yj_eugene

Rumor is that as Oasis III rolls out the drydock door, Oasis I will wind up in Barcelona or maybe Asia.

You misspelled "Port Canaveral" :)

The lack of space is causing problems.

No, free booze for too many people is causing problems. Doesn't seem to be much problem with overcrowding otherwise. My solution: suite guests and Pinnacle get CL and free booze. They've paid/earned it. D/D+ get DL and free non-alcoholic. Overcrowding during happy hour would vanish, plus there would be more revenue from alcohol sales, increasing the bottom line.

For the record, I'm D+ and not a teatotaler, so I too would be among those losing access and drinks. I wouldn't suggest a solution that takes away benefits if I wasn't subject to losing them myself.

Going to be awfully crowded out of Florida in 2015!

Still plenty of room in Port Canaveral for another ship or two. :)

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20131107/NEWS01/311070065/Port-wants-80-million-cruise-terminal-open-next-year

"Chief Executive Officer John Walsh says the complex needs to be ready by Nov. 15, 2014, to handle expected new cruise business"

That's the day Explorer arrives in PC.

Medium rare

Did you happen to eat at Chops near the end of serving time and/or near the end of the cruise?

May be different grades of meat depending on the class of ship?

For those with comments, good or bad, about Chops, can you also include how done the steak was (rare, medium, etc) that you tasted? Not necessarily how you ordered it, but how it was on the plate when you tried it.

The "yj" is short for "yellowjacket", the mascot of my alma mater, Georgia Tech. The underscore is because I worked most of my employed life on computers that don't really like to have spaces in the names of anything, so I've kind of gotten into the same habit. "eugene" is my almost-never-seen-otherwise middle name.

Less open spaces and more people... not sure this sounds like a good thing?

It isn't if they're adding passengers but not expanding heavily-used public areas like the Windjammer. Sounds like it'll be just as crowded-feeling as the stretched Enchantment, which I avoid for that very reason.

I dont think they would be able to fill them all up

If they have two based in PE, one in PC, one in the Med, and one in the Pacific, I don't think they'll have any problem at all filling them. And they don't need 6000 additional passengers for each, as sometime the Majesty and the Vision class ships will have to be retired. Those passengers have to go somewhere, whether it be to these new ships or to repositioned ships from other classes.

I always hope for a Radiance Class ship - I just adore that class of ship. :)

I doubt you'll see one of those in PC. With the upcoming fuel restrictions, those ships, since they have gas turbines, will probably be used in places where a lot of time is spent within the restricted zone: New Orleans, Tampa, Boston, Canada, Alaska, Baltimore (if it'll fit under the bridge). Ships out of PC (and PE and MIA), because they are near The Bahamas, can reach non-restriced waters quickly and thus don't have to burn the more-costly fuel as long, so it doesn't make operating sense to move a Radiance-class to them. I like those class of ships also, but I think the only one you'll see in Florida for the forseeable future will be in Tampa.

Port Canaveral will be building a new cruise terminal which may be ready late 2014 and would be able to handle ships up to 6000 passengers, with a length of up to 1400ft. Sounds like Oasis Class or Quantum Class may head to PC as home port maybe

Late 2014 is also when the widening and deepening of the channel and turning basin is supposed to be completed, so the timing is right. The Quantum is already scheduled to stop in PC beginning in Nov 2014, so it needs to be ready for that, and then the terminal and basin would be all set for homeporting an Oasis-class once the third one is ready in 2016.

I've never been to Grand Bahama Island, but would like to go someday, preferably aboard a Royal Caribbean ship

Then join us on the Explorer Dec 13, 2014, out of PC! It's going to Grand Bahama, plus CocoCay, Nassau, and a day at sea. It's what you're asking for from the Enchantment, without having to choose.

They are the finale for the Pirate party.

Does anyone know if they can be seen from the window of an oceanview room (on the correct side, of course), or if you have to head up to the pool deck to see them?

My biggest challenge on cruise ships has been that chefs are fond of sprinkling cheese on so many food items.

I have a similar problem, but on the other end of the scale: they like to sprinkle parsley on everything. Due to salicylates I can't eat any raw or undercooked vegetables/nuts/herbs/spices, and so constantly have to remind waiters to tell chefs to hold the plant garnishes. Even so, RCL has done an excellent job over the years accommodating my needs, so it comes as no surprise that they have a variety of options for vegans/vegetarians as well.

So perhaps that is the corporate strategy at RCI. To use Celebrity for the "tiny islands", and RCL for the main-stream market. Makes sense because 75% of the folks on our Allure cruise were first-timers.

I think it's very much like that: once you've done it all on RCL's Caribbean routes, they want you to "graduate" to X and free up room for more new RCL cruisers, and what better way to entice you than to have itineraries on X that you can't get on RCL. We've seen the same thing happen with their Panama Canal cruises: one last one for RCL in April, but a dozen available on X.

Also, men--did you know you can rent a tux from the cruiseline and it will be fitted for you onboard the ship.

Don't count on it. I tried to go that route, and called the supplier directly; they laughed when I told them what size I needed.

Just curious - but if you don't own a suit what do you wear to a funeral?

Blue blazer. Gray slacks. White shirt. Blue tie. Black belt. Black shoes.

My one and only marryin' and buryin' outfit. My job doesn't require a suit, the places I frequent don't require a suit, so I see no need to spend a bunch of money on one. As others have said, the blazer and slacks are much more versatile, and have been enough so for my needs. If it isn't dressy enough for someplace, such as formal night, then I don't go, and we'll eat elsewhere. Luckily my DW feels the same way: if her dresses aren't sufficiently glamorous for one place, she'd rather go to another where they are.

If your going Oct 4th try not to laugh at me.

Don't worry, everyone will be laughing at me instead. Picture someone the size of a jumbo sumo wrestler with a buzz cut and in a sports coat and slacks. It's as comical looking as you can imagine.