simdog77

Anyone having web site issues with RCI? Logged in today (first time in a few months) to find everything was different. A lot of detail like the itinerary seem to be missing. We have a couple of bookings coming up and the site sees the booking but offers no detail. When I try cruise planner it wants me to enter all the booking info again. Not the first time over the years we have had similar issues. Just curious...

Looks like it might be soon. Web site now shows part of 2019 calendar now when you try to select Alaska but it doesn’t show any cruise details yet.

Anyone know when the 2019 Alaska schedule comes out? Was told by Next Cruise staff on a recent trip on Adventure it would be today but no sign of it yet.

FYI! We (and 4 other couples) are sailing from San Juan on 11/11/17 on the Adventure. We had hotel reservations for 11/9 and 10. I called Marriot San Juan Miramar with no answer. Called Marriot reservations as was told the hotel was closed until December (thanks Marriot for letting us know). Asked if they had anything else in the area and was told no. Called Hilton and was also told nothing available in San Juan for the 9th and 10th. Wound up changing flights to arrive on the 11th which we don’t usually fly in the day of the cruise. Call your hotel before you fly! FYI RCI was most helpful when I called to get Port transfers. Can’t wait to cruise!!!!!

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Thanks everyone, I will get all the reservations linked anyway. We never had MTD before and were surprised that's all we could get even though we booked in November of last year almost a year in advance. I thought it might have been something to do with the Dynamic thing but it's also Allures first 7 day trip after returning from Europe as well.

Hi everyone,

We're booked on Allure later this year and we have some friends also on the same cruise. An unofficial group! We all have MTD and never having used it before I am wondering if it's possible for us all to be seated together?

We were on her last November. Here's the review... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130669

Hello all!

We sailed on the Grandeur starting on November 11, 2014. It was our 25th Wedding Anniversary so I wanted this trip to be special for my DW (and it was!). I chose the GS over our usual balcony cabin since we drove and did not fly and could put the $$ towards the cabin. Prior to the trip I spent a lot of time researching the benefits and perks of the GS. This is not so much of a review of the trip (others have done that) but more about the "suite life" in case you might be wondering if its worth it or not. So here are a few impressions and observations. Enjoy!

Embarkation

We entered the Terminal in Baltimore (first time at that port) and I was expecting to see signs for Suite Guests (as I have seen in other ports) and did not. There was a priority sign for upper tier C&A once you entered the building but not the Suites. The RC shore attendant looked at my documents and sent us to the "regular" security line Que. A bit disappointed :( (as I was kind of expecting a separate line. I expect that the small size of the ports just did not allow for it.) but it still only took a few minutes and then we had priority suite line to check in at :). It really did not matter as there was little to no wait at any of the lines to board the ship.

The Cabin :) (pictures attached).

We had Cabin 8508 which is on the starboard side. The size is about twice the that of a regular balcony and quite roomy. The balcony itself was extremely nice. We renewed our vows on it (that's another story). The cabin has lots of lighting options and ample storage space was available for 10 days worth of luggage! It was nicely decorated and not over the top or garish in any way. The only thing lacking was power outlets. Only one was available for use, the others had a clock radio and the TV and a PS3 (which did not work but no big deal). When we entered we had a nice bowl of fruit waiting on the bar along with our bottled water which I ordered ahead of time.

The only real negative comment on this cabin is the location due to noise. It and the other GS and above suites are right below the Windjammer. I knew this as I had read other comments about the suite locations having "occasional noise" but we found the noise of stomping feet and carts being rolled about early in the mornings for breakfast prep to be enough to wake us up (at 4 am daily). If I designed the ship I would have put the suites on Deck 7 instead! Other than the "wake up calls" the cabin was extremely nice. The view through the large windows was breathtaking each and every day.

The bathroom had two sinks and a full bath tub. It never ran out of hot water (which the DW liked!). It was also nice and roomy with two medicine cabinets and drawers for storage of toiletries. There were some upscale soaps and lotions provided.

Our cabin attendant Yudi, was fantastic and took care of anything we asked for. The mattress pad one on side was worn and when I asked about it he replaced it immediately with a new one. Yudi even sent us a bottle of Champaign on our aniversery along with a nice "Happy Anniversary" banner on our door.

Concierge Service :)

This was an incredibly nice perk to have. We had two different Concierges during the trip, Francis and Jorge. Francis was heading home at our second stop. We did get an email about 8 days prior to sailing and I did reserve an over the water cabana at Barefoot Beach on Labedee ahead of time. When we got back to the cabin that day a bottle of wine was waiting with a card from Francis saying he hoped we enjoyed out cabana (and we did!). Barefoot Beach was almost deserted as we were the only ship in port that day. The Captain had an over the water cabana as well and was swimming with (ok, near) us. He was getting off and had family with him.

