JLvacation

On 4/20/2024 at 3:38 PM, Katg412 said:

Hello, this is Marcus and Kathi and we are joining the cruise as well! First time leaving from New York and we are turning Platinum on this cruise. So, we are really excited! 
 

~ Welcome on board the Venezia ~ Marcus & Kathi ~ Been a few since We have gone out of NY ~ Usually We go further South / South West ` 🙂 ~ We are J L & Bree traveling with Family & Friends ! 

8 hours ago, Luvmesomeme said:

I’m still partially packed from my last cruise in January.  When I returned home, I washed my clothes and put the summer clothes back in the suitcase as I’m in NJ so I had no need for summer clothes for several months.  

~ Nice ~ We had one back in Feb / Have A 10 Day in May then another one in June . So just like you . We wash what needs to be done . An leave the rest packed for the next one ! 

~ 45 Days / A Few Hour's / & Minutes To Go ! 

Whos Already Started Packing ? LOL 😎

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Speaking of which, the whole ship within a ship concept that NCL and MSC (and to a certain level Celebrity). have with their dedicated spaces, really takes away from the overall enjoyment of a ship and drops it’s subsequent rating in my opinion. It carves out too much of the ship that general passengers are unable to access.
 

If you want that upscale service, in my opinion, go with a true luxury line. 
 

This is one thing that I think royal Caribbean excels at. Their ship design and layout is second to none in my opinion, and they don’t carve out huge spaces for dedicated guests, at least not yet.  Everyone has access to almost the entire ship.

    Not to sound like We are snob's when it comes to Cruising . However  RCCL doing away with what used to be the Viking Lounge / And stuck Coastal Kitchen or Another Specialty Restaurant and the Suite Lounge with a view there in it's Place . An putting what their now calling the Crown Lounge down on Deck Four with a Virtual Wall in it was a Disappointment ~ Same can be said for the Quantum Class / Putting what they call the Concierge Club with a View ,, and again the Crown Lounge down on Deck Four ! ~ To some individuals . They'll never know the difference . 

Only because they've never experienced it , However We / I have , an We do recognize the differences . 

Sane could be said for the Stateroom Attendants only cleaning your room once a day . Where as it used to be twice a day . 

These changes may not seem like much , Yet the price for a Cruise hasn't gone down ! 

Yet Standards an Qualities have across the entire fleet . 

I'll stop there . 

Sincerely ~ JLvacation 

10 minutes ago, hankandteri said:

This thread kind of took on a life of its own, so I can’t blame you for not wanting to wade through all all of it. After others asked, I also did the same calculation for three other lines (Carnival, HAL and Virgin) to see if that recent dip in CC reviewer rating was impacting all cruise lines. 

Carnival recent review scores also dropped from their historic average, nearly as much as Celebrity’s did. HAL reviews were essentially flat. Virgin’s recent reviewer scores were up significantly over their already high benchmark rating. 

 

    Thank You / Yes I took the easy way out . After reading the first few pages, I ended up just jumping to the back . an read down from there . I'm not scared to ask for help . which is why I did just that 😉 

Between the Professional Cruiser's & Travel Agents ! It was much easier to just ask for help from You an them  . Then to read every post ! 

So again ~ Thanks 

JLvacation 

Good Morning All 

   I want to start by Thanking  hankandteri,  for starting this Discussion . 

   I'm not a Travel Agent / Nor am I affiliated with any other Travel Stuff > We / I just really enjoy Cruising threw Life .

Whether it be the Food or just the Lack of Customer Service to the People that make the Cruising Industry what it is Today ! ~ We / I have talked to My Better Half more then once about  these exact Cruising Topic's ! 

We tried going to a all inclusive resort once , just to compare it to being on a cruise . We ended up booking another Cruise while we where there . ( ROTFL )

However We are trying to adjust to the industry changes that these Companies are making . 

We have some Cruises coming up for the holiday with Family , as well as one with people that We introduced to Cruising for their Honeymoon getaway , That they asked us to go with them ~ Being they where new to cruising .   An We always talked it up ,{ That if your going to take a Vacation / Cruising's the way to go } ~ So we are definitely comparing the Pro's & Con's to the way We / I remember cruising use to be . To the way it is becoming .

Please , If anyone has any suggestion's to help our cruising experience in the future ! 

Whether it be Cruise Lines or Basic Tip's .... Please tell Me ! 

Sincerely ~  JLvacation   

~ This Topic is as Amusing as People who expect to be treated a certain way when cruising ! 

Yet here's a Curve Ball ~ Who here tip's cash to their room steward on day one , when meeting the person who will be taking care of You and Your Families / Need's and Want's while on the Cruise . 

We Tip Our's / And have found it to be a Positive Outcome , Every Time ! ~ We have gone to Guest Relation's on day one ! An asked them to remove automatic tipping ! It's nothing personnel ! 

All in All this will always be a hot topic ! I just hope at the end of your Cruise . That your as nice to the crew as they are to you .... And Paying it Forward is Something Everyone should at least consider when cruising !  

