blondie from arizona

7 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

This is the MDR. It's going to be basic mac n' cheese with a few tiny little globules of lobster. Blindfolded you'd probably not even know it's in there. 

Yes. Just little pieces that you would miss if you weren't looking. We are coming back for another cruise shortly on the same ship. So, we wanted to know if it was going to be an item to reorder.

Also, we did not put the salmon in the mac&cheese. We ate it separately. 

13 hours ago, keishashadow said:

Any idea if Its safe to assume we should see the same day 8 & 9 menus on our 9 nighter in May?

No. I did an 11 night last week. I am doing a 10 night in a few weeks (same ship). Based on my pre-boarding research, the 10 night has them in a completely different order. I think things are random right now.  The dining room is a mess!

We did a kitchen tour a few years ago. The chocolate fountain was set up in the main dining room for lunch.

It is good but small. There were 3 pieces of lobster in each of our servings. We also ordered the salmon and split it. That was very good!!!!  You will leave hungry if you only order the lobster mac.

I am always annoyed when they ask me to give them a 10. I become more annoyed when they continue their speech even after I tell them that I don't want to hear their speech and that I intend to give them a 10. Even when I agree with them that they are getting a 10, they continue with a long monologue about it. Then I become extremely aggravated if on the next night we have the same conversation and they have wasted my time twice.  At that point, they may get a TWO.

We are Diamond +. They know we have heard the speech before.  Many, many times before.

Complaining to the head waiter is a double edged sword. We did that on our last cruise (with the new menu and policies). And then we ended up having him bothering us constantly through every meal for the rest of the week. It was not a good week in the dining room!  However, I read on another thread that we may be blowing this all up for no reason. A good waiter should work with you. 

Our issues were reflected on the survey and will continue to be. Also, if you ask me more than once to give you a 10 on your survey, you are guaranteed not to get a 10. The begging and multiple lectures are annoying and ruin my dinner.

With the new menu policy, they had no problem substituting any food item as long as it was on another offering that night. So, if you wanted to switch out your rice for mashed potatoes, it was no problem. Also, no issues with getting ice cream as an add on to any dessert. And the waiters were super efficient about bringing the 2nd entrée when we were finished with our first.  HOWEVER, my DH went absolutely ballistic that they didn't have shrimp cocktail every night. RCL spent way more on food because they didn't just give him what he wanted. Shrimp cocktail does not cost that much. Ordering an extra main because you didn't like any of the other appy choices was the option he went with. Also, they could solve a lot of their problems by more accurately describing the food. And, the waiters did not have a good grasp of the new menu, nor had they taste tested it, like back in the day. They had no idea what they were serving. So, they were of no assistance in choosing. We are clean your plate folks, but some of the items just werent good and did not seem like the description.

I would also consider which loyalty program is better for your needs. While the points kinda work between the 2 companies, it would be better to get to Diamond before you go back and forth. Just something to keep in mind if all other things are equal.

We were on Mariner a couple weeks ago. On the last evening of the cruise, the entire staff put on the masks. Bar staff took our order with no mask, came back wearing a mask. All staff that I asked said that a member of the crew had COVID so they all had to wear the masks. It was a little disturbing.

Also, on the first evening of that cruise, our waiter was wearing a mask. He was the only one, and he was not new to the ship. Not sure whey he was wearing it, and since we didn't know each other, I didn't ask. He did have a button on his shirt with his picture on it, so we could see what he looked like. I thought that was nice. 

We also had hand sanitizer and masking in our cabin at embarkation. 

While we were on Mariner last month, my app would not show daily activities and such. DH had no problem. I was the owner of the booking, no spelling issues. No reason. They also decided to lose all our mail and I didn't get any of my D+ information. Head of Guest Services happened to be there, and she also could not give a good answer to the issue. It was NEVER fixed. They said I was the only person who has ever had the issue and it was an anomaly to me.  I knew it wasn't just me. They just didn't know how to fix it and I wasn't going to waste my vacation worrying about it. But I was annoyed about it, since they moved D+ stuff due to a large number of Pinnacles, I didn't want to miss out.

