Hoopster95

Jewel 2004, Grandeur 1996. Jewel is a gorgeous ship

I wish to say safe travels to everyone getting off in LA, and thank you again for this ongoing review. Whomever is staying aboard, and those embarking in LA, please keep us informed about the Suez/Red Sea issue. Feb 16 is only a week away and I for one will be eagerly awaiting any update on this thread. Princess a few days ago, and now Virgin just yesterday, have cancelled everything north of Sydney (Via Singapore, India, Dubai)... they have both opted to sail the more direct & shorter route to get around Africa via Melbourne, Perth, Mauritius, Cape Town and around into the Med..

"That's only true if you bought a full plan on board" Yes.... my brain did not go here. You're absolutely right

If you have one plan, and wife signs in to that one plan, you will be kicked off. You will no longer have a free day with a full cruise plan... instead of the "free" day, you will be reimbursed up front when you first choose your plan.

You'll find this on the Crown&Anchor list of benefits. Once you reach Diamond, these are the benefits Royal currently offers to you: "Royal Caribbean reserves the right to modify the Crown & Anchor® Society, Club Royale®, and MyCruise® Rewards programs along with their terms and conditions, at any time and without notice" https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf Also take specific note of #14: "14_ ...... Royal Caribbean may limit or remove access to the Crown Lounge as needed to accommodate special sailings including, but not limited to: Charters, Crossings, Repositionings, Inaugurals, Trade Events, and President’s Cruises."

If anyone needs a recommendation for a fun day in Cabo .... Cactus Tours. Super fun Can Am vehicles, ATVs, horseback and especially camel rides! Best of all directly on the beach, 1/2 hour from the port transportation incl..

There are hundreds of youtube videos of all oasis Class ships, for various decks of these Boardwalk cabins. And they very clearly show your views from the balcony. Here's one I found in 10 seconds

And here's 11727 & 11729 on Symphony (just last January)

Here's 10329 on Harmony. It is very clear that you cannot easily enjoy the Aqua show from this final balcony (imagine even the 2nd or 3rd balcony back), and the slide is very much in your way. Also note the solid divider (rock wall) that you cannot see through. Also note that unless you are standing at the railing, you cannot see the show... you cannot sit in your chair to view the show at all

Great photos! I was looking forward to seeing what some of the tours were. Happy to hear you enjoyed the day This is too bad. Costa Rica is fantastic. Like Peru, if I were to do a review/blog of my travels through Costa Rica with photos and video, I'd bet I'd sell a few land tours to many here reading through this thread. If anyone ever is ever looking for something different then Mexico/Caribbean all-inclusives, very very seriously consider Costa Rica... and not just sitting at a resort. Book a land tour (Arenal, Monteverde, Cano Negro, Guanacaste)... amazing/beautiful site seeing.

You will be able to see every single show that you want at the exact time you want, and you'll be able to go twice if you like. I did exactly this twice this past year (Harmony & Oasis). The shows are never ever "sold out". Are you sailing solo whereby you need only one seat? (emphasis on the "I" in your post twice)

Princess just cancelled everything SouthEast Asia incl. Singapore to Dubai. They are now rerouting to Melbourne, then Perth, then directly across the Indian Ocean directly to Mauritius. You never know until there’s an official announcement

Really glad to hear they were great for you. I am hopeful that they toured Cusco and the Sacred Valley as much as possible. Jimbo/anyone, if you have a minute google photos of Sascayhuaman, Puka Pakara, Pisac. Sacred valley google Ollantaytambo, Moray, Maras And the food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG, the restaurants are all outstanding in Peru. They'll probably not want to eat anything on the ship anymore.😉

A "bit"??? Twangster you are the best ever on this forum 👍 (You should post one of your time lapse videos and/or a couple of photos 😉)

1) Vision & Radiance tied for 1st 3) Close 3rd Quantum (as much, if not more "glass" and viewing area than both Vision & Radiance, SeaPlax, Two70, MusicHall as massive winners) 4) Freedom 5) Voyager (ruined by adding so many more cabins therefore making them way too crowded) 6) Oasis (where do you see the ocean? What ports/countries do you get to visit?) If Oasis just sat on port for 7 days I suspect many people wouldn't even notice. This ship class is equal to an all inclusive resort... stay on board within the walls of the resort. That's perfectly great of that's what you want. And obviously millions of people really prefer this over actually travelling the world and seeing different places. It's totally great for an obvious huge majority, but not for me

Thanks to both of you for the above.... I'm an idiot! I should've been able to see this. I'm almost thinking my conformation bias to believe that everything will be ok for the Athens 11 day got in the way of actually comprehending the info I was looking at. Looking into this further, I agree.... If they do decide to go around Africa then the 11 day Athens to Istanbul has to be cancelled/changed/whathaveyou as well..... that just sucks 🤬

