gobbled it down. The trek back to the ship was “interesting “. I really didn’t expect a refund since we had been there for a few hours and did eat. I overheard someone saying they got a refund. So I went to guest services and they refunded the whole amount! I had expected a small refund. My issue is that I only got it because I overheard someone. I think they should have done something for everybody.

I loved that commercial! It was unexpected and creative. I was disappointed with the Clydesdale commercial, I expected more. I’m not a football fan (we watch soccer), but since we’re in Miami between cruises we had it on. Off Oasis yesterday and board Freedom today. I hope our stop at Coco Cay is less exciting this week.

We had luggage tag 39 and waited a while after it was called. Luggage was there and didn’t stop walking (10 - 20 seconds at facial recognition) until taxi line. Short wait since only 2 of us. Much better ride to the hotel than the one to the ship - and much cheaper $26. At the Hampton Brickell. We’re about 8th on the early room list. Comfy chairs by the pool. Off to a 4 day Freedom tomorrow. Hopefully better weather at Coco Cay.