Gayle V

 

1- does anybody have the current menu to 150 Central Park

 

Thank you.

Hello Lyndamr,

About 150 Central Park. We decided to try just one specialty restaurant when we were on the Allure in November, and chose 150 Central Park. This is just a little heads up about the menu.

Now, clearly I wasn't paying enough attention before we made the reservation, but I did not realize that the menu is a fixed thing. (Sure it can change from beginning of the cruise to the end, but on the day you go, you get served what they are serving. You DO NOT GET TO CHOOSE your food. We were surprised at that, but were willing to go with the flow since we were already sitting at the table when we found that out. They made it very clear, at the start of the meal, that they DO NOT DO SUBSTITUTIONS.

The waiter asked up front if anyone at the table has any allergies to food. For the four of us, that answer was "no". But that was before I realized about this business where everyone in the restaurant eats the same meal. It did not occur to me to mention that I have a history of ulcers and never eat hot flavored foods. Well, at least two of first few courses were way too hot flavored for me. I tried to eat them, but passed them off to my son who really loves hot flavors.

The waiter spent a lot of time talking to us, telling about the foods and the wines. In fact, his informative "lecture" pretty much dominated the conversation, so this is not a time to have your own conversation. But it was helpful to hear about the odd foods we were eating, because some of the ingredients really were odd. One piece of vegetation in the salad was a one inch round, bumpy surfaced ball, split in two pieces. (I can't remember what it was called) Apparently it is some kind of special (according to the waiter) vegetable not even found in the USA. The waiter told us how you should not eat the rind of this item, as that part was poisonous. Unfortunately he neglected to mention this until after my son had tried (unsuccessfully) to eat it. Thank goodness it tasted so nasty he did not swallow it.

For what it's worth, my son and daughter in law thought the rest of the food was delicious, as far as we got with the meal.

[To explain that "as far as we got with the meal" comment, I should explain that we never finished the meal. Just before the main course, my husband (who had recently started a new blood pressure medication, that turned out to be too strong for him) started to pass out, and ended up spending the evening in the ships medical facility. So all of us ran out of the restaurant following my hubby and the medical response team. By the way, I was favorably impressed with their medical personnel, and facility (and I'm an RN with some ED experience, so have a frame of reference).]

Anyway, if we had known about the 'you eat what you're served' policy, we would have chosen Chops for our one specialty restaurant experience instead. And for this upcoming cruise on the Oasis, we will know better.

For what it's worth: On the Allure this past November, for early seating, men in suits or better were at the very least 75%. More more like 85% to 90% for late seating. The women over 30 were in floor length outfits (gowns, palazzos, longs skirts with formal tops) or fancy cocktail dresses. While the late teen and many of 20-something women were wearing the kind fancy short dresses they wear to proms these days. My own 40-something son wore a long sleeve white dress shirt and tie with his dress pants. He did stick out a bit as looking just a little under-dressed compared to most other fellows.

Not everyone in the stateroom has to buy it anymore - only one person can buy it. But it still is not intended to be shared. You also don't have to purchase it for the entire week - just but the 3rd day on a 7 night cruise as you have to have purchase it for at least 4 days. The price is prorated for the total number of days purchased.

Is it possible to pick and choose which days you buy if for. Like choose 4 days that include mostly sea days. It just seems to be a waste to buy it for days when you are off the ship most of the daytime. No way even my hubby could break even on the daily cost, if just drinking during the evening.

Hello JinxyB,

Near as I can remember, no one in the hot tubs will be able to see you. All I remember seeing was the water. I would imagine, if your cabin is right below the hot tub, you would have a larger overhang over your verandah. For what it's worth, that Solarium is a pretty quiet place. People might move the lounges a bit, but it's not likely a continuous noise problem. I can't say what the morning cleaning crew would be like.

If you have kids, you may really appreciate being close to the kids areas, but that being said:

We were on deck 7. 7610. It was a very good location. I had worried that the life boats might be in my view, when looking down at the water, but the life boats were about half recessed, so they really didn't extend out from the ship much. I never noticed them after the first day.

