Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/30/2018 in all areas

  1. Please keep this conversation solely about the news and refrain from personal attacks. Thank you.
    6 points
  2. Because I want to support jobs in my own country and I think its terrible a company would use their own employees to train other employees to take their jobs away is racist.....nope, not even close. Or because I have a hard time hearing/understanding people who's mother tongue is not English I am racist? Nope, wrong again! But its people like you that say these things and push these ideas and agenda's that has turned the US and the world into what it is today... I am 100% ok knowing that someone from China would NOT want me to be working their call center trying to speak their language when they are calling for advice or help or upset... Come on people..don't be so sensitive!!!!
    6 points
  3. 5 points
  4. Racist? How? Being Guatamalin or Jamaican IS NOT A RACE!!! It's a Nationality and, perhaps, a Culture, but it is NOT a race...... That term is thrown around Waaay too often these days.
    5 points
  5. Here ya go!! Don't go blaming me if you start dancing with a lampshade on your head!
    4 points
  6. mworkman

    Labor Day Sale

    @princevaliantus How rude!!! Where's our Mimosa's...?.@Jess If you haven't noticed, there are a few of us that have been known to be jokesters... i won't mention any names but their initials are Twanster, rjac, JLMoran and off in the distance is that scottish & aussi blokes. If you can't tell i'm more of the serious type.
    4 points
  7. Me? Racist? Antes de llamar a alguien racista, primero debe averiguar de dónde son. Todo esto es en broma. Además, para que sepas, soy español y puertorriqueño. (For my RC Blog friends - English translation: Before calling anyone racist, you should first find out where they are from. All of this is all in jest. In addition, so that you know, I'm Spaniard and Puerto Rican.) Just had to clear the air. Such a smell of pure "wrong". Mimosa's anyone? ???????
    3 points
  8. By my logic, insulting, assuming..... but not racist...... My statement is not about implying a person's ability to do a job, it's about the correct definition of a word YOU are throwing out there....... If you're going to call a person racist, you better be able to back it up by the words own definition.
    3 points
  9. What makes this racist?? Am I missing something?? I have to start handing out more Mimosa's ??????? as they're too many people with their girdle bunched up!!
    3 points
  10. Day 5 – Mykonos 7:30 am was the time we arrived to Mykonos, its not that I woke up to see its I just learn about it later. We took our time as we did not have any tour planned (Lesson learned) so we slept awhile, eat breakfast at the WJ and went down to the small city. This was the second tendering port during the cruise but since we left after 10 AM it was with zero lines , very nicely handled by RC team comparing to the previous tendering in Kotor which was more crowded. No tickets were required for the tendering boats. The boat leaves us around 50 M (150 F for the US readers who refuse to follow the rest of the world and adapt the very logic metric system) from the city so it was very convenient to just walk around. We did not have special plans for Mykonos so we just started to walk between the narrow passages, the small city is beautiful all the building are paint white with some blue and red on top of the churches, the street are very clean and we were lucky with the weather that was very good. We went all the way up to take some pictures of the bay and to try and balance all the calories we are eating on board the ship. The view from the heal is amazing, although the electric wires are in the way of some of the pictures, how so not thoughtful of Mykonos electric company. We did our way down and seat in one of the coffee shops near the port, we drank the local Greek coffee (again, its exactly like Turkish coffee, but do not dare to say it in Greece) added to it some cold coffee which we saw everyone else are drinking. Word of advice, Mykonos is very expensive , almost twice than Athens. We decide to go back to the ship and eat lunch. My spouse went to the SPA and booked some of the massage offers they had yesterday I stayed at the room to answer some of the working related email as I needed to escalate some of the issues (work never ends), I think its better to do it like that and not to return home and have thousands of emails waiting for me to handle but this is only my opinion. After some rest we went to the MDR for our 6 PM dinner ,the table was full again and we were happy to see everyone , interesting discussions and sharing experiences from the day. It was Lasagna night, we enjoyed it ,four of the people at the table ordered the fish , all of them gave it back and ask to replace to the lasagna as they said the fish was very dry and salty. For dessert almost, everyone ordered the Tiramisu beside me that ordered the Tiramisu and the cheese plate ? The tiramisu was excellent. after dinner we went to the high tier event , around 60 people attend the event and almost all the officers were there. No pinnacles on this cruise, in total only 600 C&A are sailing this week. Post the event we went to see the headliner show , it was some magic show but it all seem the same as other magic shows we saw on board of other ships so we went out at the middle (good we seated near the exit), next we went to the 70 show (I periscope part of it), visit the Casino (no jackpot this time ☹) and conclude the day at the park café eating pizza.
    3 points
