Airbear232

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Except when you would sneak your Rowenta mini steamer on board.  Accepted, but ignored.

 

I'm done.

Unfortunately, it broke a few years ago.  Still hope they reissue it.  Best steamer by far for traveling.  Glad you’re done.  Bye. 

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Certainly supports the argument that they are banned based on a financial incentive - right?? Silly safety and fire hazard concerns aside, banning steamers must translate to a huge profit center for them......

 

What a wasted debate.  They are prohibited, just accept that.

Neither does it support the idea that they’re a fire hazard.  I’ve always accepted that they are prohibited.  Granted revenue from pressing is probably now minimal, but at one time, it was considerably more.  

1 hour ago, mom says said:

Oh, please. Try again. Explain how cruise lines with guest laundry facilities still ban steamers. Go ahead. We're  waiting.

Wow, you’re feisty.  Realistically, how many people can prep their clothes before dinner on Princess?  Go ahead, how many of the 4000+ passengers on Sun Princess could press their own clothes?  I don’t have to wait for your answer as the answer is not many.  

On 9/30/2024 at 9:06 AM, leaveitallbehind said:

In general any item that generates heat is considered a fire hazard and would not be permitted.  Clothes steamers are specifically identified as prohibited items by most cruise lines.  I am not aware of any particular brands that would be permitted as they typically all would use an internal heating element to produces the steam.  To confirm you would have to check with the particular cruise line of interest but I would expect the answers to be the same.

Clothes steamers are prohibited because they take away revenues from clothes pressing.  Hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons generally draw more power and generate more heat but no cruise line would like to tell women they can’t bring them. 

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Love your attitude toward safety rules.

 

DON

Now, given hair dryers, flat irons and curling irons are allowed and actually potentially a much greater risk, I don’t think a small steamer is so much a risk.  

Rowenta used to make a really great mini steamer that worked great for travels.  So, while not allowed, it was never detected.  

For me, bucket list itinerary would be the next Royal Caribbean ultimate cruise.   For activity, (I know it’s no longer done), I’d love to shoot skeet.  Also, (I know this is not possible) with modern ships but I think I’d be cool if they could open a platform to go swimming in the middle of the ocean.

On 10/1/2024 at 1:41 AM, Mary229 said:

My favorite new fitness class at home is drum cardio.  I would love to be able to do it on ship but I can’t imagine it would happen as it is noisy and needs more space than most gyms. 

Sounds like fun!

Southern!  Warmer, less visited by ships.  Better experience. 

3 minutes ago, jwlane said:

Take a moment to read the article in post #15.

Whether it be a tertiary road or a secondary road the fact that you can drive down slowly, by our definition, is not relevant.  What is relevant is that trucks can and do move along the road, so there is a real connection.  The murder rate in Haiti is exponentially higher than that in the Bahamas.  The government continues with a level 4 travel advisory for Haiti, it is substantially deemed more dangerous than the Bahamas.  For some reason, you continue to maintain that Labadee is a care free, worry free area.  

Wait, I now understand, you’re a bot for Tourism Haiti!

On 9/30/2024 at 10:09 PM, jwlane said:

Virtually inaccessible Labadee is isolated some 80 miles from the center of the unrest in Port-au-Prince!!!  Y'all know there were 18 murders in Nassau in January (which has a Level 2 travel advisory).

Seriously!  Labadee is connected to Cap-Hatien by Route 105.  While it is a “quieter” area, it is hardly inaccessible.  Haiti continues to have a level 4 travel advisory.

2 hours ago, cobber1967 said:

Visiting Labadee is not really like visiting Haiti.  No more than visiting CocoCay is like visiting the Bahamas.

??? Labadee is separated from the rest of Haiti by a fence.  Coco Cay is a separate island more than 40 miles by boat from New Providence!!!

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

Again, that's a salesperson doing her job well.  They're supposed to make the potential client feel that they've become friends /that they'll look out for the new friend and get them a good deal.  Doesn't mean it's genuine.  I'm not saying it's a con, but it is another strong sales technique.  
 

She’s one of the owners of Kallati, she damaged her and the company’s reputation.  Not a great sales technique. 

