rjrpar

As others have said, Giovanni's is more Italian than Jamie's. The first time on the Quantum, we were looking forward to Jamie's and other than the antipasti plank board and the linguini with clam sauce every thing else in non-traditional Italian. My wife ordered the lamb chops and she enjoyed them as they were delicious. I ordered the eggplant and it was blah. The next experience was on the Anthem and learned from my Q experience, I ordered the lamb chops and enjoyed them immensely, Recently, looked at their new menu and voila, the lamb chops don't seem to be offered.

 

 

 

Portofino, when initially introduced was dining at a 5 star experience, but over time not only the quality of the food suffered, but also the service. The seafood skewer which contained half a lobster tail, was reduced in later times to small chunk the size of a large shrimp.

Agree, it is a shame. Will the continuous cost cutting ever stop, even in the upscale venues?

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I am sure that it will likely be more than a year before all traces of storm damage are erased and every establishment is rebuilt.

 

 

 

But you could probably buy "... a beer from a tent and a cooler..." at any of those spots right now. A month from now, things will be better, two months - significantly better, three or four months - a whole lot better.

 

 

 

 

 

The person who is fooling himself is the one who is unable to recognize progress as it occurs --- and who thinks negativity translates to anything but negativity.

Obviously things will get better slowly. If you listen to people who know the problems from being there, they are saying that this tourist season is lost for most businesses on the French side. None of your “quotes” is going to change the facts so spare me

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Im supposed to go on a cruise in the beginning of December. When I did final deposit they had substituted st Martin and Puerto Rico for other islands. Now RCL is saying they will be the first to go back to these ports. I think its horrible, that they would vavaction were so many people are suffering. RCL should be giving money and time for these people to heal. I feel its not cool to be vacationing while people are living without food, power and clean water.

 

Please call RCL cooperate and tell them this is wrong 305-539-6455.

Something is strange about your posts. Seems like your only objective to increase donations. Your grammar and spelling are also suspicious.

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It will be a year before Orient, Anse Marcel, and Grand Case are back to near what they were. If you think otherwise, you’re fooling yourself. Can you enjoy sitting on Orient with a beer bought from a tent and cooler, sure, but don’t think it will be the same experience

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My Father and I are almost Diamond and when we sail we are some of the nicest people around who loves to socialize.

 

 

 

To me it does not matter if we are Gold or Emerald just that we are having a fun time and socializing with the right people.

 

 

 

I have never used status to get us better service. I figure the agent at the front desk or MDR can see our status on our SeaPass Card.

 

 

 

Whenver there is a problem I hand over the SeaPass card and they say"Thank You for being a loyal guest let me see what I can do".

 

 

 

I have seen these people rush up to the front of the line yelling and flashing their SeaPass Card saying" Were Diamond Were Diamond+ and we need you to fix this now. I don't care about the line.

 

 

 

I would never fathom to do this. The cruiseline knows who is a good customer. If we have an issue we bring it up to the front desk who notates the account and we then allow them to rectify the situation.

 

 

 

We also leave feedback wih corporate an they have helped us. You see its the way you give feedback.

 

 

 

Once I got the chance to speak with the Head of Guest Relations about the smoking policy not being enforced. He agreed with me and took it upon himself to get it resolved.

 

 

 

If you don't speak up how can they read your mind if you are having a problem?

 

 

 

The same goes for flying in First Class. I am gracious to the flight attendants and they have commented how nice the man in seat 1A is and offered me better service. Wherever i go I try to be gracious and understading.

 

 

 

What are your views on this? It doesn't get you extra brownie points to cut in front of line unless you have a life threatening emergency and flaunt your status. I am sure the front desk agents talk durirng their breaks about these kind of entitled guests.

You are in a group with about 98% of cruisers. A few people always act inappropriately.

