davy jones

The intent of the times is to limit the number of people in the terminal to reduce the risk of spreading COVID, flu, or the common cold.  At Cape Liberty, it appeared that if there was no line and the numbers inside the terminal were acceptable, you could get in to keep a steady flow of passengers.  I imagine that a check in line would cause enforcement of the boarding time.

We were on the cruise. It was a very pleasant cruise.

 While there were many of very bad experiences that day, our experience was not nearly as bad as many.  However, what I did see made me believe that the really bad reports did happen.  The short version is that we went on a shore excursion, arrived back at the ship at 1:30 to a line of several thousand irate passengers and did not get back onboard until 2:30.  I observed a lot of non chaotic anger and dissatisfaction.  The semi order was likely due to the presence of the Miami police.   I'd consider our experience more as an inexcusable inconvenience caused by a combination of poor passenger behavior and incompetence by the US immigration, Royal Caribbean, and Miami port operations.  

I will not discuss the rude passengers who are the root cause of the problem other than to say that their cruise should have ended in Miami.  The others should be holding thorough reviews to identify the issues that caused the fiasco and how to avoid them in the future.  I will only comment on Royal because this is a Royal forum and discussion of the other agencies is not appropriate here.

From my own experiences in this matter.  The onboard communication from Royal was inconsistent and contradictory.  The day prior to the Miami stop, I went to the shorex desk and specifically asked for guidance on what to do.  We were told to go meet the group at the assigned time (9:15 AM) in the theater and everything would be taken care of.  Later the same day, documents were delivered to our cabin saying that we were assigned to a mandatory immigration time of 8:15 AM on the pier and would not be able to return to the ship until it was completely cleared.  We went back to the shorex desk that evening to clarify this and were told to disembark at 8:15 AM and wait outside to until 9:15 and meet the tour outside the terminal.  

Based on the final information, we got up an hour early to prepare for the 8:15 departure.  The 8:15 announcement began and we left the cabin.  At the end of the announcement, it was announced that all shore excursions should follow the meeting time and place on the shore ex ticket (9:15 in the theater).  Fortunately, we heard this before disembarking and returned to the cabin to wait.

The same announcement said that those not planning to go ashore could wait until the end to disembark.  While this makes sense, the wording likely encouraged longer than anticipated stays onboard.  

Based on our experience, my "advice" to Royal would be to provide consistent, clear communication between internal departments and clear message to the passengers.  They certainly have other things to cover and improve during the inquiry.

In my mind it is over, but Royal would be wise to take steps to prevent and/or mitigate future events like this.

Thanks for the info.  We disembarked yesterday so casino is not an option.  We still have not received the emailed final statement.  We have a paper preliminary statement, but there were a couple of charges the last night that we verified on the TV.  

It should not be a big deal to issue a credit on the cruise credit card.

18 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Quantum class ships will likely feel familiar and could be a good choice. 

Agreed.  Anthem has a more "adult" feel than Oasis class.  I think it is because of the lack of a water park or ice rink and the fact that the SeaPlex is indoors and has more varied activities. 

15 hours ago, Ret MP said:

We did this place on October 31st prior to getting on the Independence of the Seas.  Had breakfast and a few starter drinks (Bloody Mary and Screw Driver).  I had the Biscuits and Gravy with 2 over medium on top and my wife had hashbrowns.  To be honest, the Gravy was the best Gravy I've had in a long time.  The biscuits where just Okay.  My wife liked the hashbrowns.  Nice place.  Super friendly wait staff.  

 

BTW:  The restaurant is right next to the Terminal, easy walk.  

 

 

Your cruise was the ship docked at terminal 1 that I referenced in my previous post.  We were on the Anthem.  It appeared to be a long walk on busy looking roads without sidewalks.  Most people stayed onboard.

How does Royal handle this?  Do they send you a check, or credit it to your credit card?

10 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

I forget the dude's name who was playing piano at Schooner Bar but he was very good, I remember he was from Sheffield England. We checked him out a couple times. He basically played there almost every night. I want to say it was The Dukes who played at Music Hall but that may have been towards the end.

In addition to the Dukes, there were a couple of appearances by a Bon Jovi tribute band, but I do not recall the name of that band.

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Are they serving traditional breakfast and lunch in MDR or did they do a brunch that was being done on some ships this summer?

Traditional breakfast and lunch in American Icon.  I found the service at these meals to be slow.  There is also mini buffet breakfast in Silk.  We found it to be more relaxing than either WJ or traditional sit down in American Icon.

On 11/4/2022 at 3:42 PM, Geek Squard said:

The FIFA World Cup starts on November 20, 2022. I'm curious to know if the games will be televised on the ships? In the US, FOX Sports (FOX and FS1) have the TV rights. 

We sailed on Grandeur during the 2018 World Cup.  Games were shown in bars and on stateroom TV.

8 hours ago, lovetocruise/diamond said:

We will be stopping at Port Canaveral terminal 1 on a upcoming cruise, is there anything to do or walk to at the port?  Shops/restaurants?

TIA

Last week Anthem docked pretty far away from terminal 1.   We were kind of between Disney and Carnival.  It would have been a long, hot walk to terminal 1 (another Royal ship was there)  There was really nothing to do there when port hours are noon to 8 PM.  From the crowds onboard, it was pretty much a sea day while docked.

