Pratique

A 10-inch tablet will likely fit, but probably nothing larger.

56 minutes ago, chickychubs said:

I agree that the drop in ingredient quality is a significant factor. From my observation, the kummelweck used to be made with the ribeye cut which has now changed to cheap round cuts. The bread used to be more varied and high quality to now having the same dinner rolls with just different toppings sprinkled over. Desserts changing from using dark chocolate to cheap cocoa (if it is even cocoa) to something that tastes artificial. The escargot which now uses a blend of oil and butter instead of pure butter.

 

Some say that taste is subjective but that refers to flavour profiles of the food prepared not the cause of declining food quality caused by cheaper ingredients.

Although preferences are subjective, yes definitely there are also objective measures such as you mentioned with the ingredients.

I am going through a similar thing with Panera Bread since their menu overhaul in April as a cost-cutting measure to prepare the company for a public offering. Ingredients are now gone or changed and the bread is delivered to the stores frozen instead of being freshly baked. The difference to me, as I mentioned elsewhere, is that the cruise line is good at recalibrating our expectations while Panera has been clumsy with their changes (and I can easily avoid Panera).

Some people may still reach a tipping point where Royal is no longer of interest to them, but I reluctantly accept that as time passes we tend to lose the "nicer things" we previously enjoyed, and it is better to adapt than to scrounge around for other experiences that will inevitably be disappointing in some way or another. We still very much enjoy cruising and Royal's ships despite the disappointments with the food. For us, a cruise is still a better experience than a Hawaii vacation where the chair hogs by the pool are out before dawn, the restaurants are jammed and extremely expensive, and the traffic is horrific.

Royal president Jason Liberty was recently interviewed by CNBC and he made it clear that they want to eliminate the "discount" they have historically offered over land-based vacations. In other words, to bring prices on par. My takeaway from that comment is that Royal will continue to raise prices while also reducing costs as a way of closing that "discount" gap. And they will do it in a way that effectively sets new customer expectations so that we are at worst reduced to grumbling about so-called first-world problems. They will wow people with new the Icon class ships and make the food issues seem minor by comparison. I suppose, anyway.

One more observation from our Freedom cruise: these short cruises out of South Florida tend to attract families and large groups (wedding parties). The waitstaff bent over backwards to take care of me and my wife while the waiter was overloaded with large parties at other tables and even took pains to sit us away from some loud children in both Chops and Giovannis, profusely apologizing for things they have little to no control over. So I think the issue with the food (and it is an issue for us too) is primarily the decline in the quality of ingredients more so than preparation or service. But it may not be fair to generalize about it. Royal is definitely cutting corners though, in the restaurants and lounges and with the amenities too. It is not the same product that it used to be.

9 hours ago, mjldvlks said:

To be honest, that has not been my experience lately. Yes we’ve gotten the speech from the wait staff about the fear of losing their jobs if they get less than a 10 on any aspect of the meal, even things over which they have no control. But, if anything, I have seen diminished attentiveness and care. For example, a few years ago I was repeatedly asked by the waiter why I didn’t eat something and as we left I was literally chased down by the head waiter trying to get me to try something else. As I recall it had nothing to do with quality, it was because I was too full or some other innocuous reason. In contrast, the last cruise we were on (Anthem in January), my steak was so tough and gristly I couldn’t cut it with the provided steak knife so I didn’t eat any of it. Not one member of the staff so much as asked why or if I would like something different. Now I want to stress that overall I liked our wait staff very much — and the increase in the number of tables each waiter is serving makes it hard to spend much time with each guest, so I am not blaming the individual waiter or assistant waiter. But I have experienced a noticeable decline in overall attentiveness. Top to bottom, Royal is simply not offering the same product that hooked me on cruising about 20 years ago.

 

This might be ship-specific. I've been on sailings where it seemed like the overall mood of the staff was dour and inattentive. But we just got off of Freedom and the crew were fantastic. My wife doesn't always finish her dinner portions because she gets full (or wants to save room for desert) and the waitstaff were in a panic that something was wrong with the food, every time. We were apologizing to them about it. So my conclusion is that it might have something to do with shipboard morale. Just a guess though.

