Pellaz

Wow, that IS high compared to Carnival's. Does it include any free photos (group or individual)? Is it 3 or 4 hours?

Although I'd really love to try the water-park at CocoCay at least once, I also miss "the old days." My first cruise was on the Majesty (rip) to CocoCay and I was amazed at how great the snorkeling was...out in deep water with floating docks to rest on, the sunken plane, the cannons, and hundreds, maybe thousands of fish. I have to assume that snorkeling area is long gone...and that's a real shame. Side note: I was on the very last tender returning and the anchor was already being raised. I'd met the Captain the night before and there he was on the bridge wing looking down at us, ready with the thruster controls. I was on the top deck of the tender, so I stood up and fired off a jaunty salute to him. He turned to speak to someone behind him and then the ship's horn blew a short, little blast. Just for me. THAT was the moment I decided that I would definitely be going on more cruises in the future. 🙂

Oh, yeah, that deserves mentioning. We liked it too, but a lot of folks had no idea how it worked. One thing to note: if you have a party of, say, 3 people, make the request on the number-pad 3 times. When people don't do this, the elevators get overcrowded. The system is used on the Horizon ...and possibly the Panorama. We sailed on the Vista not long after her inaugural, but the elevator system was replaced by a "regular" system about two weeks after we sailed. We'll be on Horizon in October for a similar cruise although, like someone else posted, ours is doing Aruba, Bonaire (our first time there!), La Romana and Amber Cove. We have a regular balcony...but it's the first one "in" from the Lido deck pool area. If a Havana cabana room opens up, we'll try to grab it, since we LOVED ours on the Horizon last October. And yes, the Fresh Creations salad bar in Serenity is one of the unsung heroes on ships that are so equipped. ❤️

I think it was a bit earlier than 8 pm, but reports on CruiseCritic have varied.

...And if you have set-time dining you can still dine at either location for free, but you have to wait until 7 pm? 7:30 pm? before reserving on the Hub app.

And also, housekeeping staff at U.S. hotels do not normally receive FREE room, board and medical services for months at a time. As for us, we leave the pre-paid grats intact, tip some cash to the stateroom attendant upon arrival, and tip some more at debark unless service was lousy...which has happened only once on Carnival in around 13 sailings. (Alas, that has not always been the case for me on Royal.)

Hmm, interesting. There are only five in all of Georgia and none that close to me. It'd be fun to try one out. They seem more oriented toward adding flavor "shots" (three max) to existing drinks. There wasn't too much info on that site, or at least, if there was, it was buried under slow, annoying graphics. I hope their machines are faster-processing than that. 🙂 Lol, truth! --But the number of added sugar calories should be fairly low. It's only 10 calories or so if you choose a flavoring in a Freestyle machine.

Slots often open up right after final payment is due and people's reservations are cancelled. I've acquired FTTF that way once, but usually we book early and we're Johnny-on-the-spot in purchasing FTTF. For my October cruise, I finally turn platinum, but my two cabinmates will not. We'll all be able to board early, but they would not get access to the shorter line at Guest Services AFAIK, so they opted to purchase FTTF for the cabin anyway.

My sister had no problem and we both had Bottomless Bubbles. Her favorite was Cherry Coke Zero, and the bartender apologized and said "Sorry, we only have Coke Zero." So, we turned around, came back and asked if she could get a "Coke Zero with grenadine." "Of course!" 😄 This was, of course, back in the Golden Age when Carnival still used Coke products. As far as I know, Pepsi does not have an equivalent and Coca-Cola patented and trademarked the machines. The price may have dropped on them by now, but originally, they cost $60,000 each if you bought them outright...which most restaurants did not do, opting instead to pay a $300/month surcharge on the lease/rental. Carnival does many, MANY things better than Royal, but having just stepped off Freedom of the Seas last week, soda packages and access to the bubbles is NOT one of them.

Not from what I saw on the Horizon. There were at least three scooters parked outside rooms near ours, but this was in a wide area in the back by a corner, almost like a mini-lobby. That cruise had a veterans' group as a partial charter, and I have no doubt Carnival made some exceptions for them. Their scooters weren't blocking the narrow hallway and were parked out of the way. While I agree that calling Guest Services to tattle on someone who parked their scooter in the hallway is a valid action, it's not an issue I would clutch my pearls over, unless the scooter's placement was a clear hazard to normal movement in the hallway. If it was blocking service carts or maintenance equipment, then the affected crew personnel could (and should) contact GS for resolution. (Or, y'know, ask the folks in the cabin if they can please move it inside.)

