karmacats

9 hours ago, alishac said:

Oh boy. Starting to having second thoughts about my cabin choice...

I sleep with ear plugs in so it's not an issue for me, but my husband doesn't.

Sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. But I wish I had had all the info when I booked my cruise, rather than just shiny happy reviews that turned out to be wrong. Then I at least could have made an informed decision.  I do think a lot depends on your neighbors; if it had been 2 adults, or older kids, it probably would have been ok.

To the person who asked if I'm sure it was the connecting door that was the issue, yes, it was really obviously the door.

Fwiw, I've been on the Dream twice before with kids next door and never heard a peep through the solid wall. Same with my 30+ other cruises. You can always hear noise from the hall, and sometimes the bathroom next door, but that's generally it and those are momentary. The only 2 times we've had persistent noise issues were when we had connecting doors, and in the room it's pretty easy to tell that's where the sound is coming through.

I feel like I have to chime in here, because unlike the others, I just had a terrible experience with a connecting door on the Dream. 

Our first ever cruise was on the Magic in 1998, and after being able to hear everything through the connecting door, we've stayed away from connecting doors for the last 25 years. However, we booked the Dream transatlantic last minute and only connecting door rooms were available. I did a ton of research and people consistently said the dream and fantasy were way better insulated than the older ships and you couldn't hear a thing through the door.

Well, that turned out to be a total crock. For 11 nights we got to hear the kid next door wail at 3 am and scream all morning starting at 7 am.  We could also hear the parents talking, though couldn't quite make out what they were saying, and occasionally hear other sounds such as closet doors opening (I presume). The sound was definitely through the connecting door, not from the hall. The steward confirmed both connecting doors were closed. Sound just travels. It was bad enough that if the choice in the future comes down to connecting door or no cruise, I'd pick no cruise. We got off the ship more stressed than when we got on. It was a shame, bc the room was otherwise perfect (huge 4e balcony in great location) and the trip was otherwise wonderful. But the extra balcony space is not worth the risk you won't get any sleep. 

Full disclosure, I have not been on the wish so don't know what the treasure will be like. But I would not take a chance again in a million years. 

18 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

West Quay Cars (based in Southampton) are consistently recommended on here, and promote Stonehenge stopovers as an option on their website.

 

https://westquaycars.com/southampton-cruise-port-transfers/

 

Or at the London end Blackberry Cars are also frequently recommended, although they’re likely to be more expensive.

https://www.blackberrycars.com

 

 

Thank you! I appreciate it. West quay has a number of very poor reviews from other sites that seem to have started a few months ago, so i wasn't sure if they were still a good place to book. Have not looked at blackberry but will check them out. 

Hello! I am also looking for a recommendation for private transfer from London to Southampton with a stop at Stonehenge this September. I saw someone just asked about one and a shared coach was recommended, but I don't think a shared tour will work for us because we are coming in the day before the cruise, not day of, and because we'll be arriving in London from France via the Eurostar so will need pickup at St. Pancras around midday.  I looked online at some of the companies recommended earlier in this thread, and it appears some have closed during covid and others have started to get mostly terrible reviews over the last couple of years.  Any recent recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

2 hours ago, Janet524 said:

OMG!!  What was your boarding time?  I assume you got there late because of the traffic on I-95 (always a nightmare).  I've sailed out of Baltimore dozens of times and fortunately never had a problem like you did.  I'm glad you made it on board and hope you're having a great time.

Our boarding time was 11, but Royal sent a notice to everyone with 10-12 boarding times not to come until noon, which I'm sure was at least partly the cause of the mess because everyone got there at once.  There was no further communication so we didn't know when the ship was leaving, and therefore if 1:30 was still latest boarding, so we left our house at 11:30.  As it turned out, we didn't board until 4ish.

It took us a little less than an hour to get to exit 54.  Then a little over an hour to get from 54 to 55 and down the ramp and road to port, and over 2 hours sitting in the parking lot - there were 8 or 9 lanes of cars funnelling into 2 to drop off luggage and pay.

The only other time we've had such a long delay was in Ft Lauderdale, when they couldn't clear the ship because a passenger barricaded themselves in their room!  But even then we got regular updates and they passed out food and water in line. For this trip we knew nothing.

We've been cruising alongside Bermuda today since a little after noon Bermuda time, so it looks like we'll dock in time, and the weather is beautiful.  We're in an aft balcony so enjoying the ride.  🙂. After embarkation, the cruise has been fabulous.

On Enchantment now.  The conceirge told us it was an electrical problem and we should have no issues this cruise.  We did have to slow down shortly after we left port for 2 medical evacuations, one of a crew member via helicopter.

We are speeding along very smoothly now, and supposedly will make up enough time to dock in Bermuda on time, but I guess we'll find out if that's true tomorrow.

