WOW pricing for Crown and Anchor Members

[bs0755]

Hi:

 

I have been away for a few years (after a disappointing cruise on the Oasis in 2015), and I am trying to get back up to speed...

 

I just reserved a cruise from the WOW sale, and I noticed that the onboard credits are reduced when I enter our C&A numbers??  Also, I seem to recall from earlier postings, that these sales, don't necessarily have the best pricing available?

 

We are booked for next February for the 5 day on the Brilliance out of Tampa.  As I mentioned, we were very disappointed with the Oasis.  Part of the reason, is that we realized that we just prefer a smaller ship.  However, the Windjammer on the Oasis was just not up to our expectations--I did not care for the layout, and the quality of the food had definitely gone downhill--particularly for dinner.  (We accidentally discovered the Windjammer's dinner option years ago, when we were not happy with our table in the MDR, and we have not been back to the main dining room since.  We are not fussy eaters, as long as the quality is good, and we loved the quietness and flexibility --this was before My Time Dining.  The Windjammers on the Radiance Class ships quickly became our favorites.)  In the past, the problem was trying to narrow down the many excellent choices for dinner--but on the Oasis, I sometimes found myself trying to find one or two items that appealed to me.  Has the quality of the dinner choices declined even further across all of the ships, or did we just have an isolated bad experience?

 

Any other tips/insights would be greatly appreciated!

[Ocean Boy]

As far as the OBC goes.  It has been happening for awhile now that if you have a C&A balcony discount that discount is reduced by the amount of OBC that you receive from the WOW sale.

 

We, also, no longer use the MDR and have most of our dinners in the Windjammer. I was on Adventure two weeks ago and I have no complaints about the quality of the food. My issue was that there was very little variation from night to night.

[Biker19]

36 minutes ago, bs0755 said:

  Has the quality of the dinner choices declined even further across all of the ships, or did we just have an isolated bad experience?

Yes to both.

[Clarea]

39 minutes ago, bs0755 said:

 ... We accidentally discovered the Windjammer's dinner option years ago, when we were not happy with our table in the MDR, and we have not been back to the main dining room since.  We are not fussy eaters, as long as the quality is good, and we loved the quietness and flexibility --this was before My Time Dining.  The Windjammers on the Radiance Class ships quickly became our favorites.)  ...

 

We are also fairly recent converts to preferring dinner in Windjammer, but I have to say that the dinner in the MDR on Adventure last night was very good.  Prime Rib was reported excellent by two in our party and the spicy pork chop was also very good.  However, I later found out that I missed Italian night in WJ, so we will try to get there on th first night of the next cruise.

[Ocean Boy]

Don't worry there will be Italian offerings all week. Try the garlic bread.... it is very good. However, there was no focaccia bread.... a bit disappointing.

[barbeyg]

32 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

We are also fairly recent converts to preferring dinner in Windjammer, but I have to say that the dinner in the MDR on Adventure last night was very good.  Prime Rib was reported excellent by two in our party and the spicy pork chop was also very good.  However, I later found out that I missed Italian night in WJ, so we will try to get there on th first night of the next cruise.

 

We sailed Adventure in December and were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food the two nights we ate in the dining room. 🙂

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Yes to both.

+1👎

[ONECRUISER]

Been sailing Royal over 30yrs and WindJammer Dinner choices, taste and presentation has improved on Brilliance/Serenade. Better then ever was offered in years past. On my resent cruises in Nov they even had a whole Pig and Salmon during lunch and the Pizza has improved 100% with many different selections compared to what use to be available

Edited February 10, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[JohnnyCruiser]

5 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

As far as the OBC goes.  It has been happening for awhile now that if you have a C&A balcony discount that discount is reduced by the amount of OBC that you receive from the WOW sale.

 

We, also, no longer use the MDR and have most of our dinners in the Windjammer. I was on Adventure two weeks ago and I have no complaints about the quality of the food. My issue was that there was very little variation from night to night.

 

We just booked during the WOW sale and saw the opposite. Our C&A balcony discount was applied and then deducted from the OBC amount. I'm happier that way anyway. Why give them extra money so they can give it back as OBC.

[Ocean Boy]

11 minutes ago, JohnnyCruiser said:

 

We just booked during the WOW sale and saw the opposite. Our C&A balcony discount was applied and then deducted from the OBC amount. I'm happier that way anyway. Why give them extra money so they can give it back as OBC.

That was how I meant to write my post. It came out backwards. Though if you typically spend money on board, even if it is autogratuities, I'm not sure it really matters where the reduction is taken. The bottom line comes out the same.

[nelblu]

While sailing on the Feb. 2 Symphony sail, booked an 11 niter on the Anthem for Jan. 27th.  Got $200 + $75 in OBCs for booking on board.  While checking my e-mails, got a promo from my TA, that RCL offer of $175 in OBCs during the WOW sale.  Marched to the Next Cruise unit and was disappointed that it was not combinable with the C&A balcony discount of $350.  Terribly disappointed.

