mtsublueraider

No matter what I try, I can’t get check in to work today. It’s the first day it should have been available. I tried after midnight last night and even today it says “check in now” but I keep getting errors. Trying to snag the first available check in time at the pier. Happened to anyone else? 

4 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

That was quick!   

 

Thank you for the update and glad to read it was a perfect day.

 

Did you take a cab there and if so, do you remember how much it was?   Also how long did it take to get there?

go for the reserved chairs instead of cabanas. Can do those in advance to ensure availability. 
 

yes we did a cab. Can’t recall but felt like it was $30-40 round trip for six people. Same person came and got us at the time we requested to return. Probably a 10 minute ride. 

8 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Any update?

Yes! Sorry I forgot to come back. It was a perfect day. Loved it and would go back. The water was amazing and you were right next to the sandals resort. Can eat at Ana’s. Food was fine but truly took forever. Need to place food order as soon as they start making food. Drinks were reasonable and staff was friendly. Easy to walk down beach to other vendors too. Guy had his own cooler and was selling $2 canned beers too. 

Review time! Would be happy to answer any questions you have.

It was our first time sailing out of FLL. We've done 10 cruises with Royal and all of them were out of Port Canaveral. That makes sense because we can drive to port. (Don't throw things at me)

We really enjoyed it! I learned a little about the parking situation. I thought i'd be smart and put my truck in the front corner of the lot knowing we were coming in to another terminal. Turned out it WOULD have been smart but I didn't realize I could cross into that fenced area. Would have saved some headache getting bags back to truck post-cruise.

It was amazing to have our rooms ready as soon as we boarded. That was a luxury I haven't had since sailing with Cunard. We had the ultra-spacious family room at the bow of the ship on deck 8. It was a show-stopper. I've never had so much room in a ship. Our kids had their own bunk beds with a door that could be closed. Their room as dark so they slept wonderfully.

The kids also loved Adventure Ocean. They went at least once a day after dinner but sometimes twice just to play with their friends. My youngest especially loved her "second dinner" after we picked her up for pizza and dessert.

The ship was very clean but seeing some rust spots reminded me of her age. We typically love the smaller ships but this was the first time I really saw it dated. I prefer Brilliance for example but also really love what Oasis has to offer in the way of restaurants and different venues.

Speaking of, this is trying to be nice, but we typically spend HOURS at the schooner bar but really didn't enjoy the singer this sailing. On a ship this small if you cross off one of the venues it does limit your options. That being said we spent a ton of time at the pub and at Bolaros. The biggest problem we found with the bars were the lack of availablity of wine bottles. We don't get the drink package but typically find value in purchasing bottles of wine to share. The lower end bottles were simply not available at any venue. We stuck with Castle Rock Cabernet at $35 and the simarily priced Chatau St Michelle sparkling. Thankfully I pre-ordered a few bottles from gifts and gear along with the gin and tonic package that suited us very well. (And the three bottles we brought on board)

The main dining room was the star of the show for us. I can't believe we ate 9 meals in a row at the MDR. It also showed us that the LONGER cruise is our style. 7 nights isn't enough! Our staff was incredible and made sure we had everything we needed. They were also so kind to our kids. The entrees we most enjoyed were the "english" beef. Not what i was expecting at all. The lasagna was also wonderful. The crab cake was good and the seafood patty was great. We didn't care for any of the fish dishes we got except for the salmon. My wife even commented on how much better the escargot was.

We did some MDR for lunch. It was hit or miss. The seafood sandwich was awful. but, many of the Mexican dishes were great! I will also say ANY of the Indian entrees we got to share with the table were fantastic. We would typically order what we wanted and then the Indian dish to share. Curry for the win!

The breakfast bowl in the MDR was also good but I really had high hopes for the buritto. Skip that. Not enough meat in it and tended to be soggy. I was also very happy with the made to order/pager system in the windjammer for omletts.

We attended many of the shows. Thought the magician was fun but not as spectacular as I expected. The final comic on the last night was awkward. Didn't enjoy that. Should have gone somewhere else. However the ice show was amazing... that rag doll dancing had me in stitches. Really enjoyed the journey tribute band too.

