New to Radisson - Some Questions

[Jamie]

Hello All,

I've just booked the Navigator out of Tampa on 11/17 and have some questions for you past RSSC cruisers. I understand there's a one time mini bar set up in cabin. Can one choose what you'd like to go in there, or is it a standard selection? Are sodas and bottled water restocked daily? Finally, about the wine included with dinner - is there more than one white and one red featured per night? Is it a different wine with each course? I assume waiters pour from bottles rather than placing a few carafes on the table.

Thanks for any help.

 

Jamie

[MarnaLou]

Hi, Jamie,

 

What drew you to Radisson? Why did you choose this line and this itinerary?

 

You choose the liquor you want for your bar. If you choose a premium brand you'll get just one bottle, if you go with the standard stuff you will get two. There may or may not be a bottle of champagne in your cabin when you arrive, as well.

 

Sodas and bottled waters are restocked daily.

 

As I recall, there is just one red and one white wine routinely offered at dinner, but if you want something else you can usually ask for it and if it's not on the premium list they will get it for you. One of my cruise companions once liked Merlot and they always got him some no matter what else they were pouring. Just ask. There is not a different wine with each course but they will switch you from white to red (or vice versa) if the food you've ordered calls for it and you want that. The waiters do pour for you, and they will never ever let your glass become empty. I found it easy to drink waaaaay more than I am used to. You can also order a cocktail and/or after dinner drink in the dining room and it will be provided at no extra charge.

 

Bon voyage!! I hope you will do a review and share your experiences and opinions with us.

 

MarnaLou

[wishIweretravelling]

For the in-room bar set-up, you are given a list to choose from. They don't offer a big variety of brands, but the brands offered are pretty decent. They do offer a variety of types (i.e., scotch, vodka, wine, etc). The sodas and waters are replenished daily. At dinner, I was aware of only one white or red featured each night. They'll pour your preference pretty much whenever your glass starts to get low. You also can order cocktails at dinner--no extra charge.

[Jamie]

Thanks for the responses!

MarnaLou, my husband and I used to cruise quite a lot (3 or 4 a year). Mostly on Celebrity, but we've tried all the "mainsteam" lines at least once. The last year and half has been full of family problems, but we have just moved to the Tampa area and are more than ready to cruise again. We liked that we can drive to the port and want to experience a more "upscale" line.

 

Jamie

 

p.s. I used to post a lot on these boards. It's strange seeing that I have 2 posts, when it used to be more like 500!

[Jim B]

Jamie:

 

Go to the RSSC web site.

Look for "my cruise" (kind of towards the top of page)

Find the guest information section. Fill it out.

At the bottom in comments put what you would like for cabin bar set up.

If there are two of you do the same on the 2nd guest info and put what they prefer in the comment section.

You also should find a section where you can book excursions on line.

[JoAnne B]

You can also order an after dinner drink such as port at no charge.

[Skip's Dad]

We're also booked on the Nav on 11/17 out of Tampa. It was not necessarily my first choice for a port or Itin, but the service on RSSC is so superior to others that we frankly didn't care about the ports...we were more concerned about the Cruise Line and Service.

 

The in-room liquor set-up is at the beginning of the cruise. You will have the choice of 2 bottles of "regular" type alcohol or 1 bottle of Prem.

 

At dinner each night you will have the choice of 1 white or 1 red. As already stated you can order something else off if neither of those are to your liking but there is a charge for that.

 

Last year one person in our party prefered to have a cocktail during dinner and she was often given that at no charge in place of wine.

 

All in all the RSSC experience was incredible!

