Independence OTS T/A 10-30-2016 C'mom guys!

[twoontheisle]

Doing it up big on another Trans Atlantic from Southampton to FLL. Lots of time to enjoy the planning process.

[curriejscott]

Hi guys! Add two to the roll call. James and Marcio from Toronto.

[boco]

Going to book this cruise on Allure end of the month:)

 

Bob en Cor

[twoontheisle]

Welcome James and Marcio! Bob: ditch the Allure and join our sailing😉

[damon31]

My self and my hubby are booked on this one too ... Damon and Ross here .. Very excited about this one , shame it's over 18months away ... There looks like there is already quite a crowd on this one on the royal Caribbean FB page :-)

[twoontheisle]

Hey Damon and Ross! Yes, this much excitement already is great. I am no longer on FB, but the regular RCCL thread roll call is quite active!

We are also doing a T/A in 3 weeks from Brazil to Barcelona on Splendour OTS, and the thread for that sailing is QUITE dismal at best. Don't believe there will be many English speaking folks on that one.

 

Steven and Gary

[damon31]

Hi Steven and Gary , we do the reverse from Barcelona to Brazil in November and have found exactly the same , very very quiet, more action on this already .. Lol .. Enjoy your upcoming cruise :-)

[twoontheisle]

.....thought I better try to bring this to the surface again! Looks like the ship is almost full already, and the crossing is over a year away!

[boco]

We are booked, looking forwrd to another crossing:)

 

Bob en Cor

[twoontheisle]

Hey guys.....if you haven't already done so, so sure to sign up for the meet and mingle on the Roll Calls. Also, I may post a note on the Guest Services message board for a "gathering". How soon is everyone else arriving, and where are you staying in Southampton?

 

Steven and Gary

[damon31]

Hey Steven and Gary ... We just back from the transatlantic Rhapsody to Brazil this morning , they automatically included the LGBT meet in the Cruise compass for the first few days ... We're only booked for the night before in Southampton as we only live 1hr from The port , we're staying at the Novotel which is close to the station / city centre and a 5-10 min taxi from the port

[twoontheisle]

Damon and Ross! We love Rhapsody...it's the ship that got us hooked on cruising 12 years ago. Did you spend any time in Santos or São Paulo? We found Rio to be lovely, in spite of its horrendous graffiti and tagging on every vertical surface.

Big step for Royal to put LGBTQ meetings in the daily compass! Have not heard from anyone else that they are FINALLY doing that. (Guess it depends on the CD for the sailing?).

We are finalizing our flight from PHX to LHR, then find a hotel near the port. Have a couple of friends in London, so may crash there for one night or two, and get the jet lag outta the system before we sail away.

Cheers-

S and G

[damon31]

The rhapsody was very nice and the cruise was lovely, we prefer the adventure of the seas (been on it 3 times) as it has a few more things to do especially on T/A crossings

We only spent time in São Paulo near the airport as everyone told us the city is not really worth seeing, and the day stop in Rio onboard but booked a private guide to ensure we saw everything we could , instead we flew on to Manaus and did 7 days in the Amazon, including a 5 day river cruise on the Iberostar Grand Amazon which was amazing

 

There are plenty of hotels in and around the port in Southampton, if you get a city centre hotel, you would be looking at around £5 - £10/$8-15 max for a taxi to the port as its only a short distance

I would only spend 1 night in Southampton as everything can be seen very quickly and not really much else to do

London would be a much better option and it's only 1.5hrs on the train/bus to Southampton

 

Only 10.5 months to go [emoji3][emoji3]

[boco]

Flights are booked, direct flight from Amsterdam to Southampton. One night in Ibis-hotel. So we are going to spend the night in S'hampton:) and have a few points lol.

Flying back with Norwegian, very cheap, so we will see what happens there, flight is at 10 pm so we booked a dayroom in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, better to spend the day at the pool than at the airport.

 

have a great Christmas.

