2chiefs

I thought all bars were designed for tired cruisers.???

🤪

They probably have some sort of algorithm built into the system which cause huge fluctuations. The regular pricing appears to be the same way. Probably based on some sort of supply and demand coupled with days left until the cruise. IE: If all suites are sold out except one, then the price of that one suite might automatically go sky high based on some sort of algorithm. If it's only a week till the cruise, then that one suite might suddenly go low in price.

If the software is doing the calculations this way, then perhaps logic goes out the window at times.

2 hours ago, zebra36 said:

On embarkation day I usually head to the Park Cafe vs fighting the crowd in the various Windjammer buffets. Usually get this sandwich and over the years has been a hit or miss experience, nothing truly memorable just a quick bite to hold me over until dinner.

This has been my experience also. The sandwich s OK. Avoiding the Windjammer on embarkation day makes this sandwich great.

18 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

Can’t understand the fascination with these. It’s beef in a roll 🤷‍♂️

I agree. The sandwich is good but nothing special. Beef on a roll is a good description and many times I've found the beef to be tough and grisly. Having said that, I like mine with plenty of horseradish.

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

No, the Tuscan Grille specialty restaurant on ships other than Edge Class does not have any menu items in common with the Tuscan MDR on E Class. 

Yeah we knew that

On 7/11/2022 at 8:46 PM, Jingerwoppy said:

Ship is so small it goes thru the Windjammer right past the buffets. 

Hilarious!!

On 7/11/2022 at 8:31 PM, davekathy said:

On our March B2B cruise on the Explorer we had the TAD lunch in the MDR, but no complimentary wine. We've also been on B2B cruises where we were offered complimentary wine with our TAD lunch. 

Haven't seen the complimentary wine in many years. We really liked that.

By the responses, it sounds like the still mostly do the lunch (the Jamie's response was the best!).

On 7/11/2022 at 4:22 PM, bama4cruisin said:

Yes, we have eaten at both.  The Tuscan Restaurant on the E-class ships is one of 4 that comprise the MDR.  As a result, the majority of the dishes served are the dishes served in all the MDR’s.  There is a section in each of the 4 that offers “exclusives “ to that restaurant.  We ate at Tuscan on Apex 3 or 4 times last fall (14 night cruise) and will be on Beyond this October.  I notice on the app that the exclusives on the Beyond are not identical to the Apex.  However, each had 2 pasta entrees.  You didn’t indicate on which ship you’re booked, but I would suggest going to the app, even if your cruise is not yet on the app you can check dining on another cruise on the ship.  Go to dining, MDR, select Tu!scan and check the “Tuscan Exclusives “ section of each course.  You’ll find 3 starters, 3 entrees and 1 dessert.  Decor-wise, Tuscan was one of my 2 favorites.

Thanks a lot. We are booked on the Beyond for Christmas 2023. A long way off!

On 7/11/2022 at 4:19 PM, WorkerBee74 said:

 

The Tuscan Restaurant is an "MDR" if you will.  Along with Cyprus, Normandie and Cosmopolitan - they have taken the "MDR" concept and split it into 4 'different' restaurants.  The decor differs between them, and they have 'exclusives' that remain the same throughout every cruise but that's only a few dishes.  Otherwise, the bulk of the menu is identical in each of the 4 restaurants each night but changes every night, just like an MDR menu.

 

The Tuscan Grille is a specialty restaurant and is over and above the 'included' MDR concept above.

I understood and knew all that. I was hoping someone that has gone to both might be able to tell if there were any similarities on the Tuscan side of the menu. I realize it's MDR and many selections are on all four restaurant menus. But there are some differences which I was hoping someone could comment on.

Also, does anyone know if we can specify a specific MDR as our traditional dining choice. On the Celebrity website It sounds like they will assign it. (Yes, I know you can go to the other MDR's on a space available basis if on traditional dining)

Thanks

So, there is no Tuscan Grille on the Edge class. They do however have a Tuscan Restaurant as one of their 4 MDR's on Edge class.

Out of curiosity, does the Tuscan Restaurant menus have anything in common with the Tuscan Grille? Has anyone eaten in both restaurants to offer a comparison?

For instance, does Tuscan Restaurant make all home-made pastas like Tuscan Grille does?

Thanks

2 hours ago, topnole said:

My memory on the length was off by a bit.   Not bad given oasis class is about 2.5 laps per mile.  However the issue of deck chairs and people in the way is still an issue for much of the day.  OP, get your jog in during the morning if possible.  Much better for avoiding the varying obstacles.  

I find a nice alternative is the deck where the life boats are. (I think deck 5 on the Grandeur) Almost nobody hangs out there and there are few obstacles to navigate around. The downside is that some ships you can't circumnavigate around the ship. In that case I just walk up and back. As far as distance, I could care less because I time my walks instead (or simply track steps on my watch). Distance can meaningless anyway if you're not monitoring your heart rate. Your running/walking rates will vary from mine LOL...

