DJChick

Our cruise on the Ascent ended Dec. 24th and the sea food buffet was on the last sea day, Dec. 23rd. It was a total zoo to say the least!! Buffet was supposed to open at noon. People were lined up before 11:30 am. Lines at noon were 30 to 40 deep. No plates left by the time you reached the beginning of where the food started. Different lines at the stations had different seafood items. Many people were in the wrong line for the items you wanted. No organization at all. After 40 years of cruising, it was the worse fiasco I have ever seen! People that were lucky enough to be in the correct line for the items they wanted, left the line with 2 plates of lobsters and raw shrimp piled to the brim! After a few sailings before our cruise, you would expect better organization from Celebrity and if not, do away with this free for all! Might have been better to add a $10 p/p surcharge at this point to control the crowd. 

Same situation with us! 1:30 to 2 pm. Only time offered!

Could still be a glitch and other times might come available as time goes on.

My other thought was, this happens to be the very first cruise from Port Canaveral after repositioning from Galveston so just maybe Rccl might want more time to organize boarding at a new port/terminal.

But I really think it is a glitch in their system and it will get fixed in a timely manner. 

Hopefully!

Since the Oasis is now in Bayonne, NJ, anyone know who the Suite concierges are?

Thanks for any input!

Hello, I was hoping to catch up with a Concierge named Mario on the Harmony of the Seas next week.

I was hoping someone could help me with the names of the Harmony current concierges and an the e-mail address used to contact them.

Thank you in advance and happy sailing everyone!

Rccl just updated their website to document their new testing requirements with all cruises beginning on September 13th.

They are now following the same CDC recommendation for testing 2 days out like the other major cruise lines announced a few days earlier this week.

Just wanted to update everyone with this new requirement.

We spent 26 days on the Symphony between the 12 night crossing and the 2 cruises we just finished which were the first 2 weeks of December. We had a great time on all  3 cruises and we also enjoyed some of the nice changes they made to this new Oasis Class ship. So yes, we will book this ship again in the future.

But I must be honest with you, we felt at times that this ship seemed to be a bit more crowded then all of the other Oasis Class ships we sailed on.

I never seen such long lines outside of the show venues as we did on the Symphony. People in general lined up 30 to 45 minutes before the venue opened it's doors for seating.. The Line to the Aqua show at 30 minutes before they started seating people was back to the Merry Go Round. Other venues including the Theater was the same. Is it the fact that everyone wanted to get a good seat to see all the new shows or was it because all our sailings had a very large amount of upper tier C&A Members which happen to be a bit more senior in age.

Of course Rccl keeps adding more cabins to each new Oasis Class ship so maybe the extra occupancy is also adding to how full the ship feels. But I guess we are all aware that when booking large ships with very high occupancy, we might experience over crowded situations.

We ourselves have tried MSC Cruises in the past with our last 2 cruises being on the MSC Seaside back in February. We were in the Yacht Club on all of our cruises with MSC. That experience is wonderful but we also did experience the rest of the ship too almost everyday at times. Again when you left the Yacht Club the Seaside felt very crowded and I must say it felt more crowded then what we just experienced on the Symphony. It was always a joke with our friends that when we returned to the Yacht Club each evening after taking in a few shows or visiting a few venues, it almost felt like Heaven when we returned!

Hopefully I helped you with some good information but if you have any questions at all, just let me know!

The food in CK I'd say was above average. Certain nights of the week the menu offers better selections such as the 1st night of the week when they have a very nice filet which as good if not better then what Chops offers. Day 6 we like the seared scallops but they also offer a poached lobster on this same day 6 menu. We asked for a "naked" lobster with butter on the side and the scallops. I think we got 3 or 4 scallops and 2 small tails which was just perfect for us. The presentation was always nice and the food was hot!! In the 2 weeks we were on the ship, we also experienced the main dining room food mainly the on the 2nd week of our 2 cruises. There are some menu items we still like in the main dining room and they were also good. But the food was always warm at best (sometimes even a bit cold) and this issue seemed to take away from our main dining room experience. CK also provided us with great service and nice views so I'm sure you will also enjoy your dinners in CK. Have a great cruise!

