Viajera7

My Royal app has not been working since yesterday. Check in opens today for my June 17th cruise but the app is still not working. I went online but I cannot see where to click to check in online. Please help!

On 4/24/2024 at 12:44 AM, JMKreno said:

Watching John Heald do walk-arounds on the Firenze. In the Tuscan Lounge (Ocean Plaza) looks like the small food station has been turned into a new, for fee, "Empanada & Pie" quick serve dining option. Did my best to capture menu in the video as it's not listed anywhere on Carnival's site yet

 

 

Thanks for the information. I’ll probably try this place during my Firenze bookings in February. I love empanadas.

On 4/21/2024 at 8:23 PM, mz-s said:

 

I'm sure people discuss things like that on airport critic if such a site exists.

Flyertalk 

On 4/23/2024 at 10:47 AM, prmssk said:
 

In my experience, food can vary a lot based on the specific chef on board that ship even within the same cruise line. 
 

Which ship were you on?

I agree with you. I usually find that the dining room food is usually better than the food at the buffet in the different cruise lines that I frequent. Talking specifically about Royal, on my last cruise, the Jewel OTS, this was not the situation. The food was not good in both places. I didn’t try the specialty restaurants. On the Liberty of the Seas in October, almost all the foods in the dining room (8 out of 9) were excellent and that has been my favorite cruise in that aspect out of 79 cruises. The chef was great!

Thanks. I am traveling now embarking the NCL Star today and 3 days after I return, the RCI Jewel OTS transatlantic. I will have 20 days before the Navigator. Just me know.

On 3/11/2024 at 9:03 PM, bonvoyagie said:

I see that the Star sails from Buenos Aires to Rio in late March the next cruise is late April in Europe. Anyone know what is happening in between?

Are you talking about this year? I am on the Star in 4 days and it goes from Chile to Argentina. I also was on the Star last year for a cruise from Argentina to Rio and there were no problems.

On 3/3/2024 at 7:07 PM, OrlandoTrio said:

My wife and I collect the Starbuck Been There/You Are Here Series mugs and were excited to see Royal Caribbean add these to some of their ships.  We only collect the mugs for places where we've been though sometimes purchasing at the location isn't possible.  When we went to Turkey on Odyssey of the Seas, the Starbucks didn't have any in the store near the port, so we ended up ordering one off eBay.

 

When Royal Caribbean announced the Been There series for their ships, they showed Navigator as one of the options that would be released.  We sailed on that ship in October 2022, and I've been checking eBay for months but haven't seen one listed.  I've seen Allure, Odyssey, Mariner, Icon, Wonder, etc.  

 

Anyone been on the Navigator lately?  Are they selling the Navigator Been There mugs at Starbucks?  

 

If they are selling them and you're sailing soon, maybe consider picking one up and price gouging us collectors on eBay. 🙂 

 

Happy sailing!

I collect them too. I am going on the Navigator in May. I don’t do eBay but if you find a way to communicate, I’ll do it for you.

I haven’t been on the Grandeur but I’ve been on the Vision, the Rhapsody, the Brilliance and Enchantment of the Seas. All of them are old and small but the first 3 mentioned here were ok for their age. Now, the Enchantment of the Seas ( December 2023) doesn’t reflect the name of the ship. I traveled with my best friend and she was the one who tried to call Guest Services 4 times. No one ever answered the phone so she had to  go to GS  4 times 4 different days to report that our toilet was clogged. Somebody always came to fix it  and then the situation happened again. The 5th time was the last night after midnight. I was not going to use the bathroom like that so I got dressed and went to the closest bathroom in a public area which sometimes had some toilets clogged too.

I told my friend, I don’t want to book any of these small and old ships again. To do it, it has to be a very special itinerary but definitely not the Enchantment. We are booked on the Brilliance in July because it’s her birthday but my other RCI ships I think are a little newer and bigger. Time will tell.

On 2/25/2024 at 5:39 PM, MrsTocko said:

@D_And_K_gocruising…a couple places to check for your pcc..check your cruise confirmation carefully.  The name may be there.  Check your latitudes rewards emails.  Your pcc is usually listed at the bottom with contact information.  Finally, try calling ncl.  Whoever answers can look up who you booked with, and can give you the name,  just ask to be transferred.  I have never had an issue with that.