  11. I guess just another reason to find a good TA to use from here on out.....as Royal's website is terrible and now their call center service will be terrible.. 700 jobs being set to Jamaica and Guatemala...and the irony of it all is that many Royal employees from the US went to these countries to train some of the Royal employees..only to later learn that these people are essentially taking their jobs and leaving them unemployed. And Royal had originally stated they would be adding more jobs to this center..... Royal is to make an announcement about this today...I hate when companies do that and try to not support companies that have done that here in Canada.
    2 points
  12. I didn't feel out of place at all on Celebrity...while there were defn less kids and there seemed to be less night activities I wouldn't say the overall age demographic was much older than Royal. We met some great people both older and younger than us that we hung out with...I would do Celebrity again..its just a little quieter...but not enough to deter me from going again....defn not cause the crowd seemed too "old"
    2 points
  13. @JLMoran @Lovetocruise2002 Don't worry about it!! I will get with Annette and set things up ? Trust me...it will all work out ?
    2 points
  14. History tends to have a way of repeating. Remember when most people would only buy American cars? The big three automakers thought they could make junk and the American people would keep buying them, well now most people swear by Japanese or German automobiles. Remember when, if you wanted electronics, you would only buy Sony if you wanted the best then they started making sub par items allowing Samsung to dethrone them. Don't get me wrong, I love Royal Caribbean, I've been sailing with them since the early 80's and have been on most ships at least once, their ships continue to be amazingly innovative (exclusive of the Quantum class) but their continuous downgrading of customer service, lack of appreciation for long-time repeat passenger and the constant nickel and diming grows old after a while. We sailed on the Adventure this past May (2018) and the Diamond concierge never had us listed as Diamond Plus, we never received any of the benefits and were never invited to any of the events, when we tried to bring it to his attention he said he'd look into it but did nothing. Like I said we love Royal, and I do understand it's a business and the economics behind it (we actually sail basically for free on a few cruises each year using the dividends from our Royal stock) but little things like good customer service and recognition of loyal repeat customers goes a long way (many people would actually pay a premium for these things!). So to answer your question HeWhoWaits, we've decided to try MSC, we booked on the new ship out of Miami, the Seaside. MSC has a loyalty status match program where they'll actually match and reward us for our Crown and Anchor Diamond Plus status. Will we be back to Royal? Yes, but if they don't realize they aren't the only option for repeat guests (cruise lines bread and butter) they might just learn what many other companies have when they took their customer base for granted.
    2 points
  15. Just to throw a wrench in all your evil plans...go ahead and all agree on a week in the summer that works for everyone
    2 points
  16. We never had an issue because we went pretty late, and there was only one night when we waited about five minutes. I've heard stories of people waiting around 20 minutes in the early seatings. The Aqua Shows are great, but watch for Blue Planet in the Amber Theater. That show blew me away. Incredible visual effects on the stage. If you go with a reservation, try to get there early and sit high in the middle on the main level or close to the middle in the mezzanine (I think the middle is reserved for suite guests). You are greeted with this view of a rotating earth as you enter, and that's before the show starts....it's kind of like Cirque du Soleil and just as good.
    2 points
  17. You don’t need a dining package at all to get decent food. If you are the type that doesn’t want to pay extra then don’t and you will still have a good meal. But I think @Matt idea is smart. If you don’t mind paying a little extra, try a specialty dining once and see how you like it. It can be a great experience if you enjoy really good food like me. Of course my wife always disagrees with me. If it was up to me I would do the Dining Plan because I love really good food and want to have a special vacation. She doesn’t think the food is worth the extra money. I do. So we compromise by eating a couple of times per cruise.
    2 points
  18. Y'all are in trouble....I've just noticed that she's in Fayetteville, NC......right where I live....I can do some serious bribery without y'all knowing ?????
    2 points
  19. If you plan to return to the ship 3 or more hours before the all aboard time, that pretty much protects you against any kind of travel delay.
    2 points
  20. On our July 2 cruise on Mariner of the Seas, the executive chef came around and asked everyone how the food was. My son Brandon who is 13 said his steak was great but wanted to know when he could have a quesadilla. The chef told him it wasn’t going to be on the cruise menu and I thought saw son get very sad. Then the chef said just tell your waiter tomorrow “Chef McDonald” said I could have a quesadilla and we will make you one. It was awesome.
    2 points
  21. 1 point
  22. I think I spoke with George! LOL
    1 point
  23. That's because you saw THIS early morning Bloody Maryland picture
    1 point
  24. rjac

