Dicey

The seafood tower at Chops.

9 hours ago, FionaMG said:

A couple of test cruises have been loaded out of Cape Liberty ahead of next week's release. Looks like it's going to be Oasis and Liberty.

We won't be able to cruise again until 2023.  Hope they add more 2023 dates for the Oasis out Bayonne.  

Love the Oasis but Cats has to go!  We went to the casino after watching Cats and the pit asked why we didn't look happy that night.  We told him we just came from watching Cats and his response was, "ha!  nobody likes Cats" and chuckles.  The casino must've heard a lot of complaints about Cats.  Hope they replace it with something better soon.  

Don't let tipping anxiety get in the way of having fun.  If you've prepaid the gratuities or choose have them charged daily while you're on board you're good to go.  You can keep some cash handy to reward any individual crew member that you feel went above and beyond for you.  It is not expected but will be appreciated.  

Not sure if the credit card has anything to do with how refunds are received but we used AMEX.

We received our refund for taxes, fees and cruise planner purchases a couple of days ago and the way the credits posted was unusual.  They were not itemized by transactions or purchases.  There were three credits, two were in the amount of the taxes and fees and third credit for the difference of total cruise planner purchases and one of the taxes and fees credits.  Very confusing but fortunately for us the total credits added up to what we had paid for.  

We got the Jr Suite on the Wonder offers today but no FP included.  

For an anniversary ambiance would matter more to us so we'd go with 150.

Sorry - can't relate.  Half way through the second leg of our B2B last October we started missing home and couldn't wait to get off the ship.  We missed our dog, family and friends at home, and couldn't get back to them soon enough.  Two weeks on the ship was too much for us.  We like cruising but definitely need a break from it.  

Smoke free casino has our vote!

The credits for cruise and planner purchases were posted to our account today so issued one week after we cancelled.  

We're gamblers on cruises and have been on NCL, Princess and RCL.  We choose RCL because of the 3 they have the best offers and upgrade options although they can learn a thing or two about on board comps from Princess.  

Sorrento's 

We cancelled Anthem March 6 and cruise planner purchases yesterday and was told within 30 days.

I hope this is still effective when we return to the Anthem in March 2022.  The smoke in the casino was unbearable when we were on the Anthem last month.  The difference between the non-smoking and smoking sections were smoky and smokier.  And smokers will often walk over to the non-smoking sections with lit cigarettes.  

We were told 3/31/2022 expiration applies to book by AND sail by dates.  Agree, absolutely makes no sense.  

12 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

Hijacking this, since I just thought of it.  Do you know if VPNs are allowed on Voom? I’ve been thinking of taking a solo cruise and trying to work remotely, but sometimes (rarely) even the hotel network will block a vpn connection.  
 

thanks!

Yes - we always use PIA VPN onboard and it worked fine.  However, the latency can be significant sometimes.  Should be fine for emails and sending files but I wouldn't rely on it for important video conferences.  

We use the Chase Sapphire Reserve - it's 3% on travel purchases and when you redeem for credits on dining purchases the points are worth 50% more so it's like getting 4.5% back.

We used the Abbott BinaxNOW home tests TWO days before boarding and had appointments at CVS for rapid testing ONE day before boarding, just in case.  Once we received our results for the home tests we cancelled the CVS rapid test appointments.  The Abbott BinaxNOW tests have been pretty reliable for us.

We were in a cabana last week.  Attendant brought us fruit when we arrived, took our food orders around lunch time, came around every 1/2 hour to check on us and brought us a funnel cake on his own later in the day.  He was attentive enough but wouldn't necessarily consider it anything that's above and beyond.  It was just the two of us so gave him $50 on our way out.  

Our Coastal Kitchen experience on the 11/28 Anthem sailing was awesome!  Better than our October sailings on the Oasis.  The staff was more attentive and the food was better, even though the menus were pretty much identical.  Only wished the set up was like the Oasis with the bar and lounge connected.  

Is Casino Royale status matched or honored by sister cruise lines (ie. Celebrity)?

"Free plays" have no value only work out when they're free.  If you're paying for them you've just committed to a loss and starting you're trip chasing a loss.  The bonus doesn't make it any better.  If you play enough the casino will apply the points you earn during the trip as a credit on your folio.  

On 10/17/2021 at 8:27 PM, Aulayan said:

Soooo I'm going to open up a can of worms.

Is Specialty at this point even worth it?

I just got off the Oasis and did two specialty restaurants and 5 nights at the MDR.  Chops and Giovanni's Table were the two we did.  And the opinion of my wife and I were on both specialty restaurants were 'The food is the same quality as the MDR'.  I've heard in Ye Olden Times that the various cruise companies MDR's were tripe (at best of times), but word was that most of them have put more effort into their food.

Our only previous cruise was Disney and the specialty restaurant on the Magic (Palo) was heads and tails above their dining room (And is still the best meal I've ever had).  Giovanni's is about the same price as Palo, Chops Grille is slightly more.  Neither of them blew me away and if looked at from a pure Cost to Enjoyment ratio, was much lower than what we'd get from a on-land restaurant.

Now there is a lot we haven't tried.  Portside BBQ we did do for lunch and it was good.  We were a poor Balcony Family and thus couldn't try Coastal Kitchen, nor did we do 150 or Playmakers or Izumi or Rockets. (Izumi I could definitely see being a draw, as with BBQ, because they're a specific kind of food not in the MDR)/

So, was I missing something? On other ships are they amazing restaurants? Or is it more just a destination away from the MDR at a high price point?

We were on the same sailing and agree.  The quality at the specialty restaurants was no different from complimentary dining.  We dined at Chops, 150 and Izumi at the beginning of our trip and we were disappointed with all three venues.  The specialty dining quality wasn't the same as pre-covid.  Communicated this to the specialty dining and other staff, they didn't seem surprised.  

Additional tips range from 0 to ????? so it's impossible to get an average.  You might be able to get an average out of a small population but I assure you it does not represent what the average cruiser, among ALL cruisers, is doing.  They have ships operating in different markets with different customs, some where tipping doesn't exist, and the crew is aware and are used to this.  Just give what you think is right and what you're comfortable with.  Any additional tip, large or small, will be appreciated.