Griswolds

I see this happening all the time on the cruises we've been on especially out of the Windjammer buffet restaurant. In fact on our last cruise the was one lady with two overloaded with food plates that came out of the elevator and went down the corridor to our cabin dripping sauce all the way as she was very unsteady while walking. It was simply unbelievable that someone would do this without a tray or something to contain their food like a larger plate under the small plates she had piled the food on! :eek:

While I do think one should not carry overloaded plates of dripping food around the ship, I will say that we attempted to take some french fries and other munchies from Windjammer back to the room and asked one of the staff for a tray (for some reason there were none available at the time). He told us they were not allowed to hand out trays to guests because they didnt want people loading up trays and walking around the ship with them (safety reasons perhaps?). We ended up finding one laying around and kept it in the room for future use for the rest of the cruise.

Wow! Im glad I decided to stroll around in Cruise Critic today and stumble upon this thread.

We are booked on Adventure the second week of January and have pre-paid for the 2 night specialty dining package with the intent of eating at Chops. If that is not going to be available until "early next year", I assume it will not be ready for our sailing the second week of January. I would hope they will give us a refund for that package. I am sorta bummed as this would have been our first specialty dining experience.

The other changes do not effect us much but I do hope they were able to complete the cabin upgrades (new TV, bedding, etc).

Nice review! We were also on this sailing. Just to add my two cents:

We had FTTF and I felt like this was the latest we ever boarded a ship. However all the lines/check-in process prior to that was actually really fast. And the express line for the guest services deck on the ship came in handy a couple times.

This was also the longest muster drill I have ever experienced. Almost an hour.

Our cabin (deck 8/inside) was showing its age. There was carpet worn down all the way. Sink/vanity was pink and the sink had several cracks in it. And some large hose contraption attached to the wall that they call a hair dryer. Also, the flat screen TV was very small. Not that TV is important on a cruise, but it looked cheesy.

I agree with the Lido food being meh. We were not impressed and actually managed to avoid eating there. We had Blue Iguana several times and loved it. Its nice you can build your own soft taco (chicken, pork or fish) with the toppings bar. Guys Burgers was great as usual but closes too early. I would love a burger/fries later in the evening.

Dining room food was OK, sometimes a little bland. But we did love the sea day brunch. They really could tone down the music in the dining room. It was usually very loud and not very relaxing music to dine, especially at brunch.

Where I disagree is with the entertainment. We were disappointment with the main shows (very sub par in comparison to the Broadway type productions on other lines) and yet we actually did like the comedian (both PG and R versions). Solo singer in the main bar was also a little drab. He sang good songs, but in depressing slower versions.

Also noticed that the windows on the ship are very dirty/streaky. ALL of the windows.

With FTTF we were off the ship and standing at the airport by 7:40am !! We had an early flight (11:15am) however it was delayed due to the tropical storm so we ended spending more time at the airport than planned. Ugggh

Overall, nothing spoiled our fun, we had a great time and there wasn't anything that would keep me from telling someone not to sail on this ship.

Any chance someone has the menu for the 5 day Triumph cruise?

Just doing my normal cruise research and noticed talk about American Table. I'm not sure what this is or if it's even offered on Triumph. Can someone help?

We had a flight at 11:40 and didn't do self-assist but had FTTF. We had to talk our way off of the ship because over 2,000 people choose self-assist which stops everyone that turned their luggage in the night before to have to wait to disembark. Although we were with the priority passengers, and had a zone 3 ticket, it was after 8 and had to go talk with the guest services to try and get them to let us know since we had an early flight. Carnival's website said don't book before 11:30 a flight home. The line at the airport to get through security was long. It was stressful and although we did make our flight I don't think we would book that early again. OR, we would do self-assist.

Yikes! Thank you for your input. We would do self-assist for sure. I know debarking can be hit or miss. We always do self-assist and have been off the ship getting a cab by 7:30am but there are also ports that are known to have a slow customs process.

We are considering taking a last minute cruise on Triumph in August. We have been on this ship several years ago but we drove to the port and this time we would be flying. I noted the airport is roughly 25 minutes away (not considering any traffic/construction) and the only return flight we have leaves at 11:17am. This is a bit sooner than my normal comfort zone of flight times, and the website recommends the earliest flight at 11:30am. I am just wondering if anyone has had a flight around this time, or earlier, and how stressful was it or was it no problem?

I do not wish to speculate on the circumstances of this specific incident. However, human trafficking is a very real thing and in alot of cases lives are saved only because someone noticed something "off" and reported it. If ever you feel something is "off" in any situation, it never hurts to report it, it can only help. Its a shame that many red flags in tragic situations are not realized until after the fact.

We have done one last minute cruise. It was in early October, booked it about 36 hours before boarding. Paid $300 per person (total including taxes, port charges, etc) for 7 nights eastern Caribbean out of Port Canaveral. Full disclosure - it was another cruise line. :eek:

I guess our little trick no longer works with the new structure of the internet packages.

