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RobbieD

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Everything posted by RobbieD

  1. If you haven’t tried Baha Mar yet, give it a shot. It’s a further drive, but a really great water park. Much better for younger kids. We had lunch provided as well through the cruise planner and it was $169. Great value.
  2. We usually do Chefs Table every cruise - if nothing else just for the value. But understandably, we have kind of grown tired of the menu so I decided to mix it up a bit and advised the staff that I was unable to eat shellfish and tree nuts (none of which is true). So the selection was beef carpaccio instead of the scallops, a pork belly dish instead of the lobster salad (100 times better than the lobster salad), and the dessert was simply offered without the peanut butter ice cream. All in all, I enjoyed the meal better, and will try to determine what I’m allergic to next time to mix it up further.
  3. Ok, so a couple weeks ago I posted about being frustrated with the MDR parades and constant announcements, so this past week I sailed a solo 5 nighter on Explorer and decided to only eat in the Windjammer. Here are my takeaways: • I tried to eat a salad/soup/or some other appetizer, followed by an entree dish and dessert to compare times. I was in and out in 37 minutes on average. • I cruise quite frequently, so I’ve grown kind of apathetic to the new menus already, and the WJ allowed me the option to try some new things (the good and the bad), and the ability to make my own dish. Chicken AND fish AND pasta on the same plate? Yep. • Service (or should I say self service) moves at the speed I want. I sped through dinner on the nights I had plans, and took a leisurely pace the other times. And best of all, no parades or dance parties mid meal. • Since I didn’t have a server, per se, I didn’t have the inclination to pay additional gratuities. • Normally my family of 6 eats in the MDR and regardless of the theme, the boys wear suits and ties, the girls wear dresses. Not packing that and the pre-dinner half hour (at least) preparation was surprisingly noticeable. A week away with just a carry on and being able to go from pool deck to dinner in 10 minutes was a real treat. My 11 year old son and I will be sailing on Indy in a couple of weeks and he said he’d love to try the WJ for dinners as well. I’ll let you know his thoughts afterward.
  4. I’ve raised this to a few people and opinions are mixed - just on a 7 nighter Anthem cruise and we’ve already had two nights in the MDR where the staff do their appreciation parade and announcements. It stops the evening dead. Service grinds to a halt, and it’s usually before dessert has been served, so it takes a few minutes to wind things back up again. I am aware by some reactions during the event that people really love it, but do we really need two or (I fear again tonight) a third? I appreciate the staff and display it through additional gratuities, but I think I’d rather see this tradition come to an end.
  5. I don’t think the few dollars is a huge deal, but I can’t stop thinking that a year ago or so, for $16 I was getting two services a day, or $8 per service (per person) as a tip. Now it’s $18 for one service. That’s more than 100% increase per service.
  6. A colleague that was on the Odyssey sailing a couple weeks ago said that a few teens did some pretty significant damage (smashed an elevator console, damaged some art installations, ruined a wedding photo set up). The culprits were apparently caught on video and the families were “asked” to vacate the ship at the next port (Aruba). Anyone else hear about this?
  7. How many points to solo in a suite per night? Soloing is double and a suite is double but someone said only 3 per night?
  8. Not if you booked a noon flight and now you have to take time on departure day to test, await results, upload for ArriveCan, await verification. Bit of a hassle. I’d much rather pay to be tested on board the day before.
  9. I just travelled solo and stopped in to Adventure Ocean to ask this exact question for our next cruise when the kids will be joining. The response was that there isn’t a date where the plan will change for now. You’ll only be able to book one or two spots (depending on length of sailing). So you’ll need to prioritize which slots you’ll want. Another great piece of advice from previous cruisers who encountered this is to check back at Adventure Ocean around 730pm or 8pm. Lots of parents only put kids in for an hour or so and that frees up some walk in availability. Hopefully this helps.
  10. Hey all. Just got off Freedom 4 nights. Booked an interior stateroom solo. I should get double the points yes?
  11. Yes. Day before disembarkation. Register at guest services. Results delivered to room just after dinner. PCR test.
  12. Just back yesterday. Day before disembarkation, Royal provides a PCR test. You have to sign up for it and it’s not advertised that well. Guest services will take care of it. You get your results later that day in your room.
  13. Question about Diamond drinks. Just enjoyed my first cruise as Diamond, and happily enjoyed my 4 drinks on deck and dinner everyday. I decided to check out the Diamond Lounge on Day 3 after dinner and was surprised to receive additional complimentary drinks as well. Did I stumble upon something? I was under the assumption that the 4 free anytime drinks were in lieu of the unlimited Lounge drinks between 5-8. Or was this a nicety extended to the handful of us up there the last few nights?
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