DCPIV

I am healthy man with strong legs, and I have to take care stepping out of the tub/shower in a GS.  No only is the side high, but the level of the tub is just higher enough from that of the floor that it sort of can fool you.  Your companion most certainly should employ the "sit and swing" method of getting in and out.  Heck, I've done it, myself in a GS.

That said, the GS perks more than make up for the momentary inconvenience of dealing with the tub.

I'm also getting them, and I've about had it.

I'm getting them from hotel chains, too.

On 7/4/2021 at 10:54 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Retreat guests still have their priority entrance and did not have to wait in any line. We were on in 15 minutes.

Just curious, but did you wait and show up for your assigned entry time, or were you there early?

Thanks for the updates!

Thanks for the update!  I'll be on board Summit in a few months and am looking forward to it!

It's difficult to suggest items because tastes can vary so much, as can availability from ship to ship and day to day, but there are some very nice selections on the published list.  Here's your chance to try!  The beauty of having the package is that you can try all sorts of stuff.  If you don't like it, push it aside and order something else.  

My best recommendation is to talk to a bartender at a time things are furiously busy and see what recommendations they may have.  Just about every cruise ship bartender I've ever met enjoys introducing folks to new things (and maybe showing off a little, too).

On 7/3/2021 at 9:31 AM, markeb said:

Not always. I’m going to have to go to Dulles to update mine. Supposedly a quick walk-in. We’ll see. 

If it's anything like how things run at Houston Intercontinental.  All you have to do there is wait for someone to come out to get someone for an interview, and you just wave them down.  If no one is waiting out there, just call them.  

You are not able to just open the door and walk in anymore.

I'm glad to see so many able to change the passport information online.  I don't know if something triggered with ours or if it's just something that's changed since we last renewed (or if we just had a bad understanding).  I do know that, while I was waiting to do the GE renewal interview, I saw a number of folks also show up to get their renewed passport numbers entered in, so it does seem that it was something that others had to do.

Regardless, it's nice to see things might be easier.  It was a minor pain for us to go to the airport to do it, but it still was a pain.  It certainly could be a major pain for others.

We've had Global Entry for several years, and it's totally worth it even just for the Pre-Check. One instance of international travel where you can use GE, and the extra $15 feels like you're getting away with something.

It seems they've streamlined the renewal process, too. I had to go for an in-person interview for my last renewal (2019, I think). Appointments were very difficult to get and had to be scheduled months in advance. I ended up just doing a "walk-in," where I showed up in the morning, waited, and they squeezed me in when they could. 

48 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

My passport is up for renewal in 2022.  I have heard there is a very long wait (6 months) for passport renewals.

I advise getting on that as soon as you're able. That 6 month estimate likely is fairly accurate. You can shorten that by a couple months if you pay the expedited fee (probably worth it). You can do an in-person renewal but only if you are traveling in the next 3 days.

After you get your renewal, you then have to update your Global Entry with your new passport number. We did that just recently and had to do it in person at the Global Entry office. It was a quick and easy thing to do, but we had to go out to the airport to do it. 

To be precise, I believe the "in-person" requirement for updating the passport number on GE applies to only the passport rather than the person. They need to see the thing. My wife ran in with both our passports while I waited on the car (so that we didn't have to pay to park). You might want to call and double check that, though. Who knows what might from day to day? 

@Straughn Thank you for your very considerate reply. You also make some excellent points.

They certainly could make more conspicuous the note about the additional pairings, especially since the wine has been included in the recent past. It's way down there at the bottom. I'm the sort that reads everything, but I know many do not. A little more effort on X's part could save a lot of consternation at the event. Even something like an asterisk on the price would be better. 

As for the cost, I wonder if they hesitate to commit to a price because pairings may change based on availability and pricing. Both have been issues during the pandemic and likely will continue to be for some time. I'm not defending X's practice-- just speculating. 

No matter what, may you enjoy a lovely dinner and experience! 

2 hours ago, neenee61 said:

No international travel from Australia until at least mid 2022. Today Australian cruising cancelled till 17 December and will more than likely be further extended. 

 

Yikes.  We're due to cruise there in April.

