FloatyBoaty

1 hour ago, Xaa said:

Just to add to what @AshleyDillosaid, you normally need to book your travel insurance within 14 days of booking the cruise for it to cover pre-existing conditions. 

That keeps the insurer's risk a reflection of the entire population and not more weighted toward individuals who expect they might be more likely to have a claim.

And if you purchase an annual plan you cannot let it lapse if you need the pre-existing condition coverage. I have multiple reminders set for myself because it does not renew, you must purchase a new annual policy and I keep this screenshot on my desktop...

(Note that a pre-existing condition can even be anything you saw a doctor for within 120 days!) 

I have been an investor for quite a while and have not had any issues receiving or using the OBC. I use the online form listed under FAQ #3 (How do I redeem) to request a couple of planned cruises at a time and the OBC is posted to my cruise planner in 3-7 days. 

Yes, this is what I do - I grab my phone in the middle of the night and skip to the section where I can select our times on the app. Then, in the following days...whenever I am ready, I complete the checkin on my desktop computer. I can type much faster and more accurately there. The only downside to finishing on your computer is that you have to manually enter your passport numbers. In the app you can just scan your passports.

One note - checkin on the app seems to be more successful for many people if you select the person icon on the top and use the checkin section there instead of using the purple checkin icon on the bottom of the landing page of the app.

Website  - yes and also won't auto populate for signing in with my fingerprint (on Mac).

App - not yet and would be super annoying as we get on for 2 weeks shortly and I refer to it many times a day 

   BUT also in the app - I switched to the current week of the sailing we will be on to see what performers are onboard, current menus etc as I have done many times before and all it would give me is blank schedules, which is crazy - I know there is stuff happening on the ship at that very moment and nada. I put it down as a hopefully temporary glitch and left.

I have heard a little whisper that Quantum will go to Honolulu instead of Lahaina, then on to Kailua-Kona as currently scheduled, and then back to Honolulu for the start of the October 10 transpacific. Ovation comes in after her and of course would not necessarily do the same thing., but just as a point of interest.... People way more experienced than me would know more about port availability etc....

43 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

people mention over the years that they prefer the filet at GT.

Looking forward to getting our BOGO's once we turn D+.

people prefer the filet at GT.:  I had heard that too and we were on a mission to compare them. We did have lunch at Chops one day too (and always visit when we are on board) I think my husband had the filet all 3 times at Gio's and at Chops as well. I also had at both places. Not sure I could reallllllyyyyyy taste much of a difference, but we did enjoy the ambiance and service more at Gio's than at Chops on Liberty. And omg the Carbonara at Gio's was so amazing

Diamond Pus - yes, us too! We will earn it after our January sailing. So excited!!!

3 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Lunch has filet mignon?

Yes. We had lunch at Giovanni's Table on Liberty in June I believe on Day 2. We both had filet mignon. The service and meal was so good that we changed out Chops dinner reservation to Gio's as well - ended up eating there 3 times in 9 days. Osso Bucco only on the dinner menu (and was also really good!)

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

We are currently on Oasis and our MDR waiter just started for the first time on this cruise.  So night one was his first night ever!  It’s been a real struggle getting things right each night!  We have 17 total so have 2 tables…he is the waiter for all of us.  He is very nervous and also very difficult to understand.

I will say he is very pleasant and trying his very best and we are not the type of family to complain.  I know he is looking for a 10 on the post survey (he hinted last night) and honestly I do not want to cause him any “demerits” or whatever they get for under 10 scores.  However it is not being honest if we say his service has been stellar…but as I said this is his very first time!  
 

What would others do?

I had a brand new waiter and assistant waiter on one of my cruises this year. They were still so awkward - like they were told to make a minute of small talk to connect with me before taking my order but did not know how to do it at all. He would ask the same question again right after I answered (briefly, trying to spare him). They really made an effort and the head waiter was always around and checked in every day, which I appreciated. However, when it came time to do the survey, I had to be honest - they were kind, they were polite, they made every effort to be efficient and give good service, but that they were obviously completely green and not deserving of a 10 at all. I hope that they were not penalized, but it's not really my responsibility to train them and also hope that they are given an opportunity to grow into the service as expected.

44 minutes ago, SapGuy said:

The "interesting" thing is the Hawaii leg is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on April 29th at 3am.    The ship's departure doesn't occur until the following morning (April 30th) at 3am.  Seems like a reach, but one might wonder if this is RCCL's attempt to legalize the voyage?

 

I believe they have to wait to set sail until that time for low tide - to fit under the Lions Gate Bridge. 

I tried to get 2 cans of Coke to go 3 different times during a 9 day cruise on Liberty in June to keep in the room. I had the DBP (and my husband, who does not drink, had the refreshment package). The bartender in the Schooner Bar said they could only give them to you opened per his supervisor. The supervising bartender in the English Pub told me the same thing. Each time I was able to negotiate one opened, one not, but I didn't appreciate feeling like I had to beg after having spent $$$ on the DBP. 

WOW! Just took a glance, but wow - a very nice resource! Added to my reading list and look forward to diving in further. Thank you!!!

7 hours ago, Chili said:

It looks like Ovation will be going to Singapore for dry dock February 2026 .

Any speculations?

 I’m hoping for a short season in Sydney and a new year repo from Sydney to Singapore.

@FionaMG posted this June 27 - I thought it was pretty interesting:

Posted a couple of hours ago over on CC (credit: Jumping Cruiser)

"Just from Captains Corner on Anthem about her repositioning. It looks like she is going on quite the world tour! 
 

