X-elite

Volendam had a viewing party this morning in the World Stage and a full Mix bar. Sheet cakes on display in the Lido. Replay available at 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning! 💤

Cruising the Great Barrier Reef was not exciting last week. The Daily had a schedule, but if you napped all afternoon you wouldn't have missed much...

Last month, we boarded Volendam in San Diego. There was no line in the terminal at 1:30 p.m. It was empty. We walked right up to document check and then right up to security screening. The terminal personnel were all very friendly. There was only one ship using the pier. Last year, we boarded Koningsdam in San Diego. It was extremely crowded with two ships using the pier. We vowed to never book such a large ship again. Our following two cruises were on a small Oceania ship. Much better experience for us!

A few days ago in Fiji on Volendam, "HFC Bank" set up a money exchange on Deck 3 in the atrium. They brought security and the ship had two security personnel making sure passengers didn't steal anything...

Tonight is actually formal on Volendam. lt's a "Grand Voyage" so they gave us a booklet that includes dressing guidelines...

Here is another coupon from the current cruise. No expiration date, but it does have the ship name & a code on the back. The bartender did not look at the back of the coupon the other day...

I recently purchased an Internet package pre-cruise for the 20% discount.

I redeemed a coupon two days ago on Volendam for a glass of wine. No problem. Tipped the bartender...

https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Morimoto-Menu-2023-24.pdf

I've met many flair bartenders on various cruise lines from Bali which is predominantly Hindu...

We had adjoining spa verandahs in January on Koningsdam. We enjoyed the location, but NOT worth it! I agree with "cruzingnut"

Muesli is on the room service menu under "Healthy Start" and I've seen muesli this year at New York Deli during breakfast hours... https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Room-Service-S-and-Pinnacle.pdf

Next month, we'll have two cabins times $2,820 pre-authorization!

We had eight cruise cancellations during Covid. No confusion at all about when FCC expired. As a reasonable adult, it would be my responsibility to check that the FCC amount and expiration date was accurate. For more recently issued FCC, I'd guess all the cruise lines have been able to perfect their FCC processes over the last three years. Very doubtful that a consumer could provide cruise line documents that did NOT show an expiration date.

Some Morimoto entrees are available for a hefty extra cost in the main dining room.

Good to hear "CruisingGrandmaW"! We'll be back to San Diego next January for Volendam and plan to check in around 2:00 p.m. Boarding last January on Koningsdam in San Diego was very crowded. We're not as upset as "Ruth" in this thread, but we've vowed to never cruise on a Pinnacle-class ship again! The smaller the better...

Attached is from HAL website. No more formal nights....

1. Ice cream 2. Cookies

We enjoyed fresh orange juice on the room service breakfast card with Club Orange in January on Koningsdam; however, the value of purchasing Club Orange wasn't there for us. We won't pay for it again. (Tote bags left behind in the spa veranda cabins.)

Pre-Covid, San Diego had been our favorite port. Last January after eight cancelled cruises, we finally cruised again. As shown in the attached photo, there was another ship in town and construction made walking from the terminal to Koningsdam even rougher. Next January we'll be on Volendam out of San Diego. We're hoping the smaller size of that ship than Koningsdam will help and we'll try late arrival again. Late arrival didn't work last January for us. Very long lines in the terminal. Four-star Mariner status didn't help at all...

Photo attached of connecting door placement on R-class PH. (There had been a question on this in the past, but the CC search function doesn't provide useful results.)

After eight cancelled cruises during Covid, the best part is just returning to cruising. We had a safe cruise to Hawaii in January and now on this back-to-back. We have a 94-day cruise booked for next January! 😃 My posts today are meant to be accurate, not negative. Getting Caesar salads instead of the salads we ordered doesn't ruin the cruise by any means, but mentioning it might help others keep their expectations about Oceania food more in line with the reality. The examples I've given today are not complete, but very representative...

Clean spoons for ice cream and not eating fruit slices with my fingers were higher on my list today! We'll move soon to an owner's suite on this back-to-back. They were sold out on this cruise & the wait list didn't work... As for marketing hype, we think Oceania's cuisine is ok, but don't believe the hype. You'd be disappointed with multiple cold dishes that should have been hot or at worst warm. Receiving two out of three items on a breakfast card order doesn't cut it. Toscana menu now on the Oceania website is not current. One item we wanted to order based on what we saw on the website is no longer offered... Minor issues. We haven't starved...

The Oceania website lists "Bulgari gift set" as a highlight for penthouses. Well, onboard now and the attendant and concierge are saying no, contrary to the attached list. I've told them it shouldn't be listed on their website if it's not true. Not as bad as no fork this morning on room service delivery. Not as bad as three dirty spoons in a row today at Waves ice cream (in the napkin)...

Royal Caribbean Group will drop pre-embarkation COVID-19 testing for vaccinated guests on cruises of five days or less starting in early August, if allowed by local regulations. A formal announcement is expected shortly. The news was revealed by Jason Liberty, president and CEO, speaking on the company's second quarter and business update call on Thursday morning. Liberty said the company would still test unvaccinated guests, and said he expected to drop testing for vaccinated guests on longer cruises in the near future. Royal Caribbean's testing news follows in the footsteps of Azamara, Virgin Voyages and Margaretville at Sea, who have all dropped pre-embarkation COVID-19 testing following the CDC's ending of its Cruise Ship COVID-19 program. https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27944-royal-caribbean-to-drop-pre-embarkation-covid-19-testing-for-short-cruises.html