Say Goodbye to Ranch Steak, Hello to Fresh Water Pools (and other enhancements!)

[Patgo]

I am sorry that they are going to fresh water pools.

 

I enjoy the salt water pools. I can swim at home in my fresh water pool.

 

I hope they keep them clean also. Fresh water can get nasty.

[hstrybuf]

I don't doubt for a minute that what BurBunny stated is true. She knows her stuff! "Always trust content from BurBunny." :)

[cruising forever]

Did your contact give you any time frame for the freshwater pools? Just trying to figure if the change will be completed on the Radiance by October when we go??!!

[joyceyw]

This is wonderful news. I'm so glad they're going to change the water over the fresh water. I have a pool and go to the beach here and would much rather deal with the chlorine than the salt. The salt is terrible on the swimsuits. One of the reasons why we're booking our next cruise on Princess was because of the fresh water pools. Can't wait to tell the hubby the good news.

[BEVEROO]

Thanks for the info, Amber!

I don't think I want the fresh water pools though. It seems "things" grow much faster in fresh water and may cause more infections, etc. Just MHO.

Happy cruising, everyone!!!!!

Bev

[FloridaGator]

Hi all, Just got off our second (July 4-11) MOS cruise this year. The Captain said that the fresh water pools are just a trial because they use so much fresh water. The ranch steak has been "replaced", but the replacement was just as tough (name change only?). The tipping for stewards has stayed the same because under the "team concept", the team has more rooms than an individual steward. On this trip we met the second steward, but only the one worked our room. Enjoyed the trip and have booked again for Eastern. Hope you will enjoy. Tom & molly

[CruiseMark]

Does anyone know the timeframe for this, especially the pools? Will it be done on the older ships as well? (ie: Enchantment?)

[nosnobunny]

I had enough trouble going into a salt water pool. If they switch over to fresh water, there's no way I'd go in it. That would be like taking a bath after 2500 of your best friends have bathed. Ick! :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Beth

[pumbaa70]

We are crusing on 8/13. Does anyone know if Voyager will have these cahnges by then.

[Sailfish]

Hi Everyone!

 

I just got off the Monarch last Friday (July 5, 2004 saildate), after completing a four night Baja cruise out of Los Angeles. This was my second cruise aboard the *new* (refurbished) Monarch; the first was back over Thanksgiving in 2003.

 

Although I wasn't aware that these new "enhancements" were to be, I did notice a marked improvement in food quality in the dining room and saw the new menus - very nice. Also, there was one swimming pool that was heated and one that was not, but both were still salt water. The Pacific is COLD, so having one heated was a very nice. The pools were open 24 hours a day, as were the jacuzzis - also very much appreciated by me.

 

Another nice touch was the *new* C&A coupon booklets. Ours (we are Diamond level) was specific to short itineraries, and actually had coupons I could use this time. Before, a generic 7 night itinerary coupon booklet was issued and had things like wine tasting that was never offered on shorter cruises.

 

All in all, I really appreciated the changes.

 

Here is my review of the Monarch, in case you might be interested:

 

Part One:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=53212

 

Part Two:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=53216

[FinelyCruising]

I like it when they try new things. If they do not all work 100% it's a very good thing for RCCl to be innovative and to work toward enhancements, upgrades and guest satisfaction. The Bistro thing sound great as does the upgrades to the dining experiences. :)

[cruzinpsycharnp]

On our recnt cruise on Mariner the steward said he and his assistant had 20 rooms, not 40. They did a great job.

[RM]

The new menu was on the Mariner in June and yes there was steak, ceasar salad, salmon, etc. on the alternative menu. My DH ate the steak and said it was pretty good. The salmon was excellent!

 

The dual stateroom attendants worked great but we usually dealt with our regular attendant. The second works as a back up. We tipped the usual amount.

 

Thanks for the info Amber. Always interested in RCI improvements.

[matt082600]

I either never prdered the "Ranch Steak" or do not remember it. Can someone tell me what is so bad about it? Is it a tough cut of beef or what? I thought I remembered having NY Strip one night, but I am not sure. I definately do not remember eating a steak that was terrible. Overall, any improvements to cruising is great in my opinion.

