Pattycruise

When you arrive it’s one entrance. When you get inside the terminal the key “line” is to the right and the waiting area is marked. Staff can direct you. If there are no lines and the ship is open for embarkation you can board, go to the designated drop off location for your carry on and do a little exploring while waiting on your cabin mate. Your phones will work onboard until you put them on airplane mode. And when you are both connected to WiFi you can use the chat feature of the Royal app to keep in touch,

Bayonne you can drop off at the door. Baltimore sucked for those without visual issues that prevent walking uphill from port level to the entry deck (deck 4 or 5) and they have an alternative entry for those in wheelchairs and perhaps with canes….lots of older folks stopping to catch their breath in those uphill gangways. I know I’ve seen wheelchair assist for getting off the ship, I imagine they offer it for getting on the ship. One problem to think of is the lines on the ship-mostly for entertainment, at times for main dining room for breakfast and disembarkation at the ports. You may want a wheelchair for those or perhaps a cane that has a seat attached to it.

1/2 of a sailing is typically new to Royal so they don’t know about the changes. im not a huge fan of the lobster, so that doesn’t put me off. My MIL had it in her head to have a second snd was ready to pay so I told her she could have mine. I don’t feel those tails are worth it to start, let alone pay for a second one! the menu, I’ve sailed pretty much monthly since the restart. Personally I’m not much for change and I do miss my fallback of salmon. I’m not for the new menu but I’ve accepted the change. My issue is the timing of service for a second entree or the inability to have an entree as a “share” at the table because it’s a “second entree” so should be served after being done with the first. I’ve found not every ship follows this, and others might give in a little thankfully. They still seem very stuck that lobster must be finished before you get something else on this particular night with statements of “we are being watched”. My last cruise the head waiter came to our table because one person gave a lot of push back (not me but I did state it was disappointing to not be treated like an adult). The head waiter stated it was to reduce waste. That statement was argued. The next day I received a call from a dining room manager to inquire about “the problem”-again I stated we are adults and should be able to eat as any entrees together…as they do serve multiple appetizers and desserts at the same time. He stated it’s a new policy snd nothing could be done. I stated I do note this crappy policy on my survey and I know it’s not him, the head waiter or the dining room servers who set the policy. So all that to say. If your glass isn’t being filled, speak up. If service is lacking otherwise, speak up. If it’s a policy issue, put it on the survey or send an email to MBayley. I do wonder how many people make note on the survey as well as if those surveys are actually read.

Taxi cab from Manhattan to JFK is now a flat rate. There are no tolls going from Manhattan to JFK. Mapquest feature says it’s about 40 minutes with minimal traffic., I’d allow 1.5 hours just to be extra cautious. you can bring sealed bottle water in through security if you say it’s for medicine. Food in the Times Square area fast food restaurants may be a somewhat similar price to the airport….with the airport likely a little higher. The tourist trap restaurants are definitely priced like the airport.

Did a quick search check this out…..the bus terminal area is a block or so off of Times Square and it appears they use all different shops as locations for drop off . I definitely wouldn’t leave anything of value in my luggage-I don’t even do that when i do bag drop off at a hotel https://luggagehero.com/newyork/port-authority-bus-terminal/?lh_expID=8WF11XK5TAmmJSe4ELsClA&lh_varID=1

If I didn’t have plans tomorrow I’d drive down and take you around Manhattan. Don’t take a metered taxi, those will cost an arm and a leg. if you make your way into Manhattan and can walk-yes I know pulling luggage sucks but people do that a lot in Manhattan,-aim for Times Square if you want slightly more crowded- and taller buildings, or for the opposite experience go to lower Manhattan by the 9-11 memorial which on a Sunday would be quieter. If you are not in the Facebook group gif your sailing consider joining. Maybe you can find a passenger who lives in the port area and is willing to take your family on a tour and drop off, or you can find what others in your situation are doing.

Those items are not included in all of the suites. It would depend on the suite class/ship.

Interesting that Royal was the only cruise line to hire someone for this purpose and the others did not. So, did Royal decide it’s a cost cutting? did they look at the past 6.5 years and see no issues with the other cruise lines while von Fleet was in its employ and decide it was a waste of $? That article mentions an awful Christmas sailing…were there others that could have potentially been avoided? Or was it a falling out over something he’s said or done? Normal people don’t leave a job without having one lined up. Most people don’t leave “retroactively”.

