WAAAYTOOO

I think this whole “rule” about requiring an on-board booking or lose your bonus is ass-lame. A couple of cruises ago, I was told by the casino host that I had only been awarded a $$$ off certificate, which I always throw directly into the sh*t can…so I booked nothing. Come to find out, later, they upgraded my certificate to a comp cruise. B/c I didn’t book while onboard, I lost the bonus. Now, granted….it wasn’t much. But the rules just seem to be so fluid. You never really know what you’re working with until the last damn minute of the cruise….a time that is pure pandemonium in the casino. And, OBTW, I don’t trust them to properly and accurately report my points earned, either….but I also am loathe to get into that ungodly line waiting to talk to the host/ess on the last night. As long as I continue to obtain Prime, I’m good.

Ruh roh….

Mario on Grandeur ? Really ?

Just thought I would pop in and relate our experience this morning, boarding Explorer. Absolutely no problem entering the terminal (G) via the Suite/Pinnacle line, with our SSP that was not marked with “Suite”. Either they didn’t look, didn’t care, or were already familiar with the issue of the missing Suite marking. Very smooth arrival and boarding. In other news, I received all of my Loyalty Cokes and water. Hallefreakinlujah ! I wasn’t sure I would score the Cokes given recent announced changes. I know this only b/c I crashed through the closed hallway door (yes, I was THAT guy today) and went to my room in search of Sea Passes as we could not get into the D Lounge at first. RATS ! I was outsmarted (not that hard to do, BTW) as the Sea Passes weren’t yet on our room door so I returned to the D Lounge empty-handed only to find that, had I possessed even an ounce of patience, someone would have let us in from inside. Dan was already inside, waiting for me with a self righteous look on his face. He didn’t dare say a word but I knew what he was thinking. The sign on the closed hallway door (cough, cough) said that the rooms would be ready at 2:00. That’s about 50 minutes from now. Soon I will find out if JS fall into the Suites exclusion of once-a-day room servicing. In other, other news, Explorer D Lounge got a new, kick-ass coffee machine while in dry dock. Woohoo ! The D Concierge and attendant are currently receiving a tutorial on its operations/maintenance from a 12 year old vendor tech. He might be 16. Everyone looks young when you get to be my age.

This is excellent advice. Through trial and error we found that they actually start seating the 6:45 MTD guests about 6:30….so getting there early is a great idea. Once they start seating the 6:45 MTD guests the line moves quickly.

I had the exact same kind of device and they confiscated it on OA in Feb. It just depends on who is working security that day....

But they cruise a lot of short “cruises to nowhere” out of Singapore, don’t they ?

The only advice I can add....pace yourself and don't let them fill you up with the lower quality meats, which are served early in the meal. They save the best (picanha) cut for last. I am not a huge red meat eater to begin with, but by the time I got to the picanha, I was totally stuffed....which I'm sure is their design. I will say though....that I had only heard the term "melt in your mouth" but never experienced it....until I had that picanha. It literally melted in my mouth. I didn't eat much, but what I had was really good. The presentation has changed remarkably since the beginning. We sailed on Allure's second ever sailing...and back then, they covered the tables and chairs to make them elegant and there was live entertainment during the meal. They had Carnivale dancers and live music. That is all gone now. Bare tables and chairs and more of a buffet atmosphere except for the tableside delivery of the various grilled meats. It was much more fun back in "the day" but at least it's something different. I still enjoyed it, many years later, but it wasn't the same...

I love Smitha's color-coded itin. Very nice ! Looks like you're going to be VERY busy. LOL

Jerry, you will be fine with a 2:45 PM departure. I think that is a perfect departure time. The shuttles are very efficient, IMO. You won't have to wait very long for the bus to leave. Being the worrier that I am, I would much rather get off the ship early and get to the airport and then worry about how long I have to wait around. If it's me, I AM going to self-assist and get off the ship as early as possible and catch one of the earliest busses, but I don't think that's entirely necessary.

Is this Disney ship going to have a casino ? Their others do not, yes ?

I think the Chops sides are pretty crappy to start with. If they are only serving French fries now (for the Key lunch) that’s pretty awful.

Embarkation lunch is how I got completely hooked on the UDP many years ago. It felt so decadent to eat a steak in Chops while everyone else was dodging elbows and slinging food at each other in the WJ. It is probably the only thing I miss about NOT doing the UDP anymore. I guess we could use one of our D+ BOGO....

I've been thinking this but didn't have the nerve to write it. Good for you

Yep. Confirmed on the TA website. Nothing for Freedom is available to book for that 7-week period.