Tom-n-Cheryl
-
Posts
26,496 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Tom-n-Cheryl
-
-
1 hour ago, Joebucks said:
I agree that Royal has better benefits and the amount of "included" drinks in that scenario would be sufficient for me, without a drink package.
With that said, passing off a suite on Royal Caribbean as a sort of savings is where you lose me.
I wasn't proposing that as being a savings, but it does come with some other perks as well - that some people will value, others not. Having a dedicated suite restraunt for THREE meals each day (no silly "brunch") is something we enjoy. Reserved seating at shows could be handy - we've used that a couple of times, allowing us to come shortly before a show a get a decent seat vs. having to arrive way earlier.
Again, there's a cost to everything.
Tom
-
3
-
-
34 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:
Next time you should give grilling your steak cold a shot to see if you notice a difference. I totally understand some are just set in their ways, including people who perpetuate the myth that you NEED to pour oil into your boiling water for pasta. The claimed purpose of the oil is to prevent pasta from sticking together, but we've learned that's not true and therefore wasteful. Heck, even for steak the myth of, "sell the sizzle, not the steak", was coined in the 30s, we now know it's better to let the steak rest which means it won't be served sizzling unless some additional steps are taken and are rarely done (think ruth chris). You're Vegas steak most likely wasn't served sizzling, correct? Isn't science great?
I can't recall how that steak was served, other than it was ordered rare (probably an issue given the fat - should have allowed more to melt away)! But, the casino was paying for it, so it was "free"... LMAO...
EDIT - oh, regarding cooking the steak cold, my first job was at a mall steakhouse (York Steakhouse) as a broiler chef. I easily had 10,000 steaks under my belt before I was 18 - all cooked cold. My favorite was a #4 - a hamburger (rare), and I'd trek over to the salad bar and grab thousand island dressing. Granted, that was mass market steak to be sure.
Tom
-
1
-
-
5 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:
When we began sailing Carnival I took my four cup travel coffee pot and it was confiscated. One day at a meet n greet I asked the captain about the coffee pot rule and he said he didn’t even have a coffee pot in his cabin. Carnival went through a period some years ago where they had several fires onboard. I suspect that added to their ban of coffee pots, etc.
Next, they'll be removing all the funnels from the fleet 😄
Tom
-
1
-
-
10 hours ago, billc23 said:
I had a steak similar to that at Prime (Bellagio), and honestly found it toooo marbled (fatty) to enjoy. I never thought I'd say that, but !!!
Tom
-
On 4/23/2024 at 8:08 PM, kwokpot said:
I'll tell you here for free.
1) Buy a nice ribeye steak
...
I picked these up at Walmart (yes, you read that correctly) a couple of weeks ago, and broke in our new grill. These steaks (brought to room temp, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper) were as good as they looked - and that doesn't always happen. 10 out of 10 !! -- oh, and a generous portion of horseradish !!
Tom
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:
Princess has a limit.
Not only could some resent paying for something they don't use, they could resent subsidizing those who do
Oh, and they do - that's been brought up more than once!
Tom
-
1 minute ago, jimbo5544 said:
To some, all of this is important. To me….meh. We cruised on Celebrity Aqua class and had included drink package. To be honest, not really a big deal and certainly recognized that the price difference made it that way. Others may have a different view.
Yep, for everything, there is a price to be paid (sometimes in spades)!
EDIT - OH, and I've never approached the 15 drink limit anyway !
Tom
-
4 hours ago, Nathan Graveson said:
A few pictures from various sources…
Man - I wonder how thick the concrete under the ship must be !!
Tom
-
11 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:
I used to do this all the time - stop at 14 and buy the rest until I was done for the night and then get #15. But over the last few years they say you can’t even buy. Only loophole is the free drink they add to your account for the plat/diam party on excel class.
I can't recall, do any other lines have daily limits?
The thing I like about Royal is that, by being Diamond with them, they put 4 free drinks on your card/account every day - to use where you please. In addition to that, booking in a suite, I can get wine/beer throughout most of the day in the suite lounge - and, from something like 5-7pm (or 8?) they'll include mixed drinks in there too. With that scenario, I'd be hard pressed to consider adding in a drink package !
Celebrity is much the same - though booking a suite with them generally includes a premium beverage package to begin with, so...
Yep - to some degree, the cost of those "included" drinks on both of those lines are built into the cabin pricing. I can see if someone is not a drinker, that they might feel they're paying for something they're not receiving any benefit from.
Tom
-
1
-
-
48 minutes ago, Kteacher said:
Our last port day is Cozumel. We did an excursion through the ship- Small group Mexologist for the day Margaritas and traditional small bites. I think we paid about 90 pp, and thought it was well worth it. The excursion included 5 full size cocktails plus one shot, chips and guacamole plus a plate of snacks as well as a full size lunch entree. After lunch we had an hour to swim in the infinity pool that overlooked the dolphin pool. The drinks and food were delicious and it was well run with air conditioned taxi bus transport both ways
I've really been enjoying your very detailed review! We'll be onboard 5/3 for a quick 3-nighter ... giving a Signature Suite a try. We really enjoy the Reflection. I was sad to learn from Sini & Liz that, on our cruise at least, the Lawn Club Grill will not be open for lunch (two days, two ports), so no specialty burgers for me. I was, on the other hand, pleased to see that they're going to have The Porch open those two port days (we're not planning on visiting Nassau or CocoCay).
Mexologist - I like that!
I'm kind of a lightweight, but I don't think I could manage 5+1 drinks then a swim, LOL !!
