QTBabyNurse

We love the MDR experience and have chosen this dining option all but once on our 20+ cruises. We have tried MTD one time but felt it very impersonal and it felt no different than just dining at home. We love the traditional experience in the MDR of sitting in a large table and meeting other cruisers and talking about our day's activities. We have met the loveliest people from all around the world! It separates the cruise dining experience from the "dining at home at a local restaurant" experience. Nothing like it!

This nurse would never subject themselves to a "human stew pot"...🤮

In regard to your 4th question… This is what we have done numerous times on St. Maarten. I can't remember how much exactly the taxi cost though. Just one piece of advice, make sure to leave enough time to get back to the ship because we have hit traffic on the island a couple of times and it can delay your return.

On all of our sailings except for one (when we mistakenly tried MTD), we have always chosen early dining in the main dining room. We absolutely love sitting at the same table, getting the same wait staff who get to know your likes/dislikes, dining with the same dinner mates throughout our entire trip. We have met great people and have made some wonderful friends along the way! Hubby and I dine by ourselves every single night at home. Why would we want to do the very same thing on a cruise?? Cruises are for getting outside our comfort zone and meet new people!

What a great post! Totally agree! 👏 In addition, cruise passengers who think that the cruise line should just take some of their profits and pay their service staff a livable wage and not rely on tips, clearly have no idea how businesses work. These must be the same people who thought paying fast food workers $15-$20/hour would be a great idea. Now you're paying $24 for a single fast food meal at Five Guys! Businesses are NOT going to eat into their profits to pay low level workers a lot of money. People advocating for this are just very naïve. The costs WILL be passed onto the consumer as always. That's just a fact. So unless you want to pay double for your cruise fare... be grateful for the tipping policy as it stands. My view is that if you can afford a cruise, cough up the extra cash for tips and don't stiff the staff who serve you..in your feeble attempt to prove a point.

Agreed!

Does Johnny Rockets serve fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast?

WOW. I'm seriously embarrassed for those of you who choose to take a cruise but are too cheap to compensate the crew who service your needs.

Thank you for proving my point about the "air of elitism" I spoke of. It is not up to the cruise lines to change their business model. You either accept how the cruise lines conduct their business or you find another form of vacation. Who are YOU to decide how the cruise lines need to conduct their operation? Imagine.....SMH.

I have been cruising since I was a travel agent in the 1980s. What has happened to cruise passengers in that period of time that we have gone from appreciating the hard work of those cruise staff who "serve us" to...how can I "stiff" those who work very hard to help us enjoy our cruise vacation?? So many on this thread seem to have an air of "elitism" about them. What happened to kindness and generosity and thinking of others and showing appreciation for their hard work? It's rather disturbing the shift of attitude over the years.

I've lived in Florida 40+ years and keep a very close eye on hurricanes due to living on the coast. I can tell you that at the very beginning and at the very end of hurricane season, most of the storms form in the western Caribbean...very far from where you'll be sailing. I have also sailed during hurricane season and we had to sail AROUND a hurricane during one itinerary. Although we were forced to miss one port and were not allowed to go outside on deck for a few hours one evening, it was not really any different than any other sailing. The Captain is not going to sail you directly into a hurricane! I wouldn't waste any time worrying about it!

Would you take a cruise on a ship in the month PRIOR to it going to drydock for refurbishment? If not, why not?

I've been trying to locate the planned refurbishment dates for the following three ships but have been able to locate them. Does anyone here happen to know when these three ships are planned for refurbishment? Allure OTS Liberty OTS Independence OTS Thanks! 🙂

What stinks about Celebrtiy's Happy Hour plan is that it conflicts for the most part with people that have early dining. They're usually getting ready and heading to the dining room during the majority of the 5-7 PM unlimited cocktail time. Royal Caribbean's process of loading your card with the free drink coupons doesn't conflict like that and is more useful to most passengers IMHO.

Has anyone sailed on the Celebrity Silhouette over the New Year's Eve holiday? What was your opinion? How did they celebrate NYE? Where was the countdown party?