mets550

thsi is a copy of a posting on made this weekend on the CC message board for RCCL topics... just wanted to share with the EOS watchers..

 

Just returned from the EOS and our first experience with MTD on RCCL. We love NCL's experiences, and last year tried MTD on Celebrity Soltace. Had no issues on the Soltace for our 13 day criuise. showed up whenever we wanted or made reservations earlier that day.They had 2 lines, one for people with reservations and one for those without. Either way, we were seated within a few minutes.

NOT SO on the EOS. First they usually had two lines but were mixed so you had to wait in either until the people before you were seated even if you had a reservation or not... sometimes people seemed to wait 10 minutes for the unreserved to be seated before the reserved got to the front of the line...

Our issue was much worse. We were traveling with a party of 6 and really wanted to sit by ourselves for diner. The first night we showed up around 6 and had not problem. The second day I called around noon for a 7pm reservation and was told they could only accomondate us at 5:45-6pm, or 8pm or later. As we wanted to see the evening's show and not eat after 8pm, we had to take the earlier seating. The next day I called at 9am and was told the same thing... either by 6pm or after 8pm. I asked when should I reserve for times in I wanted in between theses and was told "we never take reservations for a party of 6 other than by 6pm or after 8pm!" The said that way they could turn the table twice for the evening... and that I should pick a time and reserve for the rest of the cruise now....

I was beyond upset...

I proceeded to guest relations and asked to be put in contact with the "Hotel Manager" ie the top person incharge of all non-engineering services. The person at guest relations said he was the office in charge of the desk and wanted to try to help me first if he could. I explained what had occured and said... I guess MY Time Dining is really YOUR Time Dining!

Why couldn't I have a table when I wanted and why would I have to reserve ahead for a full cruise? MTD was supposed to allow us to make diner plans each night when we felt like eating, depending on the day and evening plans, ports of call, etc. If we wanted to be limited to Your time Dining we would have booked traditional Early or Late seating.

While I understand turning tables in restaurants, this is a cruise ship where if you offer MTD you need to be able to handle reasonable requests... The officer told me he was going to attend a meeting that morning with the restauanat managers and would get back to me that afternoon. By 1pm we had a message that we had a reservation for a table of 6 for the 6:30 pm we wanted that evening. The person at the MTD desk that evening then came over to our table and asked if we were happy with the table and offered us that table every evening if we wanted it. Since the location was perfect, the wait staff wonderful, we accepted it and had no issues the rest of the week, even adjusting the times several days due to circumstances.

 

All in all, not sure what we will do if we travel with a friends on future RCCL cruises. I think RCCL still needs to figure a way to handle the MTD option if it wants to offer it.

 

With a bad taste we have booked our next cruise in November on NCL EPIC

Thanks for posting. We had late dining but wanted to move from a table for eight to a table for two. We were given a very hard time and had to make several visits to guest relations to get it resolved. In the end, it seemed like your experience turned out to be okay, but you shouldn't have to go through that aggravation on vacation, especially when they were obviously able to ultimately accommodate you.

Does anyone have a favorite bar/lounge, or bartender, that they enjoy frequenting on the Explorer?

 

This will be my first time traveling on Explorer, without anyone in my party in my age bracket (mid 20's), and was hoping to cozy up in a nice bar or lounge. Please do share your preferences!

 

TIA!

We are also in our early twenties and just sailed Explorer this past New Year's. While GF was getting ready in the room, I would often venture out to the Crown & Kettle Pub on deck five in the promenade. They have nice seating on the promenade itself as well as a genuine Irish pub feel inside and at the bar. The Schooner Bar is also one of my favorites, as it has great views, comfortable seating, and is adjacent to the casino.

The Chamber is the nightclub aboard Explorer, so there is not much action there until later in the evening.

We are booked for a 10-night cruise on Explorer in December and will be celebrating my husband's birthday. We've never been to a specialty restaurant, but thought it may be a fun way to celebrate a birthday and try Portofino's. However, we don't want to miss the lobster night in the MDR. Just wondering if any of the experts know when the formal nights (One of those should be "lobster" night) are scheduled on a 10-day cruise?

