FloatyBoaty

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.

Eagerly anticipating being back on a ship and our first trip on Liberty!

I have seen "Recorded Ballroom Music" listed in the Entertainment section on the app. Can't remember which venue it was in or time or anything - but - might end up as an option for you?

I've been on Quantum, love it, will be on again for Alaska in September. Given that the 2 ships are so nearly exactly alike, perhaps consider their embarkment/disembarkment days and associated travel expenses? This summer, Quantum is in Seattle every Monday and Ovation is there every Friday. So less expensive to fly in/stay the night before on a Sunday and fly home on Monday as we are for Quantum - or - to fly in and overnight on a Thursday and fly home Saturday? May be something, may be a wash.

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... 

There are no menus for MDR or specialty restaurants (except Chef's Table) in the iPhone app for my June Liberty cruise.  There's not even the word menu where it has always been.  I tried switching to the May 4 dates for the same itinerary and no menus up there yet either - only for the current cruise. This was also the case before my March Quantum cruise - nothing for that cruise started populating in the app until the cruise immediately prior was underway.

I am trying not to judge because we obviously do not have all of the facts, just the heart wrenching story the news/lawyers are putting forth - BUT - I personally can't even imagine staying on the cruise with my dead husband in any sort of cooler upstairs. I just can't imagine. And - I would hope that one of my children or siblings would pop on the next flight to San Juan to help me deal with the loss of my husband and the transport of his body back to our home. Yes, last minutes flights are very expensive and we don't know what all was considered/discussed. I am just saying, if it were me, I could not imagine staying on the ship or not having someone there to support me. My father passed very recently and 1- there was just so much to do at his death, and 2- my mom needed us all there/available for her for help and support.

We created accounts before our first sailing, but you don't necessarily need to.

If you decide you want to create accounts before you sail, just use the "create an account" selection here: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/account/signin.

Make sure your C&A numbers are included on every reservation.