heimdall

On 2/10/2023 at 3:13 PM, CruiserKris34 said:

We were on NS & the magnet hooks in the cabin worked great!  However, the 2 magnets I brought for the outside door did not stick on the door but the metal frame above, which was find for me because I normally put them up higher to prevent kids from taking (but hardly any kids on NS).  Kris

This was my experience as well, on NS.  The wood veneers on the doors prevent the thin "sheet" magnets used for door signs from sticking to the doors... but more substantial magnets seemed to work.  The frames around the doors only have wallpaper on, them, though, so the sheet magnets work fine around the door.  Pretty much all the walls work fine for magnets, inside the cabin.

Did they move your order status to shipped before they arrived?  I also ordered a 2-pack on the 8th… and they are reported as not yet shipped, today.   And I have a sailing on Sunday.  😕 About to cancel my order and order from eMed instead.

2 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

OMGOSH I so agree with your comment!!!!

If I read this on CC and had an up coming cruise on her I would be so worried and up till the cruise would be sweating the WHAT IFS!! 
Denise😊

Unfortunately, this is exactly the position that I'm in.  Am on the January 11th sailing and following this thread with bated breath.

Of course, if HAL was a bit more transparent with their plans, that stress would go away.  I find it very difficult to believe that after a week+ that they're still "winging" it, and don't already have a good idea when parts will arrive, dry dock will be available, estimated repair times, and what their contingency plans are for booked guests.

Am sailing into Grand Turk on January 13th.  Is that too early to go out whale watching?  HAL doesn't appear to be offering any WW excursions on our sailing.

Thanks!

Did a bit searching, but wasn’t able to come up with the right keywords.  10 of us will be sailing on NA in January, with most of us in Neptunes.  We were hoping to do breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill with everyone.  Does anyone know if there is option for non-Neptunes to join the Neptunes in the PG for breakfast? 

Thanks!

Was on Oosterdam in June, and our Neptune Suite also had a flush-wall mount TV. Couldn’t physically access the HDMI ports on the TV, which was mildly frustrating.


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Before dinner. They usually have a full bar set up. Well liquor, only

Some folks boast of gaming the system and securing an FCC on many of their trips.

I had issues on our Serenade RS in April. Not as bad as the OP, though. Light switches, piano, PlayStation.

 

They were addressed onboard, they did what they could and I was happy. No FCC requested or given. However our very next cruise Laura was upgraded to a GS from her JS at the dock.

Interesting. My wife and I did the RS on Serenade in Feb of 2015... and had issues with the light switches. Told us then that it was a known issue and that we had to unscrew the bulbs from the lights next to the bed every night. Also had an issue of a leaky (brown water?) pipe over the dining table. Gave us an industrial fan to run when we weren't in the cabin. Seems like we had half the officers either in our cabin to fix it or stop by to apologize. Nothing was done to make it right for us, though. Guess I should've barked a bit louder.

The suite was lovely, but a bit worn, then. Almost all the "nice" shower fixtures were replaced with Wal-Mart equivalents. Sounds like they haven't gotten around to fixing things, a few years later.

A bit more evident:

(Allure next to Mariner in 2013)

Prohibited: Digital Cameras/Camcorders, DVDs/VCRs, USB sticks, iPods, Nintendo/X-Box Play Units cannot be used with the TV in the guest's stateroom or suite as the connection ports are disabled.

I was able to use the TV on Carnival Magic without much trouble. The trick is the same as I mentioned earlier, to disconnect the telephone jack (RJ11) from the back of the television. This usually will disable hotel mode while it's disconnected and allow you to use the inputs for your gear.

I don't own an I phone, but that statement is just wrong.

They work fine on my last 3 phones including my current Samsung Galaxy S5. I'm certainly not on the network of the bars, or the one in my office, they commnunicate through IR, The LED is right next to the headphone jack.

 

And I've never seen a TV with an RJ11 connection, you probably mean RJ45 more suitable for networking, but I'll check on my next cruise.

No models of iPhones ship with IR ports. According to comScore, the iPhone had the largest US marketshare, at 44% of the US smartphone market in 2015. In comparison, Samsung's market share in 2015 was 28%. (I'm not making a qualitative analysis, just a quantitive one.) That would make my statement NOT "just wrong".

