WAAAYTOOO

14 minutes ago, markm said:

Bad experience with travel agent on first cruise, so I've since done it on my own. Wish I would have known about MEI

Good excuse to book a new cruise !

I certainly understand the passengers’ frustration with all the port changes and cancellations but I wonder how these same passengers would have reacted if the Captain had made a different decision and there had been an accident due to the weather conditions.  Like it or not, the Captain did what he did to protect the passengers and his ship.

If there had been an incident resulting from bad weather conditions, these same passengers, along with the ones who did NOT “riot”, would have reacted even more strongly AND the Captain would have been liable for real.

Sorry to say that the Asian Wonderland doesn’t look any more appetizing than the western Wonderland.

I’ve never had or used a Royal Caribbean app.  I always bring printed copies of everything. 

How incredible.  Thank you for giving us some details.  If you have any photos to share we would love to see them. 

2 sets of staircases ?  Seriously ?

Yes, I fear that this delay will cause boarding to be busy.  Arriving early isn’t going to help you, unfortunately. I would plan on being there by 11:30 but you may end up waiting. Hopefully they will at least let you wait inside.

9 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Johnny Rockets is also an option for breakfast delivery (if you want the greasy breakfast)...

Yep. Forgot about that one

I know this sounds kinda lame for the younger and more adventurous members of your family, but when we go to a new port, we always do a “familiarization” tour.  It’s just a generic, guided tour that includes local highlights. I usually really enjoy doing this.  As KathyC said, some of you can rotate doing these tours with your Grandpa.  You are so fortunate to be able to go on a cruise with your grandfather.  Cherish this time together.  

2 minutes ago, Notyouravgjt said:

Where would recommend ordering from for breakfast I plan on having our first breakfast out on our deck.

The truth is, I have no idea which kitchen the breakfast comes from. In the past, I asked the Genie to please have the CK prepare our breakfast and I made a very BIG deal about ensuring that we got real eggs.  If Twangster is to be believed (hmph....) there are no more powdered eggs so this shouldn’t be an issue.

If they’re using real eggs everywhere now, then I guess it really doesn’t matter who cooks the breakfast.

The bottom line is....just order what you want and who care who makes it, right ?  So just give The Genie your order and let him take care of getting it from wherever it makes sense.

Now....if someone wants sushi for breakfast, you might have a problem, but assuming you stick with pretty much traditional breakfast foods, you should be ok.  To my knowledge, breakfast is prepared in the MDR, Windjammer and CK.  

I have never asked for this, but let’s speculate....someone in your group wants juevos rancheros or a traditional English breakfast with baked beans for breakfast....   Could someone from the WJ prepare those dishes ?  Probably.  Are those dishes already being prepared in the WJ for breakfast ?  Probably.  It might be kinda fun to see if you could get those (or something similar) delivered to your suite.  It’s something to think about.  I have a SC cruise coming up myself !  I might give this some consideration. 

Eating specialty restaurant food on the balcony is one of those perks that you canNOT get anywhere except Star Class. Take advantage of it while you can.  Breakfast out there is positively decadent.

Welcome to the blog, DrNDo.  I would love to hear about the Ultimate Family Suite. We’ve never had any first hand experiences with that suite.

Welcome, Sharla215 !

Frankly, to me, the biggest “upside” to the CK vs the MDR is the ambience.  The food is just marginally better, IMO but, particularly on the O class ships, the view is so incredible that it just “makes” the meal.   I do completely admit that the CK filet is the best on ship.

I find the CK on Anthem (this is the only Q Class ship I have sailed on) to be just “meh”.  I love breakfasts there (given the lack of options elsewhere) but the ambience on Anthem is orders of magnitude lower than it is on the O class ships (JMO) because of the location, orientation and views.

Sorry to say it this way, but there is an element of “covetousness”, given the CK’s exclusivity.  Since not everyone can go to CK, it gets a bit of allure (pun intended) just by being unavailable to some.  Is the CK better than the MDR ?  Yes.

My final statement:  Dan refuses to eat in the MDR ever again on any ship...so, with that in mind, we would choose CK every time, if we only had 2 choices. But the lobster bits in orange sauce is a crime against humanity (and crustaceans).  

7 minutes ago, ChrisK2793 said:

GREAT NEWS!!!!  Just 1 GS became available today and Michelle Cunningham, my TA at MEI travel, was able to grab it for me!!  It was available for the same exact extra amount I had bid, but now I have it.

Yippee !  Way to go, Michelle !

4 hours ago, KenCP said:

I was just on a 12 night cruise this past September and was waiting for the laundry special, it never happened.  I asked and they had a few issues with the laundry so they did not want to be overwhelmed with laundry,so they did not offer the special.  Just regular pricing unfortunately.

