Skid

Yup, as the saying goes, that's why they make chocolate ice cream. 

and this is why food is so hard to judge  by other people's opinions.I I love outback lol!!!  Haven't been to Ruth Chris but I hear it is excellent.  However, I will put that giavannis steak up against anyones!   Jane

Jane, stole my thunder, I was going to say that the MDR is big and can be noisy, so by going to one of the specialty restaurants you are getting a smaller much more quaint experience. The MDR is dinning for the masses (Still very good in my opinion) and the specialty is just a little step up, say like going from Outback to Ruth's Chris, both very good for their niche market.
As stated above, if you don't like something, send it back and try something different...

Small gestures can mean so much. We went to guest relations inquiring what it would cost to call our daughter from the ship to say happy birthday. The employee said "Tell no one and follow me". Walked us to a phone, asked for and dialed the number and said with a smile "sing happy birthday, keep it short and hang up". Now THAT is customer service!

Our steak in giavannis was one of my best meals ever.   Service was wonderful.   I like the mdr...im not picky...but to have a specialty meal or 2 was really nice.   It was a little "special" thing that made the trip better.   We could have survived without but im really glad we did giavannis and chefs table.  Jane 

I agree.  I love eating in the MDR.  IMO (which with a fiver will get you a nouveau cup o' joe), it's a great venue - the food is excellent, and if I get something I don't like, I just get something else.  The waiters do their damndest to please you (I still can't get my wife to put a clean, cloth napkin in my lap and call me "sir").  My wife thinks that I grill the best steak she's ever had by far, so why go to a steak place?
 
That said, we will probably do First Night Done Right, and also hit up Sabor for lunch.
 
 

Just boarded Liberty and I can report there is nothing in the fridge and no bottles of water on the vanity.  So it looks like this practice has been stopped. 
The 12-pack of Evian I pre-ordered and paid for is here. 

I usually take a few, ask the stateroom attendant for some and still double up items on hangers!!  Perhaps I take too much!

I was on Indy last week.  Two bottles of Evian up on a high shelf - not touched.  Also received 2 bottles of "other" water, left on the side with a Crown & Anchor compliments tag (first cruise as Emerald so I guess a perk) - these we used
No account statement left on last night / morning - have always received this in the past.  Didn't have time to go to the desk to query it.
RCI emailed my friend her account statement and charges included $6 for one bottle of Evian.  She has queried the charge and is being refunded
I had to email and ask for my account statement and I wasn't charged
Very odd

Actually, we watched all the sales for 15 months before our Oasis cruise, for a deal on the soda package for the kids. Never saw any sale for the soda package. However, we were able to still buy it for $8.50/per person/per day (+ 18% gratuity) right as we walked onto the ship, on the promenade. So it can still be had for that rate onboard (at least as of June this year). Also we were able to apply our On Board Credits to the purchase that way.
Locate the various soda self-serve machines quickly once you board. They typically are only on the top decks and promenade (at least for Oasis class).

Matt,
Read your article regarding the drink package test. Also, Fox News online had a write up about the test today. One question I'm sure a lot of us has is, what if a member of a couple does not drink alcoholic beverages and the other cabin mate does? Doesn't seem right that the non-drinker would have to purchase a drink package also. 

I hope they do stop leaving anything in the fridge or on the counter.
I always order a big package of bottled Evian (it is the only bottled water you can pre-order).  They leave the package in our JS closet before we arrive.  We drink a lot of water, take it on excursions, take it to the pool and have it on our nightstands.  I really wish they were regular individual water bottles instead of those giant quart bottles - because those big ones are so hard to carry around and are heavy in a backpack. You never can drink it all and it ends up getting warm.  It's just dumb to make you buy that giant size.  I also wish the fridge was more than just barely cool so the water could be cold, and we have to take stuff out of the fridge to fit it in.  However, with all that said, there are always 2 additional bottles left on our counter that we never use because we have to pay extra for them.  Nonetheless, because we have empties from the pre-paid package in the trash, we inevitably get charged for those 2 extras.  I guess the cabin steward just gets confused.  I always have to call to fix it and it's really annoying, because they do act like it's a "courtesy" rather than a correction.  I think RCCL just assumes most people won't bother with 2 incorrect charges for $4.75 each or whatever it is.

A under water deck to see all the ocean life. 

Lalalalala...im not listening! ??  Jane

Small gestures can mean so much. We went to guest relations inquiring what it would cost to call our daughter from the ship to say happy birthday. The employee said "Tell no one and follow me". Walked us to a phone, asked for and dialed the number and said with a smile "sing happy birthday, keep it short and hang up". Now THAT is customer service!

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/07/07/royal-caribbean-testing-new-unlimited-alcohol-package-rule-requires-all-adults-purchase

I have often thought that buffets were counter productive to hand sanitizer when people go in to lunch.  When I'm serving my plate I think of all the people that have already touched that serving spoon.  I bring my own sanitizer for after I sit down to eat.  Yep,,I'm a germophobe.  I don't even like to touch the chair to pull it out and don't even get me started on menu's.    
This got off topic.  Sorry.  

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/07/07/royal-caribbean-testing-new-unlimited-alcohol-package-rule-requires-all-adults-purchase

Small gestures can mean so much. We went to guest relations inquiring what it would cost to call our daughter from the ship to say happy birthday. The employee said "Tell no one and follow me". Walked us to a phone, asked for and dialed the number and said with a smile "sing happy birthday, keep it short and hang up". Now THAT is customer service!

Small gestures can mean so much. We went to guest relations inquiring what it would cost to call our daughter from the ship to say happy birthday. The employee said "Tell no one and follow me". Walked us to a phone, asked for and dialed the number and said with a smile "sing happy birthday, keep it short and hang up". Now THAT is customer service!

Its minor and silly,  but i had a pool waiter that learned my name,  constantly came to my deck chair to check on me (during a busy sea day), and let me run a drink pkg tab until the very last drink (i didn't have to keep signing every drink).  It was just a nice day that he made nicer!   Jane

I do see your point, Jane, but in our case, Royal would have made more money on a $120 punch card than what I actually spent on drinks on our trip. I would have gladly bought that card, while not even considering the $350+ deluxe plan. I would guess many other people would also. I don't think that having this type of plan available would take away from the sales of the larger packages people want--it would actually be additional revenue coming from people like me.
 

To get to the familiar search box on website, click on "Plan a Cruise" then click on "Search by Destinations".  Scroll down and you will find the search box on the right hand side.  Not sure if this is a recent change or I had just overlooked it.   

Thanks everybody!  I appreciate the feedback!

Well then, I'd gladly trade places with you even if the coffee was bad! Enjoy the holiday everyone.