snackcracker675

For the record, we sail in 8 days and haven't heard anything about our bids. It says we have until two days before the sailing date, so we'll see what happens! We're happy with our cheap last minute deal either way. 

For what it's worth, I actually just bid on an upgrade using this system today. 

I booked an ocean view 7-night cabin to Alaska three days ago, having to pay it in full since the sailing was only 3 weeks away. We saw a great deal and went for it. Yesterday, I saw that I'd gotten a Move Up offer (you must be opted in for emails to get these) and it offered us to bid to move to a veranda for as little as $200 total, or $100 per person. The guarantee veranda is currently $400 total above our amazing oceanview deal if we just had paid the price on the website, so I did bid! We have never been to Alaska, and even if the balcony is on the wrong side of the ship for our direction, I still think we will enjoy it. 

Wish me luck! I'll try to remember to come back to post what happens later to let you know. 

So far, just on Reflection

I just got an offer for my June 7th sailing on Silhouette that mentioned Sushi on Five, so it must be coming to Silhouette soon.

To be honest, if it's decently priced, I would love some nicer sushi than the free buffet sushi, but only if it's decently priced and I have OBC.

I booked a room, shuttle to the port and parking package with the Cambria Suites in FLL. We loved the hotel, the shuttle to and from the port was easy and was included, and there's a good Cuban restaurant within walking distance. You have to cross a busy road, but it is possible. It was a yummy place to eat.

Things I buy in ports when I cruise (not just in San Juan) because I can't get them in the U.S.:

Sheridan's (which is a type of coffee liqueur)

Batida de Coco (Brazilian coconut liqueur I get in Europe, but haven't looked for in the Caribbean yet)

Almond Tequila- bought in Cozumel

Pomegranate Tequila- also in Cozumel

Orangina Light- bought in St. Maarten/St. Martin many times and taken onto ship

Dolce Vita perfume (no longer available in N. America though Dior still makes it)

Hope this helps!

A curious and perhaps silly question.......but, those of you who order

two entrees, do you order them both at the same time......or wait til

you finish the first? I 'm curious about the proper etiquette of this.

If in doubt about which entree to try, do it at the beginning in my opinion. It makes the waiter scramble around in a panic a tiny bit if you do it later. I guess they don't realize that you're totally willing to wait for it again and not expecting it to just appear instantaneously. I think it's a lot less effort and one less trip to get it for them to orchestrate. But overall, to do it at the beginning, but either way, it's fine.

But if you're ordering seafood, I will say we had better luck getting it LESS OVERCOOKED by ordering one for the table after we ate our first pick. It was fresher and hadn't sat and gotten rubbery we noticed.

Like I said, it seemed like many folks didn't bother going to the MDR at all on our cruise.

I wasn't too worried about rising food costs for folks when my husband ate two lamb shanks. It appeared like MANY folks never bothered to go to dinner in the MDR. The My Time dining floor was always almost empty when we went to eat each night. I guess the Windjammer is busy at night, but we never went there.

The last night's menu remains the weakest even on the new menus. That is the one with turkey and dressing...really? On a cruise ship? Anyway, I would book the last night for a specialty restuarant. We have a freebie from our TA on our March cruise and that is what we are going to do.

The lamb shank was awesome, though. I thought the first night was weakest, then the next two. From Thurs, Fri and Sat were my favorites.

Ok so I know that the formal nights for the Western Caribbean are on Monday and Thursday night. Can someone tell me the order of the other nights? Trying to decide on when to book Chops and Portofino's...

 

Thanks!:D

BOOK one for the first night. Not the last three or four, I'd say.

First of all, I was cruising with my mom and husband. We've been on two Celebrity cruises prior to this, so I never had the OLD menu for RCCL, but here's our detailed opinion based on what the three of us ordered each night. Don't take our opinions too seriously, though, please.

I will say that the waiter we had did NOT recommend the best dish to us each night from what we saw. Maybe that was his taste or he didn't really know what people seemed to like the best, but we were a bit unsure about trusting his recommendations (or the menu's chef recommendations) overall.

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Sunday MOJO- the WORST night of the cruise for dinner IMHO

Overall thoughts: I think they served the WORST menu for the first night hoping to win you over more and more as the cruise went on, but really, it was so disappointing compared to the other nights that I suspect they were hoping to get MORE Chops and Portofino reservations by starting off so bad. I didn't think that at the time, but by the end, I kept wondering what they were thinking on this night.

Asian Coconut Seafood Soup- was just okay to me

Mojo Marinated Grilled Pork Chop- was huge and had some flavor, but I didn't really like the flavor of it that much

Slow Roasted Prime Rib- both my mom and husband thought it lacked flavor and was disappointing. Don't choose this perhaps.

