lovethesun1960

I get into LGA at about 5pm.  I have no sightseeing to do on the way in, I just want to stay somewhere clean, safe and reasonable.  I don't want to have to go out and eat, I will be alone and will just be in the mood to kick back and relax.  Then I want to get up and go to the cruise terminal to board the Dawn early after having spent the least amount of time and money on transportation.  The Holiday inn express at 113-10 Horace Harding Expressway, Flushing, New York is 170 plus tax and has a free shuttle from the airport but recent reviews go from great to loud and dirty.  I might go ahead and chance it.  Am I mistaken to think that then the easiest thing to do would be to order up an Uber and have it take me to the Manhattan cruise terminal for about $30?  I have traveled a lot but haven't been to NYC since the 80s and the multitudes of choices are making my head spin.  Thanks in advance!

I am leaving on the Breakaway 2/17/19.  Due to the Mardi Gras season, there are no decent or affordable hotels to go in the night before, so I am arriving day of at 12:35pm.  Cruiseline transfer is $25.  Since I will be travelling alone, is this going to be my cheapest alternative?  I am also thinking that there will be traffic and putting myself immediately into their hands might be easiest.  What do you all think?

Wow, a lot of posts today. I will respond as needed below.

 

Originally I had targeted to finish this by today but with real life commitments, I won't be able to finish today. So I will push it off until Monday to wrap things up. I don't think it will impact anyone as we are on "island time" anyway.

 

I was at In N Out Burger today. For those that plan to come to the west coast (well, they are in CA/OR/AZ/UT/NV/TX), be sure to try out this iconic chain burger place when you are in the area. For my money, it's miles ahead of Johnny Rockets.

 

The typical long line

 

 

Freshly peeled potatoes/fries. Non frozen. See the cart in the kitchen in the back where they soak the potatoes in water

 

 

Be sure to check online for the "secret menu" of In N Out as you can order stuff not on the menu. This is grilled/cooked onion on top of the burger - it's called "animal style" when you order it.

 

 

 

Either they all look exactly alike or this is the same one in SF that my kids took me to. I am not a fan of fast food burgers so I didn't really care one way or another. If it is not grilled by me and topped with garden fresh tomatoes, I am not interested.

I think many accountants like the fact that a fully depreciated asset on the balance sheet is still providing value instead of having to use the resources to acquire a new one and take a hit on the P&L.

Absolutely! For example, I am still using your asset of a trip review as a warm up to my similar 8 night Freedom cruise in April, all these weeks later.

I am not an accountant, although I did spend a year in college to be one, I just could not get through the Econ class, so I gave up and became a travel agent-best choice ever.

I do my own taxes though and happily depreciate a long ago paid for 2004 Chevy truck and a bought with cash 2013 Ford Transit Connect van. When the tax man asks "do you have a car for personal use", I can say "why yes I do and it is a 2008 Ford Focus that I purchased new for my daughter". I also have thrifty parents who were born a bit after the depression.

Thanks so much for your reviews, I have been reading you for years!

 

 

 

 

Although they offer “My Time Dining” it really should be renamedto “Either Time Dining.” My Time Diningmeans to show up at either the first or the second seating. It took me a fewdays to realize that I just can’t show up at the main dining room whenever Iwanted. As I am used to sailing other cruiselines where they have truly flexible dining to show up whenever you want. I was ok with this I just didn’t understandthe rules.

I don't understand or perhaps no one ever really explained to you well enough. It was my understanding that My time dining on RCCL meant that you go to the My time dining room (not just any of the 3 you choose) and you can be seated anytime between 5:30 and 9:30pm with a possible wait if you have no reservation. Did no one ever really explain that to your satisfaction? Or did you perhaps just give in because the Windjammer was so great?

We were on the Escape last month and it was literally mind blowing how many people were sitting down at the tables discussing "art" purchases. Of course I feel the same way about the high dollar jewelry. I am lucky to be an antique dealer who attends a lot of farm auctions and I find beauty in pottery and 30s prints and the like, plus getting a lot of jewelry there, so I have different tastes and motivations. I also think that the happy feelings that the passengers have from the cruise experience (and perhaps the alcohol package) sometimes overcomes them and wham, they have suddenly bought a $300 giant watch or a $500 "painting" to remind them of their fun week. I took phone pics of the Kinkade San Francisco Lombard Street art and texted it to my kids who live there and I was good. All the cruise art I needed.