On our seven-nighter over New Year's lobster night was the second formal night (night six). It is doubtful that it would be the first. You can also make two reservations for Portofino and, when you find out for sure which night is lobster night, cancel one of them. That is what we did on Liberty, since there were conflicting accounts as to whether night five or six would be lobster night (it varied based on whether the itinerary was eastern or wester caribbean for some reason). Enjoy!

The folks who fly in from Europe are often up at that hour - It's 10:30 in the UK and 11:30 on the continent.

To each his own. We have woken up on what I'd consider the "early side," e.g., 7ish, a few times before either to get deck chairs or do an early excursion. It is nice to be up and early, but we also like to stay up past 10 p.m. Waking up really early just doesn't feel like vacation IMHO. However, I might try to drag myself out of bed on our four-night Jewel trip and force myself to jog around the track. On our last Explorer cruise, I think I might have swallowed a ten pound weight from the fitness center. :cool:

We had a paper payout in November.....all $2.87 that I won lol.

Maybe they updated them just after we sailed (NYE 2012) or the machines differ in how they pay out.

Just wondering is cash paid at the slots or a slip of paper? Just wondered our last RCL was cash on Granduer of the Seas but a few years ago. Thanks!

Anything under $400 pays out in COINS :cool:. You take a bucket of your coins, bring it to the cashier, and he then pays you in cash. (Or, if you're like me, you take an empty bucket as a souvenir, so you can leave with something ;).)

Anybody know the distance per lap for the jogging track??

Or

How many laps equal a mile??

I am about 85% sure that it is five laps to the mile. We really enjoyed walking up here in the late afternoon/early evening when it was quiet and you had a nice view of the port.

our plan is food-cabin-drink-hot tub-muster drill-more drink-food-hot tub-cabin --repeat next day... :D

I thought I had patented that plan . . .

Where is the suites-only area on the pool deck? What amenities are available?

There are a handful of lounge chairs at the front of the pool deck which are roped off for suite guests. It is on the main pool deck--it is just reserved for suite guests. I don't believe there are any extra amenities in there--with the exception of reserved chairs (which is nice). It is, however, right next to the bar! :)

We always get a GS on Explorer I would go that way, has a curtain you can close for a little privacy (not much, but a little). Plenty of room for you and the kids.;) Plus love the extra space on the balcony and they do have a bath tub, which in my opion, is easier with children.

Childen are permitted in the suites-only area on the pool deck.

As was stated earlier, the fridge will not make something cold that is not already cold, and it will really just slow down the warming process of something that is cold, e.g., beer bottle. It is also very small--I was able to fit a plate in there (since I wanted to keep some leftovers from Portofino for a late-night snack), but the plate was essentially perpendicular to the floor. If you want something to stay cold--like a bottle of wine or some beers you buy for the room--then a bucket of ice (which the stateroom attendant will happily provide) is the best option.

We will be on EOS at the end of September with about 30 people in our group. This is my first cruise, and I'm wondering when/how I can make plans/reservations/excursion requests before we board.

 

Thanks!

They usually open the pre-cruise planner (for excursions, dinner reservations, spa reservations, etc.) after final payment is made. Sometimes, however, it is open before then, so you can check every few weeks. I like to make specialty dinner or spa reservations as far in advance as possible. You can always cancel or change, and they do tend to book up quickly on a crowded sailing.

so called RCCL to ask a question and customer service person asked if we have ever checked for an upgrade, she checked and we where upgraded to Promenade room on deck 8, anybody have any info on these on EOS???? Size or pic...are they super loud? is it one way glass? :confused::eek:

It's definitely two-way glass--people on the promenade can see in, so make sure you shut the blinds when you're changing!

Just booked my first Liberty cruise last week! Looking forward to reading all about her during my long wait.:D

You will LOVE Liberty. Make sure you check out Chops and/or Portofino, as both are totally worth it IMHO! There is sooo much written about Liberty, so enjoy the anticipation!

I also highly recommend the MDR for lunch. We'd never done it before and loved it this last cruise!

There are no 7 day compass's as this is the first year doing 7 day.

