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For those boarding the Ovation tomorrow: I will do my very best to get menus 4 and 5 done tonight! 🙂 Here is Royal Night. I had an old favorite for my appetizer: the Vidalia onion tart. It's essentially a slice of quiche, and a very tasty one! DH had the Caesar salad, which was ... well, a Caesar salad. 😉 He had the lobster for his entree, and said that he didn't notice any changes for the better or the worse. He was however disappointed that the baked potato has been replaced with rice. I was even more disappointed, because my chicken marsala was the only dish that I honestly couldn't finish eating due to its salt content. I had a couple of bites, but that was all I could manage. On the other hand, the asparagus and mashed potatoes were excellent! DH's baked Alaska was very good, especially since it was heavy on strawberry ice cream which is clearly the best flavor! 😄 The warm chocolate cake itself was excellent. The sauce was a bit underwhelming since it was basically just Hershey's syrup. But the cake eaten with just the ice cream was delish. And, hopefully within the next couple of hours, we will have Bon Voyage!

It seems that all of the mass market lines are multiplying their upcharges these days, so you might have to try a luxury line. Happy sails wherever you land. 🙂

A Taste of the UK DH got the baby shrimp cocktail salad, and while we were both surprised to see that it was basically just shrimp with sauce on the side, it was nice to be able to decide on proportions yourself. And the sauce was yummy. I wanted to try the leek & potato soup, but I was a bit hesitant because potato soups tend to run on the salty side anyway, even when you're not on a cruise. 😉 I decided to risk it, and I'm glad I did because it wasn't over-salted at all. Delish! DH went for the Indian dish, since tikka masala is a favorite of his. It was a bit spicy for my taste, but he thought it was perfect. I got the chicken & mushroom pie, which was delicious. I personally prefer the pastry-t0-filling ratio of a full pie, rather than just a crust "lid" like this, but both the pastry and the filling were excellent. You can't get more UK than a sticky toffee pudding for dessert. 😊 It was pretty good, albeit slightly dry, but the sauce was excellent. And, bonus, this time the nasty whipped topping was on the side! I also tried the chocolate mousse, mostly out of curiosity since I saw how they butchered the chocolate custard. 😞 The mousse was definitely less of a tragedy, but just okay. The bites with the strawberry pieces and the mint leaves were very good. 🙂 In the next installment: Royal Night.

A Taste of Asia was probably my favorite night overall, which is a bummer since it doesn't seem to appear on most 7-night itineraries. Oh well, I'll enjoy it when I can! My appetizer was the vegan spring rolls, which I thoroughly enjoyed. DH got the chicken & cabbage dumpling, which was even better! I got the winning entree, however: shrimp pad thai. 😋Probably my favorite MDR dish of the cruise, and not far behind my favorite specialty restaurant dishes. DH got the sweet & sour pork, which was also pretty good. But it was no shrimp pad thai. 😉 For dessert, I decided to go with a familiar staple and get the Royal chocolate cake. Still a solid chocolate cake, but nothing to blow your socks off. DH was feeling a bit more adventurous and got the lychee tart since he had never tried lychee before (if you haven't either, it's kind of pear-like in flavor with a slightly floral hint to it). The tart was good, but a bit hard to eat since the crust was more sturdy than flaky. Up next: a Taste of the UK!