She should be able to carry in a 12 pack. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy

I can confirm that occurred in January on Grandeur. The post is in the Dining section of the boards. Also posted is a screenshot of convo from a current Oasis occurrence and another screenshot of convo about another ship in March.

Kids sail free promo “killed” ” the first week of May this year on Oasis. Same week last year kids were not noticeable, this year the amount of strollers, double wide and double length, as well as walking kids was off the charts. Someone had their kid on a trike in Central Park-ingenious-but very difficult to pass when they zig zagged on the narrow path, there also seemed to be an explosion of wheelchair and scooter users-no doubt thinking they booked when there were less kids. Elevator usage was extremely trying with all of the “wheels” vying to get in. I seriously wonder how they parents liked their vacations though-it seemed like do much work -hardly any of them of them appeared happy. I will say it was more pleasant having the littles onboard at night, as opposed to the roving bands of mischievous teens at night during Presidents week or the teens who feel the need to press every elevator button….

The dining room is open for breakfast and lunch and the lunch choice changes there. Central Park has the roast beef sandwich and a salad bar as well as a few other choices. Loco fresh has tacos/quesadillas and more. Sorrentos has pizza. There is the Dog house for hot dogs. It sounds like you may have missed some of the other venues for good. I like the larger ships for the choices for a small charge you could have gone to playmakers, Johnny tickets of Portside BBQ for a change up. I find I don’t care for the meat selections in the windjammer and when a white shirt approached and asked about my experience at lunch I let him know my displeasure. He told me I could ask for grilled chicken (I had told him I was disappointed in all the beef,pork and fried foods) I was pleasantly surprised to learn I could ask for an alternative but I’ve not yet tried this, nor do I know if I will. I g do I feel the buffet selections are similar, if not the same, regardless of the size of the ship. having had my 3 picky kids on a ship I did find it disappointing they would not try new foods but the kids menu is there for the picky eater and they were happy to have it. It’s the same nightly because that’s what’s popular.with that age. I’m not sure what variety they could add to that, if you have a recommendation be sure to put it in your survey. About your statement on the tea, it does seem the venues act independently. One bar is out of a particular bottle of alcohol but it is in a different venue. On Oasis last week it was next to impossible to get cream for coffee in the dining room each day. Servers were getting it from the WJ or elsewhere. Some of the passengers would go get it themselves. Definitely mention that in your survey. regarding coffee on CoCocay, all food/equipment is taken off the ship. Coffee is likely not in high demand on the island do it’s not worthwhile for them to bring it. If it’s a “must have “ for the spouse I’d recommend bringing a Yeti (hot cup) and fetching a cup from the ship to bring back yo the island. I am hearing lots of complaints regarding the food Im hopeful that the venues with amazing things for the kids outweighed the food issues. mid you listed pros and cons for each thing on the ship and weighted them then what would win? How can you make it better for yourself should there be a next time? For example, not finding your tea sounds like on a scale of 1-10 was closer to a 10 being a disappointment, but that could be easily fixed by packing a few bags to avoid that 10 and you wouldn’t have to deal with that. The food in the dining room, would the kids have tried something if it didn’t have the vegetable or the sauce? Could you have gone to the windjamner or Sorrentos and brought in a meal for them to eat? Could you have fed them snd then bring them to adventure ocean do you could have your own change st dinner? In the grand scheme of things there are hundreds of families traveling, each with their own “issue” regarding food, service, room design, music choices, cabin condition etc….the masses will never be satisfied but they do have the post cruise survey where you can bring up your concerns in the comments box. I’d keep it a lot shorter though. Additionally if you had anything positive to say that’s a good place to mention servers and other staff by name.

