Tammy LR

On 5/10/2025 at 6:57 AM, Inave said:

Definitely check out the Windjammer buffet! They have a killer chocolate lava cake that’s a must-try. It’s rich and gooey, perfect after a day of exploring.

Chocolate Lava cake? I’m in!! 

@melmar02 Good to know. Thank you! 

Okay friends. We’re coming up on our cruise on Explorer and I’m wondering, what’s your favorite place (other than the MDR) for a delicious dessert -and what’s the dessert? 

3 hours ago, Phillip Diamond Plus said:

I'm on your cruise/Explorer of the Sea!  Thanks for good links to weather sites above!

Get her ready for us…my husband and I will be on her in a few weeks. Enjoy your trip. 

We took the bus to the local beach and I must say, we regretted it. The public beach was very dirty and had trash in the water. It was very sad to see. 
 

But there were others on our cruise that went to a beach resort (I can’t remember which one) through an excursion with the ship and they loved it. 
 

Not the best of help for you, but I’d stay away from the public beach. 

We sailed Wonder when she was about one month old and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, the show in the main theater wasn’t running yet, so I can’t comment on that, but the Aqua show was incredible. Neither my husband or I can think of any cons on the ship. We loved it. 

@Ampurp85 Perfect. Thank you so much. 

Great question. Can anyone tell me if it’s an Izumi without a grill, can I still get something like chicken fried rice? I know, I know…I’m boring. That type of food is not my favorite, but my husband really liked it so I want to go for him. 

On 1/13/2025 at 1:22 PM, FionaMG said:

Hi Tammy

You'd probably be best to edit your title as it looks like the dreaded auto-correct got you!

Anyway, to answer your question, Ravenna is not actually on the beach; it's about 12 km inland. If you want beachfront, you could take a look at a resort area called Lido Adriano, which is about the closest beach area to the city. I actually worked a summer season there but it was soooo long ago (1985!!! Omg that's 40 years! ) that I'm sure things will be completely different nowadays. Back then, I used to have to get the bus to go into Ravenna but there will likely be Ubers or some equivalent now that would make the journey easier with luggage.

Here's the link to the Ravenna Tourist Board's page on Lido Adriano. I hope it helps.

https://www.turismo.ra.it/en/nature-seaside/the-beaches-of-ravenna/lido-adriano/

Oh my gosh…clearly I need to check before I hit, “post.”  

Thank you so much!! I appreciate the help. 

Hey friends! We’re staying overnight in Ravenna before our cruise and would love to know the best hotels on the beach for some R & R after a week of touring. 

On 10/22/2024 at 4:57 AM, LCWind said:

I suggest you reserve ahead of time.  Go to the Ravenna tourist website.  You will see the shuttle schedule and prices there.  Ravenna is a beautiful city (UNESCO world heritage site).  If you can arrive the night before, then you can explore the city in the morning before taking the shuttle to the port.

Does this service drop you off right at the ship terminal or do we have to walk a ways to get there? 

It SHOULD be, but I’d contact them to make sure. If you used a TA, reach out to them first. They may be Amore to check on it for you. 

I just ordered myself some reusable wine bags for travel. I got them from Amazon. They’re the ones with double padding, and leak-proof.  I don’t know that I can share the link on here, but you can look them up under wine sleeves. 

You’re going to love that itinerary. 
 

in Barcelona, as others have said, definitely see the Sagrada Familia. We actually did a tour with Get Your Guide and it was very good. I recommend a tour, rather than on your own so you get insight into everything. We took a taxi right at the port to get there. It was super easy to do. 
 

In Palma my recommendation is DON’T go to the city beach. We were extremely disappointed as it was very dirty and had things floating in the water. If you want a beach day, definitely go to one of the resorts. We had several people on our cruise who did that and said it was fantastic. 
 

For Marseille, we did the RC excursion to Cassis and loved it. To be fair, we aren’t ones to go on all day excursions. We like to come back to the ship and relax before dinner. So if you’re one to go all day, the Cassis excursion may not be for you, but it was a beautiful city. 
 

Enjoy your trip! No matter what you decide, it’ll be fantastic! 

45 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1.  There is no way (that I am aware of) to see which night or which restaurant has been assigned to you for the “placeholder” reservation.  These reservations are utterly useless and I don’t know why they’re still doing them.  You have to wait until you’re onboard and then it still doesn’t show up on the app 90% of the time.

2.  This is exactly what we do.  We make all of the final adjustments once we are onboard.

Perfect. I reserved everything and will adjust once on board. Thank you for your help. 

43 minutes ago, Bob Burd said:

Hi,

I actually follow item number 2.  Even with the UDP package I still put in a time for the regular dining room as there are some menus I'll forgo the specialty to eat in the MDF.  Once I get on board and can figure out the menu, I'll then cancel my main dining room reservations.  Hope this helps.  I also do the same with the 3 night dining package.  Remember, once you go on board you can set up your dinner reservations for the specialty dining.  It's actually the first thing we do even before getting a drink!

Perfect. Thank you so much!! 

On 10/31/2024 at 10:27 PM, FOB said:

@Tammy LR - just a quick point if you want to tip in Euros. They don’t have any notes smaller than a 5 so if you were thinking of maybe tipping for a free diamond drink then you would either need lots of coins or it becomes a pretty expensive trip

Ohhh...good to know. Thank you!

On 11/1/2024 at 12:07 PM, Jolly Ogre said:

always on the website cruise planner

Thank you!

Hi all. I'm getting ready to reserve our MTD reservations, but I also have a 3-night dining package, so I have a couple of quick questions for you...

1.) How will I know what reservation RCI made for me (I know it'll be the 1st of 2nd night of the cruise), so I don't overlap? 

2.) Would it be best for me to just schedule MTD reservations for all nights, and then cancel or switch it once I get onboard and see what nights we'll eat at specialty restaurants? 

Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

15 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

I have been on 3 different ships with JR and all of them were open for lunch on embarkation  day.

Great! Thank you! 

35 minutes ago, DoomSlayer said:

US Dollars are the universal currency and well received by staff onboard the ship and is what they use onboard for their personal purchases.  I would not go out of the way to convert to Euros for tips.  However, if you happen to have some extra Euros, they will still be appreciated as they can use them while on shore.

Perfect! Thank you so much. 

For those of you who have been able to reserve MTD ahead of time, are you doing it in the app or website? 

Does anyone know if they’re typically open on embarkation day?

So adding to the OP’s question, we’re going on a European cruise, so do we tip in U.S. currency or euros?

11 hours ago, LCWind said:

I suggest you reserve ahead of time.  Go to the Ravenna tourist website.  You will see the shuttle schedule and prices there.  Ravenna is a beautiful city (UNESCO world heritage site).  If you can arrive the night before, then you can explore the city in the morning before taking the shuttle to the port.

Perfect! Thank you so much!