WAAAYTOOO

Yes, I am happy that Jamie’s isn’t going on Allure. The only thing that would make me happier would be to hear that they are putting Portofinos back in. 😉. Of course I already know that it will be Giovanni’s with an expanded wine bar. Not a wine drinker but I think this sounds like a good design. Getting rid of Vintages which is nearly always empty.

I wish I could remember what was served...I just remember that it was a set menu from Portofino's (the Italian restaurant of the day). I do recall that the meal was ok but not great. The show, however, was a hoot.

This is our experience as well. Only on NAV have we been denied eating lunch in Chops on embarkation day. We were allowed to eat at Jamie's (not a fan but it was better than the WJ !). I hope that NAV is the only one who has banned the UDP people from Chops on embarkation day. Will know soon. Heading to LIB at the end of August. We will always ask for Chops first and settle for whatever they offer.

Unpacking and getting the muster drill behind you. THEN your cruise is really ready to start !

I guess it's something that they are considering...and getting opinions is the step in the process where they are, at the moment.

I am guessing here....but I suspect that each ship (and perhaps even, each division within the ship itself) is probably an independent cost center. If that is the case, they have the flexibility to implement revenue programs in whatever way they will benefit the ship (or division) most positively. That is the only explanation that makes any sense. As independent cost centers, they will not only benefit from higher net revenue, but also be negatively impacted for lower net revenue. This also allows for innovation. With flexibility to implement these policies "creatively", they can find out how the policies best benefit the cruise line and what works the best.

Perhaps. It makes sense that they would since they have apparently abandoned the concept of limiting the number that they sell for each cruise.

Yes, I thought I read that one of the ships was offering Chops on embarkation for Suites which I find a little difficult to believe since that venue is almost exclusively used for the Key on embarkation days, these days. The MDR would make more sense.

I think that 1718 is the one that looks out over the back of the ship. While the view might not be everyone's first choice, the balcony on that suite is WAAAY bigger than the one that looks out over the side. We had the side-view one on Allure (same room as John and Jaye) but on our December 2020 cruise we chose the one that looks over the back on Oasis just to experience the difference. Another nice thing about the one that looks out over the ocean (on the side) is that the bedroom and the balcony are in line....meaning that you can lie in bed and look out over the ocean. In the one that looks out over the back of the ship, the bedroom and the balcony are at 90 degrees to each other. It's not a huge deal...just a difference. For the life of me I cannot remember what the downstairs bathroom was like on the SL on Allure !! We never used it except to use the toilet when we were downstairs. I believe it is just a shower though....but I think it was a nice walk-in shower. To be completely honest, the bathrooms in the Star Class rooms (that I have been in, that is) are the single area that does NOT WOW. The bathrooms are nice but they are nothing special. We have the Grand Panoramic Suite on Oasis in December. I have never been in one so I have no idea what the bathroom(s) is like on that one.

This is a sound approach. I couldn't agree more with the idea that if you cannot get it at a discount you would have been better off just paying for the upgrade yourself, originally. I also agree that it is hard to pass up Star Class once you have done it. There is a WORLD of difference between a Crown Loft and a Star Loft. Not just the size of the suite but what all comes with it. The Star Class accommodations on Symphony are VERY pricey. If you can manage to get an upgrade for a discount, I would say, go for it. Nothing lost if it doesn't materialize.

Does Majesty have an exclusive breakfast for Suites ? I have no idea. Never been on Majesty. If so, that's a nice perk for a full suite. I think I would bid to upgrade if I could get an exclusive breakfast location and the ability to get complimentary room service from the MDR menu. I would assume that they also offer a reserved seating area in the theater if the shows are important to you.

Carlington and Frances have been running the Diamond and Concierge lounges for a LONG time. They just switch back and forth. They are both excellent but I think Frances is just a notch better. Nothing wrong with Carlington though ! Interesting that they are doing lunch in the MDR for suites. Do they have a special menu or is it just an exclusive kind of thing ? I guess it beats the WJ !! We will be on Grandeur in October (12). I just booked it a week or so ago. We had some casino certs that we needed to use. I can't believe that we actually eeked another trip out this year. We are squeezing our vacation days so tight that they are screeching !

You can cut them if you want. We just fold them but either way works fine with the plastic sleeves.

Last year on LIB the ship’s water was definitely skunky on the first day but got better on subsequent days. We also had skunky water on Freedom in April. That water was skunky the whole trip. Thank goodness we had the UDP so just drank bottled water. The ships’ water is usually very good. Just had 2 recent bad experiences.

Yep, I did it this morning.

He’s a bot. He has no head

I am a former smoker and I am with ThyriC on this one. I just roll my eyes when I see people running through the casino with their shirts covering their whole face and gesturing wildly, as if that’s going to help. Find another way to get to where you’re going, for God’s sake ! It may be out of your way, but you CAN get to where you’re going without trapesing through the casino where you KNOW there’s going to be smoke ! No one hates having a smoldering cigarette in their face more than me but if it ever gets THAT bad, I will just quit going in there. It’s my choice.

...and then there’s the whole “I don’t want to have to think about it” aspect, of which “quality vs quantity” is a subset. We bought the UDP b/c I wanted to know that anything I wanted to drink on the WHOLE ship, was already paid for and that I could have whatever I wanted at any time. I guess this is part and parcel of the whole FOMO phobia. Now that Dan has quit drinking any alcohol, the UDP really would a waste of money for us. We didn’t have it on our last cruises ( B2B on NAV) and I am going to cancel it for our upcoming LIB cruise. What little I would want to drink, I can get at the casino or in the Suites Lounge if I want to fight that scene (which I won’t want to do, trust me). I get enough complimentary Cokes in my C&A booty that I don’t really need any more anyway ! I think I had 8 cans on the last cruise and Dan had more than a dozen bottles of water. Plus we had a bottle of wine from Michelle and a bottle of Champagne that we brought home. I still think the UDP is a great way to go if you’re going to drink a variety of different beverages but if I or both of you aren’t going to drink any alcohol at all...Nope.

Actually I don’t think they are. Seems to me like the Boardwalk balconies are scalloped. Maybe the partitions open. I honestly don’t know !

It’s funny how quickly you just “get over it” when you are traveling alone and eating alone. I travel for work a LOT....like 3 weeks a month. I am sitting in a Chili’s right now by myself and I don’t even give it a thought anymore. Traveling alone gets a bad rap. You get to go wherever you, whenever you want. I really don't mind at all anymore. Now....having said all of that, Dan would be crushed if I ever said that I was thinking about taking a cruise without him. With things as they are now (both of us in good health), I wouldn’t even consider it b/c he loves cruising as much as I do and he would be very hurt if he thought I would go and leave him behind. How would I feel if he told me that he and “the guys” were going to take a guy cruise ? I really don’t know. I think I would ok with it but the situation has never come up. I guess we’ll find out, if it does.

Yippee !!!

I think you also have to consider what those of us “oldies” are comparing it to. The old island buffets were pretty pathetic. So comped to the old setup, the new buffers are palatial

Yes, I am !

We did the Mystery dinner MANY years ago and enjoyed it but it is a very different experience from Chefs Table. Chefs Table is elegant and very food and drink intensive. The Mystery theater dinner was rather chaotic and a bit in the cheeky side. I enjoyed both but they are very different.

Empress has been cursed since she came back to the Fleet