Pima1988

I need to place a caveat.

I think it also comes down to how port intensive the cruise is.  If you are at port everyday, than you will have to buy drinks in port.

I calculate using what I drink daily at home and than adding in a couple of cocktails because I am on vacation.  Everyday before work I get my Iced coffee, which runs me @3.50.    This is of course after having a coffee at home, I am a coffee snob....French roast, which means no for me at the WJ or MDR.  Now I am 2 specialty coffees.  7 bucks at least.  During the day I will drink at least 3 18 oz  water bottles, and go to bed with a 12 oz water bottle.  So now I am at least 30 bucks.  ( I try to drink 64 oz of water a day).  I will drink at least 1 soda per day.  I am at 33.  On a cruise or any time I go on vacation or out to dinner I will splurge and I will drink a glass of wine and have an amaretto side with my cappuccino at dinner.  Those 3 items will now tally another 20+ bucks.  Thus, I am at 53 without rationalizing, or playing catch up.  Yes, I could get water from the tap for free, and make my own iced coffee, but I am on a vacation and want to relax.  I would rather pay it up front.

My hubby as a different view and why he always buys the package.  This is a guy that rarely drinks.  I mean that....he drinks red wine and I now have many bottles that are expensive vinegars since he never finishes a bottle, weeks left open.  His view is he likes to play the catch up game.  He sees it as the time to order drinks he would never try....don't like it, than toss it.  Lava Flow is his favorite.  

LMAO.  We recently went on a land vacation and pulled out our luggage, lo and behold in one of the compartments I found our SeaPass from our Anthem cruise.  

I drink quite a few alcoholic drinks too, and everytime I order a drink I order a bottle of water too.  So for me,  even if I only drink 2 mixed drinks, add in the water bottles and I am at 30 bucks.  I get iced coffee, at least 2 per day in the a.m.  That puts me at 40.  I get a cappuccino after dinner with an amaretto shot.  I am 50+ per day, and that is only 2 alcohol beverages.  The Johnny Rockets milkshakes are new, and I intend to take full use of it instead of waiting in line for an ice cream cone.

3 sodas, 2 bottles of water 2 Iced coffees or cappuccinos and 2 glasses of wine and you have paid it back for the day.  I would buy it.

I am going to have to remember to make sure that on the Asian night I let my stomach rule...nothing is better to me than leftover Chinese food after a few too many drinks!   In essence, since we do late dinner seating I am not going to do my usual WJ hit, instead I will do a plate of Chinese to place in the cooler.  Plus, it looks like last night was desserts in a cup.  One of my favorites.

You also can just place the deposit and when you get the card pay the balance using that card.  Additionally, I don't know if the RCL card does balance transfers, but if they do than you can transfer it and get the points that way.

We also use a TA and they did exactly what Skid stated.

I would go Harmony.  Symphony maybe a great ship, but I live within a budget and bc it is spanking new it comes with a higher price.  Thus, I would rather spend that extra money on a cabana at Coco Cay and have an outside balcony on Harmony than just an outside view on Symphony and no cabana.  Caveat not saying that is the price difference, but hopefully you get what I mean.

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the main dining room experience. To me, it's not only a classic part of cruising, it is a staple of our cruise and we are in the MDR more often than specialty.

I enjoy specialty dining, and it certainly does get a fair share of attention because it's different and there's far more interest in those restaurants by readers/listeners than the MDR which rarely changes.  

I'd just hate to have you write off the MDR completely. I think it's still a lot of fun to dine there and I generally enjoy the food...especially that spaghetti bolognese (am I right @Lovetocruise2002)!

We are Italian foodies.  We make our own homemade pasta, including tortellini and call spaghetti sauce...gravy.   I would never consider ordering their spaghetti Bolognese, but I would say that their risotto is definitely worth ordering.  On our July cruise I am going to try their gnocchi.

DRLPP I usually ask for crème brulee to go from the MDR

9 hours ago, jticarruthers said:

Sounds like late MDR is a lot like what I miss about early MDR, no way I am waiting that late to eat though so not really an option for me unfortunately.

 

As I stated in an earlier post we do late seating. We always book a balcony.  We hit the bar for cocktails @5:30 and go to Windjammers and make a plate of shrimp, veggies, deli meats, cheeses, olives, bread, etc to take to our room.  We sit on the balcony and watch the sunset while we eat and drink what we brought back to our room.  It satisfies our stomach and holds us over to the 8 pm dinner. The trick is to look at WJ as an early appetizer and not let your stomach scream take everything!  We leave the plates on the table in the room and VOILA it is gone when we come back at the end of the night.  I will admit that I usually bring a little bit more and place it in the mini-fridge aka cooler.  I would rather have a sandwich that I pick and choose the meats/cheeses than ones they off late at night.  I also will bring back the desserts in a cup, or their key lime pie to snack on late at night instead of the cookie option.  