On the ship we liked to play mini-golf but I hated they took the clubs up after dark. one of my favorite things to do is play at night. We also climbed the rock wall and ice skated. Also fun!

As for the ports, I'll give a general idea of what we did in case anyone has questions for next time. Overall we would do this same trip exactly the same again. It was perfect and we certainly felt we got our money worth.

Perfect Day- We spent the day at south beach. loved the floating bar and saw a ton of "wildlife". Two huge rays and someone said they spotted a nurse shark. I was also able to pick up a starfish. The food was good and then we walked to the kids splash area. We knew what to expect here and still had a great day.

St Thomas- So sad we missed it. Obviously prayers for the passanger affected but this was going to be the highlight of our trip. We had a private catamaran booked to snorkel over at St John. Next time! (However, I was happy we didn't have to pay the $250 quoted for a round trip taxi to the dock... good grief)

St Maarten- We paid the $6 per person for the water taxi to the beach. Immediately after getting on the dock (we knew what to expect) we were solicited on where we wanted to set up shop. In fact, the diamonds international lady pointed us to another lady she knew that helped us out. Ended up paying $40 for two chairs, an umbrella, and six beers. Our location was ideal because we were within easy access to a clean restroom and just across from a market where we could buy very inexpensive drinks and snacks. The food for the day came down the beach from a Jamaican familiy who also runs a skating rink on the island. SUCH a great family to meet and the curry was perfect. It was a fun day. Next time I may check out the new hotel that just opened with a beachside infinity pool. They offered day passes and had local craft beers on draft.

St Kitts - We worked with a guy I found on-line to pre-book a taxi. With our kids we brought our own car seats so I wanted to be sure to organize it. For $60 round trip we got to stop at the overlook for a few pictures before going down the other side to the Carombola Beach club. He didn't request payment ahead of time but just asked that we be ready at the assigned time to return to the ship. It was even nice of him to take a detour to show us some of the island before going back to the port. Such friendly people who are proud of where they call home. The beach club was great and the beer/chairs were inexpensive. However it did cost us over $100 to have lunch. That was a little unexpected but we saw, by far, more fish off that shore than anywhere else on the trip.

St Johns Antigua - We grabbed a cab from the port at just $5 a person to head over to Ana's beach club on dickinson bay. It was adjacent to the Sandals property that I wanted to see and had the most beautiful water of the trip. Calm and wonderful. Ended up paying $10 each for chairs and umbrellas on the sand. There was even a local guy selling beer from a cooler for cheaper than the bar was offering it. Gotta love that! Lunch was fairly good but it took over an hour to get our food. It wasn't a big deal because we had the time but i would have stayed in the ocean longer if I knew it was going to take that much time. I'd probably go back to Ana's but I'd probably eat somewhere else down the beach.

On 4/6/2023 at 3:01 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

We got one a couple of weeks ago on the Anthem and were surprised how high quality they are.  We opted for the Bud Light version.  Don't leak and held our 6 beers and ice as we spent our day at coco cay.  Would definitely do it again!

Dan

Was it the 12oz or 16oz beers?

On 4/5/2023 at 3:47 AM, Ms411 said:

Which car rental? Yes, it is common for certain rentals to run out of cars, but many new agencies have started up during the past year. The high taxi fares have increased the demand for rentals.

 

But, it sometimes takes persistence to find one for just one day. I saved a car rental list that was posted on another site if you'd like me to post it.

It was Dexter rental car. I had a feeling it may be that they don't want to let one loose for one day. I really can't believe I'm going to pay $250 for a round trip of 16 miles. But what are you going to do? Stay on the ship? It's a shame really. 

Kind of strange... i'm on adventure in May and that schedule on Vinow doesn't show our sailing into crown bay (or Havensight). Should I be concerned? ha! 

I was trying to set up some transportation in port and the taxi driver said he didn't see it on the schedule either. Weird... 

On 2/6/2023 at 7:42 PM, atabs12 said:

Thank you so much for the info. It was very helpful. I just received a confirmation after 24 hours. First time ordering Royal Gifts. 

