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MrB

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Everything posted by MrB

  1. Concur, with a twist. Saw a news article independent of RCG about repatriation problems in the cruise industry. Majesty of the Seas was being used to house certain employees off the coast of the UK because a lot of repat flights, which might pop up quickly, are done out of London for Africa and the Middle East. The country in question might say 150 citizens total (not just cruise line employees) today, on this particular flight, or you won't get home for a month. In the article, it used Mauritius as an example.
  2. Don't disagree, but that will be the exception that will have to be dealt with, rather than the standard. A large percentage of folks would live with the smartphone app if it meant less contact and faster service. Those that can't will have to be addressed. Yeah, the kiosks are almost a non-starter due to the issues you raised. First thing that comes to mind for exception processing is simple paper menus with checkboxes. RCI has been pushing people to app for a while now, and this will certainly continue to process.
  3. See this current post. In that post, there are some photos of some menus from one of the specialty restaurants. In the small print, you should see that there are Gluten-Free entrees available, but that Royal Caribbean galleys are not allergen-free zones. So both good and bad news. Call RC by phone and be a little insistent on getting to the correct people on the phone to get the exact information you need to get to the point of you being comfortable with the response. The answer might be "No" in certain cases in certain restaurants, but it's much better to have good, accurate information rather than the answer you might want - like "Sure, everything's fine." If you hear that, someone doesn't have a clue on what you are asking. Here is the RCI FAQ on special dietary needs. Notify them ahead of time and they can do things for you, though it sounds like you already did this. My impression is your daughter should be able to make this work, but this is not something you want to play around with. Mazel Tov to your daughter and her cousin.
  4. From other articles I've seen, it looks like you will be ordering food in the WJ at a table from an app on your phone. You click on a button or take QR shots from a menu, and it will be delivered to your table. Also mentioned was limited seating capacity in the WJ to comply with social distancing requirement, as masks would have to be removed to eat. So, this is not going to be the fast grab-a-quick-bite WJ we have been used to. My guess is that they might have some display-only dishes at the entrance or something like that. For the first cruise back after COVID, we are planning a mini-suite so that if we are not happy with the WJ or MDR seating arrangements in regards to social distancing, we can eat easily in our room. No more Ocean View or Interior cabins. At least big balcony.
  5. Yup. The MAC schools and some of the other lesser conferences only make money when they play the larger powerhouse schools. That wasn't going to happen this year, so they threw in the towel.
  6. One of the ten Division I college football conferences (MAC) just cancelled their fall schedule. If the other Division I conferences follow suit, which is certainly a possibility if not completely likely, then you can probably forget about US cruising until 2021. If they cancel college football, cruise lines don't have a chance to petition to start up any time soon. The other major conferences have been dancing around this decision, most are expected to make a "final" call in the next few days. In the US, cancelling Division I Football is akin to the apocalypse.
  7. Since the release of this notice, Uncruise Alaska ( a small <250 person passenger and crew cruise line not subject to CDC restrictions) came back with a positive case on their first cruise. So there's that...?. And there was the Hurtegruten cruise in Norway at the beginning of the week - possibly the straw that broke the camel's back for the announcement. It's nuts to think that US based cruising is going to happen anytime soon. What "soon" is - that's the big question. It looks like later and later for every day that goes by. Personally, I'm waiting until late 2021 or early 2022, and then only if there has been good data for at least six to nine months of sailings.
  8. We like Majesty - Been on three cruises on it. Depending on your needs, it can be a very nice more intimate ship. But it is older in style. If you have to go back and get something in the cabin from anywhere in the ship, it's not that big of a deal. Windjammer is in the front of the ship and has probably the best enclosed view on the boat. I would often have a cup of tea and 3:00 pm scones looking out the windows. A very pleasant way to spend the day. Great promenade deck. Sometimes that's an overlooked feature on newer boats with all their balconies. My spouse would often park there with an e-reader and would be be set for the day. Viking Lounge often quiet and deserted if you need a break. The extra food choices are very limited. Johnny Rocket's is about it and not really worth more than a WJ hamburger. Shopping is pretty limited, too. Casino tiny. OK by us, we don't use it, thought I'd mention it. Standard cabins are small. Check the square footage and upgrade at least on level.