Come join the roll call 10/14/12 - 7 night Bermuda Cruise - Get the party started (1 2 3

We did a seven-night Bahames cruise over New Year's this past year. I can't find the compasses, but they were, for the most part, similar to the activities for the nine- and ten-nighters. Cruising out of NJ in December required more indoor activities, e.g., Sexy Legs was held in the promenade, at the beginning and end, but most of the stuff was the same. I think if you look at a Caribbean compass you should have a good idea of what to expect.

My wife and I are taking the Explorer to Bermuda on October 14th. We have taken cruises on the Mariner, Voyager, and Adventure. Other than the Art decor are there any differences on the Explorer?

I believe the newer version of Voyager-class ships have balconies built outside of the ship's superstructure, whereas Explorer has them built into the superstructure. We loved our balcony nonetheless!

I was looking at some deck plans & had a question about the Island Grill. Is this just an extension of the Windjammer with the same food? Is there any difference in the offerings or advantages of sitting in 1 place or the other?

 

The Windjammer was always so crowded on our Liberty cruise, I think we only did lunch on embarkation day & 1 other breakfast. Found the breakfast in the MDR was great & much less crowded. Just wondering how the Windjammer will be on Explorer.

Island Grill is just a section of the WJ. I'm not sure why they distinguish on the floor plan--it's not a separate area or anything.

I'm Clastrophobic and try to avoid taking elevators at all costs... So my question is, when getting on and offf the ship, do you hav to use an elevator?

Thanks in advance!

You never have to take the steps, if you don't mind walking. The steps go to deck one to let you off at port.

We just booked 6616 on the hump. This will be only our 2nd balcony. 1st was on deck 6 of Liberty so I assumed they would be the same. Since this is a little smaller ship is that why the metal bottoms? Does it really make that much of a difference?

The balconies on Explorer are built into the megastructure as opposed to outside of it. I imagine the metal bottom on deck six has something to do with this. The metal bottom will make ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE to your enjoyment. Those clear bottoms are often times not all that clear anyway. We had a deck six hump cabin and LOVED it. I'm sure you will too.

Do they have iron's in the room for touching up clothes? I can't remember........I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be allowed to bring one if they don't.

No irons allowed, nor are they provided in the room. You can, however, have your clothes pressed--prices are pretty reasonable.

Thanks for the answers for the my time dining, I have a few more though.

 

If we set up a 7pm time slot, will we have enough time to eat and still get a decent enough seat for the 9pm shows in the theater? I can't remember how long it took us to eat in the MDR when we cruised before, I am trying to figure out a schedule for the ice shows, theater, and eating times.

 

To get a decent seat for the ice show, when do they start lining up?

Two hours should be enough time. We have had cruises where we sat at an eight-person table and were never out in less than two hours but when we sit just the two of us it often lasts no longer than ninety minutes. If you want to get out in time, you will have no problem and will not feel rushed. In fact, the late seating show is usually at 10:45 (2:15 after first seating begins, so not much of a difference).

Seating in the theater is seldom a problem. If you get there five minutes before the show starts you will have great seat selection.

The ice shows usually take place earlier in the day--usually late afternoon. I believe they start letting people in about thirty minutes before the show starts. If you want front-row seats, you probably have to get there at least 20 minutes in advance, but you can usually show up 10 minutes before and get otherwise decent seats.

Thanks for the coke rewards link, however, just so everyone is aware, the rules state the OBC is for 6 nights and up. Do you think they are sticklers about the number of nights? Thanks.

Those promotions are usually strictly enforced--I doubt they would let you use your points for a shorter cruise.

What time is early seating in the dining room? I thought I read that it was 6:00 and was changed to 5:30. Anybody recently onboard?

It was 6 p.m. for us too over New Year's. However, I believe on some of the offseason cruises before NYE (with a large proportion of older people) they made it 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. to accommodate the earlier schedules.

I have an important question to ask since I will be going on the Oasis with my niece in April. We will have a Central Park balcony and, with all the stress life has dealt her recently as a program manager at a fitness club, I thought she might appreciate some room service occasionally, fruit plates, desserts.....

 

Do you tip room service? If so, how much? :confused:

For a small order, most agree that $2 is also okay, but you should definitely give something.