We were at breakfast in 150 on debarkation day. Woman wheels her dog into the restaurant in a stroller... right up to the table, not on the floor. There it stayed for breakfast. Just not right.

Just wrong and disgusting. I have not actually seen an animal on a cruise but have seen them on planes and wondered about their needs. I was at cracker barrel the other day and they seated 2 women right next to us and the woman sets down her purse on the chair and there is a tiny dog in it. I said to the dog "blink twice and I will free you from your slavery". My husband shushed me-he does NOT like scenes. I was willing to go for it, but a divorce would have ensued, so I desisted.

This old lady and the original man that the post is about should not be travelling without a keeper and the poor dog is not what I mean. They have money and are nuts and selfish, a bad combo.

I was a travel agent 1979-1987. I was fortunate to be able to cruise for $25 a day and on my first trip that included free shore excursions in 5 ports on a week long Costa cruise out of San Juan. I would never have been able to afford that on my salary or even mine combined with my firefighter and air national guard husband. I took a friend with me on a 2nd cruise-$25 a day each. She still talks about it to this day as one of the best trips of her life. Again we would never have been able to afford the real prices of the cruise, even in our inside rooms. I wish I still had a brochure to compare it to. They were small, a bit cramped, the food was ok, but for small town girls just starting out, they were amazing.

Thought of another question. Do they show any first run or kind of new movies in an indoor theater and are all the movies on the big screen outside at night kiddie movies? We were docked in Nassau one day on the Escape and our ship was going to show Pirates of the Caribbean 3 that night and the carnival ship across the way was showing it that day. I just like movies but I am totally not in to minions. I would watch Shreks again, though.

I just got back from my first NCL cruise and I am off on a solo FOTS cruise soon. For once I am doing things my way. A few questions come up from my recent NCL experience:

Does RCCL charge Fort Lauderdale or Florida tax on drinks from a drink package while in port like NCL did in Miami? Not that it will make any difference, just curious.

Can you order 2 drinks at once like you could on NCL? (I have never had a drink package before, obviously). I like to have a couple shots of Bailey's on scooped ice cream for dessert, but I can keep it to one shot if I have to pay extra. And why is this not a thing already on ships? Yum.

People used to talk about Honey Stung chicken on the original Oasis Class ships. Is that an offering still?

What is open for food as soon as you board the Freedom? I know the Windjammer, of course, but if something is on offer and nice, I would try it.

What is available in the free spa area? I had hoped for a thermal suite, but I did not do all the research before I booked this non refundable cruise. I think I will be able to handle it though. :cool:

I see that you can order the Chops filet in the MDRs, but I doubt if I will eat in the MDR at all. I think the buffet on the freedom is great (we cruised on her in 2012). Can you order the filet in the windjammer and pay the upcharge? I know, I could go to chops, but I am not a fan of prolonged meals and will be alone and reading a book while I eat.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Just off the Escape last week. They seem to use some kind of perfumey deodorizer to mask the smoke from the casino. At first it was not too bad but by the end of the week it was nauseating and we tried never to go to 7 and could only bear to eat at O'Sheehans's once. I have another cruise booked in July on the Escape but I think I will cancel it as I was not happy with the ship design or the smoke. Too bad because the staff is amazing and the food is mostly good.

You can just take a photo with your phone and post them.

I really don't have time. I said that in my original post. I will probably just toss them in the recycle bin tonight and delete the post. The internet is getting so weird.

There is no PM function on this forum.

Thanks, I did not realize that.

So if someone wants these to scan and post, email me-suedalsing@gmail.com.

We missed great stirrup cay due to weather and went to straight to Nassau instead and overnighted, so it includes the usual dailies plus the changed dailies.

Left the Escape yesterday. There were lots of low key bars, high energy shows, miscellaneous activities and a lot of good dining with little to no forced dress up. I think you could make it work fine if you don't mind some crowding at the buffet (you will end up there sometimes unless you do all up charge restaurants) and the unnatural perfume smell that wafts up through the atrium holes (sorry, I can't call them anything else) from the casino. It masks the smoke, but after a few days, it is worse. If you are not smell sensitive, it's ok.

