lynwar

Hello,

A great, positive review. We were on the 10/17-24 sailing and had no major issues, either. We used the aft elevators most of the time and sometimes, the forward ones, forgetting where we were. We got to know what cabin numbers we'd be passing on that longer walk after awhile-(around the 400-500's, usually, lol). Thank you for writing your impressions.

 

JPEvans and Carib, we still need to get together, sometime. I haven't forgotten. I have your email address somewhere. ;)

 

Once again, thanks for the report. I'm still living my cruise through all the follow-up reviews.

 

Lynne

I hated for your cruise to end, but did enjoy the beach pictures. Was that Daytona? I saw marks in the sand that indicated that a vehicle had been on it and that has been allowed at Daytona.

You gave us a good tip about the property where your hotel is located near Disney. We have been here for almost 18 years and have yet to go to WDW.

 

Thanks again for sharing your cruise and trip with us. I'm awaiting your next adventure.

Lynne

We live in Central Florida-the center of the state, where Ft. Pierce is directly to the East, and Bradenton/Sarasota is to our west, about 90 miles each direction. We will remember that motel for future reference if we decide to go over for the weekend. Ft. Lauderdale is our "home away from home", about 2 1/2 hours southeast of here. My husband and his family lived and vacationed down there when he was in high school. His sister and family still live there.

The 3 of us- you, me and he (who enjoys photography, also) would have been the quiet, "nerdy" ones in a big group of teen-agers! What a time WE would have had. :)

 

I'm loving your review. As for the casino, there is a smoking side tucked away on one side away from the open staircase. The tables separate one side from the other, and the other sets of slots are along the wall. Once we determined the separation, we stayed on the other side of the staircase, Club 6 side, and didn't have any trouble with the smoke. (We didn't have much luck with the Sex in the City or Elvis slots, after an initial "newcomer's luck" win or two, so stuck to the poker machines. ;) I did get my BIG win on a poker machine on the smoking side the first or second night with a royal flush, but never matched that again.

 

Thank you for all your photos and comments. They really are informative!

 

Lynne

Hello,

Today is "parka" weather for sure down here, because of the wind. It's very breezy and that is the culprit for feeling much colder.

I've been keeping warm by reading the current Royal review, with photos. You set the stage, for that, Dave. :) It's so nice to revisit the ship and ports.

 

Stay warm up there if you can, Everyone!!! Thankfully, the temps will have moderated by the time this week's cruise returns, and the cruisers arriving in Ft. Lauderdale this past weekend, had the "warm" day before the frigid dip.

 

Take care. Lynne

Yes, it would be interesting to see if there are any changes for the Regal.

Your photos of St. Thomas yesterday and St. Maarten today (in the review) make me want to go back there again really soon.

I always look forward to the St. Thomas Harbor. It's one of my favorite spots. I enjoyed seeing the aft of the Epic, which is about as close as I'll get to her. lol. My church friend and we were cruising the same week, only she left on the Saturday and we left on the Sunday, but, we were in St. Thomas the same day. Of course, we didn't see each other because she was at Havensight and we were at Crown Bay, plus she had an excursion planned. About 5PM I did get to see the Epic leaving across the top or opening of the Crown Bay Harbor and took a picture. Ha, the ship is about the size of an ant. I took about 3 photos to show the progression. I do prefer the Havensight pier. One of these years we'll go to the top of Paradise Point.

 

It looks like you are having a great time. I'm enjoying my time on the Royal again.

 

 

Lynne

Thanks so much. I'm enjoying your review and photos very much. Between you and the 2 Daves and a few others, we who have cruised, will be wishing for a reunion very soon.

 

It's always nice to read reviews from different perspectives. We were on the Nov. 17 voyage.

 

Halftime is almost over at the Orange Bowl.

 

I will be looking forward to your upcoming entries.

 

Lynne

Hi,

It varies, depending on the cruise. Some, I can acclimate back into the real world without much trouble. The other, more significant ones, like our recent Royal Princess cruise, still has me reading all the reviews and looking at pictures of the ship, to keep me in the cruise mode. I also keep the roll call going as long as I can. There are still some from my 2005 Star Princess group, with whom I'm still corresponding. We've also gone on another cruise with a couple of members of that group since then. Eventually, I give up the roll call when nobody but me posts for several days. One gal and I corresponded for a couple of years, from 2006-2008, on our roll call, until those posts from her got fewer and fewer.

 

Many times, after 2-3 months, I can forget about the cruise and go on, and then it's my husband who starts looking into another one. :D Once he decides to book one, then he has me get into that roll call right away.

 

Good luck!! We can only afford to go once a year or year and a half so look forward to the next one. We do have some land visits we need to make, though, because of some new babies in the family.