    Call Me A Traditionalist

    Yeah, I remember those! They were cool and very professional looking. Guess the budgetary constraints did away with them, too bad. By the way, I always had you as a dead ringer for Rod Stewart, but in this photo you look more like Robert DiNero!
    1 point
  25. OK, I recognize the scallops carpaccio, Maine lobster salad, and I think the garlic truffle tagliatelle from my own Chef's table back in April. Interesting that they keep at least parts of the menu going for so long, and it seems across the entire fleet. What is that steak entree you have there? Filet mignon? And how awesome they gave you a special birthday dessert! Was that off-menu, or the provided menu selection with the writing added? And the most important question -- what wines were served, and how did you like them? ?
    1 point
  26. Understood. Definitely check with the Shore Excursions staff once you get onboard. Also, keep checking the site if someone cancels.
    1 point
  27. When we did the Mystery Dinner, it was on Serenade OTS @ Giovanni's Restaurant. It was an Italian dinner menu.
    1 point
  28. Everything is moving to a global economy nowadays. I don’t care where the jobs are located, US, China, India, Guatemala, whatever. Of course I do wish that the CS reps would speak English in a way a can understand.
    1 point
  29. Age is just a number...if people are fun, they are fun regardless of the age. I personally think with Celebrity is you have to know what type of vacation you are getting into...it won't be party city (stay away if that is what you are looking for). If you are in the mood for a more calm, understated, elegant? vacation, then I think it will be just fine. IIRC from @monctonguy's posts a while ago, there wasn't as many night activities compared to Royal. So if that is your thing, then X isn't your line regardless of your age. At least that's how I view Celebrity....
    1 point
  30. I'll accept the mimosa and will put this discussion to rest....
    1 point
  31. Again --- NOT RACIST!! By it's own definition.
    1 point
  32. You missed the part about not paying airfare. Given my budgetary limits for the foreseeable future, sailing out of Cape Liberty is a must-do so that I'm not saddled with airfare. Even with that, swinging two balcony rooms for the four of us might be outside my budget. Probably not on Anthem, given the huge price drops on balconies I saw with this Bermuda cruise close to final payment date (I'm kind of missing the ton of money I'd have gotten back by now); but on Adventure where I saw balconies on 6-night CA/NE itineraries were over $200 pp/pn, that could be a concern.
    1 point
  33. JLMoran

    Fall Foliage Predictor

    In 2020, any week in July or August should work just fine for me. I'd prefer to avoid July 4th week, both because it's pretty much right after the school year ends and also because of the holiday tax on all sailings. But if that was the only week that worked for everyone else then I'd do it. If it was an itinerary that included July 12, my wife would love it since that's her birthday and we could do a double celebration!
    1 point
  34. Should have thought of that. Could have saved $140. Probably 2.5 hour ride each way and since we don't want to take time off on Thursday to get a Thursday evening flight it wouldn't have worked this time. Will definitely keep it in mind for next time!!
    1 point
  35. Don't forget me. I have a Canada/New England cruise for 2019. I will go in 2020 if there's a group cruise.
    1 point
  36. The same can be said about everything in life. If not for the guy in the $50K Sky Loft suite, maybe my regular balcony would cost more. Convoluted logic at best. Back to the original point, no one is forced to pay for anything they don’t want, except maybe the port fees LOL
    1 point
  37. Just joined the insiders group. Happy to support this wonderful site and Matt efforts
    1 point
  38. KLA

    Best Off Menu Request?

