shipknotshore

We are not really big fans of BLU.   We did enjoy having breakfast there more than dinner.  We weren't really too fond of the menu choices and decided to eat elsewhere most nights after seeing the dinner menu.  Loved EDEN and will continue to book that as our favorite specialty restaurant.  We would not book the more expensive cabin just to eat at BLU. 

Another wonderful thing about cruising......you can eat whenever, wherever, and whatever you choose.  

We've only dined once at the Rooftop Grill, and yes, it can get pretty windy up there.   Food was good, but it is probably our least favorite of the specialty dining options.   We love Eden.  The menu has so many great choices.  The food has always been excellent....we have never been disappointed.  

On 7/6/2023 at 1:34 PM, Cruiscs said:

How is the ambiance at Rooftop Grill when there is a live band playing? Is it too much noise or a better experience?

It's a nice outdoor restaurant with comfortable seating.  Waitstaff were wonderful.   Like Patty said, it can get windy but I'm pretty sure they do their best to seat you in the least windy spots.   I've not ever seen a live band playing either.   

21 minutes ago, Cruiscs said:

What didnt you like at Rooftop?

Truthfully I can't even remember what we ordered.....just that it was nothing special.  We've got a cruise coming up on Celebrity in December so we will have to give it another try.   

We have tried Eden a few times and are always very happy with our meals.   The sommeliers are attentive and helpful and with wine selections.   Our only experience at Rooftop wasn't impressive at all, and were shocked that it was even a Specialty Restaurant.   Reading reviews for this it seems we had an experience that was rare.   Willing to give it another shot.   

We upgrade depending on our itinerary mostly.   If we are in port and planning to be off the ship for the good part of the day it doesn't make sense for us to pay the daily upgrade cost.   We are mostly red wine drinkers, and are surrounded by excellent wineries at home, so even the upgraded premium wines are really not so much to our liking, but will drink Decoy.    We always bring our two bottles on board with us and then tend to drink other selections....I do like a good extra dirty martini....or a margarita.   I rarely ever mix...if I start off with a vodka based drink I won't drink wine, even at dinner.   Headache is never worth it.  

6 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I'm going to have to try one of those.  Never heard of them before until I started watching "Below Deck" a year or two ago.  Until then, other than the basic Martini is all I've ever hear about was the Chocolate Martini.  I do love olives. 

You should definitely try one.....might become your new favorite!   I also watch Below Deck!   

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

But doesn't the olive juice displace some alcohol content?

I would suppose it does, but it is definitely a strong drink.     Cheers!  

Extra Dirty Vodka Martini

On 11/6/2021 at 4:56 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, I have another tidbit to pass along, but you can’t tell anybody. I was looking out over the rail of our balcony and saw what appeared to be the foot end of a lounge chair. Could it be that all I need to do is ask our steward if we could get a lounge chair delivered to our cabin to compliment our existing 2 chairs and table on our balcony? Yup, that’s all it took! 😎

 

 

We have a SV on our upcoming cruise and I was hoping that we would be able to get a lounger.  Thanks for posting all this information.  

Jill

On 9/6/2019 at 6:34 AM, existentialtraveler said:

Beach Limerz....it is close to the port (10 minute cab ride) with uncrowded beach, very nice bar and excellent food. Barry and Gail, the owners, are wonderful people and will make you feel welcome. Beach Limerz feels like Caribbean beach bars used to feel like 20 years ago. Tell them Jim and Toni sent you! Here is the video from our day there in March.

p.s. you are not too far from us in CT! 🙂

Great Video!    We will be there in Antigua next month and wanted to try a beach we've not been to before.    This one seems to be just what we're looking for.  Thanks!

We just finished a Wonderful tour while we are in Sydney pre-cruise.   We booked the Chef-Led Hunter Valley Gourmet Food and Wine Day Trip from Sydney on the Viator website.  