Did you bring this up with the Loyalty Ambassador ?  The D+ perk is not a special that is offered or not offered.  It just “is”.  If you are D+ or Pinnie you rate a free bag of laundry.  Period.  No special needed.

Welcome !

Yes, Star Class can have laundry done daily if you want that.  The attendants bring back cloth bags to you for this purpose.  Unfortunately, even Star Class still get those itchy labels.  Ugh

If you are D+ Or Pinnie you will get 1 free bag of laundry on cruises 5 days or longer. Since Dan and I are both D+, we each get a free bag of laundry so we pretty much go home with clean (albeit itchy !) clothes.

I recommend you do not give your luggage to ANY porter even if they claim to be a Star Class porter. We once had to retrieve our bags from the so-called Star Class porter and it was a Charlie Foxtrot.  Keep your bags with you. Don’t give them to anyone except the Genie. Tell the Genie you want your bags to stay with you.  Period.  It’s important that you let the Genie know before embark day that you will be keeping your bags with you.  Don’t ask....TELL them. Trust me....they CAN put even the big suitcases through the scanner.  They will get a Terminal porter to take your luggage up to the gangway and then a ship’s porter will take the bags with you to your suite.  If you are in a Loft, have them take the bags upstairs.

Your request for fruit and drinks on embarkation is perfect. But you need to let them know that’s what you want, so you’re going to need to communicate with them !  It’s completely unsatisfactory for your Genie not to be communicating with you.  If you aren’t getting emails from him, I would escalate this issue immediately to the ship’s Hotel Director. No emails from the Genie is not acceptable. 

The only thing you need to worry about at this point is what you want to happen on embarkation day.  You need to tell him when you plan on being at the port and how you want embarkation to go.  We always insist that our luggage remain with us throughout the boarding process and you need to let him know what you want to for lunch on boarding day.  Other than that, you can wait to meet with him to plan the rest of your meals, entertainment, etc.

Do NOT let anyone take your luggage.  Keep it with you.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

On lobster night ask for a full tail, not the standard CK lobster dinner which is bits of lobster in a sauce.    

+! ^^

13 minutes ago, Srp431 said:

How much advanced timing is needed to set something like this up?

Not much.  Just let the Genie know which meal you want and when and it will happen.  You can tell the Genie that you want dinner tonite out on the balcony from Jamie's (or Chops or wherever you want...including the Main Dining Room !) and they will set it all up.  Most often we choose to eat breakfast out on the balcony b/c it is coolest.  Just let the Genie know the night before what you want to order and they will set it up.  I will recommend that you do NOT try and order this yourself, although you can.  I have found, over the years and on EVERY ship, the room service number is useless.  Rather than go through the hassle and frustration of trying to order food yourself, just let the Genie do it.  At first I felt very uncomfortable asking the Genie to order food for me.  It seemed like something I should be able to handle, but honestly, they do not make it easy.  More times than not, the room service number just rings and rings without any an answer and then half the time, if I DID manage to get someone to answer and take an order, the order was wrong when it got to the room.  Be sure and tell the Genie EVERYTHING you want, down to butter, salt, pepper, milk, cream, sugar...they will only bring you what you order.  You'd think that salt and pepper should come without asking but it normally will not.

12 minutes ago, Srp431 said:

I assume you could order dinner from one of the speciality restaurants to have it delivered to your room for eating on your deck?

Yes, so long as it is during normal operating hours.  You cannot order lobster at midnight, for example.  They prefer if you keep your room service orders from 1 specialty restaurant at a time, so no ordering steak from Chops and something else from Jamie's and something else from Wonderland.  The logistics of getting different foods from different venues is just too complicated.  

5 minutes ago, ScooterScott22 said:

“Good morning Reyno,  can you tell me where I might find my underpants?”

 

Exactly !

Wear whatever is comfortable and don’t worry about what others are doing or wearing. Nobody cares !  Enjoy yourself and be comfortable. 

1 hour ago, Notyouravgjt said:

DARN someone beat me to this.  I am actually on this exact same cruise you are in also in Star Class.  I have already, offline, prepping some of the early post and what not.  This will be the first time anyone in my party will have been in Star Class or a suite for that matter.  I am taking my parents and my future wife on this cruise in the 2 bedroom aquatheather suite on deck 9.  From the time I have booked this my mother has told me if I couldn't afford it they would not be sad if they cancelled, she was worried about the cost.  But I have told her and my father many times that the cost is nothing for me as I wanted to thank them for everything they have done for my sister and I throughout our lives.  So I am hoping to really give them a special experience.  Plus I will be celebrating my birthday while on the cruise.

What a wonderful gift !  You are all going to have the times of your lives.  They will never forget it !  The ATS are awesome !

Be sure you have at least one nice meal out on the balcony.  Sometimes it can be waaaytooo hot out there, but it's so special.  It's usually a little more tolerable while underway vs being in port b/c at least you get a little breeze.