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Yes we are Spose to fly to San Juan tomorrow and stay for 2 nights before we go on the cruise on Sunday .. but we have received nothing on the itinerary change and if I cancel tomorrow we will only get the port fees back .. so I am hoping that carnival cancels so we get all our money back,,, but we only have until 2 pm tomorrow to cancel and if I cancel I get port fees back and if I don't cancel and carnival doesn't cancel I GET NOTHING BACK .. this is my 5 th cruise with carnival and up until now I was very happy with the service but I can't believe they won't Refund us or give us a credit for future ...

Your cruise will be cancelled and you won't lose your money.

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If I were trying to figure out the situation in Puerto Rico, I think I would rely on Carnival’s official notifications. You might want to check their website and their FB pages for information. Based on reports from PR, it is highly doubtful any cruise will embark or debark there for quite a while.

 

 

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Good post. After watching the news for 5 minutes today, it's obvious that a 10/1 cruise is in serious jeopardy.

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...and the moon is made of green cheese.

 

 

 

Parts of PR may be without power for extended periods of time, but the populated areas, those with dense population and factories, businesses, shops, etc will have power available within a reasonable period.

You're right. Some people just believe everything the news media reports. No way San Juan is powerless for 6 months.

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Since you get 1 point per night sailed, I wonder if we should get extra points from the extra nights they made passengers stay on the ships. Worth a shot?

Are you ever satisfied when you get something for nothing?

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Be cautious, not the safest town in the Caribbean.

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If you have watched videos of St. Maarten, you would know that it won't be open for many many months, maybe a year. Some of the main attractions are completely gone; Orient beach, Maho, Grand Case.

That said, St. Kitts is a nice replacement, if it has the capacity to handle the increased load.

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So sad...Maho Beach has come and gone many times! I'm sure it will be back once again...Mother Nature is powerful!

Agree, just wondering when. Beautiful island and would hate to see it suffer too long without the infusion of tourist money. So many depend on it.

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Try Costco excursions under their travel page. Not sure if you have to be a member. Put in your ship and date, and a port by port list shows up.

Are you guys living off the grid. Have you seen the damage? St. Martin will take months to get back to receiving tourists and years to return to normal

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No that’s not how that works. Ships sail full. No room for 20 more people on probably any of them

Not true. How could you know this with any degree of certainty

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Hello- Ok question for all you experts out there. This engine problem do you think that they will be crippling along until dry dock as an early poster mentioned? This was talked about on another page and some seemed to think they may cancel some up coming cruises to fix issue. Just curious what your thoughts are. We are schedule to sail on the 9/3/17 sailing and it makes me nervous they will cancel last minute. Not trying to panic people just honestly have no idea about ship engine issues. lol

There are no experts out there, just people with a little knowledge. It is a "wait and see" game at this point

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Thanks for your comment nolesrules.

 

 

 

I get what you are saying, however staff wages should not be my concern.....there I have said it! Many will feel the exact same I am sure, but will not be brave enough say.

 

 

 

Having spent thousands on this cruise I do not feel it that I should automatically be forced to cough up almost $500 dollars.

 

 

 

That being said I always tip those I have had direct contact with that have given excellent service. Those behind the scenes will be missed, and that is something I honestly never thought about. Maybe I will offer something at the end to be shared, but most certainly not what that intend on adding.:(

You don't have to be brave to post something on an internet discussion board. Actually, even posting that comment makes me disregard most of what you say

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The way I see it, people seem to only care about themselves. They don't care about what other people think. They paid their money and by gawd, they are going to wear whatever they please and to hell with anyone sitting near them in the MDR. No manners, no morals.....pretty sad situation. It's a dining room, why can't people accept that and put on long pants or a not too short dress?

Something wrong with you????

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I've heard of "fantastic prices on jewelry" in the Caribbean...Looking for suggestions on the best place in St Thomas to find the best deal on diamond rings or even just to buy a diamond.

 

THANKS!

Don't believe everything you hear. Unless you know jewelry, I'd be very careful. The "fantastic' comment is probably a result of prices and practices of the past.

are very knowledgeable

Yes I'm aware of the one million threads on this issue and have spent many an hour being entertained by such but I'm gonna go ahead and ask anyway. [emoji12]

 

It's been many years since we cruised on RCL (last couple of cruises were Celebrity and NCL).

