Gulf01

15 minutes ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

Abe Hughes still on Virtual of the Seas however will be signing off after the upcoming sailing.

 

Now probably is the time to finish the Virtual cruises and get life back to normal (leave the party when you're still enjoying it and keep the memories) but I will forever be grateful to him for making lockdown bearable for me, I'm sure those here who have followed some/all of the Virtual cruises have felt the same. 🙂

Enjoyed it. Can’t wait to get back on Harmony. Also got my cruise fix watching the “Super Mario” videos. 

2 hours ago, afg12876 said:

Hi Everyone.  Long time reader and lurker here.  Also long time cruiser on RC.  We're currently planning our summer vacation and we're torn between the Oasis out of Bayonne and the Harmony in Pt. Canaveral.  We've been on the Oasis before, but it's so convenient for us as we live about an hour away.  

 

Do we know who will be the CD on the Oasis when it's in Bayonne this summer?  I know Marc will be on the Harmony...

 

Thanks for the replies when they come!

Roles reversed! We live an hour from Hamony. Beautiful ship. Great CD. Great staff. Worth the  flight. Orlando/ Canaveral vs Bayonne in winter? No brainer.

11 hours ago, momsmad69 said:

Anyone know who will be filling in for Marc Walker on Harmony in April 2020?

Whomever it is he or she will have big shoes to fill. We loved Marc on Harmony.

39 minutes ago, pstone1 said:

On Mariner and Ricky Matthews is currently our CD.  We have had Ricky several times before and always enjoy his high energy and interaction with the guests.

Actually found Ricky to be a some what vulgar (twerking ala Miley Cyrus with a bent over male dancer) one trick pony. One dad grabbed his two kids and said “lets go” and left the Promenade. He DOES have energy but just not my cup of tea. How many “Oh Mama! Hey Mamas” can you take. As a whole, Mariner was fine though.

4 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

Just off Jewel  for the Rome to Dubai Repo and the CD is Andrea Oliver. He was a bit wooden at first but his morning show with Talita the AM was great and he relaxed over the 16 nights. He took a few stargazing evenings in the middle of the Red Sea and was very informative. He will be onboard until March.

 

Talita was amazing and was more visible around the ship. She would make a fantastic CD but I believe her husband is an officer so she travels on the same ship as him.

We were on Jewel on a B to B right before your Dubai cruise. Our CD for both was Simona Figarulo (spelling may  be wrong). That was our third Jewel cruise with her and didn’t care for her. Let me guess... if they had “dancing with the bars” Kalita won. Correct?

2 hours ago, Taz1960 said:

When we were on Mariner earlier this year Jenna was the AD and filled in as CD was awesome! That was in Oct!

When we were on Mariner several months ago, a guy named Rickey was cd. He was horrible on Brilliance two years ago and worse on Mariner. Also had Simona on Jewel this month in Europe. Ugh!! Very full of herself and her activities director Kalita made it almost impossible to move through the Centrum. Years ago a guy named Casey Pelter was great on Freedom for four Cruises. Graham on Rahpsody was wonderful, I forget the lady’s name on Allure but she was temporary and did a bang up job. Our all time favorite was Mark on the Harmony. I never saw the CD on Symphony but it was only it’s fourth cruise after it’s launch and needed seasoning. A good CD can really enhance your cruise. 

15 minutes ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

Ricky isn't assigned to Navigator - I believe that he is still on Symphony.

He was on the Mariner a few months ago. We had him there and on Brilliance  two years ago. If it’s the same “Oh mama, Oh Mama... big hair... simulate twerking ala Sex with another male dancer then who cares where he is? Where he AIN’T  is more important. Not my cup of tea. 

1 minute ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

Dennis Charles is on Harmony currently.

Beautiful....never heard of him after 16 RCL cruises but I'm sure we will be pleasantly surprised. Two years ago, on the spur of the moment , my wife booked the small ship "Rhapsody" to Key West, Cozumel etc ...a fellow named Graham  (can't remember his last name) was CD and he was hilarious and talented. Will you be on Harmony on the 25th?

Hello....It's 08/11/2019 and I am asking anyone out there to let us know if Mark is the cruise director for the 08/25/19 cruise on Harmony. If it's "Rickey"....I will stick my fingers down my throat and vomit so I can use my insurance and cancel this cruise. Had Rickey on the Mariner a couple of months ago and also on the Brilliance two years ago.....very poor....will not board a ship with him and his dancers.

On 2/2/2019 at 10:43 AM, Scotty G said:

According to Mark he will be assigned to Harmony and will be bringing her to Port Canaveral in May. Don't know his vacation schedule after that. He is happy that he will see the family every weekend with this reassignment.

I hope it's Mark Walker. It scares us that he is listed on Mariner and Harmony. A few months ago we were ON Mariner and CD "Ricky " ruined the cruise with his crap...."Hey MAMMA!!!....Hey MAMMA!>>> one trick pony. We will NEVER cruise with Ricky again. 

