Tender Lady

On 4/4/2020 at 10:17 PM, DELTABLUE said:

Not a clue  but I can report that Abe Hughes is CD on the Virtual of the Seas!😉

Ha. My eyes lit up and everything.

For folks who were re-routed to Nassau and said, "Blech," let me say that it is dirt compared to Cuba, so I agree. However, we did enjoy our excursion to Pearl Island the last time we went to Nassau. It's a coral reef island with a small beach and included lunch (really great food, IMHO) so it's for folks who want to relax in the sun or play on water toys like kayaks or floating foam "islands". Shade can be found. I'm just hoping to help someone make lemonade out of lemons. 

I am so sorry for all who are affected by this situation.

6 hours ago, pclevel said:

Yes Graham is currently on Explorer

We sailed on Explorer on one of Graham's first cruises after he returned from "retirement" and he made a few jokes about it, e.g. AD: "I thought you retired?" Graham: "I thought I did too!"

Any idea who is on Radiance in May?  We're sailing the 17th and if Cuddy had a 4 month assignment starting January 14 then we're probably getting someone else. I'll report back if nobody else knows before we sail.

{melodramatic pose} I don't care anymore now that Abe is moving shoreside. {resume natural pose} 😉

This topic has been as helpful as I can expect when predictions are being made about CocoCay (I mean, PDACC). We will be there in April 2020, and the only options available to us right now are a beach float for $18/pp and a cabana at Chill Island for $549. It's pretty disappointing that for that price you don't get some privacy, which for me is a nice name for respite from screaming kids and long buffet lines. There are cabana attendants, so I suppose they will bring lunch to you, the way it was done for the Bungalows and Beach Beds on South Beach the last time we visited.  We bit the bullet and booked a Chill Island cabana, and hope but don't really expect that the over-water cabanas will be ready before we cruise. If they are, I will steel my nerves and rent that and give up Chill Island because hubby really wants to  do the over-water thing. The other ports on the cruise will cost us $0 in excursions so I guess it averages out.

We had a blast when we rented a Beach Bed for the day. The price is per bed. Floats are provided and the attendant brings you water in an ice bucket. The ice melts in about 10 minutes. There are canvas drapes on the sides of the bed so you can block the sun quite effectively. It was a little harder when the wind picked up.

You reserve your bed on board the ship the first day - go early to get the best selection. We also chose our menu items when we chose the bed we wanted. We chose the front row and nearer to the bathrooms than others. Any of them would have been great.

Per this Explorer review, Topi is the CD there. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56718295&postcount=22

 

He was supposed to take over on Freedom.....so now there is a new mystery...who is on Freedom?

Reading down a bit in that review, the poster got his dates wrong and was on Explorer July 20-27, not after the changeover. I think that means it's still up in the air who is on Explorer now.

Thanks, Bill. Sorry for zombie'ing this thread! :halo:

I want to thank Donna and the rest of you for helping me identify a CD from a few cruises back: Abe Hughes on the Anthem. He was the first CD who I really noticed enhancing my enjoyment of the cruise, although I'm sure the others were effective and I was just oblivious.

Hey Bill and Marie, we almost had another cruise together (Explorer Sept 21 Pac Coast) but I hear you won't be joining us. I know the cruises must all blur together for you, but do you by any chance remember who the cruise director on this Hawai'i to Vancouver trip was?

Back in Internet range, lol. We had a good day on Pearl Island. The food was very good. Fried fish, crispy and fresh. BBQ chicken, moist with a tasty sauce. The cole slaw was tangy. The rice and peas is what I would call rice and black beans. It was mahogany brown, very tasty.

The beaches are small, so you wouldn't spend time laying on the sand under an umbrella. However, they have lots of water toys: kayaks, stand up paddleboards, a large beach float (think 3x the size of a one person float), and a huge donut float. We mostly relaxed in the shade in view of all the activity and drank in the gorgeous views around us. People had a lot of fun in the water. There was no crowding and I think everyone found shade. The company is clearly constructing some new shade areas or possibly bungalows on the far side of the beach.

