retired dude

we too were on this cruise and the somewhat rough seas yesterday were caused by a front that we went through off the west coast of fla......we too enjoyed the cruise, food was hit/miss and service was amazing...Shows were good for the most part and the lounge bands, and the rest of the entertainers were outstanding.. I did not follow this thread while we were on the ship, we were too busy having fun....we got offered a free future cruise with celebrity and will look forward to sailing on the "connie" again....life is good

back when i was security supervisor for a major art museum i had the good fortune to meet Dale in Miami...He was in line in front of me to board a plane and the the multicolored keds were a dead giveaway, even before he turned around. I politely introduced myself and told him how blessed i was to finally meet him------his response was "no, the honor is all mine"....just like his works, all class...life is good

just got off of the explorer last week and as we were having a drink in the promenade and listening to some great music, we approached a table with two couples seated there. I politely told that that i did not mean to interrupt their conversations but we wanted to compliment them on their attire. They were showing out and looked amazing and they so appreciated us telling them that..They said that they were proud to dress up and that it was a matter of self pride and not for any one else's benefit.....kinda made our night....we grew up taking pride in our appearance and it was always about that and not the narcissistic approach that most of our society now adheres to....just sayin'

on the explorer no reservations are needed for any of the shows....for excursions and specialty dining that is up to you to schedule.

we do dinner in the mdr every night and tip both the waiter and assist waiter each night. Simply amazing how much better the entire dining experience is...Wonder if some folks go to the the buffet to avoid tipping beyond the small amount that the staff gets from the madatory grats...just a thought.

we are supposedly still in our midship deck 7 balcony cabin...time will tell.

boarding was a piece of cake.

favorite-tampa, least favorite for disembark is miami with the conveyer belt luggage mess and the horrible process of getting off of the ship on the explorer with no one monitoring who gets off the ship whenever they want to with no regard for everyone else.

i personally have found that placing a picture of mr. lincoln in the palm of the waiter and assist waiter every night does wonders to liven their spirits....just saying'

we tried that, they said they did not received our first try and i show where they should have. I then tried again and they said that they honor request for those couples like us that like to dine alone, but they would not help us at all..they said to see the dining room person on deck 3 when we arrive at the ship...they were not help at all. We already had a fixed dining time set up and had written docs from rccl showing that, buy even though they said they honor requests like ours, they would not do so...typical customer service from rccl from a happy diamond member.

the magnet on our frig says "happiness is being married to your best friend".....table for two is perfect..I have also noticed that a picture of andrew jackson gently placed into the palm of the hand of the person that handles the seating in the dining room helps with location and service alot...just sayin'

thanks much. B&B in clearwater.

good am: i have a favor to ask.. We are on the 10-15-22 sailing on the explorer and i was hoping that you could check with the pool band and see if it is still the great band from jamaica that was on this ship this spring..There are four in the band, singer, piano, guitar and drums and they are the best we have seen in 30 years of cruising. If it is the same band could you let me know here on CC...I only ask because i see that you are doing multiple back to backs on the ship before we board. thanks much

hope you have a great sailing....we wait until the second cruise after she returns from overseas so that they can work out any kinks and get properly restocked with all the good stuff..We sailed on her in dec 21' with a whopping 800 passengers. Best and most relaxing cruise that we have ever been blessed to go on....have a great one.....

we are on the 11-11-22 connie sailing and when i checked last week, there were 260 empty cabins. Most if not all, were ocean view and inside.

we, like the radiance class(living in the tampa area makes it a snap to cruise on them) and we like alot of you don't need all of the bells and whistles of the oasis class ships.. Our other favorite is the explorer out of the east coast of fla..Only drawback to her is the horrible disembarkment...Besides that she is a gem and the jazz concerts every day in the various locations is huge for us...In regards to sailing with "yutes" we try to avoid them by not sailing during spring breaks, summer, thanksgiving or xmas..just our preference...life is good. B&B in clearwater.

we prefer the radiance class ships of rccl..They remind us of of days on the song of norway, the southward and the small classy ships from back in the day...If i want 6000 people elbow to elbow like the oasis, i'd go the circus or disneyworld....Cruising for us is relaxing with a little bit of entertainment, some nice food and adult beverages, a balcony to watch the ocean go by and each other...life is good.

we are on the explorer , the constellation and the serenade before the 1st of the year.....got tremendous deals on them and can't wait. We wish you guys well.....go bucks!

missed sailing a couple of times with you two on the brilliance out of tampa....we wish you well. B&B in clearwater.

getting sick of reading the dietary needs of these folks on here......For what you are paying for the cruise you cannot expect the restaurants to bend over backwards to suit you every need...If you can't eat what is offered in 90% of the restaurants in this country, then stay home and fix your own damn meals.....boy that felt good to say that...........

manchebo beach in aruba....stayed there several times in the properties on that strand and it is beautiful..

at $35 a lb for lump crab how much do you think a cruise line that lost what they did in the last 2 years is putting in their crab cakes. On a recent cruise the restaurant manager stopped by our table and asked how i liked the "lump crab cake".... I kindly and respectfully adivsed him that if you are not going to use lump in the recipe then change the menu to claw meat or worse...He smiled and gave me credit for knowing the difference and said that lump crab or high quality crab is not going to happen in these days on rccl in the MDR........I appreciated him honesty....He went on to say that most cruisers don't know the difference...........life is good

had a nice conversation with the food/beverage manager on a sailing several months ago about the decline in food quality...His answer was honest....He mentioned how tough it is to get good talented help, the time to train new help, keeping accounts with vendors that they used before the pandemic and finding new quality vendors that supply good quality items...Rising costs and the inability of the cruise line to pay for the top shelf food that the cruise lovers have been used to.......pretty much summed it all up....

we are pleased with the radiance class ships on rccl for the design and size. ....and having some of them sail out of tampa is a blessing....p.s. we miss kentucky

good reason to use a TA when booking a cruise. An experienced cruise pro would have known to tell you to not book rooms close the the centrum opening on any of the floors. You should allow at least 20 rooms either fore or aft from those midship elevators to get away from the noise...It is just the design of that class of ship...Besides that, they are very appealing ships in many ways...hope that helps.