celoplyr

54 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Not if it's not booked as a solo. We have had reports since the restart that when you have a no show for a double-booked cabin, the remaining guest doesn't get the solo points - and when you call C&A you usually get an automatic no when trying to request the extra solo points.

I've been getting them automatically?  I sailed 2x in December.

I haven't stayed in that hotel, but I have found taxis to be plentiful in San Juan, and your hotel can easily get you one.  that's all I would do.

1 hour ago, SWFJOE said:

Headed to Alaska this summer on the Quantum. Was wondering what are the aprox costs of the extras such as ( bumper cars,ifly, etc)stuff for kids when not in port. Are they really pricey or reasonable. Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

When I went previously the bumper cars and iFly were free.  North Star was usually free (fee if you were taking it during the glacier).  I did the iFly, but didn't enjoy it so I was glad it was free! I hate heights (I mean HATE heights) and loved the North Star enough to do it twice! And my very stoic father got a glimmer in his eye when he was hitting my mother and myself in bumper cars.  We really enjoyed the activities! 

FYI- things I didn't know- Alaska has terrible cell reception except for AT&T.  We have made a pact to always get internet in Alaska now.

We booked one once because I had an aunt with Parkinson's and an aunt with MS that we were trying to take on a cruise.  We actually arranged them so that they only took 1 cabin (rather than splitting them up with their children). No documentation was asked for, although we were going to get both of them a scooter.  The cruise never went off, unfortunately, and one has since passed away.  

I agree that not all handicaps are visible, and yes, people may need one who don't "look handicapped" and it's a tough slope for RCL to figure out.  But I also think that most people are good.  And I got yelled at on this board once for asking someone who had their accessible room taken away if they had perhaps not passed the RCL criteria on a previous cruise.  Who knows?  I'm glad it's not me making the decisions!

yes, it's free, and in my opinion, it's not worth the price.  Everything feels really dry, and at home I get much better condiments than  they have there.  It's worth a try, but don't be surprised if you don't love it!

Oh! We used to have a waiter on the Jewel of the Seas named Sayed. I'm wondering if he is still there after everything.  He is my parents favorite crew member....

I found Ovation and Quantum running different itineraries.  For instance, we wanted to go to Ketchikan and Quantum is going and Ovation is not going on our dates.  

Some people think that Quantum is going to be a more "Asian" ship, Ovation is not really from the Asian market.

I've heard one person here express concern that if they pull a ship from Alaska, they'll pull Quantum over Ovation (this theory has given me nightmares) since Quantum is currently in Singapore and Ovation is currently on the West Coast.  I actually looked into the Ovation on the same week and they no longer had balconies available. (At least not un obstructed).  

Obviously, a Friday or Monday departure is different.  

Ultimately, a lot of minor differences.  

4 hours ago, nelblu said:

Please clarify "drinks in Chops are not charged."  That news to me.  Unless you are talking about the usage of drink vouchers in Chops.  Are we talking about water, iced tea, etc.

I've had drinks in specialty restaurants not be charged. (in my case it was Izumi, not Chops). It's some sort of "special" the waiters make up on the spot, and then you basically tip them the price of the drink.  "Oh, sorry for the inconvenience of not having scallops to choose from, I didn't charge anyone for their drinks..." It's nice, but I wouldn't expect it.  

Enjoy the Galapagos.  I loved it!

Hooked was really good- the Chowder, the surf and turf and the brownie was amazing.  

At Playmakers on Symphony I really liked the poke nachos.  My parents weren't a fan of the onion rings.

Chops is good if you like steak, but aren't particularly picky about it. I dunno.  We like steak but aren't foodies and have never been disappointed. I don't like Italian food, so never was a fan of those restaurants.

On 12/13/2021 at 11:10 PM, rimmit said:

I have been on Quark and One Ocean for expeditions and my parents have used Lindblad/natgeo several times.  They all offer typically an AM and PM landing.  Keeping in mind that Antartica weather is crazy unpredictable and you end up missing a large number of your stops.

 

As they like to remind you, “This is an expedition, not a cruise.” And the name of the game in Antartica is FLEXIBILITY.  I honestly couldnt even tell you how many landings/ whole days of landings I’ve missed.  It definitely hurts when you miss one as the cost of the expedition’s is so high, but that’s just the way the weather it that far south sadly.

Unfortunately, One Ocean is no longer in business.... They were who I took to Antarctica as they checked all my boxes- time, size of boat, cost, activities...

I've been looking at Oceanwide for my Arctic trip, but Intrepid also contracts out a boat in addition to Gadventures.  Cost can swing wildly and SilverSea is one of the most expensive (but also luxurious).  

For Antarctica, no ship with over 500 people can land, and no more than 100 people can be on the ice at any time (per IAATO... you can break it but most reputable ships will be members).  Obviously, the more ice time you want, the fewer the people that can be passengers.  I also think that they can only make one landing per day now (when I went in 2019 it was 2).  You may also want one where you are given (or loaned) a jacket and boots so you don't have to buy or bring it.