The snorkeling add on didn't seem like much to me. After an introduction on shore, a guide threw some chum in the water and took the group out to the snorkel area. It would be good for a beginner but if you're really into snorkeling you might want to choose a focused snorkel tour.

We enjoyed ourselves so much I forgot to save time to climb the lighthouse. It was a great time for us, not crowded, lots of choice of what to do, good food.

If you can wait 5 days, I can report back. We'll be there on the 3rd of July.

I made a cabin change on one of my current reservations yesterday.

Yeah, I know you did. *envy*

Not sure if by gift preferences you mean purchasing gifts. I just purchased something by logging in, clicking on the "already booked" tab and then on "Royal gifts". Hope this helps.

I'm pretty sure Deck_Diva meant "amenities preferences", for instance what would you like as your Diamond in-room amenity, Coke or water?

I acquired a middle name , Patricia, never had a middle name in my life!!. I deleted it and saved the changes but when I went back in it was still there. Oh well.

This is quite a shame. I have always had a policy of buying people named Heather Patrica a drink.

Their entire target market is on the internet and Facebook. ... Megaships and theme park islands like the envisioned CoCo Cay are the direction the company is headed. Welcome, millennial generation. Boomers are on their way to the retirement home.

News flash: the Millennials are not on Facebook. Last I checked, they were on Instagram and think Facebook is for old folks. (I'm also in the 15%, but I keep my ear to the ground.)

And I can not find the three horizontal lines at the top of the page that another poster mentioned?

That's on tablets (iPad, Android, etc) and is probably browser-dependent. It's the entry to a menu system. On my PC, the menus appear across the top of the page (Plan a Cruise, Already Booked, etc.).

Take a deep breath.

For those who can log in, do so and then tap on the Crown and Anchor symbol, upper left. That takes you to the somewhat regular RC home page, still signed in. You can get to some places from there.

Or, from the new page, tap on the last two words on the page, Site Map. You currently can reach the cruise planner from there, but not from the home page mentioned above.

I expect this will change rapidly. While I read the first 7 pages of this thread, my cruises populated. While I read the last 8 pages, my past cruises populated.

When we sailed Liberty out of Bayonne in (thinking)... (giving up and looking at old SeaPass card)... October 2015, there were at least a couple of LGBT mixers. They were held in Olive or Twist.

Pancho's Backyard was decent food but I can get better spice a block from my house in California. What they held back in spices they made up for in tequila in my margarita. As my DH said, "Tequila is cheap. Margarita mix is expensive." He also said, "Oh honey, someone who drinks 3 beers and 2 glasses of wine in a year probably shouldn't tackle that," and later, "Just hang onto my arm, I'll get you across the street safely. No, that's still water out there, not a Monet painting. Yes, I know it's all fuzzy looking."

The cabs were $8 per group from International Pier to downtown when I was there a month or so ago. In both cases, each group paid $8, so in a van where there was one group of four and two couples, the cab driver collected $24. In essence, it was $8 per stop. We didn't mind, by the way; door-to-door service from International Pier was convenient.

DaveNetMan, there is a good comic book store about 2 blocks from my home in California. Sadly, we have none of the following in our town: beaches, mountains, interesting restaurants, museums, water parks, ruins, snorkeling, local culture, or any culture whatsoever. We do have a small park with a swing set. Hope to see you soon! :D

In our case, it's DH's preference. I like a big breakfast, a sandwich around 2 pm, and a light dinner (soup/chili/stew or a hearty salad) around 8 pm. DH skips breakfast, eats lunch at 11 am, and wants a big dinner at 5 pm. I have no idea how we've stayed married so long, but the food thing has been an issue. Since suppers on a cruise ship are big, we go with his plan but I sneak out as early as the venues open for a light breakfast. I just can't make it to 11 am without anything to eat. He drinks coffee which I guess is an appetite suppressant.

On a cruise, we also prefer to eat then go to shows. 9:30 pm suppers are not our thing.

I also learned from the screenshot they sent me that classic early dining will be at 5:30 instead of six as indicated on our documents.

We went at 5:15 and were seated promptly every time.