We used to buy the minimum package (15 minutes?) and stretch it out all week while checking in with the kids.

I would "draft" my emails to them on my tablet offline (not connected to any internet) and then log in only long enough to hit "send". The kids would reply and I would only log in long enough to read it and then draft my response offline again. Repeat this once per day, usually in the evening.

...yet, but new ships will and some of the existing ones are being refitted with slides.:cool:

 

 

They might not have food available late at night, but the things you mentioned are available.

I would be very happy if I could get lemonade late night! Please tell me where I could find it. On our last Liberty cruise I couldn't even get it through room service, they said go to the bars. Well the bars don't serve it either. Best I could do was an ice water.

We are sailing Serenade of the Seas next December. I was a little nervous about booking for two reasons, its the longest cruise we've taken and I have been known to get sea sick and my DH gets bored on sea days and the other reason is because its a smaller ship. Im reading alot of mixed reviews about this ship but one thing that keeps coming up is the lack of food/snacks/drinks after dinner or late at night. I think this is a RCCL issue and not necessarily a Serenade of the Seas issue. I've been complaining about this on our feedback surveys for years. We recently did a Carnival cruise and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that their buffet area is open pretty much 24/7 to give you access to self serve FREE drinks like lemonade and hot chocolate. Many times they also had cookies out. RCCL really needs to make improvement in this area.

My step father was taken off a cruise ship on day two of a 10 day day land/sea vacation in Alaska. I believe the Coast Guard did the initial airlift off the ship, however, there was not an adequate hospital close by (I assume in Alaska) to accommodate his needs so he was then transported to Seattle. The bill was in the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, they did not have trip/cruise insurance.

I agree that I don't care if they call it a "sale" or not, as long as I get what I consider to be a good price. That said, I haven't found a good price for RCCL in a while. And although we've never had a "bad" cruise, we have noticed a decline in overall quality (mostly food).

First time cruisers would not notice these things because they have no comparison and they are probably filling up the ships easily during these "sales" promotions. So I can see how RCCL doesn't put much weight on what us whiners on CC think.

I will admit (not ashamed. LOL) that we sailed on Carnival last October (spur of the moment, not planned!) and we felt it was highly comparable and the cost was considerably less. In fact, the only major difference that stood out was the lay out of the ships (we prefer RCCL) and the party atmosphere at the pool (in our 40s and over that scene!). But these things were relatively minor and the pluses of the cruise made up for it. (Loved Guys Burger Joint, free popcorn at the pool for movies, and that the free self serve beverages (juice/water/lemonade) are available 24/7).

I guess my point is that luckily there are other options out there that should keep everyone happy. Personally, we're not going to remain loyal just for the sake of being loyal or C&A status/perks. Even though RCCL is our comfort zone, we are price driven consumers and will choose our cruises going forward based on price.

We took a 7 night cruise mid-October last fall. It was a last minute plan (booked 48 hours before sailing!) to surprise my mom, who was already booked on the cruise. I am very prone to motion sickness and would never usually book during hurricane season. The weather was beautiful when we left and I hadn't heard any reports of storms brewing. The first day at sea and first port in Bahamas was perfect, beautiful weather. When we got back on the ship after the first port day the captain announced we would be changing the itinerary due to a tropical depression headed towards our next port. Our entire itinerary changed from eastern Caribbean to western. We actually had to back track but we never saw a minute of bad seas or bad weather! And we went to just as many ports, just different ones. I wasn't disappointed at all that we were not on the itinerary we had originally signed up for - I was grateful that the captains have the experience and authority to make these types of decisions when necessary. It was actually one of the best cruises (weather/seas) we have been on yet! The only minor inconvenience we had was that the new ports were a little more crowded and tenders took a lot longer because there were several more ships in port than planned due to everyone being diverted.

We buy the regular/large size and just pour some into a travel size spray bottle. Can be used on multiple trips. :D

Day before/day of (we live 15 min from Port Everglades). If I start earlier I over think, second guess myself which leads to over packing.

 

 

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Agree. I used to start packing a week or prior, setting out a suitcase in the spare bedroom and gradually adding/removing things. I thought it made me more excited about the vacation knowing it was coming up shortly and I was already preparing for it. But I always over packed. I had way too many outfits and shoes I never wore. Last year we did a "last minute" cruise, meaning we decided at 4pm on Thursday to sail on Saturday (and we had to drive from Michigan to Port Canaveral!) So I literally only had a couple hours to pack. It ended up being the best ever. I knew exactly what I needed, remembering all essentials, and yet didnt over pack. I actually found it less stressful with less time to him-haw about what I was going to pack. Go figure!