Tom
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, RoperDK said:
Someone could also turn that around to say that Carnival bribes its upper tier cruisers with the laundry perk. The "free" laundry that Carnival "gives" to upper level cruisers is a consideration for some to book Carnival. It's all just perks to me. I don't label them differently depending on what cruise line I'm talking about.
I'd have to be very much in need to utilize their laundry service. We've used it on rare occasions, but don't send them anything you value (or don't want whites to turn slightly grey, etc).
The fact that they now have the guest request/seek out most of the perks was a smart move. So much of the junk they give is something I'd either trash or give away anyway.
Tom
-
1
-
-
FWIW - I'm not a fan of their brunch, especially what it's morphed into over the years. Good cost savings on their part though. And, to me at least, there's nothing about that meal (atmosphere/selections/etc.) that makes me want to mix in an adult beverage with it.
-
1
-
1
-
-
17 minutes ago, aborgman said:
...
Absolutely nothing different.
...
Correct - just a different set of rules.
Tom
-
35 minutes ago, mz-s said:
Concentrated sunlight is powerful enough to melt rock.
Yep - but I wonder if it's hot enough to boil water... lol
-
I wonder if these really work, and if Carnival would allow them onboard.
Of course, there's that whole "is there bright sun on my balcony?" issue...
Tom
-
34 minutes ago, vwgolf2 said:
As a UK resident, I can confirm this is quite likely! We've cruised with several cruise lines and it's only Carnival who don't provide a kettle. Safety could be their reasoning but I suspect not...
Carnival almost (ALMOST) "gave in" to popular demand. We had a presidential suite booked for the second sailing of the Mardi Gras - 8/7/21. I'd been keeping a close watch on various sites/pages trying to gather all the info I could. I was very pleased to see that, in that category at least, they were now listing a Coffee Maker as one of the features (that page was "current" as recently as 6/29/21).
Wouldn't you know it... the one thing (I noticed) that they ended up pulling from the feature list - after appearing there for 2-1/2 years - with under a month before she set sail (updated page 7/13/21)? You guessed it !
I'm sure it was so that someone didn't accidently start a fire right above the bridge with the Ronco 😉 coffee pot they provided... right...
Tom
-
26 minutes ago, mz-s said:
Perhaps one day the VIFP program will be based on spend, but today it isn't. It is based upon nights cruised. It doesn't matter who pays for the room.
...
True. Our youngest was Platinum when the program started - and never spent a penny (that wasn't mine).
Tom
-
3
-
-
4 hours ago, MadManOfBethesda said:
...
And finally, passengers are allowed to bring curling irons on board. Perhaps you can explain how bringing a kettle on board is "playing with safety", yet a curling iron with a much higher wattage heating element is not. And if you can't, you probably shouldn't lecture others on safety.
We've made a few trips to the Naughty Room. Once was when they spied a flat iron (hair) and said they would not allow it onboard. Let's just say, don't tell Cheryl she can't take her personal items (could have been the last time we sailed Carnival, but they came around). Another trip down there they thought they spied a knife in our suitcase... turned out to be a metal shoehorn. Actually, almost every trip down there (there have been several) were cases of overzealous screeners or misinterpretation of their own guidelines.
I honestly can't recall ever being subjected to the same scrutiny on other lines. Some will hear that and cheer on Carnival, others will see it differently. 😉
Tom
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:
...
As for onboard spend, the casino is a popular place to launder money.
...
Well, at least being Diamond, our laundry is covered. 😁
-
1
-
7
-
-
1 minute ago, Elaine5715 said:
I don't know.
I've scratched my head regarding this for years. It's like the owl and the Tootsie Roll lollipop... The world may never know!
To.
-
3 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:
But you are okay with playing with safety onboard?
I wonder what makes Celebrity, NCL, Royal so different (wiring?) such that they offer kettles in some cabins (and coffee makers in many more).
Heck, on NCL I was able to request a full size iron for use in our room.
Tom
-
1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:
We were Platinum before there was a Platinum and Diamond before there was a Diamond and all on revenue cruises. Reduced rate casino cruisers are in fact in the regular program and should not be.
All loyalty programs are nothing more than marketing programs and none are sustainable without change. Nothing is earned or owed. It is basic marketing.
What if.... what if Carnival actually started to take onboard spend into account? I'd bet that some of those "freeloaders" are actually contributing more to the bottom line than you might think.
I, for one, have sailed on several free/reduced rate cruises. In some cases, I've left with several times less $ than if I had paid for the cruise in full and stayed away from games of chance.
FWIW, many of our cruises on the way to Diamond (yes, we were already "there" too when the program started in the summer of '12) were in suites. That's earned us nothing in Carnival land...
Tom
-
1
-
-
4 minutes ago, buncosquad said:
Define "upper level" -
In an IC, I've had Le Voyage delivered to my stateroom. At sunset. Course by course. With a bottle of superb champagne.
No questions asked.
That stateroom is worth every penny.
Upper level starts at appx an RS.
-
1
-
-
6 minutes ago, peanut head said:
Food in Craft Social would not be included in your unlimited specialty dining. I don't think that regular room service would comp the food, either. We ordered through our butler (upper level suite).
But, is food in Craft Social covered if you're in an upper level suite?
Tom
Steak Master Class - Buyer Beware!!!
in Celebrity Cruises
Posted
I don't think I've used mine in perhaps a year. They do work great for roasts, and a rib recipe I tried. The last one I tried was a major fail. As it turned out, the recommended temp for the beef roast recipe I went with was right at the low cut-off point (long/slow cook), and instead of a tender and succulent roast (hey, it may have been, but)... we managed to brew up a potent batch of lactobacillus - it had a very pungent odor when I opened up the bag. I suppose if this had happened during the year or so after I had COVID, I would have been unaware!
Tom