cruisinsince75

So, at the M&M this morning, we were told a large portion of the dry dock work entailed retrofits to get the ship accessible. They're required to conform by 2027 and this is the first ship HAL has brought to standards. Lowering counters and/or adding areas that can accommodate wheelchairs was a major portion of the changes. Changing door swings and how they open (push buttons, handles, etc) - things some people may not notice, but greatly impact navigation and functionality have been done throughout the ship. Thanks for that... That is good news for us. Both my wife and I have mobility issues and use scooters to get around. We are in Stateroom 8132 which is accessible. I wonder is the stateroom door and bathroom door will have push buttons to open. That would make it even easier to manage.

Will be following your review closely. Just booked this morning the same cruise for 2025. 11/15-11/29 FCO-FLL. We also fly out of DfW. BON VOYAGE!!!

What is the price for the deluxe beverage package?

What is the price for the deluxe beverage package?

What is the price for the deluxe beverage package?

Is that like the bartender at the clothing optional beach in St. Martin saying, you should have been here yesterday when the Hawaiian Tropic Girls had their photo shoot? LOL

We are looking to sail out of Galveston. Comparing prices to Princess with their packages is proving to be difficult. Looking for help. How much is the Deluxe Drink Package on RCL and what does that include? How much is the wifi package for multiple devices? Also what is the charge for their specialty restaurants like Chops Grill? Thanks in advance.

We love the Ruby. We had a fantastic TA cruise Venice to FLL. Fun CC group as well, We had well over 100. Wish the Ruby was still sailing from Galveston. Much smaller than the Regal. Our last Princess cruise from Texas was on the Caribbean Princess 10 years ago. It sailed from the Bayport Terminal and was really easy, Parked right at the pier and Embarkation and Disembarkation only took minutes.

We are in an accessible mini suite on the caribe deck, so we will have plenty of room. Our scooters are pretty compact also and are less than 22" wide. Our traveling companions are in a suite on the riviera deck. I will check into reserve class. Thanks!

Good to know. Thanks for the tip.

Shippy, flying adds an extra amount of stress. How to get from A to B, transfers, etc. So I know what you mean. The worst did happen to us last year on both ends. We had a wonderful cruise, but the beginning and the end totally ruined it for us. We are California transplants, living near Dallas. We chose this cruise for one reason. We could drive to the ship. We won't be in a hurry to get off the ship, so hopefully we wont run into any issues. Thanks!

Good to know that we might be able to bypass the lines going through security. Yes we have ordered our Medallions to be delivered and are already set for green lane. Thanks!

Do they have porters to collect your bags for you when you debark? Hadn't thought about the elevators. Going from ships with 600 PAX capacity to a ship with potentially 3600 PAX, might be a bit tricky for us. Thanks!

Good points. Makes sense that the app is not tied to wifi. Also, that Princess has only been sailing from Galveston for 3 weeks and facial recognition. We sail next fall, so I'm sure they will have plenty of opportunity to get some of the kinks worked out. Also, a good idea to wait until later to board. Thanks!

Having only sailed on smaller all inclusive ships recently, such as Seabourn, Silversea, and Regent, we have a few concerns after reading the past three Live from reports. We are both mobility challenged and chose our upcoming cruise because we could drive to the port instead of flying. So we have a couple of concerns. Embarkation/Disembarkation. I have read that there are horrendous lines at check-in. Leaving people lined up outside of the building for over an hour. That the Green Lane and handicapped access lanes aren't until you are inside the building. My plan is to drop my DW with her scooter and luggage with the porters and park our car at the Express Lot next to the terminal and drive my scooter back to meet up with her ti board the ship. Not sure if the logistics for that. Same as for debarkation in reverse. Medallion Issues. Great that you don't need to sign for anything. Not so great when the wifi is down or you get charges for drinks, etc that you didn't order and have to go to the hassle of trying to get them removed. Like somebody charged $250 plus for a bottle of Dom Perignon that wasn't ordered. I thought it was a repeat from Fletch, but his name wasnt Underhill. 🤣 Thanks in advance for any advice!