If your last 3 phones have been Samsung's and have had IR ports, then that's wonderful for you. However, it's safer for most people to assume that their phones do not, though, as IR ports on phones aren't a given (even if you limit it to just Android devices).

Other point:

Most hotel TVs and those on both Royal and Carnival ships certainly do use an RJ-11 jack to transmit serial codes upstream, typically connected to a LodgeNet or other similar device that is attached to the back of the TV, and then connects to the device via coax. The RJ-11 connection (which is using a serial RS232/RS486 protocol, I believe) is used to transmit the IR codes through the TV back to whatever the backend infrastructure is so that they know what (hopefully paid for) content you're asking for. As much as I work with network cabling, I assure you that I can identify the different between RJ11 and RJ45.

I spend way too many nights traveling in hotel rooms, and have picked up a thing or two when it comes to connecting my devices up to the TV to watch movies, Netflix, shows without commercials, or even just to extend my laptop so that I'm not squinting at network diagrams on late nights.

you'll need two things for this:

Universal Remote. You can find them on Amazon for under $10 if you look. You don't need a fancy one, just one that you can program with codes. Don't forget to bring the code book with you on your cruise, as you may have to try several.

(remote apps on your phone likely won't work, as most modern mobile devices do not have IR emitters, and you probably won't be able to get the TV and your phone onto the same network together)

Disconnect the TV's "phone" connection from the ship. The TV will be hotel mode, which means that you won't be able to use a standard remove until you disconnect the RJ-11 "phone" connection that the ship uses. Once you've disconnected the phone cable from the back of the TV, you should be able to program the universal remote from above to allow you to change volume and inputs.

You'll need to plug that RJ-11 cable back in to use the ships channels and smart features, btw, and please remember to plug it back in before you the leave the ship! :-)

I'm certain that I'm in the minority, but YAY! :D I work in IT, and one of my favorite things about cruising is being able to tell people that they won't be able to reach me because I won't have access. With fast internet, that argument becomes a bit muddied. The cell phone and laptop will still stay locked in the safe, though. ;)

Intersting conversation. My wife and I have only sailed out of Galveston or New Orleans, so I cannot compare that to Florida from an access perspective. As we drive to port from Austin, Galveston is fairly easy and affordable for us even going the "lazy" route and using the port's parking.

Whenever I've looked into Galveston hotels, I've found the 2 night minimum to be in effect. That said, that's still considerably cheaper than the markup in the cruise itself, every time that I've looked.

I just pulled up a comparison for a Nov 2016 cruise between Liberty and Independence, both Western Caribbean itineraries, one out of Galveston and one out of Fort Lauderdale. This Galveston cruise is between 25% (PR) and 50% (OS) less expensive depending on cabin. This translates to $300 per cabin for a PR stateroom, or $2000 for an Owners Suite. I figure that most people are somewhere in between there. This may make up the difference in transportation and hotel stays (and then some, if you're a suite dweller). Heck, for that savings, I'd be tempted to book the 2 night room in Galveston, even if I was only staying one night. :D

That said, Galveston isn't without its faults. I think they could direct the cruise traffic much more efficiently than they currently are, with better signage throughout the city, and by not funneling the Terminal 2 (Royal) traffic through the Terminal 1 (Carnival) entrance first.

We're cruising on Liberty in March, so excited to see what improvements they've made to Terminal 2. More excited to go cruising, but hey, you gotta have priorities. ;-)

It makes no sense to me, that they would 'put surplus crew ashore for the week' and here is why: Royal then has to provide accommodations for them and a food allowance.

One possibility, that I see, is that some of the crew cabins were also affected and the Coast Guard may not have allowed them to sail with those areas of the ship occupied. I am just speculating, however.

Anyone have any word on whether they were able to affect repairs on the ship?

We've gotten the run around when ordering the Suite breakfast once or twice. Resolved in fairly short order, though. They almost always give us the line about how it'll be 45 minutes to an hour (or more), and the food always shows up 10-15 minutes later. (Which has resulted in more than one mad dash into the bathroom!) :D

I've noticed that if the staff sees that you have a gold card (Grand Suite and above or C&A Pinnacle), that they occasionally have a visceral reaction and might put you higher in the queue than others. Have never asked for that treatment, but have experienced it a few times. This isn't a codified perk of the suites, however.