“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

I always tell them to use the voucher or not use it. I discovered on CocoCay that although it is possible to use the vouchers there is paperwork involved and not all of the bartenders know how to do it so don't assume that they will use a voucher automatically.

The only thing we look at on the ship TV is the live map. Nothing else seems worthwhile to us.

I know Wi-Fi isn't an option for everyone but it works well for streaming.

Also, we download shows onto an iPad at home as a backup option both during the cruise and traveling to/from port.

The other night I slept under the stars on the balcony and it was the best TV show ever to fall asleep to. If I had that every night I would never need a TV. In fact, there are lots of creature comforts I enjoy at home that I don't miss at all while on a cruise, TV is the big one.

YMMV but in my experience the crew will bend over backward to accommodate us as best they can because they live in fear of any review that is not a perfect "10." The other day someone in the WJ made my wife a grilled cheese sandwich to order. It wasn't a great sandwich but they made the effort and I have to credit them for that, the crew get a 10 and the sandwich gets a 5 or 6. I just think they are hamstrung by the limitations of what they can offer and the offerings have declined over the years. What happened to the chocolate dipped strawberries? Anyone seen those lately? Such a simple thing they can do so it's absence is conspicuous.

One thing the cruise line is good at is forcing us to recalibrate our expectations.

2 hours ago, retired dude said:

according to the chef that i talked to on our most recent rccl cruise the grade of the strip steaks that they serve would be be select of even worse..He compared it to the cheap mexican beef that winn dixie now sells...the best chef in the world cannot make beef of that quality taste good....blame the food quality on the food and beverage managers at corp for buying sub-standard products for the ships...It is all about the mighty dollar.

The quality of the ingredients seems to be the problem, not the preparation. On Freedom now, food has been very good but not excellent about par for my experience. Chops strip was a bit fatty but the meal overall was enjoyable. WJ has been good too. We will be on Symphony later this month so we’ll get another data point soon.

Both Royal and Carnival are reporting very strong customer demand levels. Additionally, building out private destinations captures more spending. As long as this continues, they can increase profitability by cutting corners on complementary soft products such as food and housekeeping. IMHO the smaller cruise lines will need to compete on quality because it is very expensive for them to build new ships and private beaches.

Glad to hear you are good to go. They probably just called this guy in. 😄

Although the OP is more than 30 days out, I'll just note that if you book less than 30 days out it usually takes up to a day for the cruise documents/luggage tags to become available via email and the website.

RCI agent told me to keep an eye on the website for price drops, but of course that doesn't work if the category is sold out. I am booked on a transatlantic in a suite where the suites are usually sold out more than a year in advance. It would be nice if there was an easy way to periodically check (or at least get a clue) for a possible price drop without having to call every few weeks for months on end only to be told that the price has gone up.

17 minutes ago, wolfganghowell said:

laurie, proverbial good news and bad news.  The good is that I loved this review so much I went back and read all your older reviews.  So thank you for those links.  The bad news is that I have done virtually no work the last two days and now I am behind and I am depressed that I am not on a cruise.  The good news is that I sail on Mariner in 18 days.  The bad news is I still have 18 days to go.  Continue on your journey and thanks again for letting us stow away with you. 

 

Oh - dogs are superior beings and bananas are the nectar of the gods.  Sorry, I felt compelled to pick a fight with you for no good reason other than jealousy that you are having such a great cruise.

Yeah same here. DW and I have a cruise planned for late May but at the last minute we decided to book another for next weekend because we need a mental health break and can't wait another month. So now I'm wasting time planning for two cruises in May instead of one. 😀

Just one more point (I have learned not to stress about reservations): maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never been turned away from a specialty restaurant or CK when I show up thinking I have a reservation. There have been a few times where we were not sure if the concierge put it in and the maitre d seemed befuddled but they almost always find a way to get us seated even if it is with a caution that the server might be extra busy with other tables. Being a suite guest usually comes with some extra white glove treatment by the staff.

To ease your concerns I suggest checking with the concierge once you are onboard if they are not replying to your emails so far, but no harm in pinging them if you want (they are there to assist you).