 

Take care for now. Lynne

When we left Miami this same weekend in 2010, it was pretty chilly and windy up on deck for sail away. Our Boston friends didn't wear heavy jackets. I had a hood on mine. It warmed up the more south we got (Eastern Caribbean, plus Roatan Honduras). HOWEVER, when we returned, it was FRIGID that year. It almost seemed like snow was falling in the wee hours when coming into port. I was out of the balcony a couple of minutes for a picture.

What we remembered were folks waiting to be picked up after the cruise or going to the garage in shirt sleeves. They must have had some internal warming mechanism (;)-or "anti-freeze" because it was downright cold. Hubby was even freezing walking to the garage. It was the coldest temperature down there in many years.

 

It is 47-52 degrees here in Central Florida right now, with a couple of days of warm-up coming, but with low temps at night. Then, another, colder front will be coming through.

 

This is the long answer to your short question, lol. But, yes, I would pack some jeans or warm sweats/pants. It can be cool on the ship in general, at night.

 

I hope this helps. Lynne

Dave,

We had a visit from our former next door neighbor and her two grown granddaughters yesterday. After living here with her husband for several years, they moved back to Uruguay where their family lives.

Beatriz and Jorge (recently deceased) treated us to our very first cruise on the Sun Princess in 1998. Before she and the girls left yesterday, I showed her some of your photos of the Royal Princess and told her what a beautiful ship it was. Ooh, Aaah. ;) She also enjoyed your picture that I use for my desktop picture.

Before coming for this surprise visit, she indicated that she'd like to go on our next cruise with us. So.... that could be the Regal..... we have to start saving our pennies. The Royal will be in New England, but I'm not sure we're ready for the cool weather. It's going to be 59 here tomorrow and "blustery".... Brrr. So, we may stick with the southern climes. Ha Ha.

I will add that we've seen each other a few times since their return to Uruguay when they have come to the States for visits.

 

But, I just wanted to let you know that your pictures live!!!!

 

Take care up there. Do you have your sled or toboggan handy?? That includes all of you up north. :)

 

Lynne

Thanks, again, for the review. My son lives in Orange Co. California, with a perhaps chance of moving to LA. We've had random thoughts of catching a total Panama Canal cruise that would end in LA, perhaps, or at least California. We'd have him pick us up for a visit, and have to figure out how to get back to Florida. We could either drive a rental car back, or take another cruise back. :D Third option is to fly, which neither of us like to do, so that hinders are opportunities. But, if it's really worth it......

We are both retired so don't have the work restrictions. I'd just have someone take over my volunteer slots.

Good luck. We're still only the GRAY card. Platinum.

Lynne

Happy New Year, Dave, and Everyone. We're 19 minutes into the new year already! Have a wonderful New Year's Day and raise a toast or two to 2014.

 

It's been great cruising with you!!! Lynne

I'm so glad you posted returning to ports photos. As mentioned on other threads, that is the final excursion of our cruises and I always look forward to being up early and waiting for that pilot boat to come out to ship.

Thanks, again, for a great review. My former (now deceased) in-laws used to live in Palm Harbor. Nebraska St??

Happy New Year!!! I hope you'll get to see the "Ball" come down and enjoy your New Year's Eve in comfort!!

Lynne

This is such a neat review. We loved the Ruby Princess both times we sailed aboard her. It sounds like you had a fabulous time. And, I've been enjoying your photos, too.

Lynne

Thank you for sharing your review and photos. It looked like you all had a great time. We've been on the Ruby Princess twice, and really enjoyed her while sailing.

 

We will have to look up that little restaurant the next time we take the Western Itinerary.

 

Best wishes in the new year. And, Happy Birthday to your mom!

 

Lynne

I will give you all the credit --no worries. My photos aren't near your calibre.

 

Today we were taking lots of pictures with our Kodak digital, but it was a different subject: our new great-grandson! His parents and grandparents (hubby's daughter) came for a visit today. The baby was born in the evening of Dec. 23, so is still tiny.

 

Getting back to the cruise topic--I was up around 4:45 AM today but went back to bed knowing that the Royal Princess would be OK if I didn't watch her arrival on the webcam. ;) I missed her departure today because of our company, but know I can go back to your photos and see her at sunset with Ft. Lauderdale in the distance.

 

Happy Sunday. Lynne

I have put your ship pictures, minus the bridge ones, in my favorites. That way I'll be able to refer back to them and show other family members, if that's OK.

Also, my new desktop is the Royal sailing into the sunset. I hope it's OK to use. It's just a very calming photo.

 

Thanks, again... None of us can say it enough.

 

Lynne

Nice pictures of the Christmas display. We missed them on our Emerald cruise in 2007, disembarking on Dec. 16... the Gingerbread House was just being set up. Of course, I was up early to see the ship arrive in port so did see the elves at work.... :)

 

Have a good week--New Year's Eve will be quiet here...but, perhaps, we'll enjoy a glass of wine.

