1992cruiser

I've noticed the casino is a lot more strict with getting a shot and a drink at the same time while sit down bars seem to be more 'friendly' with the rules. Pool bars are usually so busy, it just depends on the bartender.

It never hurts to ask and if they say no, just order your dink first and then come back a minute later and order your shot.

I have done this twice now with no problem at all. My next attempt will be the suite on a transatlantic and then switch to a 7 night balcony. I switch pretty quickly after the cruise so I don't take up a cabin I have no intention of using.

This policy will change as more people take advantage of it.

I booked a Harmony cruise for Feb, 2018 back in April and the price has never changed more than $10 for any of these 'deals' (including any obc). I don't get how it went from 50% off to 60% off second guest a few months ago and the price didn't go down more than $5.

Seems strange how that works....lol. And Harmony was included on those deals.

I always get the premium drink package, so water and soda are included. I also bring a case of water and a 12 pack of coke with me for the room. I like the availability of having something in the room while I'm getting ready or waiting on the wife.

If Royal enforced the rules, I would simply get extra bottles of water on the first day and fill my cabin. Coke would be an issue, but I still would never buy something out of the mini fridge.

I was trying to figure something out for our next cruise. Very clever. How big were the magnets to hold the curtain?

We did a booking for Anthem balcony, 9 nights and paid the $150 and opted to take the $150 obc on the cruise we were on.

After a few months, I found a short 3 night cruise that I wanted to go on and was able to transfer the $150 deposit to that cruise and cancelled Anthem. I had no issues with RC doing this so I might try to book something on a 16 night balcony cruise for $350, then switch when I get home to a shorter one. Am I missing something here? The more money you spend the more obc you get with no penalty for a transfer down.

For what it's worth we cruised in a group of 23 last fall on Brilliance. We had 3 tables all next to each other and were able to switch up the seating each night. It worked out great (but we were all on traditional dining)!

 

In order to do this "round robin" seating they asked that everyone in the party prepay gratuities so none of the wait staff would get stiffed.

This seems like the best option. Do we need to tell them we are switching tables? Not that I care about prepaying grats, just would rather not have to tell everyone in the group that.

My initial thought for mtd was that we could have a few dinners later when all the kids were at daycare or the ad. club and enjoy a nice long dinner with no interruptions. Then have the other dinners early with everyone.

I think I will switch everyone to early and maybe have two specialty restaurants booked later in the evenings with no kids.

Bob, I've had issues with Chops, but most of my group has never eaten there and have no idea how good it used to be... Should I book one night there? I know you felt the same way at one point.

Maybe I should switch everyone to fixed. It's tough because there are infants and toddlers going along with 'drinkers' so early/late seatings are both wanted. Impossible to please everyone with a large group.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to plan dining for a large group of people. We are booked on Harmony, about 30-40 people going and we are all my time dining. We have a group number and are all linked together, but we are using a TA that probably needs a little help.

We would like to do a specialty restaurant on one night and the rest of the time, the mdr. I think Royal said ten people at the same table is the limit for mtd.

Does anyone know if it's possible to get everyone in the same area (on Oasis, there are smaller open rooms off to the side that would be perfect for a few large tables).

Anyone have any advice or knowledge of what I can do...

The last few cruises I've been on, the drink waiter didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked for an after dinner shot. Eventually, they just brought out shots of baileys and then something similar the rest of the nights. No shot glasses you could buy though...Was all covered on my premium package.

I just looked and there is no option to make a payment on mine either. Nothing saying how much I owe or have paid. I booked through Royal over the phone. Yes, you can pay over the phone, but it's so much easier to make a payment online.

Was on Oasis a few weeks ago and had one device plan with two devices logged in and working at the same time the entire week. My wife was concerned we were getting charged for a second device, but that never happened.

I watched football on the ipad while she was on facebook on her phone. And I'll say I watched the entire football game with no interruption.

Firefox, chrome and ie all do the same thing for me when clicking on the book now. Gonna give up for a few days.