19 hours ago, Antropos said:

I've never personally experienced Chef's Table (yet?), but it is my understanding that the 5:30 PM on the first day is just a 'placeholder' for the event. The actual time (and location) are made known once onboard. For me, that is what keeps me from booking. 

Thanks for clearing that up.  That makes a good deal more sense.  I agree with you, though, I would prefer to schedule a time via the planner rather than once on board for similar reasons, and that's reason enough to give it a pass.

15 hours ago, Straughn said:

Charge us more, but for god’s sake, include the wine!

I appreciate the fact that they don't include the wine.  A number of folks cannot or do not drink the wine for one reason or another (age, medication or other medical reasons, religion, etc.), so there's no good reason they should be paying for wine. Separating the cost of the wine pairing allows a non-drinker to enjoy the dinner without the extra expense.  Our favorite local restaurant does the same thing with their "wine dinners" that they hold once or (more often) twice every month.  While the advertised price does include the wine pairing, they allocate a portion of that price to the wine and deduct for anyone not drinking that night (while the pairings typically are excellent, the food is good enough reason on its own to be there!)

One of the times we did the Chef's Table on RC, we took our teenaged sons to the dinner because they enjoy good food and trying new things.  In fact, they did enjoy the food and the experience very much.  However, we still had to pay for the wine, even though they couldn't have it because of their age.  There was no mechanism for reducing the price for those who weren't drinking.  This way of doing things is an improvement.

The pairings still are there and ready to go.  The additional cost for the wine is disclosed up front, and there's no good reason to believe the "included" price would be significantly less than the combined price, so I don't see what principle there is to fight for.

We looked at that on a Millennium sailing later this year.  I don't know about the actual experience, but we passed on it simply based on the fact that the only option was at 5:30 PM on sailing day.  It just isn't the way we like to start off a cruise, but that's us.

The very steep price didn't help, either.  We completely understand that it includes a galley tour, a cookbook, and some other doo-dads, but those didn't do much to sway us.  We've seen galleys, and we have cookbooks, so those don't really add value to us.

I hate to come on like Debbie Downer.  We love fine dining and have few qualms with dropping a few hundred bucks on a wonderful meal, but this one didn't make sense to us.  I do hope someone comes on and raves about it.  If you decide to keep your booking, I hope you have a fantastic time and make us regret our choice!

Cheers!

I look forward to hearing how things go. I'm sailing solo for the first time this Fall while my wife goes on an annual girls' cruise of her own. I figured I'd give it a go! 

Personally, I'm not worried. I also enjoy striking up barside conversations, and cruisers always are friendly. The reports here are even more encouraging. 

Cheers! 

19 hours ago, Cdresser said:

Just called "detox". If you go to the spa Cafe, they list the ingredients. I can't remember what was in it but it was delicious.

It just so happens that I came across another post that listed the ingredients (in a photo from the Spa Café).  Kale, orange juice, mango, mint, and parsley.  That sounds right up my alley.  I do hope they have it on board.

Again, thanks for the heads-up!

On 6/26/2021 at 12:32 PM, tunaman2011 said:

The menu says $18 for "large format" whatever that means.

That pretty much means "a drink as big as your head."

On 6/22/2021 at 4:44 PM, amcb said:

Does anyone know if they sell cigars on the ships? We are sailing Summit out of St. Maarten, and I just want to know if DH should purchase some before boarding. He has been fairly happy with the limited selection onboard Royal Caribbean ships so he can definitely be flexible.

 

Thanks!

🙂 amcb

Considering how everything is going right now, he's probably better off getting what sticks he knows he enjoys and bringing them with him.  If he has a portable humidor, then he knows he's good to go.  If not, a Ziploc bag works just fine for a the week or so you'll be on board (but I'm telling you something y'all probably already know).

In any case, I'd hate to count on something being there and then finding out it wasn't.  Until dust settles, I hesitate to make assumptions.

On 6/26/2021 at 9:42 AM, Cdresser said:

My guess is that since these short cruises are recent additions they haven't had a chance to map out what will be available.

I didn't think about that, but it goes along with what I was thinking (that they just need time to sort things out). 

On 6/26/2021 at 10:33 AM, jelayne said:

They often do maintenance and updating to the website on the weekends, so I avoid trying to do anything on the weekend

It's been like this since booking (granted that was only a couple weeks ago or so).