It never seems to end! Just how greedy can the those vile, corporate money grubbers get?!?

 

 

14 night Reflection 13 April...$879pp (inside) $976pp (OV) $1121pp (balcony) with $50 OBC:)

 

15 night Eclipse 15 April... $749pp (inside) $1099pp (OV) $1099pp (balcony0 with $175 OBC:D

 

13 night Silhouette 15 April....$599pp (inside) $774pp (OV) $839pp (balcony) with $150 OBC :eek:

Hey! You're talking about thirteen, fourteen and fifteen night cruises. You are kidding, right? These prices are reasonable for that length of cruise.

I'll be emerald after upcoming cruise and have been hell bent on getting to Diamond. But the more I think about it, really.. whats the point? The drinks are a great benefit but I always buy the drink package so that negates any benefit there. I once ducked a rope (on accident?) and boarded with the Diamond +'s and that was pretty sweet. Still I think we boarded after the suite guests.

 

So I don't mean this in a negative way, I do want to get to Diamond, but what makes this level so special for people? From what I see priority boarding and free drinks. But if you're boarding after Suite guests and buying the drink package, is it just a status thing? More pull at guest services?

 

Really just curious..

You were reading my mind. Three free drinks? ooooooooh. We always get the drink package anyway. Without sounding negative. Guest services is going down hill a little anyway.

Just back from 10 day Serenade cruise. With over 350 D&D+, total available seating in DL was 34. Long waits for drinks each night as well as almost zero seating. We all asked why the door connecting the Vortex lounge with DL was not opened to create a normal overflow area (this was done each night on this same ship back in 2015 NE cruise).

The diamond concierge said it was "corporate decision to keep this door shut".

I have never experienced such an overcrowded DL in all the cruises we have taken as diamonds. Most others we talked to agreed.

Needless to say, there were a lot of pissed off guests each night. Most of them got so frustrated they left and used their sea pass drinks elsewhere.

Now I don't have a problem with the 3 free sea pass drinks.....however, as diamonds, the DL experience is important for meeting old friends and socializing in your own private lounge. This is what loyal customers pay their money on and expect a consistent corp. policy (providing adequate overflow areas with proper personnel).

Please, chime in diamond members if you have had similar recent DL issues.

I would hate to think corporate is modifying their DL policy to put profit over loyalty.

I find the Diamond Lounge to be stuffy and lacking in atmosphere. As far as corporate going for profit over loyalty, it has been heading that way for the last couple of years and not only with the chinch bug attitude toward Crown and Anchor functions and venues but with profit versus all guests.

We are a group of 4 booked on the Epic leaving on June 13th. We want to see Rome either pre or post cruise. I am having a lot of difficulty with trying to plan. We will be flying into and out of FCO. We can fly in early and do a day to 2 days of sightseeing or go directly to the ship and see Rome on our return. I'm trying to decide whether after flying for so many hours if we will be too tired to really enjoy sightseeing pre-cruise and maybe after the cruise would be better; we can sleep on the plane going home.

 

Have checked a few places and am very confused about once we get to Civ...how we get into the port and to the ship, Would a cruise line supplied transport get us there. I saw that it was quite a walk from the terminal to the ship.

 

If we choose to do Rome sightseeing after the cruise, how would you suggest we get from the departure into the City?? I see that there is a train but we will have luggage.

 

We are not 'newbies' to cruising but this one has me pulling my hair out. This is by far the most difficult to plan. H E L P !!!

My wife and I flew from Miami to Rome. We got to Rome 10 am their time. We checked into a hotel in the city and walked to the Vatican and got our bearings of the city. I tell you this. The cruise to Greece and Turkey was more enjoyable knowing we had a few days in Rome t6o look forward to when we docked. That coupled with the fact that everyone who were scrambling to get from the ship to the airport seemed stressed while we took our time and booked a ride from the port to Rome. We stayed at the Hotel de la Minerve and it was the perfect location. We walked to the colloseum, the Vatican, the Fountains of Trevi and every where. It is a beautiful city and I would highly suggest seeing it after the cruise. Spring for a cab or van from the ship to Rome. It's a vacation!

How about this...."Please, no video or flash photography during the show". Right!! Immediately, the arms go up the phone screens light up, my blood pressure goes up.....

Well, I've been to Nassau three times. (Twice on Freedom and once on Allure of the Seas) and I may sound like a wet blanket but I don't care to go back. If a cruise has it on it's list of ports, my wife and I will probably stay on the ship. Nothing against the Bahamian people, it's just not a very interesting place for me. The last time we took an excursion and it still was very boring. St. Kitts.....great, St. Thomas.....great, St Maartin.....great, Bahamas....blah. Sorry.

Is that the same Simona that was on Jewel of the Seas in August/September? If so you are correct. VERY Italian, brilliant linguist but otherwise not much there.