aubreyc1988

I'm proud of you

I have definitely called it zoom a few times and have been corrected lol

People who sail on Royal are SO specific about things, blows my mind. Example: I made a post somewhere else about about the "CruiseNext program" on Royal Caribbean and people went CRAZY, going "it's called "NEXTCRUISE, not CRUISENEXT"! I am just thinking "But I mean, you knew what I was talking about, right?" I get them confused with NCL's program, which is CruiseNext and Royal's is NextCruise, so sue me 😛

On Allure 10/1/2022, we didn't get our bag until 9pm. Inquired around 7pm, room steward had to go on a hunt for it. I had apple air tags and knew they were on the ship so I wasn't too worried. Never knew what happened exactly but he found it so all is well that ends well. I had all my important docs with me.

The Joy pooldeck is quite different than the Bliss...but honestly crowded pool decks are pretty much the norm on most Caribbean cruises. 🙂

I have been on both and both ships have pros and cons I *love* NCL bars and drinks...WAY more than RCI. I also find that NCL dining blows RCI out of the park, both in quality/variety/number of venues to eat at. These are subjective opinions. But I have spoken to many people who do agree with me NCL's entertainment has gotten a lot better, especially in terms of their smaller events that go on during the daytime and their non production show activities (Trivia, game shows, dance parties, etc). These activities I find more unique and varied than Royals. HOWEVER, Royal's production shows are slightly better (I mean, how can you compete with the aqua show)...BUT Cats is, in my opinion, the worst broadway show RCI could have picked and I believe that is on Oasis still. Elements on NCL Joy was one of the BEST shows I have seen on a cruise. Footloose was also REALLY good, WAY better than Cats. Non show related, the Joy has a lot of really interesting spaces because she was initially designed for China, then quickly refitted for the US market. The Spice H2O on that ship is MASSIVE with the biggest hot tub I have ever seen. The waterfront is BEAUTIFUL, with many padded seating/loungers, alfresco bars and restaurants...just STUNNING. There is a HUGE observation lounge that is breathtaking with the floor to ceiling windows...love the small buffets they hold in there, and there are TWO starbucks on the ship. One of them is on deck 6 I believe and the other one is in the observation lounge. I like the Oasis areas too, especially central park, but tend to feel a "mall like atmosphere" on Oasis class ships...not bad per se, just a different vibe. The joy casino is NS with a smoking room, which is really nice especially if you a NS gambler. Just some thoughts I have, can't go wrong with either.

@BirdTravelsBest beach for those who do not have water shoes and are not planning on snorkeling? I am going on Freedom soon and am tight on luggage space so not planning on bringing my water shoes or snorkel gear, just looking for soft sand, nice water, and a bar nearby lol

This is the pricing for the Oct 31st 2022 sailing Drink Package: $396.40 with taxes and gratuity per person Wifi Stream Package: $87.96 for 1 device Soda Package + Voom Stream= 127.60 for one person, 1 device Of course, pricing varies from sailing to sailing, but I hope this gives you an idea.

As someone who isn't sober fabulous (but congrats on yuor achievement!), I agree that the drinks and dining are the biggest budget buster. I DID pay around 1k pp on Liberty in September to have the package, just because I didn't want to pay ala carte. Now thatI am prime in the casino, I am so relieved I don't have to worry so much about drink prices and budgeting that huge cost in.

I've only read two pages of this topic so sorry if I missed a lot but wanted to post this before going to bed. @rimmit your whole situation sucks and I am sorry 😞 No matter who is in the right or wrong, just try to remember it IS only money that was lost with the royal cruise fiasco. I know it sounds cliche saying "it's only money" especially with the economy how it is and your medical bills, but money isn't everything, but as you know, health is invaluable. You made the decision to not go because of your wife's well being and others and that is admirable. Hopefully the time spent at home, your wife can get well soon and you can begin to think about a trip sometime in the future wishing you two well!

Yes, second to last night was cancelled due to the ship rocking, but they did 2 make up performances on the last night so everyone could see it. One was around 2pm and the other at 7:15 pm, there were plenty of spots for those who needed to see it.

😞

I am Prime (Free drinks in the casino) so I always tip 1.00 per drink...but even with this, I never saw any difference in service. I saw people tipping 5.00 per drink...same treatment. Take from that what you will.

I wasn't away that Escape was BA+. I didn't recommend it over Bliss, Joy, Encore b/c of the smoky casino. But there are also other things @KmomChicagoshould consider, like itinerary, times in port, etc...so many factors! 😄

Also, if you were doing a Breakaway Class ship in Europe...their cigarettes are different than the US...stronger smell imho.

Have only been before it was "perfect day" so long time ago.

I enjoyed Labadee...excited to compare it to Coco Cay (I am not going to pay extra for the waterpark and stuff though)

the post you quoted was me replying to @Jimbo, who in my opinion was trying to imply that Starbucks is inferior and not worth drinking, with his photo of a candyshop + "when you put all that crap into coffee, do you really get to taste the coffee?" + asking how many calories was in my current fall favorite drink @Jimbo can, of course, correct me if I am wrong, but I did feel judgement coming off of that post based on his tone, the candy store picture, and him asking how many calories.

do the calories even matter? And I'm just over people shaming me for liking some of Starbucks drinks. Do I love everything they have? No...but I do like a few things and I go usually once on the weekends when I am out running errands or something and it brings me joy. I also don't care if people don't like Starbucks, different strokes and all that.

BUT probably don't go, it's an expensive habit lol

hmm, you are missing out. Starbucks has some delish selections right now. Normally I order a Caramel Macchiato Skinny, but their fall selection right now is amazing. I love the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato and I thought I didn't like Oatmilk. Definitely only of my splurge/indulgences. I don't care that some people think it's inferior coffee, I think it's a tasty treat haha

it's basically a "large" size. So in terms of coffee, a "Tall"/small, is one shot of espresso in your drink of choice, "grande"/Medium, is 2 shots of espresso in drink of choice, "Venti/Large" is 2 shots of espresso in drink of choice, but just has more...volume. Usually a Venti is only .50-75cents more (On land anyhow), so it's for people who just want their beverage to last longer. I normally only get Venti with my Starbucks freebie reward and I add an extra shot.

you are assuming I wouldn't LOSE said card lol. idk will have to think on it. The OBC I am supposed to get from Next Cruise certificate hasn't posted to my cruiseplanner yet. It never appeared on my allure sailing from cruise next (Was supposed to get 50.00, since i bought the certificate in September 2022 and used it in Oct 2022), but they refused to give it to me at guest services. So if I do not get the OBC from this certificate, I will not be buying them in the future.

Awesome, thanks! I think I will probably just stick to Starbucks once daily vs the Coffee Card for the 4 day cruise...seems like it would be almost the same price, although the coffee card is still a better value at 2 grande drinks per day on a 4 day cruise. I think I prefer the actual Starbucks drinks more than the Cafe Promenade.

yep. That separate room on Bliss, Joy, Encore, Prima does wonders.