 

Greetz Bob en Cor

[damon31]

Good to hear you've got your flights sorted, we did ours today as well, we're going onto Las Vegas for a week post cruise before we come home to the UK

 

We to are staying in Southampton at the Novotel (same complex as the Ibis, where we stayed last time) for the night before the cruise and intend to enjoy 1 or 10 pints before the cruise :-)

 

Can I ask where you found a day room in FLL, the internal flight we are looking at taking doesn't depart until 1900hrs so may need to get one a day room so we can chill out before flying on

 

Hope you have a good Christmas

 

Damon

[boco]

We are booked in Rodeway Inn & Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port Hotel. Booked through Dayroomstay.com. It's $ 60,00, that includes transfers from the ship and to the airport.

 

Greetings Bob en Cor

[twoontheisle]

Hey guys....thought I should resurrect this page. Someone on the main roll call mentioned that "My time dining" is now available on the cruise planner. We have only used that once before, and didn't bother booking times. I guess the main reason was we always managed to have TOO MUCH fun in the DL/CL's prior to dinner. Such a problem...lol

[damon31]

Lol ... We always book the 9pm slot, that way we can still have lots of fun in the concierge lounge or champagne bar and eat afterwards, if we get peckish we just turn up early and normally get seated okay :-) ... Only 200 days now :-)

[boco]

We are on 2nd seating, better after a few hours drinking in DL we need some food:) will be our first cruise as D+.

 

greetz

 

Bob en Cor

[damon31]

We're almost at the 100 day mark before departure ... 15 weeks today we will be departing Southampton [emoji3][emoji3] We don't want to wish our lives & summer away but I'm hoping the next 15 weeks fly by [emoji12][emoji3]

[phoenix8]

Anyone know what the steam room/sauna is like on IOS? Looking forward to it and wanted to make sure it was free and not co-ed?

[kcrandy]

Hey guys.

 

I am booked on this cruise.

 

I am checking to see if there is interest in chartering a boat while we are in St Maarten for a clothing optional all male day.

 

There are a number of options we could do.

 

St Maarten beaches, snorkel, lunch and bar.

 

St Barts beaches, snorkel, lunch and bar.

 

Anguilla beaches, snorkel, lunch and bar.

 

I think lunch is sandwich, fruit and snacks.

 

I think the bar is rum punch, beers, sodas and water.

 

I have to have 8 minimum to book. They do want pre payment

 

Basically we can decide our itinerary.

 

I believe the price would be roughly $100 pp ( 4 hours ) to $135 pp (6 hours ).

 

Please email me privately at happyrock8 @ Hotmail . com (put it all together with no spaces ).

 

If there is interest, I will contact a captain and see if we can get this scheduled. If not, I will go enjoy Orient beach and Cupecoy beach.

 

Thanks and I look forward to meeting you guys in October

[twoontheisle]

.....Phoenix8, and kcrandy!

We have not been on this "Freedom class" ship, but from what we have heard and read on the main thread it is NOT a co-ed steam and sauna in the locker rooms. Yea. The hydro therapy/spa area would be co-ed, and have a fee, but don't know any more details. I guess I better get cracking and read some more reviews.

Regarding Cupacoy beach. We have been there several times in the past 15 years, most recently two years ago. We were shocked how much it had changed with the luxury villas being built on the hill that resulted on the bulldozing of the vegetation. 😞. The tide was high,so the area on the beach only had room for 4-5 people at a time. Very weird. We may pass this time, and head to Orient beach, or do the catamaran. Still looking at all excursions.

 

See you all soon!

Steven and Gary

[twoontheisle]

Hi guys. Oct 31st will be Halloween, and more than likely the first formal night. Have any of you had this happen? What are you guys planning to do....if anything? Does formal night get moved, or is it "anything goes"?

[damon31]

Halloween is not very big in the UK, although it's an American Company sailing to the US, as its leaving the UK I'm not convinced there will be a big Halloween Costume presence ... We will be dressing in normal formal wear or casual depending on dress of the day [emoji3]