This is not a confusion of speciality vs. room service. I did not fully relay my January story on Grandeur. My daughter called to order : plates of wings and 2 entrees. She was asked how many people in the cabin and she said 2 and was then told she could only get a total of 2 entrees and that wings were considered entrees. They are not listed as entrees. I was not in the cabin when she ordered. She is 20, before people start that it was a child who misunderstood. We don’t typically order room service. She had wings the night before and raved about them, so at about 11:00pm we decided to order, we are late night people. She texted me about the restriction and I adjusted my order to a chicken quesadilla and she got her wings and asked for a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She was told they were busy and the wait was 1.5 hours. She agreed that was fine. The food showed up and the wings were not made correctly, (she had them the night before and they were as described on the menu then) the quesadilla had peppers-I can’t eat peppers, they were not listed in the description. The cookies were everything except chocolate chip. So at 12:30am we were delivered a tray of food we wouldn’t eat and I took it to guest services and we were refunded. The manager from room service called me at 4:50pm as we were getting ready for dinner to ask how he could make it up to us. It was our last night on the ship. I certainly wasn’t going to order room service for dinner, and likely not ever again! For those who say to eat at Windjammer-it closes at 9pm. so that was January on Grandeur. the person I quoted is currently on Oasis and posted an identical issue with ordering-limit to one entree and appetizers are considered entrees, despite no change on the menu or indications elsewhere like the app. I am attaching screenshot-with her info removed-and someone asking if her account happened to anyone else. Im attaching a screenshot of her follow up with guest services (just found it) I am attaching another persons comment that it occurred in March on another ship. So perhaps they are trying this out, just like they tried out the new menus, the limit of dinner entree and whatever else they change, on a few ships before it becomes fleetwide. After all, they can say they hardly had push back…. and the pics have posted out of order. I’m sure those who have some semblance of intelligence can figure out which post is the first and the follow up and then the person who chimed in stating it occurred on their sailing too.

Someone currently on Oasis posted they were told by Room service the appetizers are now considered entrees and that there is a limit of one entree per person via Room Service . I was on Grandeur in January and we were told the same thing. I really hadn’t given it any thought as I don’t typically order room service. I did not see notes on the room service menu stating 1entree per person, nor were the appetizers listed under entrees. The food they brought us was wrong, we were reimbursed and that was that. has anyone else had restrictions? What if you are traveling with linked reservations? Can you order for the linked cabin? Or do they have to be sitting in their own cabin to get their food?

The 1,500 point list this month was fantastic for me. Anthem was on there for Nov and December ad well as other months. The list itself went to March. The 2,000 point list did not have Anthem. I’ve been reading of cases where someone like me, who knows there’s an Anthem cruise at 1,500 points and earns over 2,000 points on the cruise and the list doesn’t have Anthem are SOL. Then there was someone who asked to get a lower point cruise (not on their 2000 point list but to a cruise on the 1500 list) and it was granted but they lost the freeplay associated with 2000 points. -this was done via the email form to Club Royale.

I’ve had cans on Anthem when it just came back from Europe, once we docked in Orlando (from Nee Jersey) we had bottled water.

My observation, the larger ships aren’t offering anything the smaller ships with a majority of older passengers will likely offer something. If your larger ship has a majority of older passengers you might find some “deals” but typically it’s no better than the cruise planner special.

The top beach bag is not a D+ gift. I’ve no idea why it was left for me, no card, but the loyalty anbassador confirmed it is not a crown and anchor gift

I stayed at Hotel Principe while in Venice. I had a room that had a balcony over the canal. This was a big stretch on my budget but I truly enjoyed the view. There was a great breakfast place across the street, a grocery store where we picked up wine and snacks to hang out on our balcony and all sorts of shopping as well as public transportation within a decent walk. The area seemed safe, though I’m sure like most cities pickpockets were around. We had one storekeeper warn us to be careful of the pickpockets.

The caribbean chicken is excellent, a full plate of food. However, I strip the skin to eat it Most of the spice is on the skin-I strip it due to a dietary restrictions I have. the pork enchilada is a lot of food, very tasty. they ruined the Turkey dinner by putting peppers in the corn. My recent sailing on Oasis they had watery cranberry “sauce”, you would need a spoon -like a soup-to eat it.

The wait staff ask about dietary needs on the first night in the MDR. Perhaps bring up your need to them.

There’s an equally good chance the person at RC gave her a wrong answer

I’m booked on Odyssey for Feb 25, can’t wait to try a new ship out of Bayonne. I’m hearing it’s not a “winter ship” like Anthem so it will be interesting to see how the sailing is.

I don’t speak as a business person, just a standard WiFi user. Anthem has been horrific with starlink, worse than when it was Voom. I was just on Oasis and the WiFi was as close to perfect as can be, even in my forward ov cabin. The Diamond lounge was spotty after 11pm, I was not in there earlier to do a comparison. Symphony was very good. The smaller ships Grandeur and enchantment were not so great. Radiance was very good. For reference my idea of very hood is being able to go downloads, open web pages, send and receive emails, FaceTime or WhatsApp with family around midnight.

I saw Matt’s blog that Anthem will go to Asia. Any idea when a repositioning cruise would happen and from where?