23 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

For me the real incentive to do multiple cruises is the savings in hotel and airfare costs.  Out of curiosity, what does Celebrity give as a discount?

 

 

On 7/7/2022 at 1:07 PM, Loracpin2 said:

It's all  a magicians "smoke and mirrors"!!!

I agree. Most "sales" start when the previous one ends so they tend to always be in the state of a "special sale". A 60% off for the 2nd person this sale might then be 30% off for all on the next special sale etc....

3 minutes ago, ladysail2 said:

<<<SNIP>>> interesting that she thought it was okay to place her cane across a tableclothed table <<<SNIP>>>

Nasty. Just think of all the places the cane has been! Anywhere the bottoms of our shoes have been! (Think pets doing their business). That's why it always drives me nuts to see people in restaurants in booths or chairs with their feet tucked up under themselves. Other people have to sit in those same chairs....

On 6/28/2022 at 3:48 PM, orville99 said:

That requirement was dropped at the end of April for B2B on the same ship. Side to Side still require testing between cruises.

OMG! Side to Side?

All this time I thought S2S was Ship to Ship!

All this time I was calling our cruise out of Port Canaveral on RCI and then our cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on Celebrity the next day an S2S. hmmm.....

Any other acronyms out there that I don't understand? 😁😄🙂

8 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Piece of cake on both for us.  (We had one of the earliest slots for boarding).  There did appear to be longer lines for boarding as the day progressed.

 

That being said, if interested in boarding early and unable to get appropriate time slot, weigh the risk/reward of getting on vs. having to wait for assigned time.  If it's worth the risk, awesome.  (Our boarding time was never checked).

Agreed.

Of all our cruises, assigned boarding times are never checked 

21 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Reading I am concerned about the chaos when boarding. We will be cruising on the Harmony out of Port Canaveral in September. Those who have cruised on it last month or this month, can you tell me how your boarding went. What about debarkation?

We just cruised in May out of PC Canaveral and embarkation and debarkation was easy peasy as it always is out of Port Canaveral. We've cruise out of there many times and have never had issues...

Most answers already covered. Cruise price is the same.

We like to book on board for the reduced deposit. For us, it saves us money because if we book otherwise, we book refundable deposits which costs more.

We accept the risk of losing the lower deposits required for booking on board in case we have to cancel. It's only happened once so far and worth the risk.

The only other advantage is sometimes they offer some OBC which may not be available otherwise.

20 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Yes, the decorations are stolen all the time. We put $100 bills on the door to help locate our stateroom and they keep disappearing. 

Same here!

What gives?

We usually put something up. Typically a holiday theme if the cruise is near a holiday

On our Bermuda cruise on Mariner in May, we saw one cabin with a magnetic white with and pen. Random cruisers would write interesting things on there.

35 minutes ago, clan said:

Those of you who do late traditional dining, are you always able to get a two top if that is what you request?

We never do a two-top as we like socializing and meeting new people (we do two-top quite often at home LOL). However, we did see a lot of two-tops not being utilized during the late seating on our Mariner cruise last month. I'm not sure if that's because less people are late seating folks or if space is still spread out for covid.

14 hours ago, kevin1551 said:

I'm torn between two different cruises next year, round-trip out of Seattle. One 7 night on the Quantum of the Seas leaving June 26th, visiting Sitka, Skagway, Dawes glacier, and Juneau. The other 7 night is several hundred dollars more on the Ovation of the Seas leaving July 14th visiting Ketchikan, Skagway, Dawes Glacier, and Juneau.  I'm thinking the second itinerary may have smoother sailing due to more inland waters and Ketchikan and Sitka are similar in their small town feel, so I'm not sure which to choose since I'm unsure of other differences. 

You are getting so many great answers that I think your only choice is to go on both cruises!!

Tip: I put the luggage tag into a Powerpoint and then type in our names on the tags as well.

I print them with multiple tags on one page and cut them out and put them in luggage tag holders specifically made for cruising similar to these on Amazon: Amazon.com | Royal Caribbean Luggage Tag Holders by Cruise On - Fits All Royal Caribbean Ships & Tags for Cruises in 2022 & 2023 | Luggage Tags 

Shop around for the best price though. This link may not be the best price.

21 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

We always do MTD and would never change. We've done 4 post-restart cruises and have not had an "problems". We would never get stuck/constrained by early or late dining. Royal needs to give up on early/late dining like other cruise lines. 

Just because you don't like TD, Royal should do away with it? Wow. Besides, not all other cruise lines have done away with it. You make it sound like Royal is the only one sticking with TD.

There are many of us that like TD so it makes sense that Royal should offer both.

On 6/17/2022 at 5:56 PM, lulabelle said:

Booked 5 cabins on Oasis  boardwalk balcony? I see Central Park is a lot less.  What would you do?

We always book CP since they are almost as inexpensive as interior or OV cabins.

Ocean view is not important to us and we spend most of our time outside the cabin anyway.

Whatever is important to you and what you're willing to spend. 

(Tip: Be sure to keep your curtains closed when privacy is important... LOL)