bbappel

We've done that when we returned from a ship shore excursion too late for dinner in the MDR (we had traditional dining). We had the drink package so we each picked up a glass of wine on our way to the cabin, then my husband went out to get another two glasses while I prepared the cabin. We dined out on our veranda using a fake candle I'd brought as our lighting (and the curtains open). We just left the rest of the food on the little coffee table and the desk. I think it didn't all fit on the little table.

We had asked our room steward to get us the dining room menu so we could order when we returned tired and dirty. I think we had time for quick showers but I could be wrong. We did this when we returned from a tour of Istanbul, and a couple times in the Caribbean. Before that, we didn't know we could.

It might be more difficult if we were in a place where it was cold on the veranda.

I hope this is still possible.

Beth

Excellent idea. Let's permanently station a crew member in the bathroom of every cabin to check. Or better, put cameras up in all bathrooms!

 

Hand washing and the gels help, but by no means can completely prevent noro from spreading if a sick passenger brings it on board.

There used to be a woman in the bathroom who handed towels to us and opened the door. That probably resulted in more people washing their hands due to embarrassment because a person would notice. Even if she didn't say anything, just being there would help. My husband said there was a guy in the men's room too.

Cost cutting. Seems it might be cheaper to continue that than do the kind of thorough cleaning required after a noro attack.

Beth

I agree with you about using the OBC to pay for gratuities but I don't see the difference in Select vs. Traditional if you are paying for them on board. Oh well, we can talk about it next week.

I think the reason they were "required" with Select Dining is that you rarely develop a friendly relationship with your waitstaff making it easier for those so inclined to remove the tips.

To everyone complaining about the increase the staff gets due to the increase in tips, try living on their salaries and working as hard as they do once. They get almost no time off, and work really hard for some unpleasant people. I'm sure everyone here is friendly and considerate but you know there are those who complain all the time, leave a mess in the cabin, and have unreasonable expectations. 14 years ago when we took our first cruise, the stewards had fewer cabins to maintain and the waiters had fewer tables. Now they do more with a pittance more. My feeling is that I can afford the luxury of taking a cruise and my enjoyment depends on the staff, so I tip them. I always add extra tips, except once, when we had a sub-par steward, and I have never removed tips now that they are automatic. Before they were added to our accounts, we brought extra cash in case we had exceptional service, and never tipped below the recommended amount. And we live on a fixed income and are far from wealthy. We are however happy.

Kindness - to your cabin mates, to your stewards, to your waiters - makes for a happy cruise.

Beth

We had problems like this because of my Captain's Club registration. My passport has my first initial and my middle name. Because the coders who wrote the check-in program and the coders who wrote the Captain's Club part don't speak to each other (my presumption) the requirements for someone with an initial first are not the same. The check-in requires a . after the initial, the Captain's Club requires none. Thus my name in Captains Club doesn't match my name on the check-in. So if one person in your cabin is, for example, Mary-ann, the - might cause problems. Or if the first name is Mary Ann.

Another possibility is that your address is St. on one and Street on the other. Check the two and compare them, then do the online checkin without the captain's club number of the person with the "offending" name or address. Let me know if that isn't the issue since I'm sort of collecting errors for the fun of it.

Beth (aka H. Elizabeth OR H Elizabeth OR just H)

...everyone knows the sweets on RCCL are horrible...

If true, this is probably a good thing for me ;) I've been told to reduce my sweets consumption and that is difficult when there is always the opportunity for a delicious dessert with ice cream :p

Originally posted by clarea

Cafe Promenade, small sandwiches and pizza slices.

Thanks Clarea. Something for everyone in our family.:)

Originally posted by mv13

We were very disappointed with the quality of food in the Sapphire Dining Room....I'd rate it maybe a 3 out of 10 and had expected to get nicer meals than I could cook myself at home.

My expectations are lower. I expect to get the kind of food served at a big wedding, after all they are serving a few thousand people on the ship. At home you are serving 2 or so. Our food at home is far superior to any ship food we've found, but then my husband is an excellent cook and I'm not bad. And since we are retired we have time to prepare it. We don't go out to eat because we aren't willing to spend the kind of money required to get better food. I mean Daniel can cost several hundred for two people. But the food is better, or so I've heard.

Originally posted by indamama

Biker, as long as you don't cruise for a dining experience, you will have a fabulous time. Nothing beats the scenery and wildlife. It's fabulous!!!! Skagway and Juneau are both easily accessed by walking and there are plenty of things to do in both places. We've hiked in both locales.

We aren't Biker, but we cruise for the itinerary, the chance to unpack once and still see lots of interesting places or scenery. I don't consider the cost of food to be part of it. It is the moving bedroom that we are paying for. The standard food and entertainment are thrown in for free. That way I don't feel I must eat at every opportunity, nor do I feel I must go to every show. It helps me be less critical. :rolleyes: I hope anyway.