1 hour ago, swanee4 said:

We just returned from a cruise on the Anthem of the Seas. We had to go through customs in Miami because it was our first port back in the US. All passengers were required to leave the ship. Thirty three passengers felt they didn’t have to follow this rule. Because of this small group over 4,000 people had to stand on the pier for up to five hours. Royal Caribbean paid out over $200,000 as compensation for having to stand hours in the heat without even water. I’d like to know if anything was done to these few people who showed so little regard for all the passengers on this ship.  We’re they removed from the ship?  Banned from further sailing? To me it seems they should be punished in some way.

I was also on that sailing and would like to know.  Right now, I believe that they probably received the OBC like everyone else.

The MDR is usually the quiet option at breakfast and lunch.  Conversely, the WJ is usually the quiet option at dinner.   Some prefer WJ, others prefer MDR.  Both options are offered because people want them.  Do whatever make you happier.

3 minutes ago, Cruiscs said:

They will most likely also design a cold climate ship in a couple of years that will be smaller than Icon

Or just build an updated Quantum class ship.

3 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

I liked the Dynamic Dining "dining" experience, but the turn off for me was the bug ridden online reservation system.  Of course my experience was from the Quantum maiden voyage, so it may have improved afterwards.

 

I chose Dynamic Dining "Classic" on the Anthem TA (1 year later) and I liked that concept (traditional fixed dining with rotating dining rooms and menus but same table location and waitstaff).

Yes, now I recall the IT issues.  We sailed with MTD during the DD Classic era.  To us, it was the best of both, but the initial IT issues killed it with those who prefer traditional right at the start.

Just now, Biker19 said:

It's an easy commute and some good pricing for Oasis when she's in Bayonne for the season.

Just now, Biker19 said:

It's an easy commute and some good pricing for Oasis when she's in Bayonne for the season.

Yes it is.  That's why I never say never.   

Since you brought up Bayonne, I wonder if Icon will fit under the Verrazano bridge.

19 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The hate started before that with Dynamic Dining and went south from there.

Spouse and I may have been the only people who liked Dynamic Dining.  It was MTD with variety of restaurants and menus.

As for Icon, we haven't even sailed Oasis class yet.  We are not the target demographic.  Perhaps we will sail Oasis / Icon class with grandkids some day.

I don't cruise to watch tv, but my Phils just made it to the world series.  Will I be able to see it on the Anthem next week?

22 hours ago, ValerieJo said:

   Another question I have is in regard to indoor space.   Since we will be sailing from New Jersey toward the end of November, I'm guessing we won't be spending a ton of time out on the pool deck for the first day or two.  Do you feel there is enough indoor spaces around the ship to not feel overcrowded?  Thanks again.  Looking forward to more of your review.  Have a wonderful time!

Quantum and Anthem were initially designed for year round sailings from Cape Liberty.  We have only sailed once, but it did seem ok.  There is a large indoor pool area and the Solarium is very large and indoors.  270 is huge and can be used for relaxing on sea days.  Seaplex is indoors and can handle a lot of things to keep teens active all day.  We'll be sailing her soon and will relearn the ship.

We sailed on a few of those ships.  Some were small enough to be lifeboats for the Oasis class.  

I don't miss the ships because they did not have balconies and some of the amenities of today's larger ships.  However, wouldn't mind if the the level of service and cuisine that those ships had existed today.

19 hours ago, Blur said:

You can watch YouTube just be ready to wait a long time to buffer.

 

Surf isn't even good enough for browsing anything with lots of pictures but it's perfect for WiFi calling, texting and text emails.

If it works with wifi calling, I might just get it.

23 hours ago, Homosassa said:

We avoid any cruise out of Bayonne.

 

We waited over two hours to enter the parking lot at Bayonne, and it was only two hours because we did not drop our luggage off but went straight to the parking lot.

 

We then tried to check our bags with a porter only to find another long line.

 

We ended up carrying all our luggage on board ourselves. (FYI, the largest suitcase allowed by airlines fit through the scanner at Port Liberty.)

 

Then there was the wait for the shuttle bus to take us and all our luggage to the ship itself.

 

All in all, close to four hours just to reach the bottom of the gangway to the ship.

 

Never again, Bayonne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new terminal has improved things from the day of the bus.  Now there is a gangway to the ship.  There is also a parking garage.

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Best is San Juan.  Worst is New York City (not Bayonne).

Agree that the terminal is not good.  On the flip side, it is a spectacular sail away down the Hudson.

The Cape Liberty terminal is ok, but you can encounter a mile long (or more) line of vehicles waiting to drop off luggage due to the lone access road.  But I can drive there in 90 minutes and don't have to deal with flying hassles.

Baltimore is a longer drive for me, but easy in and out.  The drawback is the limited sailing options.

On 10/10/2022 at 10:53 AM, CntPAcruiser said:

 

 

I was pleased to see on our most recent cruise that all the teabags were Bigelow, and they had quite a wide selection in comparison to the last couple of cruises we went on pre-Covid. Nearly all they had back then was some awful organic brand that you had to use two bags of per cup to get any flavor at all. So some of the recent changes, possibly due to supply chain or just changes in suppliers, have been for the better!

DW will be very happy to hear that.

Interesting question.  I recall hearing (a long time ago) that salad dressings were made onboard, but I can't say that this is indeed the case.