DublinFC

16 minutes ago, JennyB said:

We've gotten it in Windjammer in the mornings.  There has been someone freshly squeezing it somewhere along the buffet line. 

Ok, I was on NCL Escape and I never saw that.  I didn't ask either.  The juice from the machine was good enough so didn't question it. Thought I would ask the pros so I know where to look next time.

I have been looking around and I have not found the answer.  Where do I get the fresh squeezed juices?  Are the only in MDR or at the buffet? 

Just made a list to be saved for later experimentation from all of these suggestions!

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

Varies by ship and itinerary.  For Alaska and longer cruises like transatlantic there have been lectures available by naturalists, talks from officers about the ship or discussions about Central Park.  These are less common on Caribbean cruises.  

oh ok good to know.  I plan to keep an eye out to see if something like that is offered, but wont hold my breath.  I 100% plan to take advantage of the sushi workshop though!

This is a topic I am interested in as well.  Other than the cupcake, sushi, and jewelry making workshops what else is offered?  I have noticed some lectures.  What have past topics been?  I think its interesting these are offered on board.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

It will never be fleet wide. 

The cost to replace all door locks and add the technology to communicate them would be significant.  Royal is spending hundreds of millions on the Royal Amplification program and not putting new locks on every cabin door on those ships.  Adding RFID readers for a Wow band but still requiring magnetic SeaPass card to unlock the cabin door is pointless.  

I'm fine with that and would much rather they continue to do what they did on Navigator over diverting money away from other ship upgrades just so I can wear a Wow band.

 

I see what ya mean and I get it.  more fun factor over convenience will most likely win out every time.  RC adding the slides to ships and having more to do is probably going to bring in more customers over a wrist band.

Also, I hope your crystal ball is right.  I'd still like that little convenience :)

10 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

You can transfer it to a travel agent within 60 days of booking if you don't have a TA on file with them already. 

Good to know, I will keep that in mind.  Thank you.

1 minute ago, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

You could just get her the refreshment package and pay for the alcohol when she wants one 

thats true too, they are not that expensive when its just a few here and there.

Just now, Hoski said:

Does your wife drink specialty coffees, bottled water, soda and an occasional drink?  Consider all of those when figuring if the cost is worth it.

No to all of those except bottled water and the very occasional drink.  Thats why i was thinking of the drink card for her would be more economical.  But, being on vacation could be a totally different situation.  The drinking won't increase too much, but the specialty coffee would probably tempt her.  Something to think about for sure.

Ive never had a Johnny Rockets milkshake and I plan to have a few while on my cruise.  If they are indeed included with the drink packages I am gonna have like 1 a day!  hahaha!  Required to buy something to get the shake on the drink package might limit my milkshake intake though

@tiny260 @Matt @Todd W Thanks for the clarification.  Im used to being my own advocate and doing the research myself.  We used a TA for a land and sea package for DCL and they only thing I felt they helped us with was the flights down to Orlando, she found a great deal and saved me around $500 on the flights. Again I am not against using a TA for the next sailing, but wanted some extra info.  The comparison to the lawyer makes sense.  

All this leads me to the next cruise office on the ship.  They offer perks/bonuses for agreeing to another cruise while on board from my understanding.  Can I sign up with a TA there or is it all through RC?  Again, newbie over here wanting to be more informed so thank you in advance.  I do really appreciate it.

Ok, so I have heard Matt talk about it on the podcast.  But, why use a travel agent?  I mostly hear about the checking of several cruises and pricing them all.  I personally don't mind the legwork.  I plan out all our vacations, I enjoy the legwork/research actually.  So what other benefit comes with a seasoned TA?  I am open to using one for the next time we book.

2 minutes ago, amathey11 said:

Wow. That's horrible. I've been on carnival, DCL, and RC and experience great service with all of them. 

 

Like I said, I personally don't believe the people I'm interacting with on that ship daily see any of that money whatsoever. They're usually paid way below minimum wage and spend months and months away from home. They least I can do is give them a few extra bucks for their service.

That's just my philosophy though. 

I understand your point 100%.  My wife had a manicure on NCL and was shocked when the lady told her that she doesn't take that much time off when she is allowed to.  "If I am not working, I am not getting paid".  The tips are how they make their money and I get it.  I just wont pay extra for "normal" service.  I had a waiter that went out of his way to take care of my wife and I on the Escape and I slipped him some extra cash after I had signed the bill.  He found out it was our honeymoon sailing, we didn't tell him, and brought out some campaign and a cake for the two of us.  That was on top of the already wonderful and timely service already received.  So definitely not against it, just needs to be earned that's all :) 

I personally feel the prepaid gratuities have been sufficient.   I have yet to experience over the top service that would warrant an extra tip.  Maybe I will notice the difference with RC.  When I was with DCL the room steward actually asked us to leave so they could do up the room.  We were in the room watching a movie enjoying some family time.  I figure they were having a bad day, but really???  I only have 2 cruises so far :( hoping to have many more to come.  So maybe I will have a more seasoned perspective in the future.

