MedicKen

Mine is a combination of my pre-retired occupation and my name. I took this "handle" back in dial-up AOL ver 3.0 days.

hi, we have just booked the cruise from southampton to new jersey in nov next year and we will be flying onto orlando, could anyone please help as to which airport is closest to the port to get a flight there, any advice greatly appreciated, sue

Newark International (EWR) is closest to Bayonne, Cape Liberty NJ. If you go to the East Coast Departure board you can find a lot of discussion about flying from EWR.

John,

Great review, although I do miss your stunning photography. Glad you had a good time. We've been on Freedom of the Seas twice and, like you, prefer Explorer.

See you, and Ralph the Homelesss Cruiser, on the waves, soon I hope.

I've noticed ASL interpreters standing in front of the stage at the stage-right position. That would mean you'll be sitting in the seats on that side of the theater. BTW, stage-right is the right side of the stage as if you were standing on it looking out at the audience.

I purchased a 24 hour access ($10) in May and was able to connect with a very strong signal while sitting on the promenade deck 4 outside on the dock side. When I was on the pool deck, again dock side, the signal was very poor. A friend had no problem on his balcony, again dock side of the ship. When you have a good signal, it is a fast, clean service. I will do it again.

We cruised on Costa Riveria April 1987 and had the "radio" in our cabin but no TV. As I remember, there was 1 TV in a bar that they would play Italian Video on. Never was the set on. We also had a phone and glad we did as we got locked in our room and had to call the steward on duty to get out.

Thank you so much for the info. I was afraid we would have to drive in that day. We are coming from Ohio and it is a 6 hour drive for us. I know it is doable but considering we don't know what the weather will be like in December I feel more comfortable coming in a day early.

WOW 6 hours from Ohio? It's a 6 hour drive from Pittsburgh and we're 2 hours east of Cleveland Ohio. So, the question is, what part of Ohio?

Hi Ruth,

 

I wasn't even thinking about the Quantum, but Meg said she was going on Jan 23 and the first day bookings opened I grabbed a solo balcony. The reason there is no supplement is because it is actually a solo cabin. It has a double bed and will hold two people, but it's designed for a solo traveler. Needless to say the square footage is less, but it is a balcony and the particular cabin I got has what appears to be a giant long narrow balcony that goes all the way out to the hump - 6648. So essentially I have a hump balcony close to the aft elevators. I will be a D+ by sail date, so I get $350 off the price, so it makes it a better deal than even a solo inside cabin or a regular inside with a single supplement.

 

Meg has one of these cabins for a 3 day cruise in Nov, so she will have pictures and feedback about it then.

 

The bad news is that these cabins sold out almost immediately on all the QotS sailings. Just dumb luck for me to be able to grab one. One thing I've learned is to put a hold on a cabin and throw deposit money at it. That's an investment strategy that has paid huge dividends over the last few years.

 

I really hope i can catch up with you and Donna on a future cruise.

 

Carol

Carol,

Just looked it up on the deckplan. Looks very interesting, can't wait to see it. We booked an OV as they were less $$ than an inside. We will be on deck 3 Forward port side.

Hi Carol, and all,

A word if I may. Although we have a special circumstance, Handicapped cabin, we have traveled in the three major categories of cabin. Unless the cruise has a lot of sea days or we get a good deal we usually don't spend the money on a balcony. We are very happy in an inside and have recently cruised in an Ocean view. Although the OV was nice we are just as satisfied in an inside.Our next planned cruise will be in a balcony because no insides were left in accessible. When we sail, with you, on QotS we will have an OV, strictly because they are less $ than an inside.

Because my DW requires an accessible cabin, we've found an inside the best choice. Now this has come to pass because of a combination of money and availability so it isn't a cut and dry preference. We have sailed in Ocean View, loved it, Balconies, not bad, and soon we'll be in a Jr. Suite. We see no reason to sail in a GS or above as, in our opinion, you pay a lot more for not much more. Granted we get a lot of room by virtue of the handicapped status but would probably sail the same if it wasn't needed.

I would, and have, park at the pier. It's $19 a night, paid up front. The parking lot is very convenient to the terminal and they have a nice system to load and unload your vehicle. We travel with DW's scooter and have never had an issue with he staff at Bayonne.

Is it today that they are going to announce her itineraries from PC? I have a feeling that Key West is included in on of them.

Is EX too big for Key West? I thought there was an issue with ship size and the channel.

Remember when we used to say Holland was for the old fogies. Oh, well, add me to the group. 60 on our next cruise.

WOW Carol. where do you dig this one up? Almost 2 years have passes since I wrote it. I am flattered.

THANKS

If you choose Cape Liberty (Bayonne NJ) I suggest you fly into Newark NJ (EWR) as for Brooklyn or Manhattan, I defer to my learned colleagues.

That's OK. The Boss forgives you, this time. (LOL)

Meg,

Are they able to handle the scooter/wheelchair folks? In other words, do they have lifts in their vans (or at least one). The $$ sounds good as well as the covered garage. But I need to worry about "The Boss".

it was awesome...and you will never want to go back to NOT having one...

 

better buffet...nice comfy seats, ceiling fan...great service....worth every penny!!!

I totally agree with my esteemd colleague. Especially since we shared the cabana. And would do it again in a New York second, if we are invited to of course.

As far as I'm concerned it's not the kids being on the ships, it's the parents doing their job. This job started at birth with manners and ettiquete training. Our son was always welcomed in any situation and most adults enjoyed haivng him around. (He's now 25 and a great guy too.)

Kids will be kids but they have no excuse to be monsters. Parental supervision and trust is paramount.

On both Explorer and Enchantment we have asked the Room Steward to ask the bar staff to take care of the mini-bar items. On EX they took all but the water, which we placed in one of the side cabinets with a prominent Post-It note saying they were there. On EN we placed everything in the cabinet with the same note. (Note: the items were NOT in the fridge in EN, they were on the desk)

Water onboard is filtered and treated to the point of being more pure than most municipal water. In my opinion, I wouldn't worry about bringing waater aboard or the Brita system. We do however, bring insulated glasses/mugs for our cold and hot beverages as it is more convient and larger capacity than the glasses/cups on the ship.

Enjoy your cruise.

Another trick for inside cabins is to tune your TV to the bridge camera, if there is one, and turn the sound down. At least you have an idea when the sun rises. And again on Royal Caribbean, we've found a clock built into the phone. It isn't an alarm clock but you can call for a wake-up call. If you arrange for room service for coffee or breakfast, they will call you shortly before they deliver your order.

The Aqua Theater pool varies in depth, due to a hydraulic floor, from 0 to 14 feet. But access is very tightly controlled to SCUBA classes and belly flop competition.

Not to insult anyone, but if the odor seems to be in port, might it be "Eau de Jersey" and not from the ship at all?

This is an attempt at humor folks. BUT I have been on Explorer on 3 different occasions and have NEVER noticed an odor of sewerage. NOW, with that said, I do imagine there can be odoriferous situations on any ship, especially, when folks decide to flush other than waste or ship supplied paper down the toilets thus causing a clog that affects many cabins. I do apologize for any offense I may have committed.

Not to insult anyone, but if the odor seems to be in port, might it be "Eau de Jersey" and not from the ship at all?