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

[grapau27]

20 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Food photos look fab as always Graham.  I've been spending a bit of time over at the P@O CC pages as it's at the back of my mind to give them a go as they're year round from UK.  The prices seem comparable to RC but on board charges for drinks and extras seem more reasonable. 

Which is your favourite ship?

Thank you Sue.

There was 6500 passengers on board including 2000 first time cruisers but it didn't feel crowded

There are no tips required on board and no additional gratuities on drinks or food although I did tip in the speciality restaurants because the food and service was outstanding.

The price of drinks are reasonable considering they have a captive audience.

Aurora and Arcadia the 2 smallest and oldest ships are Adults only.

Arvia,Azura,Britannia,Iona and Ventura are all nice ships.

The biggest and newest Arvia and Iona have much more choice of everything.

We were on Iona in November 2023 and January2023 for 14 nights and March 2024 for 7 nights.

2 negatives on this ship are the deck 8/9 balconies are not private because of the wrap around promenade deck on deck 8.

The aft balconies are great but the Infinity pool on deck 16 has been known for people splashing water on the balconies below.

 

Edited April 7 by grapau27

[George C]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I was going to say that about St. Kitts. It has a similar outcrop of land with the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other.

We stayed a St Kitts several time in a cheap A/I in late 80’s and 90’s two things I remember was there were more monkeys on the island than people and our resort was short walk to a black sand beach .

[grapau27]

29 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Hello back Graham! Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you Arzeena.

We had 2 night's hotel pre-cruise and 1 night post cruise as well and we had an amazing relaxing cruise.

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Kids 752 (Way too many) as school is in session 😳

Spring break for schools in the US do not always correspond to Easter break.  My grandson in CA starts their spring break tomorrow.  
 

They are headed to Universal Studios in CA again.

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

Beautiful itinerary, Graham  @grapau27, including the famous Belgian chocolates.

I second that @grapau27 Graham.   That wonderful food is making me hungry. 

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I pre-booked online all of our 7 nights in Speciality restaurants.

 

 

 

Wow, now that looks like really good Food. Hope Royal is seeing what P&0 is putting out and Royal steps up their game!

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Graham says hello to everyone from Adventure. Looks like he is having a blast. He wanted me to relay the current stats

 

ADVENTURE 4/6
Pinnacle 53
Diamond plus 199
Diamond 229
Emerald 115
Platinum 195
Gold 903
1st timers 2194 (57%)
Total Loyalty Members 1694(43%)
Total passengers 3888
Capacity 3807
Sailing at 102% Capacity
Kids 752 (Way too many) as school is in session 😳

Confused so Graham got off P&O Iona and is now on Adventure of the Seas?

[dani negreanu]

3 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Confused so Graham got off P&O Iona and is now on Adventure of the Seas?

 

That's another Graham 😕

[Sea Dog]

6 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Confused so Graham got off P&O Iona and is now on Adventure of the Seas?

This Graham is formally know as Pompey Sailor.

[mo&fran]

44 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Wow, now that looks like really good Food. Hope Royal is seeing what P&0 is putting out and Royal steps up their game!

Didn't Graham say they were eating in specialty restaurants.

[Jimbo]

3 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Didn't Graham say they were eating in specialty restaurants.

Yes, still looks better then anything I have ever seen in the specialty restaurants on Royal. Makes you wonder though how their Main Dining Rooms would compare?

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I pre-booked online all of our 7 nights in Speciality restaurants.

 

 

 

Everything looks delicious, shame the weather didn't cooperate but always nice to get away and be on a cruise😊

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, sgmn said:

I presume its based on the book and film The Talented Mr Ripley?   Apparently the author wrote a few books with Ripley as the main character so you never know

Yes, the TV series is based off one of the books.   Hopefully the series continues with a new season from a different book.    They did a good job with casting for this first season.   

[Jimbo]

Just got our  Blackout Slush Floats at Sonic and got our  free Solar Eclipse Glasses. So we are all set for tomorrow.

 

 

Edited April 7 by Jimbo

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

I presume its based on the book and film The Talented Mr Ripley?   Apparently the author wrote a few books with Ripley as the main character so you never know

It is based on the book and the film .I never read the books nor did I ever see the film .The series is very well made .There was only one flaw that I detected .

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes, the TV series is based off one of the books.   Hopefully the series continues with a new season from a different book.    They did a good job with casting for this first season.   

A great job ,in my opinion.