Both Francis and Jorge treated us extremely well and as expected went out of their way to provide us with whatever we needed. :)

The lounge on Deck 11 was a very nice perk and complementary adult beverages were served each evening by the Viking Crown Lounge staff. You could get almost any kind of sprits you wanted from them (short of complex drinks). There was a continental breakfast in the morning and snacks at dinner. If you went there on port days they would take you to the debarkation deck in an elevator reserved for their use which was nice.

On our anniversary day Jorge also sent us a bottle of champagne to our cabin. He must have told the staff at Chops (where we had dinner) who sang to us and brought us cake because I never mentioned it to them.

Some other perks we got...

Twice we got plates with chocolate covered strawberries and other goodies delivered to the cabin (with no notes). On day 2 we were invited to a suites only party at the Viking Crown Lounge. Some of the ships officers were present (we were told the Captain was to be there but he was not). The officers stopped by each table and spoke to the guests for a few minutes which was nice.

Breakfast was available daily for suite guests only at Giovanni's table. It was never crowded. They had a nice menu but you could order whatever you wanted. The service was excellent!

There was reserved seating in the back of the Palladium for shows, no real big deal for us. There was none poolside or anywhere else (as expected).

Room service was anything on the main dining room menu which was placed in a book each day for us in the cabin. We only did breakfast from it a couple of times but that on the huge balcony at sunrise pulling into port was incredible! :D

Oh, and double cruise points!

and some things we didn't see....

Others had posted about being invited to dine with the Captain or having a bridge tour for the suite guests. Neither of those things happened an no big deal to me.

Debarkation

Out waiting area was in the Concierge Lounge. It was open at 6 am but the breakfast items were not available until 7. It was cold in the lounge when returning to Port but the sunrise view was incredible! As expected we debarked on-time (Group 2!) right at 8 am. We were taken off the ship in groups of 6 by Jorge himself in our "reserved" elevator which was very nice. We were in the car and on our way home by 9 am.

Overall it was a wonderful trip. As others have posted about the Grandeur the staff everywhere we went was very nice and very helpful. It felt more personable to me than the Allure did when we were on her last year.

So is a Grant Suite worth it? For this special trip for us it was. Next year we have a JS on a 7 day trip on the Allure. For that trip I could not see spending an extra $2K. Maybe again someday!

We did it in August of 2013 and it was fun. The only thing was the menu was preselected and you did not get a choice of dishes.

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Thanks everyone for the quick replies! With that mystery solved there is nothing left to do but start packing! Oh, and I am curious to see if the Concierge really will email us before sailing as that Barefoot Beach Cabana looks real tempting!

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We are going on the Grandeur in a few weeks in a GS (our first time in a suite) and of course I am reading everything I can about the perks. There are lots of posts about these "luggage tags" that RC mails and sure enough on day 49 I sent the request to have them sent to us from the web site. What I can't seem to find is what is so special about them? This will be our 6th cruise and we have always just printed them out before and put them in out CC luggage tag holders.

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Thanks! Kind of hoped that was the case. We love having the opportunity to try new things and its great that if you don't like it they will bring you something else. One of the things we love about cruising!

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Going on our first 10 day trip in November on the Grandeur. This will be our longest trip yet. Anyone know if the MDR menu has new offerings each night and does not repeat (except the usual RCI faves)? Thanks!

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No problems ever on RCI or Carnival. Been a diabetic cruiser since 2005. Never an issue. They will provide a shapes container on request. No TSA issues either. Enjoy your cruise!

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I was finally able to make the reservations we wanted today which is 121 days before we sail. I made the reservation logging in using the 6/10 email offer with the "save up to 30% on specialty dining". It says you get an on board credit in the as but I have no idea if I actually got it or not. It charged me the regular price at check out. We will see in 121 days!

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Thanks for the info. I will keep trying. I got the same email offer and assumed that it was open but now I know it's not just me. I don't want to miss out on the options. Last year on the Allure we could not get in to certain restaurants as they were full before we ever got aboard.

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Does anyone know how far in advance you can book dining packages for the speciality restaurants? We sail on the Grandeur in 141 days but I have not been able to get the RCI cruise planner to open the dining options. It works for everything else. Tried several different computers and devices. Calling RCI is next on my list...

Thanks!

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Hi all, we are sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas in November of this year (25 anniversary!) and our longest cruise yet, a 10 day. Our longest previous cruise was an 8 day with two formal nights. Is there one more on a 10 day trip?

Thanks!

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