Mildred

When At Sea, are the cooking temp.regulations of the USA, or other jurisdiction, in force? I was under the impression that when At Sea, such things are suspended, using gambling as an example. So why so hard to get a rare hamburger?

I was on the April 27th Emerald to Alaska round-trip. The ice tea was unsweetened and pretty good, not anything special. Plenty of choices to brew your selection hot and transfer. It was mostly cold on our trip so hot tea, English Breakfast, was my beverage of choice. For Afternoon tea they offer Lipton but I asked for English Breakfast and they would bring a pot. Others around me were enjoying other blends.

We have always purchased drink packages for our sons when cruising. This way you will know the actual cost and not have the anxiety they will be ordering soda or mock-tails (non-alcholic) from every bar/venue on the ship. Peace of mind is very important to me. Your children will meet up with other teens/tweens and socialize not under your direct supervision. It will be hard for them to resist joining in to go for a beverage/snack after an activity.

Just off the Emerald and afternoon tea (no charge) was in the Botticelli Dining Room. They passed around finger sandwiches on trays: smoked salmon, egg salad, chicken salad, vegetable, ham and cheese, cheese and tomato, etc. on various breads: toast, roll, croissant, etc. There were at least 5-6 different varieties offered with slight changes each day. Pastries were also passed around on trays and there were fancy cookies, tarts, cakes, etc. The raisin scones were passed around separately. Didn't try the scones as I don't care for raisins. Sandwiches and pastries were very good. The first day I had the regular Lipton tea but after that I requested English Breakfast and they brought a pot to the table. As I looked around I saw others with pots of various blends as well. It was lovely.

Just off the Emerald and had Anytime dining for the 1st time. We arrived between 7:00-7:30 and was only given a beeper once. Found friends (with a beeper also) and decided to share a table which was available right away. If there was a line it was only a few people and moved swiftly. We sometimes sat at a table for 2, other times at a shared table. Had fun either way.

Have not been on Oasis Class, but I have never seen JR packed even at the original 5.95. Worst thing RCL ever did was take the Sea View Café off of Radiance Class. We were lucky to sail on Jewel just before the dry dock before she had the dry dock where it was removed.

Sea View Cafe was the absolute best ever !!!

Went into Ensenada on my 1st ever cruise and have stayed on the ship every since. Having the Mexican Navy patrol the dock from land and sea is a bit off putting.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2018/04/22/cartel-gunmen-jet-skis-open-fire-cancun-tourist-beach/

Yikes!!

The first time we went to JR was on Voyager back when it was free. Waited in line for almost an hour on a port day. Burgers were just okay, fries tasted of freezer burn and chocolate shake was made with a vanilla mix so wasn’t very “chocolatey” if you really like chocolate. A couple of cruises later, they had started to charge but everyone got a free coupon in their C&A packet so we tried again. While I did enjoy the Oreo sundae and DH said the beer was cheaper, I still preferred food elsewhere on the ship. We started giving our free coupons away. Don’t think I would ever pay $10 pp to consider going back.

Exactly!! I went with DH to a land based JR and ordered a chocolate shake that arrived very pale. When I asked to have more chocolate syrup added a manager was called and argued with me that the amount of chocolate used was the corporate standard. I said that a chocolate shake should be brown and not ecru. He actually lectured me like I was an idiot.

Don't mess with my chocolate !!

Yikes !!

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2018/04/22/cartel-gunmen-jet-skis-open-fire-cancun-tourist-beach/

Hmmm.... are we guests or captives?

So, if you were looking for a decent deal on a non-stop flight to Asia...from the Northeast....which airport would you use?

 

Hank

I would drive cross-country and take a cruise out of LA or San Diego to Asia. Yes, sarcasm, but I hate airports and flying now that they treat you like cattle in a feed lot and stuff you in like sardines in a can. Not to mention the sexual assault by the TSA at security. Why would anyone fly if not a matter of life or death.

I don't believe for one minute they upped the price so that people would limit themselves to moderate portions. The last thing I would want is for any cruise line to Nanny me!

To be fair, the above photo is a daytime concert in a casual location. I wouldn't expect the same should the venue be an opera house. After dark the above location would certainly be chilly. Honestly, the person in the knitted cap is on his mobile device, which I find more disturbing. It is not as if there is nothing better to look at, hear, or enjoy.