 

My husband was hoping to just wear dress pants and a dress shirt, no tie or jacket. Since he would only wear a jacket from the entrance of the dining room to the table it's a waste of good luggage space. Is that going to be OK? I remember the last time we cruised RCL they were pretty strict about jackets if I remember correctly. Or I could be confusing that with an old Seinfeld episode, either way I thought I'd check.

 

So all that to ask: are men required to wear a jacket to enter the MDR on formal night? Thanks!

 

 

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No, just as many of the recent threads on dress codes have stated

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DW and I really enjoy RCI but thinking of changing things up by going on an 8 day, Carnival Sunshine cruise out of Orlando, Grand Turk, San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten in Nov 18. Any RCI cruisers ever do this trip and if so, your thoughts? Thx!

We did this same cruise in January, 2017. We are long time (Diamond) cruisers on RCCL so I am not a cheerleader for Carnival. Great cruise, good price, and loved Grand Turk. Food comparable in MDR, better lunches on pool deck, enjoyed the comedy club. A few of the venues (comedy club) seemed a little crowded but not too bad. I wouldn't hesitate to sail Carnival again, a very good value, and fun.

I read somewhere that Turks & Caicos is pretty much exclusively for Carnival.

True, and Grand Turk can only handle one ship without overcrowding the port

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Most everyone has seen this on either the news or online.....Why did you feel the need to post it here or at all for that matter...what does it have to do with Cruise Critic...sorry I just don't get the need to do so :rolleyes:

What's your problem. Much more interesting than most posts

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Hope you don't catch Spencer on a bad day, he has a short temper. Most people enjoy his tours. Our group did not

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Took my first cruise over 35 years ago. So yeah....lots of changes. Some of it reflecting how things have changed in general. Somethings reflect the wants of today's cruisers overall.

 

 

 

Entertainment........on the Oasis Class, which I've mostly sailed recently, the entertainment is hands down better than it was in the '80s. No question.

 

 

 

Things to do.....again, compared to the rock walls, water attractions, surf, etc....there's a lot more to do than just the bingo, casino diversions from the '80s.

 

 

 

Food.....I've never had any issues with MDRs of today. The buffets leave something to be desired and are not quite as elaborate as the buffests of the past. But, the speicality restaurants are excellent, and there was no such thing as specialty restaurants on the first cruise I took (SS Norway).

 

 

 

Dress code....as most point out, today's dress code is much more casual than it was in the '80s, too. I used to wear a suit every day to work in the '80s. Today, it's khakis and a polo shirt. So, again dress code is reflecting the changing times. I know some here have been kicking and sreaming about people not dressing up (or down) the way they want them to. But, none of us are there to succomb to the fancies of others. That, and the fact that getting luggage to a more reasonable size and amount due to extra charges on airlines, every little bit you can do away with (like tuxs, suits, ties, gowns, heels, dress shirts, dress skirts, etc) helps. To those who want to dress up, no one is stopping them. Dress as you want. Why it matters what others wear has always befuddled me.

 

 

 

Price.....while there's a lot more to do on today's cruise ships, I don't think the price has risen all that much. IIRC, I think my SS Norway cruise cost $1,700. That's '80s dollars. I'm going on the Harmony in a couple of weeks in a Superior Ocean Balcony for about $2,500. To me, that's probably similar to what I paid 35 years ago.

 

 

 

Standards have dropped? I dunno...maybe? But, there is a whole lot more to do today than there was even 5 years ago on a cruise ship.

Your math is a little off, $1700 in the early 1980s is worth close to $5000 in 2017 dollars. Also, I think that standards have definitely dropped, not maybe. That is not to say that the value of cruising for most of us has not increased over time. Cruising today , imo, is a great value

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I thought your main disappointment would have been the food. T s going downhill fast in the MDR.

That is ours! No complaints about or anything else with Royal.

 

 

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Food and service have taken major hits in the last 20 years but we are getting what we pay for. If you want the luxury of the past, cruise the premium lines.

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