virginia beach girl

You have absolutely no way of knowing it was intentional and to emphatically say it was is ridiculous.

Just got back from our cruise and we did this tour. Had a great day! From the time we got to the dock until we got back it was just wonderful. Very professional operation, great Capt, unbelievable boat, great stops, great lunch and back in plenty of time to get to the ship with loads of time to spare. We felt very comfortable and very safe the whole time, our Capt was Michael and he was a pro!

Would recommend this tour to anyone!

Since it's family style, you should try Giovannis table. It's really good Italian.

 

If your kids are adventurous then 150 Central Park is a culinary experience. If not maybe just have a date night there while the kids are in the kids area.

 

Chops is a staple. But don't bother with the extra cost aged beef. The regular menu is just fine.

 

Izumi tepanayaki experience - the Hibachi grill - would be great fun with the kids. It's the Benihana thing.

 

And you will enjoy the Crown Loft. It's a beautiful cabin and the 2 full baths are great for a family.

 

I will play slots several times a cruise but not a table guy. However our friends on Allure were and got a free cruise based on their play (and mostly from slot play). So if you play, be sure to use your card and meet the Casino Host. Royal is quite generous to players. And they are linked to MGMs MLife program.

We are in a Crown Loft Suite in January and have not been in one since before the enhanced suite program. Would you by any chance know about the coffee maker in the CLS? You probably had the nice Nespresso machine in your suite but would you know if the CLS has that or just the cheap Mr Coffee kind they have had in the past?

Hey people!

 

My mother has a degenerative eye disease, she is young, only 55, but is slowly loosing her eye sight. She doesn't treat herself, and she has a lot of things on her "bucket list" she wants to cross off, so I am taking her on a cruise before she can't see the world anymore. Anyhow, my guess is that unless I am the one that takes her on an additional cruise, this will be her first and last one. I chose Royal Caribbean, the 6 night cruise on 1/29/17 on Freedom of the Seas, leaving from Ft. Lauderdale FL through western caribbean. It's stopping georgetown, cozumel, and puerto costa maya.

 

I got us a Junior Suite, and the Ultimate Beverage packages. I want her first (and probably last) cruise to be the best ever. Just for reference I am her 32 year old daughter, and it will just be the two of us.

 

My question is for seasoned cruisers, who have had very good expensive cruises, and have been on budgets and gone on bargain cruises as well...

 

I want my mom to have the best experience ever, since this will probably be her only cruise. What can I do to make that happen? Junior suite was the most $$ room I could afford. What sort of things should we do onboard? What things should we avoid and are time wasters? What are the best excursions for people who aren't that into swimming (but love laying in the sun)? My mom's only physical limitation is that she has no peripheral vision, but other than that she can keep up with anyone.

 

Thanks for reading! I appreciate any feedback!

 

-Kay

A suggestion for Costa Maya.....not much to do there and most of the beaches have a lot of seaweed in the water and on the beach. But, we went to Blue Kay a couple months ago while on a NCL ship and had the best day we've ever had at that port. Free chairs ( just buy some food or drink) beautiful beach and the best water I've seen in Costa Maya. It was a $2.00, yes $2.00!! cab ride from the port. Minutes away so you can stay all day and leave minimal time to get back. You can even see the ship from the beach. You'll love a Jr suite, nice size room, big bathroom and closet. Don't miss the shows, especially the ice show. Take her to Chops for dinner one night and/or Giovanni's. I was on the sister ship Independence last month so any questions just ask me.

I don't think they have those type machines available in the lounge or restaurant. You have to order those type of coffees.

Appreciate the response!

Your pictures and review are just awesome. Thanks so much for taking the time to do all of this! I'm so excited to get on the ship January 23rd!

One question, in the Haven restaurant or lounge do they have one of those coffee machines that grind the beans and you can choose espresso, cappuccino and regular coffee? I love the Nespresso in the room but don't always want plain espresso and would love to be able to have other coffee options.

Question for anyone who has had the opportunity to visit the Haven Lounge, did you notice if they have a coffee machine that you can make regular coffee (not espresso)?

Two days ago I had the chance to take 55 nice shots from the Have including two show cabins.

Enjoy them here:

http://www.depping-design.de/test/thumbnails.php?album=346

AWESOME photos, absolutely beautiful! So excited to finally see the room I booked a year ago, #17100. Thank you so much for posting!

Can you break up a pack of water so it will fit in my carry on easier? I looked and I can't find the answer.

I always take a case/24pack of water and put a luggage tag on it and it is delivered to the room. Works every time.

RCL has recently opened up dining and entertainment reservations for the Jan 3 cruise. As I was making entertainment reservations I noticed there wasn't any option for a Headliner Show. Is the Headliner Show another victim of budget cuts? Has anyone else seen this for 2015 cruises?

My Oasis cruise is 1/31/15 and after many frustrating calls to RCCL I finally had it confirmed to me that randomly on some sailings now they are simply eliminating the Headliner Show. Jan 31st is one of those weeks and yours may be also. They said if it's not on the booking schedule then it's not happening that week. It's a bummer and I feel ripped off as this has always been a good show in the past no matter who the entertainer was. ....oh well

I always just take a taxi to Tabyana/Bananarama beach area on West End and snorkel off the beach at the far left end. There's a huge rock just offshore with fantastic snorkeling and plenty of little places to rent gear for cheap! Then when I'm ready to go back to the ship there's always taxi's waiting. Easy Peasy....and a cheap day!

I hope this pic helps. I found that there was ample closet and drawer space and between you and me, I am not a light packer!

Thank you for posting the picture!