4 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'm booked 4 nights in rome and so doing on my own when I arrive and then booked 3 excursions the next 3 days. I'll just have to figure out how to get there. I dont know if pts possible or i cou,d change the sim card on my tracfone to use it in europe. My hotel has wifi, worse comes to worse 2 days i might have to get a taxi to and from. Excursion in between is stuff near my hotel and walkable. I'm sure I'll make mistakes but I'll try my best. Nothing has to be perfect. It is a lot more than I planned. People said take a ta they are cheaper. All the cruises from PC I'd done or the prices like star ots are outrageous and there was a TA from PC so I booked it..then the next leg had greece, I wanted to see greece .. it just seems like my cheap ta is out of hand a bit I keep adding on. It's all good. I'm going to try and not worry, other cruises to do first.

I’m not really familiar with tracfone as a carrier.  If your hardware supports it, you can use an eSIM.  Then you can use your phone in Italy without worry.  Italy has a great train system and it’s relatively easy to get from Rome to port.  There are other threads which will give you details.  Depending on where you’re staying, Rome is very walkable (watch out for pick pockets). Are you going solo or with others?

On 8/9/2024 at 6:17 PM, firefly333 said:

I'm doing a TA from Florida to spain and then a 10 days to rome, then 4 days in rome. Imo I probably wouldn't do this again as the 4 days in rome to me takes so much planning. My phone doesnt work there, getting a hotel, planning excursions different days and getting to them. Ordered a adaptor so I can plug in my phone and tablet to charge. Flight home etc. It just seems to me planning a land trip is so much work. I'm not into all this planning and feel like it's out of hand. Not what I enjoy. I wouldnt want to do more days, this is enough to worry about and juggle. Each day a different private excursion and place to meet, and tickets for each day. A cruise delivers them to my bed.

 

The 23 days cruising I know and understand. Excursions you meet near the port not have to take a taxi or walk 30 minutes. I booked some easy excursions and looking forward to the azores which sound beautiful. The cruise part for me is so much easier. Trying not to stress over the 4 days in rome. Not getting a different phone just for 4 days. TAs are typically less expensive. In a year after they come out I'd look at a TA out of your neck of the woods.

I can understand the anxiety the first time you do a trip like that but in the end you’ll find it’s not too difficult and you’ll have a great trip.  In terms of phone, get an eSIM and you’ll be able to make calls with no issues.  Most major cities in Europe are very walkable.  While we love cruising, there’s only so much you can see and do in a few hours in port.  It’s easy to spend a few days in Rome or Florence, there’s just so much to see and do.  And, you can buy a decent guidebook and not require any tours.  Have a great trip, it’s worth the leap!

On 9/26/2024 at 8:47 AM, Essiesmom said:

How flexible are you?  How light can you travel?  How adventurous are you?  If you pull up MarineTraffic.com and put Athens or Piraeus into the search, you will find there are dotted line tracks leading from the port.  These are cruise ferries, some of them fast ferries.  
 

Thank you, I’ve learned a lot from you reading your posts on this thread. 

We had a similar experience with Kallati jewelry on Anthem of the Seas.  They were doing a trunk show and met the daughter.  My wife and her got along quite well and she told her they could make a nice pair of yellow diamond earrings to match a ring she has.  We agreed and the earrings were to be shipped to us after the cruise.  It ended up taking months and many calls and emails to receive the earrings.  When we did receive them, they were quite inferior in comparison to those in my wife’s ring.  We then went through a truly arduous process to return them.  We prevailed.  I would still say the experience on the ship was good.  It was the execution of the vendor that failed.  Very disappointed with her.  In the end, she lost a potentially great customer.

So far, and hoping to add many more:

San Juan

Cape Liberty

Manhattan

Civitavecchia

Barcelona

Fort Lauderdale

Dubai

Port Canaveral

Baltimore

Southampton

Stockholm

Trieste

Ravenna

7 hours ago, choochella said:

Just received a message from my TA that Labadee will open on October 8. Just hoping that all is safe. We have a scheduled stop in November. 

Thanks, I just read it online too.  Well, I’m glad we’re not there until the New Year.  I wouldn’t want to be one of October’s Guinea pigs.  Strangely, Celebrity is staying away to the New Year.  

26 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

No. Those are on Radiance and Quantum class ships, and I believe on Icon as well.