  9. I'm an American who thinks and uses metric (yes, we do exist.) Gimme those kilograms and meters. But...Farenheit FTW. It's perfect for describing human-based temperature vs water. Who cares about water? 0 degree to 100 degrees Farenheit really describes freakin' cold to freakin' hot pretty well. Also, if you have a 100 degree fever, that's where you start to be concerned. Great range for us. For everything else? Metric absolutely.
  10. U.S. cruiser here: We are not even thinking of any cruise before December 2021. Even then, if we were to book, it would be with the understanding that we would bail out on the cruise if conditions have not improved. If we got a credit or a refund, so be it. In this climate, we would have to be willing to lose any money (or argue with RCI at a much later date.) For the first time we would be gambling on a cruise - in this case, on the cruise itself. But we're not going to bet our lives on it.
  11. LGA has been in a constant state of upheaval / construction for the last 40 years, it seems. There are reasons to use it, but just know what you are getting into.
  12. These laws got in the way (a bit) of Hurricane Maria support for Puerto Rico. US laws state that only US flagged vessels can carry goods between US ports. There weren't anywhere near enough US flagged ships in the Caribbean to transport needed supplies to the island. The US lifted the Jones Act restrictions for a limited amount of time to aid in deliveries, but there were other major issues with that relief effort.
  13. Heard a rumor of a removal on our recent cruise Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) -Key West- Nassua at Key West. That itinerary becomes important. The rumor, from a police guard at the Navy Pier in Key West, stated that a passenger was removed for abuse to the staff over his locking cigarettes in the room safe and forgetting combination. RCCL was not able or willing to open it on his timeframe (now!, apparently) and the cruiser got abusive and then ejected at Key West. The wrinkle is that there are US laws (the Jones Act, being one) that state that foreign flagged vessels can not carry passengers only between two US ports. They MUST go to a foreign port. Hence all the Nassau and Coco Cay ports of call. It is possible, while the the gentleman won't have any full passport vs passport card issues to board a flight out, he might well have to pay a fine of up to $900 for not going through the foreign port first.
  14. Love the Majesty as a boat. Great smaller size, well laid out, very calm in comparison to the newer mega-ships. Somewhat ironic, because at the time of launch it was the biggest in the world. Your food could be great at the WJ, but it depends on who the executive chef is on your cruise. This is before "all balcony all the time". You get a porthole. It's great, actually. Gets you out of the room. Also, the standard staterooms are smaller than you think. Upgrade one level to the 151 sq ft cabin. It's worth it. We like the 9th or 10th deck.
  15. This is going to take a while. Buckle up. My wife and I were on the Majesty of the Seas 30 Nov 2019 – 4 Dec 2019, Ft Lauderdale – Key West – Nassau. We had a friend with us and it was a very pleasurable cruise. Except the Windjammer. We had been on other cruises on this particular ship in the past. On certain past cruises, the food in both the WJ and the Dining Room were utterly fantastic. Beyond reproach. Not this time. The food in the Windjammer was the worse encountered on Royal Caribbean by far. Everything was not warm enough and was not a good exemplar of what it was supposed to be. For instance, on last full day lunch (Tuesday 3 Dec), the WJ messed up spaghetti and meatballs. How do you do that? We had always planned on eating in the Main Dining Room for dinner at the 5:30 seating. This turned out to be a saving grace. If anyone asks me about the dining options on Majesty based upon this experience alone, I would have to tell them that Main Dining Room is not really an option, but a requirement. It’s the only alternative and defense against the Windjammer. At least you will have one good consistent meal per day if you use the Main Dining Room. Also, the Windjammer on the Majesty is a bit different from other ships in the fact that it has two sections; one midships next to the pool and one forward of that. The forward section has a stunning view facing forward from the 11th deck. One deck above the bridge. This is a place you want to be. For some unannounced reason, the forward section of the Windjammer was closed and roped off except for a few hours at breakfast. One of the nicest places to be and one of the most spectacular dining views of the fleet gets blocked off for most of the day. My conjecture is that the boat was not full so they just blocked it off as not needed. Boo! Hiss! It’s one of my favorite places to be on sea days. Also, Sorrento’s. That’s just bad pizza. I sort of understand that, because if the pizza is waaayyy too good, then it gets crazy expensive for RC and nobody eats anything else and everything else suffers. But this needs to be better. CONJECTURE AGAIN: The boat seemed not to be full (they do not announce occupancy figures) and this is the boat that they kept around for the Cuba run, which has since been cancelled. It may be that Majesty of the Seas is now an extra ship in the fleet and RCCL is not treating it well. /CONJECTURE FINISHED. The staff, as always, was fantastic – top to bottom.