We did late seating MDR on Anthem and had the most fabulous time.  The restaurant on a whole was empty.  We walked straight in to our table.  Our waitstaff knew us so well by the 3rd night they knew we were coming, what our likes and dislikes for all 10 of us, including which beverage package we had, and what beverage we typically ordered.  I will say I was impressed...I drink chardonnay with dinner, hubby drinks jack and coke, brother and cousin drank beer, sister in law and cousin drank red wines, one drank sparkling water only, another was soda, etc.  Within minutes our drinks were at the table.    The waitstaff knew our food likes too.  They would bring even more food just for us to taste because they thought we may like it.  They knew I love crème brulee but was always too full to eat it, so they would pack it up for me to take back to the room.  We requested savory bites the 1st night and they were there every night afterwards.  Needless to say they got a very nice tip from 5 couples on the last night.  

Maybe, my experience was different because we did the 8 pm seating.  I will also say that although MTD is great, I won't do it anymore, especially on a larger ship.  Look at Anthem.  They have 4 MDR restaurants 2 set times and 2 MTD restaurants.  Many want the MTD and this is where impo they get frustrated with the MDR.  I saw this when we did MTD at 6:15, a peak dinner time on one of our cruises.  They are trying to flip the tables and get backlogged bc some just want to hang a little longer before the 7 pm show. which meant we had to wait for 15 more minutes.  The Set dinner times are set.  The early seating even if they lag won't be there for 2+ hrs. because they want to be at the early show.  The late diners can lag, but they want to make sure they can make the Quest, Love and Marriage, late night comedian.

I am getting concerned that it won't be done for my mid-July cruise.  Our big splurge and something we are really looking forward to is the cabana (Chill Island)

I have never paid for the starbucks on board.  I get iced coffee everyday and just show my seapass card.  We always get the deluxe

Just now, Pima1988 said:

OBTW, I will say that I was born, raised in NJ.  I started  wearing shorts in AK in late April. I had issues with sleep in the summer.  June until end of July it is daylight 20+ hrs a day.  This would be the one cruise I would opt for interior.  Set your phone as an alarm clock  JMPO, go to the WJ and have breakfast.   Spend the money on the excursions.   You will feel chilly with the wind of the ship and the temp of the water compared to a Caribbean cruise.    Hence, if you have a balcony and sailing in July. the sun will not set until 3,4, 5 a.m. In July the sun will rise 1 hr later.

My husband was stationed there.  The wives would do a white water rafting trip every summer solstice.  1 yr I said when we returned, @ 3:30 please, I just want to go to sleep before the sun rises.  Their response was it set and rised while we were talking.   That is June and July in AK.   Midnight is dusk in June.  

OBTW, I will say that I was born, raised in NJ.  I started  wearing shorts in AK in late April. I had issues with sleep in the summer.  June until end of July it is daylight 20+ hrs a day.  This would be the one cruise I would opt for interior.  Set your phone as an alarm clock  JMPO, go to the WJ and have breakfast.   Spend the money on the excursions.   You will feel chilly with the wind of the ship and the temp of the water compared to a Caribbean cruise.    Hence, if you have a balcony and sailing in July. the sun will not set until 3,4, 5 a.m.

My husband was stationed there.  The wives would do a white water rafting trip every summer solstice.  1 yr I said when we returned, @ 3:30 please, I just want to go to sleep before the sun rises.  Their response was it set and rised while we were talking.   That is June and July in AK.   Midnight is dusk in June.  

I lived in AK for almost 4 yrs right outside of AK.  I do believe the ship does not matter, but I would say the time of the year matters just as much, and maybe more if the itenary s port intensive.  In Anchorage we call May the SPIT month.  It basically does not rain, but it is not unusual for it to spit...mist, light showers all day.  Plus, a TON of big arse mosquitos.  By early June the mosquitos and spit is gone.  June and July are the best months. I would book 3rd week of June prior to summer solstice.  Believe it or not Denali is warm, than again I lived in AK for yrs.  If it is sunny, you can expect a dry air 80 degrees.  August, you are getting back into iffy weather.  Still slightly warm during the days, but chilly at night.  Depending on how cold August gets you might see more bears and moose....going into hibernation.  I would say that no matter when you go, if you dock in Anchorage, you need to book Simon and Seaforts.  It is an amazing restaurant (pricey), but the service, the ambience and if you can get a window table it is worth the cost.  Try the prime rib and the crab/artichoke dip.   I would stay at the Hilton over Captain Cook Hotel.  You can easily walk to Simon and Seaforts.  The Hilton has an amazing roof top restaurant/bar when we lived there.  They are north of Captain Cook.  

