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On 3/17/2023 at 1:55 PM, HappyTexan44 said:

I did some googling and I found an article with this regarding Voyager, "You don't need kids to enjoy Battle for Planet Z, a free laser tag team game which takes place on sea days in Studio B. However, you will definitely need a pair of closed toe shoes."   

Does anyone on recently remember what was going on in Studio B?  

On our sailing last week, there was laser tag one time (on the sea day), with a very long line. Two nights there was the ice show. And one night they put down a wooden floor and turn it into the late night disco party (which was all music in Spanish).

On 3/17/2023 at 11:23 AM, ace1zoe2 said:

Can you tell me if there is laser tag on this ship in the ice rink. On Royal Caribbean's description of this ship it indicates it does. I've read other posts saying it does not. We're going with kids & 7 grands aged 1-15 next March out of Galveston. I had already told the grands about laser tag and they are super excited, then I read differently somewhere.

 

We just came back last week. There was laser tag one day, on the sea day. The line was insane so we didn't do it. But the ice show is really nice.

15 hours ago, Empehi said:

I think these testing protocols for vacintaed people are a deal breaker ( and an unnecessary cause of frustration) for many.

If RCL wants testing for vaccinated people then they should do the rapid test at the port prior to boarding.

Test could start at 8am ... plenty of time to test all.

This was the deal breaker for us to cancel 8/21 sailing 😞

We are vaxxed and will wear the masks to keep everyone safe. But it is not a worthwhile vacation if I have to risk being evacuated from the ship during the cruise, and immediately flown home. Anyone can test positive on any given day. 

1 hour ago, Coconut Crew said:

Thanks for sharing!

 

How did RC determine that all the other families were traveling with you? Were you all booked under the same reservation?

 

Also, do you know if they were going to wait another day to get you off the ship if that day 6 was a sea day?

 

Hi everyone, for anyone that hasnt heard yet, Royal has extended the cancellation until may 11th..with the same cancellation offer 

The cancellation has been extended to May 11th...with the same offer of 125% in FCC...or refund 

We're in the Same boat here. April 12 Freedom from san juan. I was really holding out hope and haven't cancelled anything yet- not the cruise, flights, Airbnb,  rental car... The same flight we paid 500 each RT from EWR is now 80 RT. We finally decided it was time to cancel a few days ago, but now I'm stuck waiting for Royal to cancel 1st, as I would prefer the full refund.. Hoping they dont wait till 4/11 to cancel 😥

 The limbo is really unfair at this point since it seems clear they will not be able to resume saling by 4/11 ..

Has anyone had any luck with the airlines in refunding their flights after the announcement of cruise being cancelled ? Not future flight credit...but actual refund ? 

2 hours ago, Plum Happy said:

According to CLIA, it only affects the US ports.  Click the link below for the full statement.

 

 

So since the CLIA is clearly stating that the cruise lines are "voluntarily" suspending, then that would mean Royal cannot deny us a full refund, correct ??? 

I saw someone earlier quoting the cruise contract language which states that the cruise line becomes absolved of refunding us when they are "ordered" to cancel by govt...

We are set to sail 4/12.

Princess gave their customers 100%refund and 50% FCC.

Hoping royal does the same if they force us to cancel !

Norweigan just suspended all sailings until 4/11.

Canada has banned all cruises from docking until July .

28 minutes ago, pmck said:

are you still planning on going if RC doesn't cancel?  We are booked on the Freedom for 5/10 and really want to go, but this COVID19 is daunting!

 

As of right now,  3 out of 4 in our group are still planning on going. Though the situation is changing daily, so it's hard to say. We did not purchase travel insurance,  so there is no difference if we cancel today, or cancel on April 10th...So we might as well keep our reservations for now. I'm just monitoring the situation daily. We also have flights from NJ to San Juan,  rental cars, and Airbnb booked. Have not cancelled anything yet. People look at me crazy when I say we are still planning on going, although they dont realize thousands of people are still getting on cruises daily. 

11 hours ago, Smiles1984 said:

I've noticed that they've just changed the policy again. Previously, anyone denied boarding due to illness etc was entitled to a full refund, now it's a FCC!

I noticed this yesterday as well...I too was very surprised , and was wondering if Royal changed it bc they were just losing too much money with the refunds ? Or were passengers claiming sickness at boarding just to receive a refund instead of FCC?

Has anyone been through the new preboarding screening process ? What has been going on?

We are scheduled to depart 4/12/20 on Freedom out of San Juan. We are scheduled to fly down there on 4/8. As of now, we have not cancelled, although we are well aware that we might need to. At this point , it looks like my son's high school will be closing and moving towards online instruction for at least a month. My employer has granted 2 weeks of paid leave for anyone forced to quarantine. Those 2 factors definitely swayed us away from canceling. To be honest, the way this is spreading ,  we can catch it anywhere. If there were any differences in cancellation/change fees , then I would make a decision sooner. But since there isnt, I will wait to see how things pan out and make a final decision by April 1st or so.

14 minutes ago, Ontario cruise duo said:

We were on the Freedom of the Seas sailing on December 1.  Just noticed the new tube slides at the rear of the ship.  Do you know if they took out the Flow Rider and put the slides in, in its place?  Just curious.  Enjoyed the ship and ABC itinerary immensely!  Would do it again in a heart beat!

 

From the vidoe I saw a couple weeks ago, the slides replaced the mini golf, and there is a new mini golf somewhere else.

We sailed on freedom last april and are booked for this April. 

38 minutes ago, Eldaph said:

I ended up booking with Jet Blue for $444 pp non-stop out of Newark.  Once I got the alert from Hopper I went for it.  I am still watching it just to see if it gets much lower.  I was expecting to pay around $400 so knowing my flights are booked and we have decent seats makes me not worry so much.

