Lexster

1 hour ago, Jonesy said:

What I am booking is an executive car service/limo service.  They are more expensive but I love the service 

Ooh fancy!

10 hours ago, Davnbet said:

We are flying into Miami the day before.  Does anyone have a recommendation on a hotel that has good transport from the airport to the hotel and maybe from the hotel to the cruise port?  I have seen a few but of course they all have mixed reviews.  Or do many of you just use Uber or Lyft?  I'm mainly interested in clean, safe area, and the transport at a cheaper price for one night.  

We're staying at the RADISSON Red near the airport. It's supposed to have a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Me, personally, I don't use ride sharing. I prefer taxis, but I'm sure a ride sharing service could get you to the port, too. I think Radission RED has a stay-and-cruise booking where they'll provide a shuttle to the cruise port, but I didn't book that. i prefer getting my own ride and not having to wait for the hotel to provide.

On 1/24/2023 at 11:44 AM, twangster said:

I think in general he is correct.  So many return guests don't leave the ship.  Why is that?  They are near the bottom in surveys just above Freeport.  That's doesn't say much about how Nassau is received by the cruising public.

If you are into drugs there is a beach you walk to be and you'll be offered a choice of drugs.  That's not a good look and a pretty poor family experience.

Royal is building their beach club next door to establish a place that can be something to do and somewhere to go because without it there is little point getting off the ship. 

Nassau needs to be honest with itself if it wants to change.  Griping about cruise ships guests not leaving the ship won't accomplish anything.  Someone needed to say it.  

Hell, my husband and I were offered "lines" a mere block from the cruise port just after we passed a police officer. There is definitely no shame by some in the area near the port.

12 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

It wasn't on the new lunch menu on Grandeur or Oasis, that's why I assumed the new lunch menu.....wait how many sea days? I only had 2 lunch menus but both were different so maybe if you have 3 lunches/brunch they have it on there.

I only have two sea days, but it shows on my Day 4 Lunch menu. Mexican night is the dinner menu that day. Not sure if that makes a difference.

18 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

It could be that Enchantment hasn't transitioned to the new menu. But good if it stays.

Actually, no, I looked at my menu for my upcoming Harmony cruise. The app shows the new menu for dinner, but if I look at lunch, the Apple Blossom a la Mode is there!

19 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

Same ones listed for our 5/11 sailing... they are holding back obviously. Curious if there will be a 150 CP with the redesign of Central Park... I guess they would have to rename it because of the story behind the name.

For sure, they no doubt have at least one new restaurant if not more. I'm really hoping for something out of the ordinary like they did with Wonderland. I'd like to have something I can't normally get on land. Like, I have decent Italian, Mexican, and steak places around me on land, so I'm hoping they try something unique. I think I mentioned it somewhere, but with the aqua theater being a large enclosed neighborhood now, I hope they have a dinner show or something like other lines have. That would be pretty cool.

Hey all, haven't seen this anywhere, so figured I'd post something interesting I saw on the cruise planner for the inaugural Icon cruise. They have some restaurants listed now. No new ones that haven't existed, but you can see some regular favorites now.

I too prefer the paper copies. There's just something to be said about the tangible nature of holding it. I prefer that over reading it on my phone screen which is not as big as the paper version. Give people the option like how many companies do with their bills. They ask if you want paperless or not. RC should do this as well, in my opinion.

My only gripe is the cup doesn't hold much soda, especially if you put ice in it. I know it's unlimited, but there's usually a line at the freestyle machines, so it's not convenient to just keep refilling.

3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

The new cup is much smaller, it holds the same amount of soda as the blue plastic cups now. I have seen staff refilling the freestyle machines on Oasis, it is a bit of an ordeal. It also appears that staff in general are very green and new, the casino host on Oasis couldn't tell me basic information. I imagine that for the crew who stocked up the machines they probably haven't gotten a routine down.

Yeah, had a friend who worked at a restaurant that had the Freestyle machines. He hated working on them. Some aspects are simple and others are difficult. The flavors are like ink cartridges in a printer, but there are still like four or five steps to changing out just a single flavor.