[chrismch]

We just got off the Brilliance 2 wks ago. We enjoyed the MDR and was happy with all menu prices with the exception of a NY Strip that I ordered, which was tough. The chef told me, the prime rib is always the best beef choice later on board. 

 

On other cruises, we've often checked out what was in the WJ before heading to the MDR for a snack before dinner. However, this time we were traveling with other family members and didn't.

 

One night after dinner at the MDR we went into WJ to get some iced tea. That night they were serving some of my favorites - roasted veggies, pesto and hummus dips, crepes with all sorts of sweet fillings. Next cruise we will review the WJ menu each evening. 

[KYCruiser71]

We were on the Allure last May and Adventure in Dec.  We all noticed the wider availability of choices in WJ on Adventure and commented this to the dining room mgr.  He said there are more options in WJ on Adventure because they don't have multiple options for dining like the Oasis class ships.  Makes total sense to me.  We always eat in the WJ because it fits our cruisestyle better than MDR.

[LBumb]

I’m not a foodie but enjoy mdr experience

[bs0755]

22 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

As far as the OBC goes.  It has been happening for awhile now that if you have a C&A balcony discount that discount is reduced by the amount of OBC that you receive from the WOW sale.

 

We, also, no longer use the MDR and have most of our dinners in the Windjammer. I was on Adventure two weeks ago and I have no complaints about the quality of the food. My issue was that there was very little variation from night to night.

Thanks!  They give with one hand and take away with the other...  Not a huge deal, because I was not even aware of the sale when I initially logged on to look at cruises, and I planned to book one anyway--I just wish they would do away with the gimmicks, instead of playing with the numbers.

 

Good to hear about the quality of the food.  I don't really mind the lack of variation, if it good.  (I am one of those weird people who will eat the same thing everyday, until I get sick of it.)

 

[bs0755]

17 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Been sailing Royal over 30yrs and WindJammer Dinner choices, taste and presentation has improved on Brilliance/Serenade. Better then ever was offered in years past. On my resent cruises in Nov they even had a whole Pig and Salmon during lunch and the Pizza has improved 100% with many different selections compared to what use to be available

Thanks--That is reassuring!  The Radiance class had always been our favorite, but we always were curious to try each newer/bigger/better ship.  Even though we preferred the Radiance class, we were never disappointed until the Oasis---It was just too big, and we hated the Windjammer.  We always loved the quiet/subdued atmosphere of the WJ for dinner, but on the Oasis, it was almost as crowded/noisy as lunchtime.

 

As I mentioned before, we discovered dinner in the WJ (and Radiance in particular) quite a while ago (15--20 years?).  Now that the "secret" is out, I anticipate it will not be the same as we remembered--but is it still relatively peaceful on the Brilliance?

[bs0755]

18 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Been sailing Royal over 30yrs and WindJammer Dinner choices, taste and presentation has improved on Brilliance/Serenade. Better then ever was offered in years past. On my resent cruises in Nov they even had a whole Pig and Salmon during lunch and the Pizza has improved 100% with many different selections compared to what use to be available

Thanks--That is reassuring!  The Radiance class had always been our favorite, but we always were curious to try each newer/bigger/better ship.  Even though we preferred the Radiance class, we were never disappointed until the Oasis---It was just too big, and we hated the Windjammer.  We always loved the quiet/subdued atmosphere of the WJ for dinner, but on the Oasis, it was almost as crowded/noisy as lunchtime.

 

As I mentioned before, we discovered dinner in the WJ (and Radiance in particular) quite a while ago (15--20 years?).  Now that the "secret" is out, I anticipate it will not be the same as we remembered--but is it still relatively peaceful on the Brilliance?

[bs0755]

Thanks everyone, for your input!

 

[ONECRUISER]

4 hours ago, bs0755 said:

Thanks--That is reassuring!  The Radiance class had always been our favorite, but we always were curious to try each newer/bigger/better ship.  Even though we preferred the Radiance class, we were never disappointed until the Oasis---It was just too big, and we hated the Windjammer.  We always loved the quiet/subdued atmosphere of the WJ for dinner, but on the Oasis, it was almost as crowded/noisy as lunchtime.

 

As I mentioned before, we discovered dinner in the WJ (and Radiance in particular) quite a while ago (15--20 years?).  Now that the "secret" is out, I anticipate it will not be the same as we remembered--but is it still relatively peaceful on the Brilliance?

For Dinner WindJammer is busier then years ago. Normally not too bad but can be on Formal nites when more people don't go to Main Dining not wanting to dress up. Enjoy!

Edited February 11, 2019 by ONECRUISER