NutsAboutGolf

But wait, there's more! Ascent will have not one, but TWO, "preview" cruises

Prebooking, I just learned something new; just so I understand correctly, a MDR "prebooking" is different than a reservation? The first time you arrive to dinner, the M'D or asst M'D, will randomly assign you a table where there's availability. On subsequent nights, regardless of your arrival time, they will try to put in the same table if it's open, if not available then they try for the same section. Of course you can make location requests and the time to make a request is when you hand them your sea pass. Is that what you're referring to as a "prebooking"? For a closing salutation, like you, we also say something like have a good night, but that's still different from informing them you won't be there tomorrow. If you want them to cancel an actual reservation or if a pre-booking is in their computer, they will need to scan your sea pass card if they're taking any action. Therefore, the best way to clear this up is to say what you want them to do by saying something like "Just wanted to let you know we won't be here tomorrow, are we all set or did you need to enter this into the computer?" If they say you're all set you know you never need to mention it again. We have two different discussions...First is if you tell them you won't be there tomorrow, will they even do anything? Second is, should you tell them you won't be there tomorrow at all?

Thank you! It wasn't easy, I really had to claw my way there

As I've said a couple of times, it isn't like X's MDR lunch menu is "fascinating" anyway Specifically with burgers/Mast Grill, since it's located outside you can jump out of the hot tub, walk to the hot tub dripping wet and barefoot, have a burger and return to the hot tub in no more than 10mins

If anyone is going to purchase plugs/adapters just make sure its future-proof and has USB-C which nearly all new devices use as they generally charge and transfer data faster FYI for the iPhone...There's a EU mandate that most devices including smartphones will need to switch to USB-C in order to charge by the end of 2024. There's no US mandate so there are several conflicting rumors to whether the US iPhone will get a USB-C port at all and if they do, will it only be on the top PRO models and will it be this year or next year. But also unfortunately rumored, Apple found a loophole to EU's mandate so the iPhone will only accept USB-C cables that are embedded with the MFi-chip. Ironically, this makes things less "green" because the MFi USB-C cable will probably look identical to a non-MFi cable and you may grab the wrong cable when traveling requiring you buy another cable

Show up at 2pm and later, sell your place in line for a $100

I believe it's MORE of a burden because so few people tell them they're not eating there tomorrow, they're wondering "why are they telling me this and what do they want me to do?" There could be 1000+ passengers in the MDR, while maybe the wait staff will notice you're not present, I can't imagine the check-in staff keeps track and if they did would need to scan your card and put in a note, giving them more work to do

A pro tip, take pictures of their name tags and tell them you'll be mentioning them in the survey (it makes them very happy to hear that)...From there, I write their name in down in a notes app and also write their position (Blu waiter, for example)...Also, don't forget to mention them in the survey

NCL ordered two Epic class ships from STX France with the option for a third...When she was 25% complete, while NCL was already claiming excessive cost overruns, NCL sold 50% to Apollo Management in August 2007. Apollo demanded several changes to the designs, resulting in a higher cost for the Epic. This led to a bitter pricing dispute and resulted in the Epic's construction being put on hold. Both sides claimed they made massive concessions to resume construction and as part of their agreement, the second ship order was cancelled. There was even a suspected arson fire by STX France workers a month before delivery. The cancellation of the second ship was due to a pricing dispute, not her design as the second ship would have began construction before the Epic's was complete. It should be noted that NCL never again has used STX France Was on her in 2019, the separate water closet layout was awful in the lower category cabins, her entertainment venues do not have enough seating, she doesn't have enough elevators and she's very ugly but otherwise she provided a similar experience to other NCL ships. I would need to be paid to sail her again

You left out dinner, you also know which cruise line to book if you want a free Maine lobster tail, free Italian specialty or free Asian/Mex specialty