 

Lynne

Hi Dave,

I just looked at your Ruby Princess photos. Indeed, they brought back some good memories. We were never on her during the holidays, but have been on board twice, like the Emerald.

 

Crooners was a favorite hangout every night, but somehow I didn't get into the groove on the Royal Princess. There was too much else going on to occupy my time. Plus, by the time Kory started, it was getting late. I did notice that he coordinated the time with the entertainment folks in the Piazza, as to when to start his program. Like "OK, now?"

 

Wonderful ships--different ambiance on each. Both nice.

 

Lynne

Thank you for the great review. It sounds like you really had a great time and, indeed, learned some lessons and tips for future cruises.

We've been on the Ruby Princess twice, so agree with your assessment of the ship. Ours were only 7 day Eastern Caribbean, but we enjoyed ourselves during that time. No complaints.

 

Thanks, again, for such a detailed report.

 

Lynne

Have a great time. My screen saver/desktop is now one of the Royal sailing into the sunset. Beautiful!!

 

Lynne

Hi,

I took the Amtrak from Sebring FL (south of Orlando) to Penn Station in 2008, to see my new 7 week old grandson. The train left here about noon and arrived in NYC about 3:00PM the next day. I still remember that experience and would do it again. The train track goes right behind the development where we live so I hear "my train" coming and going every day!! LOL. I was in coach, and happened to have a good group of people with me. One was a 20's age Asian "student" who had been on since Miami so had the window seat. I was given the aisle. His electronics were plugged in so no problem and all he could say was "thank you". Nice kid.

I will add that the car we were in was very cold at night so many were uncomfortable. I always travel with a heavy sweater and put that up over the back of my head to block the AC. The bathroom was not the best either, but I expected that.

My train originated from NYC coming home so I had my pick of seats so took the window, of course, with the plug ins. I had the list of all the station stops up and back so kept track for myself and others so became the official "secretary" for our group around me. LOL. The stewardESS coming home made it a point to inform the passengers that it was a family train and to make sure they kept the bathroom clean. It was much better and she had the Lysol handy.

Next time I would go, I would get the compartment-in Canada, I used to travel the trains a lot because of relatives working for the railroads, so I'm used to the rides (but I do concede it isn't like the 50's on these types of "service" routes.) The food was decent on my trip, too, and a lady I was with at a group table who had a compartment, gave me her dessert because it was part of her compartment cost. And, I was better prepared with a small blanket on the way back. No, I didn't sleep much either way.

 

Hubby and I have often talked about going down to Ft. Lauderdale on the train from here to catch a cruise, or even go down for the weekend. It's a 2 1/2 hour car drive from here so I would almost double the time. One issue would be the luggage for a cruise on the train.

 

 

As for de-embarkation, my husband really had the need to get off the ship earlier than tag color and we were allowed to do that, thanks to a great staff person, who let us go. One of the criteria was to make sure that our deck's luggage had been delivered to the terminal. We spent more time looking for it, than getting off!! I hope I didn't get that fellow in trouble because I gave him a good plug on the survey. Embarkation, on the other hand, was a zoo. Preferred cruisers with no directions and ushered to different rows by different people. This was the Nov. 17-24 sailing.

Once some clean lines were established, it didn't really take long to get to the ship. We wondered why the side entrance for preferred cruisers (we're platinum) wasn't used.

 

So, back to Christmas. I trust everyone is enjoying your day. It's like a Saturday for us. Ha Ha. But, every day is a Saturday once you're retired!!! :)

 

Take care. Lynne

Merry Christmas! It's officially 1:04 AM EST, Christmas Day. I hope everyone enjoys the day and does whatever they love to do best; family, ice skating, eating a good meal, opening presents, or enjoying a wonderful cruise on a beautiful shop!!!

 

Ho Ho Ho!!! Lynne

We would try the Royal Princess again, although by the first reviews we saw we thought we'd probably stay with the Emerald and Ruby for future cruises. As I mentioned on other threads, once I learned that the general layout of the Royal was the same as the other ships, I found it very easy to navigate and had no problem with its size and grandeur.

 

As with any cruise, we have to save up our pennies, as we are both retired now and are on a limited income. So far, so good. :)

 

And, we've found that no cruise is a bad cruise. We've enjoyed all our experiences. Hubby always likes to go on the new ships, so perhaps the Regal will be next. And, he's always enjoyed the Princess ships (have been on 3 other lines, too) because of the service and polite personnel.

 

Lynne

Whoops---on the Golden in Oct of 2001, a month after 9/11. Lots of Security at that time at harbors, customs, etc.

I think Capt. Romano may have been on the Grand in 2002. It really doesn't matter. He's a great person.

 

Enjoy your cruise, Geoherb, Pia and friends.-----Lynne