Searched the forum and found this answer. I printed my confirmation but haven't received an email or seen it on my card yet. Helps me to know to wait 24 hours before panic. Ha! Really a good deal to get a few bottles of wine this way and you don't have to pay the gratuities. 

9 hours ago, Ms411 said:

Renting a vehicle might be a good idea. Many car rental agencies will deliver a vehicle to your location, but it may be a challenge to rent one in advance depending on demand. See if there's a rental agency on google maps that's close to the dock.

I tried one adjacent to dock and they said they didn’t have any cars. Find that hard to believe a month out. Could get one from airport but would only save about $75 for the trouble. 
 

thanks for the input 

Check out Ana’s on the beach. $25 cabana rentals. I’m going there in May 

19 hours ago, Ms411 said:

Fury Charters sails from the marina close to Havensight Dock.

 

https://usvisailing.com/day-sails/

Thanks for this, but we really want to sail with Ryan again. We've done it before and it's an amazing experience. It's just this taxi/transfer that is a huge pill to swallow. 

On 3/29/2023 at 3:05 PM, Ms411 said:

Taxi fares went up considerably late 2022. Where will you be docking? From Havensight to Red Hook I think it's now $15 per person each way, and there isn't usually a child's rate.

 

If you google you should be able to find the official current taxi rate sheet.

Now it's sounding like we're going from Crown Bay and it's $21 per person... that's nearly $300 round trip JUST for an 8 mile taxi ride. Honestly... i've traveled a ton and I've never seen the transportation cost this high. I can rent a car for cheaper than that... and I might. 

On 3/29/2023 at 3:05 PM, Ms411 said:

Taxi fares went up considerably late 2022. Where will you be docking? From Havensight to Red Hook I think it's now $15 per person each way, and there isn't usually a child's rate.

 

If you google you should be able to find the official current taxi rate sheet.

Thanks. We did that same journey a few years back and I was shocked at how expensive everything is now. The darn transport back and forth to the excursion may cost more than the actual excursion. 

I haven't been able to find much on social media or youtube about Ana's on the beach. I will say that they've been VERY responsive for an upcoming date we've booked with them. Has anyone else been? 

Love that you can reserve in advance, with no deposit down, a cabana for $25 (FOR THE DAY!!!!) and chairs/umbrellas for $10 each. The menu looks good, they don't play loud music, and it's adjacent to the Sandals property. Will report back when I go but would be curious if anyone has tried them. 

I've got five adults and two kids sailing with a guy we've had a great experience with in the past. Can't wait! but we're having some sticker shock on some of the transportation opens we're being told about. Some of the quotes are $250-300 round trip just for transportation. That seems wild to me. 

Does anyone have any suggestions or could you give an anticipation on what just a regular ole' taxi would cost to Red Hook? 

3 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

One will only comment on taxis….
 

The shared minivan charge is about $10 pp (plus tip) each way, with youngsters either free or $5 (plus tip) each way depending on age.  But the whole van of 9/10 pax has to agree on the return time, and sometimes this leads to arguments, because some want differential or a very early return time. [everyone is different and some are just total AHs] -

Make sure Tatem’s know the actual number of pax.

 

For privacy, convenience, price and no angst take the $80 

 

 

 

 

Thank you. I'm confirming the $80 round trip price because based on what you're quoting that sounds like a great deal. 

I was trying to price some transportation in another port (St Thomas) and had planned to rent a car in St Kitts. However, have decided that's probably not the best idea with a few drinks and driving on the other side of the road. 

With kids going to the Carambola Beach Club for the day is it better to hop in a cap and negotiate at the port or go ahead and set it up with someone? I was quoted $80 round trip from Tatem's and that seems reasonable. I've seen some folks talk to people about transportation at $10 per person each way. Just confirming with everyone here before we make a final decision. 

Thank you! 

On 3/23/2023 at 11:20 AM, Crazy planning mom said:

Anthem and Quantum are similar ships.  Alaska is great but with the Norway trip you could stay a couple days in London pre-cruise.