21 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

I do not know personally... I believe only Quantum class plus Harmony & Symphony offer the use of the WOW bands.

Hopefully someone with more recent knowledge can chime in... not that it would impact my decision of which ship to sail, but it would be nice to know the complete list as of now...

right, wont influence which ship to sail at all.  Just would be nice fleet wide

On ‎3‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 7:48 AM, JohnK6404 said:

I would love to see RC expand these bands to at least all Quantum and Oasis class ships and newly amped ships.

I love the way these bands work at Disney World!

is there any indication the wow bands are going to be added to the Oasis class ships?  I don't want to deal with the seapass card while at the pool while in swim trunks.  I found that to be a nuisance while on NCL.  Is there a suggestion as to a holder that can go on my arm while swimming or something?  This is not a "will ruin vacation" kind of thing, just easier to deal with.

I used the Disney band while at the parks and it was so convenient to have.  Fingers crossed!

5 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

It is offered at FLL, Port Everglades mentioned above is the name of the cruise port. The only catch is that there are specific time frames involved.

ugh duh me!  Thanks for clarifying my mistake I appreciate it!

I used my time dining on NCL, traditional time with DCL.  I think the traditional time worked better.  Maybe it was just NCL, but main dining wasn't as great as it was with DCL, but I liked the specialty restaurants with NCL better than DCL.  I felt the my time was slow, food came out closer to warm than hot.  Getting our drinks too forever as well.  We are setting for traditional with RC, hoping for a better experience. 

Sounds like a great service.  We are sailing from FLL hopefully it comes there by the time we cruise.  The luggage claim at the end of a cruise is pretty hectic, not dealing with it would be wonderful. 

11 hours ago, Buckyfan said:

Completely cruise dependent. I was on Oasis in November and they didn’t have them available, a few sailings later they did. Many people have reported good luck calling and being able to purchase a drink package for just one person in the room. 

This would be great if we can purchase just the one deluxe drink package.  I will get a great benefit from it , but my wife would benefit more from the drink card as she wouldn't use the package like I will.  I know that might sound like I will be stumbling around the ship all week, but I would use it through out the day when I had the urge for a cold one.  My wife would use it more after dinner.  So hopefully when we said on the Oasis we can work this out and save some money. 

9 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

This strikes me as the type of question where they will have to officially say no if asked in advance by phone, forum, or email so people don't find a way to abuse the system.  However, if asked on the ship during the cruise, they may bend the rules and let you do it.

Good point about the official answer.  I guess I can check it out on the ship or just win some brownie points and buy a meal package for my mother in law as well.

1 hour ago, CGTLH said:

Case of the Oasis class I don't think Playmakers will have a huge impact to the Pub. They are in two completely different locations. Over Thanksgiving I saw Playmakers shutting down well before the Pub. Once or twice I wanted to do a snack run 30 mins before they closed per the Compass only to find it already closed. TVs outside were on but the bar had been already shutdown and locked up.

Now during game time they did some smart things by having those rolling cooler carts setup outside.

Now with the Voyage class setup with two bars setup right across from each other. I'm sure that impact is huge.

Having more options is always a good thing.  I am hoping to have a drink in every bar/pub available.  Then decide where my watering hole is going to be for the last couple days on board

I was wondering something a little different when it comes to splitting meals.  Would I be able to gift a specialty dining night from a 3 night pack to someone?  My wife and I are planning to buy a 3 specialty dinning package, but I was wondering if I can give one of my nights to my mother in law so she and my wife can have a nice meal together while my daughter and I go "slum" it in the main dining

@Jedi Jason I would melt if I lived in Florida, I am here in Ohio and I love winter.  I am often called crazy, but i don't mind.  However, if I lived closer to a cruise port I would take the 3 and 4 night cruises as well.  I can imagine they are nice getaways to sooth the soul.  My first cruise was a 4 day DCL adventure that left me wanting more.  My wife and I agree if we are taking a cruise we are going for 7 days minimum.  Even then I was still thinking more time would be preferred. 

3 hours ago, Jedi Jason said:

Welcome @DublinFC I hope you have a great time on your cruise.  I think you will really be wowed by Oasis and find that Royal offers a great value for everything you get including the service and amenities on the ships.  Maybe you will find yourself cruising every year instead of every couple of years after your cruise.

 

@Jedi Jason I would prefer to cruise every year, but I also vacation to Ireland often to visit family so I think splitting time between the two is what is most likely going to happen.  However, I have been using the current available sailings to gauge what might be available for us in 2021 and 2022.  I know changes are made on routes, especially with the next Oasis ships coming out, but I figure it doesn't hurt to look.