xtremegk

FWIW, we prefer those deck 7 1As. Yes, they can be a haul in the hallway (we usually walk down the boardwalk and up those stairs by the Aquatheater), but the layout is much better and makes it feel even larger.

Odyssey's two January/one February stops are in-line with her running the Cape Liberty winter schedule, with the longer January cruises.

RCI isn't new to the soccer/football scene either -- they've been the training jersey sponsor for Wolves since 2021. At the end of the day, Inter Miami -- the team that plays (or I should say will play, when the new stadium is built) in their hometown -- signs the biggest name globally in the sport...so it makes sense for RCI to get in on the extra eyeballs and attention. And while MLS isn't popular, European soccer has a pretty decent foothold in the US, at least with casual fans. They recognize Messi from Barca and the World Cup. So even if they weren't MLS fans, they're paying more attention. Case in point: Messi's match last week against RBNY. I'm a former season-ticket holder, 4th row seats in the lower corner. Only gave them up 2 seasons ago. If I had kept them, I would have easily gotten $1,000 each if I had sold before Martino mentioned resting Messi and have friends who sold their seats for $600 each even after it was clear Messi wasn't starting. The interest is there. Also fun aside: In 2014, the team proposed building their soccer-specific stadium on the southwest corner of Dodge Island (the island that is home to the Port of Miami). RCI also had intentions to develop the plot of land and led the formation of an alliance to successfully oppose Inter Miami's plan. So from rivals to now working together.

We were on, as well. Myself, DW, DS (5) and my folks. I'll share some observations here. 1. MDR - Had tempered my expectations some given what I've read on here...and they were exceeded in every way. Everything we tried was the right temperature and loaded with flavor. Truly enjoyed every meal in here. Service was AMAZING. We had Kunal & Benedict up on deck 5, and they were nothing short of spectacular. They gave our little guy a little extra attention, and Kunal had some kind of magic trick up his sleeve almost every night. Well deserved extra tips for them. 2. Windjammer - Never had a problem getting a table, always at the back, overlooking the mini-golf course (one of DS's obsessions). Food was always temperature appropriate, though I do wish they had some more rotating variety. Breakfast was the same thing every day, though there was enough of a selection that I had different things most days. 3. Entertainment - Aqua80 is the best show in the fleet. Not just diving show, but best show period. I could watch it a million times and never get bored of it. Ice show was good. Skipped CATS and headliners. Comedians were great, especially Al Romas. 4. Room servicing - We had no issues with once a day service (evening). Herman was friendly enough. Never looked stress. Not the friendliest steward, but not cold either. Asked what time our dinner was and always came while we were eating. Always made sure we had 2 sets of towels per person, paper compass every day. Zero complaints. 5. Crowding - We were 39 people shy of maximum capacity. Were there crowds at times? Of course. That said, we always found a single chair on deck 15, starboard (non-smoking) side, typically right after lunch. Worked perfect for us as DS would hit the slides in Splashaway Bay about 250 times per day, then head to the beach pool and the not-scalding hot tub (one of the starboard side hot tubs legit felt like an extra pot for lobster night). 6. Casino - Never had trouble finding a machine we liked on the non-smoking side. Some smoke smell, but never enough to bother my asthmatic mother. Donated enough to earn 400 points on this voyage. 7. Other food - El Loco Fresh and Portside BBQ were fantastic. DW hit El Loco Fresh almost daily for lunch because she liked it so much. Sorrentos always has 3 pizzas: cheese, pepperoni and a daily special (BBQ chicken, veggie, Caribbean Dream). Oatmeal raisin, lemon and coconut were the main cookies at Cafe Promenade -- only saw chocolate chip one night. 8. Ports - Did a Chill Island cabana in CocoCay and it was the smartest thing we've ever done. Makeva was our cabana genie and she was top class. It was hotter than Hades in Port Canaveral, Nassau and CocoCay, but gorgeous weather in Labadee. Walked to buy Mega Millions tickets in PC, easy walk. SpaceX launch (and booster on the dock) were nice bonuses. New port area in Nassau is nice, but was shocked at how Bay St. has deteriorated if you head left getting out of the port area. Went to Bahamas Rum Cake Factory and was surprised. Also walked (and regretted it) to the Queen's Staircase and Fort Fincastle. We were there on a holiday, so not much open. Labadee was spent at Columbus Cove. One jellyfish sting (CocoCay) and some sea lice (Labadee), but nothing more than minor nuisance. Happy to answer questions anyone has.