13 minutes ago, DandDM said:

I've always heard back within 24 hours or so.  However, the concierge can work magic on board, so if for some reason they didn't act on your email request, they can probably make things right once you talk to them in person. 

I think this is the best perspective. The pre-cruise emails from the concierge are partly for their benefit so they can take care of some requests in advance and not face a crush on Day 1. But if they don't get around to it before Day 1 they will be able to once you are on board. Also, I have had concierges who quietly take care of things without acknowledging, so maybe the reservations have already been taken care of. And they don't show in the planner for me when the concierge makes the reservation (maybe others have had different experiences but I don't remember seeing a concierge-generated reservation show up in the planner or app).

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I think the ship will return to Norfolk, and then dead-head to Baltimore for the next cruise.

I think that would affect the next cruise either starting a day later than scheduled or being cancelled altogether.

If the port continues to require tugs through the channel, that could also restrict the volume of traffic, making arrival/departure logistics more complex.

The open sea can be fickle. The North Atlantic is notorious, but crossings further south may be better.

The ships will navigate away from hurricanes, but strong ones can send swells out for hundreds of miles.

My perspective is that it is better to be on a massive modern cruise ship with stabilizers than one of those rickety wooden boats that plied the seas a couple hundred years ago. Everyone has their tolerance level - some things that used to cause motion sickness for me no longer do, while others that didn't before may do so now - and if it happens then I am better at managing it now than I used to be. My wife finds that lying down with head and feet pointing toward the sides of the ship helps a lot. These cruises are really great for folks who like to be at sea and my humble opinion is that if you are one of those, then you should give it a go.

30 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Reviving this thread as there's going to be a limited access channel opening on Thursday.

Caveat is that this temporary channel is only for essential vessels (whatever that means) and will only be open until Monday or Tuesday. The Baltimore Sun reports the channel will then remain closed until May 10.

"The Captain of the Port (COTP) plans to establish the Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel for commercially essential vessels on Thursday, April 25th until 6 a.m. Monday, April 29th or Tuesday, April 30th if weather adversely impacts vessel transits." https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/DispForm.aspx?ID=89633&Source=/Lists/Content/DispForm.aspx?ID=89633

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

I'm guessing the $190 is for more than one person.  OP did say "we" in the original post.

Sounds about right for four people.

1 minute ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Food is SO subjective.

True but I think we need to view these comments as people's relative experiences from cruise to cruise. Some say it has gotten worse and some say it has improved over time. The benchmark is usually the earliest one we can reliably (fondly?) remember. My wife keeps complaining about the wider salad selection in the Windjammer, which is most definitely displacing something less healthy (and probably more tasty). 🙂 We don't cruise for the salads lol.

I was booking some things for Freedom and I also got error messages that something in the cart was not available, but while I was scratching my head the order went through (email confirmation popped up) and my credit card was charged.

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The same reason many US companies are incorporated in Delaware and many semi trailers have Maine plates.

Another reason is that foreign-built ships generally cannot be flagged in the U.S. (even if they wanted to) due to the protectionist laws intended to support domestic ship construction. These laws seem to further incentivize foreign-flagging as long as they still permit those ships to call in the U.S. as they do now.

Walk around the harbors in South Florida and count how many mega yachts are registered in the Marshall Islands.

Looks like a beautiful, relaxing day at sea - a "perfect day" as they say!

Curious why the captain is taking a more northerly track than Odyssey and Scarlet Lady. He has more time to kill than they do, maybe he wants to swing by Bermuda to wave hello. lol

On 4/18/2024 at 9:57 AM, JessyCruises said:

 Yes they used to bring up several members of the audience to be background actors in the scene.  I have been selected a few times. There was always one they picked that was actually a plant and was one of the stunt performers. 

21 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

I agree with you both.  If I remember correctly the audience members were actually cast members, as they were involved in “stunts”.

 

As for the plane fire/explosion portion of the stunt show, you could feel the heat from the top rows of the theatre.

I was part of the team that built the Indy stunt show way back in the early 2000s (lots of late nights on that project). There have always been plants in the audience (the performers rotate through). The flame effects were my favorite part of the show creatively, but adding more heat to the Florida summertime weather was not my idea of fun. 😀