No. I have a GTY and I was able to check in for a March cruise

20 hours ago, shof515 said:

the all access tour is different and more depth then these basic free tours that the OP is talking about that they used to do back in the day 

I miss 'back in the day'.  🙂

We were not receiving our mail in our room and the app was not working correctly. Several trips to customer service and the loyalty mgr. We had multiple issues on the cruise. I am planning another cruise and if I have issues again, I want to get it taken care of right away. If invitations should be coming, I want to be prepared. We really do enjoy the bridge tour and I don't want to miss it, if it is available to everyone else. AND, if people can pay to go do it, then it probably isn't a COVID thing.

Before Covid we used to get invited to bridge tours, galley tours, and back stage tours. Are they still doing them?  We just got back from 2 cruises (Mariner and Jewel) and we did not receive invitations for these. I know they have started doing the All Access Tours that you pay for . That is not what I am talking about. I am asking about the complimentary tours that you are invited to because you are D+. Also, are any of the other benefits different?  We seemed to have gotten lost in the system somewhere. I didn't expect tours etc on our 4 night Mariner, but we were totally missed on the Jewel 6 night.  We also weren't invited to the Top Tier Event, but we know they had it. And, our casino stuff didn't load either. The only thing working was the drink vouchers. At least that went well.  Just looking for information on what my expectations should be. If it is based on the length of the cruise, the ship, or they are/aren't doing it anymore.  **We really enjoyed the tours.**

Mine has changed at the port. It was a NICE upgrade. Didn't bother me at all. I think someone didn't want it because it was in a noisy area. I was happy. It is like gambling. I have 2 guarantees booked right now. Just booked this week for 2 weeks from now. The Jan 9 cruise gave us a room # within a day; still waiting on the Jan 14 cruise. Different ships. I do contact my TA and see if I can change the room within category if I don't like the room and there are any rooms in same cat available. Plus, I believe you have the ability to "lock down" the room you get, if you do not want an "upgrade" after your room is assigned. 

So, I have questions? 1st: On the day that you don't get back on a ship, are you going home or staying in a local hotel? Would like recommendation if staying in a hotel.  2nd: Are the ships docked close enough together that you can just walk from one ship to the other or what is your plan to get on the next ship? 3rd: What are you doing about parking?

I am trying to plan something similar for Dec or Jan or Feb. All information will be helpful. Thank you.

Thanks for the colorful responses.

I don't want this to become a heated discussion. Please just help me with an answer. We have not cruised in awhile. I see the tips have gone up to $16. How is that currently divided with the crew?  I know it is $16. Just want the breakdown.  Thank you.

Can you tell me how much the NAAT test costs at Walgreens in FL? And the process.  From what I guess it is .... make an appt, show up, get tested, within 2 hrs they send you an e-mail, you show that to RCL rep at check in, and you are good to go?????

If I order a rum punch and a can of sprite at the same time, are they going to charge me for 2 drink vouchers?  I like to mix mine and like the bubbles.  

15 hours ago, amurray88 said:

I'd love to know the website but I know you cant state it here. Can you tell me what I might type into Google to find it? I tried "bidding for cruises" but nothing came up.

You might want to change the word to "compete".  You still need to do some homework once they start bidding, but I have not had any trouble with them.

Not the I am surprised, but my TA might have misinformed me about the group rate. She specifically told me it was not refundable. Sigh.  I do know that the group does not need to be specific to my agent. She had to go to another agent to see if I could be put with that group.

I use the bidding site as well. Sometimes they are quoting a group rate. And SOMETIMES that group rate DOES have a refundable deposit. Each cruise is different. I have gone to one of the TAs direct after using them on the site and they actually referred me back to the site to post a bid and didn't want direct business. I thought it was odd, but whatever. I have used several companies from this site with no issues.

Those spring breakers really make me angry. I can't imagine what they would do if the airlines suddenly cut flights and they couldn't get home. I bet they would just call their Mommy to bail them out. And, why is it that those same college kids think the rest of us should pay for their student loans? Rant over. Sorry.

Just to lend some positivity. Hopefully this virus, like the flu, dies out as the weather turns warmer.