19 minutes ago, Blulady said:

I don't think this is a supply chain issue.  I remember being on Anthem in 2018 and the machines were constantly out of soda.  

Agreed, I'm pretty sure it's a staffing issue.

27 minutes ago, rjac said:

We were on the Odyssey for the first-time last year for a two-week B2B. Nice ship, but we felt way too many passengers especially for the pools and solarium. i would suspect that the freestyle machines could not handle the number of passengers, or the staff could not handle the replenishing of the machines. Perhaps, more freestyle machines would help. We don't use the freestyle machines and were disappointed in the selection of alcohol choices at many of the bars. I drink bourbon and there was no bourbon on board. Previous cruises there were selections of bourbon. All the Odyssey had to offer was Jack Daniels which is not a bourbon, it is a Tennessee Whiskey, check this link out:  Is Jack Daniels bourbon or whiskey - we have the answer for you (thewhiskycork.com). 

The problem is the machines require a water hook-up, so it's not a simple matter to just add more of them without running more water lines. But, yeah, I did find myself just asking bartenders for diet coke which is a disappointment since the Freestyle machines obviously have way more options. I usually get the refreshment package, so I have more choice, but I'd be really annoyed if I got the soda package.

I did even mention all of this on the post cruise survey, so hopefully it's something they will address. The freestyle machines are both simple and difficult to maintain, so I get it being an issue. I also don't know whose responsibility it is to make sure they're filled. Is it the people in restaurant where the machine is located or are there staff members tasked with making sure all of them remain filled? I have no idea.

6 hours ago, Scott Mcelligott said:

On Odessey of the seas  and the Pop Machines are always empty. It's a pain to walk all the way to find one and it only has a few choices 

Yep, had similar issues on Oasis back in May. I don't think they consider them a priority, though they should. If you're going to sell packages, I expect to be able to get what I paid for.

1 hour ago, Maggie M said:

Good point! I haven't heard anything. These ships are getting too big IMO...

I like the big ships mostly because of the modern-ness of them. I think a new smaller class would be fun, but they'd have to figure out what demo to go after for that style.

Very little. Matt's mentioned it before, but it's very unlikely RC will be talking about Utopia at least until Icon launches. No reason to lose out on hype by talking about both at once.

2 hours ago, barjpoe said:

Back in the fall the WJ was having specialty dinner nights ie  British, French, Caribbean, etc. Do they still have those nights and if so do they match up with similar theme that is in the MDR?

Good question. I hope not since if I'm not interested in French night, I'd like something different in the Windjammer.

1 hour ago, TexanTwoStep said:

The Mexican night is.....depressing.

 

No elotes, spaghetti as a main course, and no chips and salsa

Yeah, I feel like a couple of these theme nights are a little half-assed, but I'm sure it'll change over time. Also a bit sad there's no Indian night.

I would still massively prefer the old menus. I still say if you're that worried about taking two hours, then go to the Windjammer. I like taking my time at a nice dinner.

I think we'll be doing the dolphin excursion. As much as I'd love to do the ruins, having to be on a bus for like four to five hours does not seem super fun to me. The dolphin experience is just off the pier, so no need to rid anywhere.

Looks like they added some more excursions for Costa Maya, FYI

Lava Flow Minus Kraken Rum is really good as well (Sorry, Matt).

2 hours ago, bretts173 said:

Exactly, who wants to eat the same thing everyday of the week at home or on a cruise.

I would get the creme brulee every night, thank you very much. Not happy about this change for that reason alone.

Hell, I'm probably never going to make it to Diamond, let alone Diamond Plus, so not exactly worried about this! it does suck to lose benefits, though.

Okay, so since I keep seeing this and I saw someone say they speed-ran through a 24 minute dinner, I feel like I must be weird or something If I go to Texas Roadhouse or something, I can pretty much expect at least 60-70 minutes. Do people expect /less/ time for a pretty much formal dinner? I don't see people complaining about how long specialty dining takes, which is often about the same amount of time. If you don't want that, go to the Windjammer or something. I LIKE taking my time. I don't want to feel rushed through a fancy dinner. Hell, when I eat AT HOME, I generally take 45 minutes because I'm not rushing through eating. Do people just like getting indigestion or something?