I'm wondering where your deck seven cabin is located. I had also worried that our 7610 location would mean lots of walking, since we were fairly equidistant from both fore and aft elevator banks. Turned out not to be far from either one, because while this ship is huge, it has only two main elevator banks, and each is located a little more toward center than the fore and aft elevators were on the Marnier/Explorer. We did one heck of a lot of walking on those two ships. If you are more center on 7, it would likely work fine to stay there. We liked it enough that we booked the same location on the Oasis.

About the loss of spontaneity, just remember that on most cruises there is one big show each night. You usually go to dinner, and then look at your daily paper to see what's happening that evening, and go to that. (Or you look at the show time and arrange to go to any-time dinner at a time that allows for that.) It's not as if you have any control over when the other ships offer their shows. The only difference with pre-reserving your shows for the Allure was that you know what's showing each night ahead of time. We would go to our traditional main seating dinner, then hubby would ask me, what show are we going to tonight. It didn't feel like there was any difference in the spontaneity at all.

I would talk to your Verizon representative if I were you.

My son works for Verizon (over 20 years there. He is one of the guys that teaches the Verizon reps what they need to know. Needless to say, we have Verizon also.) I talked to him about this topic not long ago. Specifically about the assertion that the phone will say "Cellular at Sea" if you are using the ship's towers. He said that you cannot rely on that. That yes, if it says that, then yes you are on the ship's towers. But, and here's the big BUT, it does not always say that. It depends on your equipment and possibly your plan, among some other variables. There is no one size fits all answer to this.

(By the way, I was asking this in an effort to formulate some "cell phone use at sea" advice for a page that I write for another web page, which will remain nameless. The final result was basically, you need to talk to your own individual representative, who will know your phone and your plan. Your rep can also make recommendations for changes you might want to make before you sail that can possibly save you money, and assure your phone works where and how you want it to.

Hello Justgraves.

I'm looking at the Compass from our November cruise on the Allure. It has the Fitness Center listed as open from 8:00am to 1:00am.

Also in the Compass is this notice:

"Important Notice to Our Young Cruisers - Those guests 17 years of age and under who are not accompanied by an adult must be clear of all pulblic areas by 2:00am each evening unless involved in Adventure Ocean activity / Teen Activity."

I saw that dock when we were on the Allure, but failed to look closely. Is there an input jack for connecting a different type of device? (I have a Galaxy tablet that I can connect to my Bose radio, among other things.)

The perk I loved was the Helipad sailaway party - Labadee or St Maarten, depending on your itinerary.

 

Jo :)

Hello Jo, Let me be sure I got that right: People can't watch sailaway from the helipad, unless they are in a suite? That's just unfair, and disappointing. Sounds like they are really moving back to the class system of the old days.

Timing sure must fluctuate an awful lot. We just booked all our entertainment, (including Hairspray) a few days ago, for our cruise on the Oasis. We don't sail 'till November.

I think Janetz has the best idea. We booked Chicago for the first night on the Allure, and I was nodding off a bit. Didn't want to do the same thing for Hairspray when we cruise the Oasis this November, but after looking at the schedule for Hairspray for our cruise, we were back to choosing the first night again. (Only options for Hairspray were 8:45 the first night, 2:30pm on the first sea day, or 10:30 pm that night.) I intend to fit in a short nap right before dinner, so I can stay awake this time. I also think I'll try to get to sleep early when we're at the hotel the night before. (That's the plan, anyway)

I thought of that....guess it depends on the porter you get. :rolleyes: Ok then, checked baggage first, carry-ons if there are any leftovers. No time to get more made now.

Why is it too late to get more luggage tags? All you have to do is print them.