 

I am on my 2nd PCC, the first one I loved…she called me to tell me she was leaving…expressed my “NO” in the this sucks for me, but glad for you tone, and I didnt want to have to “train” another to my preferences…she told me she was passing me to the one who trained her, so I was cautiously optimistic.  Had a conversation. With the new one.  Set a couple guidelines for our working relationship.  Things like, I will send an email if not urgent with a clear question…get back to me when you can.  If it is more urgent I will call.  I am not a demanding client, we have had many conversations, about my and DH preferences, and I don’t worry about it.

 

Good suggestions.

I am on my third PCC in one year. The first one, which I had for about 2 years was the best. He noticed 2 price drops for my NCL Jade cruise in 2022. When I called him during Black Friday for my NCL Star cruise which is in less than a week, he had left and we got the 2nd PCC who had the same phone number. We booked the cruise with her. Then in February, we called to asked a question and no one answered the phone. I checked my NCL emails and found the information for my new PCC. We called, she answered the question and I told her to add my cousin to her list since on those emails with the promotions is where the PCC information is listed in case that my cousin wants to travel with someone else.

On 2/27/2024 at 12:41 AM, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

Our Ambassador pins arrived early in February in time for the cruises we have in March & April; they look very nice.

We had been promised the gift to arrive before March 8th and so we were hoping as we leave on March 15 for 4 cruises on the Jewel.

 

It arrived today; fabulous.   Here is the card that came with it.

 

That’s a great gift. I like the card with the stickers. As a collector, I like those things.

The highest officers that I have had at a dinner with the officers were the Staff Captain and the General Manager at the Viva’s Christmas cruise.

I have been in a studio cabin on the Epic and on the Viva and of course insides in different ships which is what we are comparing here. The design of the racks for clothing on the Viva was excellent and lots of space for storage. The bathroom is a separate area and the only thing missing is the refrigerator. I take a tumbler that keeps my water cool and if I run out of water the studio on the Viva has cold water too. So for my next solo cruise it will depend on the price of it.

Any updates?

On 1/25/2024 at 9:30 PM, eroller said:

 

 

I have to say I was beyond impressed with the transformative theater space on PRIMA and VIVA.  Very often these spaces are ill-conceived and end up being crappy show lounges and nightclubs.  Such is the case on Carnival.  Not the case on NCL's Prima Class.  I've experienced the venue in all three adaptations and it worked remarkably well.  The floor seating was cleared out for the Luis Fonsi concert after the christening and I felt like I was at a concert hall and stood for the entire concert.  Then later it transformed into a nightclub with really incredible sound and lighting including that amazing centerpiece light that drops down.  Very Studio 54.  The next day I watched Beatlejuice in a true theater setting and it was impressive.  On PRIMA they performed Noise Boys which I really enjoyed, and the theater was sort of a hybrid.  The stage jetted into the audience.   Pretty cool stuff.

 

The "theater in the round" is making a comeback, and as you mention we are seeing it on the new Celebrity ships as well as the new Holland America ships.  The brand new SUN PRINCESS will also feature this style theater.  The big drawback is that productions can't really have any elaborate sets, which leaves out Broadway style productions.  There is no curtain so that leaves out the possibility of backstage set changes while another performer takes the spotlight, and there is no true backstage in the same respect as a traditional theater. The backdrop for all these round stages is a large video screen.  So any backdrops have to be digitally created, and yes they can create some amazing images but it's not the same as actual sets.  They do work great for performance art with the aerialists and acrobats but honestly that style show gets old after a while, as it's generally the same thing over and over again with different music and theme.   

 

So I suppose there are pros and cons with both style theaters ... but I think the limitations of the theater in the round can come back and bite you especially years down the road as preferences change in regards to onboard entertainment. 

Thanks for posting this. I had the same reaction when I read the post that you quoted. I can only speak about the Viva since I haven’t been on the Prima yet. I was also impressed with the technology on the Viva and I also watched the transformation of the theater according to  each show and I went to and liked all of them.

Your post was very informative. I didn’t know that Luis Fonsi had a concert there during the inaugural cruise. If I had known that, maybe I would have booked the inaugural cruise instead of the Christmas cruise but I love my Christmas cruises 😊.

Do you have a question about the excursion?