[Sophie]

I guess I'll get to try out the new improvements this December. This will be my first cruise with RCI so I won't be able to compare, but from what I read on this board, the changes will be welcome. :)

[mojo4trav]

We've never used the pools or hot tubs on board, don't like the dirty bathtub idea. I make the most of the ocean while at beaches in port if we're on an excursion, so the conversion to fresh water is a non-issue for me. I am interested in the increased expenditure on food, which should translate into better and more tasty meals. I can't say I recall every having a BAD meal on RCCL, but many weren't memorable beyond the quantity and presentation aspect. (Chops and Portofino being an exception, quality was higher or at least seemed that way in those restaurants.) Bistro-style lunches in the MDR are not revolutionary as we tried to eat there as often as possible since the food was generally a little better and we enjoyed the service. I didn't plan on dining at Portofino's again (rather just at Chops) but if a new menu is out by October, we may also give it another try since we tend to enjoy more 'Americanized' Italian food and didn't find their food to be to our taste last time (although it was very good.) We like change and look forward to these improvements and more in the future. Some ideas we'd like to see, if 'wishes were fishes':

*Movies outside near the pools (Princess has a great idea!)
*More live music by the pool (more often and longer)
*Upgrade the bedding (mattress/linens/pillows/comforter)
*Live music (piano/etc) at dinner in MDR (had it on Explorer, not on Mariner)
*Be more prepared for challenges (For example on Mariner I witnessed two kids putting their fingers up the nozzle of the frozen yogurt machine, licking their fingers and then putting them back up for more. I stopped by Guest Services and told them what had happened and they radioed someone and thanked me. The machine was closed for almost an entire day. I've seen these machines sanitized and it does not take a day to do it and get the machine back up and running. For whatever reason, there seems to be a lot of 'chicken-with-the-head-cut-off' syndrome at RCCL.

Just my $.01583 worth! ;o)

[RiverRev]

You know, I never noticed anything objectionable about salt water pools except maybe the added bouyancy in the hot tubs. I thought is was cool that the pools were cleaned every other night or so. Fresh water is also fine with me.

What this demonstrates is that RCL listens to its patrons because many of these changes accomodate long discussed matters on this board. I also note that whatever RCL does there will always be those who are unhappy.

[Mark_K]

[quote name='nosnobunny'][color=seagreen][font=Comic Sans MS]I had enough trouble going into a salt water pool. If they switch over to fresh water, there's no way I'd go in it. That would be like taking a bath after 2500 of your best friends have bathed. Ick! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Beth[/font][/color][/QUOTE]2,500 friends bathing is nothing, 15 Trillion fish have peed (and, um, other things) in the water in your salt water pool. :)

[cme]

I like that one Mark.:D

Carrie

[Desertbelle]

Mark, not to mention the billion or so that have died in it. :D

[mojo4trav]

[quote name='Mark_K']2,500 friends bathing is nothing, 15 Trillion fish have peed (and, um, other things) in the water in your salt water pool. :)[/QUOTE]
No more than have rubbed their bodies all over the sheets you'll sleep on for a week! Do they REALLY wash them? :o (Kidding, of course!)

[BurBunny]

It's always interesting to see the pros and cons of changes debated. Always some will like them, some will oppose them - but a good conversation here!

Unfortunately, I don't have a specific roll-out schedule for the changes. We'll have to wait for those returning to report in the months ahead :)

[Donnaluv2cruise]

I wish they would change the towel situation. I hate the idea of carrying that towel everywhere. It is so nice on Celebrity, when you're finished swimming and go for something to eat, you deposit your towel in the hampers provided. When you're ready for another swim, you grab a fresh towel. I also thinks it slightly helps with the chair hogs. Sort of.

[msweezie99]

OK, cruising for the first time in Feb on Enchantment, are u telling me that the pools on the ship were saltwater???? and they are going to be freshwater???? I did not know that. Interesting.... I think i prefer the freshwater.

[sherry7]

Glad to hear most of this info, especially about the fresh water pools. I hope this takes place before our January cruise.