OutofNJ!

Hello all.

 

We just returned from Bermuda on a parallel trip to the Breakaway on the Celebrity Summit. We were parked next to the BA this past week. The crew as well as the passengers on the X ship were visibly shaken and disturbed by the accident. The lifeboat and the deceased crew member floated over to a pirate ship that is moored right next to the BA. It was filled with families having a fun time "walking the plank" to jump into the harbor. Another excursion catamaran rushed over to retrieve the injured crew members. It was horrifying.

 

A few days following the accident, out of respect for the deceased NCL employee, there were simultaneous moments of silence observed as well as concurrent horn blasts from both ships. Prayers went out to the families of the involved employees as well as their co-workers. It was very touching.

Hey MaryBeth,

I don't have answers to all of your questions, but I do know a few of them...

 

1) Yes, There are early dining, late dining, and my-time dining. You can make my-time dining reservations ahead of time usually within 90 days of your cruise date. If you select my-time dining, they will require you to pre-pay all gratuities for the trip. We just returned 3 weeks ago and used my-time dining. Even with a different dining time for each day (depending on what we were doing in port and what time the ship left), they gave us the same waiter and assistant each night.

 

2) There were no charges for any shows on our cruise (Jewel of the Seas - southern Caribbean route)

 

3) We have never felt nickel-ed and dimed to death on RCCL. We even find their drink prices fairly reasonable.

 

4) The drink package includes gratuity. I still threw in an extra $1 for each drink that someone served me. If I had to go to the bar and get it myself, I didn't give extra unless I really liked the bartender.

 

5) RCCL allows two bottles of wine per stateroom with no corkage fee unless brought out to a public area. Your room attendant will bring you a cork screw and two glasses if you ask. We brought two large boxes of wine on one cruise and the stateroom attendant even emptied out the mini-bar fridge so we could keep it cold. With the boxed wine, you don't run the risk of breakage.

 

Thanks beachluver9 for taking the time to answer! Very helpful!!

 

Marybeth.

Hi there!

 

I’m wondering if I can get some help with a few questions that I have from some experienced RCI cruisers. Our gang is considering 11/12 night sailings next Feb. (’15) on the Quantum OS or the NCL Breakaway. Although we have a reasonable amount of cruises under our belts, none of us have any experience with these two cruise lines. I’ve found out some info on the Breakaway regarding dining/entertainment and I’d like to do a comparison of the two lines. I have just a couple of questions. I realize that no one has experience with the Quantum, so I thank you for any input you can give me.

 

1. Does RCI have early/late dinner seatings along with an “anytime dining” option, or is it just open seating like NCL? How far in advance do you normally have to make specialty dining reservations?

 

2. For shows and specialty entertainment: are there charges to see all of the shows? It looks like Mama Mia will be on this cruise. NCL charges to see Rock of Ages and it’s my understanding that tickets should be purchased far in advance of sailing. It’s kind of a turn-off for us to have to plan every minute of every day before you even board the ship.

 

3. Frequently, I've read over on the NCL boards that folks feel that they've been “nickel-ed and dimed to death”. Is that the general observation of RCI as well?

 

4. I found (on this forum) that the standard beverage package is about $55 per day. Does that include gratuity? Do both folks in the room need to purchase the package? It would take a lot of beer for my DH to reach $55 so it wouldn't work for him, but for me… wine and martinis will add up quite quickly!

 

5. I thought I read somewhere recently that RCI is now allowing one bottle of wine per person on board with no corkage fee if consumed in your stateroom. Does anyone know if this is true? It would make sense, because that is Celebrity’s policy.

 

Let me thank you in advance for any help you can give me with these questions!

 

Marybeth.

Cruised in Feb. 13 out of Cape Liberty on the Silhouette and unless I had too many bon voyage martinis, we definately sailed right by Lady Liberty, then under the Verannzano Narrows Bridge. It was SPECTACULAR!

Doing a little research on why Eurodam is cruising late and came up with nada.

 

However, did find out MS Nieuw Amsterdam is a a charter. A nude cruise. So sail-away could be interesting. On our recent NA cruise I remember some of the crew discussing it. Only can go nude out of port and on deck.

 

Remember a bar tender saying "he wish he could take the week off as it is not a pretty site." One of the new bar staff stated "I'm a nude cruise virgin and nervous about this."

 

Sailing on a B2B on the NA next week. We get to follow the nude cruise. Bringing extra Clorox wipes:eek:. Second week is a Sandi Patti Christian cruise. Talk about extremes!!

Compared to the Carnival dining experience, in my opinion HAL would be considered fine dining, but compared to what I consider fine dining on land, to answer your question, no.

 

The only fine dining experience we've ever encountered on a ship was in the Olympic Dining Room (specialty) on Celebrity Millennium. Several courses spaced out properly, basically someone watching over our table from afar the entire time, domed entrees with the domes removed simultaneously and food that went beyond expectation...a great experience. That experience was actually one of the best meals that I've ever experienced anywhere (and we've been around the block with dining).

 

The Olympic has been one of our best dining experiences as well. Loved the antique panels from the sister ship to the Titanic. Our waiters actually said "viola" when they lifted the domes. Exceptional food as well. I dream about that experience all of the time.

 

Another spectacular cruise dining memory was the chef's table on the Ruby Princess. HAL chef dinner on the Noordam was a total let down.

[quote name='PunkiC']I am always weighing all of the options.

Had HAL not modified their wine policy, they would have been off my list of cruise lines to consider. Now they are back on, but they still start off with a $500 handicap compared to Princess or Cunard which offer DH and me $250 OBC each for our military service.

