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

[Coralc]

3 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We should all go to Bermuda!!!!!!!

I was thinking that would be fun. We've never been to Bermuda. But then I keep remembering that we will be selling the house then and can't book anything until we are moved. I keep wanting to book things, but we have to buckle down. 

 

We spent a week at the other house last week continuing the cleanout. It was very sad and exhausting. After two dressers and three closets, I started on the linen closet. I don't know why anyone would need more than 30 quilted placements and over 100 cloth napkins. We dragged giant bags of clothing back here to donate. 😔

[taznremmy]

11 hours ago, h20skibum said:

I think someone here was recently on Eclipse.   How was it?   If I recall, I think that is the same class as Equinox, and I think Eclipse just got the revolution update.  

I just came off the Eclipse this morning, after a 7 night  Pacific Coastal.  Absolutely loved the itinerary and wish they would do more of these.

To be honest, I was somewhat disappointed in my overall experience. 

My Time Dining: What is the point of having a reservation if you have to stand in line for 15 minutes every night.  Plus you are at a different table every night with different servers.

The biggest plus was the crew,  As always, the crew was very engaging and friendly.  Ship itself could use some paint. The wifi was a disappointment, but was told that even though the ship has Starlink, the ship itself isn't set up to handle it.  That is being updated in the next couple of weeks.  I'm sure the only reason we received this accurate response is that my traveling friend used to be an IT manager, and they knew they couldn't blow smoke.

All in all, not my favorite cruise, but any cruise is better than staying home! 🙂

[sgmn]

14 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

We were on Adventure in Feb. and Oasis in March.  If not for Bella 02 on Wonder, we would stick with Freedom or Voyager class ships.

 

We're considering Jewel based on its itinerary.  We'll miss the ice show, Cafe PR.  

 

I'm anxious (not so much Jack) to experience a totally different ship than Voyager/Freedom class.

 

Goodness, I'm now veering toward keeping Voyager!  Jack is trying to put the guilt on me.  "Choose whichever you want", he says, which really means "don't consider what *I* really want".

 

 

We've been on Symphony and Serenade this year. Loved both. Nothing really negative to say except maybe the DL on Symphony, (positing, snacks and service) was not as good as Serenade. 

Love the VC lounge on Jewel class. Gym was good too. 

Shows were better on Symphony though OK on Serenade. 

Food was similar, maybe slightly better on Serenade. Nice salad bar with hot and cold sandwiches and cookies in the Solarium cafe for lunch. 

Outstanding service from our waiters in the MDR on Serenade 

I guess we've been on more Jewel class ships than Oasis 

Edited October 23, 2023 by sgmn

[grapau27]

12 hours ago, Luckynana said:

You certainly may say that you told me so!  You and so many of our Dani friends had so many positive words of encouragement for me, that I would pass on to Jim and our daughter, and it has all come to fruition!

 

I have been meaning to post an update on Ryan for some time now.  Last year when Ryan was diagnosed and was in the ICU for 3 days, he was a frightened little kid who only weighed around 78 pounds, and was around 5ft. 4 inches, and was just about to start 8th Grade.  Today, Ryan weighs 125 pounds and has grown to be 5 ft. 7 iinches.  It was amazing how quickly he began to put weight on, once he was put on insulin.

 

At Ryan's school where he began his 8th Grade, he and my daughter were very fortunate that he had a wonderful and informative nurse at his school, who not only did an outstanding job, but she also gave my daughter her personal phone number if she had any questions, since this was so new (and frightening) for her.  The school Principal also had a daughter with T1 Diabetes, and was also very kind and helpful.  

 

Ryan has flourished in this past year!  His best friend was on the school Wrestling team;  Ryan wanted to join, and did so, and is doing quite well, if I do say so myself!   He goes to the gym with his friend and has been lifting weights for months now.  He's got some muscles now (and likes to show them off to us..lol)  He is in his second year with the High School Marching Band, and this year he's playing the Saxophone, as opposed to playing the Clarinet last year.  Okay, enough of my bragging!

 

I just so love all of you for all of the support and love that you all provide, that we all provide for each other, and I can't thank you enough!  💕

I'm pleased to hear how well Ryan is doing and happy for you Maryann.

It is 39°F and sunny here this morning.