I really can't have anything "good" since I'm now Type 2 diabetic, but I'd have a Miami Vice. I love the way Carnival's bartenders make them -- simultaneous pours from either side so you get half pina-colada, half strawberry daiquiri, divided vertically in the glass. When they make them "right" I tip extra. 🙂 My second go-to used to be a Frozen Mudslide, since they have half the sugar content of a daiquiri. And it's like drinking dessert...with a kick. 🙂

Oh, man. So close, and yet so far. I'm 6 nights short of Platinum on Carnival...but our October cruise on the Horizon is a 7-night cruise. 🙂

Congrats and enjoy this Carnival perk! If you were sailing on Royal, you would not get the loyalty tier "bump" until afterward. 😮

I was shocked at how hot the hot tubs were on my recent Royal cruise (on Freedom). I'd gotten used to the usual lukewarm hot tubs on Carnival -- and didn't really mind that, especially on a hot, sunny day -- but everyone remarked at how hot those side hot tubs were.

No indeed. An "abandon" order would come later...and hopefully not at all. I remained on ship once when seemingly everyone else had gone ashore at St. Thomas -- it felt like there were 50 passengers left onboard by 10 am (I had a later excursion). So, they did a crew safety drill, but this one was a pretty complete one, including the Captain coming on the all-call and announcing "as Master of the vessel, I am hereby ordering Abandon Ship." It was prefaced or followed by "this is a crew-only drill," of course, but just to hear THAT over the PA was pretty chilling. 😮

I have gotten FTTF on every Carnival sailing up to the COVID shutdown and never regretted it. On one cruise (2nd on Carnival), the priority line at Guest Services saved the entire cruise. On another, there was a HUGE line of people waiting outside in the hot Florida sun...which we just instantly bypassed. On other cruises, the priority tender and the immediate access to the room has helped a lot. When you divide the stateroom price by 3 (I normally sail with two friends), it's not unreasonable at all. Bingo! I was just on a charter cruise with a bunch of people new to cruising and this was something I encouraged them to do. As well as keep your passport with you; putting it in checked luggage guarantees that your vacation will come to a sad, abrupt end. Shhhhh. No need for that sort of incendiary talk. It might give them ideas. 😄

Right there with y'all. I've had it, or the potential for it, for many years now, but allopurinol and reasonably smart food choices have made bad flare-ups a thing of the past. I AM now officially diabetic, but booked Cheers when my friends did, right before I was diagnosed. 😮 Oh, well. I still enjoyed diet sodas and free bottled water...and one doctor-permitted daiquiri a day. 🙂

Oh, that's a great question. I'll ask over on our cruisers' group. Wow. --Just, wow. Most of the bands are from other countries -- I think 48 out of the 60 were, this year. If they perform on U.S. soil, they are required to obtain work visas, which cost over $1,000 per member (current proposals would even increase the amount). However, if they perform in international waters, a tourist visa for U.S. entry is fine. This is one reason why the cruise can be a big draw, since we've had bands perform that virtually never tour the U.S. due to financial constraints.

Junkanoo Beach will be to the right as you approach the docks, and it's an easy walk from the ship.

I noticed that purchases on board were tied to your stateroom number, instead of a unique folio number, leading to some confusion. Also, the stateroom number was actually printed on the SeaPass card, sans the first digit. So, if a stranger found someone's card, it would be easy to try the card in any possible matching stateroom on each deck. Also, it didn't appear that my photo was displayed on the point-of-sale system when my Seapass card was scanned, as it does on (say) Carnival. I was bemused at the security implications. 😮