Let us know how that works out for you. Gee, if you go to Carnival, as a first time cruiser, you can spend $50 and get all the same perks that a long time return cruiser gets. It's called FTTF. Oh, you don't ever get "happy hour." But hey, you'll be so "valued" as a return customer, that they'll sell your benefits to anyone for $50.

Here's the thing. The economy is doing well. People are spending money. The cruise lines, like all other businesses, exist to be a profitable as possible. They price their product according to what the market will bear. Yeah, we "return cruisers" are a big portion of their passenger load. But that is changing. More and more "new cruisers" are now going. But for some reason many "return cruisers" feel that we are entitled to cruise almost for "free." The rates rules are clearly spelled out. Of course "sales" are designed to book new passengers. That is the point. I'll cruise Royal Caribbean because I like it. I don't get all offended because someone gets a "better deal" than me. In fact they don't. New cruisers don't get cabin discounts, priority seating at MDR, use of the Diamond or Concierge lounge, priority tender tickets, free internet time, coupons for discounted or 2 for 1 drinks, priority debarkation, etc. So yeah, you pay the same, but you get a whole lot more for your money than the first time cruiser. I compare the rate without the discount and the rate I can get with the discount. I book the cheapest. What you want is the "cheap" rate PLUS a discount on top. That would be a stupid business practice.

I appreciate what your saying. However, I dont think anyone is looking for a free cruise or upset because someone else got a better price. But if they are going to offer a program for repeat customers and offer discounts for the sole reason that you are a repeat customer (on their terms of the tier levels they created) then you should be entitled to those discounts on top of whatever published prices they are offering. Otherwise, its not really a perk of the program, now is it?

I guess I wont hold my breathe and wait to see if these silly sales ever end and we can then get a better price on what we're looking for. We actually thought we were going to take a break from cruising for a while (multiple reasons) but the sea does keep calling us back!

When you're logged in it will show your balcony discount. When you're not logged in it will show the OBC. You can't have both. You need to choose which is best.

That doesn't seem fair to members. Members should get whatever pricing is offered to everyone PLUS the member discount. I'm really not liking these sales (gimmicks) they have going on the past several months. :confused:

We are pricing out cruises this weekend, nothing specific just looking for our next one, and we are noticing the price is showing $200 OBC when we search while not logged in to C&A but when we log in the price goes down about $100 but the OBC goes away. We have been pricing out suites if that makes a difference.

Is anyone else seeing weird/higher pricing like this while logged in vs not logged in? Are we missing something? Doing something wrong?

Broken glass and blood was found on the railing on the helipad area. We were watching three employees inspecting the stair area on the CCTV before try cut the feed.

 

We were one with a second seating with young kids (which was a disaster itself that couldn't be remedied in MDR) that got pushed back til 9:30. The head server took the food and milk for the kids and sent them via room service as my mother took the kids to bed. Sadly, we arrived back to the room well before her food and their milk did, which ended up being 1.5 hours later. This wouldn't have been an issue had she not had the milk in her hands as she was getting ready to leave the MDR and he took them and said they'd be sent right away via room service :(

So someone broke glass and is bleeding on the helipad and no one bothers alerting a crew member so they can at least clean up. People amaze me.

That is horrible about your MDR experience! It sounds like they tried to attempt to help you out and make things easier by having the milk and food delivered to your cabin but then just dropped the ball and made the situation worse. That is very unfortunate.

We actually tried to order room service several times but waited on hold nearly 15 minutes and hung up. The other times we were told it would be almost 2 hours wait for delivery.:eek:

We did get the breakfast on time that we ordered with the form you hang outside your door the night before.

Ive heard alot of complaints about room service. Seems to me if they cant provide this service in a reasonable time, they shouldn't offer it.

Since you live in Michigan, you can get an "enhanced drivers license" to serve the same purpose as a passport. You can apply right at the SOS office (get the forms & list of required docs on their website). Only takes about 2 weeks and much cheaper than a passport. With this you do not need to bring any other docs with you on the cruise. These are valid for travel ( by car or cruise only) into Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. We have been using ours for years with no issues.

team 2 by any chance? (for quest)

We were team 4. :D

It has always been cheaper to just book direct through dolphin discovery . com just go together, get a taxi to the park (about $15) and then your husband can go off and do his own thing while you are with the dolphins.

I agree with this advice. We booked our dolphin excursion directly with Dolphin Discovery on their website, got a better price and had no issues. Got a taxi on our own for transportation.

They grouped all the people that booked through the cruise line together so there were 10 or more people in each group. Since we were not booked through the cruise, our group was just the 3 of us and another woman and her daughter, with two dolphins!

You can also buy tickets to the park at a excursion booth inside the cruise terminal when you get off the ship (just outside the building your forced to walk through selling all the liquor and junk). Your husband can even watch you doing the dolphin excursion from the sidewalk by the gift shop/restaurant.