~ We have looked at some Cruising for the not so well off , And when We make that Leap into the Exclusive League ! ~ Will let you all know how it is , and Wuz to be on that style of cruising . 

We have been loyal to one Cruise  Line for so Long , It has almost reached a level of why go anywhere else . Celebrity / RCCL has been good to us thou . 

And our Youngest Daughter is off to College Next Year ... So we are just trying to Cruise at one day at a time . 

Hope Your Having A Nice Day ! 

J.L. & Bree 

- Afternoon to all, Thank You for the information being posted here . We have an upcoming Cruise in September. We have done out of Rome before, and this will be My first time going out of Spain ! We are trying to plan coming in a few days early , as well as a few days after the Cruise. So I’m trying to soak up as much information as possible.      Thank You …                         J.L. & Bree 

~ I have read a lot of the post here . Some Positive , Some Not ! 

Must admit , When I saw ( Maryland Style Crab Cakes ) ~ I Laughed so hard that I'm still chuckling inside ... We joke that it was do to Us year's ago / That they took that name off of their Menu's ` and just had it listed as ( Crab Cake ) ~ Which it still a ongoing joke to us ! Being we are from Maryland ! An have a standard to be met when saying Maryland Crab Cake ! an seeing Old Bay on their Menu is going to make it that much more interesting on our upcoming cruise ! 

The New Style of Menu's reminds us of another cruise line that We have been on , However I'll leave them nameless as this is a RCCL site ! 

Looking threw the Menu's ... There's some I'm looking forward to trying , Where as there's a few days that I'll just say that We will probably just go to the Wind,Jammer ! 

Also I read on another thread here . Where they are putting limit's on ordering thing's ! Because People are ordering , However not eating them . Which in turn is leaving them with out for later Diner's ! ( Lobster Night ) being one of them ! 

If anyone here can confirm these changes , Please do ! 

Not that I'm a over eater . However I like My shrimp cocktail's ~ as Well as 2 Lobster's when available ! 

Hope Everyone's Having A Good New Year ! 

Sincerely : J.L.  

20 hours ago, brillohead said:

Harmony and Symphony are almost identical ships, and both will blow Enchantment out of the water.  

If you liked Enchantment, you'll be absolutely thrilled with your two Oasis-class ships.  However, make sure you bring comfortable shoes only, as they are HUGE ships and you'll be doing a lot of walking, day and night.

 

~ Thanks ~ We did the Allure of the Seas a few years back ! And it was Amazing to see the Technology that they are coming up with . Yes the Enchantment is no Comparison to some of the Newer Ship's ! And to be Completely Honest ~ Going on the Harmony of the Sea's is getting really close . And Yes we booked the Symphony of the Seas while on the Enchantment ! So we are already talking about tossing another cruise in some time next Year ! We just aren't sure / Which or Where ! 

It's funny you mention good walking shoes . My last good pair just finally blew apart from maximum usage . So Bree ordered Me a New Pair which just arrived the other day ! Which I have been trying to break them in before We leave for the Upcoming Cruise ~ and will Definitely be ready for the Symphony for our 20 Year Anniversary Cruise 🙂 

Thank You 

J.L. &  Bree   

- We just got off a 9 Day out of Baltimore on the Enchantment of the Seas , as Well in a few weeks We are going out of Orlando on the Harmony of the Sea’s for 7 Days ! We booked a cruise on the Symphony of the Seas for our Anniversary next year ! How would you say the Symphony of the Sea’s compares to these Ships ? Just Curious !       Thanks Sincerely for any info !                   J.L. & Bree 

~ Good Morning All 

Thanks mo&fran / Going to check out the Anthem by CC member Radio 

      As far as positioning and weather . Me personally  look at it as. You can always take a layer of clothes off . Yet you'll be wishing you'd of brought them to put on if you don't have them with you ! 

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend .

J.L.

~ So what's the latest information ! 

Being I'm not a Doctor ~ Don't want to speculate or guess . 

~ So we where able to Lift & Shift our cruise date ... took canceling our stay in Florida at the Embassy / as Well as having to Reschedule our Flights !

However ~ Adventure of the Seas . Here We Come 

Hope Everyone Has A Nice Day 

J.L. 

We just got the email our cruise was canceled AGAIN ! So this makes 3 times RCCL yanked our cruise out from under us ! Saying 125% back is ? When you can’t even get a cruise ! And We don’t really want a refund ! We wanted to cruise ! So TBC — Again 

4 hours ago, whyrlygig said:

I was told that all purchases will be refunded to the original form of payment.  

~ Yes / We where also given the generic answer ! Yet it doesn't get Us the Cabaña we had at the price we already paid in full for ! We aren't looking for a refund / We are looking to have the Cruise style and Excursions that We already paid in full for ! 

By them saying Cancelled / Doesn't mean Available ! And I just got off with a RCCL representative . Who informed Me that the updated changes would be today ...

So now all we can do is wait , wait and oh yeah wait !  and go from there ! 

Hope your having a nice day !

J.L.

