vanelli56

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

Hard to believe.

Unfortunately, its true. 
One person from our group of 6 decided to treat us all and purchased it yesterday. Must of gotten the last one... b/c it showed sold out right after he purchased. I double checked this morning on my cruise planner... still showing as sold out. 

Going on Harmony in late September... Chill Island cabana going for 1200.00 and they are sold out on the cruise planner. 

Went out of Port Canaveral in Jan. on an Oasis cruise and again in May on Mariner. 

Both times were quick through security and check in. Oasis took about 30 mins, with another 30 min waiting for them to start boarding. 

Mariner, we literally walked up to security, went up the escalators... walked to someone holding a tablet.... 'click click'... done. Walked on the ship. 
I would say 15 mins from parking lot to being on board. With 5 mins. of that walking from the parking lot. 

Going on Harmony of the Seas in September. One person in our party has 'Expedited check in' on their set sail pass.... from what I have read is that since he has it... we can all go to that line. Supposedly it is shorter, quicker, and you get to board either with or just behind the VIP/suites/status folks.  

I think the best answer anyone can give you is.... 'It depends'. 
There are too many factors that go into that question.... the port, the time of day, the ship, etc. 
But if you have been on other cruises... I would say its not much different. People rush to get off the gangway 'first'... but if you wait about 30 mins to an hour... you can usually walk off at your leisure. 

we are booked for ovation in Alaska in 2020. cant wait to hear your review.

20 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Any updates on Unlimited Dining for 3 day Mariner.  Been a month since the last things posted here.

 

Is Jaimie's available/included for lunch on boarding day? There are no true sea days, but it's in the planner

Chop's is listed as a choice on boarding day for Key passengers, but not in planner

Can you grab something at Johnny Rocket's?

Can you get something at Playmaker's?

No lunch at Chop's?

No lunch at Izumi?

Any trouble securing reservations?

 

Also, Chop's get's added to lunch list for the 4 day. Obviously Chops and Jaimies are eligible on the true sea day. Correct?

 

Thanks

Jamie's for lunch was no problem right after boarding once they opened.  

Made reservations for each night at the chops host stand, no problem.  

Didn't try Johnny rockets. 

Playmakers was no problem using the package,  just let them know when you order food, as it didn't not pop up automatically on their screen.  

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

That is where we are leaning because we have done chops many times. 

 

I've never done Giovanni's. Is it similar in quality to Jamies Italian? 

We have done Giovannis Table... but have not done Jamies Italian yet so I cant compare those two. But, we'll be on Mariner next weekend and will be trying Jamies then.

I will say that while Giovannis was good... we opted to only eat there once. Where as we went to both chops and 150CP twice. 

It would be a toss up between chops or 150 Central Park. If I had to choose only one... I'd go with 150 Central park. 

4 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

On day two when I used it for the first time I mentioned when ordering to the server that we had the UDP and asked if we could use that here which he said we could.  The second time I did it I never mentioned it and I got a receipt showing I owed $6 for the potato skins.  I questioned this and they corrected it.  It would appear that the computer doesn't automatically pick this up and server must notice it on your account when punching in your order/running your seapass card.  Mentioning it may save you effort later if the server is busy and not paying close attention to whatever shows up on the computer screen. The bar was fairly busy the time it didn't work for me.

Thanks for the heads up on that. 

Nice quick review. 
We leave on Mariner in 9 days. We have opted for the Unlimited Dinning package.... did you encounter any issues using that at playmakers?

Thanks in advance for the info. 

Congrats! Allure was our first mega ship and RCI experience... you will have a GREAT time!

We are on a short 3 night Mariner of the Seas cruise that leaves Port Canaveral in a little over 2 weeks. I was wondering the same thing for us as well... I kept stalking our cruise planner, and it finally popped in there right about the 30 day mark. 

No rhyme or reason for when they open up certain reservations, so I would just keep checking your online cruise planner. 

Just wanted to see if anyone has had definitive results using the new UNLIMITED dining package at the questionable eateries such as playmakers. 

We are going on a short 3 night cruise on Mariner in about 2 weeks... and we are torn between getting the unlimited dining package. We've done Chops and Izumi (both hibatchi and sushi) on oasis. So, on mariner ots we would like to try jamie olivers and play makers ( I love wings and sliders). While we know that Jamies is def. a specialty dining and would honor the UDP, playmakers is still up in the air. While it seems that RCI customer service folks say it will be included... online reviews are still lacking one way or the other. If we can get positive confirmation from folks on here one way or the other for all the locations they were able to use or not use the new package, that would be greatly appreciated. 

I have sailed both lines, 3 with carnival, and 2 with RCI.... but I also have 3 more cruises booked, and they are all with RCI. 
Ultimately I think each company does certain things well, and you will have a great time on either. But, from our limited experience it seems that RCI is just a notch above Carnival. Like Target vs. wal-mart. The one area RCI surpasses carnival in, is new and innovative ships and refurbs. They are dumping a ton of money to upgrade and building the newest fleet at sea. So if you want to sail the newest and biggest ships... RCI is the hands down winner.  