Within Sharpie distance of the hurricane, for sure.

The "historical and fleetwide intentional misleading of the customer" is a narrative YOU have pushed in the previous half & half thread. There's no evidence this is intentional, and you try to avoid seeing that possibility by not even acknowledging it onboard to staff who could correct an UNINTENTIONAL error. But it's good to know Cruise Critic clout is more important than your actual vacation. And if you are CONVINCED this is intentional and malicious -- I'm sure they'd be a lot more likely to not label something half & half and just say 'we're out' -- imagine if you were on a cruise where the line's president and senior staff were present and somewhat approachable. Man, what an opportunity that would be.

I have a full set of these, unfortunately still in a box in the garage from when we moved into our house...seven years ago.

A Taste of Royal History is the only one of these I haven't seen yet.

Sounds like it was the best of a bad situation. She's on the road to recovery, no financial dings as a result of the lost cruise, you all had a great time, and motivation to go again soon. Glad to hear and best wishes for her continued recovery!

@The Fun Researcher would love to hear an update! Did you all go? How's she doing?

Royal ran into issues with the Miami stops last year when passengers had to clear customs. I suspect they having info on pricing/sales that help push them to the 8-nighters, but want to avoid the headaches they experienced with the Miami stops last year.

Liberty's frequency would be consistent with sailing out of the northeast again. I can't imagine them splitting the work like that, especially two trips that far apart. I just wonder what gets done and what doesn't.

Those are fairly short dry dock windows for Allure if she's getting that much more than routine maintenance.

I can echo every bit of this post -- including my first cruise also being on Sovereign in 2008. Fell in love with cruising and never looked back.

This is the second thread I've read today that talks about a bunch of negative Oasis reviews. Am I missing something? I've been keeping a close eye on Oasis, as we sail her in August. Most recently, I've read two live/semi-lives, which I certainly would not class as negative.

We are on on the 4th with you, and really excited to go. We've been on the Oasis before, sailed Adventure last year. Oasis is a great ship with no shortage of things to do. I've seen more positive reviews of Oasis than negative, and I keep an eye out for them. Man, I wish RCCL would pay me to enjoy their ships. I've peeked at your thread on Anthem, and obviously she has not had the best start over there. My folks were on her in February and had nothing but good things to say. But maybe life is better when the glass is half empty?

Bermuda fan here. With Royal, I definitely find Cape Liberty to be the port to sail out of, especially for the single-overnight trips. Takes the ships longer to make their way to the ocean from Baltimore, so the arrival time is several hours later than it is for ships sailing from NJ.

I haven't encountered a 5D yet that doesn't have the pullman, but I didn't want to speak in absolutes. We have a 4.5-year-old, so we try to avoid the pullmans where possible.

Thing is he actually does know what he's talking about. You're just saying stuff because of some personal issue. Simple fact is the likelihood of an $89 credit being for port fees is extremely small. They generally don't credit port fee changes BEFORE a cruise (nor do they charge you if they go up after you book), and $89 would also be a very significant amount of port fees.

Also, the Surfside Family Suites do not have an infinite balcony. They have a traditional balcony and a "room" next to it with a window.

Most of the 5D (light pink) balconies on Adventure have pullman beds.

For one, I'm encouraged by the project name. Royal puts some effort into their project names and generally keep to that spirit -- Project Genesis (Oasis class) basically started from scratch with what was possible on a cruise ship, Project Sunshine (Quantum class) redesigned spaces that could enjoy the sunlight no matter what climate the ship is sailing in, Project Edge (Celebrity Edge class) came up with ways to maximize every inch of the ship, including Magic Carpet and infinite balconies. Does Project Discovery mean rediscovering places "lost" to the bigger ships (for the record, Oasis can fit into a lot more ports than people realize, but they're just not economical on the regular 7-day rotations...very few, like Bermuda, have actual physical impediments)? And Princess is building a new class as we speak. The Sun Princess was floated out recently, set to launch next year. 175k tons.

I learned the hard way not to prep the tags too early or leave them in the sleeves too long after boarding. Love the sleeves, just wish the ink wouldn't cling to them.

That hotel is the absolute worst. I make regular business trips to the Akron area, stayed there one time when my flight was too late for the rental car center. Never again.

Correct. Have to use your vouchers for those drinks, unfortunately.