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

That actually hasn't always been the case. You need to watch the documentary "Hired Gun" (Amazon Prime) where it chronicles how Billy screwed over many of his side musicians including Liberty. They parted ways for awhile with Liberty being very angry. They have since mended their friendship. The doc is excellent and made me lose some respect for Billy.

I watched the video,it was very good.

What is your favorite genre of music,Greg ?

[Sea Dog]

Just now, lenquixote66 said:

I watched the video,it was very good.

What is your favorite genre of music,Greg ?

MI like just about everything except for rap. Love classical as I played in several orchestras and then Jazz where I studied it at Berklee College of Music. Grew up listening to Rock, funk and soul along with fusion and prog. 

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

MI like just about everything except for rap. Love classical as I played in several orchestras and then Jazz where I studied it at Berklee College of Music. Grew up listening to Rock, funk and soul along with fusion and prog. 

Every Wednesday I sing on a Zoom program with people who have Parkinson’s . We currently are over 100 people living all over the world

Last Wednesday we sang songs of the 60’s and this coming Wednesday we were doings songs of the 70’s.We get the songs (lyrics) a week in advance.We sing pop,rock and Broadway..

 

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, mo&fran said:

Didn't Graham say they were eating in specialty restaurants.

The food at lunchtime was nice in the free restaurants and I'm sure it would be on a night time but we prefer the better experience in the speciality restaurants for Dinner.

I booked and paid extra for Dinner every night in speciality restaurants like we do on Royal but the price was significantly less than what we pay on Royal Caribbean.

Edited April 7 by grapau27

[George C]

12 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

The food at lunchtime was nice in the free restaurants and I'm sure it would be on a night time but we prefer the better experience in the speciality restaurants for Dinner.

I booked and paid extra for Dinner every night in speciality restaurants like we do on Royal but the price was significantly less than what we pay on Royal Caribbean.

We eat all dinners in specialty on Royal on Celebrity we will eat some in specialty others in suite dining room. Have you cruised MSc ? We are looking forward to there yacht club on seaside I liked there dining room and they give us one free specialty because of my status, plus I get ten percent off fare because I am a veteran.

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, George C said:

We eat all dinners in specialty on Royal on Celebrity we will eat some in specialty others in suite dining room. Have you cruised MSc ? We are looking forward to there yacht club on seaside I liked there dining room and they give us one free specialty because of my status, plus I get ten percent off fare because I am a veteran.

We sailed on MSC Virtuoso in April 2023.

I status matched our Princess Elite loyalty for their top Diamond status which got us a free speciality meal,10% discount and late cabin check out on disarmbarkation day.

Our Diamond+ loyalty would only afford us Gold second highest status on MSC.

We had an aft balcony but heard their Yacht club is special.

Edited April 7 by grapau27

[George C]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We sailed on MSC Virtuoso in April 2023.

I status matched our Princess Elite loyalty for their top Diamond status which got us a free speciality meal,10% discount and late cabin check out on disarmbarkation day.

Our Diamond+ loyalty would only afford us Gold second highest status on MSC.

We had an aft balcony but heard their Yacht club is special.

Yacht club is really nice it includes drink package and WiFi , also stock fridge incline small bottles of liquor, love their private pool , live music in their lounge from about 5 to 11.  

[Oceansaway17]

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good afternoon.

I hope everyone is safe and well.

We have just got home after 10 nights away including

7 nights cruise on P&O Iona.

We visited

Hamburg Germany.

Rotterdam Holland 2 days.

Zeebrugge Belgium

We had 2 sea days.

I pre-booked online our 7 nights speciality dining.

I will post photos separately.

Graham.

one of these days I would love to try P&O but unsure if I can book from USA.

I read that you have never been on a Holland ship even though you are on their threads is that True?

glad you had a nice time.

 

So next year I am sailing out of Southampton (Emerald Princess) and hope to take the National Express from Heathrow. Is it true reservations are not necessary?  Also, thinking perhaps a train from London.

Lastly, is Dover easy to get to from Heathrow?  

 

bye for now

 

I am sure you as well as others are disappointed that RCI is putting the Indy again in UK ports.

[Island2Dweller]

25 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

National Express from Heathrow. Is it true reservations are not necessary?

If there are still seats available, you can pay the driver and get on.  But services can be busy and if the coach is already full with reserved passengers then you will be left behind.  If you need to get to the port that day, I would certainly reserve a seat.

The trains to Southampton leave from central London (not Heathrow).  Not a recommended option if you are starting at Heathrow