Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Sunshine3601]

Hello!   We are having a nice relaxing cruise.  We decided to disconnect from phones yesterday and most of today.

Beautiful weather...yesterday was a high of 70, which is pretty good leaving from NJ in December.

Today was sunny all morning in port canaveral but clouds rolled in around 1 or 2 pm.   

We are going to shower and do Northstar then walk over to Fishlips or one of the other restaurants st marina for dinner.   

Tonight they are showing Polar Express, another great holiday movie.

 

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, Sea Viewer said:

Just got back from vision yesterday. Two sea days after last port back to PE. First day was very bumpy and pools were overflowing onto the decks. Great wave action. Closed in the afternoon in the solarium. Final day pools were all closed and drained in the morning,  hot tubs were still open.

Sorry to hear the pools were closed...kind of puts a damper on those that like to go in for a dip, but safety first, for sure...

[Luckynana]

@Sunshine3601Glad to hear that you and Eric are having a wonderful and relaxing time on your cruise!

[maggieq]

22 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

So just a quick summary of my one and only experience aboard an NCL ship, Pride of America.  Most of my cruising experience is with Royal.  I have had one MSC cruise and one Hurtigruten cruise and the Hurtigruten cruise is so different than mainstream cruising that it is irrelevant to my comparisons. Most of what I comment will be based on my comparison and experience with Royal. 

 

I just finished my post cruise survey with NCL and like I wrote in the comments there, it is hard summarize this very simply.  We loved the trip and enjoyed each port of call immensely. However, the shipboard experience left a lot to be desired.  I was told by two different staff members that we cruised with1700 passengers, which equals 3/4 capacity and that we had 3/4 staff.  All should be good then, right?  Wrong, the level of service was so substantially degraded compared to what we are used to experiencing on a Royal ship it was remarkable.  The MDR was awful.  The food was probably about the same quality but the service was just disappointing each night we were there.  We aren't high maintenance diners but just getting something as simple as a cup of coffee with your dessert seemed to escape the ability of the servers.  There were no recommendations for the evening. No followup to find out how we enjoyed the food. Not even when something was only partially eaten did they question my wife whether she enjoyed the meal.  Just clear the table and bring the next course.

 

I actually enjoyed the food in the buffet it is just that, again, the service lets you down.  As a comparison to Royal.  If you walk up to the omelette bar there will be a server there to take your order and then, depending on which ship you are on,  hand you a buzzer to let you know your omelette ready or a little stick with a number on it and they will bring it to you.  On this ship you have to line up and wait and then stand there while he prepares it.  Often the line was very long.  I didn't eat many omelettes last week. As I said, I actually enjoyed the food in their buffet. Clearing tables was very slow.  Every morning when I arrived there would be no clear table for me to sit at.  I bussed tables every morning myself.  It didn't seem to make a difference what time I arrived.  I ate breakfast between 7 and 9 each day and whether it was 7 or 9 or anywhere in between it made no difference to the amount of cleared tables.  While seated I saw staff clearing tables but sadly whenever I actually needed a cleared table, when my hands were full with a plate and cup, none were to be found. That being said, I thought the quality of the meat that was served at lunch was better than anything I have had in the Windjammer.

 

The Cadillac diner, similar to Johnny Rockets, was very good.  The benefit was it is included as part of your cruise fare.  There is no extra charge like JR's.  Disappointingly, here the service is what keeps this venue from getting a high mark.  Great food, poor service.  There were simply not enough servers to service the restaurant.  Trying to get the attention of the waiter to order desert proved impossible. After trying to get either one of their's attention for about 10 minutes we gave up and went to the buffet got dessert there.

 

The specialty dining was very good. We dined in all four of the specialty dining rooms that were open, once each. If I ever cruise NCL again, which is unlikely, I'll be ordering 7 nights of specialty dining.  We dined in Cagney Steak house, Jeffersons Bistro, Teppanyaki, and Il Cuccina.  Each place exceeded our expectations. Service was impeccable and the food was perfect. We had two specialty dinners included as part of their Free at Sea promotion and pre-cruise I ordered two additional specialty dinners.  I'm so glad I did.  I felt they were money well spent.