While we all know that food is extremely subjective, and dishes can vary quite a lot from ship to ship (and sometimes even from cruise to cruise), there seem to be a lot of questions and not a lot of specifics when it comes to the new MDR menus. So I thought I would chip in the little bit that I can. 🙂 We ate in the main dining room five times, with the following menus: Welcome Aboard, A Taste of Asia, A Taste of the UK, Royal Night, and Bon Voyage. I'll do each night in a separate post, starting with the Welcome Aboard menu. For appetizers, we both had the crab cake. Two thumbs up! The Old Bay sauce and the tomato-cucumber salad were both heavenly, and the crab cake itself was pretty tasty too. Yes, they are made with imitation crab, but that doesn't bother me in the least. I ate every bite and wished I had ordered two! My entree was the spaghetti bolognese. Full disclosure, Italy is one of the places I've lived overseas, and I'm a bit hard to please when it comes to Italian cuisine. The noodles were al dente, which is an absolute must for me, but the sauce was disappointing. Too salty, and seasoned with chili pepper flakes--not that that's bad, just not authentic bolognese. I've been pleasantly surprised with their bolognese before, but it was on a different ship and before the new menus. This one was a miss for me. DH got the New York strip steak. I didn't want him approaching his entree with any preconceived notions, so I didn't tell him anything about the awful things I had read about the beef dishes. I asked him what he thought, and when he said it was pretty good, I asked, "So, on par with Outback Steakhouse?" He replied, "I'd say a bit better." 😲 I asked for a bite to confirm, and guess what? Yep! It was really quite good! To be fair, he later came across a couple of gristly bites, but it was tasty and mostly tender and a thoroughly pleasant surprise. Certainly not the best steak we'd ever had, but miles away from the inedible shoe leather I had read about. He did say that it was closer to warm than hot, and the veggies were pretty bland, but overall, an enjoyable entree. His dessert was the key lime pie. The custard and crust were quite good. The only downside was that nasty "whipped topping" that Royal puts on everything. Blech! It's okay, though--we just scrape it off and enjoy what's left. My dessert, on the other hand, made me want to cry. 😞 The dark chocolate custard used to be what is referred to as "pot de crème" in some of my other overseas homes (French-speaking Europe). I looked forward to it with great anticipation on every cruise. Now, it's basically Jell-o chocolate pudding. 😥 So, unless that's what you want ... I would give this one a pass. In the next installment: A Taste of Asia. 🙂

I did consider it, especially at first when I wondered if I misunderstood him, and he'd been onboard for sea trials or something like that. But my next thoughts were 1) if he's truly that desperate to feel important, just let him have it; and 2) with my luck he'd be in the cabin next to ours, or seated at the next table. 😐 Still, if I'm being honest ... yeah, part of me regrets not calling him on it!

I've been amused by people's stories of passengers boasting about their C&A status, suites etc., but I may have found the all-time champion: Shortly after boarding the Ovation, a guy in the elevator behind me commented on how "tiny" the ship was. Hmm ... not how I would describe a Quantum-class ship, but ... sure, it's perceptibly smaller than Oasis-class ships, so whatever. Another lady in the elevator responded by saying that yes, it does seem smaller if you're accustomed to Oasis. That's when the guy said: "Oh, you think Oasis ships are big? Just wait until you try the Icon class. That's what I've been sailing lately. Oasis is nothing in comparison." 🤨 The lady either honestly didn't know that the Icon won't be sailing for a few more months, or pretended to believe him, so he continued with his tall tales. Either way, the guy got to feel superior for at least the length of the elevator ride, because I just ignored the whole exchange while saying to myself, "Oh, this is definitely going on Cruise Critic." 🤣 But in retrospect, I should have tried to befriend the guy, since he's apparently in possession of a Tardis or a time-turner! 😉

I was having a mini-panic attack on your behalf until I read this part! 😁 If this were an independently booked excursion, it would be quite a gamble to meet them on shore by 7:30 if the scheduled arrival is 7:00. There are far too many moving parts to consider that a sure thing. However, since you booked through Royal, your arrival would have to be really delayed for your excursion to be at risk. Just follow the directions on your tickets and you're good to go. 🙂

Thank you for sharing your experience, it's always refreshing to hear that Royal (or any company) has done the right thing. Sincere sympathies for the loss of your father.

Respectfully ... no, not impossible. 🙂 I was on the Allure last October, and the Wipe Out Café was most definitely NOT "Wipe Out Café featuring El Loco Fresh," as it is currently billed. Although I believe you when you say it was that way in December, I am equally confident that it wasn't in October. It was essentially a mini-Windjammer in terms of menu items. And you're right, there is no "Wipe Out Café featuring El Loco Fresh" on smaller ships. However, I have tried the El Loco Fresh menu on other ships and not been impressed. That was the point of my comment.

There isn't a place to fill a sports bottle, unfortunately. If you want to carry a bottle around with you, and you don't want just water (which you can get from your sink and ask your stateroom attendant for ice), you would have to fill it from glasses of iced tea/flavored water in the Windjammer or similar eateries, so not the most convenient. Complimentary dining options will depend on the ship, but all of them have something beyond WJ and the main dining room. You can check out your ship on the Royal website, and it will list the dining options, including which ones have an extra fee and which do not.

