LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

twangster · June 5

Just now, dstein said:

Royal is quite consistent with wine pricing. I once spent time comparing their wine list to prices at Total Wine. (TW is a chain of liquor superstores in 28 US states, and they are particularly well-represented in the SF Bay Area, where I have a choice of several stores of 20K+ sqft in easy driving distance. Their selection is HUGE and pricing is excellent compared to other places.) Royal charge the full bottle price for a glass, and 2x the bottle price for a "sale". In other words, if bottle X is selling for $20 at Total Wine then the per glass price onboard will be $20 and the sale price for the whole bottle will be $40.

I am too familiar with Total Wine. Way too familiar. 🙂

Royal is not a retail outlet for any beverages. Neither is a typical hotel or bar in the US. No one should expect Total Wine retail prices in a hotel, bar or on a cruise ship.

BTW - Costco in Florida has the best prices for wine, beer and liquor. Makes duty free on board a joke. Often Costco in FL makes Total Wine not the cheapest. Costco doesn't have the variety of Total Wine, but it's not terrible. When they have Scotch on sale, wow. I've paid some super low prices on nice Scotch at Costco.

But I digress.

The "sale" prices for a bottle of wine today that you could take back to your cabin and open that second is not something I've seen too often on a Royal ship.

YMMV.

dstein · June 5

Some of the Kirkland branded spirits at Costco are surprisingly good. Their Irish Cream (the 17% ABV version you can get in states where Costco can sell the full range of liquor, not the lower ABV value "wine-based" product) and their French Vodka, in particular, are both VERY good. I'm not a bourbon/scotch/whiskey type so can't offer personal opinions there, but I know that reviewers like a subset of those options from Costco (but couldn't say which ones they do/don't tend to like).

Totally agree re: pricing expectations of a restaurant vs retail. Most land-based restaurants typically mark up wine by about 2-3x (vs Royal's 5x). But I don't begrudge them their ability to do this. If I want a glass of wine onboard I may roll my eyes at the price, but I don't let it get in the way of my enjoyment if a glass of wine is called for!

Jomykje · June 5

6 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

AAAAAAAAGH!!!!

twang… are you attending?

I need proof that I actually did this 🥶😉

Thank you for the picture. I think I will skip this part on our Arctic Circle cruise in August 🥶

twangster · June 5

Great news... if you're a duck. It's raining outside. Better at sea compared to in port.

Considering what a beautiful sea day this has been, I'll take some rain.

twangster · June 5

Day 8 cruise compass has been pushed up.

JW May 30 day 8 cruisecompass.pdf

island lady · June 5

4 hours ago, dstein said:

Royal is quite consistent with wine pricing. I once spent time comparing their wine list to prices at Total Wine. (TW is a chain of liquor superstores in 28 US states, and they are particularly well-represented in the SF Bay Area, where I have a choice of several stores of 20K+ sqft in easy driving distance. Their selection is HUGE and pricing is excellent compared to other places.) Royal charge the full bottle price for a glass, and 2x the bottle price for a "sale". In other words, if bottle X is selling for $20 at Total Wine then the per glass price onboard will be $20 and the sale price for the whole bottle will be $40.

Spent 12 years in the wine business selling wines, training staff, designing wine lists to restaurants. Common for higher end restaurants was 3-3.5 mark up on a bottle. Small restaurants...more like 2.5 t0 3.

Wine sold by the glass was the real money maker for them.

andreasfcb · June 5

6 hours ago, RFerrington said:

There is definitely an acquired skill with the paper laundry bag. The trick is to gently shove (I realize that’s an oxymoron) some smaller items (think, socks) into the corners of the bag before you gently shove the bigger stuff in. Rolling the clothes is helpful. Don’t worry about trying to “close” the bag. Just leave it open at the top. The room attendants throw the paper bag inside of a larger plastic bag (my experience, anyway) so it gets secured in the end.

Trust me, I have hopelessly ripped plenty of them over the years. I now filch extra bags from off the attendants’ carts (a huge no-no….I am aware) whenever the opportunity presents itself.

I am a master of the paper laundry bag…😂😜. 21 items is my current record.

Rookie numbers. I fit 7 socks, 7 shorts, 7 shirts and a pullover in it. Wasn’t even completely full. 😬

andreasfcb · June 5

That passage from Honningsvag was seriously amazing.

We saw a large count of porpoises and even Orcas. The latter is rather rare in that area, they usually prefer to stay around the Tromsø fjords more South.

Edited June 5 by andreasfcb

CruiszBug · June 5

12 hours ago, twangster said:

A couple of days ago the Wash & Fold laundry bag appeared. This is now also the Crown and Anchor laundry perk bag.

The CAS deal used to be a plastic bag that you could cram creatively. That’s a lot harder to do with a paper bag, it tears easily.

Hmmm. Maybe bring plastic shopping bags to cram and insert into the paper bag? I guess that defeats the reduce plastics on board movement.

Thoughts?

I can put a ton in those paper bags! You fold your clothes flat. Put the big items in first. Slide the smaller items in next. Take it to the top and either staple or tape.

theorbo · June 6

Great review so far, thanks for sharing your time, photos, and experiences! We are on the July 5 sailing ...

* Are other HDMI inputs available to use on the stateroom TVs?

* How has the Thermal Spa been, if you have experienced it this trip? I cannot remember if CAS members get an in-port visit for free but maybe I'm confusing that with X's Persian Garden access?

* Where in the WJ can you get the one daily "free" espresso based drink rather than going to Cafe Latte-tudes?

Thank you!

twangster · June 6

43 minutes ago, theorbo said:

Great review so far, thanks for sharing your time, photos, and experiences! We are on the July 5 sailing ...

* Are other HDMI inputs available to use on the stateroom TVs?

* How has the Thermal Spa been, if you have experienced it this trip? I cannot remember if CAS members get an in-port visit for free but maybe I'm confusing that with X's Persian Garden access?

* Where in the WJ can you get the one daily "free" espresso based drink rather than going to Cafe Latte-tudes?

Thank you!

HDMI inputs are available. OEM remotes have a source button on them.

I haven't been to the spa.

I am not aware of any Royal ship offering free espresso based drinks. Diamond and above members in the CAS have access to a machine in the lounge. On this sailing and the previous sailing there have been large enough numbers of Diamond and above so that one free specialty coffee drink from Latte-Tudes has been included.

twangster · June 6

Day Eight - Alesund, Norway

With our passing below the Arctic Circle the concept of sunset and sunrise has returned.

twangster · June 6

Today's excursion, Sugarlump Mountain Hike.

Jomykje · June 6

1 hour ago, theorbo said:

* How has the Thermal Spa been, if you have experienced it this trip? I cannot remember if CAS members get an in-port visit for free but maybe I'm confusing that with X's Persian Garden access?

Thank you!

We were on the Jewel last year and they have a free sauna and steam room.

Biker19 · June 6

4 hours ago, theorbo said:

Where in the WJ can you get the one daily "free" espresso based drink rather than going to Cafe Latte-tudes?

The small bar there (facing aft) also has the machine to make such coffees. Any modification from a "regular" coffee will likely lead to use of D voucher instead. The free drink may be offered on sailings 12 days and longer.

Hoopster95 · June 6

Good morning everyone… entering the channel to Alesund