ROYAL PRINCESS : July 29- August 10, 2013

 

A week since we arrived home...and I am still having difficulty with not hanging my breakfast menu out my front door! Our family of 4(DH, DS 18 years, DD 15 years and myself) had a wonderful time in Europe on land and on ship. Here are my thoughts from someone who enjoys luxury travel (no flaming…this is just my perspective.  )

Flights: Air Canada Executive First Class to Frankfurt (almost 10 hours) and then Lufthansa Biz to Venice. I love both of these airlines. Great service and usually are on time. WE left Canada on Friday, July 26 and arrived in Venice on Saturday evening around 5:30PM local time.

Venice Transportation: This outfit was great! I had pre-ordered our private water taxi tickets online. Exited baggage claim and as per instructions, the company booth was right there. They checked my print-out and directed us to the water taxi area. It was easy to find, but for those of you who have any mobility issues, it was a bit of hike with luggage in tow. We were met by a greeter who directed us to our taxi driver Venice style. ;) Wow, we had arrived. We traversed the water highway over to Venice and our driver navigated the canals to bring us to the Grand Canal, where apparently we hit rush hour traffic (Venice style)…what fun!  I will also mention that we used this taxi company on Monday to take us from the hotel to the ship. They were on time and polite….works for me. I highly recommend Consorzio Motoscafi! P.S. I found them on TripAdvisor.com, my go-to site for checking travel sites. I also try to give back to Trip by being a frequent contributor. For the record, in my review, I will mention companies, hotels, restaurants, but I hope to give a more detailed review of each of the companies in TRIPADVISOR. If anyone is interested, I am WEARECANADIAN on TA.

Venice Hotel: Gritti Palace! (SPG LUXURY COLLECTION). Ok, here it is….one of the best hotels/resorts that I have had the pleasure of staying at. From its perfect location on the Grand Canal, to the welcoming and gracious staff, to the newly renovated luxurious rooms (think ceiling to floor marble washrooms and 1000 thread count linens  ), to the ultra-amazing Club del Doge restaurant (where we had a fabulous dinner on Sunday evening), this property has made me a fan forever! (I used points for most of our 2 nights as we had to reserve 2 rooms (connecting) with our teenagers.) I WILL BE BACK!!

 

Royal Princess:

Embarkation: WE took our pre-reserved water taxi for 11:00 AM as mentioned and were delivered to a pier where our luggage was taken (and yes those little luggage tags that you print out from Princess and staple on, work just fine) Now, I have to mention that as we approached the Royal Princess, we looked in awe. From my perspective, she is a beautiful looking ship. ( WE were recently on the Celebrity Equinox in the MED, and my initial impressions of her was that she looked boxy and not at all sleek…translation: kind of ugly!! (No flaming Celebrity die-hards!) WE exited our water taxi after our luggage was collected and headed left over to the terminal. Princess had reps stationed all over, ensuring that we would find the terminal. WE entered the terminal and went up the escalators to see that we were not the only excited guests who wanted to board early! We were directed to the Suite line and were quickly given our Princess cards and directed to a seating area. We choose not to sit but rather wandered over to the “duty free” liquor that was situated right at check-in. We were told by the shop keeper, that we could each bring 2 bottles of wine or hard liquor….not quite what was stated on the Princess policy. We declined as we did not want to have the hard liquor held until we departed the ship. OK>>>so heads up. We could have brought anything on board that day, and nothing would have been said. We saw people bringing multiple bottles (carried) on board at the Venice port and every other port after that. We brought limoncello onboard in Naples, and different wines (that we brought home) from other ports. NOTHING was ever said! I cannot say that this easy liquor tolerance policy is the norm, only that this is how it was done on our cruise. We did not consume (OK maybe one bottle of wine in our suite ;) ) but purchased wines that safely made it back to Canada in our luggage. How safe it is in our wine cellar….well that remains to be seen. : D

Ok.. so back to the embarkation……It was announced that suite and elite guests could not begin the embarkation. Yeah….we did not even have to sit down…it was about 11:45 AM! However, there was abundant “gate lice”, that is, non-suite, elite people who were crowding the entrance, so that we could not get through. I think Princess should have a more established regimen for boarding….anyway, we finally made it through and walked back outside and down to board the gangplank on Deck 4. This was a bit of a disappointment to say the least. We walked into the ship (utility area) and then into the elevator area. No atrium and band, just an area where we waited for an elevator…although it was expedited when the elevator attendants found out we were in a suite. SO folks, boarding the ship was a bit of a let-down compared to my past experiences on Celebrity Equinox, Oasis, Brilliance, Splendour, Disney Magic and I think the Golden Princess.

We quickly found our suite R731 and our kids’ Deluxe Balcony R729 To be waiting and ready for us!

 

Stay tuned for more.

Dr Pam, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long review, very helpful! I am booked in a S4 but am seriously thinking of changing to an S2 and have been dying to read a review of one of those cabins! Also, have been curious about the Concierge Lounge and your review was helpful. It is unfortunately what I thought it would be...not much. But, better than no lounge at all! The balcony is the reason we are thinking of switching and you were helpful there also. The very few pictures I have seen look like there is a hallway from the living room to the bedroom that might have closets along the wall/hall, is this correct? Bathroom in between the 2 rooms off the hallway? By any chance do you have pictures that you can share?

Thanks again for a great and informative review!!

In order to receive free unlimited internet service in a suite you must have booked prior to July 15, 2012. If that's not the case then to receive any free minutes you must be either Platinum or Elite in the Captain's Circle and the number of minutes you receive depends on the length of your cruise.

Thanks so much! I did not book until this year and am not Platinum or Elite so no freebie for me. But thanks so much for your kind reply!

We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?

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We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?

We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?