Can anyone explain to me RCI math????

Earlier this week, the drink package for a 3 night mariner OTS cruise was 52 /person/night, and all it said was save 20% from on board prices. Fast forward to this weekend... and I see it says buy one get one 50% off, showing 52/person/day... so I add it to the cart to see what the total would be.... guess what... STILL 52 /person/day + the 18%. It shows the little note that this is a 25% discount applied to each passenger already.   Its funny how that price and discount is a moving target. 

Interesting thread about pricing. We are going on the Mariner OTS on the 3 night, May 10th cruise. (just booked this week)
I have done cruises both with and without the deluxe package. Currently on the cruise planner it sits at $52/day with a banner that claims to be 20% off on-board prices. BUT..... looking at the last three cruise compasses for Mariner OTS in march, the very first page has a Trending Today Sale, which shows it as buy one DBP at 198, get the second half off. So if I do the math, 198 + 99 = 297. Then if I take that, 297 / 3 days / 2 people = That comes to $49.50/person/day. (But then add the 18% which would have to do no matter what). 
With that being said.... I will keep an eye on the future cruise compasses and see if that sale keeps popping on the front page at that same price. If it does, I'll know what the online price needs to be in order to actually be cheaper. 
So I guess that its not 'always' cheaper to buy ahead of time. But, we'll see what happens over the next few weeks before departure. 

48 minutes ago, Ship faced said:

If not to raise alarms, I don't understand the purpose of the original post.

To share information and see if anyone had noticed the same or heard anything else.  So, the question applies more to your post... if you don't have anything to add... what's the purpose of your post? 

Just checked again as well.... showing almost 22 knots.  

Carry on.... nothing to see here... just a series of coiencedents.

Not to raise any alarms,  but we are on the current oasis cruise, post noro scare 2019.... and I have noticed a couple things in the last 12 hours.  

But first we have to back up 24 hours. 

Friday, we were supposed to be at sea all day, well we woke up in San Juan PR. This was for a medical emergency for a crew member.  Not sure what happened,  but the captain said they were in good condition.  

With that,  we were a little off schedule,  but were projected to still get into port Canaveral on time. When I looked in Friday,  we were full speed at about 21 knots. So, all seems well.....

Now.... here's where my speculation starts.  Early today before breakfast,  checking our stats, we are only at about 18 knots. Curious, but I ignore it. 

At lunch,  captain gives us an update and says we're going to be slightly late,  maaaayyybe an hour or so. Also, i don't think much of it. 

Now, fast forward to 630pm.... right after a lovely dinner at 150CP, DW and i head to the walking track to catch last light before dark.  As we make our way to the back of the boat, the port side stair hand rails from the track to deck six, are shaking like crazy! Been on the track all week,  never saw this before.  Continuing around to the rear, and look down... two strong wakes/chop from the center and starboard azipods/  props.... port side... hardly anything!!!

Putting all those items together,  I think the port prop/azipod may have an issue.  

If I remember correctly,  I think both the oasis and allure have had prop problems in the past. I wonder if it's happened again? 

Once again,  no confirmation... just observation and deduction.  We are still moving ahead like normal and can't feel anything mid ship. So, guess we'll just have to wait and see if anything comes of it. 

On the current sailing....

The crew is working as hard as I have ever seen regarding cleaning and sanitizing.  

Like others have said,  we have not heard of anyone being sick in this sailing.  

I ventured to the wind jammer once for breakfast... while I was glad to see the crew serving the food instead of passengers serving themselves... I haven't been back... still too many people for my comfort level.  

Fingers crossed for a continued sick free sailing.  

Looking forward to St. Marteen tomorrow.  

On the current sailing now... which boarded directly Behind the norovirus cruise.  The staff have been amazing. 

I almost feel bad for some of them... there has been one guy, all week, doing nothing but sanitizing the coke machine next to sorrentos.  I salute you Mr. Coke machine sanitizing guy!

But seriously,  the crew are cleaning nonstop,  buttons, handrails,  etc. And they have folks with hand sanitizer,  EVERYWHERE. Also, they are handling a lot more in the food service areas... such as handing you utensils,  or pouring your beverages or coffee for you.  It slows things up just slightly,  but nothing so bad that it backs up more then a few moments.  

Thus far, have not heard of anyone falling ill this week.  So, kudos to RCI and onward to St. Marteen. 

3 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

No tape above that door

Thank you very much!  Glad to help you train for your marathon. :-)

34 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

I, too, think you are apt to be fine as you are now forewarned and will use appropriate preventive strategies.  If you wish to know if there is tape above your future cabin door, post the cabin number, and I will stroll past.

can you swing by 11639? we board sunday.

thanks.

Hope everyone gets to feeling better soon. 

Let us know if they let people get off in Cozumel or hold everyone on the boat.