Chef Jimmy was very prompt at answering all of our questions when we contacted him before the tour.   He picked our party of 4 up at our hotel (Meriton Suites on Kent St.) right on time (6:40am) .  First we went to the fish market where he purchased all the fish he would be using for our day with him.   We stopped along the way to Hunter Valley at a lovely location overlooking a bay and he prepared a very good and plentiful breakfast.  He then taught us all how to make our own sushi rolls.   He brought all the ingredients we would need and when we were finished he had us all mark our own to eat later on during the day.   We proceeded to the wine region and stopped at the first winery.  They had about 7 different wines to taste.  Off to the second winery where we had plenty more wine along with Jimmy's food pairings.   We had cheeses, crackers, olives, figs, and pickles, oyster shots,  chilled asparagus with truffle oil and parmesan, then a stuffed mushroom, and finally chorizo.   So delicious.   Made our way to the 3rd winery with tastes of more wine with Jimmy adding his cooking to the enjoyment.  Here we paired our sushi first, then we had scallop with mashed cauliflower, and then Kangaroo sliders!   To top it off we were then served dessert....a truly delicious creme bruele.  This tour couldn't have been any better.  Jimmy was a great chef, but on top of that he was also fun and full of information about the area.   He pointed out Kangaroo off the road in fields and made a game of it.  So much fun!    This tour was a full day ... almost 12 hours from pick-up to drop-off.   Well worth every penny.  Highly recommend .   

Thanks!!

It's been a couple of years since we cruised, and have two coming up soon. What are the Diamond "coupon" offerings these days?

We are doing a B2B 14 nt. transatlantic followed by a 12 nt. Mediterranean...do we get double the offerings for the 14 nt.?

Thanks!

We did a tour there a few years back and LOVED Lisbon. We did go to Sintra and absolutely loved it there. Our cruise ended in Lisbon so we were able to stay an extra few days post cruise and can't wait to return one day. If you are on a time constraint I agree...there is too much to see in Lisbon to go to Sintra too....because you will want to spend lots of time in both places!

Enjoy!

We visited both places on a tour a few years back. Can't go wrong with either stop. We went back to Sintra, absolutely a fabulous little gem. Would love to go back to Portugal and see more.

Enjoy!!

Love your review and all the pictures. Using information from your review and posters for hotel, restaurant, shuttle and other tips. Thanks everyone!

Yes, mid-ship closer to sea level is supposed to be the most ideal. Price will not be a factor as there are many types available mid ship.

We have always started taking Ginger capsules a couple of days before we leave on a cruise, then during the cruise. We have never gotten sea-sick and we have been in a number of aft cabins where you can feel ship movement pretty well.

Ginger capsules are available at your local drug store and most likely in your local grocery store if they have a vitamin section.

Good luck, and happy cruising!

Your ship will be right close by. No need to shuttle. It's a beautiful walk along the wharf.

The program has been up and running for a while now.

 

You get 3 drink vouchers nightly, to be used during the nightly happy hour period. You can get soda, selected beers, glasses of house wine/champagne, and basic cocktails, no blender drinks. You can ue the voucers at any bar, but not at restaurants or room service.

Thanks for answering my question! Glad the program is up and running!

We were on the Jewel last year and at that time they said they were rolling out a new program for Diamond and higher members where they load so many drinks onto your seapass card to use in most lounges between the hours of 5-8pm daily. I was talking to an agent from Royal Caribbean this morning and she knew nothing of the program. Wondering if the program went away or if it's still something they do??? It was nice to be able to have the cocktails somewhere other than the Diamond Lounge, especially when traveling with others who aren't Diamond members.

I would call around to a few other T/A's to see what their incentives are. We just returned from a B2B and our T/A gave us $100.00 OBC, Dinner for 2 in a specialty restaurant on board, and a free spa treatment...for each leg of the cruise. So if your T/A doesn't have any perks, I'd sure be looking around.

Like the above posters have said, the cruise lines generally don't offer any kinds of discounts, as they treat them as separate cruises.

Have fun on your cruise....that's the most important thing!!

We booked thru Levi Baron Bumping Tours also. Emailed back and forth many times before we were due to arrive. There were 8 of us and he left us stranded....there we were at the pier at 9am and no guide. Another operator came to our rescue and called Levi, who said I didn't contact him back....funny I had all of our emails with me and on my cell phone. Disappointed for sure, but Lloyd, came to our rescue and did the same tour for $15.00 less.

Can't attest to everyone elses experience, only my own. First time in all of my reserving tours, etc. has this happened.

We're going to St. Maarten next week - staying for a couple of weeks. We always hit beaches all around the island, so I'll post a general report from there.

We will be there next month.... I will look here for your update on the beach conditions. Thanks so much!

Hi there. We, too, will be sailing on the Jewel of the Seas...in Feb. 2015. I have been looking for things to do on Martinique also. I figure if all else fails we will just get off the ship and stroll around for awhile and get back on the ship and have a relaxing day on board.

From what I've read it sounds like Anse Migan beach is a favorite and they say there is a bar and several restaurants close by.

I think you have to take a ferry to the beach. Ferry runs every 30 minutes.

I hope you post on this thread after you return.....I'm curious to know what your thoughts are and what you ended up doing while there.

~Jill