Just watched a recent video, there are pool tables in Playmakers.  Much relieved.  

On 3/18/2024 at 2:53 PM, barric said:

We cruised on Vision from Baltimore on March 7, 8 nights.  It was our first on Royal and got Diamond due to our Celebrity Elite status.  We also cruise NCL and MSC.   This is what we seniors experienced.

 

Vision was sold out, approx 2000 guests.  Very nice overall condition with few areas showing age (carpets in hallways, eg).  Lounge and theater furnishings all comfy (Unlike NCL who prefers form over function). 

 

We had a Grand Suite which was stupendous.   Big.  Lots of storage.  Fancy.  Great bedding.  Great attendant and 2X per day service.  Small TV, but it accepted inputs from my DV Player and my Fire TV.  Had more tv channels than expected. 

 

Suite class featured concierge service (Jaime was fab) and access to the Concierge Lounge.  This was outstanding.  Nice cocktail hour with appies. Enough seating for all the suite guests and good views.

Suite class also came with breakfast daily at Chops.  Good but still we had some breakfasts in Windjammer (but no smoked salmon).  A VIP area in the theater was good.

 

Still, we were VERY disappointed with dining as a suite guest.  No dedicated restaurant.  Dinners only in the MDR, and no special menu, seating area or timing.  Quite a bit down from our experiences with Celebrity, NCL, MSC. 

 

MDR.  We are foodies and found the main dining to be average some nights, disappointing on others.  Not as good as other lines.  Lobster was an upcharge.  The strip steak was cooked properly but seemed like a lower grade of beef.  Not tender.  Theme nights were unattractive to us.  Breads not a strong point on RCL. 

 

Windjammer:  Fairly good for breakfast, but there was only one inconvenient egg station.  Bacon always crispy!  No milk dispensers.   Had to pour a glass out of the coffee area pitchers.  Sheesh.

Lunches were like average diner food.  Nothing special.  WJ not open early enough for us early birds.  Hard to find coffee in the am unless you don’t mind getting it outside on the pool deck.  Could not even sit in WJ until 7am.  

 

Park Café at the solarium.   Had nice food but lousy hours.  No lunch until 1 pm, when a big line formed immediately.

 

Specialty dining.  We bought the 3 night plan to add to the 1 night which came with Diamond.  Izumi was 10 stars.  Great sushi and sashimi.  Chops was very good with excellent rib steak and filet.  Giovanni was also VG…osso bucco fabulous. 

 

Pleasant surprise:  we left Charleston shortly after docking, due to poor weather.  RCL refunded our port fees.  WooHoo.

 

Solarium and poolside.  Seating and tables commonly available. Tiny hot tubs…only 4 can squeeze in, and they were always crowded.

Good accurate review, thanks!

8 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

No. Those are on Radiance and Quantum class ships, and I believe on Icon as well.

Thanks, one of my nephews wanted to know for our upcoming New Year’s cruise.  Too bad.  

On 8/31/2024 at 1:55 PM, livetravelcruise07 said:

We are going to be sailing on Grandeur of the Seas here soon and the prices for lunch at the specialty restaurants are a great price right now! We have the options of Giovanni's Table, Izumi or Chops Grille. Leaning more towards Giovanni's, currently $19 a person. How does everyone feel about doing lunch at a specialty restaurant in the middle of a sea day? We haven't done a lunch before; we have only ever done specialty restaurants for dinner, and we absolutely love doing that. Thank you!! 🤗

We love sea day lunches at Chops!  Highly recommend it. 

Does Freedom of the Seas have pool tables?  

On 9/16/2024 at 10:52 AM, Toddcan said:

I'm probably the 1 in 100 on a cruise who doesn't drink alcohol, so if I had a (small) wish I could make happen is that I had the option to have a soda package in place of the 4 free drinks per day.  I love the freestyle machines due to the variety of diet sodas (Loving the Diet Dr. Pepper with a shot of cherry).  Yes, I can get my 4 sodas from any bar, but I am limited to Diet Coke/Zero. 

 

Probably a pain the butt to manage from the ship side - but alas, that would be awesome.    

We don’t drink, but enjoy specialty coffees, Mocktails and Soda.  The drinks are a very generous reward.