Great memories eel 😛 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2661933-ovation-may-13-24-live-in-alaska-wlots-of-photos/page/13/#comment-57495996 Lol!!! Good times The way I look at most things in life these days .... K.I.S.S. So regard to the Suez and Red Sea, let's all pray that over the next couple of months there's some kind of agreement made whereby passage can be made safe. If not: Most all current reports say that the tankers require about 10 extra days to re-route from the red sea around Africa. The Dubai to Athens mini-segment is 18 days... well within reach to sail around Africa in the required 10 days (I think?) with very few (if any) port stops (fuel? supplies?) Dubai is the end of a 1/4 segment and therefore the start of the next segment, and thus there'll likely be more than usual disembarking at this port anyways. The cruisers getting on for the next 1/4 segment could possibly be delayed to instead embark in Athens, but at least they'd get most of that segment accomplished as long as Serenade gets to Athens in time. Whatever UWC passengers stay on Serenade, RCI could perhaps (doubt it) refund 100% of this 18 day segment making it more palatable to the full UWC passengers to stay on board all those seas days to get around Africa to Athens The above would minimize disembarking all passengers in Dubai and starting fresh with an empty ship with new itineraries and no tickets sold. It also minimizes lost revenue by having all the UWC cruisers already on board once in Athens. It also allows Serenade to continue the rest of it's Med/Europe 1/4 segment within cancelling out port charges, excursions, contracts to re-supply, refunding cruisers, etc etc etc etc I think with regard to K.I.S.S., I think the absolute best thing to happen financially for Royal (which as we all know is #1, #2, #3 .... #100 criteria for the bean counters in Miami) is for Serenade to get to Athens. So to this end, I'm just thinking what the best possible way to get there with the least amount of financial strain (again, I'm trying to think like those making the decisions in Miami) And I'm betting we won't hear what the final answer is until late April/early May at the earliest. BTW I have a vested interest as I'm booked on that 11 day Athens to Istanbul! 😦

In my very humble and unknowledgeable opinion, but knowing 100% that RCL is all about the bottom line $$$$$, there is no way that RC will cancel a full 4 months of the UWC after the Suez crossing, with all those segments prepaid. And the re-routing/home-porting the ship where? At what costs? How will they sell cabins? to who? and at what price?? Again in my humble opinion with zero facts, the Dubai to Athens sailing is an 18 day sailing with 7 port stops, by removing the port stops I think perhaps enough time to send her around Africa and into the Med in order to get to Athens on time. BTW, RCG already did this in January with the SilverSeas Silver Moon, albeit without passengers. In Serenade;s case, they can easily sail around Afirca with passengers, however would be a lot of sea days I would think as there would be limited time for port stops I would think. https://crew-center.com/silversea-alters-silver-moon-cruise-route-amid-red-sea-security-concerns There's a great CC thread about SilverMoon and her progress now around Africa here if you're interested

Late Nov 2023 - Oasis, available and advertised at the bar on day 5 of 7 night sailing Early December 2023 - Odyssey, available and advertised at the bar on day 4 of 6 night sailing These were both the first times I had seen it advertised since the pandemic

check out Lima Gourmet company… excellent!!! Wouldn’t be surprised if they’re fully booked however Also I was happy with Haku Tours… look them up. if you’re overnighting in Lima, their afternoon City tour + Magic Water full day tour is excellent. or DIY walking Miraflores on the cliff walk is a must. Walk all the way to.Barranco, back up to Kennedy Park. (Map it out to see how far). Makes for an excellent day!

Machu Pichu is not viable as a cruise ship excursion. I bet many will regret having only a few hours there considering the length of travel and expense. Yes, the bean counters in Miami are probably pi$$ed!!! I feel that the strikers are doing cruisers a favor. I did 7 days from Cusco with Kensington Tours ( a luxury land tour company like SilverSea/Regent would be to cruising) for the quoted price $5000 per person. Not to be mean, however $5000 for this limited experience to truly one of the 7 wonders of the world is way too much money.

High tide that day is around 6:07pm... which means Ovation would be in danger of not passing under the Lion's Gate Bridge. And guess approximately what time the lowest tide is? Yep .... 12:33am

Hey SteelCity. great to see you enjoyed your cruise 👍 A couple of long work days prevented me from getting to those Tobago pics... not enough free time. Safe travels home and thanks for the review

I didn't lie when I said this at the beginning of the review 😉 Both Trinidad and Tobago are both excursion days away from the port/city. They are both likely not places you will walk off the boat and simply stroll around. However, I feel since these are both rare destination ports for RCI, anyone getting here should get out and see the island. SteelCity, since quite a few people following you here are looking for Trinidad/Tobago info, would you mind if I add a post with excursion pics/description of my own? I don't want to hijack your thread. I did this excursion. Their rum punch is deadly!! By the time you get your vouchers tomorrow night in the lounge, your words might be slurring on this review lol! And do you like Soca music? If the boys running the catamaran start playing Carib music, there could be some dancing & singing going on. Have an awesome day! 👍