So, if they have a deal with decent OBC and good pricing, they are in the running, but certainly not our first choice.

Moreover they have that ridiculous "Dancing With the Stars" program which is truly a joke. It is taught by people who don't understand the dances they are teaching and the whole program basically boils down to a bunch of running back and forth and arm flailing. Pretty sad. It is better to just present basic classes that really help people learn to enjoy ballroom dance.Their pizza sucks, but I do like the poached egg station! :p[/QUOTE]




You know, there's stuff out there for everybody. There's a lot of folks who think Carnival and HAL are the most wonderful things ever.... there are Princess, RCCL and X cheerleaders, so I say, this is free enterprise! All of the cruise lines pay beau-coup bucks to employ marketers that target our age groups and preferences, so HAL, if you think folks are going to put up with your bologna, change whatever policies that you want. I say the consumer will speak by purchasing what will suit each and every one of our needs.

Good luck HAL. We'll see how things shake down.

[quote name='startwin'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Perhaps in time they will do that - but right now the policy is brand new and there will be teething problems. Right now I'm just glad they amended the incredibly restrictive policy they intended. Give it time. And remember it is HAL, not Princess.;)[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Vive la difference!!!

[quote name='Wakepatrol']I thought this movie was over. The lights dimmed and I was all ready to see the credits roll. What gives, is there a sequel?[/QUOTE]

What???? If this exchange bothers you, then jump off the board!!

There will be glasses and an ice bucket in your cabin. If you want different size glasses, just ask your cabin steward.

 

Cheers!

6079 is large but not as large as J on Deck 1.

 

Hi! Is this picture of 6079 of a Vista class or Signature class. We have that cabin booked on the Neiuw Amsterdam for a back to back in February. I was hoping for and alcove type of arrangement. It's an I class listed as a "large inside". Any info?

 

Thanks,

 

Marybeth

Last year on a February sailing on the Noordam, we had a particularly active roll call. It was a great, fun group. We had a Meet and Greet in the Crow's Nest on the first sea day. The organizer of the group sent invitations to the Officers on board. We had so many brass at the event (and I don't think it was for the free Mimosas). The Captain, the Hotel Director, the Exec. Chef, the head of Houskeeping, the Maître D, the Cruise Director, the Head Engineer, the ship's Doctor and so many more passed a very pleasant morning with all of us. We also did a slot pull. The casino Hostess provided tee shirts and trophies for the winners. We did a group activity also. About 20 of us boarded a ferry in Martinique and sailed over to Pointe Du Bout. We sang French songs as we crossed the harbor to that wonderful little island! A beautiful cruise was enhanced by our CC group and it started at the Sail Away Party and the Meet and Greet. I highly recommend it!!

 

Bon Voyage,

 

Marybeth.

Wow folks! Everybody calm down!! You know.... it's a cruise:D. Live and let live! Sandi Patti and her group will do their own thing and the rest of the pax will do theirs. No one is going to jump anyone and drag them to a gospel festival or pour bloody Mary's down anyone's throat. We're doing a back to back during this cruise. We're sandwiched between a nudist cruise and a Christian cruise. Hmmm..... being somewhat of a germ-o-phobe, I think I might prefer sailing with group number two!! Again no judgments, I'm just sayin':rolleyes:. Our biggest problem with Sandi's group aboard is that our gang can't get late seating. I'm assuming that the group has second seating due to scheduling concerns. Oh well, we'll just do open dining at 8:30. No biggie!! There's always a work-around! Again.... it's a cruise. No cooking, no cleaning, no nothin' but blue water, blue skies and smooth sailing. OK. Enough of my 70's-Hippie-I'm-OK-You're-OK preaching for now. We're all gonna have a great time!!

 

MB.

 

PS: (You guys should start a roll call to continue your chat!)

So... for DH and I.... we love to cruise, but financially, if you can do two cruises a year in inside cabins vs. just one in a veranda, inside wins every time. Just need to adjust your viewpoint. Take your bottle of wine and sit on the promenade for sail away, and you can save enough bucks to take 2 cruises per year instead of one.... Win-Win!!!!

In the google docs archive menu choose 'save as', 'excel', to get a local copy.

This way you can make all the neccessary changes in the document.

 

Thank You!!

I can open the spreadsheet, but I can't change the values in the formula column. The formulas come up, but the numbers that are in the sheet will not change. Help!!!

How about some crystalized ginger candy for motion sickness or general hangover remedy?? I buy mine at the grocery store wrapped in little individual pieces. Also, for those that haven't jumped on the Kindle train, an inexpensive clip-on reading light for those night owls who bunk with early birds!! Available at Walmart/Kmart/Target for under $5.

Hello Pam.

 

I followed your thread about your ordeal at sea. Thank you for sharing this wonderful ending to such a tragic story. It brought tears to my eyes. I think Princess handled your request with kindness and dignity. In sharing your story you have helped many people.

 

Thank you and God Bless,

 

Marybeth

She was the CD on our Ruby cruise. She is well dressed and well spoken, and in my opinion will only appeal to an older crowd. She does not add any excitement to the cruise, and unfortunately, her team follows in her footsteps.

 

Of my 8 cruises, I can say that only 2 of the CDs were memorable....so I don't exect much anymore.

 

 

I agree about the older crowd and Lisa. I talked my 28 year old teacher daughter and a few of her friends into moving over to Princess and they were quite dissappointed with her. None of these girls were new to cruising, but they felt a little let down by the activities on thier 7 day Ruby trip.