rusty nut

7 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Do you know why blended whisky was invented?

 

It was invented to get women to drink Scotch, as the traditional (single malt) whiskies were more overpowering. So the grain whisky was added to smooth them out and make them lighter in flavor.

 

The draw of a single malt is the complexity.  All the various flavors as it rolls across the tongue, and lingers.  And the change in flavor profile as you add a wee bit of water (not too much).

 

And yes, most single malts should have a bit of water added.

 

When I try a new whisky.  I taste it neat.  Then I add a tiny bit of water, and taste again, and then a bit more water, and taste.  At some point, you know you have hit the proper mix as the aroma and flavor peaks.  

 

 

The reason blends were invented is not interesting to me. All I know is I like blends better. For obvious reasons, their flavor profile is much more complex than single malts. 

Also, generally speaking, JW Black is the gold standard to which almost all blends are compared. It’s blend is also based on Talisker, an excellent single malt. It’s also a great value. 

Its funny because a lot of my whisk/e/y tasting has been on a cruise. I also drink my bourbon and scotch, neat, but for some odd reason, I drink Crown Royal and Jameson, on the rocks. 

I started out drinking bourbon, and for the longest time I searched for my favorite. Then someone turned me on to scotch. I asked myself why I was looking for a good bourbon when scotch literally turned me around. 

I still drink bourbon, and I do have my favorites. bulleit is one of my favorites. I also like Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve. I’ve also discovered a great inexpensive bourbon that compare favorably with Knob Creek; Evan Williams. I always have scotch on hand, not always bourbon. 

I don’t buy single malts, because like I said, they’re a horrible value and i’ve Yet to find what all the fuss is about. 

1 hour ago, George C said:

Have you tried JW double black, also like the more expensive JW green and gold. chevis regal is also good. 

Thank you, yes, I've had Double Black several times and although I like the peatiness of it, it leaves me with dry mouth, something fierce. I like a somewhat peaty scotch but I also prefer the blends because, well, blends are better. 🙂 I'm not big on single malts simply because I think blends are better, at least that's been my experience. I've had a lot of of single malts and I just don't get the excitement. Maybe that's what they mean by "single malt snob", LOL.

Shiva's is not bad but the 12 year is way more than JWB, which I think is better, anyway.

7 minutes ago, SRF said:

Yeap.

 

Same thing with Johnny Walker. 

 

There are much better blended whiskies available.  

I'm a big JW fan, always loved their blends. I'm not a fan of Shiva's, Dewer's or J&B but I'm always on the lookout for some good scotch. Not too much into single malts, only one I really liked was Balvenie 12 year Doublewood. I like JW Black because of its price point, and to me, and many others, it's a very fine scotch. Can you recommends some blends I might try that you think are better than JW? I'd be willing to try them.

20 hours ago, George C said:

Not really a bourbon guy but drink a lot of scotch, most ships have 18 year old chivas regal as part of the package , lots of good single malts also included, all of the 12 year old single malt was included. Only thing we paid extra was for Johnny Walker blue which is 21 year old

JW Blue doesn't have an age statement. The only thing Diageo  will tell you about the scotch is that it contains over 20 rare single malts in its blend. There is a rumor floating around that it's youngest spirit is 28 years aged. 

10 hours ago, Tin can said:

 

Maybe for cruises out of Florida but this isn’t the case around the World with Royal. 

 

Surprisingly it also wasn’t the case on our Adventure cruise recently out of NY.

 

I’m not fussed either way what people wear but having seen a table of guests wearing Onesies in the MDR from Port Canaveral I think Royal may have given up in Florida trying to advise people what to wear.

 

 

 

 

 

That's because folks living in trailers are cruising, now. 😁

1 hour ago, thrifty99 said:

 

I will share what we don’t like about Windjammer. I never will go there now after witnessing a few unsanitary concerns. The last time I ate there a child was licking his fingers and then using the serving utensil to get his food. Another child dropped a spatula on the floor, picked it up, returned it into the food. I decided the risk / odds of getting sick were too high eating there. 

 

Better places to eat every meal without as much contamination risk. 

Yea, if you just sit and watch, take a look at how many (sick) people are coughing and sneezing right into their hand and then grabbing the serving spoons. The most vile, bacteria ridden spot on the entire ship is right there on the handle of that serving spoon. We don't go into the Windjammer, anymore.

I love her Majesty. I don't know why but her sister ship, Monarch of the Seas, remains one of the most memorable ships I've ever been on.

47 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Revel went into bankruptcy years before the economy crashed and it was 100% due to no smoking. The bankruptcy judge made them go smoking in hopes of pulling them out of bankruptcy. Do your homework before you try making it up as you go along to suit your purpose.

 

Are you serious? Revel opened in Apr. of 2012, right smack dab in the middle of the recession, at the worst possible moment. The Revel, as well as many others were closing their doors because of the recession. Cigarette smoke? really? Perhaps you should do *your* homework.

6 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Tell that to the Revel in Atlantic City. Plenty of businesses went under when it took effect, don’t kid yourself.     And yes I do not go out to dinner unless they have outdoor seating with smoking. 

Atlantic city, and many of it's casino's crumbled under the 2008/2009 great recession, not because smoking was banned in casinos. Don't kid *your*self! 

36 minutes ago, Antric said:

Hi All,

I have just tried a mock booking for my cruise and it is now $2000 cheaper for an adjacent cabin in the same class. (less $800 OBC in original deal)

I called RCI and the agent claimed her best price was more than the original price I was quoted. Am I missing something or did I just get a bad agent?