Summer 24 - Southampton, UK

Winter 24/25 - Singapore

March 25 - Dry Dock

Summer 25 - Alaska

Winter 25/26 - Australia"

The Key luncheon is held in a section of the Main Dining room. You will get an email letter about a week-10 days before your departure subject: Reminder of The Key program benefits! with more information. There will be signing on the ship and plenty of crew members able to answer questions and help direct you. 

It is not required to reserve a time. If you want to, even on some of the days, do it right away as at some point there will only be very late times left. It can be a different time each day vs the traditional dining.

If you do not reserve a time there is a separate line. You should be prepared to wait - time unknown as it really just depends on what the demand is after reservations and how quickly dining is moving along that day.

Also prefer Quantum class ships over Oasis class. Have sailed Wonder, Oasis, and Allure in Oasis class (Oasis was my least favorite). Have sailed Anthem and Quantum in Quantum class and love both ships. Plan on Odyssey and possibly Spectrum-China in the next couple of years. I don't have any issues with the Esplanade as there are multiple levels to navigate it and I absolutely love the Via and 270 areas on Quantum class. Only thing I find myself missing is Central Park.

Theme nights on our most recent 9 night cruise were Dress Your Best, Caribbean Night, Dress in White Night, 70's night. Caribbean Night and White Night are super easy to have stuffed packed for that you'll probably wear anyway whether the themes pop up or not. 

The MDR was really great on Liberty when we were on June 1-10. Way, way, way better than when I was on Quantum in March. Liberty had tender, perfectly-cooked chicken, hot food. Very good overall. Biggest criticism was way too much cheese that was not broiled enough on the French Onion Soup - and if that's the biggest problem, I'll take it!  

4 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

Just an FYI, I did a sailing in April that went to Columbia and everyone was required to have passports.  

Thanks @Pattycruise. We always travel with them! I think we were on Liberty with you June 1-10? Shame we had such a crummy day in Bermuda, but we thought it was a great cruise overall!

On 6/18/2023 at 1:06 PM, Traveling Mike said:

I am traveling from California to Sydney Australia for a TP cruise.  I am looking at booking Los Angeles to Sydney on March 29 or 30, 2024 and then Honolulu to Fresno on April 30, 2024.  

So jealous! I did Chicago-Sydney-Brisbane for a 13 Day New Zealand solo on Quantum in March. (I spent a couple days in Sydney before flying on to Brisbane to board Quantum). I loved the ship, our New Zealand itinerary, and Sydney so so much that I really am just strategizing how & when to get back out there again. My cruise was only 1 or 2 cruises before they started the TransPacific and I met so many people that were staying on until Hawaii, and some even until Vancouver. Really, really wonderful; I'm sure you'll have an amazing time.

3 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

What ship is this ?

Grandeur. A little nervous about the ship as I've never been on anything that small, but very excited about the itinerary. We have an aft sailaway view Jr Suite 

5 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We normally love a room close to the elevators....but I will say that when we sailed on Vision in April, the noise around the elevators was really REALLY loud from the Centrum music and mania in the evenings.  They actually closed off the stateroom hallways with the flood doors (or whatever they are called) to try and close out some of the noise but there were rooms near the Centrum/elevators that could not be closed off.  For those folks, I suspect there was a lot of noise.  I'm not saying it's as problem...just that it might be - but only the evenings, really.  If you are down one of the hallways a bit, I suspect you will be fine.  If you are really close to the elevators/Centrum, you might experience some noise in the evenings.

I also look for staterooms closer to the elevators when cruising with my husband as his mobility is limited. It is thanks to this blog and blog friends like you that when I started looking at bookings on Grandeur and Vision for the itineraries that I remembered that we would want to find rooms away from the Centrum in case we wanted an early night!

As soon as I book an itinerary or find one I might want to do, I go to cruisemapper.com and take a screenshot of it under the ship's itinerary and start a note for the cruise. 

I love having the visual of the cruise as well as all of the scheduled times to look at while I plan:

Am currently at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Newark Airport in Elizabeth. Free drink ticket per person in bar evening, hot breakfast included. We have a king 1 bedroom and the bed seems pretty comfy. Some aircraft noise but nowhere near the cacophony of the place I stayed when I was here for Anthem in January (home 2 suites airport-never again). 

On 5/15/2023 at 7:43 AM, FloatyBoaty said:

I started tracking Quantum's 7 day menus once they arrived in Canada/Alaska last week as I have 2 weeks booked later this summer and also want to figure out where I want to make specialty reservations.

Last week it was:

1-Welcome Aboard, 2-France, 3-Mexico, 4-Caribbean, 5-Italy, 6-Royal, 7-Bon Voyage

This week it is

1-Welcome Aboard, 2-France, 3-Asia, 4-Italy, 5-USA, 6-Royal, 7-Bon Voyage

so days 3, 4, and 5 differ from the previous week and 2 of them are completely different menus. Am going to continue tracking for curiosity's sake... 

update - this week 5/22-5/28 is the same as last:

1-Welcome Aboard, 2-France, 3-Asia, 4-Italy, 5-USA, 6-Royal, 7-Bon Voyage

Quantum has been going an hour back end of day 2 (after first sea day) and going an hour forward at the end of day 5 after leaving Juneau (before the day 6 sea day - although one week it was noted at the end of day 6 for some reason, but definitely before they get to Victoria). I believe Ovation is on pretty much the same schedule, just in Seattle different day than Quantum.