Embarkation was a nightmare. We live an hour from port and sat in traffic for so long our trip took 4.5 hours. Well over two hours of that was in the parking lot waiting to park.  Everyone was really angry yesterday.  Luckily today was beautiful, the food is good, and the alcohol is flowing, so everyone is in a much better mood!

7 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

Are one way rentals possible across an international border?

Yes. We drove a one way rental from NJ to Quebec City when taking a cruise from Quebec to NJ.  It was way cheaper than one way flights for 4, plus we could bring tons of luggage.

As to the original question, no, i would not cruise if we tested positive for covid. Or if we had a cold or flu, for that matter. We have tons of home tests and still test before large gatherings. To me, it's common courtesy. I don't want to get anyone else sick. 

On Adventure in July we were not allowed to use our D+ vouchers for JR milkshakes.  I asked multiple different servers as we had different ones each visit, and they all said no. 

Just off Adventure (July 2-7).  We have a FB group of a little over 200. About a dozen people reported they or someone in their party tested positive after disembarkation. If you count those reporting multiple people in their groups (like my husband and i both tested positive, so if you count us as 2) it's more like 20 or 25. Lots of others reporting symptoms but negative tests, so who knows about them - I've had symptoms since thurs but just tested positive today (monday).  Small sample size, but that should give you an idea.

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

D+ never had table service there, just a place to sit

Yep, I know.  Done it on other ships with Windjammer food. I didn't mean to imply I was expecting a full breakfast st Giovanni's. It's just nice to have the less hectic place to sit, and not have to stalk open seats. It would have been nice on Adventure, as the ship was supposedly at capacity. 

Nope. D+ here and just off adventure yesterday.  I believe they had continental breakfast in the diamond lounge, but that's it. Giovannis was locked tight the couple times we went to windjammer for lunch, and that was not listed as an option anywhere.

I would agree with Cards Against Humanity, but if your group is easily embarrassed or doesn't like the raunch factor, I would recommend Apples to Apples instead. It's the same gameplay mechanics, but family friendly.  It's hard to find games that play 9, bit both of those would do. The boxes are big but we just put the cards in bags in our luggage and leave the boxes at home.

As already mentioned, Phase 10 is small (only equipment is cards, and you'll want a notepad or phone to keep score) and a lot of people can play. 

My favorite is Quiddler. It's a word game, but played with cards so is compact.

There is a small travel version of Settlers of Catan you can buy online. We bring that a lot. 

Other compact games - guillotine, love letter, skipbo, uno, exploding kittens.

Just a heads up, shakes at JR may or may not be included in the UDP.  I thought they were included if you got a meal also, but we just got off Adventure yesterday and the UDP there covered any food but not shakes.  We ate there 4 times with 3 different servers and none would include a shake.  It ended up not a huge deal - soda is included, and we'd get pie and ice cream for dessert instead of a shake if we didn't want to pay for a shake. (Their apple pie is delicious, and I'd never gotten it before because I was full from shakes, so I guess discovering the pie is the silver lining here. 🙂) 

On 7/6/2022 at 5:46 PM, Seannie said:

Is there anyone who sailed on Adventure in May, June or this month who can comment on whether most of the games work?

Just off adventure today. The arcade is pretty large and we only saw maybe 2 or 3 games that weren't working during our 3 visits during the week. Most games were $2.  In addition to screen-based video games they have skeeball, mini bowling, basketball, and a couple of crazy air hockey games, and of course claw machines (though my 7 year old niece managed to get a couple of rubber duckies out of one, so they are not totally rigged).  I actually was surprised at the variety of games - i think my husband and i had as much fun as our niece. 🤣

We're on the Adventure cruise that leaves Saturday, so today is our testing day.  A number of folks in our social media group arrived at CVS or Walgreens to be told the testing was no longer free and they would have to pay.  The change went into effect today. 

My party used the emed proctored tests we ordered through the Royal site so it didn't affect us, but I can understand why people are steamed, as the tests were free when they signed up, and they never got any notice of the change.

There is another thread on this board about a survey some of us received about why we booked our current cruises. I am 99% sure the survey asked for vaccination status (already vaxxed, partially vaxxed, plan to be vaxxed by cruise, etc).  When i saw the announcement, that survey was the first thing i thought of - I'm wondering if that's where they got their data.

Personally, we've been fully vaxxed for a while and would not go on a cruise otherwise. We went to disney world last dec (pre-vaccinations) because we heard the precautions were good, but found it really stressful and the precautions not really being enforced. Even now, our next cruise isn't til sept 2022 - maybe we'll add one before then, but i want to see how the first months of cruising go.

I also got one today for my Sept 2022 cruise.  I was surprised it asked about covid protocols for a cruise so far in the future, but it also asked about why I booked now (we just made the reservation last week) which I can see them being interested in. 