[gdlamberth]

Skip's Dad, you really have more choices than you indicated. Think more in terms of "in addition to" instead of "in place of." While one red and one white are typically selected for an evening, you can generally ask for another wine off the complimentary wine list. For instance, my wife and I are both partial to the Francis Coppola Claret (Cabernet Sauvignaun). RSSC ships frequently have this on thier comp wine list and when they do it's available (lest they run out) every evening if you'd prefer. We've also had cocktails (Cosmopolitans, friends had Makers Mark on the rocks), wine and then an after dinner drink (Bailey's, Port, Grand Marnier and such). Last trip on Voyager the folks in Lattitudes even set up a "Port Tasting" for my daughter (who was overheard by the staff saying she had never had Port and wanted to know the diffeence between Tawny, Ruby and White). So they brought her a glass of eah at the appropriate times during dinner. Turns out she didn't much care for any of it (but I helped her with the Tawny!).

 

One night my daughter asked for a "doggie bag" to take the better portion of her steak to out suite (too much to eat with all the courses). She said she'd finish it after the guest lecturer that night. Ismail (Voyager) our waiter, asked what suite she was in. Sarah, thinking he was going to send the uneaten portion to her room told him. To her surprise, about 5 minutes after we returned from the lecture, a whole new, hot off the griddle steak (still Medium Rare as originally requested) with all the associated linen and silver, was delivered by room service with a fresh dessert thanks to Ismail.

 

I could go on and on but I suspect I'm already boring some. Jamie, I am highly confident that you'll enjoy your Navigator experience. Gretchen and I have sailed her twice and she is our favorite ship.

Greg

[karich]

We recently sailed on Voyager. While I also read that you can only order (1) premium or (2) standard bottles of liquor, I don't know if that is always the case. We ordered (1) Grey Goose and (1) Harveys Bristol Cream. Both were in our room when we arrived (1L size!)in addition to a chilled bottle of champagne. I assume that these are both premium liquors; so give it a try. Regarding dinner wines, each evening we requested wines that were not the standard offering. This was not a problem. As a matter of fact, the wine sommelier in each venue quickly learned what we preffered and offered those wines without us having to ask.

[Jamie]

Thanks for the help, everyone! I'm really excited about trying Radisson. It sounds like an amazing experience.

I'm still not sure on one point, though. For the bar set-up, do I fill out a form that comes with cruise docs or when I board the ship OR, do I just put some preferences in the online registration?

Skip's Dad, looking forward to seeing you onboard! I agree the itinerary isn't exactly exotic. We've been to these ports so many times already. I guess the upside is that we already know exactly what we want to do where.

[dougburns]

Sometimes they have the booze waiting and sometimes they don't. It will only take a couple of hours to get it if you just wait and tell your stewardess when you get to your stateroom. In the Cat A penthouse suites and above they have a standard bar setup of 4 bottles - Dewars scotch, Jack Daniels bourbon, Beefeaters gin, and Bacardi rum. You can change it as you wish just by telling your butler. We have our booze preference on file with RSSC, but, as I said, sometimes it's waiting and sometimes it's not. Depends on how busy the room staff is getting the suites ready after the departing pax leave.

[karich]

Go to "rssc.com/gif" and place your request in the Additional Comments/Requests at the end of the information form. It worked for us.

[Kathy Z]

Filling in our liquor preferences on-line also worked for us although, as mentioned above, sometimes it will not be waiting for you when using this method. We had requested Kahlua and vodka and ended up with a choice between various vodkas. We were on for a second week and had requested Ameretto. That is a premium so we were entitled to just that one bottle. But, at our request, they gave us all 3 bottles at the beginning of the 2 weeks!

 

Also, there was only one dinner wine that was not to our liking. They offered a different selection with no problem or cost.

 

The sodas and water will be replaced in your mini-frig. daily. The only thing not replaced is the 2 cans of beer.

[Skip's Dad]

Jamie....Look forward to seeing you on the cruise....

 

gdlamberth....Thanks so much for the info! I was on the Diamond last year and wasn't offered a different selection other than what was being served. (except to purchase). I am glad to know that there are options. I'm not a big fan of Chardonnay so I am always looking for an alternative.

 

Glad to hear your service was so good. I have nothing but good things to say about RSSC, and the Diamond. I won't go into them now since I don't want to bore anyone either, but suffice it to say we are couting the days until our upcoming cruise.