We will be on Explorer on the 7 day Alaska cruise the last week in June, so I'll hope the problems have been solved.

Beth

If you don't want to go to WJ at embarkation, what are your other choices? On Celebrity we go to the Mast Grill for burgers.

Beth

I don't get the "eating in your room" thing....have never enjoyed it....it's messy without a dining table and IMO, more trouble than walking to an eating venue!

 

If you KNOW you're going to want a snack later, hit the buffet, and bring something back for later snacking!

When you get back too late from a shore excursion and really want the MDR food and have traditional dining, room service is the best solution. We eat on the veranda, leaving the food not being enjoyed on the coffee table since every course is delivered at once (we aren't in a suite). Knowing we will do this, we pick up one glass of wine each on our way back to the cabin, then my husband gets the second glass while I clear the table and order the food. It works. It isn't my first choice, but it works. I don't much like the buffet (low impulse control, not the choice of food). We do let our wait staff and table mates know we won't be joining them.

Beth

We were on Summit September 21-October 5 2014. We had lovely weather most of the time, but we were in Quebec City on Sunday Sept 28 and it was a beautiful sunny low 70s day. The next morning we woke to 50s and rain. We got to Corner Brook NL 2 days later and it was cool and sunny. Beautiful. The rest of the cruise was good weather. Just that one day. But it could have all been like that day. There are no guarantees.

Wow, your store is very high. I just check my local liquor chain, Total wine & more. Here it's $199.99 plus sales tax today.

I think Washington State supports more programs with tax on liquor.

I just did a fake purchase from Total Wines in Bellevue and the total cost for JW Blue 750 ml would have been 240.99 pick up in the store. The base price was $199 but there was $41 taxes with the caution, final taxes will be added at pick up.

South Carolina sales tax would be $14.00 for the same item.

We were just down the hall on 8080 on Summit and it was a good cabin. Slightly smaller than the Solstice class but still a fine cabin. I didn't notice any noise or other problems. The storage situation is a bit better than the Solstice class.

It also seems that you have vacant areas across from you. That could be service areas so it might be a problem if you are a light sleeper in the morning, but the rest of the time it should not be a problem.

I think my husband chose 8080 because it had cabins opposite our door but their doors opened to the other hallway.

Beth

Is there always a fee for room service now, or only "late" service - and I agree, 11:00 pm isn't late. My cousin travels often and considers it roughing it when a hotel ends room service at midnight.

This is odd when Celebrity is trying to attract younger cruisers. Admittedly, seniors like me are often settled in by 11:00 when on a cruise. It must be the sea air because at home we are often awake past midnight.

Beth

I ordered binoculars for my grandson for a mini-cruise with him, his dad & mom. The ones from Celebrity weren't worth the cost but it wasn't much anyway and he was only 9. Also they weren't waiting for him in our cabin, as I had expected, I had to track them down.

That made me think, binoculars might be a good gift if you don't have a good set. There will be fun stuff to see and having her own would be cool.

I think I got ours at REI but I'm not certain. We got them for our first cruise (to Alaska in 2002) and have used them ever since.

We are also on a graduation family celebration cruise with the aforementioned grandson. Nine years later. We are on Explorer of the Seas though.

Thank you for your review, I am cruising June 23 on explorer and can't wait.

 

 

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Are you cruising this year? Our cruise is on June 24. If that is your sailing date, you are invited to come on over to the Roll Call.

If it is next year, you can start a Roll Call because there didn't seem to be one yet.

Beth

Thanks! This is so generous of you!

Much appreciated.

We have planned a sailaway get-together after the muster drill in the Viking Crown Lounge. Will we miss the Parade? In your opinion, should we relocate to the Promenade so as to enjoy the Parade?

Thanks again,

Beth

Has anyone stayed at the Rosedale on Robson?

The premium 2 BR suite looks good for 2 couples traveling together - except it seems they have a kitchenette but no table at which to dine and 3 armchairs in the rooms. I couldn't get an answer from the person on the phone, since she was looking at the photos and didn't know the rooms, so we need someone who has stayed there to tell us if it is OK. Is the area OK for us? We would like to get there and then walk or take public transport if possible.

Thanks for any info.

Beth

And if you would rather respond privately, use my e-mail

Does Celebrity use glasses like Riedel or can a request them when ordering wine? I really do not want a cheap glass when drinking wine.

 

 

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The first time we signed up for this - I think it was December 2012 - if we bought the Wine Tasting from our sommelier, he would bring the proper glasses to our table when we ordered wine. That time I didn't keep the glasses because a friend signed us up and had the glasses shipped and as a thank you for the experience, I had the glasses shipped to her.