[Coralc]

Never been on the big ships, and don't really have any interest. I guess Liberty is the largest we have been on. We are fine with the Radiance or Vision class. The ship doesn't really mean a whole lot to us. We don't really get off at Caribbean ports anymore. I like to see the ocean and be outside. And I despise the Promenade. It feels like being in a shopping mall. But that is just me. ☺️ Mariner was the first Promenade. It was kind of interesting at first. But by the end of the week, I didn't like it at all. 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Coralc

[h20skibum]

3 hours ago, taznremmy said:

My Time Dining: What is the point of having a reservation if you have to stand in line for 15 minutes every night.  Plus you are at a different table every night with different servers.

It is sad to hear that about MTD now.   We are typically traditional dining people.   The one time we booked last minute, we had to take MTD.  I ended up booking the same MTD time every night, and spoke to them the first night about having the same table and same waiters each night.

 

The waiters got to know us, and we would have new table mates each night.  

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We should all go to Bermuda!!!!!!!

I was looking at the sailings last night.  The 7 night sailings early June have some great pricing too.

As Jimbo said early May can be chilly in Bermuda.  We have found June to be quite nice.

[A&L_Ont]

We might have been freed of the scourge. All their threads are gone, and when I checked, so are all their posts. 
 

Edited October 23, 2023 by A&L_Ont

[firefly333]

19 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Reaching out to my fellow CC friends for some feedback:

We’re thinking of switching our April b2b Voyager with an 11 night November Jewel cruise out of Galveston.

Ports of call on Jewel:  Curacao, Aruba, Cozumel, Grand Cayman.

Ports of call on Voyager:  Usual W. Caribbean itinerary

6 sea days which is a lot but we love them..

11 nights will make us Diamond!

 

I always wanted to try a Radiance class ship.  Jack isn’t too keen since he likes the Promenade especially the café.

@Jimbo you were on Jewel recently.  How is her condition?  Any negatives?  We’ll be having dinner in the MDR.  Where can we go for a late night snack?

Thoughts anyone?

 

I was booked on the 10 day radiance end of last jan and end of last march. Missed jan, but I did the end of march 10 day out of Galveston. I have to say best Mdr meals since covid. Meals every night were hot, not warm, actually hot. Fish and chips were crispy when every other time the fish breading is served soggy imo. We did cheers with a officer and had fillet and the man next to me also said best steak hes ever had on royal.

 

Insides up are smaller, if that matters to you. Smaller rooms but stewards great. They did miniature towel animals really cute. 

 

I did miss having a dedicated pizza place though I'm not overly fond of royal pizza late at night not many choices. 

 

I did a JS on jewel and mostly remember some lounge I could see in but was told I couldn't be in lol. But we loved our JS. But was before covid. Back then I guess I wasnt on cc for years and didnt stay caught up in rcl stuff, though now I understand. 

 

I wouldnt hesitate to choose jewel over some freedom class which also isnt exactly up to date. It's never far to a elevator. Small ships everything is close. I'm booked next may on 7 day mariner out of texas. It's doing just the one 7 day. Doing it for a change of pace from harmony. Come join me on mariner?

[aussielozzie18]

Deleted

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by aussielozzie18

[Ocean Boy]

11 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

We might have been freed of the scourge. All their threads are gone, and when I checked, so are all their posts. 
 

Apparently I've missed something.

[A&L_Ont]

30 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Apparently I've missed something.

They were a CC weekend warrior.  For example this weekend they started four or five threads, all with intentions of stirring up the masses. No real value for the readers but a whole lot of “fishing” for the OP.  
 

When their last 3 profile viewers were all CC mods you know they are under his eye. 

 

[voyager70]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

We might have been freed of the scourge. All their threads are gone, and when I checked, so are all their posts. 
 

I noticed that this morning too. Let’s keep our fingers crossed we’ve seen the last of him. My guess though is that they’ll be back with a new screen name. 

[clochette]

14 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We love Radiance class.   Serenade will always be my favorite.   Her Sister Jewel has always been nice for us too.

We love all the large windows just about everywhere you go.   

 

Schooner bar is the best location, IMO.

 

Giovannis and Chops have great views too.

 

I think we get better service and usually better food on this size ship than any of the larger ones.

Radiance class ships feel more like a classic cruise ship.

I'm sure whatever you decide will be nice!!