Yes, just on the Symphony for 2 weeks and CK was open each day we were in port and in Labadee.

Hope this helps!

I also think it's funny and sad that some people just don't understand that Pinnacles as well as Suite guests have the same benefit of using the SL/CK and It's really the behavior of a person that changes the atmosphere in both of these venues.

Just came off of back to back cruises on the Symphony. Both weeks the Suite/Pinnacle party was held on the helipad for sail away. On the Dec. 1st cruise the party was held as we sailed away from San Juan and last week it was held when we sailed away from St. Thomas. Hope this info helps!

Thank you for the taking the time to do this live review! What time did boarding actually start today for Suite/Pinnacle guests??

4 hours ago, Andy C said:

Here is the bottom line - and you won't find it in the Royal Suite Class promotional materials - when you pay for Royal Suite Class there is another population called Pinnacles who do not need to book a suite (and in most instances do not book suites) who will be given priority and take up space in areas "exclusive to Royal Suite Class."

 

The takeaway is simple - do your research before you spend serious coin on Royal Suite Class because although the RCI website states that you will have, "Exclusive access to the Suite Lounge and more" this is not the case.  Pinnacles who now number in the thousands have access as well.  Have fun trying to find a seat or getting the service you expected.

 

And take note of one more thing - this only happens on Royal.  You won't see a Zenith in a suite area in Celebrity as long as they are not paying for a suite.  But you wouldn't know they were Zenith anyway because they don't walk around the ship wearing faux gold plated lapel pins.  

Just had to get involved in this conversation. As a Pinnacle Member we earned the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen benefit. Either way you look at it, it is our benefit. As a Suite guest, you also receive this same benefit by booking a Sky or Star Class suite. No argument there, that is your benefit.  So really we both have this same benefit equally. Andy C's position is that we Pinnacle Members cheapen or dilute the Suite Class benefit. You know what, we as Pinnacle Members could say the same thing about Suite guests.

We have all paid the price for this same benefit. To get to the loyalty level of Pinnacle, we booked  many cruises over many years and continue to book many more cruises each year for this benefit. Suite guests pay a very hefty price for a nice Suite to also receive this same benefit. This is also true.

In the end, both Pinnacle Members and Suite guests are equal and we each have the same right/benefit to use the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen and both of our experiences can be affected by the other's behavior. Hopefully all of us that use these venues can appreciate the others that also use these same venues and keep an open mind on how each of our behavior habits affect others around us!

Put a call in directly to your air carrier yourself using your confirmation number. In the event of an approaching storm, most major air carriers will let you go a day early (if they have seats) with no change fees. They would rather get you to your destination early then have to worry about re-arranging flights for you in the event of a cancelled flight.

Thank you!

We are disembarking a ship in Port Everglades and need to get to a ship in the Port of Miami on the same day. What would be our best option?? Are Uber drivers allowed to come to each cruise terminal in each of these ports for pick ups and drop offs?? Or is a transportation company a better option?

If so, any recommendations??

A Jr Suite will not only give you more room for a family of four but consider the fact that sailing in a Jr Suite on the Anthem will also allow you access to Coastal Kitchen for your evening meals. The food and service is just outstanding, Very comparable to dining in a Specialty Restaurant each night. Trust me, you will enjoy the experience!

We are currently on the Ovation of the Seas and John Rea is sailing with us now. Great man who is very friendly and is always around. We are sailing a 14 night r/t Sydney New Zealand cruise.

Great cruise so far, perfect weather as seas conditions.

This happened to us. Went to bed at 10 pm the last night and checked our e-mails only to see United had changed our flight home to a day later which was a work day or another option was a 7:40 am flight the morning we were getting off the Allure.

Took that option. Had breakfast as soon as the WJ opened at 5:30 am and got in the express walk off line at line at 6 am. We were at the head of the line with a few others in front of us.