On 1/22/2024 at 12:29 PM, Oxo said:

Congratulations on becoming a P!

We cruise other lines and will never become P.

Celebrity Elite+

HAL Copper

MSC Diamond

NCL Sapphire

Princess Elite

RCI Diamond+

No one cruise line has it all. They all offer something different.

Happy Cruising! 

 

The same here and I agree with you. I have status on various cruise lines but the only one that I can see reaching the highest status is Carnival since I am Platinum and reaching Diamond. Last month I became Diamond on NCL and it will take me the same amount of points to reach Ambassador, I also just reached Diamond on RCI last month so sailing different cruise lines, I don’t see how can I reach Pinnacle. I am very excited to use the lounge at least in the morning for the good coffee machine that I hope it is like the one in the solo cabins lounge on NCL. I know that I won’t probably be able to use the lounge in most ships in the afternoon if it’s crowded with people with higher status. That’s ok but I’ll check how  it is on my next cruise next month.

I was there in June 2023 and everything on the ship worked well and the itinerary was great (Greek Isles). You  a have port intensive itinerary so you’re not going to spend a lot time in the cabin. As long as everything works well on the ship, you’re good and you’re doing the right thing asking here. After my experience on the Enchantment OTS last month, I won’t be taking any old ship until I ask about its condition before I book.

20 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

I'm doing the same cruise in January.  looking forward to checking out the new ship

Me too. I’m excited.

Highlighters, pens, lanyards and balls were given on Rhapsody OTS in June. Nothing on Liberty OTS this month. How long are they going to use the excuse of the supply issues. How come other ships have at least some small prizes but Liberty doesn’t.

I’ll be on the Celebration for the October 29th cruise. Let’s see what happens.

On 10/14/2023 at 6:34 PM, Itried4498 said:

 

The downside is that most Southern Caribbean itineraries use older, smaller ships that aren't configured with all the bells and whistles.  

 

 

My next NCL cruise is the new ship, Viva  for the Christmas cruise and it has some of those islands: Barbados, St. Lucia, Tortola, Antigua, St. Maarten and St.Thomas out of San Juan. Before the Viva, the Epic was the NCL ship out of San Juan for the winter season. The last couple of years I did b2bs on the Epic and it had 2 different itineraries. If you did a b2b you would have different islands except for St. Lucia that was in both cruises. I remember that Curacao was there too. The Epic was old but big so it had many things to do.

I was on the Rhapsody of the Seas in June and booked the Liberty OTS cruise that just finished on October 14. The manager on the Rhapsody told me that RCI was not doing this anymore. I went to Next Cruise on the Liberty OTS on the first day October 5th. They had signs offering the free bottle for booking on the first day. I was going to book a cruise that had Israel but as a solo traveler paying double it was not the right price for me at the moment and I decided to wait. You know what happened the following day😔.

On 8/15/2023 at 11:12 AM, julig22 said:

That's what my PCC said as well.  Unlike the FAS promos, the BOGO offer has always gone away at some point.  It used to be at 120 days, has been 90 days for quite some time, they changed it fairly recently to 110. 

Yes. I think that’s the answer. I was able to buy my airfare for the Viva because I still had time for my December cruise.

You can only choose one airline on the poll. I have been booked on American and United domestically and most of the times on United and it’s Star Alliance Partners until May for European cruises. I’m booked now on Air Canada and Delta for my North Europe September trip. It’s still to early to receive my air confirmation for my Christmas San Juan cruise but I hope is American, United or Jet Blue in that order of preference.

I did it with the NCL Epic the last couple of Christmas. I’m booked on the Viva for this Christmas. This one is pricey because  it is the Christmas cruise and because it is a new ship but I think it come down in the future when the novelty wears off. I wish Carnival had that itinerary at least during the winter season like NCL.

On 7/27/2023 at 12:18 PM, Weluv2cruise2gether said:

Oh we just got platinum pin on our July adventure of seas cruise. Maybe they had them left over🤷‍♀️

That’s what the loyalty ambassador told me on my last RCI cruise in June. Platinum and lower tier do not get the pin now but if they still have them, they will give you one while they last. Now I am Emerald so I am going to pick up my new pin on my next RCI cruise in October. I collect other cruise lines and Hard Rock Cafe pins too😉.