Even if you are in one of the fancy cabins that get the pre-printed ones, or paid to have pre-printed ones mailed to you, why not go to the Royal Caribbean site, and try to print some paper one like the majority of passengers do. Unless you are leaving right now, you can do it. It's easy

Hello Charliegirlac, It was suggested that you call the ship back and ask for the cabin number you stayed in. It might not be possible to call and ask for just the cabin number. On some of the "calling shore to ship" instructions it says you need to have give the name of the passenger you are calling. ...Do you by any chance know the name of that other passenger who is doing the back to back? If you could call and ask for him, I think he'd likely be willing to go to the cabin and speak to the new residents.

I wish you luck. You must be feeling sick about losing it.

Hi all, I've looked over Carnival's web site, but can no longer find the phone number for family to call ship in case of an emergency at home. Can anyone help?

This will just be a passing response that will fade away...

 

It's Carnival's way of responding to the complaints of "Where are the bands?,

-yet NOT returning to the great rock cover-bands

-on every ship featured

-in a real lounge, instead of a casino hallway..

-as it was, at least for for those of us who remember how far they've

de-evolved from 8 or 9 years ago...:(

 

M

Excellent post. "Devolved". I like that word; it perfectly describes Carnival's downhill path over the last several years.

Perfectly said. While I would not specifically book a cruise for a concert, it may lead to a decision to choose it over another if it fit all the other requirements for that vacation and the entertainer was someone we would like to see. IMHO this just gives more choices for people who prefer this type of entertainment and are willing to pay for it.

 

By the results of this poll, there looks to be a big enough percentage of people willing to pay for it to make it a worth while option for Carnival to add to some of its ships. If its not for you then pick another cruise or just don't buy the ticket....after all there will be other options like the doing things at the port, comedy clubs, dance clubs, etc. While some venues will be closed, many will not.

 

Time will tell if it is a success for Carnival or not. But the passengers have a choice and no one is twisting their arms to pick a cruise with it or to go to the concert if they don't want and I can't believe there wouldn't be any other options for them. These are probably the same people complaining about the game shows, passenger talent shows, or marriage shows....and for all we know those might be the shows being replaced so they wouldn't miss them anyway:rolleyes:.

The results show that the majority of the people are not will to pay for it. And you are right, people have a choice. The choices are called Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess..etc...etc.

I've seen this kind of comparison a hundred times since yesterday, and I just don't get the logic.

 

Here's how I see it:

1. You book a cruise

a) on your cruise, aside from all the regular offerings, there is also a featured concert by a well-known* act, to which you can purchase tickets.

b) on your cruise, there are all of the usual offerings only.

 

How can anyone possible tell me that b is better than a?

 

Again, if you don't like the artists, and don't like the price, then don't buy a ticket.

You need to go back and read Skymaster's posts, just a few above yours.

Even though I don't really care for any of the entertainers in the current lineup, I would pay $20 to enjoy an evening at a concert before I pay $50 to board the ship early which I think ts the most absurd idea, yet some people think that FTTF is the best thing since sliced bread.

.

FTTF is just another money grab on Carnival's part. Some people fall for it.

Once again, it's all about having choices! Some people will choose to spend their money at a concert, others will spend it on FTTF, others will go to the steakhouse, etc, etc. Some will do it all, some will do nothing. But they are all enjoying their vacation they way that THEY CHOOSE to enjoy it.

It not about having choices. It's no choice at all as the other posts pointed out. If there's nothing else to do on the ship, then this is not a choice at all. What it's about is getting more money out of your pocket and into Carnival's.

I'm not a concert goer either, but I do applaud Carnival for coming up with a new idea, even if some people don't like it.

 

Modern cruising (and traveling in general) is about unbundling choices. Instead of charging everybody more for things that you may or many not care for, you pay for a basic product and then you pay extra to enhance that experience. Some people are OK with just the basic product. But for those that want more and don't mind paying extra, there's the steakhouse and other alternative dining venues, there are ship sponsored shore excursions, there's the spa, there are fitness classes, there are bars where you can purchase drinks, and there's a casino where you can gamble your money away. You can even upgrade your basic inside stateroom to one with a window, a balcony or more space by paying extra.