 

Bar service was exceptional, with one exception.  I spent most of my time at the pool bar and the servers were personable and efficient.  The drinks were well made and I would easily give them a 10/10.  The one exception was at the John Adams bar. As a comparison, imagine the R-bar in the centrum on Serenade.  This bar doubled as being the only place to get specialty coffee's.   So kind of like cafe promenade/CAFÉ LATTE-TUDES combined with the R-bar in the centrum.  They served regular drinks, specialty coffee and had a little cooler with snacks and treats.

 

It was staffed by two people.  Waits for Latte's were interminably long.  It wasn't much of a problem for me but DW loves her Latte's and she spent a lot of time waiting there to get one. 

 

IT was poor.  Fortunately, we were in port a lot of the time so I could just stick with AT&T but whenever we left port and I needed to connect to the wifi it was dire.  We had included wifi but I paid to upgrade it to their premium unlimited package.  That was a sad waste of money.  The app has very limited utility. Beyond checking the on board account I didn't use it.

 

There was little entertainment that interested us.  My favorite is live music.  There was one guitar players doing folk type music and a couple who did Hawaiian styled music.  She sang and played the ukulele and he played the bass.  We were in bed most nights by nine.

 

All of that being said, the ports were fantastic.  Each one was unique and the activities were a lot of fun.   I have already posted some of what we did so I won't make this post longer than it already is and bore you with recapping those.  We also did a river tubing experience on Kauai, rented a dune buggy at Kona and toured the area and then on debarkation as part of our shuttle to the airport we stopped at Pearl Harbor for 3 hours.  All were excellent and leave us awesome memories and experiences that we will remember for a lifetime.

 

I know large parts of this review are negative.  Like I said it was hard to review.  I so glad we went but I'd probably never go again.  Hawaii was a bucket list destination for DW.  This is a great way to see different locations in Hawaii without having to pack and fly to different islands.  You just need to temper your "cruise" expectations and view it as hotel that takes you to awesome destinations and experiences.  I'll drop a few more pics here to put this to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

56 days until I board Navigator of the Seas 🙂 

 

Thank you for this review. Hawaii is on our bucket list and I have looked into this ship to do so.  We have finally decided to give the celebrity edge cruise a shot in 2024.   We cruised on the edge in September of 2021 and loved it.  A few sea days on the front end; which we actually don’t mind.  Then two days on each island.   Much cheaper for us considering what the hotels are charging these days as well as packing and unpacking to each island.  I know a cruise will be different than a land based vacation. 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Hello!   We are having a nice relaxing cruise.  We decided to disconnect from phones yesterday and most of today.

Beautiful weather...yesterday was a high of 70, which is pretty good leaving from NJ in December.

Today was sunny all morning in port canaveral but clouds rolled in around 1 or 2 pm.   

We are going to shower and do Northstar then walk over to Fishlips or one of the other restaurants st marina for dinner.   

Tonight they are showing Polar Express, another great holiday movie.

 

 

So happy you and Eric are having a good time.

[xpcdoojk]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

Thank you for this review. Hawaii is on our bucket list and I have looked into this ship to do so.  We have finally decided to give the celebrity edge cruise a shot in 2024.   We cruised on the edge in September of 2021 and loved it.  A few sea days on the front end; which we actually don’t mind.  Then two days on each island.   Much cheaper for us considering what the hotels are charging these days as well as packing and unpacking to each island.  I know a cruise will be different than a land based vacation. 

We have sailed to Hawaii a few times, always as part of a repositioning cruise, a transpacific or a cruise to or from British Columbia or Ensenada.  Some of those cruises will visit several islands.  We end the cruise there and then spend time there post cruise.  Friends of ours, who didn’t seek my sage advice, booked the NCLA cruise, and they have never cruised again.  

 

Hawaii, is one of the nicest places on earth that isn’t called New Zealand on the planet.

 

jc

[Sunshine3601]

45 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

So happy you and Eric are having a good time.

We had a nice seafood meal at Fishlips.  Tried their shark bites appetizer.  Pretty good

Tomorrow morning I have Eric booked for facial, straight edge shave and upper body massage.  He always melts away.