  16. At this point, anywhere I wear a lanyard. There is just enough weight in that card to swing it into very strange places. Handrails and bannisters, for some reason, can be an issue for me. At work, I have had issues with the lanyard getting caught up in computer cabling. Nasty, if no release. A couple of head-snapping, where-do you-think-you-are-going incidents that were saved from being worse by the release. Ladder + cabling + needing ID card out at all time = releasing lanyard. But I digress.
  17. Long-time lanyard-wearer for work. Please, please, please get a lanyard that releases from the back of the neck when enough tension is applied. Choke / entanglement issues. Trust me. Same reason that cats should always have a releasing collar. Wouldn't cruise without one. Found ours at the port (Port Canaveral) after check-in and before the boat. Georgia Tech, to be exact. Wife's Alma Mater. Tom
  18. An alternative airport for Port Canaveral could be MLB (Melbourne). Smaller regional airport, with all the advantages and disadvantages that brings. ~28 miles from the Port, similar travel time as MCO if no traffic on either route. Pretty drive up right up the coast past Patrick AFB (very pretty, actually) through Coco Beach. Much better that the BeeLine expressway.
  19. Very much like us. They won your heart for the cost of a tortilla and cheese.
  20. +1 on Indian food. On Majesty of the Seas, they had some very good Indian food all the time in the Windjammer, if you knew where to look. We casually mentioned how we were enjoying that Indian food to our head waiter in the MDR the first night and every night he provided an Indian dish in addition to the regular menu items. It was awesome. Boy, did we look forward to the MDR. We would have gladly traded out one of the listed entrees for the Indian dish, but he insisted that it be additional, not replacement. We noticed that there were several chefs and cuisine managers from the Indian subcontinent listed in the WJ. For the cost of a few plates of food, Royal locked us in as customers for the foreseeable future. Cheap customer retention costs for them. Good food for us. That works.
  21. Fluffy? I would love to bring Gabriel Iglesias on a cruise anytime. Martine? Not so much. (crowd chants) Fluff-y. Fluff-y. Fluff-y.
  22. OP here: My term "forced" is more about those that wish to drink are pushed towards the drink package, not that it is a requirement for sailing. Though I bet there are cruises somewhere that would require a drink package for everyone. I guess you could say that the "everyone in the cabin" rule is sorta kinda maybe a truly forced requirement. Heck, as a non-drinker, I know that those heavy $$$ drink packages are a tax on drinkers and a subsidy for me. An open bar is actually a tax on me, as I would probably have to pay a bit more than normal, and a subsidy for the drinkers. That's life. Same is true with the casino. If you don't use it, it's a subsidy as the price of the cruise would be higher without it being present.
  23. Thanks for the reply. It was my impression also that these were booze cruises with the addition of the banner ad you mentioned.
  24. We are non-drinking cruisers in our 60's. We have a question about having open bars vs forcing people into drink packages. Does having an open bar change the nature of the ship, for better or worse, in comparison to forcing people into big ticket drink packages where they think that they have to drink a lot to get their money's worth? Does either plan change the nature of the cruise? We might be interested in a Cuba itinerary on NCL (just because of convenience to embarkation port.) All of their Cuba trips are open bar vs drink package. We are quite wary of the open bar, but can understand that it might prevent some overindulging. We are looking for feedback either way, BTW, our non-drinking is just our choice. We understand that it can be an important aspect of certain cruisers expectations. By the same token, Carnival is not for us for this reason. Thanks. Posting here because we love RCI and that's what we are familiar with,. Tom
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