    When we cruise with husband's family, it is always MDR every night with special attention paid to formal night and pictures taken with family every night. Husband and I take the much more laid back approach when cruising on our own... and no pictures.
    1 point
  39. Day 4 - Athens. We arrived Athens around 12 PM which allow us to sleep finally until 10 AM (Amazing for me) it was wonderful. We organized, took something quick at the WJ and went to catch our tour. This time we only took a transfer to Athens nothing else , the only reason we took it is due to the endless strikes Athens known for , did not really wanted to be stuck there so paid the extra money for guarantee transfer. During the time we did our way to the meeting point I finally solved one of the cruise mysteries, when the morning show is being taped, I had some suspensions that its being taped once per route and re playing it again and again but I saw they were taping it around 11 AM and it was for the tomorrow show meaning one day ahead of time. We arrived after around 30 minute drive which included one stop at the old Olympic stadium for photo opportunity: The bust dropped us later near the Acropolises and the Plaka (The old city area). We wanted to check if we can go up the Acropolises but a quick look over the lines changed are minds very quickly so we just went to tour the Palka, nice thing about Athens is the fact that were ever you go there is some old structures or other old interesting thing to watch and it all from around 2500 years ago (beside maybe the Macdonald’s) , impressive. After a while we decided its time to eat lunch so we tried one of the restaurants that was far from the entrance, not before we removed our excursion number from our shirts , hey its not that people can not see we are tourists but we should not go with a big sign on our chest saying “Hey we are sucker tourists which take ship tours and are ready to pay any price for junk/bad food” ?. The food at the restaurant was absolutely amazing. We took Greek salad (hey we are in Greece after all) a chicken Suflaki and Moussaka which was one of the best I was ever eaten (and I was eaten few Moussakas). We took some coffee for dessert Continue our tour, next station was Zeus monument, the National gardens and the parliament house e Next it was time to find a nearby supermarket to buy some authentic local food to bring back home, love to watch local supermarkets to understand what people eat and what are the options they have. Tip , if you want to buy some stuff from Greece plan to do so at Athens as the rest of the Islands are more expensive. We went back to the ship to eat dinner at the WJ (it was already too late to go to the MDR) and went to see the Love and Marriage show, which was fun to watch as always and to your question, here are the answer to the “PG 13 question” : 1. In the car , In the Ocean (ST Thomas if you must know) and on the deck of a cabin while it was snowing). We went to find some comfort food after touring the ship , the only think available was some Pizza slices at the Park Caffe ,noting else. That conclude our day more and less.
    1 point
  40. Not long to go now. Heading to the Eastern Caribbean (St Maarten, Puerto Rico, Labadee) on Allure of the Seas leaving Sept 16. This will be my first RCL cruise.
    1 point
  41. As long as you don't wear a white Wow band after labor day... oh wait, that isn't a thing anymore.
    1 point
  42. I've done non-Royal tours and saved a lot of cash over the years. Missing the ship is low probability, but severe effect - especially where there will be some sea days after your excursion. If the problem is a traffic jam , chances are that the Royal excursion contractors will be sitting in traffic also (the odds of this decrease if your excursion isn't also offered by Royal). But 2 years ago some friends had an experience that makes me lean toward paying the "Royal Tax" and booking through the ship. We were on a T/A that made stops in the Caribbean before the leg to Southampton. Our last port before a string of sea days was St. Maarten. Friends took the double decker bus tour around the island. They were returning to the ship and saw police and an ambulance responding in the other direction. A couple of minutes later, more police and fire equipment. Then the bus slowed to a stop and sat there. Yes, it had leaked out all the oil onto the roadway and caused a string of traffic collisions before seizing up. It took over three hours before the tour company could get buses out to return the folks on tour (partly because they were located behind the crashes and ensuing traffic jam). The ship patiently waited. Friends might have spent an extra $25 a person, but spending at least one night on the island, missing the rest of the cruise, and paying walk-up rates for 1 way international tickets home would run more than that. (Though travel insurance might have helped out). If you take private tours, be sure to take your passport, credit card and local port contact # for the ship. And if you buy travel insurance, check the policy before buying to see how it handles this situation.
    1 point
  43. I was in the pano room feb on the independence they are the best on the ship this is my second pano booking the first on freedom and in nov I have a pano on the adventure as far as I am concerned these are the best cabins on a ship I am a sightseer and the views are breathtaking I always used to get balcony rooms but didn't use the balcony much the heat is far to much for me and I would go to the Viking crown lounge for my daily sightseeing once you experience the views you will under stand I have several pictures I took from the windows but will have many more after November try them you will like them any questions I can try to answer please ask for me keep the hyper expensive suites I will be booking the beautiful fair priced panoramic views I mean cabins I so far am lucky I have never felt the need for all the perks that come with the suites but in all fairness I could not afford them anyway for now I will be happy just with a pano in steerage just a final note having dealt with royal for years now and having somewhat of an inside source I call a friend if you want to experience a pano at a reasonable rack rate do it soon as I feel deep inside royal is watching the acceptance from this new cruise novelty and I expect to see a substantial rate increase in this unique class of rooms and soon please understand I have never experienced the suite or star class and never will if I could afford this ticket and my choice between 4 cruises a year or 1 big splash I will always pick 4 a year on average the level of service I receive in steerage is such a huge step up from what I experience in everyday life that I feel like the well worn movie line IM KING OF THE WORLD sail on my friends and be kind to people you meet
    1 point
  44. 1 point
  45. Check out this video by @Pippa_OceanTime. It will give you a really good idea of what that room looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moqy2FnYh6Y
    1 point
  46. Matt got a little publicity in the Fox article: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/08/15/emotional-support-animals-face-restrictions-in-southwest-airlines-royal-caribbean-cruises-reports-say.html "For travel by sea, cruise ships are tightening restrictions on ESAs, with Royal Caribbean prohibiting all emotional support animals aboard its international ships effective immediately, according to Miami's WFOR-TV and the Royal Caribbean blog, an unaffiliated industry site."
    1 point
  47. Emotional support animals are not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Royal is following the law to the letter in differentiating emotional support animals from service animals that are trained and certified to perform a function for a person with a disability, such as a blind man walking with his trained eye-seeing dog. They are updating their policy as other travel outlets have done recently.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...