I remember one time when my wife and I were on the Mariner walking past Chops to go to Windjammer buffet and had a staffer chase us down calling loudly for us to come into Chops for lunch. Made us a bit self-conscious, actually.

No clue, as we've only stayed in the OS, which I gather has a a different TV setup than other cabins. That said, when I stay in hotels, this method works about 95% of the time. As far as the remote goes, it should not matter as long as you can program in the TV type.

It is important to make sure to bring the book full of the 3 and 4 digit codes that came with your remote. You might have to experiment a little bit to find out which code matches the TV in your cabin.

My wife and I are going out on NOS in may in an OS, so I'm also curious as to the response.

When we sailed on Mariner last, which had the updated TV systems and what not, we were able to get it to work with two steps:

Disconnect the RJ-11 (phone-like) jack from the TV under the pedestal, and then use a universal remote that ban be found for $15 at Amazon. (This technique works quite well in hotels that have locked down their TVs, as well.)

Disconnecting the RJ-11 cable is the key step here, as that disconnects the TV from the remote system and allows for it to operate more independantly. The reason you need the universal remote is that without the RJ-11 cable, you cannot control the TV using the cabin's remote. When you want to watch the TV again, re-connect the RJ-11 cable and then use the cabin remote.

Altogether, I think it's worth the 10 minutes of futzing about to get it to work, but I like my TV before bed. :-)

I don't think anyone mentioned my favorite feature -- being able to order room service from the dining room menu instead of an abbreviated menu. We don't do it much for dinner, but it's quite nice to have Eggs Benedict (or other hot breakfast) on the balcony every morning... the view cannot be beat. :)

1) Is boarding in Galveston similar to Port Everglades? Check in, go to waiting area based on status, then board? What about time? I know Oasis boards ~11:15-11:30 (although ours was at Noon). What about Navigator?

I've never sailed from anywhere but Galveston, but you describe sounds just like our previous experiences, including the boarding time.

4) Any "secret" locations like the deck 14 (forward) and deck 11/12 (aft) balconies on Oasis?

I don't know how secret it is, but the Peek-A-Boo Bridge on Deck 11 Forward is one of the spots I have to hit on any Voyager class ship. You can see what's going on (usually nothing) on the bridge and chuckle at the hula girl, scooter, or whatever they have floating around on the bridge.

5) What's a reasonable time to book a return flight out of Houston? From what I've been reading, 12:30-1P if you self disembark?

Based on what I've read, and the current drama associated with TABC sin taxes being collected post-customs, you might want to book it for after 3pm. Also, which Houston airport are you flying into/out-of will affect things. George Bush Intergalactic (er.... IAH) is 70 miles from the cruise terminal whilst Houston Hobby is only 43 miles. The highway to Galveston can sometimes get a bit crowded, usually due to contraction, so I'd suggest a good cushion.

We're sailing on 5/11 and can't wait. Any day at sea is better than a day at the office! (Well... I work from home... so... hrm...)

Wow. We're booked for an OS on the May 11th sailing (same itinerary). If my wife could reschedule her vacation (unlikely) we could save $4,000. Anyone had any luck getting price concessions from Royal in such situations?

An 80" TV is 6 feet tall in portrait mode. Center it top to bottom on the wall, that's likely going to feel pretty huge. I wonder how they're hardening them from flung luggage and rambunctious kiddos. And whether you can watch the game, too, of course.

Carolyn - was there any mention of putting in a diamond lounge?

According to the new deck plans (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/ship/decks/deck/home.do?deckCode=14&shipCode=NV&shipProfile=1597&sailDate=1140205&hasNavigation=false) there will be a DL put in where the 19th hole used to be.

There will be a new "Specialty Restaurant" on Deck 4 where the dungeon was (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/ship/decks/deck/home.do?deckCode=04&shipCode=NV&shipProfile=1597&sailDate=1140205&hasNavigation=false). I guess this could be the Mexican restaurant mentioned earlier? (Seems somewhat redundant to me when every itinerary hits Cozumel and it sails out of Galveston... but hey... variety is a good thing.)

Also, from the press release (http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/986/royal-caribbeans-newly-revitalized-navigator-of-the-seas-to-wow-galveston-with-year-round-sailings-starting-winter-2013/) they announced they'd be adding Park Cafe. I'm not able to find it mentioned on the new deck plans, however, so who knows.