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Sending Prayers for family.

Question?

It has been said they notified the family How did Royal know who jumped?

In such a short period of time, they notified the family. I also wonder how they knew so quickly, unless one of the witnesses knew him. If I remember correctly wasn't it soon after the witnesses were asked to go to the information desk that the Captain announced the family had been notified?

If this is correct then the search was called off. :( :(

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/04/coast_guard_searches_for_man_who_jumped_overboard.amp

Thanks for posting this. We were wondering when they would decide to call off the search. It was a shame all the rumors that were said about this incident. Many said the young man was recovered, others said it was a teenager, doing it on a dare. When people don't know for sure what happened, they should wait for actual information, not just what they heard or think.

Very sad for this family, but the Captain and ship's crew did a great job keeping everyone calm. The one thing that was quite obvious was the Captain's voice when he made announcements....that alone was heartbreaking.

This is the price for lunch at Chops on my upcoming Anthem cruise too. In your cruise planner, if you click on it as if you're going to purchase, you can view the lunch menu. It is much smaller than the dinner menu. I'm thinking about doing it to avoid the Windjammer on embarkation day. :)

I didn't know Chops was open on embarkation day for lunch. Does anyone know if you have to have reservations. We did Chops lunch on our last Anthem cruise, and, although a smaller menu, it was very good.

Anyone on board know if there is a group on the ship that need dialysis, or any related illness such as kidney failure, diabetes, etc? We have been on cruises where there were groups that had pre-existing conditions. If that is the case, it would be highly possible for four people to be critically ill.

We were on one cruise, and every port there was an ambulance waiting for the ship to arrive. At one port, two people were taken off ill. So it is not unexpected.

The guest service manager explained it to me that of the 3800 or so onboard about 60% are over the age of 65 and nearly half had some sort of special needs. All opinions are welcome but that's a decidedly different "activity level" than the cruising demographics of a Caribbean itinerary. It tends to gum up the works because of slower movement. That being said the officers were pretty candid that was a large root cause and EOS crews had the benefit of experience with this itinerary which this crew doesn't. The ship itself is great and all are having a good time it's just resulting in some unchartered territory onboard.

First, didn't it occur to you that an older clientele would be going up north, and second, no offense to anyone with children, but I would prefer 60% over 65 rather than 60% under the age of 18.

We were on the Liberty in the Spring, had absolutely no problem with staff or food, or for that matter elevators either, that being the reason we wanted to sail on her again.

Thanks, everyone. I just wanted him in one group younger (can't remember the cut off, but believe it was 12), and as he is quite small for his size, no issues there. He plays sports in leagues one group under, etc., and never had an issue. Unless you have a special needs child, it is hard to understand how difficult it can be to have people simply be flexible -- and remember, I was told in advance over the phone by RC customer service that they would try to accommodate. The fact is a child with a serious mental delay (such as Down syndrome) cannot find his or her way around on a ship, and needs to be able to be signed in and out. Or at least they should have an alternative in the regular teen room -- perhaps a fee for a companion in the room. But that group is still way too old for him, and none of the activities are things that he can do, yet, whereas in that next-youngest room was everything he loves and is good at (Wii, younger age level games, etc). That is not a difficult thing to accommodate, especially when they have my cell phone and if there were any problems they could simply have called us. Their "policies" are inflexible and as one of you noted, apparently they do make allowances (at least, officially), they simply wouldn't on board. Taking a cruise only for special needs sort of defeats the purpose of inclusivity that our schools and organizations all over the world have adopted. I appreciate the feedback, and, yes, I wrote to the president, the CEO and filled out the survey. I don't expect it to do any good, but if somehow it can make a family in the future be able to have a more enjoyable and relaxing trip, it'll still be worth it.

I do have a special needs chiild, and had a sister with down syndrome, perhaps the solution to your problem was to have you and your husband, or an older child, take turns with your special needs child. If you were a family of five, four of you taking turns doesn't seem to awful. He is your responsbility, and rules are rules, unfortunate in your situation, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet. I would never ask for special favors for my child, nor would my mom for my sister, we just split the responsibility among family members.