They started leaving us off the ship at 6:25 am. Got in a cab by 6:40 am and we were at the Fll airport by 6:55 am.

At our gate by 7:10 am. No checked bags and we do have Global Entry/TSA cards.

We did make it because we did not have to check luggage and we had our boarding passes on each of our phones.

Did not sleep a wink that last night and it probably took 5 years off of our life!

After that episode, we both said that we would never do this again, just not worth it.

Just came off the Oasis on Saturday. Children were allowed in all week during Happy Hour. Most of the time there were 5 to 10 children each night. Some played games on a table in the corner and others were seated on the chairs. Lounge was only 3/4 full each night. The only issue is when the children try and get the snacks themselves from the area/hot server where the snacks were served. The parents should have helped them. My advice, get the snacks before the children arrive. :)

We are currently on the Aluure of the Seas and dined in Coastal Kitchen last evening as Jr Suite guests. Excellent service and food and a great evening meal with beautiful views. But as Diamond Plus members, we were not allowed to order Happy Hour drinks as we would in the Dimond Club. The restaurant manager explained this to us after we inquired if we could get wine. We were given a wine list with pricing by the glass or by the bottle. He also explained that we were more then welcome to bring our Diamond Plus gift bottle of wine on our next visit. He explained that these are the new rules that went into affect May 1st.

We too received a total refund for the full amount of what we paid for the Feb. 6th cruise yesterday. It was refunded back to our Rccl visa yesterday in 1 refund transaction.

We also received our 50% Future Cruise Credit certificates this past Wednesday. The 50% amount we received was based off of the cruise fare we each paid and the port taxes added together, 50% of this total.The p/p gov. fees of $140.64 each (for this particular cruise) were not included in the 50% calculation.

Monday of this past week, we were refunded the parking fees of $140.

Hope this info helps others!

We sailed on the Anthem on Jan. 15th in a Jr Suite. We were allowed to

pre-book the Coastal Kitchen. On that cruise they changed the menu twice during the 10 night cruise. We also were on the Anthem during the Feb. 7th storm in a SJ Jr. Suite, again we pre-booked our reservations and dining each night in Coastal Kitchen. The big change that took place is, we received a new different menu each night of the cruise. Our cruise was shorten to 5 nights but the Coastal Kitchen staff told us that they are trying something new and each night of that cruise we had a different menu. Don't have any idea of how this will work on a 10 or 12 night cruise because our cruise was only supposed to be a 7 night cruise. We are Diamond Plus Members but the reason we were allowed to pre-book the Coastal Kitchen was because we traveled in some sort of Jr. Suite.

We called today and Guest Services told us that the 50% certificates went out late this afternoon for the people that had an e-mail address on file. We do have our e-mail address on file but we did not receive the e-mail with the certificate. Unless the Rccl server will send out the e-mails overnight. We did get our parking refunded today back to the credit card we used when we paid for the parking the day we boarded.

We just sailed in JS cabin 8232 which is the same cabin with the same features just one deck below your cabin. We loved the cabin! Plenty of space inside to move around and the balcony is huge and offers a perfect view looking forward. 2 nice loungers on the deck. Being up one deck higher then our cabin, it will offer an even better view. The only complaint is the TV is mounted on the wall where your door goes out to your balcony. So when your in bed you do not have a perfect view of the TV. It does swing out which does allow you a view but the view is like a 45 to 60 degree angle. You can also swing the TV out the other direction so if your sitting on the sofa, you have a view also. Other then that, to room is perfect and we would book it again. Your entrance to the room is a bit funny, you do enter a doorway from the hall that leads you into a small short corridor, where you have one door to your left which leads to a small inside cabin and a door to your right that would take you into the balcony cabin. If all of these rooms are booked by one family, then you would only have to use the one main door in the hallway and the other doors could be left open which would allow you to enter the corridor and go into all 3 rooms but since your booked in the Jr suite, the other 2 doors will be closed and your door will be straight ahead. No problem at all with noise from the other 2 cabins.