Unfortunately, they don't typically hold back spots on shore excursions. However, cancelations happen all the time, so your best bet is to keep checking back regularly. Good luck/bonne chance/buona fortuna/buena suerte! 😉

Full disclosure, I've never been to Catalina Island, but Ensenada is my least favorite port of any itinerary--so personally, I would choose Freedom. That being said, if you would stay on the ship in Nassau (no judgment, that's what I usually do 😉), then the West Coast cruise would potentially involve a lot more to do and see. And while I've never spoken to anyone who really loves Ensenada, some people have obviously had better experiences there than I have. 😉

It was less than a year ago when we last sailed the Allure, and the Wipeout Cafe was still there. To be fair, I never tried the burgers, but what I did have was pretty tasty (especially for breakfast). We are not big fans of El Loco Fresh, so I was bummed to hear it's been replaced. 😕 Maybe we need to try El Loco Fresh again, though. I've heard from lots of people who enjoy it, so they might deserve another chance on another ship. 🙂

I'm happy to explain anything that was unclear. 🙂

Yes, you have made this point multiple times on multiple threads, if memory serves. 😉 You certainly have the right to feel that the distinction is an important one, and that "we all need to remember" it. Respectfully, however, I sincerely doubt that anyone who has paid for their cruise and boarded the ship will be flummoxed over not receiving a pro-rated refund when they eat at the so-called "free" venues. Otherwise, we would have to start to referring to free library services, freeways without tolls etc. as "included with your taxes" services. 😁

It seems to be pretty hit-or-miss. It's probably worth continuing to fill out the form, because sometimes it does work. But unfortunately, about 50% of the time, it has to be dealt with once you're onboard. One note for future reference: dining room requests are also hit-or-miss (again, about 50% in our experience), but you can go to the dining room anytime on boarding day and check out your dining assignments. You can start by comparing the table number listed on your cards with the table number of the other family you want to be seated with. If they don't have you at the same table, they are usually able to change it. Just go to the podium near the dining room entrance and speak with the attendant. That way it's handled before your first dinner, no awkwardness required. 🙂

Oof. That is tough. To be honest, I doubt there is a way to "find out for sure," because if you call, they will tell you to follow policy. And while my gut says that you would probably be okay, I would certainly not recommend showing up and hoping for the best. I also understand your skepticism over having enough time to renew now. Again, I would suspect you would probably get it in time, but it's far from a sure thing. And, as has been pointed out above, the birth certificate & driver's license option is a good backup.

Just for a variety of points of view ... I personally find that cruising without a balcony just isn't worth it. I had an inside on a company cruise, and decided never again. I'm content with a standard balcony cabin, but the extra space/bathtub/walk-in closet of a JS is awfully nice too. If you've done both ships and all the ports before, I'm guessing you're a fairly frequent cruiser, so it's not like you have to worry about missing out on something you'll never have a chance to do again. If it were me, JS vs. inside would be the deciding factor, but either way--choosing between two free cruises is a pretty great problem to have! 😁

There seems to be a disconnect here ... maybe you meant to reply to a different thread? Or just misread the original post? The OP was comparing Royal and HAL (Holland America), not NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines).

If you've already paid, you're good to go. 🙂

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's been a few years since I sailed on HAL, but my impressions matched up pretty well. I've been contemplating giving them another go as I try to figure out where the best bang-for-buck ratio lies in the post-COVID world.

Nope. I believe you're the first person in history to have that epiphany. 🙄 Seriously though, the employees at Coco Cay are Bahamians--i.e. locals. As are the proprietors of the straw market shops. I'm sure Royal charges them rent, I'm not suggesting it is done as a charitable endeavor, but it's categorically false to suggest that no income from Coco Cay flows back into the Bahamian economy. Besides which ... it wasn't the Bahamian government that dropped a billion dollars in developing the island. Return on investment for a private corporation is hardly heresy. 😉

This question comes up every week or so, and the answer is always the same: it depends. On LOTS of things, apparently. Just as one example: the last poster mentioned going to FLL and MIA "all the time and they never check." On the other hand, my last two FLL cruises both checked. Why the difference? Who knows. So my best advice is this: try it if you want, but only if you're prepared for the possibility of waiting around until your assigned check-in time. You might get lucky, or you might not.

Unfortunately, I haven't really paid attention ... if I were to guess, I would say between five and ten minutes, with Chill Island being slightly closer to the water park entrance. At any rate, I absolutely agree--you will have fun either way! 😊