340 plus points

[Susan M]

Question we will be reaching 340 points next cruise. One of our benefits is cheers with an officer . Does anyone have an details on that .

Does it include a lunch ? Please let me know.

 

Thanks

[MLH]

Yes, normal on a sea day.  Different menus for different ships, champagne and wine is included.

[Pattycruise]

Depends on length of sailing.  4 day cruise no.  I don’t recall 5 day, 6 day.

7 day or longer yes.

[CruiseGus]

On 6/6/2023 at 3:46 PM, Pattycruise said:

Depends on length of sailing.  4 day cruise no.  I don’t recall 5 day, 6 day.

7 day or longer yes.

that is correct 5 day and longer cruises only.  Lunch is usually pretty decent menu in my opinion, generally 3 entre options.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Frankly, I much prefer this new format (Cheers vs Meal).  A couple of officers come in, say a few words and then skedaddle.  With the old format, you had a couple of unfortunate junior officers (probably drew the "short" straw) who sat down and tried to make small talk.  I found it very uncomfortable.  But now, it's just lunch.  Which is a-ok with me.  The wine and champagne flow freely.  We had completely stopped going to the Meals with an officer, but have enjoyed the last 2 Cheers much more.

[twangster]

I'm the opposite.  I enjoyed the junior officers and learning different aspects I hadn't considered.  

I learned a lot about the shore excursion team and their processes by asking the officer in charge of ShoreEx all about it.   On another occasion it was the revenue manager who had all sort of details about how popular Voom packages are and how many tend to buy drink packages.  With a security officer one time I was able to ask a lot of questions about guests who miss the ship after a port of call, etc.

Now it's a canned speech that is probably shared with Captains across the fleet.  "Thank you for loyalty, blah, blah, loyalty, blah, blah, blah, we are here thanks to you, blah, blah".

I got a bum table the last time i went to a Cheers with an Officer.  It was a family of six from Puerto Rico who talked spanish the whole time so I basically had no one to talk with.  At least when an officer was at the table it drove a conversation the whole table could participate in.  

[bobroo]

Pro Tip: the D+ side of the luncheon is definitely the better party. Of course it all depends on your tablemates, but the Diamonds have more fun. I always eat on that side.

[GaryAA]

We were at 357 points last cruise, don’t remember getting an invitation. Do we need to go to guest services to sign up?

[Allen2]

5 minutes ago, GaryAA said:

We were at 357 points last cruise, don’t remember getting an invitation. Do we need to go to guest services to sign up?

Same issue for us.  We went to Loyalty Ambassador, and he claimed to have left a phone message (no messages on room or cell phones).  He apparently made a mistake and did not "own up" to it.  Left a very bad taste in my (and spouse') mouth.  

[Pattycruise]

3 hours ago, GaryAA said:

We were at 357 points last cruise, don’t remember getting an invitation. Do we need to go to guest services to sign up?

If you do not see the card invite in your cabin go to the loyalty ambassador and make an inquiry. That’s how I learned it’s not offered on a 4 night cruise.  I was on the same ship 2 weeks later for a 9 night and no invite.  I went to the loyalty ambassador and made an inquiry, the lunch would be day 9 and I’d get an invite another day.  That was odd as I’ve always found my invite, along with the Top tier event invite, in my cabin on day 1.

also be sure to pick your gifts and follow up.  On my last sailing I had my fruit platter/cheese but no wine (supposed to have wine) and I never received my tote bag.  I addressed the wine on day 1 and it was delivered the next day.  On day 8 I asked about my tote and she said it should have been delivered earlier in the week, so she had that taken care of. 

[BigKarl]

Anyone else remember eating at the "Captains Table" ?  We received place cards and A Souvenir Menu with our names on them (We also got food!) and made uncomfortable small talk with the Captain.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Just now, BigKarl said:

Anyone else remember eating at the "Captains Table" ?  We received place cards and A Souvenir Menu with our names on them (We also got food!) and made uncomfortable small talk with the Captain.

I just recently came across our name tags, photo and menu from our one and only Captain's Table dinner.  Boy that seems like a lifetime ago !

[F1guynz]

I've never seen a captains table dinner except on the Love Boat 

[Ditchdoc]

17 hours ago, BigKarl said:

Anyone else remember eating at the "Captains Table" ?  We received place cards and A Souvenir Menu with our names on them (We also got food!) and made uncomfortable small talk with the Captain.

Did Captains Table twice. First time was an Alaska cruise and on the the exact date of our 20th wedding anniversary. The head waiter picked us because we were sitting at a table for two and he said he did not want to disappoint anyone else that might be sitting at the larger tables.

Having seen how that system worked, on a latter cruise, we 'casually' mentioned to the head waiter that if he was looking for someone to sit at the Captains Table we were available ..... Well, he selected us. This time it was the Chief Engineer that sat with us.

Both times we were met a one of the bars, offered a drink, escorted to the table, served beverages of our choice, wine was poured, a complementary photo taken with names and date, ship etc added to the borders. As  you would expect, the service was exemplary and the meal excellent.

Both times the table was large, round and sat in the middle of the dining room. I think four additional couples joined us so it was 10 people plus the officer.

These were nice little perks that made a cruise truly special that cost RC almost nothing other than a few drinks.

Its getting were nothing is 'special' any more unless you pay extra for it.

[twangster]

18 hours ago, BigKarl said:

Anyone else remember eating at the "Captains Table" ?  We received place cards and A Souvenir Menu with our names on them (We also got food!) and made uncomfortable small talk with the Captain.

I had flown to the cruise and with all my scuba gear packed my luggage was full.  I had decided not to do any formal nights to make room for my gear, rather my plan was to eat in the WJ for dinners.

Turns out I got an invite in my cabin and I had to find something, anything better than what I had packed.  The only stop before Captain's Table was Key West.  It's not easy finding dressy stuff in Key West, it's mostly t-shirts and tropical polos.  After hours of looking I finally found a shirt that was better suited to the occasion.  

The best thing from that dinner was the Belle Glos wine they served.  Another solo cruiser I had befriended had brought her CAS voucher glass of wine with her from the Schooner Bar and was drinking Beach Kite.  I told her to stop drinking that stuff and drink the Belle Glos.  The look on her face when she took her first sip was priceless.