The second time, my husband and I signed up and it didn't seem we got that deal, but we weren't at a set table with one sommelier, but were on select dining, so that was an added factor. It is worth asking. However, I don't think the glasses are cheap ones, just not as special as the Riedel ones. We don't generally drink chardonnay and that is where I notice the difference the most. The only way I like chardonnay is when it is served in a proper chardonnay glass.

Beth

We did this on a Caribbean cruise, and since we had driven to Florida we chose to carry off our glasses. They weren't the glasses we used for the tasting but were a complete set. If you chose to have them shipped, you could choose 4 glasses of one type rather than one of each. This was January 2015 so maybe it has changed.

It was fun and the glasses are great but they are quite fragile. Sadly, I've broken one of the red wine glasses while drying it. I was very careful but as I was drying I heard a ping and looked down and it had cracked a hole into the glass bowl part. I know that has a proper name but I can't think of it right now. Maybe it was the 2 glasses of wine with dinner. :p

Beth

Dark clothes come back faded. My cotton stuff must have been preshrunk because I didn't notice shrinkage but it was a nuisance to be careful with what I sent. This was worse on the Eclipse than on the Silhouette or Equinox so it may be ship-dependent. I've started taking older undies (I do wear cotton) so I can send them out without worrying. My pet peeve is the laundry markers that they use. Sometimes they write on a shirt where it bleeds through and sometimes they use little iron on tags that are painful. I've learned to peel them off. Just be careful to put your name on the bag and on the slip. We made that mistake once and it took a couple of extra days to get the laundry returned.

If you think you will be stressed about it, Goodwill or Salvation Army or another thrift shop might have a $2 sport coat for your new husband. Retro or something. Plus the cost of cleaning.

I haven't been on RCCL yet but Caribbean cruises are usually much less formal. If you have a filmy scarf to put with a sundress, you will look great.

Moreover, you could wear the same thing for both formal nights because people don't remember, and if they do, you won't likely see them again anyway.

Best wishes and congratulation on your upcoming wedding. Enjoy your life together.

:mad:

Just got off the phone with RCI customer service and a CS supervisor. I got forwarded information that I could take advantage of a "20%" discount on their beverage package. So' date=' I thought, "sure, why not?". I never buy these other than soda packages.

 

So, when I decided to go and order the Premium package at it's "20%" off price, it showed that... but then tacked on an additional 18% gratuity fee! Now, I'd be fine if somewhere on that ordering page (the one where you add beverage packages) there was some sorta mention saying, "Btw- our pricing here doesn't reflect the hidden gratuity fee"... then I'd have known about it up front.

 

 

Cheers,

Paul[/quote']

Paul, the gratuities were also discounted 20% if that will make you feel better.

Take this into consideration. For every $100 in beverage package, you pay $118. When there is a 20% discount, that $100 becomes $80, and the total is $94.40. I get that you are disappointed that it wasn't $80 even but perhaps this will make you feel better. I don't believe this was an effort to scam anyone, but was a case of differing assumptions made between you and the cruise line.

Also - it depends on the departure point of the cruise. Cruises out of Southhampton have the gratuities included, I believe. So for some people who say gratuities weren't added to their cost, that could be an explanation.

We take AA usually on a morning flight so we have reduced jet lag. We spend the day reading, watching a movie & walking around the plane. We are able to get to our hotel, have a bite and go to sleep.

We fly into LHR for most European trips for this reason.

Beth

The NY Times says there is a storm that would interfere with getting to Port Liberty for disembarkation so they are returning early NYTIMES

Don't "shoot" the messenger. It is March 1 not April 1 so I believe it.

B

I searched and couldn't determine the answer. My husband and I are doing our first RC cruise on Explorer to Alaska in June with our son & his family (7-yo granddaughter and 18-yo grandson).

Will there be a formal tea given on one of the sea days? We can go to the Empress in Victoria, but it seems pricey and maybe over-elaborate for a 7 year old; I would enjoy doing it with her, but if the ship has one, even a for-fee one, it might be a better choice and since it would be less costly, maybe I could buy her a pretty hat for the event. I guess gloves are passe.

Is there any other elegant event on the ship that would be perfect for a girl who loves to dress up? Luckily we have 2 formal nights, and I'm sure she will enjoy them.

Thanks for any info.

Beth

I had a few cocktails in the Gastrobar that were delicious. The creative cocktails there emphasize fresh juices more than alcohol - a plus for me. I had the premium drink package (they were $9 I think) so I liked their being less strong yet absolutely delicious.

Beth

One problem is that this is the Western Canada/Alaska message board. There is an Eastern Canada/NE message board. We did QC on our own one day, and then had scheduled a very nice ship tour, but cancelled it because it was cold and rainy.