Dialysis at Sea is their own company. They have a website with a schedule, and will also send brochures. They bring hemodialysis machines and staff onto many different royal and celebrity ships, so there are lots of itineraries to choose from. They are normal length dialysis sessions, so figure about 4 hrs including prep time, and are usually offered in 2 shifts, with the first being around 6 a.m. and the other later morning.

We took my mom on 3 of these cruises. They were fantastic, and my mom had a blast. The staff both for booking beforehand and for dialysis onboard were extremely professional. I cannot say enough good things.

However, they are very expensive. Medicare will not cover the dialysis sessions onboard, which as of last year were about $700 each. (Some supplemental or private insurances will cover them, but most do not.)  There is a minimum charge for 3 sessions, so even if you do a 5 night cruise that only has 2 sessions, you must pay for 3. Otherwise it's not worth it for the company. There are also admin charges, and mandatory travel insurance paid at time of initial booking. Overall, a good rule of thumb would be to presume a couple grand over the regular cabin price (for the fees, insurance, etc) plus the cost of dialysis.

Despite the price, these trips were some of the best times my mom had in her last years, and I'm so glad we got to take her on them.

We were on the harmony transatlantic when the cubs won the world series. The ship did not broadcast it. From talking to the cubs fans onboard, it sounds like a passenger who subscribed to i think the MLB station and therefore was able to stream the games on mlb.com purchased the streaming internet package, and the cubs fans would meet in a conference room to watch on his laptop. Not a cubs fan so i didn't go, but i heard a few complaints about royal not offering it.

I was just on grandeur during the wild card games last week and, despite assurances from the concierge that we would get the national league game, we did not. We've been nationals season ticket holders for a dozen years so were pretty disappointed. Taking our cue from the cubs fans, we purchased the streaming internet package and signed up for tbs.com (tbs was broadcasting the game), but internet on grandeur is just too slow and we could not get any picture. We ended up streaming just the audio on espn radio on my husband's phone, and then after were able to watch highlights on espn on our stateroom tv. Grandeur was out of baltimore so there were a lot of disappointed nats fans onboard, especially because the ship showed all the football games during our trip. I guess the nfl is easier to license.

Just off grandeur, where you could buy the UDP onboard for $25 pp per night.

Fwiw, we had purchased it online beforehand and were assigned an 8 pm dining time, but we went to chops first thing when we boarded to make our reservations for the week and the host said we could choose any dinner times we wanted and could vary them each night. So at least on grandeur we were not locked in to that 8 pm dining time.

Since you're in a suite, if you pre-purchase the plan you can email the concierge your preferred schedule and they should be able to secure it for you. We've done that before with the 3 and 5 night plans.

We just got off grandeur this morning, after a 5 nighter to bermuda. We paid $90 pp for the package (during the black friday sale last year), and got 9 meals out of it (5 dinners and 4 lunches, including embarkation day lunch), so paid $10 per person per meal. Well worth it.

Grandeur only has chops, giovannis, and izumi, but the lunch menus in chops and giovannis have some different items than dinner, so we found the selection to be good enough that we did not get bored.  With your cruise also having sabor and johnny rockets, i think there would be enough different choices for most people.

As a side consideration, i think i would not buy the drink package again with unlimited dining, because we ate so much i didn't want a blender drink or frappuccino like i usually get throughout the cruise, so i definitely did not drink my money's worth. Also, we left extra tips after each meal, and they added up to more than the extra we usually give our dining room servers at the end of the cruise. 

Overall, we loved having the package and would do it again in a heartbeat, just probably without the drink package.

Got milkshakes and root beer floats on anthem using the refreshment package in feb. Did not have to purchase any food. By the end of the cruise, they'd see me coming and start my float.  : ) 

I'm finding this thread super interesting because this happened to us for the first time ever on june 30. Our TA called us to get final payment and we reminded her we had a FCC to apply; she called royal to get it applied and then called me back with the new total, which was higher than what i had calculated. Turns out royal had added the insurance, so she had to call back again to get it cancelled before we paid. In about 20 cruises, that's the first time I've ever had the insurance unilaterally added after i had declined it when first booking.

It could just be a glitch, but it strikes me as totally shady. My TA was on the phone with a real live person, who presumably deals with TAs all the time - you think they'd notice the charge was added.  I'm just glad we caught it, as we had insurance through a third party.

Last black friday/cyber monday sale (i can't remember which), we purchased the UDP for a 5 nighter on Grandeur this sept for $90 pp. It's the Bermuda itinerary that also includes 4 lunches in specialties, so 9 meals for $90. 

Grandeur only has 3 specialty restaurants, but for such a short cruise, we shouldn't get tired of them. Even if we decide to do only dinners, it's about $18 per dinner - not too shabby.  : ) 

They have some pre-set virgin drinks on their menu, or you can create your own. I also don't know if they can do blender drinks, as i got one of the pre-set virgin drinks last time i was on anthem, and it was definitely not a thick blended type drink (though it was very good).