I can get to the "book now" and once you click it, it goes to the next page, but with only half the page showing and just the headlines.

So frustrating to use.

I live 10 mins from the Port Everglades and I always seem to end up on a Western Caribbean sailing. I have no interest anymore in those ports so I love staying on the ship. Very relaxing and no lines for anything, just avoid the elevators early and when people are returning.

Update...RCI called this morning (I sent an email also) and they are aware of this thread and the ongoing problem at Chops. Obviously, nothing came of the phone call, but at least they know people aren't satisfied. Change is slow, but hopefully Chops gets back to what it was.

I have no problem paying a lot of money for a great steak. My point is that it isn't a great steak anymore and they raised the prices. Same with the dessert.

By the way, Chops was half empty on night 3 of the cruise from 7:30-9:30. In my previous times there, the place was always crowded. We made reservations on that day and could've picked any night we wanted. If they are trying to make shareholders more money, wouldn't a full restaurant make more money?

I should add, the appetizers were great. It started off really well.

I'm glad it wasn't just us, but also very disappointed as that was one of my favorite meals to look forward to when cruising. Change happens I guess and Chops will move on without my money in the future.

I was recently on Oasis for the first time (awesome cruise overall), and have been on Allure and Liberty a few times each, always eating at Chops at least once. I would say there has been about 18 months since my last visit to Chops so if this has been discussed---my bad.

I'm okay with the price increase, I get that, but the porterhouse was free in the past. Now it's a $20 add on? And it was one of the best steaks I had ever had, came with a real nice charred dry rub---now you have to add a sauce to give it any flavor. What happened? I used to tell my friends, Chops was a must. I doubt I will go back now. Also in the past, the waiter would bring out a bunch of sides for our table of 8, now we were only allowed to choose four.

And the worst part, they disappointed my wife... The red velvet cake is nothing more than what I can get at Publix. She was so excited about the huge piece she was expecting like in the past, saved her calories all day. And then comes a regular slice of dense cake that tastes nothing like what it was.

Our group spent $400 there, not including drinks, and we all walked away saying that was a complete waste of money. The other 6 nights in the mdr were great, the staff were great and the ship is amazing.

Does RCI know how bad their IT problems are? I'm just wondering, do the people working there think they are doing a heck of a job? Do they get a pat on the back at the end of the day? Does the boss go home and talk about what a great job his staff is doing? I just picture a bunch of five year olds at a birthday party with crayons and milk stashes---I think I just insulted all five year olds.

Maybe a change that is a year out isn't a big deal to some people, but it might be an issue to others. Changing cabins on b2b cruises or dealing with work schedules or anything else. You never know what people have already set in place for a cruise in the future. I have one booked in Oct 2015 that took a lot of time to figure out when all of my family could join. If that got chartered, we would have to cancel and go to Disney. While no money would be lost yet, I think that would move all of us to another line. Finding a week that works for 20 people, even a year out is very difficult.

I'm sure I can find this with a little search, but I'm lazy... Will the early and late seating still exist on the Oasis or will it all be just come when you want and go where you want each day. We are stuck with the early seating for a cruise in Oct 2015 and wanted the late, but it's already waitlisted. Can always switch to MTD, but it's more money upfront.

There is a chance that the OP actually had bad service and bad food---it happens, even on Royal ships. Every review isn't going to be, Wow, best cruise of my life.

I also had bad service and food on The Vision while I read some others had no problems at all. Maybe some of us drink more and use bar service more than others, maybe some of us had over cooked steak one night or maybe we got the waiter that had a really bad week. Just because your cruise experience was great doesn't mean mine was or anyone else's.

Everyone is allowed to have an opinion on how THEIR cruise went.

I just don't understand why people bash people for stating how their cruise went. I read reviews so I can put together a bunch of info from many different points of view. Then I pick which ship I want to take my vacation on. I'm very thankful for both the negative and positive reviews.