1 hour ago, jacobtsf said:

We’ve seen the occasional lecture, sometimes on the areas we were visiting, sometimes on random topics, but they almost always had very small attendance.
 

EXCEPT for our cruise to Cuba in 2018 (which was on Carnival), where the lecturer split her talk into three categories, about 75 minutes each over 3 days. The room was PACKED (including people standing in the back and through the doors, for each one. That cruise was definitely a really cool experience where for almost everybody on board it was all about how special going to Cuba was, especially since we knew there was a good chance that opportunity would be gone shortly. 

That's the only cruise I had RCL lectures on- we were the 3rd RCL cruise to Cuba, and it was packed daily for all the updates, with a separate series on the more political aspects.  And a great Netflix documentary had come out, so I made my mom watch that too!

I also remember dragging my mom out of bed at 5:30 am to watch us sail into Havana.  I figured I'd be the only idiot doing that.  Half the ship was up there- with champagne- because they were all going home for the first time in years.  It was one of my best cruising memories.

My favorite drinks (and my dad's favorite drinks) are no longer on the menu.  This was a VERY disappointing thing to realize.

I liked Kiwi Capirhna's at bolero's and Raspberry Collins at dinner.  Gone.  Dad liked the Nutty Scotchman.  Gone.  We don't like the new drinks and no one knows how to make the old drinks 😞

To answer the original question, I received 1 point for a solo cabin, and 2 points when I'm in a "normal" cabin.  I've never had anything other than paying an extra person's fare for a double cabin.  

I liked the solo cabin, but for the price, would rather have that double occupancy.  It's usually not much more expensive!

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

Interesting. You were able to change from MTD to early TD while on the cruise? What year did you do this?

I thought I did it on the cruise, and now I'm thinking we switched it right beforehand because we were on a cruise 3 weeks beforehand, and thought it might work.  

My dad has to eat as early as possible or he gets acid, so it worked well for us.  Otherwise, they couldn't eat until MTD started, which is after the early seating is sat (30 minutes later they may seat you if there's room, otherwise 6:45 is the earliest reservation).

11 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Do most CP balconies only have one nightstand? We are booked in one on the Oasis in 2023 and if that’s the case I’m going to change it.

I had one on each side of my bed on the Symphony at Xmas in a CP balcony.

1 hour ago, Starry Eyes said:

I am not sure if this is the reason behind what you read , but on some ships MTD is not even scheduled to begin until 6:30 or 6:45 (I can explain the reason if you wish).  On those ships people who like to dine earlier might feel compelled to select early traditional dining (which starts at 5-5:30).

This is what we found so on our last ship we changed to early dining.  My parents liked it so much that they want it on all the cruises now!! I think they didn't want to eat with other people, but now it's just your party, and they would prefer to eat 5/5:30 anyways for some medical reasons, so yay!

2 hours ago, kittywitty001 said:

What are the drink options on the coke freestyle machines? In the UK coke freestyle machines only really offer coke, fanta, sprite and sometimes squash with the flavour options of vanilla, cherry, strawberry and lime but hoping on the ship more options are available.

There are enough- too many to list.  I see ginger ale, root beer, cream soda, lemonades, powerades, etc... I know raspberry, lemon, lime, vanilla, strawberry, orange, and more are the flavors.  

I just did a 10:30 with nervous parents out of Miami.  the new "request your time" luggage tags help (got earliest possible and ended up off the ship at ~7:45).  We took a cab rather than Uber (cab line was short, and fixed fee in Miami, so it was 1/3rd the price, plus we didn't have to coordinate the meetup). We have TSA precheck, and on that day were flying first class (smaller bag check line, smaller security line).  We didn't even stop for customs because of facial recognition... Really much faster than I had hoped- which just meant I was bored at the airport!! I try to get to my gate 10 minutes before boarding and we were there a whole hour!

11 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

Because they are also concerned about their crew. Good luck.

 

Their crew and their shareholders.  The optics of 2 bad cruises in the beginning of the pandemic shut the industry down for 15+ months.  Your money (and thousands of others) is no where near what they would lose, if things were to go bad on that one ship.

I've done 90 minute ones just fine without video.  My father has done video calls as well.

8 hours might be stretching it, though.  What happens if the net goes down for a bit during the training?  Will you be yelled at?

I will forever miss the Mississippi Mud pie at Chops.  That was yummy....

My mom strung up her extension cord with magnets last week on the Navigator.  the ceiling was magnetic.

9 minutes ago, soremekun said:

I forgot who posted this and I don't take credit but I made sure to download it.  

 

Gracias! I, too, have downloaded it.  I'm thinking spending half as a real pampering of myself (spa, jewelry, alcohol) and cashing out half.  

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

The slot machine at which you do this is unlikely to get mad. 

Ah,  you do it at a slot machine, not the person....

thanks!