One more thought:

Rep 1 said he gets calls all the time from people confused why they are not getting the advertised price. He told me, he actually said this so no joke, I get them the cabin at that price and they go away happy. Just saying..........

Called back this morning and spoke to 4 different reps.

First rep was annoyed and stooped to calling me "Honey" in a derogatory way. He transferred me to:

Second rep who couldn't answer my questions and he transferred me to:

Third rep who couldn't help me because she only worked with travel agents so I was tranferred to:

Fourth rep who told me she was a resolution specialist and she couldn't help me because I didn't have a booking number. She did try to answer some of my questions so in a somewhat helpful/unhelpful way.

I've been trying to book...... sheesh....

The explanations I received:

The prices change because there is nothing left in the category at the given price. No, it doesn't notify you of the bump up in category or price. It just does it for my personal shopping convenience. BUT, get this, both rep 1 and rep 4 say there is 1 cabin left at the advertised price and they can book it for me on deck 10 but I cannot see it on the website as available.

I feel like Red Robinhood in the wood with the Wolf.

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO), as a consumer with money burning a hole in my pocket and my DH wanting to do a back to back out of Galveston, it seems like Bait & Switch to me. An unaware consumer may just accept what the website is showing them as to price/availablity when in fact they need to call to get the advertised price.

I don't understand how it can start out at $666 + taxes/fees for mid balcony deck 6 and 7.

Then it changed to $741 + taxes/fees same cabin same location while I was watching

Called

On phone with rep and I start getting $849 + taxes/fees for forward deck 10 ??

Rep couldn't help and had no interest from what I can tell because of his foreign accent.

Tried the website again and it was back to $741 + taxes/fees

My math 741 + 741 + 89 + 89 equals 1660

Their math equals 1859.92

The invoice has my cabin choice at over 2000 and then they list the discounts (sarc) and add the taxes/fees at the bottom.

Am I missing something??

I liked your reviews and photos very much. It was very informative and now I think we will skip the Salty Dog.

Thank you very much for such a detailed tour of the Emerald. Hubby and I will be sailing on her the end of April for our 1st cruise on Princess.

I really liked the outfit by Jerell and thought that it should have been the winner. The belt was the WOW factor and especially well done. Without the belt the dress would have been ordinary.

The winning design this week was not one I cared for. From the colors to the cut I didn't think the silhouette would flatter a taller/fuller figure.

Blaine make the wrong type of Bermuda short for the challenge. It should have been dressy and not so sporty. Still, I wouldn't have sent him home for it.

The person I would have sent home is Daniel. He whines all the time and is a poor spot to boot. So far I haven't see any examples of his good taste. Instead of doing the best he could with sewing the skirt all he said it wasn't his design. This led me to believe that he is certainly not a team player and this was a team challenge.

I was also surprised that Emily was sent home. The dress Jennifer made was very boring and unflattering.

I didn't care for the winning dress with the protruding thigh puff. I preferred the beautiful and original black skirt/top.

WOW! I love Project Runway!!

Jeffrey's "picnic tablecloth from Dogpatch, USA gown" was horrid!! Cut so high up the front crotch that I only hope the model had on fancy knickers.

He should have been kicked off with that so called dress he made for Angela's mother. As a larger woman myself I found his attitude insulting and that rag would have not flattered even the size 0 models. Make all your clients cry and feel terrible about themselves...that is a great way to build a business.

And what was with the shiny studded crotch??? Just what does he have that he thinks is so great that all attention should be directed to it??? What is next a return to the cod-piece :eek:

He did show a collection at Fashion Week so he most likely was not disqualified.

Laura and Uli.....yawn!! Same old thing over and over.

Michael... needs more experience, expecially with formal wear

It is long past the time that Santinos' mother should have washed out his mouth with hot soapy water.

Maybe the time has come for the models to pick what designer they want to work with instead of the other way round. If a model wore the winning design that week they would have a chance to "jump ship" to a different designer. Or after every challenge the models pick from the bag for new designers??

I just emailed Tim Gunn. If I should get a reply I will post it here :rolleyes:

I haven't gone over to see what Tim has to say as yet. Will do that soon.

For one of the Challenges it would be nice for them to design some evening wear or sportswear or dress or bathing suit for a plus sized woman instead of all the twiggy thin tall models. That would be a test their true talents. The one stipulation is that it could not be black in color.

How about some nice cruisewear day into evening outfits?

I have lots of ideas.