WAAAYTOOO Posted August 14, 2021 Report Share Posted August 14, 2021 9 hours ago, Leikela said: I received a reply from Eli today and there are quite a few activities which are unavailable at this point in time.. Some of the things that we were thinking of doing eg. Chef's table, vintage wine tasting, bridge tour, bingo etc will not be available So we will have to see what else there is for us to do and have them prebooked where possible. The ifly and northstar is foc for suite guests for the 1st round and a special 1hr flow rider session will be arranged for star guests on Day 3. Shows are still pending because the ops team is still sorting out the schedules with all the recent changes in restrictions.. Restaurants are not opened for lunch on embarkation day and only takeaways are available so I'm checking if that means in suite dining is also a no go and we have to pick up our own takeaways I have a feeling we probably won't see a schedule until very very close to sail date..which is of course no fault of the Genie but just the way things are now..hahah can u tell its bugging the Planner in me Well, at least it's not a total lock-out of the restaurants now. That would have sucked big time. Glad to see that operations are returning to semi-normal. cruisellama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leikela Posted August 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2021 14 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said: In general, the first few emails were spaced around 3 - 5 days between mails. With then having to assist more immediate guests. Once it got closer to the cruise, emails basically went daily for the most part. Ah thanks! Good to know..anyway we still have time, given all the changes..who knows if we might even get more updates to take effect in early Sep.. 13 hours ago, ReanReally said: @Leikelaso sad to hear that Chef's table, bridge tour, and bingo are not available. Does that mean Wonderland will be open (I heard earlier that Wonderland was closed during P2HA)? I believe wonderland may still be closed..it is not listed in the restaurant opening hours she provided me 7 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Well, at least it's not a total lock-out of the restaurants now. That would have sucked big time. Glad to see that operations are returning to semi-normal. That is true..just glad to be able to go on some semblance of a cruise holiday..its been too long.. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leikela Posted August 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2021 16 days to go! 13 to our pre cruise swab test and the kids have started their countdown! We have relinquished all planning to our Genie and I am trying to be as zen as possible. I keep repeating.."I only have to deal with our packing list, I only have to deal with our packing list" Our Genie has shared that there might be some changes to restaurant ops so there may be hope yet for restaurant lunch dining on embarkation day..we will wait for more news While booking for my spa session, I also noticed that Chef's table is available for booking so I'm hoping that this means Chef's table might be available for our sail date. *crossing fingers* Wondering if anyone might be able to share their experience if Chef's table would be worth our while if it becomes available or if we should stick to CK? LogicallyLazy and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted August 17, 2021 Report Share Posted August 17, 2021 I have done the Chef's Table many times and have always enjoyed it. The problem is that the menu of the Chef's Table changes only rarely so once we've experienced the current menu we generally do not go back until it changes....which can be quite a long time. I feel like perhaps they have changed it since the restart but who knows !! I would say it is definitely worth going when you are SC as you only pay $25 PP for the wine. It takes a whole evening though....so unless you're committed to a very long meal, you may want to think twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leikela Posted August 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 On 8/17/2021 at 11:55 PM, WAAAYTOOO said: I have done the Chef's Table many times and have always enjoyed it. The problem is that the menu of the Chef's Table changes only rarely so once we've experienced the current menu we generally do not go back until it changes....which can be quite a long time. I feel like perhaps they have changed it since the restart but who knows !! I would say it is definitely worth going when you are SC as you only pay $25 PP for the wine. It takes a whole evening though....so unless you're committed to a very long meal, you may want to think twice. We definitely want to try out the Chef's table.. it is currently available for purchase on Cruise Planner but our Genie informed us that they don't have any news of it being back on. Asked that she schedule us for a session should things change..I can't imagine them selling it on cruise planner but have no intentions to offer it esp this close to departure? In other food news, we have confirmation that the Seafood Tower is not on the menu anymore..*cries* And Wonderland is now available again..it was closed for the last few months I believe..think it just didn't make sense to keep that many speciality restaurants open for the limited capacity. However once in Wonderland is enough for us and the kids have decided that we are not repeating Wonderland. We were also told previously that takeaway was the only option for embarkation lunch but this has since change so we have a reservation at Coastal Kitchen for that.. It's Swab test day today for us..adults are feeling alittle paranoid abt the results..kids are just looking forward to it..how strange haha and DD8 has been counting down everyday for the last week...we have 'finalised' all our request with Eli and all we lack now is the proposed schedule and a negative test result and we are all set... 72 hours....here we go... WAAAYTOOO, Traveler and sammy79 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReanReally Posted August 30, 2021 Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 @Leikelaone of my friend sailed last week and he had initially purchased a dining package online but he received an email from RC a couple of days prior to sail-off informing him that the package was cancelled and the payment refunded to him. The strange thing is that the specialty restaurants are open (except Wonderland & Chef’s Table) throughout his cruise and he had to pay the a la carte pricing to dine at Chops. Sad to hear that seafood tower is not offered anymore; my husband was looking forward too that. I guess we will have to make do with the lobsters at Coastal Kitchen. My friend also reported some confusion at the cruise centre over COVID rapid tests prior to embarkation as it was not mentioned in the emails; his family took 3 hours to embark as a result. So do check in with the Genie on this to avoid unnecessary delays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leikela Posted August 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 Thanks @ReanReally yeah we mentioned to our Genie that we managed to secure a 1230pm slot when the earliest slot used to be 2pm. She confirmed that check in starts at 2pm so turning up at 1230pm would work just fine so that we could get the Antigen Rapid test done and then wait the hour for check-in.. Oh awesome lobster at Coastal Kitchen.. now that you have mentioned, I had better go check the menus and make sure that we are booked on the night where lobsters are on the menu PCR swab test went off without a hitch, and we got our results via the app on the 6th hour mark. Everyone is cleared and "Allowed to Travel" And now to start packing...48 more hours to go WAAAYTOOO and Skigoofy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicallyLazy Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 On 8/31/2021 at 7:39 AM, Leikela said: Thanks @ReanReally yeah we mentioned to our Genie that we managed to secure a 1230pm slot when the earliest slot used to be 2pm. She confirmed that check in starts at 2pm so turning up at 1230pm would work just fine so that we could get the Antigen Rapid test done and then wait the hour for check-in.. Oh awesome lobster at Coastal Kitchen.. now that you have mentioned, I had better go check the menus and make sure that we are booked on the night where lobsters are on the menu PCR swab test went off without a hitch, and we got our results via the app on the 6th hour mark. Everyone is cleared and "Allowed to Travel" And now to start packing...48 more hours to go Oh, I didn’t know there was an antigen test at the terminal now. In other news, super excited for you. Sad that the seafood tower is gone though. WAAAYTOOO and Leikela 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leikela Posted September 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Terminal check in in 4 hours!!! Last min packing happening now while the kids are in school..haha they both refused breakfast this morning, telling me that they are saving space for their massive lunch Final schedule was confirmed with our Genie yesterday at 230pm that's living life dangerously for me hahah embarkation lunch will be at Coastal Kitchen today...n dinner at Chops..the temptation to get a steak will be very real at CK later but 2 steaks in 1 day...do I dare? Haha.. I will probably post mainly photos as we go along (promised the kids my full attention) and round up the night with a write up if I'm not in a food coma yet Skigoofy, LogicallyLazy, sammy79 and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabecruiseexpert Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 So excited for you! Can't wait to hear all about it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.