Thanks. We will check it out. Been wanting to try Oceania for awhile now. Hopefully there will be some 2025 cruises on there.

We did an 18 day TA on the Ruby back in 2011. Venice to Ft. Lauderdale. It was pretty full, however I think it depends on the itinerary. We have done a few from Lisbon with only a couple of stops and those weren't full at all.

I am disappointed that TKG will be disappearing. It was always a special treat for us, but I will say that it was a far from perfect on our last Ovation cruise. My wife's favorite is the Dover Sole Meuniere and the presentation of fileting the fish at the table, but this time they butchered it leaving chunks of flesh instead of an intact filet. I had the Snake River Rib-Eye, and while it was a perfect mid rare, it was very tough. I agree with the previous poster on staff. It was always crowded on our Odyssey cruises, but lots of empty tables on our Ovation cruise. I'm not excited about the menu for Solis, but will reserve judgement until we have tried it.

Things we now enjoy on sea days: Breakfast on our balcony Finding a quiet place by the pool to read or listen to an audiobook Music Trivia Regular trivia Afternoon tea Wine tasting Two that we we did on our first cruise, that are no longer available for obvious reasons: Skeet Shooting - Upper Deck Golf Ball Driving Contest - Aft

This has been a very interesting thread. It has made me think through all of my own sailing experiences and how that has evolved over the years. Let me set the backdrop. Our very first cruise was on the Carnival ship Mardi Gras. My wife and I were 22 years old and had never flown, let alone been on a cruise. I saw an advertisement for a 7 day Caribbean Cruise including RT airfare from LAX to MIA for $399. It was a red-eye flight with a day room before boarding the ship. Our cabin was an inside stateroom with a lower berth and a folding upper berth. Our bathroom had a toilet with a shower head directly above it, and you had to go to a separate room if you needed to use a hairdryer. Our at sea activities included a golf ball driving contest off the back of the ship as well as skeet shooting off of the side. There wasn't an outside pool, but there was a small one inside. The itinerary was Nassau, San Juan, St.Thomas. We didn't have anything else to compare it to and loved every minute of it. We have had quite a few cruises since then and our tastes have completely changed over the years. Been on a couple NCL cruises early, another Carnival, and a few RCL cruises on the smaller Vision Class ships. Our favorite top 2 cruises out of 40 are vastly different from each other . The Seabourn Legend 7 day Caribbean for our 25th anniversary. A 10,000 ton ship with a max 212 passengers. The other one was an 18 day TA on the Ruby Princess for our 40th anniversary with a large group of friends that we met on CC. 113,300 tons and 3000 pax. It was a blast. Two worst cruises. Trip that I won on the NCL Southward. 3 day Mexico cruise in an inside cabin. Too short and not the best time to discover I had claustrophobia. The other Celebrity Infinity 7 day Caribbean cruise, balcony cabin, but 30 days post 9/11. Everything in a bit of disarray. Favorite premium larger ship lines are Princess followed closely by HAL. I would try Celebrity again. Favorite premium smaller ship line is Azamara. Would like to try Oceania but pricing has always been a bit high, Favorite luxury line. For me it is Seabourn over Silversea and Regent. It is still elegant, but less formal than Silversea and a better value IMHO than Regent.

Thanks! Will Do!

I booked our cruise online and we are in an accessible mini-suite. We want to make sure that they don't upgrade us to a different location. Is there a place online to check a box no upgrade? If so, where is it? Thanks!

uberX: $44-58 (~3 min away) uberXL: $84-111 (~3 min away) UberBLACK: $153-202 (~3 min away) uberSELECT: $107-141 (~3 min away) UberSUV: $185-243 (~3 min away)

I had problems on our November 2024 booking SD on the app. However, I was able to do it directly through the website on my laptop and booked them without issue. Later when i went back to the app, it showed them as booked. We are platinum. Under booked guests choose Cruise personalizer. Then choose Check-In (even if you have already done so). It will ask you to download the app, but there is a link at the bottom to do the web version instead. Once there, scroll down to DMW and make you choices there. Hope this helps.

Do full suite passengers get to use the Sanctuary gratis or is there still a charge?