MaryCS62

I hate answering this, because we didn't get to go -

January 9, 2022, Anthem of the Seas - had 4 in a jr suite - me, DH, and 2 adult DD's (one of whom was disabled) - bid on & got a 2 BR Grand suite -- that we had to give up the day before the cruise, because older DD still tested positive for Covid, despite being exposed before Christmas (more than 2 weeks earlier!!), and so we couldn't go.

Don't remember exactly what we bid - $600 total? It would have been well worth it, as we would have gotten back what we paid for Voom and the DX drink package

1 hour ago, melmar02 said:

How about just water, again with a regular cup.

depends on the machine. I forget which ship I was on, (Anthem?) but there were 2 machines side by side by Sorrentos- 1 had a water option, one didn't.

Was on Vision mid March - some portions were tiny ( 2 small pieces fried chicken, maybe 1/4 - 1/3 cup mashed potatoes, small vegetable servings, shrimp cocktail - 4 watery shrimp), and others quite large - Caribbean chicken was 1/2 a chicken, plus large side dishes. but unfortunately I didn't care for the spices, so didn't eat much. I actually can't eat large quantities anymore, & I never felt I needed more food than I got, although I know I could have. 

Weirdly, 1 thing I noticed was that certain things needed salt - anything without a specific spice profile (ie, the above mentioned Caribbean chicken)- & I rarely salt anything except potatoes and macaroni.  Lobster night, I tasted the rice & veg sides - ending up spooning a little of the melted butter on it and salting it as well. 

On 4/2/2024 at 11:48 AM, Joolz27 said:

I would like to warn everyone about Royal Caribbean laundry. We’ve used it twice now and both times our clothes have come back looking like there were knives and chains in the machine with them. Don’t use their laundry service if you like your clothes! Here’s a sample shirt destruction.

That's why, when we did the special, it was socks, underwear and T-shirts. In addition, since it was a jr suite and had a tub, DD was able to hand wash quite a few things, then we set them by using chair clips on the balcony chairs

Hmm - was looking at that one for early Jan (have to plan around hubby's school schedule). I can't usually do the regular pools (knee troubles makes it difficult to use the ladders) so my only option for pool is the Solarium, usually. Didn't know Odyssey didn't have the covered pool that Anthem did (have done 2 on her, figured we'd like Odyssey too)

8 minutes ago, Cory said:

does anyone know when you can add someone to your room?  we had 4 going, 2 to each room but 1 backed out, so we added another and then they backed out, can we still add another person without paying.  we already have the rooms obviously but was wandering if we can add another person this late.

I think it depends on 2 things - 1, there is a window of time (I think 3 days prior, but don't quote me on that) at which changes cannot be made, and 2, as long as the primary person in the room stays the same, it is ok. Never done it myself, this is based on others' stories.

10 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

This is why I always put it in my cart and go all the way to almost paying for it to see the final price, THEN decide what I'm going to do. I've done what you've done a few times too! Tricky tricky, that Royal...

oh, well - at least I didn't pay more than I had to ...

43 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

I was excited when I saw this yesterday...and then discovered that the discount was the exact same as what I got it for on Black Friday. Darn.

me too! but not til I had already cancelled and re-ordered it

2 minutes ago, ScottD said:

@Last Lion @barjpoe you two might be looking at different places....Giovannis TABLE has filet and the such on the lunch menu, no pizzas.  Giovannis KITCHEN would have the pizza and other items,and not the filet. 

I was just coming to post that same thing!! DH loves the filet there, so we grabbed that deal originally on Black Friday for our March cruise

when early dining was 6pm and late was 830 (or 9?) pm, early was good.  When they switched it up, we still had to go with early when traveling with my daughter who went to bed early (medical issues) so no choice there.  DH and I had MTD on a cruise last year, and it was hit and miss - didn't really care for it, plus we had to fight to not be stuck in a dark, out of the way table.  We have done late after it was changed to 730, and preferred that time. 

The theater is large, and you shouldn't have any trouble getting a seat. I enjoyed it, hope you do as well

You would need to rent a wheelchair or scooter for him (pre cruise) if he can't walk long distances easily - as far as I know, RC wheelchairs are only for use on the ship. Prior to boarding, you can request wheelchair assistance to get him onto the ship, but they will just bring him to whatever deck boarding is on and leave him there.   Scootaround and Special Needs at Sea are rental companies that will rent you scooter, manual wheelchair (I think) or electric wheelchairs, which are typically delivered to the stateroom.

Glad it worked for you. I was thinking of doing a few dinners that way on my upcoming cruise, but not sure I could convince DH to do it with me. We will see....

53 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I think it kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a Chef's Table when the menu is the same across the entire fleet and irrespective of the time of year or location where the ship is sailing.