I have seen many down syndrome children/adults on RCCL, and really enjoying themselves, whether in the pool, dancing, etc. There is one young man, who iis down syndrome, who has 30 plus cruises with RCCL, so they must be doing something right.

The $1143 that is stated per person for a superior balcony is the highest price listed. However, when you click on the area where it states view summary of charges it shows $1409 per person. Both prices are without the taxes. If that is not false advertising, since you are not getting the second person half off since they raised the amounts of each person to a different amount to cover the so called half off at check out, then what would you call it?

Were the cabins priced from $1143 to1409 per person? If they were, the higher price one was selected, you could change cabins and see if the price is different. I didn't have a problem with my guarantee, it was the price listed and the second was half off.

Zay,

Thanks for the great review. It was a pleasure to meet you, and hope to sail with you again.

We had yellow tags to get off the ship, were called quite early, but decided to wait because we were getting a bus around 10:30. We actually left the ship about 9:45, didn't think debarktion was any different than any other ship, and really probably a little easier. The best debarktion is from the Disney ship, you eat breakfast, don't wait too be called, just leave the ship when you are finished eating. All your luggage is together, and placed according to the deck you were on. All the cruise companies could benefit from checking it out.

We had a few hic cups, actually burps, on this cruise, but still had a great time.....except Frank is still talking about the cookies. LOL

Bette

I just want to clear up the most popular cabin booking myth. It is NOT true that if an able bodied person books an accessible cabin early on, that they will be moved if a disabled person needs it. I know this for a fact because on more tan one occasion I've been shut out of booking an accessible cabin, and had to book a suite just so my scooter would fit. I asked the booking agent to check if any of the HC cabins were booked by able bodied persons and was told every single time that they have no idea who books those cabins and if they're disabled. Once a cabin is out of inventory, that's it---it's gone for everyone, even for a disabled person. Once on board, I made it a point to find out if some cabins contained non-disabled persons, and I found out that quite a number were booked by person's who had no need of them.

 

So, to those who book HC cabins and who's travel agents tell them this story of having to move if a sabled person needs it, just know that your TA doesn't have a clue.

Darcie, how did you find out if people were handicapped or not in these cabins? I know if you would come up and ask me, I would certainly tell you it is none of your business.

I often book handicap cabins, yet I do not use any handicap devices. I have a balance problem which is worse first thing in morning and during the night, so I need the accessible bathroom. We also book it because my husband is diabetic and I know if I leave him in the cabin alone, he could always call someone if a problem arises. All he has to do is push a button. So, handicap doesn't always mean visible signs, there are a lot of people who have medical issues that cannot be seen by everyone.

If you look at people, there is no way to tell if for some reason they may be handicapped or not. To look at both myself and d/h, you would think we were both very able people. However, I am a cancer survivor that has been left with disabilities that you might not see, but can be quite debilitating to say the least. I have neuropathy in both my hands and feet, leaving me with very little feeling in my limbs, which causes a gait and balance problem. I need the handicapped bathroom, or I probably wouldn't be able to shower while on a cruise, and then I would rather stay home. My husband also has, at times, a problem with dizziness, yet most of the time you wouldn't be aware of it. We PAY MORE to get a HC, and our disabilities are just as bad, if not worse, then some of you using scooters or wheel chairs. Why, because they are not recognizable to most. I often get stares from people when I am walking because I can't walk a straight line in an open area, and people usually think I am drunk....and I do hear snide remarks. The funny part, I don't have more than one or two drinks all during the cruise. There are many people who think they deserve more because they are handicapped....well, it is something that has happened, so stop looking for pity....you are able to go on a cruise, a lot of people would love to be in "your chair" because they can't leave a home or facility because of their disabilities. No matter how bad things are for you, there are always people a LOT WORSE!

This post was really funny and enjoyable at the same time! Thanks.