On 3/23/2023 at 2:33 PM, Fouremco said:

In a post last month, you mention that lugging around car seats isn't much fun, from which I gather your "younger kids" really are quite young. Quite frankly, I doubt that they would appreciate what Norway has to offer, and given the higher cost, I'd go for Alaska now and hold off on Norway until they are old enough to benefit from the experience.

 

I'll add that, having done both and having loved both, I'd always recommend cruising Alaska first. Alaska is spectacular, but Norway is just that much more stunning IMO.

That's good advice. They're 8 and 7 for that trip. Maybe in boosters by then but still. My wife and I did the New England and Canada cruise on Cunard and it was a top experience of my life. I'm wondering if I'll have that "awe" in Alaska like I felt in Quebec City. Or.... maybe the European culture is what we crave. 

On 3/23/2023 at 9:03 PM, allyfree said:

You don't say how old your kids are so it may be a moot point, but my preference would be Norway from Southampton to let them experience other countries and cultures ... foreign travel will open up a whole new world to them. Enjoy whatever you choose ☺️

Exactly this. Needing to see other places of the planet is SO important. We are a home school family so want to take advantage of the opportunities as we can. 

On 3/23/2023 at 4:56 AM, kitkat343 said:

I visited Alaska while pregnant with my first, and Norway with a 2 and 5 year old.  

 

Alaska is great for kids, but Norway is an extraordinarily special cruise.  For me, it is one of the two best cruises I ever took, the other being a Baltic cruise with 2 days in St. Petersburg.

 

I don't know the ages of your kids, but two potential downsides - we couldn't hike pulpit rock with a 2 year old (you might be able to carry your kids, but we can't) and the taxis in Norway refuse to transport children without carseats.  There were times when it was rainy and cold and my kids were tired and whiny and being able to put them in a brief cab ride to get some food to cheer them up would have made all the difference in the world.  I was totally unaware of the car seat problem, so I didn't arrange transportation ahead of time in all of the ports.  The taxi companies are required to provide car seats, but you'd need to arrange that ahead of time. 

 

We visited three very special ports - Geiranger, in which you take a car or bus to various beautiful viewpoints.  This is extremely accessible for kids, although you are in a car for awhile on mountain roads with hairpin turns to reach the amazing viewpoints, so you should bring motion sickness medicine if anyone has trouble with car sickness.  

 

Flam has the amazing railway, and we also visited a goat farm here and had a delicious local lunch.

 

Olden has the Loen Skylift, which takes you to the top of the mountain where you can hike around.

Olden also has the Briksdal Glacier, and there is a troll car (golf car) you can rent to take you most of the way to the glacier.  My 2 year old was able to complete the hike to the glacier (which was a really nice unexpected surprise - I'd sent my husband and 6 year old ahead to the summit not expecting to make it there, but my 2 year old slowly but steadily hiked the whole way.  We tried a stroller, but the ground was uneven and it was so hard for me to push that we needed him to walk.) 

 

With the exception of the cab situation (Which you can solve by arranging private transportation or your kids might be old enough to not need car seats) Norway was extremely accessible for travelers with disabilities and young children.

 

There's a lot more detail about this trip in my signature line.  I would recommend people think about waiting until  their kids can hike if they can't carry them, but the potential restriction of ships in the heritage fjords might make this something you should do now (I took my 3 year old on a Baltic cruise to St. Petersburg and am really glad I did that while I could.  That was in 2017 when Russia was starting to threaten to invade the Ukraine so we waited until the last minute to book).

 

 

THANK YOU for all of this information. I'm a huge believer in taking in the experience while there's a chance. I don't want to miss out. Kids will be 8 and 7 during that time and do a fair amount of hiking. We may have to make it happen! Shoudl be able to bring our own boosters to use in cabs by then. Bless their little hearts they're small (like mom and dad) so they've been in the "big" car seats much longer than some of their friends. I'm just glad to know there's so much to do just off the ship. 