 

Long gone are the days of paying one price and having everything included (well, they are still here, but you'll need to sail on an ultra-luxury cruise line which, lets face it, the average Carnival cruiser can't afford).

 

Yes, Carnival is a budget cruise line and I don't pretend that they are something that they are not. But for a budget product, I think that they are doing a great job giving people options.

I can't argue with the fact that the "one price" days are gone from Carnival. I totally disagree with the idea that it is a good thing. The downhill trend started with paying for soda and, then paying for fancier restaurants. Since free entertainment was one of the last advantages of a cruise vacation, I feel this is driving another nail in the Carnival coffin. At least as far as we're concerned.

I doubt if I'll ever cruise Carnival again after this next one. I really hesitated to book this one, because the Ecstasy had such terrible entertainment. It was so bad that I felt embarrassed for the performers. I figured, it was so bad that the terrible feedback would have to induce the Carnival beards to improve the situation. Little did I think they would go even farther in the wrong direction.

So sad. I would have liked to enjoy the Platinum benefits awhile. So glad that we'll make Diamond on Royal Caribbean in November. Royal's entertainment is phenomenally good. And free !

I disagree. Carnival has worn out the Broadway shows concept. I think they are on the right track by focusing on music; however, the artists being offered don't appeal to me for the most part. I also don't like the fact that since the ships will be staying in port until 1 AM that much of the ship will be shut down. That means the casino and shops will be closed that night. I will likely avoid these cruises for that very reason. Yawn.

 

I like the fact that they are also changing their free live music offerings along with the for-a-fee concerts.

What are you talking about here? Carnival has never done Broadway shows on any of our cruises. They do a poor job of presenting a little Broadway type music, and only a few songs in an entire week cruise. Never a full show. To get that you have to cruise Royal Caribbean.

By the way, I just remembered our cabins on the Allure were 7610 and 7612. Hubby and I were in 7610 (bed by the hall door), on the left, our son and DIL were in 7612 on the right (bed by the balcony). So it appears to be true, this pair followed the rule.

Thank you .

Wow, That is wonderful !

How on earth did you discover this info? Even the Royal representative didn't know this.

I know this is a long shot, but hope you can help:

For anyone who has been on the Oasis in an ocean view balcony, what cabin were you in and was the bed by the door to the hall or by the balcony?

We had the bed-by-the hall door in our D5 cabin, on the Allure and did not like that arrangement. The cabin next to us, same category, had the bed by the balcony, and I liked it much better. For this next cruise on the Oasis, I really want the by-the-balcony arrangement if I can do it. (The guy at Royal C. says they have no way of knowing when we book.)

Especially would be helpful to hear from anyone who's been in any of these these cabins:

11174

11176

10580

10582

11580

11582

10182

10184

You can buy the 16 oz ones on line for 15.70 each. Order 4 and the delivery is free. Much easier than a carrying them around. Or if you can't wait that long, I believe this is the Barcardi Rum Cake recipe.

Rum Cake

1/2 C. pecan halves

1 (18 oz. ) pkg. yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 C. vegetable oil

1/2 C. water

1/2 C. light or dark rum

1 small pkg. dry instant vanilla pudding mix

Grease and flour a Bundt pan, or 10 c. tube pan. Place nuts in bottom of pan.

Beat together cake mix, eggs, oil, water, rum and pudding mix.

Pour into Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45-60 minutes.

Test done-ness with toothpick.

While cake is baking, prepare glaze. Glaze:

1/2 C. butter

1 C. sugar

1/4 C. rum

1/4 C. water

Combine ingredients in saucepan and boil for 10 minutes.

Pour over cake while both are HOT!

Allow cake to cool in pan for about 1 hour.

Carefully turn out onto cake platter. Serves 8-10

It has been my experience that the prices on rum cakes will vary from store to store, as much as two or three dollars, with the stores close to the pier consistently costing more than the same cake will run a little farther walk away.