drketchone

So at this rate we do not even have to have a bar for the FOD get together, a small loveseat for 2 will do.

Hello everyone - My partner (David) and I (Dennis) are sailing one of the Big Boy ships in December, anyone else?

We've only been on one sailing so far - the Anthem maiden voyage APR22, the gathering where set for 22:00 at the Bionic Bar. I think we saw the notice on the 2nd day but it was several days later we where able to stop by because we had late dinner.

 

For those that do not know the Quantum class - the Bionic Bar is a very open area on the upper balcony of the Royal Esplanade. It is loud - very loud (DJ music) and people are constantly hanging out / passing through.

 

We may be atypical gays because we do not like to dance, we do not like a venue where you have to shout to communicate. But the nights we went by, we could not identify if there where an LGBT group present - so they may not have kept it up after the first days.

I have never been on an Quantum Class, but will be soon, Anthem in December. Just from what I know about the Bionic Bar, I think that would be a terrible place for a FOD/LGBT get together, just based on the novelty of the bar alone. Can you recommend, or has anyone identified, a different, better bar on the Quantum Class for the get together?

 

Did the cruise director have to think on his feet and change up the questions that he asked? My fiancée always wanted to do it but I was afraid we would ruin it when the director asked "What size bra does your wife wear?" or any of the specifically herto questions that they always seem to ask, kind of like RCI gives them a script.

 

I don't recall ever seeing the FOD/LGBT in the RCI cruise compass but the fiancée fills out a card for the bulletin board before he even goes to the room. It has been kind of hit and miss for the get together on the different ships. The people who are usually there are the extreme cruisers that spend as much time on a ship as land and they seemed to have their own click with the other extreme cruisers. That is until they found us on the beach at Club Orient in St Maarten, then they got chatty:D

That certainly is very unfortunate and not a pleasant experience. On our two times there in the past two years we did not experience that and in fact found that they added a number of "special" buses as direct transit to Horseshoe Bay Beach that avoided any of the local stops en route. The buses also kept coming and going in rotation to handle the passengers wanting to use them.

 

I'm not saying there was no wait but it was not unusually long, and certainly not the hours that you report. We have had to wait longer to board the ferry as those are more fixed in their schedules and with two ships in port people would make their way to the pier early. But even those situations were manageable and we were able to board the ferry we wanted without a problem.

 

We will be there again as well in July - I will let you know if our experience is any different then.

These were dedicated buses too, but we were 45-50 mins to our beach, Horseshoe too, as I recall. Stop and go traffic, and it was impossible for us to make any additional passenger stops as were double stacked in the seats and every available standing area full.

I was there last July and I could see that their system had improved over my previous experience. They had too, no one would go there unless it got better. I had sworn off Bermuda after my first trip, but RCI made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I just decided to swear off their buses.

forget the taxi. get a day pass at the stand just at the end of the Pier. the bus and ferry system is as good as Metro/light rail.

I hope you will come back and tell us your transportation adventure. Reading the quote above made me recall the horrible time I had with those busses. When we got to Bermuda, there was an NCI ship that had gotten there just before us, they were already docked and letting people off, say 2000 people. Then EOS docked and let another 2000 off, so basically there were 4000 people standing in the blazing sun, 104 degrees, for hours to get on about 6 busses. People were literally passing out, the medical teams from both ships were out there bringing people back to the ship, including my brother who couldn't leave the air conditioned ship until that night.

Compared to prices in NYS, alcohol is generally a better buy on the ship, like someone mentioned within a couple dollars of what you can find in port. Cigarette prices are about 40% of NYS prices on board, not sure about the ports.

I will gladly pay RCI a few extra dollars for a bottle of alcohol just so that I don't have to carry it around the port

Despite what everyone said about the buses, I have had unpleasant experiences with them. They are VERY crowded and generally the A/C doesn't work well or at all. These make for one hot ride.

I do not recommend taking a bus from Kings Wharf, but rather take the ferry to Hamilton (same transportation pass mentioned above) and then, if you must take a bus from the bus station there, it is a couple block walk from the ferry terminal. More buses, more often, and a shorter ride to most of the beaches.

Personally I ferry to Hamilton then take a taxi cab/van, relatively speaking they are inexpensive and even more so if you can share with someone else.

Did Captain Olav Nyseter retire or move on? I haven't seen his name on the list.

Olav retired to West Virginia. He was showing pictures at the C&A party in July. He said that he may fill in now and then, if needed. Definitely the best captain I came across at RCI.

I third the vote for Friars Beach. We took our masks and fins, but you could rent both right on the beach, and snorkeled around the manmade jetty that you see in photo one. Excellent visablilty 40-50 foot deep. A lot of natural sand dollars in the shallow water.

Around the jetty to the right is called dolphin cove, not sure why I didn't see a dolphin.

When I was there, December 2011, that beach was pretty crowded, unlike how the pictures look. Also a lot of the crew who were off duty, many from the CD staff went there also.

Taxi ride was less than 20 bucks, and interesting as you were driving around rock slides and road closed signs.