Blueberry Peach Crumble- too much crumble, not enough fruit. Just okay, but served HOT HOT HOT, so watch your tongue!

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Monday SAFFRON- formal night

Bay Scallop Gratin- Pretty good. Not overcooked either.

Pan Fried Fillet of Barramundi- Decently good, if you like fish.

Filet of Beef Tenderloin- BETTER THAN THE BARRAMUNDI. Quite tasty, in fact. I wish I had this instead of the fish.

Artichoke Filled Crepes au Gratin- Delicious, but sort of small. Order one for the table. Sort of like vegetable lasagna with a nice roasted garlic bechamel sauce or something similar.

Double Strawberry Cheesecake- Okay cheesecake, but nothing special.

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Tuesday JASMINE

Spinach Dip- Average to good spinach dip with tortilla chips, if you like this.

Seafood Ceviche- DELICIOUS! Better than the spinach dip by far.

Roasted Rack of Lamb- Very good. Served medium rare, and we ate it all!

Veal Scaloppine Oscar- Okay, but not nearly as good as the lamb.

Warm Chocolate Cake- Pretty good. One of the best desserts along with the Chocolate Sensation that's available every night.

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Wednesday PIMIENTO- smart casual night

Arancini- Good. I liked it. These are Italian rice balls and will appeal to most folks.

Lasagna Al Forno- Good, but very meaty with little pasta. Not too salty, though, which I liked.

Chicken Marsala- VERY good. Slightly better than the lasagna. The chicken was so tender that I ended up finishing my mom's chicken for her. I make mine with much, much more marsala, though.

Tiramisu- Good flavor, weird texture for the mascarpone part.

Dessert Sampler- Good. The cheesecake nibble on here was excellent- better than the strawberry one earlier in the week.

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Thursday SHIITAKE- formal night

Creamed Wild Mushrooms- We all liked this, but we love mushrooms. It was like good thick cream of mushroom soup in a folder over puff pastry.

Fisherman's Plate- A large lobster tail and some three shrimp that were quite good. They were slightly garlicky.

Braised beef duo- WONDERFUL. The braised beef was AMAZING. This was served on thick cheesy grits and they were great. One of the best dishes of the trip. I would get this next time instead of the lobster maybe.

Grand Marnier Souffle- Disappointing.

Ivory Chocolate Mousse- Disappointing.

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Friday BASIL

Crab Cake- Good. Not amazing, but good.

Arugula and Bosc Pear Salad- Good. Tasty even.

Surf and Turf- ONE OF THE BEST ENTREES ALL WEEK. Delicious. My husband ordered another one even! The meat was cooked perfectly at medium rare.

Rum Baba- Not that good.

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Saturday POMODORO

Pan Seared Sea Scollops and Chorizo- Good flavor, but the scallops were way overcooked.

Fish, Seafood and MASH (not chips)- Decent fried seafood. The shrimp and scallops tasted great, but they were overcooked a bit- especially the scallops. The fried cod was good. The tartar sauce was really lemony, oddly. Nice mashed potatoes.

Rosemary Lamb Shank- EXCELLENT. ONE OF THE BEST ENTREES ALL WEEK. So tender you could eat this with a spoon. My husband ordered another (they weren't Celebrity size, don't worry) and I helped him eat it. REALLY FANTASTIC. Nice mashed potatoes.

Low Fat Warm Apple Dome- Cold, weird, and I don't recommend.

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THINGS SERVED EVERYNIGHT THAT WE TRIED:

Shrimp cocktail- Great. I enjoyed it.

Escargot- Not as good as Celebrity's, but pretty good. I wish I got it more often actually.

Caesar salad- Too much dressing, not enough parmesan, and not that good.

Ice cream- Good! Get this instead of another dessert and you'll be safe.

Chocolate Sensation- The best dessert all week perhaps. Best presentation for dessert, actually. Decently good.

BBB creme brulee- This is Bailey's Banana creme brulee? Both my husband and my mom disliked it. I never tried it. They said it was too banana flavored.

Overall, the desserts were really a mess. The food was VERY good the last three nights for several entrees, but the desserts never got it right with the exception of the Chocolate Sensation and the ice cream.

Oh, and if you have a soda package, the Cocacola Freestyle Machines appeared and were being installed during our week. The were on when I left the ship on Sunday, Oct. 7th ready for the new cruise to use them!!!

Also, the buy one get one margaritas in On Air seemed to be missing the alcohol for us.