Did you have long waits for the kid things? Bumper cars, flow rider etc?

The universal rule is GO EARLY. For instance, the bumper car line goes pretty fast with approximately 3 minute rides, but it goes faster if you're at the front. ;) The only thing is that to be at the front you need to be there before they start, and it takes a while to convert the SeaPlex to Bumpercarville. You'll be standing a while either way. I am sure there is a sweet spot where you are waiting in line the least amount of time and watching bumper cars rather than venue conversion, but I can't say what that timing is. Just don't go late. FlowRider was not a problem for me, and I had a blast. The water flow rate was faster than on the Liberty (confirmed by staff) and I had to adapt to that.

My only complaint about Sorrentos was the lack of mushrooms. Mushrooms are essential on my pizzas. I was able to make a credible veggie pizza with peppers and onions and it was tasty. After the first day we always got made-to-order rather than the stock pizzas. Be aware that their hours on port days are very short, like 11:30 am to 1 pm. It goes to 3 pm on sea days but there's no such thing as a late night munchie pizza run.

In general, the OP had a much better dining experience than we did, but I'm not going to whine about that here especially considering the rumors that the Quantum class ships are converting to traditional dining.

I'm a little confused about this, but apparently the Solarium Bistro is, or was, called Divinly Decadent for the evening meal. That's what it was called in the online reservation process before sailing. The only place I saw it called that on the ship was the elevator signs, which I know take decades to keep up with changes on the ship's layout or attributions.

I was disappointed to see that Solarium Bistro at breakfast is a buffet. We don't do buffets on ships due to hygiene issues, but they did fry us a couple of eggs each. It's all DH would eat there. I had a little corned beef hash with mine, using a napkin to handle the serving spoon. Before you decide we're germophobes, know that DH came down with a cold on day 3 and I followed on day 6, so we were both sick for most of the cruise. DH would have used nothing but room service for day 3 and 4 if he could have, but the menu has been neutered.

While Chic was okay for dinner, our service experience there at breakfast was abysmal. (Example: the waiter took my husband's juice order and later brought him a refill, both times totally ignoring me despite my attempts to get her attention.) Your mileage may vary, and I hope it does! We did get made-to-order omelets and crepes at the WJ - as OP said, go early. The station is all the way in the back but it doesn't stay a secret long.

Breakfast and lunch at 270 are fine. Premade breakfast sandwiches, paninis and such that are toasted for you, plus a selection of soups, both premade and made-to-order salads (limited ingredient choices, but okay), and those divine beef sandwiches. Brownies, small baked sweets, and jello are also available. I wish the horseradish sauce was a little more horseradish and a little less mayonnaise, but I understand my love for food that bites back is a personal preference.

Thank you. For the moment, this is the post of my dreams.

Also remember that you won't receive double C&A points on these as you would do when traveling solo in a normal double cabin.

Thank you (and others after who mentioned this). This was my question.

Okay, that's not something we would use. Plus in the past I turn my cell phone off once we leave NJ.

I solved this problem neatly by dropping my smartphone into the dishwater a week or two ago. All efforts at resuscitation failed. :(

Has anyone enjoyed The Gift? I'm willing to give anything a try, but the only rez we could grab is on St. Patrick's day, and forces us into a late dinner at a specialty restaurant. My husband Patrick takes Mar. 17th very seriously and he'll try figure out where, if anywhere, he can get the dinner he considers his birthright: corned beef and cabbage. He also doesn't like eating later than 5 or 6 pm. I don't want to totally mess up his special day with an incomprehensible show and a disappointing dinner, so I'm thinking of cancelling our reservations.

What freaked me out, is there were 3 girls in the cabin, and when we came in at night they had our nightgowns laid out on the bed, and they always got the right one. To this day I don't know how.

I had never heard of the SS Oceanic until I read this thread, and our first cruise was in 2002 on the (wow!) largest cruise ship afloat - the Star Princess, currently tied for 54th in that category.

However, this recollection of yours made me laugh out loud. I can see the puzzlement on your face after all these years. Just accept it - you had a Jedi cabin steward.