On 3/23/2023 at 12:06 AM, uvadover said:

I pondered this a few years ago, on a cruise that was ultimately cancelled due to COVID.  We chose Alaska because of the Ovation of the Seas - seemingly more wow for the kids.  The Norway itinerary was perhaps the Serenade of the Seas - still a great ship, but seemingly less kid friendly.  Also know the Alaska ports are more touristy, but they seemed more accessible for kids.  Can't go wrong either way, though.  I was on the fence, too.\

 

Total aside, but we are using our COVID cruise credits to sail on Odyssey in August.  Europe is amazing, though a different climate/dynamic between Norway and the Greek Isles.

Good news is that both sailings are the same class of ships. We've never sailed on that one so it would be a big treat! 

On 3/23/2023 at 3:05 AM, Bloodgem said:

Norway on Anthem. As there are discussions being held in Norway to ban larger cruise ships from the Fjords from 2024. 

Didn't realize that. I't just hard for me to stomach the HUGE cost of flights. It would cost more to fly to London than the entire cruise. 

On 3/23/2023 at 4:52 AM, sgmn said:

Anthem has Norwegian Fjords cruises from Southampton. Perfect cool weather ship though maybe not be able to get into some of the smaller Fjords 

 

To the OP, Alaska is wonderful as are the Fjords. For us it would probably come down to finance. I can drive to Southampton the morning of the cruise, whereas for Alaska I would have expensive flights and hotels to factor in

 

Yeah, this is the one that we're looking at. Love all the "glass" you can stand inside and see the beauty outside. Do you happen to know if the Solarium is open to kids on these cool weather cruises? 

2 minutes ago, Crism said:

No kids here, but I did both Norway (Jewel 12 nights) and Alaska (Ovation 7 nights) last year and found Norway to be MUCH more beautiful.  Alaska is very Americanized and expensive.  Norway was quaint, quiet, and mostly off the beaten path of major tourism.  That said, I've got Round 2 of Alaska in July of this year to mix it up leaving on Brilliance from Vancouver.

That's what I was thinking too with the videos I've seen. The ports seemed very "theme parked". I would like to venture out but transportation is sometimes a challenge with young kids. The more around the immediate ports the better.  

1 minute ago, cruisegirl1 said:

You mention young children.  Seems Alaska might be more interesting for your children.  (Ages?)  Lots of fun excursions.  European cruises have lots of sightseeing tours which might not fit your children at this time.   Whatever you select, have fun. 

M

Thank you! They'd be 8 and 7 for the sailing. I do agree from what i've seen that the immediate "beauty" of Norway is striking and it would certainly feel like you've "gone" somewhere. I saw a video and Alaska is beautiful, but it didn't feel as distant and I hoped it would (if that makes sense). 

However, we're talking a $400 flight instead of a $1000 flight per person. 

17 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Um....

If you are fishing for more input, why didn't you just bump your thread from last week?

 

 

OMG. I'm so sorry. I actually didn't remember I got around to posting my question. I forgot to click "notify" so I didn't get any responses. I now see there are PLENTY of responses to the thread. Moving over there.... 

I have young kids and we are about to reach Diamond so we have a fair amount of experience with Royal Caribbean. However, after our 9 night on Adventure coming up later this summer we're looking to branch out to another set of ports. Hard, of course, to fly to a port when we can drive to many of them. But, with young kids I'm trying to decide if flying to London is worth the cost of seeing the fjords. 

Or, we could experience Canada and fly out of Seattle to see Alaska for the first time. I've not done either. Norway is a 7 nighter but, of course, we'd be seeing London. The one out of Vancouver actually comes back to Seattle which works well for us too. 

Both are on the Quantum/Odyssey class which we haven't been on either.... for what it's worth because of price the Alaska would be in balcony and the Norway trip would be spacious ocean view on those LARGE rooms in the front with big port hole. 

What would you choose? 

Looking at doing our first Alaska or Europe cruise next May. Any advice on which one would be better with kids? Flights to Seattle are obviously cheaper but I’ve Always wanted to do Europe on a ship. 
 

both would be anthem and quantum but one (Alaska) would be balcony and the other spacious ocean view because of price. 
 

trying to figure how what best choice is with younger kids.