Broons77

I just booked my first solo on the Prima for the end of March to Bermuda and the tips on this thread are invaluable. Thanks to all!!!

I had the Chops embark lunch confirmed in my Cruise Planner as well on my cruise in October, however they moved us all to Giovanni's instead for free and we got our lunch in Chops on the day 5 sea day just like @rudeney. I was happy with the free lunch, I had been told all my life there was no such thing! lol

My desk sits under my signed picture of Ray and my sadly unsigned picture of Jerry. Thus my avatar. Tossing in the old Boston Garden for kicks. I'm assuming kitty was an expert ratter? 😄 I was disappointed lunch AND dinner at Chops on our cruise on Voyager. I primarily blame understaffing for that, but agree that the Chops experience has been underwhelming on several occasions.

100% genuine! Both of us like wine with dinner so DW and I have both brought on 2 bottles a few times when travelling with the kids. Then there was the infamous incident when I thought she forgot to pack her bottles in her carry on, so I stuffed a couple in there. When in line to go through security, she complained about how heavy her pack was, Just as we were tossing our bags on the xray, we realized she had 4 bottles in there. No one said a word to us and on we went with 6 bottles for a 7 day cruise. We didn't go through them all, one came back with us.

I find it quite kind that RCI has provided a loophole to drive a wine delivery truck through for all those wine drinking parents with separate rooms for the kids!

So sorry 😔 As I read your report and saw your pictures from your cruise, I thought to myself how you seemed like such a lovely couple and hoped we would run into each other on a trip some day. So happy for you guys that you had that time together. Deepest condolences to you and your family. ❤️

There was a thread a few weeks ago about fave items at the WJ and the subject of baked goods was brought up. I'm pretty sure DW would pay the cruise fare just to get her mitts on the stollen bread they serve in the WJ at breakfast. I don't get it either. I've had it. It's good and all but nothing I'm going out of my way for. Yet DW, and seemingly dozens of others feel that it's the bread of life. Must just taste better because you know you're eating it on a cruise.

We did the same. Had a Chops lunch for embark that was changed to Gio's as a comp and rescheduled Chops lunch for day 5. We also had the 3 night package and did one at each, Chops, Gio's and Izumi. The dinner reservations for Chops were thin on night 2, which was our preferred night there. We were not in a suite, so I'm sure that played a part in what we had available.

Enjoying the various takes on this topic. Seems the cruise buffet has not lost its rep as a hot button issue. I'm probably booking a cruise on Celebrity for next year. Curious to see how the dining experience differs with them including their buffet...

Unfortunately, we found that there were only 8 PM slots left even though we were there right around noontime. Again, I believe this to be a matter of staffing as during our dinner and lunch at Chops, it was only about 1/3rd full, maybe about 20-25 people. Do take into account that this was specific to Voyager. If you're on another ship, especially one of the newer boats, I'd imagine their staffing levels to be better and you'll probably have an easier go of it.

We noticed the same thing on our recent trip on Voyager about the restaurants being only partially full. It appeared to be a staffing issue to me rather than demand. When we boarded the ship around 11, we checked in at muster and went immediately to make reservations and Chops was already pretty booked. According to the crew, they were going to be picking up additional staff once they made it down to PR next week.

I feel better knowing I'm not alone in this! Convenience is key for me, and the food is essentially the same as the MDR so I prefer the more easygoing option. After all, we're on vacation and should be doing the relaxing things!

Is there anyone else out there like me that's ambivalent about the MDR experience? I get that at its core, it's really just like going out to any restaurant, sitting at a nicely set table and being served. I also get that they've usually got pretty decent selections on the menu that more often than not are at least somewhat tasty (ymmv.) And yes, I know you can get just about anything you want within reason. But first thing that turns me off is that I usually don't go to the same restaurant every night for a week. And if I did, it would be smaller and quieter. And there's a bunch of other things about it that I personally could do without. As I begin to really figure out what makes for a perfect cruise for me, it's becoming apparent that aside from a nice night out at a specialty restaurant, off times at the WJ really is what I prefer. For dinner especially, I can grab something quick and be out of there, or I can take my time at a table by the window and hang and chat with DW. True, it's not a beautiful room like most MDRs are, but if you're flexible about when you go, it's usually much more peaceful and leisurely than what I've found in the MDR. And you can usually get what they're serving in the MDR or just about anything you want. And the dessert selection is much better as well. And what's more important than that? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get DW to see things as I do, so I go under protest. Which means 2 pre-dinner dirty martinis as opposed to the single if doing the WJ or specialty restaurant.

No need to feel sorry, NE/Canada itineraries are as fickle weatherwise as Alaska can be. We knew that going in and had a ball rain or shine!

We just got off Voyager yesterday, she's in great shape and I'm sure you'll have a great time. Staff was outstanding, and they'll be very happy to be in a warm climate again. It was a rainy and cool on our trip and they were bundled up at both the Pool and Sky Bars. They were also stretched a bit thin in places, so they'll also be happy to be picking up additional staff once in PR which was the scuttlebutt I heard from a couple of them. Staffing issues were especially apparent in the specialty restaurants, our dinners/lunches in Chops and Gio's were a bit underwhelming. But that's about the worst I can come up with, the rest of the trip was fantastic. Looking forward to hearing your experience!

FYI, the app lists learn to play sessions for my Voyager cruise that leaves on Sunday.

Wonderful review and pics, thanks so much for all the detail. We leave in about 5 1/2 days, visit Halifax rather than Sydney and couldn't be more excited. Sorry you couldn't see Bar Harbor but as you indicated, you have an excuse to come back. Thanks again!

Friendly Bostonians? If not for the pictures, I'd suggest you actually were somewhere else. 😄 I'm happy to read such a nice review, this is certainly the best time of year to visit. September and October in New England is our reward for suffering through February and March. Can't wait to hear about your time on board, we leave in 6 days on her!!!

Thanks @rudeney!!!! Our turn next week will be well planned thanks to your scouting reports! Safe travels back home for you and your wife, perhaps one day we will run into each other on board.

Ha! I have a fan I bring as well. We'll have to see how bad it is or isn't when we're there. As long as we're asleep when it starts going off, I'm hoping we should be OK. In the wise words of one Miss Adrienne Barbeau, please just stay out of the fog!

Don't rush the poor guy!

Ugh.... The foghorn. Our cabin is forward deck 12. By all accounts, it sounds like the horn is in the room with you in these cabins. I'm bringing ear plugs but I'm not sure that's going to cut it. ☹️

No embark lunch in the MDR, but Cafe 270 has a nice selection of sandwiches and salads, Sorrento's is also open and I believe Jamie's is open as well if you've got the dining package or are willing to pay.

It's an accessible bus tour, couple of hours of driving around with a stop at the same market I believe you were at, but it says that it's only a 20 minute stop. Not sure how much browsing we'd get to do in that amount of time. But good to have a rough idea of the port area, thanks for the info. Hope it was another good night at Chops!

We normally don't do many shows on board, but we may have to check them out. I've seen it mentioned how good they are in other threads as well. You've now also got me wondering if I should bother with the St John shorex we have booked. The rub here is that we need an accessible excursion for DW and this is the only one I've been able to find at any port on our cruise. If there's really not much to see, we're fine with just wandering into town if it's reasonable pushing distance and conditions to do so from the dock. We can do some of that in Portland, and I'm looking for a scouting report from Halifax which is our second Canada stop. Would you vote to bail on it?