2chiefs

On 5/19/2022 at 8:28 PM, Cruising Grandma 13 said:

I cashed in points last month and it took 2 days to show up in my account.

Same here. They said it could take up to two weeks but we saw it in only two days.

On 9/9/2022 at 12:06 PM, smokeybandit said:

Lots of people don't think it's worth it.

 

But plenty of people do.  

 

 

 

 

This is the most correct answer to almost all questions asked on cruise critic! 🙂 

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Actually, @awhfy said that. 😉

LOL

Sorry about that. I get so confused.... 🙂 

17 hours ago, davekathy said:

CAC, Common Access Card. I worked for the DoD/U.S. Air Force as a civilian (CS) for almost 40 years. Sometime in 2021 we were issued CACs and had to surrender the old style ID cards (green). I retired in 2014 (CSRS) and my retirement card is a CAC. The only difference is the retirement CAC doesn't have the Single Integrated Circuit Chip (SICC). 

I guess mine is a CAC card since they had me surrender the old one in 2014 but it's still blue. I guess that's what confused me when you said "Those retiring now no longer get a blue retiree card"

3 hours ago, awhfy said:

DD214 is proof. Those retiring now no longer get a blue retiree card, it’s a CAC card

Really? I still have the blue card which was renewed in 2014. Sallie's was just updated this past year when she turned 65 and hers is blue. When did it change and what does CAC stand for?

I guess this is a little off topic, but the thread has kind of morphed into a thread about on-board veteran events. Here's a picture of an event hosted by the captain and the HR Manager in his Navy uniform (retired). Sallie in the middle. This event was close to Memorial day so it was special. We had a WW2 vet (oldest) and a lady Airforce E-3 (youngest) cut the cake. This was on Freedom of the Seas in 2015.

On 9/3/2022 at 12:08 PM, davekathy said:

Pat I didn't either. But I understand, know and respect Bucky's reasons.  When I got discharged I stuffed just about all my military stuff in my duffle bag and tossed it in the first Salvation Army bin I drove by. I found out later my first wife kept my dog tags. I assume she still has them or maybe not. It took me many years (1991) before I told the truth about my time in the service. Especially working for the Government/Dept. of Defense (civilian civil service) for almost 40 years. Years later I went to my first Veterans gathering with Princess. Glad Kathy talked me into attending. Turned out to be a lot different than what I expected. Different branches of the service and different wars.  My take away was we all have something in common that required no explanation and also the acknowledgment from the cruise line. Not the cruise OBC or discount. But either one is still nice to have. 

I did the same thing after my first enlistment. Regretted it. I went back in and did 20 years and interestingly, I did it again. I have no uniform from my military days.... 

On 9/2/2022 at 7:59 PM, davekathy said:

Thanks. Kathy reads the Cruise Compass and lets me know about events that may interest us. Hard to believe the ships we've cruised on wouldn't have  had the Veterans gathering. We'll be sure to look closer next cruise. She had to talk me into going to the first one I attended on Celebrity. I'll admit I enjoyed it. 

Most of the cruises we've been on will have a ship-sponsored veterans gathering. Many times hosted by the captain. Also, watch the bulletin boards as many times there will be scheduled gatherings daily that some of the vets schedule on their own. Sallie and I are both retired Navy and like to attend them.

9 hours ago, kimberlym322 said:

 

 

I, myself have never been to San Juan.  Its on my bucket list to do one year.

<<<SNIP>>>

Have you considered a cruise out of San Juan and flying in a day or two early?

The advantage of a San Juan cruise is that it's almost always a nice Southern Caribbean cruise as opposed to a Western or Eastern itinerary which can get monotonous. Also, most of the cruises out of there have only one or two SEA days max! Very port intensive if that interests you.

We've taken a couple cruises out of there and really enjoy them. Avoid cruises during school breaks and holidays however if you don't want to cruise with a bunch of kids.

Additionally, the cruises from San Jaun seem to be a little less expensive which helps offset the price of flying there. We usually do a B2B out of there to save on transportation costs.

20 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I still have a problem with "recycled Beer...no matter how treated".  😉 

I understand kids doing it but I would hope "Bubba" would have a little more courtesy eeeuuwww 😬

21 minutes ago, sea mom said:

No, I was trying to figure out my outfits for the week.  I love the 70s party and so happy it's back on the Promenade deck!

It was actually tongue firmly planted in cheek. Personally, I hated disco back in the 70's so I certainly haven't developed a fondness for it. Although I will say the 70's party was a lot of fun in the beginning. It's getting a little stale for me so I avoid it. They've been doing it for probably 25 years now.

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Actually I never use any of the pools...or hot tubs.  Not into "bacteria soup"...(Bubba drinking a bucket of beer with no break time).  🤢

LOL. No bacteria could possibly live in the hot tubs. Whenever I use them, the chlorine bleaches my trunks to almost white!!! No exaggeration!!

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I like Harmony but I still think they made a big mistake not having a pool in the Solarium. I still like Harmony, but she is my least favorite Oasis class ship mainly because of the “missing” pool. I have 3 cruises booked on Wonder in the next 6 months, looking forward to checking out that ship. 

I notice the Wonder only has one hot tub in the Solarium. We really like the hot tubs in the Solarium and they are always occupied so I wonder why Wonder eliminated one.