On 6/26/2021 at 9:42 AM, Cdresser said:

We booked the cruises for the ship, not for the ports.

Yes, indeed.  I'm more than happy to stay on board during a port day and enjoy my enormous private yacht. 

@Cdresser Thank you!  Cheers

I'm pretty sure you get the cruise fare difference in FCC, and I'm pretty sure that is your only option.  I suppose you could look into an upgrade, of course. 

Any excursions, packages, or other add-ons should be refundable, of course.

We're sending good vibes to you and your family.

I'm glad this came up.  We have a couple of sailings in the Fall, and we might've been trying to cut things a little close.  I see this thread, and then I think about a flight we had cancelled last month, the folks who were at the airport when their flight was cancelled as we were about to fly home from that same trip, and our son who woke up on Friday morning to find his flight later that day had been cancelled. 

"Oh, we have a few hours cushion" isn't as comfortable to say as it was a couple years ago.

I changed our plans to fly in day before instead of say of.  I'll pay the cost of a hotel for a night and, from here on out, just figure that in as part of the trip cost when planning.

23 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

IMO-- " trophy wife " is a rude statement, not funny, and is a " put down " .

( A "  trophy for a week "---- well, I " assume " that's something to brag about ).

Holy cow, if Pinboy referred to " You know who " in that manner, Pinboy would be looking for a " trophy " lawyer for " you know what " .

I still wonder if that old fart buying his " 32 yr old trophy for the week " a pre-loved Rolex still has her " attention ". 

So don't use the phrase or call her that, but don't look down on those couples who do so with genuine good nature.  My wife gets a kick out of such things.

But it does drive her a little crazy when I insist that I am smarter than she is, but there's no disputing that fact.  Look at who I married, and then look at who she married, and then tell me who's the smarter one.  No dispute. 😁

On 6/26/2021 at 9:19 AM, Cdresser said:

Although it is not alcoholic, we also had our butler deliver detox smoothies to our room every morning. Our butler on the Edge told us about them and on day 3 we tried them and couldn't believe how great they worked - and tasted.

That sounds wonderful.  We'll be in an RS next sailing, and I would love something like that.  Do you have any other details on that smoothie, or was it just called "detox"?  

 Yes, there is something about cruising that makes excess the standard, and extraordinary measures are required to cope. 😉 

On 6/18/2021 at 8:52 PM, kjwinston2019 said:

Do they frown upon drinking in the cabin?

I don't know if they frown on it, but they do like to monitor drinking to some extent. Not only do they want to keep folks from sharing with minors or those without a package, they also aren't fond of folks getting sloppy drunk (which usually leads to trouble). That's tough to do with a free minibar. 

You and I might be responsible drinkers, but the bad apples have spoiled the bunch. 

We're booked on the Summit 10/4-9 (Western Caribbean).  We're 100 days out from sailing (hooray!), and there are no shore excursions listed in the planner.  While there are spa options listed in the planner, none of them have any appointments.  Has anyone else seen this?

We aren't terribly concerned.  We know that COVID still is making things weird, and we're confident that things will get relatively sorted out in time.  To be honest, we aren't that curious about shore excursions, as we've been to Cozumel and Costa Maya so many times we ought to keep a P.O. Box there (but that's where the spa comes in, right?)  We're just so dadgum happy to be cruising again that we wouldn't be upset if there were no excursions.  Shoot, we'd be happy if they handed us a mop with our martini and told us to get to work.  Just get us back on board.

We may not have even brought it all up, except that everything is there for our sailing on Millennium in November, so it was a little unusual.

On 5/17/2020 at 7:42 AM, NJ Cruiserman said:

If I remember correctly the up to 30 day prior to cruise cash refund option was revoked and replaced on April 8. Please see the attached. 1655033992_SilverseaCruisewithConfidenceProgram20200408.pdf

It wasn't revoked, but they've dropped it into something akin to a footnote.  It matters, now, since we were notified today of cancellation.

"If guests decide to forego the 125% Future Cruise Credit and the corresponding 25% additional benefit that Silversea is providing, a cash refund option is also available ^"