I'm not a fan of Frontier unless my dates are flexible.  I've dealt with them thru my boss and I wasn't willing to take a chance with them when I have to be on my cruise a certain date.  3 years in a row his Florida flights were cancelled and moved less than a day out which was frustrating.  Just 2 weeks ago the night before the flight they changed it from 6pm to 6am the next day.  If that happened to us on our cruise we would be completely  screwed.

 

Yeah that's terrible to hear! But 444 rountrip on JB from ewr is excellent! Congrats !

On 3/24/2019 at 3:47 PM, Eldaph said:

Thank you so much.  We're in Monmouth County & I haven't ruled out NYC completely, just prefer not to.  Spirit is another option for us, hubby uses them from AC time to time.  I won't fly Frontier, (Trenton) at least not if my dates aren't flexible, my boss uses them and has had several flights cancelled thru the years.

 

I have the Hopper app and I'm watching 2 flights & it keeps saying to wait.  Probably because the other airlines will add their flights by then.  I'll make sure I check on Sunday's during that time frame though!

Hi there! we live in Essex county and sadly always have to consider other airports as well, as the flights from Newark can be ridiculous most times.

We have flown Frontier many , many times other the years - from ISP, TTN, and PHL...and thankfully have never had cancellations or delays or issues at all. I would just suggest upgrading to bigger seats as their regular  seats can be uncomfortable for a longer flight . 

The other bonus for flying Frontier to San Juan is that they sometimes consider it a "domestic" destination. As such, during domestic only sales,  San Juan will be included. We have flown several times Philly to San Juan direct for $100 per person (non holiday times ofcourse).

12 hours ago, lieslt said:

That is going to be a bummer for my boys.  We are sailing on the Magic next week and my boys love playing bball late into the night.  For those that have sailed on Magic does it close that early for the entire night or open up later for pickup games?

Thx!

 

Yes that would be a major bummer for my son too. I wish they would start posting info like that on the booking info page ! 

22 hours ago, brookeq said:

we just got off the magic.  i may have the funtimes.   But yes it closes at dinner every night.

 

Thanks! Would you mind posting the fun times if you still have them?

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me if the bball court on this ship closes at 5 or 6pm everyday?

Finding conflicting info 😪😪..

Thx!!

On 3/15/2019 at 4:03 PM, lieslt said:

We are trying to decide between Carnival Magic and NCL Breakaway.  We have been on several cruises but have not been on either of these ships.  Family of 5 with 3 teenage boys 18, 16 and 16.  They don't really do anything with the teen clubs so not a priority.  Mostly play bball when onboard.  Itineraries are pretty much the same so really looking for differences in the ship. TIA! 

This is my same dilemma right now- trying to decide between these two! Traveling with my 15 yr old son.

I have read in a few places that the bball court on the Magic closes at 5pm or 6pm daily. Can anyone verify that?

If indeed true, that would be a deal breaker for us !

Thanks!

Hi everyone ,

We are on the april 1st sailing ..just as i was prepping and packing, i wanted to give a heads up. If you're on an itinerary that includes Martinique, it would be helpful to have some Euros with you . We loved this port last time we cruised last year , and the only issue was that we needed euros and no banks were open on the island for a few hours. I am definitely bringing some this time to save time !

I just finished my cruse today (sigh), and thought I'd add my review to this thread. I hope thats ok:

We are first time cruisers, my wife and I are in our fourties and we have an 11 and 13 year old boy.

 

Embarking and disembarking was a breeze. We arrived at around 11 at walked to the port, and got the shuttle bus out to the Ship and was on board before 12. When we left the Ship a week later it was even better. We got a 7.15 time and was called 7.05 and was in our prebooked taxi at 7.10. So easy!

 

The cabin : 3130

Was small but situated quite well,close to centrum without the noise. Fitted 4 people. Kevis took good care of the room and made 3 towel animals which delighted the kids.

 

Food and the Ship:

We ate most breakfasts and some lunch in the Windjammer. It was ok. Theres a large selection, and mos tthings looked and tasted ok. But the whole experience is typical buffet. Which means the food doesn't look the part.

 

We ate 2 breakfasts and lunches, along with all 7 nights in Tides. It ranged from Very good to Excellent. Service was great, the food hot and looked and tasted like a medium-high restaurant. The view up there was great as we had a window table most nights.

 

We had the full drinkj package and took advantage. Lots od Frozen Margarites and Pina Coladas - along with some interesting cocktails at night. Highly recommended!

 

The ports :

Santorini: the tender went well. I was in the line 8.30 and they opened 8.50. I got tender no 5. After a windjammer Lunch we were called and after a short wait we were on our - very rocky - tender.

 

The plan was a boat trip to Oia, and we bought tickets and waited for the boat. And we waited. And found out there are more 'lines' and we picked the wrong one. When the ship finally left it went out into the choppy wave, circled 3 times then put back in to take more people. That pissed us off and we demanded - and got - our money back and went up to Fira instead. I wish we had more time there!

 

Mykonos :

We went in early using a taxi. Cost 10 euro. But when we wanted to return there we no taxis to be had. We eventually got the bus for only 1.60 a person. The town was very nice and we did some shopping. Too windy for beaches.

 

Athens, katákolon : we skipped Athens because of we had been recently and wanted the Ship to ourselves. Katákolon was a small and boring town. We didn't go to see Olympia as we were tired (also spent 4 days in Rome).

Hi ! Any info on how your kids enjoyed the ship? Enough activities ? Organised games through teen club?

Thx !!

Thanks