If you are in Anchorage I would suggest Eagle River Rafting.  http://rafting.allaboutrivers.com/Alaska_river_rafting/Eagle_River_(AK)_rafting-riv265.html 

We lived in Eagle River.  It is about 25 mins from Anchorage.  It is a mild ride, but still a lot of fun.

I would also suggest that if you are staying in Anchorage to contact Simon and Seaforts and book asap if you want a window over looking the bay.  I cannot tell you how amazing this restaurant is regarding food and service. 

Not me that is for sure.  I can't imagine spending that.  I give KLA points for getting the chill island cabana at 247.  I thought getting mine at 449 was a bargain and for me too that was our splurge.  I can only see doing it under 3 situations.  1 I am going on my honeymoon/anniversary/special education.  2. I am going with 3 other couples and could get it under 1K (250 a couple).  3. I have won the lottery.

I would rather take money and put it down for another cruise or a heck a long weekend land vacation where they offer that option with your room.  My friend went to Jamaica on her honeymoon (2nd marriage).  Their room had an over water balcony attached to their regular outdoor sunbathing area.  

Off topic, kind of, but tied into KJ1231's excursion posts.

I know that typically going through RCCL for excursions is more expensive than booking on your own.  However, I am a "what if" kind of traveler, hence, why we also get traveler's insurance.   Yes, it stinks to lose a port, but it would be worse to lose the money for an excursion if you did not read the fine print for the company you are using for the excursion.  Going with RCCL would mean you automatically get refunded since they were not able to make it to the port.

I agree with JL, I think this is really for the China sailings.  That market is very unique to any of their other markets, especially from gambling and smoking aspects.  My bet is that the company adjusts accordingly to each specific market.  I would think that like you, most U.S. sailings, including AK, will be filled with mostly American and Canadians, which may mean that RCCL would hear bloody murder from those passengers.  I say that bc loyal Royal customers are accustom the Solarium to have that adults only pool.   I would be more upset regarding the fact that I couldn't use the pool, over the bistro. 

Do not get me wrong, I enjoy the outside pools too, and when we go on the Adventure in the spring, we only took an outside balcony, I plan to use the Solarium quite often.  I have seen pics showing that it is not totally covered, or maybe all of the pics show the pool with the roof retracted, but that will be go to pool.  I plan to do this because, my pet peeve on cruises with the outdoor pools is I enjoy the hot tubs/jacuzzi more than the pool itself.  However, regardless of signage regarding age requirements and parental supervision, inevitably there will be a couple of kids under 10 that will jump in without parental supervision, splash each other, sit on the bottom holding their breath, etc., and get out a few minutes later.  Repeat with a new set of young kids a few minutes later.  It is not relaxing.  Instead of me getting angry at the kids or contacting the life guard to report them to their parents,  I opt for the Solarium.

I know on certain ships the Solarium bistro, such as Anthem, that you can access the bistro without going through the Solarium per se.  You can go through the Solarium pool area too, but there are doors for entry without entering the pool. 

On the Anthem I was told it is Seattle's Best (SBC), but the blend is made especially for RCCL and not sold to local grocers.  That being said, I would guess the blend is not just for RCCL, but any hospitality company that uses SBC in their hotels, restaurants, etc.  

I personally never make coffee in any room we stay in, be it on land or at sea vacations.  I don't know if it is the water in the room,, or that the coffee makers are not cleaned frequently leaving a bitter taste impo.  

9 hours ago, whenismynextcruise said:

The Port of Nassau is tired, run down filthy and not very appealing at all unless you are going on a sanctioned excursion to places like Atlantis or Pearl lsand. I agree that any tourist in any city should be wise in how they explore a new city but when the cruise line is adding an additional warning to its passengers attention should be paid.

Nassau is very convenient for cruise ships clearly. I am sure many ships register in the Bahamas as well but I would much rather have an extra day playing at Coco Cay or at sea or even throw in a day trip to Key West than waste a full day stopping at a port that I won't bother leaving the ship for.

