Mr_Soccer

 

 

One other thing is the Compass said you could use the interactive TV to check your stateroom balance, but we were never able to get it to work.

What a piece of junk that interactive system is. Always said we were queuing, able to eventually get in maybe once a day. System on the newer ships is way better,

 

I will say one thing about tendering. It's best to go get your tender ticket as soon as you get up. The later you wait, the higher your number. If you have a ship excursion, they might give you a number. I am not sure. We did not have a ship excursion and waited until after breakfast to get a number. In hindsight, I would have gotten the ticket first thing.

If you have a RCCL excursion your ticket is your tender ticket. it will have a meeting place on the ship, like the theater and will have a number. Then you will be lead to a dedicated tender with other excursions.

A few more questions tricking in from the family:

1. How are the hair dryers in the stateroom? Do they do an okay job?

2. Does Royal provide shampoo and conditioner as separate items, a combo of shampoo and conditioner, just shampoo, or neither?

 

My wife said that the women would understand these questions. :-)

Thanks!

MY DW always brings her own hairdryer regardless of what is promised. So no idea here she has never used.

RCCL now only provides bar soap and shampoo (in a wall dispenser) We had to buy some conditioner on board for our February cruise, DW brought her own this time.

• How was your cabin? What deck was your cabin on? Was the deck noisy?
  
• How early did you get to the shows in order to get seats?
  
• Did the ship feel super crowded? My biggest concern is that the ship will feel overly crowded.
  

Sorry for the questions, just trying to prep for our cruise! Thanks again for your great review, it's super helpful to noobs like me!

Nice Handle, especially after today's market performance :)

We had a balcony cabin mid-ship on deck 9, really quiet except from the occasional "serenading" of Disney tunes from the young girls next door when they were on their balcony.

We went to every show before and after dinner except the Neil Diamond (we had late seating) and usually sat in the balcony by choice. we rolled in 5 minutes early for everything and had good seats (either straight on or one section to the left or right and in the first three rows). This did not work out for the 11:15 late night comedy show by Landry. I had never seen any theater on any cruise that packed. Standing room 2-3 deep in the balcony. For the first showing of the ice show and SNF I went and got in line 45 minutes early. Had front row for ice show and choose 7th row center on the floor for SNF. Great seats for both. Could have had great seats coming in 15 minutes later for either.

Ship felt less crowded than any of the previous 5 RCCL cruises. You could always find a deck chair except right next to the pools, many of the tables were not filled in the dining rooms. we were at a 6 person table for dinner and the other people did not show for a single night, shows were never filled except the one late night show I mentioned above. Lines were not out of control for slides, mini golf, promenade eateries...Was a bit of a challenge a couple times to get a table at the windjammer, but acceptable.

Have a great cruise. Biggest bummer for us was the rain in Cozumel and Jamaica.

So, late on day 5. Thanks!

Yes this was the first I had seen it (then you have two sea days to use in addition to that evening), then I noticed it at a few different places on Friday.

 

Laundry -- Nobody asked about this, but I noticed the stuff-everything-in-the-bag laundry price was $34.99.

 

If you are Platinum it is 29.99

Great, comprehensive review!

 

Do you recall seeing any drink cards for sale?

I was offered a drink card late Thursday at Boleros, 10 drinks for $75

 

The cruise director, John Blair, was not my cup of tea; too Vegas-y. I was not surprised to learn that the Neil Diamond tribute later in the week was his headliner show.

 

My DW and I were on the same cruise and have the exact same sentiments about John. Only show we skipped was the Neil Diamond one

 

Big advantage for the car service: Not only is it a bit cheaper, but it's your private car, ready to leave when you're ready. You have to wait until the shared shuttle van fills before it leaves for the airport, and you get to ride shoulder-to-shoulder with a lot of people you don't know.

 

The toll for this trip is very minimal...$1.65.

Do you have a preferred car service from Newark hotels to the port?