We will be in Nassau.  I plan on doing a little Christmas shopping for the office holiday party next week. Then come back onboard and hang out and read at our quiet spot we have on Anthem.

[Luckynana]

Tomorrow's plans sound perfect, Debbie!😉

[maggieq]

30 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

We have sailed to Hawaii a few times, always as part of a repositioning cruise, a transpacific or a cruise to or from British Columbia or Ensenada.  Some of those cruises will visit several islands.  We end the cruise there and then spend time there post cruise.  Friends of ours, who didn’t seek my sage advice, booked the NCLA cruise, and they have never cruised again.  

 

Hawaii, is one of the nicest places on earth that isn’t called New Zealand on the planet.

 

jc

That would be very similar to what we want to do.  the edge 12 nighter in 2024 leaves from Vancouver; which would be a treat to visit pre cruise.   5 days at sea then we hit the islands.    We love sea days on a trans so we would enjoy the sea days for sure. 

[Coralc]

We are going to the holiday office Christmas party next week, too. Even though I am retired. ☺️ It is back on again at the Hof Brau, and they were nice enough to invite a few of the retirees. Costco had a big box of individually packaged snacks, Chex Mix, beef sticks, Pringles, etc., called "Office Favorites" so I bought one and took it down to work today. 

 

The office had their snack drawer taken away at the beginning of the pandemic. And I was surprised to see that masks are still required to be worn to enter county buildings and in the offices. I had to go back to the car and get one. 🤔. The party will be fun. (No masks) I found a small waterproof, shock proof Bluetooth speaker on Amazon with good reviews for the gift exchange. Any day I don't have to cook is a good day. 

[Ocean Boy]

8 minutes ago, Coralc said:

We are going to the holiday office Christmas party next week, too. Even though I am retired. ☺️ It is back on again at the Hof Brau, 

That reminds me of Hogan's Heros.😊

[Ocean Boy]

Almost time for BD Adventure.

[Coralc]

LOL. Sort of. 😀 Harry's Hof Brau is very popular, with really good food here. We just don't go out to eat much, unless we have a social reason. And the Hof Braus works for government parties because everyone pays for their own meals. Otherwise, they tend to be potlucks. ☺️

 

And hand carved, thin sliced roast beef sandwiches with Au Jus, which are much better than those onboard. ☺️

Edited December 7, 2022 by Coralc

[Sunshine3601]

50 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Tomorrow's plans sound perfect, Debbie!😉

And chops tomorrow night.  We got a good deal from our head waiter that recognized me in the  hallway on day 1.  He stopped by our table at dinner on night 1 to ask how Chris and Donna were doing.   Amazing how they remember names.  I mentioned Eric's Mom passing away and he booked us a bogo deal at an amazing total price of $50 for 2 nights.  Such a sweety he is.   Eric teases me and says I have a crush on him...LOL

Edited December 7, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[jmh2006]

4 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

And chops tomorrow night.  We got a good deal from our head waiter that recognized me in the  hallway on day 1.  He stopped by our table at dinner on night 1 to ask how Chris and Donna were doing.   Amazing how they remember names.  I mentioned Eric's Mom passing away and he booked us a bogo deal at an amazing total price of $50 for 2 nights.  Such a sweety he is.   Eric teases me and says I have a crush on him...LOL

Wow that is so special and wonderful to hear!  

[taznremmy]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

And chops tomorrow night.  We got a good deal from our head waiter that recognized me in the  hallway on day 1.  He stopped by our table at dinner on night 1 to ask how Chris and Donna were doing.   Amazing how they remember names.  I mentioned Eric's Mom passing away and he booked us a bogo deal at an amazing total price of $50 for 2 nights.  Such a sweety he is.   Eric teases me and says I have a crush on him...LOL

Sounds more like he has a crush on you!😹

[brillohead]

13 hours ago, Arzeena said:

 

LOL at the cookie purgatory!
 

Going on Constellation in Feb.

Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thalasso pool looks warm and inviting!
Oh and I had a silly question>>>does your bathroom on the Constellation have a shower curtain or the capsule doors? I am hearing different things and pictures are showing doors.

What is your itinerary?

All curtains from what I can tell.  I had an inside GTY and got assigned an accessible room, so I can fit like fifteen people in my bathroom!  LOL

Friends in an outside room and friends in a balcony room (concierge class) also have shower curtains, so it's not just my non-standard bathroom that has the curtains.

This is the 10-day itinerary from Tampa stopping in San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua, St Thomas, and Dominican Republic.  

And the Thalasso pool is HEAVEN.  I have a waterproof Kindle, and I've spent many hours lounging on the metal tubes.  There have been more than a couple naps taken in the glorious warm water, too.  It's just a few degrees cooler than the hot tub -- absolute bliss.

[brillohead]

8 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Whoa!!!  Is this in the Caribbean?

 

Yes, Eastern itinerary.  This was on the way to Puerto Rico.  I have friends on Grandeur right now, also Eastern, and they have been rocking and rolling this week, too.

 

 

7 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Wow! that looks exciting.

It was really quite fun!  I was amazed that they didn't close the pools, particularly since the average age on this ship has to be well north of 70yo.  You definitely want to hold the handrails getting in and out when there are rip currents in the pool!!!!
 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We had a nice seafood meal at Fishlips.  Tried their shark bites appetizer.  Pretty good

Tomorrow morning I have Eric booked for facial, straight edge shave and upper body massage.  He always melts away.

We will be in Nassau.  I plan on doing a little Christmas shopping for the office holiday party next week. Then come back onboard and hang out and read at our quiet spot we have on Anthem.

 

I had the shark bites at Grills next door. They were amazing.

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

 

I had the shark bites at Grills next door. They were amazing.

All I can think of is Frank Sinatra. 😛 Our Latino bus driver from Ensenada to San Diego across the border, only had one CD for his passengers. And it played the whole time for three hours. Greatest Hits. Now I will be singing that earworm again. ☺️

Edited December 7, 2022 by Coralc

[Bailey & Sophie]

4 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Almost time for BD Adventure.

 

I missed it. Too caught up in the GA election on CNN. 

I'll catch the repeat next week. I just don't know what to think of this crew.

However, the scenery is so stunning I did book  a Norway/Arctic Circle cruise, coupled with one to Iceland. Back to back out of Amsterdam in 2024.

 

[Bailey & Sophie]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

All curtains from what I can tell.  I had an inside GTY and got assigned an accessible room, so I can fit like fifteen people in my bathroom!  LOL

Friends in an outside room and friends in a balcony room (concierge class) also have shower curtains, so it's not just my non-standard bathroom that has the curtains.
 

 

I don't like that curtain sticking to my legs. Yuck.

A hint from another cruiser a while ago...don't remember where.

Go to Dollar Tree and pick up some plastic bag clips. I think 6 or 8  to a package.  Clip them to the bottom of the curtain and they will weight it down so it doesn't fly around.

I picked up 2 pkgs. Works great.

 

[grapau27]

Good morning.

32°F and Frost on the car windscreen first thing.

I hope everyone is well and are having a great day.

 

[h20skibum]

I want to know how they got so many Ft. Lauderdale streets, and other Florida highways clear of traffic to do this?  
 

 

I recognize a lot of those areas

 

 

[Lionesss]

Good morning. 
 

This morning is the first day since Sunday I can honestly say I feel good.  The heel is feeling better. The rest helped it heal. 
 

 

Then just when you think all is good you get the “ land version” of Noro virus. Yup. Was battling lower GI events for 48 hours. ( need I say more). Best way to lose weight 8 pounds to be exact.  I know I need to rehydrate. And have been drinking water and ginger ale. 
 

Between visits to the “John” we decorated a little over the past few days. 
 

We will be traveling to spend Christmas with the kids so we only put up one tree In family room and a few decorations in foyer. 
 

We were gifted a porcelain tree almost 30 years ago and the cat nativity we found on line. 
 

Today. Walking. Window shopping. 
 

Hope all are well. 
Be safe. 
 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Lionesss