9 hours ago, yanks23 said:

I am talking to our Travel Agent and he is being told that the Independence of the Seas for July 3rd is being moved to the Odyssey of the Seas  for July 6th on the same itinerary.  I was more then glad to shift and lift to a brand new ship with the same itinerary.  Until I see it on my account I will not believe it.  Please let me know if this is the case.

~ Just got off another call with RCCL , 

So our July 25 out of Miami / is now on the Odyssey out of Fort Lauderdale . 

Which is a bit of a ??? Inconvenience being We have a flight and hotel coming into Miami a day early ! As well as their unable to tell us yet if our Excursions are being carried over ! 

I'm sure people are excited to be cruising again . 

Guess you could say We are just waiting to see where we end up , one way or another ! 

Hope everyone's having a  nice night ! 

J.L. 

~ We / I always pick out the virgin cruisers / When I see them carrying on a ( case / case's ) of water ! 

This to Me is just funny to watch ... #1 Anyone who''s ever cruised knows there's a huge water dispensary at the spa ! #2 and we've seen it happen ( Which whom ever lost a cruise for doing it ) ~ They tried to sneaking alcohol onto the ship in the case of water ! ~ Granted your allowed a bottle of wine each per adult person per cabin which is 2 bottles of wine ! yet to try and sneak alcohol onto a cruise ! ~ Newbie Mistake ! ! ! ! 

Hope Everyone's Having A Nice Day 

J.L.  

On 5/17/2019 at 11:06 AM, Host Clarea said:

 

Platinum gets you balcony discounts and robes (upon request).  Emerald adds the welcome aboard beverage and a $25 increase in balcony discount.

~ We met a couple on this past Easter cruise that had a Genie ! Said it made their cruise a entirely different experience !  ~ So enjoy the perks and amenities ! Look forward to hearing about it ! 🙂  

~ So after our last Easter Cruise on the Anthem of the Seas this past April 2019 ~ We are at 159 Diamond Status ~ and are debating on doing a 3 or 4 day cruise if anyone has any suggestions ! That way the 7 Day on The Mediterranean Cruise we booked for next year in the Suite we got will put us at Diamond Plus ! ~ 🙂 

~ { Morning All } ~ When we travel , We / I allow 24 hours to have anything happen ~ Whether it be before or after a cruise / flight ! ~ :)

~ We live outside Chesapeake City , MD ~ So Baltimore or Philly are flight option's & Baltimore & Cape Liberty are drivable if need be for direct cruising !

Know friends whom travel on stand by because they ( He's ) actively working for a airline ! ~ They got caught in San Juan for an extra 3 days once / because it came down to they just couldn't buy a seat home , and on the first and second day after the cruise they got bumped off of flights ! ~ They finally got home . However this has been a ongoing discussion when ever we travel .... Always allow for the unexpected ... Because until it's actually happening ! ( You just don't know ) ~ Just Saying

Have A Nice Day ! ~ J.L.

Diego is a great Concierge.

You could use the email link on the Google Doc to communicate with him. Alternatively, you could post on the Jewel's roll call for his last or next to last cruise. You could also post on the RCI board to find people who will be in RH's CL in February.

 

Alan del Fierro has been a concierge on a few ships. I think he was in Mariner's CL a few years ago.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pz4Im5qh4cqd1zE5A9srLm3wGd0_SNZwTdbLTa59EF4/edit#gid=0

~ Thanks , Will email him or post on the Jewel Board / Who knows ! We may just book another cruise on the Jewel before he departs .

I realize there's a lot of people who come and go weekly or B2B ~ However when we met him ! He was Genuine an Real and treated Me an My Family the way one would hope to be treated ~ We have met other Concierges & Cruise Personnel in the past that we have come to use Diego Tripaldi as a Guide Line for what it is we expect as far as service an what a Concierge / Cruise Represenative should be like no matter what the circumstances !

Thanks Sherri for the information on ways to contact him!

Have A Nice Day All !

J.L.

~ I wanted to thank you Sherri for updating the list as well as everyone else who provided updated information to make it all possible ! ~ Is there anyone on the Jewel of the Sea's right now who could give Diego Tripaldi leaving RCI on 2-25-2018 a huge HUG from the Lennon Family / Me ~ We have met some Amazing People over the years while cruising , Staff & Other Cruisers alike !

Diego Tripaldi is one of a handful of the people that has kept us wanting to cruise with RCCL ! ~ Sorry to read he's leaving !

And I'm unsure who Alan is , replacing Ligia Kandler ! Guess we will find out in a few weeks from now !

Or if anyone here would like to share any information they may have it would be greatly appreciated .

Hope everyone is having a good day ! :)

J.L.

~ Afternoon all ~ We are thinking of trying this one day ~ We are Diamond on RCCL ! ~ Will definitely be interesting to try a different style of cruising ! We enjoy traveling with our Daughter who is {12} and is earning her own Diamond Plus status by the time she is 21 on RCCL ! ~ We look forward to reading your review when you get back ! May help us choose the right ship to start on in the Celebrity Line . :D

Have a nice day !

J.L.