Morganno

On 6/21/2019 at 12:33 PM, WannaCruise said:

We tried Giovanni on Independence last year.  The food was very good but had similar issue with slowness.  DH complained to the manager and they brought us a bottle of wine to our stateroom the next day.  

Our food wasn't that bad that we needed to complain it's just one of these things like others have said perhaps he should have explained the set up of the restaurant better nice getting the bottle of wine though. I hope it made up for a disappointing meal?

On 6/21/2019 at 8:27 PM, Skid said:

 

We were at 150 Central Park on Symphony last month. It was one of the best restaurants we have been to on land or sea. Service and food were impeccable. You can see the menu and some pictures from from my live blog here Scroll about 1/3 of the way down page 5.

And halfway down page 4 has Wonderland.

Thanks for this really want to try 150. I'm going to book it for my wife's birthday. Will probably end up going for  the three meal package again as I want to try Sabor and Jamies as well  

On 6/14/2019 at 5:36 PM, Firefly said:

Another vote for Lava Flow with Kraken - yum!

I asked for this on Explorer several times but it just looked like a rum strawberry daquari. 

What's the difference. 

If you are staying in a boardwalk or park balcony he'll get the soda or royal refresh for free. 

But like others say just grab bottles from bars. We always had a supply in our room of 6-8 bottles so your son could just take them to be honest they buy the water probably at 0.20c per bottle if that. They rarely rang them up. 

We were on explorer of the seas 18-24 May from Southampton and bought the 3 meal package onboard. 

Our first was at Giovanni's.  The waiter was very energetic and eager to please but he didn't really explain how it worked very well. 

We were a group of 6 and we were chatting and looking at the menu while he was taking the orders. Some of us ordered anti-pasti some appetizers and some just wanted entrees.

However we didn't realise that all would be served separately and in order. So first out came 2 anti-pasties and nothing else then the appetizers then the entrees.

We entered at 6 and those that wanted the entrees weren't served until 7.45. 

Also some wanted the risotto as the main as they were vegeterians but it was obviously kept on the burner too long and was mush. 

None of our meals was particularly hot.

I wanted to complain but the person eating didn't want to make any fuss.

Anyway long story but can't recommend giovannis on the basis of the meal we had.

However Chops and Izumi were absolutely fantastic, food served hot and atmoshpere great especially Chops the ribeye was succulent and perfectly cooked. 

We are on Harmony this August and want to try again with the restaurants but not sure which ones to go for given our experiences on Explorer.

On 7/31/2018 at 7:05 AM, June May said:

I'd happily use MEI, but because I live outside US/Canada, I can't. 

For now, I book direct with RCCL. I do have a local travel agent I will use for a much larger trip I have planned. 

That's strange I live in Belgium and they were happy to quote me a couple of months ago for the group cruise next year. 

Also I know plenty of people on another board that use US TA all the time.

6 hours ago, Nikkoo said:

Hi,

I am not asking about cost. I know a beer is between $6.50 and $7.50 plus gratuity. 

Is it a pint from a tap? Schooner? 330ml bottle? 500ml can? Uk pint? US pint?

This is important to know when working out if a package is viable!

Thanks in advance

If you are trying to work out if the drinks package is viable then it's probably not. 

But don't go only on alcholic drinks.  You can have smoothies, premium coffees (talking illy espressos here not your regular starbucks), iced lattes, bottled water (handy for the room and excursions) and unlimited cocktails. You'll be amazed how quickly it adds up. 

The fosters (if you can stomach it) certainly give the best bang for your buck.

I like the corona when I'm not counting the $ and red stripe when I'm on a budget  

I didn't get the chance today with a heavywork load. Will try tomorrow and update.

Annoyed as I sent a mail last night to my TA and no reply. Be the first and last time with that TA.

On 6/11/2019 at 9:47 PM, JohnUK said:

Hi,

We will be flying from London Heathrow to San Juan via either JFK New York, Philadelphia or Miami or Toronto. We have done all of these in the past and prefer Miami (if we are not leaving the airport) as the flights tend to suit us better (a long international and a short local along with lower risk of impact from adverse weather in the winter season). In the past we have used Air Canada, Delta/Virgin, and BA/American. Our son used United but never again after his experience with them in San Juan.

I hope that answers your question. I cannot be more precise until we decide once airline schedules are available for 2021. 

Many thanks once again might also be looking for 2021 on this itinerary.

We booked HoS way back in Oct 2018 when it had the drinks package and paid 3972€ for 3 in an inside.

Now when I check I can get a deck 10 balcony for 3386€ however we are only 60 days out and I've paid the final balance.

I was wondering if I'll still be allowed to swap out the rooms.

I understand that I'll loose the drinks promo however I can always just buy it via the planner and the cost works out about the same give or take a few euro.

Any Europeans or knowledgeable persons know if RC will allow me to change rooms or do they only accept changes when the price increases ?

Thanks for any help, I will phone my TA tomorrow but she's not the best and I would like to already be informed.

On 4/1/2019 at 1:08 AM, JohnUK said:

Further to my last post (above), I continued to work with Stephanie of MEI to finalise a booking for 2021. In the event, I decided not to book the cruises on Anthem (the itineraries and dates were not quite what I wanted). Instead, Stephanie has booked B2B cruises on Freedom for me, sailing from San Juan in April of 2021.

For information, I have given the details of these bookings along with a US to UK price comparison. As before, I have used a conversion rate of £1 to $1.30 and the comparison is direct for a J4 Junior Suite, with no extras (such as WiFi or drinks packages) included in either case. 

Freedom of the Seas 2021
	US Price		UK Price		Difference
04/11/2021	£2,665.38		£4,070.78		-£1,405.40
04/18/2021	£2,505.36		£3,850.78		-£1,345.42
Total	£5,170.74		£7,921.56		-£2,750.82

MEI have now booked this for me, so it is definite. There are three observations to make, however.

1. The deposit required is higher than would have been the case in the UK; $250 per person for each cruise (total $1,000 approx. £770) as opposed to £150 per person with the 2 cruises together treated as a single booking (total £300).
2. Obviously, these bookings are not covered by ABTA (ABTA is the leading association of travel agents and tour operators in the UK, providing expert travel advice, guidance, protection and help in resolving travel complaints.)
3. Stephanie was able to place the Anthem and Freedom cruises on hold for 2 weeks whilst we tried to decide between the options. Our travel agent in the UK has not been able to guarantee placing reservations on hold for more than 24 hours in recent months.

Again, thanks to Stephanie at MEI for facilitating these bookings. I will track the impact of US and UK offers, price changes and currency fluctuations as time goes on, and report back.

Hi John, 

Thanks for this detailed post. 

How you planning to get to San Juan? 

cheer,

John