 

I completely agree, we did Radiance for 15 days and loved it, our first time on a small ship, we had been on Anthem quite a bit but truly enjoyed the smaller ship ease of getting everywhere and loved the Schooner bar, which I generally don't care for as on anthem there are no windows.  Really enjoyed the back of the windjammer and being able to eat outside.

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I was looking at the sailings last night.  The 7 night sailings early June have some great pricing too.

As Jimbo said early May can be chilly in Bermuda.  We have found June to be quite nice.

We cruised to Bermuda 12 times.Our first cruise was there in 1973.The earliest we ever were there was June.

[Luckynana]

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I'm pleased to hear how well Ryan is doing and happy for you Maryann.

It is 39°F and sunny here this morning.

Thank you so much, Graham!

It is in the 50's and sunny here this morning, going up to 60 later today

[lenquixote66]

2 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Thank you so much, Graham!

It is in the 50's and sunny here this morning, going up to 60 later today

It may hit 80 here later this week.The snowbirds may come east this year.😀

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

They were a CC weekend warrior.  For example this weekend they started four or five threads, all with intentions of stirring up the masses. No real value for the readers but a whole lot of “fishing” for the OP.  
 

When their last 3 profile viewers were all CC mods you know they are under his eye. 

 

 

As trolling pot-stirrers go, he wasn't even all that entertaining.  His "about me" says it all. 

 

Fortunately, most people saw thru him pretty quickly and his threads did not gain much traction.

 

[Arzeena]

@sgmn

Hi Sue,

I asked J if he was doing some sort of Live, a review or log on the World Cruise on some platform. He said that he was still figuring it out and does not know yet. I told him to send me the info of wherever he does that.

All I will say is what a major loss to us Cruise Critic readers. That vlog (when he does it) belongs HERE!!!!!!!

[A&L_Ont]

57 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

As trolling pot-stirrers go, he wasn't even all that entertaining.  His "about me" says it all. 

 

Fortunately, most people saw thru him pretty quickly and his threads did not gain much traction.

 

 
For sure. The feel the CC members that “got caught” were the ones who don’t frequent the pages as often. 

[molly361]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

 

As trolling pot-stirrers go, he wasn't even all that entertaining.  His "about me" says it all. 

 

Fortunately, most people saw thru him pretty quickly and his threads did not gain much traction.

 

I kept hoping that no one would feed into any of his threads and then they would just fade away to page 2 but people got sucked in

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, clochette said:

I completely agree, we did Radiance for 15 days and loved it, our first time on a small ship, we had been on Anthem quite a bit but truly enjoyed the smaller ship ease of getting everywhere and loved the Schooner bar, which I generally don't care for as on anthem there are no windows.  Really enjoyed the back of the windjammer and being able to eat outside.

I like Anthem but do not like the location of Chops or the Schooner bar - no view is no fun.   

I, too, enjoy the outdoor eating area on the Radiance Class and Quantum class.    Seems like few know about it on the Quantum class.    

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, voyager70 said:

I noticed that this morning too. Let’s keep our fingers crossed we’ve seen the last of him. My guess though is that they’ll be back with a new screen name. 

Hopefully their IP address is blocked from doing that (if CC can do that).   

Majority of stuff that poster said didn't even make sense.   I believe they were trolling and I ignored majority of their threads.   But sometimes for entertainment I couldn't resist😁

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We cruised to Bermuda 12 times.Our first cruise was there in 1973.The earliest we ever were there was June.

Bermuda is near and dear to us.    My parents took us there and we have taken our boys there for land vacations a couple of times.   We have cruised there several times and never tire of the island.    

We have been there early to mid May and recall it being too chilly to be on the beach in a swimsuit, water temp was too chilly to swim.   Nice temp to walk around and tour the island but too chilly to do any beach activities or snorkel.     We personally like June or September (July and August can be too hot and humid)

[lenquixote66]

5 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Bermuda is near and dear to us.    My parents took us there and we have taken our boys there for land vacations a couple of times.   We have cruised there several times and never tire of the island.    

We have been there early to mid May and recall it being too chilly to be on the beach in a swimsuit, water temp was too chilly to swim.   Nice temp to walk around and tour the island but too chilly to do any beach activities or snorkel.     We personally like June or September (July and August can be too hot and humid)

We loved it the most when cruise ships docked in Hamilton and stayed in port at least two nights.