Hypo

More! More!

IMHO - I think all meals will be buffet soon, except for the specialty venues (which generate more profit for the cruise lines..)

 

QTPie :cool:

IMHO, I think that all meals will be pay venue/ala carte, in the near future.

Remember when RCCL started putting Johnny Rocket's on the ships; and they then started to charge for them because the "kids were over running the restaurants"? When they put Portofino's on the ships they only charged a minimal amount to cover "gratuities" for the staff. Now pay restaurants are starting to go north of $50.00/pp.

This may have recently changed. I received our E-docs for our Oasis cruise leaving on Nov. 8, 2014.

There is now a section in the E-docs that listed all of my VISA OBC that I requested. The promised OBC from our TA is not currently listed in that section.

Hypo

I notice that Owner's Suites have a relatively small table and Grand Suites only have the coffee table. Do you have enough room to comfortably eat a multi-course meal in the suites. I assume they bring all courses at once.

They bring all courses at once. Sometimes on a big tray that they will place on a counter (like in GS) sometimes they bring it on a cart and have left the cart. When done eating call and they will come and get it.

We generally tip $5 or more, depending on how much they bring, do they bring a table cloth, set up table, etc.

Tip whatever you wish. They always seem to be happy with what they get.

I found this slideshow of some Quantum interior pics.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2014/08/26/quantum-of-the-seas-royal-caribbean/14623333/

These ships are supposed to be able to tilt 45 degrees and recover.

Hopefully without me on board.

When they were performing these tests on the Oasis it was reported that they had difficulty making the ship heel over for the necessary tests. Oasis and Allure,due to their extra width are very stable.

The lounges as well as voucher system are only available for about three hours each evening. Not sure how you will fit in before dinner drinks, dinner, after dinner drinks, and drinks using your vouchers all in 3 hours.

 

Good luck.

 

M

Skip dinner!:eek:

I have been sitting here today watching the conveyance from Papenberg to the Sea. I have eagerly studied what we could see of the ship from the outside and through the windows once it was dark.

To me, the ship looks severe and utilitarian. All of the angles seem to be acute or right angles. Gone are the sweeping walls of glass like the Voyager, Freedom and Oasis classes have. Ceiling decor, (looking through the windows) is rather plain.

The only whimsy visible on the outside of the ship is the pink bear.

At night, the ship looks dark, the RCCL anchors on the funnel are not lit, and all of the lighting seems subdued. Possibly due to the use of fluorescent and LED bulbs.

I look forward to seeing some pics from the finished interior spaces.

Just off Explorer and I was able to get my unused OBC from VISA points refunded back to me in cash from Guest Services. I also did a withdrawal against my SeaPass Card in the casino (with the 5% fee) with no problems.

Thanks for your info. I just hope I am not crying "wolf".

Thanks for the answers to the first part of my question. How about the second part? Are upgrades only up to the next highest category or can they go to higher categories?

They can go to a higher category as long as you are willing to pay any differences.

Oh, I think they could keep track of it. They could program the system such that OBC would never offset casino charges.

RCCL? Program?

I don't think the word "program" is in their vocabulary.:eek:

The statement is in the cruise documents that become available ~49 days from the cruise. I will call TA later today and get a "Guest Copy" of the invoice.

If you literally read the statement, the option of getting cash from the casino subject to the 5% charge would not be an option. It states that the OBC cannot be used in the casino.

We will spend it all if we have to. However, we won't set foot in the casino if we cannot use the OBC there. DW will be quite happy to spend it in the jewelry store.

I just received our cruise docs for our Oasis sailing in November.

I was glad to see that they had posted all of our OBC from our credit card submittals. However, they have added a note that states:

"Please note, this onboard credit is subject to ship staff validation and cannot be used in the casino nor can it be converted to cash. It must be used by the end of the cruise or surrendered."

This OBC was planned to pay for our onboard purchases, casino play, and to be used for our on shore shopping. In the past, you could use it by withdrawing from the casino, subject to the 5% fee.

Has this policy changed? In the past, any unused OBC from the TA or the credit card was refunded at the end of the cruise by posting back to the credit card.

Any reassurance from you guy's would be appreciated.

Hypo

There is another elevator...but it goes really slow.

Yes, but they serve drinks while you are slowly riding.:p

You know that these guys are longshoremen union workers who are paid very well. Some of them are working overtime and getting around $70.00/hour when getting time and a half. They are paid by the Port and RCCL via Port rental fees.

I generally tip $5 for our two or three bags and more if they unload and assist me in assembling DWs scooter.

Conversely, last year on the Allure, we got off the hotel shuttle, unloaded our bags and stood there waiting for a porter to take our bags. After about ten minutes and no porters came to help us, I loaded our bags on the luggage rack and tipped myself $10.00.

Our bags got to our cabin just fine.

In Miami, there are signs in the embarkation area that tips are not necessary.

We schedule our transportation from the hotel at 10:30, arrive at pier around 11. Usually onboard by 11:30.

Rosemary lamb shank.

Fresh bread and rolls, particularly sesame bites.

Smoked salmon on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, onion, and capers

Maybe you will be really THANKFUL if your cruise doesn't go poof on RCCL's website between now and the date of your cruise.:D

Arkansas, chocolate gravy!!.................says it all

Contrary to all published reports, we actually wear shoes here!!

(At least for a couple of months of the year} I have lived here for 35 years. Came to Arkansas for my career, and just stayed when I retired. It was too much work to move anywhere else, LOL.

I don't have a Southern accent according to my real Southern friends, but about ten years ago I went to Ohio for a consulting assignment and all of the Ohioans thought that I talked "funny".

The Peek a Boo bridge windows are disliked by the bridge crew. With people looking over their shoulders (literally), the crew says it makes them feel like animals in a zoo.

It's not just a "Southern" tradition. I was born and lived in Iowa for half of my life. I moved to Arkansas 35 years ago. Even in Iowa my mother made creamed dried beef on toast.

All your Navy friends can tell you about the "S.O.S." that they were served in the Navy. ("S>>t on a Shingle"). It was variously made with hamburger or dried beef. The guys always complained about how much they hated the stuff.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to tour the USS Midway aircraft carrier that is now located in San Diego as a museum. There was an old Chief there who was working as a tour guide. He told me that whenever they have some sort of dinner function on board for old Navy sailors that the one food that they wanted served at their event was SOS!

Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Genuine sausage gravy over fresh biscuits is a great southern food. Heck, here in Arkansas they even make chocolate gravy to put on your biscuits.

For all of you from NY, you are to close to the poutan eating neighbors to your north.:D

This is a good reason not to schedule flights out of FLL until around noon or later. I hope everyone makes their flights!