No, you're not missing anything. RCI likes to play these games and when you call for a price drop, they're very good at making you believe that you must be mistaken. I had a $200 price drop once and when I called, it was like pulling teeth. They mumbled and jumbled the numbers into all kinds of smoke and mirror tactics to make me believe there was no price drop. Infuriating, really. Took about an hour on the phone. I honestly believe they're trained to do this.

On 8/28/2019 at 10:35 AM, MrsKC08 said:

Personally, you should have an email confirmation from when you ORIGINALLY booked the drink package (this is a prime example why I save everything, document everything, and bring everything on our cruises). If you don't find resolve prior to booking, I would take that confirmation to your guest services and indicate that you had purchased it at said price and their "system" canceled and refunded it. Proof is in the writing, and there should be absolutely no reason why they wouldn't or couldn't honor it.

Yes, absolutely. Every time we purchase something from RCI we print out the hard copy of the confirmation/receipt. We don't wait for the email (what if it never comes) we print out the confirmation live, at the time of purchase. They can't argue with that.

8 hours ago, Tricia28 said:

Rib eye is no longer on Jamie's menu. They have removed several items including olives. Sounds petty but I am an olive lover and was disappointed they removed them from an Italian menu. I didn't take a picture but I can tell you the menu doe everyone was new that week per our server at Jamie's. Enjoyed the Chefs Table they gave us as compensation though.

Good! The rib eye at Jamie's was horrible. Our waiter specifically said "don't order the rib eye". Did we listen? Nope, we wanted a steak. Worst meal on the ship.

Yes, there is a cap! Your per drink dollar limit. I believe the dollar limit is set at $14. Other than that, there's no limit on the quantity. 

Rule number one: Always bring you daily compass with you into the port. On it, there will be the port authority's phone number. If you know you aren't going to make it, call the port authority and have them call the ship on your ETA. The ship may wait if the time isn't too long. The key is communicating with the port and the ship. If you communicate you ETA to the port authority, at least the ship has some idea. If there's no communication, the Captain doesn't know if you'll be five minutes late, or 5 hours late.

That's why it's extremely important that when you change anything on your reservation, or call for a price drop, always ask about your onboard credit. Your new "lower priced" booking may eliminate any on-board credit you may have had, essentially, wiping out any savings on the new booking. Always ask about it.

I don't drink drinks with a straw, never have. I usually start a milk shake with a spoon but I always finish it right out of the container.

22 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Where and when was this?   In PC no sea pass cards until you check into your cabin.  

It's not just PC. The last three ships we were on, Harmony, Allure and Adventure, all operated that way. These was out of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

12 hours ago, sxphil said:

Yes your response is irrelevant and unfortunatly is typical these days 

 

I am aware of the way the C&A Society works

 

Perhaps a glance at my signature would of told you that

Okay, perhaps I should have said "your question is irrelevant until your following cruise" My bad. Congrats on making diamond, by the way. 🙂

2 hours ago, sxphil said:

On my next cruise I become Diamond !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Every cruise I have done I have purchased the drinks package and had my moneys worth be it $38 Dollars or the Current $57

 

But now I am Diamond I get 3 free drinks which I feel I lose as I am purchasing the package

 

Shouldn't there be a discount on the package then?

If I read your post correctly, you will "make" diamond on your next cruise, you will not have diamond status.  

You won't get diamond status until your following cruise, so you question is irrelevant. 

2 hours ago, sxphil said:

 

 

On 8/2/2019 at 7:55 AM, ducklite said:

I know for a fact that the photo taken at embarkation is linked to your name, cabin #, and past voyages.  Your server, cabin steward, etc. all have this info and are required to memorize names with faces. 

 

All crew can sort by previous sailings, most frequent travelers, etc. and on most lines they are each supposed to learn and remember the names of another 10-20 passengers in order to make them feel remembered.  Bartenders can scan for people who they've served in the past who were good tippers and bring up their name and face and when they cruised so they can greet them like an old friend. 

 

The reality is that while there might be one or two people who do have exceptional memories, the cruise staff have a "cheat sheet" system to make them seem to remember people they served a drink from a random cruise 18 months earlier.

Yes, this is it. It's technology driven, believe me. I've had crew that I'd never met address me by name and knew what my favorite drink was. The staff remembers a lot, also, but don't be fooled, it's almost all technology driven. 

I received a survey that mentioned Cococaye but I think the premise of the survey was to find a name for cruises that stopped there and the Bahamas. All the itineraries in the survey included a stop in Nassau.

9 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Harmony didn't get a Solarium pool.  For Symphony Royal added a small Solarium pool.

Yes, they added a small pool, but it's wickedly cool!

3 hours ago, ryano said:

 

Yeah, I have thought about this too.  Its really gonna suck if Ive spent 350.00 on a package only to find out that pretty much everywhere I want to eat that week is already booked.  

There are so many options for booking reservations on boarding day, I wouldn't worry about it.

1. Guest services

2. Pick up any phone on the ship and call Guest Services.

3. Any Restaurant, specialty, or otherwise.

4. If you're a Diamond or above, the DC can book your reservations.

5. The specialty restaurant sales people that are all over the ship on boarding day can make all your reservations.

6. Heck, I think even your room steward and bartenders can make reservations.

You don't have to be stuck in long lines to do it, but on Oasis class, I would definitely make them on boarding day, they fill up fast.

The OP has sailed previously, many times on RCL, at a time when RCL had no such thing as NRD. At some point between his last cruise and the one he booked in this thread, RCL changed that policy. It would seem to me, any reasonable person would expect a refundable deposit based on the history of their sailings. Further, since his previous sailings were refundable, finding an NRD notation on the invoice was not something he was looking for.