Again, way ahead of you...X and CCL have two entirely different vibes yet the food CCL can be better on the newer ships...I know many will think "I don't cruise for fried chicken, burgers or BBQ" which is fine but these items are mostly for lunch/mid-day...The X MDR lunch isn't exactly upscale either; while their turkey medallions look pretty on a plate, their usually dry and bland -X destroys CCL's at the buffet -X does beat CCL in the reg MDR, however, if we include all complimentary dinner offerings, CCL would win -CCL, on their newer ships to prevent reg MDR crowding they give you free access to some specialty restaurant which they charge for on their older ships, includes the Asian/Mex restaurant and Italian restaurant, both are better than X's MDR -With CCL dinners on ANY NIGHT you can pay $23 +tip for a steakhouse steak or a MAINE lobster tail and petite filet; no need to make specialty reservations if you're in the mood for a good steak -X only has TINY SPINY lobster tails generally once per sailing -CCL has a sea day brunch where the MDR is open from early to 1pm, including steak and eggs, something X doesn't offer; X only opens the MDR for lunch for 90mins -CCL has great chicken at Shaqs Big Chicken restaurant, beats any of X's chicken dishes like their stuffed breast, BBQ chicken, smoked breast, etc -CCL's BBQ restaurant serves a better lunch than anything I've had for lunch in the X MDR or X buffet -CCL destroys X with burgers -CCL destroys X with complimentary baked desserts (melting cake anyone?) -CCL also has a burrito restaurant -CCL has a deli -CCL has three street food stations with rotating items

Way ahead of you, have many Carnival sailings booked; should point out like many, have never been exclusive to one line With low expectations, I'm routing for X to become the foodie brand again; hoping the CEO change somehow someway improves the food quality

You can drop them off at the ship porter but we generally keep them at the hotel front desk

When was the TA? I witnessed the bare bones dinner buffet on the solstice in Jan, they had the salad bar, pasta station, dessert station, pizza station and only four rotating dishes.

Start this at 15:20:

They seemed to greatly scale back at the start of the year and due to the complaints, opened more stations. It still varies by ship

As I pointed out it is a dive bar, odds are a *4 will be a great experience but isn't a mandate

If you pay in full before final payment and had an emergency where you need to cancel would you get receive a full refund?

When in port, we eat dinner off the ship whenever possible

I thought the same and is far better than X's buzzer which doesn't have much range (only experienced the buzzer on the Millie)

We eat off the ship whenever possible and can assure you if you go to yelp to find a nearby restaurant with 4 stars with at least 100 reviews, 99% chance those restaurants will be far better than anything open on the ship (except perhaps Luminae). In X's most popular port of Port Everglades there are dozens of places close to the port I'll share a hidden gem we stumbled upon in the Port Everglades area...Le Tub Saloon, it has a roof but is an open air dive bar, right on the back channel where we get to see yachts go by. They have one burger, it's 13oz so huge and is $15...It just so happened to be awarded as the best burger by Oprah Magazine, Gayle King and GQ. Even though we have to pay, we would much rather have a great tasting affordable lunch while watching yachts go by and hang out with locals than be eating in the buffet or MDR...This restaurant may not appeal to some and that's okay, the overall point is in most embarkation ports you can find a restaurant you will like better than what's offered on the ship

These things happen when you start charging for room service...lol Truth be told, the line up issue will inevitably be solved with technology mirroring Carnival system of "checking in" into the MDR; you do so either in person at the MDR host stand or from anywhere on the ship using the app

With dessert, how long does it take? For us it's well under 10mins from ordering to being done eating it Pro tip to save a little time, you can order dessert along with your starters/entree/etc although you'll need to look the dessert choices in the app as it won't be in the regular Blu menu since they have a separate dessert menu

Missed that's where you're from but you can always go to Paris...ha ha

If one has a main carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) than it is, if one has a pre-pay contract carrier it usually doesn't as they only contract US cell phone towers from the major carriers...Some examples are Visible, StraightTalk, Mint, etc