As long as there is a continuing stream of new passengers with new adventures on their mind I doubt that Royal would consider an itinerary change though.  

The cinic in me wonders if a letter like this is an intentional statement of the obvious but will push some passengers toward paid for excursions.

I agree.  I would add the cynic in me sees it differently though.  I think this more about showing who owns the cards when it comes to the Bahamas and cruise lines.  If memory serves me correctly only a few months ago the Bahama's govt came out and upped the cost of the ports, basically insinuating that the cruises are taking advantage of the low cost and they are not reaping enough in revenue for the amount of people that come on land when at port.  By leaving this letter in every cabin,  many that did not have an excursion will stay on the ship instead of just walking around Nassau and maybe buying some trinkets.  In essence, it is a win win for RCCL.  If they stay on the ship, many may spend money at the spa, at bingo or buy a drink or two  to lounge at the pool, ($$$ if they don't have the DBP), maybe even have lunch at a specialty restaurant,  more money in the RCCL pocket.  WIN #1.  

WIN #2 is the fewer that get off due to fear from this letter, the Bahamain govt gets to see even less revenue, and that by rising the costs to port in Nassau they lost money bc now we played the fear card with our passengers that had no excursions, but intended to just walk around just by placing this letter in every stateroom.  They never said don't get off, just insinuated you may want to be weary of getting off.  

~ I have seen this in my life.  My DH served in the AF during the 90's when they were closing military bases left and right.  The mayor of the town where the base was located went to the Base Commander and told him they were going to tell the Congressman and Senators they would like the base to close because in their eyes, they only brought noise to the town (airplanes), and nothing else.  Every base has a bank on the base.  The Commander ordered that bank to only give every airmen $2 bills if they were getting cash that payday weekend.  On Monday the mayor called the Commander and said I give.  The town had been flooded with $2 bills everywhere.  He saw and heard from business, including the banks in town why on earth are we getting all of these $2 bills?  He saw that the AF base with the noise of airplanes taking off equated to pumping in a lot of money into that town.   Hence, why I see RCCL doing that letter.  It is to illustrate to the govt that you don't realize how much money our passengers spend on shore.

I also bet that RCCL is not the only cruise line placing these letters in the staterooms.  On the day we arrived in Nassau, Carnival,, NCL and Disney all arrived in port that day.  I bet those cruise lines too placed a letter like in RCCL.  Old adage the enemy of my enemy is my friend.  Hence, all cruise lines will band together to prove a point to the govt in Bahamas.

Sorry, but I have to go with the wedge salad and the lamb shank.  I  like Caesar salad, but the wedge is so much better.  On the Anthem last year I asked for this on the 1st night in the MDR (it was not on the menu).  By the end of the cruise our waiter immediately would ask me if I wanted the wedge salad.  They do offer it 1 night in the MDR, I believe it is formal night.  

The lamb shank is so tender and flavorful.  If you like lamb, you will love their lamb shank.  If you have never eaten lamb, this is a dish you should try to see if you like lamb.  Worse case scenario you don't like it, than request another dish that you know you will like.  That is the beauty of dining on RCCL, they have no problem bringing out another dish if you were unhappy with your original order.

Adventure typically repositions to Florida in October.  She is not a cold weather ship like Anthem is.

We always do the Deluxe Drink Package.  

We got it for 47 a day per person which about killed me.  The non-alcohol was 18.  

Here is the thing, how much alcohol will you drink?   In essence it means @ 3-4 drinks to break even.  We had no problem breaking even.  1  or 2 cocktails in the day by the pool. (@18 bucks for 2) on sea days.  1 glass of wine at dinner (8 -9 bucks) a cocktail during Quest or Love and Marriage, (8-9 bucks)  Basically if you take the non-alcohol at 19, add 34 for just  on board you might as well go DBP.

Flip side...we have done just the soda package too.  If your cruise is port intensive, than I probably would not buy the DBP, just bring cash to spend in town.  We have the DBP on our next cruise because we will be at sea for 3 of the 9 days.   

We are going as a family group of  8 from NJ,  connecting rooms.  I am pretty sure I will need a cocktail during the day.  A glass of wine to get ready for the dinner, a glass to make it through dinner and some type of shot during the show.  This will be followed with a bottle of H2O from the bar to enjoy on the balcony.  

OH I also didn't add in getting Johnny Rockets milkshakes too.  Sorry, but the beverage package (non alcohol) is worth the cost if it means not standing  in line for the ice cream.