Colombia20102018

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So true. As it goes...
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
if you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a changin'

It is frustrating when cruise expectations aren't met, whatever they may be. However, adults seem to have more choices than kids. We who are older know "the times they are a changin". (Dylan)

Just to be clear, allowing kids in Solarium on cold(er) weather cruises is not a new change. It's been the policy for many years.

I, on the other hand would complain that the family time falls during prime young-child napping time.  Not that the diapered crowd is likely to be using the solarium (unless they're Depends brand) but those 3-7 year old still need naps during vacation.  RCL does their best but they cannot satisfy everyone.

The Caribbean Chicken was awesome on Caribbean night on Liberty of the Seas last week, super flavorful

@Colombia20102018 I’m sorry I don’t mean to discourage you at all.  The older menu typically had at least a dozen choices for dinner each night so you could always find something yummy.  The new menu provides just 7 entree choices each night and at least 3 of them are directly related to the “theme” for that night.  Each night lists one Indian dish as well.  I am not a food aficionado or connoisseur, so to speak, and prefer traditional mild flavored meals.  
We’ll see how it goes all too soon!

The changes include “themed dinner choices” for each night and much less to select from.  I will be experiencing this new menu for the first time beginning Friday and am quite nervous about it.  Sailing with all my kids and grandkids, most of them having never cruised before, I pray they all find something decent each night we are in the MDR.  
It’s funny but I have been looking over the menu for the nights we will dine in the MDR and there is one night I will be ordering from the children’s menu!  There is absolutely nothing I would enjoy on the Taste of the Caribbean menu so chicken fingers will be my choice.  It’s either that or deciding to order the Chops Grille Filet Mignon that night!  
I already miss the old tried and true traditional classics!

We are so excited for our trip. We had signed up for a tour of the white cliffs of Dover in Canterbury cathedral but, at this point, there are not enough people on the small tour to go. Right now it is just our family of three. I am hoping that others might be interested. Here is the website about the tour a couple running the tour seem just great. http://www.whitecliffsofdovertours.co.uk/http://www.whitecliffsofdovertours.co.uk/
 
August 15th 2023 - Dover Cruise Terminal
Jewel of the Seas
As your Cruise Ship docks at the Dover Cruise Terminal you will be able to admire the White Cliffs of Dover! 
Join us for the day and we will take you on a wonderful Tour taking in the beautiful countryside known as the Garden of England, seeing traditional villages and buildings steeped in history and stopping at an English country Pub to enjoy a lunch. 
Finally drive to the White Cliffs of Dover and stand at the top with views not to be missed!
August 15th 2023 - Dover Cruise Terminal
Jewel of the Seas
As your Cruise Ship docks at the Dover Cruise Terminal you will be able to admire the White Cliffs of Dover! 
Join us for the day and we will take you on a wonderful Tour taking in the beautiful countryside known as the Garden of England, seeing traditional villages and buildings steeped in history and stopping at an English country Pub to enjoy a lunch. 
Finally drive to the White Cliffs of Dover and stand at the top with views not to be missed!
[email protected]@whitecliffsofdovertours.co.uk

I do not know if your boys would like this, but in San Juan, in the old city, there’sa big grass field near the ocean where one can fly a kite. I bought a couple of cheap foldable kites on Amazon. About $8 each. They had a blast because the wind was perfect. 

June 17, 2023
On board the RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com Group Cruise on Navigator of the Seas Matt and Marissa become members of the Pinnacle Club!
 
 

Fly Southwest to take advantage of two included suitcases. In second suitcase pack a blow up mattress, air pump and linens. 
 
The grass sprinklers come on at 5am outside terminal A.
I may have learned this the hard way. 

I would still get a hotel.  A few hours of sleep in a real bed will still be much better than trying to get any sleep in an airport.

Here are some places for politics.

Thanks for trying to steer this thread back from the ridiculous direction it suddenly took...👍

I am rethinking our future cruises because we have been so disappointed with the food in MDR.  We don't have trouble getting the time that we want, early dining, but I find it so much less stressful and tastier in the Windjammer.  I'm sorry that your dining was so messed up on Mariner but hopefully you enjoyed the speciality dining and the Windjammer.

Lately it seems with the new limited dining room menus, they are much faster with their service.  In fact, too fast in my opinion.  We had our whole meal done in 30 minutes.  They brought both appetizers at once, instead of separately as I prefer.  Before those were done the main course arrived.  And desert not far after that.  They could have asked if we had a show first, and if not, slowed down the service to enjoy it more.  That is my opinion anyway.  I am not a big fan of the MDR anyway.  At least not in last few years. 

I have been skipping main dining for the most part. It would take two hours on average to go through the meal. Lately I prefer grabbing some quick meal and use those two hours doing something more entertaining. 

80 minutes is quite a lot already. I have a larger family, with little kids so it takes even longer. Add to that the time to get ready and nicely dressed. All things considered, at least two hours a day. I would have to see something new, really good in the menu to go but I don’t think the menu has changed that much. The cost of opportunity is high for the moment.

Ok so when I planned my upcoming Oasis cruise and booked the rooms for everyone coming (7 rooms…17 people) first thing I did was get permission to “act as agent” for all the rooms.  In other words, I am listed on each reservation number as someone who can manage that reservation, even though I have my own reservation.  Since first booking in October I have called numerous times for price drops and each time the rep needed to confirm I was listed on the reservation(s) with permission to advocate for whomever I was doing something for.  Never had an issue and I’m not sure why but I NEVER wait more than a minute to speak to someone at Royal!
In the past…yes, I have called as someone else and also never had a problem.  Many of those calls were during the COVID cancellation period and was mostly trying to figure out FCC stuff.  I understand posing as someone else can be a crime but my involvement with that is always as if I am the TA…because I book the cruises for whomever are joining me and my husband and they prefer me dealing with whatever.  I have the time and the knowledge…only thing I don’t have is a TA license!  🤪🤷‍♀️
 

I doubt if any beer is any less expensive for RCCL to buy now than Bud Light.  🙃

Let me start by saying that these categories are all big ships with lots of activities. My favourite of the three classes by far was Odyssey of the seas. It has an area called Seaplex that changes every couples of hours. One hour one might be having fun on bumping cars, and the next playing pickleball. The ship also has an skydiving simulator and some other things that are pretty unique. 

I don’t think so. In some of the newer ships, you might be able to cast from your cell phone.

One of the things I have never understood is why it takes so long to get a passport in the US. Even before COVID, it was expected to have to wait between four and six weeks. Back in the early 2000s, in most countries in Latin America one could get a passport in one hour. Now that they add the chip technology to the passport, it takes three days. 
What’s the reason behind such a delay in the process? Is it a shortage in manpower?