I figured it's about 3x the normal price. BUT, we DO get quite a lot for it. We were surprised they hadn't raised prices more, considering the two-year interregnum on sailings for this charter. (Last sailed in Jan. 2020.) Glad you asked! I forgot to mention this. Drinks were not included in the price. And here's why..... Back in 2011 on the first sailing they offered the usual alcoholic drink package. UMC had warned Royal that we were a hard-drinkin' crowd, and Royal accordingly stocked 20% additional beer for that inaugural 70K Tons cruise. --They ran out of beer by noon on the second day and had to re-stock in Cozumel. 😄 They have since learned THAT lesson; NO alcohol packages are offered. And they still ran out of Fosters on Day 4, except for a hidden stash (I'm told) at the Casino Bar. 😄 I pre-purchased the Voom + Soda combined package before sailing since I'm not much of a drinker. My friend wanted to buy it onboard, but they no longer offered that package. He tried to buy the soda package and was told "we're not selling that on this sailing," despite the Royal app saying it was available. Several others made the same discovery. Guest Services contacted the Food & Beverage Manager, who intervened personally and ordered the bartenders to start selling it. My pre-purchased soda cup was not in my stateroom, so I had to get it at a bar. They actually had to refer to a printed list to see if I'd purchased it, which I thought was pretty amazingly retro. 😮 Yes, we DO receive those...or at least, we have in the past. Suite guests have received double points, as is the standard. Darn. The burritos weren't bad, and they didn't come pre-built with tomatoes (yech, thank goodness), but I did miss having one made-to-order.

I recently returned from a full-ship music charter aboard Freedom of the Seas (the "70,000 Tons of Metal" cruise) and I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast with a "regular" cruise. There are many differences, and some things that presumably stay the same. My last "regular" cruise on Royal was about 12 years ago on the Majesty, may she R.I.P. The Majesty is also the original source for the "70,000 Tons" monicker. This was my 20th cruise overall, with the rest being on Carnival. This was a 4-night, 5-day cruise from Miami. Our only port-stop was also the closest "foreign port" to Miami, namely Bimini, only 50 miles away. Port-fees, taxes and gratuities were charged all in one pre-payment of around $450 in addition to the cruise fare; there was no way to modify or remove prepaid grats, not that I'd personally want to.... Total cost for our balcony was around $1700 EACH, with three in the cabin. We had an aft balcony corner on Deck 8, so we had two chairs, a table and two loungers, and an uninterrupted view (no metal superstructure in the way). Fares and fees were payable directly to the charter company, UMC, via credit card or international bank-wire only. They did not distinguish between balcony classes so ours was the same price as other standard balconies. There were 60 bands onboard, and each band plays once on the way to the port-stop and then once again on the way back. The Royal Theater, Studio B (ice rink), the Star Lounge, and the massive pool-deck stage (photos to follow) were the four concert venues used. Shows began as early as 10 am and ran as late as 6 am, with mostly 45- and 60-minute sets, with a few 75-minute sets and 90-minute sets for Finland's band Nightwish. So anyway, a few specific observations: The dining hours were presumably WAYYY different for us. I'll post a photo of the hours but as an example, the Windjammer was open until 4 am. I'm not sure of the normal hours for Sorrento's but they remained open until 6 am. The Cafe Promenade was apparently open 24-7, but I think that's normal? The MDR was only open for dinner, from 6:30 - 10 pm; no breakfast or lunch was served. No dress-code was enforced (except probably shirts and shoes required) and seating was all open, using only the level on Deck 3. Deck 4 was unused and Deck 5 in the MDR was used for band and festival merch sales -- always a challenge with 60 bands all potentially bringing t-shirts and merch. I received a free specialty meal voucher from the charter company, good for either the steakhouse or the Italian restaurant. I chose the steakhouse. Apparently anyone whose birthday fell during the cruise received a voucher. That was a nice gesture. The steakhouse was offering a "Shredders Brunch" for $25. Not sure if this is a normal-cruise offering or not. I did the "SS Sapona Shipwreck Snorkel" at Bimini, which at $119 seemed a bit high-priced for a one-stop snorkeling tour. Three snorkeling times were offered, with the latter two being "snorkeling with" members of one of the bands (Germany's Feuershwanz and lastly Sweden's Dark Tranquillity), but all were the same price. (I did the last outing with Dark Tranquillity, who are a personal favorite.) An equivalent excursion on Carnival would have been priced at around $70 or $80, so we were wondering if they were charging more for us due to the charter. Suite guests did not receive any significant suite perks and AFAIK, the Suite Lounge/Concierge Lounge was not open. This was consistent with previous sailings of the charter. The staff were either really friendly or, in a couple of cases, downright rude. I was nearly steamrolled by a room-steward in the corridor who simply walked straight at us and didn't slow down or change sides. The new Mexican venue, El Loco Fresh, was a welcome addition. They weren't offering fresh-made burritos, just pre-made chicken and beef ones, but we could make our own tacos and quesadillas. Is this normal for them? (I have to give Carnival's Blue Iguana Cantina the nod here, since the burritos are fresh made-to-order and are crew-served.) Wi-fi speed was reasonably fast with Starlink. My one speed-test on Day 1 returned about 60 Mbps down and 9 Mbps up. Speed was consistent and we were never more than 20 or 30 miles from land. Here, the nod goes to Royal. We were facing west when docked, and the ship backed up to the east and then we rotated to face east and outward just north of Fisher Island near the Coast Guard station. I've NEVER seen that before; normally we'd have headed west and turned in the turn-basin and then steamed out to the east. I was surprised we were able to turn where we did; it was a tight fit. The Fisher Island ferries got a bit backed up. 🙂 Since bands onboard can only perform outside the 12-mile limit, we simply headed away from the U.S. and cruised very slowly out beyond the limit, or stayed in place using maneuvering thrusters (probably not anchored). There was a medical emergency onboard after Bimini and the ship leaped inside the 12-mile limit so that a rescue vessel could take the passenger off. Performances on the pool-deck were suspended while we were inside the limit. Although our room had a great balcony, it's a LONG walk from the closest elevators to the room. Royal's ships only have two elevator banks, whereas I'm more used to Carnival ships' three, and a much shorter walk to our preferred aft-extended balconies. I will probably NOT request the same room next year since I'm susceptible to plantar fasciitis and my feet were really hurtin'. The beds, including the Pullman bunk, were surprisingly hard. Is this a "thing" on Royal or did we just get unlucky? ...And that's about all I can think of right now. It was a fun sailing and VERY exhausting. I really DO wish there were more "free"/included dining options onboard, especially for such a large ship. On the bright side, the pizza at Sorrento's was better than we all remembered. 😉