Are you asking about which night is 70's night so you can avoid it?

Favorites in order:

Freedom class - Love the promenade 

Voyager class - Love the promenade (Love the art on Mariner)

Oasis Class - Love all the entertainment (hate the Windjammer)

Radiance Class - Love all the glass - Dislike the crowded Centrum area

Vision Class - Haven't been on one in a long time - getting old. I'd only book if itinerary was right

Monarch - Our first cruise but would not cruise that class again

Have not cruised on Quantum class yet.

Interesting observation on the Windjammer. We've only cruised on the Oasis (twice) so far and hated the Windjammer. It was always congested and those folks with scooters or wheelchairs had it rough. Very poor design. I hope the Wonder changes that you mentioned will alleviate that.

We are cruising on Harmony in December and have already planned to avoid the Windjammer as much as possible.

We took the island tour on St Kitts a few years ago. It was a bus/train ride all around the island. The train ride was on a narrow-gauge track. Very scenic. Double decker train with nice clean bathrooms. They included some drinks on the train as well as some local singers. We would do it again if it is still available.

The bus portion of the trip was short and was only to provide transportation to the train. It was OK but the train ride was the highlight.

5 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

You know what I am talking about. Do you think RCL will finally do it this week? 🙂

Woo Hoo!!

I knew they would bring back the $1.95 drink of the day!!!

On 8/20/2022 at 11:30 AM, upwarduk said:

<<<SNIP>>>

I heard back 4 days later, we had been awarded $1,100 OBC.

 

Our problem was then spending it, as it was non refundable.

 

<<<SNIP>>>

That's a lot of Celebrity T-Shirts from the logo store!

How much booze can you buy from the liquor store?

Do you need any watches?

1 hour ago, Floridastorm said:

Ready to book for the 9/17 Caribbean cruise. Looked at Ocean View and Aqua Class cabins and they all seem to be below activity decks. Too much possibility of noise. So, now looking at Deluxe Ocean View with Veranda (balcony stateroom). Decks 7,8,9,10 all seem to be activity free above and below them. How are these decks and cabins for relative quietness at night? Is there any one area that is better than another? My wife has trouble with the movement of the ship forward so we're looking at mid ship or aft. 

 

Any assistance, prior to booking, would be most appreciated. 

 

Dave  🤔

I would think the aft would be just as bad as forward. The ship pitches somewhere near the center so both aft and fwd would have longer/stronger movements. (Roll would make very little difference except for maybe inside cabins in the center or very high cabins.)

Also as a side note: We don't book aft cabins anymore since one cruise we were on that we could feel the vibration from the screws (propellers for non-sailors). Might have just been that ship with some issues but we didn't want to chance it again.

3 hours ago, Ret MP said:

True.  I love other peoples positive stories about cruising.  I also like the critical critiques if well stated and not sounding like they are trying to hurt the cruise lines and their crew (in other words B.S.).  

Agree!

1 hour ago, JFontaine said:

In the "old days" cash tips were handed out on the last evening of the cruise.  I still do this in envelopes obtained from the guest relations desk; they are available for free, and they have a stack for this purpose.  I write a short note on the envelope (thank you and good luck, and my name), and I give them out before dinner, dining room staff receive their envelopes as I'm leaving dinner. Have a great cruise. 

We do the same thing

13 hours ago, shofer said:

We took a delayed cruise this past January on Symphony.  DH had seen a video and and he wanted to go on THAT SHIP.   Our expectations were met and it helped the ship was coming off a 3 week isolation/cleaning with only half capacity.  Having been on 16 cruises, many of them in the Caribbean, we never got off the ship except for Coco Cay for a few hours.  We have been to Alaska, Hawaii, Mediterranean, Baltic and Trans Atlantic and would like to try one of the new ships although I don't think I will be a fan of the new "verandas".  DH wants Australia but refuses to fly that distance.  I have to say I do like the Solstice class ships.

 That being said, what was your favorite itinerary?  Is there anything new out there?

I've gotten to the point that I don't like to fly anywhere. (I travelled for a living prior to retirement).

That limits our travel to Florida ports but we love to cruise for the sake of cruising so itinerary isn't that important anymore. Our favorite ports of call in the Caribbean are the ABC islands, St Maarten and Grand Cayman.

Never been to Australia and it was on my bucket list, but I took it off my list when I developed a distain for flying.

3 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

I'm guessing they don't leave it out and unattended as someone might trip over it and sue.

And the Seagulls pecking at the bags of corn...LOL

33 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

We enjoy both Royal and Celebrity and I find that we are kind of alternating between them.  I’ve always thought Celebrity ships are more elegant than Royal but Royal is definitely more of a fun, party like vibe.   We recently sailed on Apex and I was completely blown away by the beauty of that ship.  Entertainment was some of the best I’ve seen on any ship and that includes Oasis class. 
 

Food wise, I think Celebrity’s included venues win over Royals but in comparing specialty restaurants, I prefer Royals.  We also like the Martini Bars and World class Bars on Celebrity, plus I think Celebrity ships offer more varied wines than Royal.   Service is pretty equal on both lines.

 

As far as price, if you always purchase a drink package and WiFi on Royal, add the cost of those plus daily gratuity charges to your Royal price and I think you will frequently find the cost for Royal versus Celebrity AI is not to far apart.  
 

Sherri🙂

Yep.