It's just my opinion but I really think each individual chef should be able to give free rein to their creativity using seasonal local produce.

Keeping the exact same menu going for years is just plain daft (again just my opinion).

and, unfortunately, it is fish heavy, which is alright with me, but DH would not care for it at all. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what substitutions they will make?

20 hours ago, eazyeray said:

Thanks for the replies. I googled some pics of the breakfast buffets and i see that both the Windjammer and Solarium have milk cartons. If they don't have them at night I'll be sure to grab some at breakfast and keep them cold in the cabin coolers.

or ask your cabin steward for an ice bucket to be filled daily - you can put the bucket in the cooler to keep it colder, or just put the milk cartons in the ice

12 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Are you sure you need the refreshment package now that you're Diamond? (Congrats!)

You can get specialty coffee from the Crown Lounge machine. If that works for you, that leaves you with an awful lot of sodas/juice/water to make it worth it.

No judgment, maybe the coffee machine doesn't have enough variety or you do drink a lot of the other items, just throwing it out there. You can always get the soda package for $10/day or so.

Well, this is going to be our first cruise on Diamond (8 day on Vision in March) so we will see what it is like.  I do like to keep bottled water, drink sodas, although it will be more of a pain without the freestyle machines, and we will be using the drink vouchers for alcoholic drinks, and I will probably give 1 or 2 a day to DH, since I don't drink much anymore.  Vision is also a smaller ship, and we've heard that sometimes Diamond cruisers may get limited to the lounge if there are too many Diamond Plus & Pinnacle aboard, so not sure what will happen. 

On 1/16/2024 at 9:26 AM, OCSC Mike said:

Should have added that. Thanks for clarifying.

Got very familiar with the policy when traveling with DD who, while over 21, could not have alcohol - but loved the mocktails, sodas & hot chocolate she could get. Then, due to various health issues, last cruise DH & I took alone, he got DBP and I got Refreshment - needed my specialty coffees, soda & waters, and brought wine for myself for dinner.  We just hit diamond, so get 8 drinks/day between us, and with bringing wine on board, figure we'll do just fine with both of us getting the refreshment package

18 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

They don't have to get anything. Only when someone purchases the DBP does everyone in the cabin have to at least get the refreshment package.

Actually, only adults 21+ have to either also get the DBP, or call Royal and get the the Refreshment package for the non drinker. Under 21 - they can get or not get the refreshment or soda package, as they choose

you can also ask your cabin steward for a corkscrew, and uncork it yourself, prior to going to dinner. 

On 1/1/2024 at 10:38 AM, smokeybandit said:

The most annoying cruiser is the one who has no concept of space and think they're the only people around. Walking down the middle of a busy promenade and they just stop randomly.

Probably the same people that take their good ole time stowing their bags while boarding a plane.

or stop in the middle of, or right at the end a grocery store aisle, therefore blocking traffic in both directions.

Does your hotel not offer an airport shuttle? Most of the Newark airport area hotels do that

On 11/27/2023 at 5:10 PM, CambridgeSimon said:

The price for Chops Grille or Giovannis for lunch seems very good. in the sale it's £15 for grille and looking at the menu you can have starter, main and dessert including a filet steak for main. Seems amazing value, or am I missing something?

DH & I just picked up the lunches at both Chops & Giovanni's for our cruise in March on Vision - prices much better than the dinners, and the menus are close enough to make us happy - neither of us can eat the way we used to, so the lunches will be fine for us

18 hours ago, FloridaCruiser12 said:

Do you know if the coffee card covers frozen coffee drinks? Considering it on our upcoming sailing on Allure

I've only seen iced drinks, not frozen ones, unless they were from the standalone Starbucks location, and I never looked at their menu (on Oasis). 

10 hours ago, Inkd said:

I’ve never actually seen anything like this even when travelling. 
 

I’ll be ok. If I can get boiling water in a container to use I’ll be fine. I can let it sit until it is at optimal temp so not to scorch the beans & make my own.

in addition to coffee, there will be hot (not actively boiling) water available - usually for tea or hot cocoa packets. Not sure that will do the trick for you.

1 hour ago, ScottD said:

So basically the free coffee is just out in giant urns, like you would see at a convenience store or gas station. If you have to order it from the Promenade cafe or park cafe (or any cafe), it's a specialty coffee...which is anything other than regular or decaf coffee. 

to add on to that - specialty coffees cost you - but are included in the deluxe drink package & refreshment package.  There are also coffee cards that are for 15 specialty coffee drinks (from cafe promenade, park cafe, cafe lattetudes, cafe 270 & sometimes windjammer - locations are ship specific). Freestanding Starbucks locations are NOT included in any package, although you can use starbucks gift cards, I believe.