We sailed on the Escape on 1/13 to Falmouth, Grand Cayman, Great Stirrup Cay & Nassau. I don't have a scanner or time to scan them in, but would love to mail them to someone who would do so. PM me if you are interested.

Sue

My husband is not usually sickly or unwell at all, but the trip back from the Bahamas in February made him so sick. We were on the serenade of the seas and it was cold once we hit the gulf of mexico and apparently bumpy. The rest of us were fine but a little bored since we could no longer enjoy the outside of the decks. I doubt if we will ever cruise from NO again and certainly not Galveston or New York either in the winter.

I actually like staggered check in.

 

I don't. I have paid for the first day and want to be on the boat as soon as possible. I don't want to have paid for 4 hours waiting to be able to board.

If it was me alone (like it is going to be this summer to Bermuda), I would get on the boat first thing. My husband does not like the idea of maybe there being a crowd and pushing or anything noisy, so this month we will have a leisurely breakfast in Miami and get there about noon and hopefully it will be quiet. He is so weird.

Do we need to have our shampoos, conditioners, and other liquids in the travel-size bottles? Do we have to put the full size bottles into the checked in luggage (like airports)? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Keep in mind that you are going to have to tote those full size bottles everywhere on the ship until the rooms are ready-probably 1pm or so. It gets really annoying having everything with you as you are trying to explore the ship.

You have a unique way of cruising.....your wife gets her own room. I like it.

I remember my husband complaining frequently about that call, but his number was not on the list. I remember answering it once, only because he whined about it so much (he is kind of a "get off my lawn, you kids" old man). My number was not on the list. I kind of wonder if they did not manage to destroy some of the evidence of their robo calling? I don't know if Tmobile still lets me look at those old records, but might be worth a try for cruise money!

I use chrome. I have one cruise booked and I am trying to decide whether to go on another cruise without my husband and so I keep checking different dates and suddenly I can't get past the first page of rccl.com. So I clear my history, cache and go in and specifically take out all rccl cookies. That usually works, but suddenly I can't get in at all. Any other suggestions? I just want to check directly with them, without calling, about a single cabin on a simple Caribbean cruise.

Has anyone ever stayed in these cabins-I am just concerned about the noise, but I would think that dinner will be over by the time I am ready to go to sleep and most of the rest of the time those halls will be deserted. Any experiences?

I'm pretty whiny about smokers, but this was on Celebrity just a few years ago when there was no smoking anywhere but maybe in the casino and a few bars and on one side of the deck or something (not exactly sure since we don't smoke). This old codger had to smoke his cigar nightly and his family would gather around in full fancy dinner dress and stand around shielding him from view and let him smoke on the pool deck in the part where the windbreak was. And they would defiantly stare holes in people that looked at them. I never went to check to see if they stopped as I have never had good luck getting cruiselines to make people stop smoking on the balcony next to me, even when I paid for a suite and the other passenger didn't. I give up.

How did you feel it was limited?

I am interested in exactly that. Was there a menu to take a photo of? (You know ccers, they take pics of the lovely paper towel holders in the bathrooms, so I figured this was a possibility.)

I am trying to talk my parents into one more cruise and have booked and deposited the Reflection with the go best package. They have been hesitant and I am trying to show them just what they will be missing. Knowledge of the drinks on Labadee would be a plus.

So many people are complaining about HIGH prices on cruises these days... try THIS B2B...

 

 

10 October Constellation, 11 day cruise, Venice to Athens is only $409pp (military rate on an inside cabin) with $200 shareholder OBC! :eek:

 

21 October Constellation, 12 night cruise, Athens to Rome is only $579pp (standard rate on an ocean view cabin) with $375 OBC! :D

 

 

23 nights on Celebrity for $988pp with a total of $575 OBC... AND dirt cheap flights from AIR2SEA. :cool:

 

 

Yes...as with ALL advertised cruise prices, taxes and tips ARE extra... :rolleyes:

 

Yes... you need to be military to get the LOWEST deal, but standard rates are still pretty low...

 

Yes... they are lowly cabins... but prices are still pretty low on balconies... ;)

 

Yes...these prices are from an online site so you don't get Celebrity IT excellence... :p

 

Yes... you need to be a shareholder to get some of the OBC...

 

Yes... I'm sure some people will still find SOMETHING to complain about.

I wish I could just move on to Celebrity, their deals are amazing.