Wow, yeah, that's an incredibly short visit to Nassau. 😮 I'd also say not worth it because during the winter months (standard time) the pools and slides, excepting the lap pool, all close at 5 pm. I think during the summer (daylight saving time) they close at 6 pm. You'd only have 3 hours to enjoy Atlantis Aquaventure and while it CAN be done in that time, you HAVE to know exactly where to go and hope the lines aren't too long.

Well, dang. Looks like they COULD stage "my" music cruise on a Carnival ship instead of a Freedom-class from Royal. I kept thinking "these tiny pickled egg sandwiches are okayyy, but I want my Guy's Burger!" 😄 The price for the 70,000 Tons cruise works out to about 3x the price of a regular cruise...but when you take into account the staging, the production, the cost of paying the bands and/or providing them staterooms, etc., it's not unreasonable. Star Trek: the Cruise actually costs more...and you get significantly less free access to the actors and guests. On mine just-completed, we ended up dining in the MDR next to three bands at once. 😄 Typically they drain the pools the night before and as soon as the ship docks -- preferably early -- they begin hauling stuff onboard with a truly ginormous crane, up and over and onto the pool deck. (They are not allowed to use Deck 0, I-95 or the marshalling area during turnaround day.) That process takes pretty much the entire day up until sailing. On the 70K Tons cruise, the pool-deck stage ("The largest open-air structure at sea") isn't finished until after midnight and the first performance now starts at 10 am the following day, although they've had rosier hopes in the past. Not. Anymore. 😄 The last shows on the pool deck (on 70K, anyway) finish at around 1 am on debark morning and the offloading process again takes the entire day. As I said, we pay a high price for such an event...but it's not unreasonable considering what we get. I still wanted my Guy's Burger or a burrito from Blue Iguana, though. 🙂

It might be under "Aquascape" or something similar. Here are some of mine that are under Aquaventure, though: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147416-d1007837-r820743524-Aquaventure-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147416-d1007837-r731311060-Aquaventure-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147416-d1007837-r638452152-Aquaventure-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html