happy cruzer

cove balcony smaller than interior?? Any one ??

so mercury mom, your observations are based on your logic. But the reports are different. I.e. many reports are no special requests even if the items is available like rice or a baked potato... So Rccl is going to have to decides to do no requests or certain requests.. what is your take based on your experience - Should one be able to get a salad with dressing on the side? A side vegetable? A side baked potato? None of those are on the menu.. Anyone?

What ever happened to Spa choices, vegetaraian??? I get it, some are happy with the calorie ridden choices but is RCCL really going to ignore the others?? It's pretty cheap to offer a green salad, gilled chicken, green veg with fruit/cheese plate or sorbet for dessert... We will see...

Just to add to this. Just looked at the description for the MDR on Harmony. It shows a sample menu old style with always available items and pictures of food that is not offered on the new menus. So yep unless you are looking a reviews and comments on social media or recent cruisers, you might be surprised at what you get on the ship.

We are OK for now. Especially when we can do the Unlimited Speciality Dining Package. However, I will not be such an advocate for cruising when talking to newbies. I used to say don't worry about the food, they will find a way to make you happy short of a wood grilled steak in the dining room - not with the new RCCL model.

Does the fine print preclude ordering a salad with dressing on the side, the salmon without the crust with an extra serving of spinach (listed in the lamb entree)? Never had to prove an allergy in the past...

Thanks for the review. Hopefully time will heal some of the disappointment which can happen to anyone. Sounds like you worked very hard to plan a good time for your group. Maybe in a month or so look at pictures from the cruise and remember the good times with your group.

Yes, but remember that claims will normally take months to process. Any weather event is going to cause problems; sometimes for days. No airline or company is immune. If you can't tolerate that possibility then you probably should not fly. We swore off flying for awhile but now do so but with much lower service expectation and a plan B/C.

You might consider specialty dining. They do accomodate requests better than the mdr. Noticied on a recent cruise that a severly handicapped dinner did the specialty each night. They probably will make the mdr work but there could be easier ways....

Just getting "travel insurance" may not cover your needs. You have to get the insurance that covers what you want covered. Some pre- existing conditions might not be covered. Policies describe immediate family members differently so caring for someone might not be covered. Cancel for any reason policies can be expensive, some do not provide refunds vs. cruise credits, have to cancel within certain periods. Just mentioning this as warning to be sure to dig into the details. Hope things improve for your group.

How crowded does the ship feel? Are there many lines for items like for Guy's, buffet, ropes course, etc? Thanks for checking in.

Thanks for the report. What vegetable do you get? Can you ask for an item like asparagus or spinach?

Yes, asking for a side of vegetables has worked in the past. But the reports are that special requests are not being honored on the new menus. Sooo can one get extra vegs or not????

Thanks for the video link. It kinda confirms one of my concerns - having vegetables available. Each meal looks heavy on carbs with not much veg. In seven days, I would start craving more green vegetables. I.e. more than two slices of carrots and one piece of broccoli. No mention or ordering sides of vegetables. The few salad offering are not very nutritious.

Has anyone gotten a Mojito or Bloody Mary in the tumblers? Or any of the non frozen drinks? Thanks for sharing.

Great. So they refilled with a cocktail at the normal price but 16 oz vs. smaller size? Looking for info on where the tumblers and souvenir glasses can be refilled. Thanks.

Any comments on the IMAX theater? What is the cost? What about refillable adult beverage souvenir glass? Are they only offered for frozen drinks? Have you seen onboard discounts on the specialty dining? Where and which days? Anyone purchase the cruise the vineyards package lately? What were the wines listed and did they have them all available? Lots of questions but search is not helping me much and really love this Vista thread. Thanks.

Where can you use the souvenir glass? At the bar you buy it? Other bars? Any pictures of it? Not doing cheers so this looks interesting. Thanks.

Are there any recent reports of crew selling discounts on the steakhouse once onboard? Where, when and how much of a discount, Please? Spoiled by the specialty dining packages on RCL. Thanks.

Having sailed both lines... Paying for the suite to escape the crowding may be a good idea. However that's pretty much all you get by paying that extra amount. To get better evening dining and the drink package which seem important to the OP is a different expense. Personally, if I wanted to get close to Celebrity, I would do specialty dining and pay for my favorite beverages i.e. Cruise the Vineyards package. If you like cocktails and are going to moan about the drinks buy the package. A balcony cabin is nice to have a quiet area and the savings can go toward other the other things you enjoy. The suite doesn't do much about dining or drinks. But mainly, I tend to embrace the differences. Enjoy the included casual food options, enjoy the lively crowd, enjoy the casual atmosphere, then if you want more formal experience do it on another trip or one night of the cruise. But absolutely would not expect the cruises to be the same. And paying for a suite on most lines only get you a bigger cabin. Set your expectations, avoid comparing, and enjoy!

Well, here is a differing opinion. We too were on Serenade recently. We did MTD and made reservations for 6:45. It does work as described. The early fixed dining does impact table availability and the staff really rushed to setup the new tables. The lines were long both with reservations and without for MTD but.... They moved quickly, never waited more than 20 minutes and usually about 5 minutes. Since we were not starving and don't really mind standing for awhile before sitting down for a meal of about 1 hour, we liked MTD. Will say the noise level was very high but that was coming from a large table that were having a good time and yelling so that all at the table could hear what was going on - that meant that lots of others could hear too. We sailed the week after Thanksgiving, the fog impacted cruise. Really enjoyed the cruise but Serenade is smaller so not as much going on as on the larger ships. Staff was great.

So WHY are they being arrested?? Back child support? Inquiring minds want to know....

We too got to participate in this embarcation that was impacted by fog. Both Serenade and Brilliance were delayed and arriving 30 minutes apart. The email from Royal said that the embarcation would start at 7:00 and that passengers should arrive 8 hours later than their original time. Royal had very little to do with how things where handled at the port. The Port of Tampa and the city police seemed to be directing everything. Traffic was horrible which Royal does not control. All the folks that still needed to get off the ship and to their cars in the parking lots to empty up the parking spots. Access into the port area was not well organized. It was hard to tell if a line was for Serenade or Brillance. Once parked and in line to board it was slow. Everyone except those that needed assistance and suites were in the same line (but there was no one to tell anyone which line to get in until near the door of the terminal), no checking of boarding times. Inside the terminal only three security lines (of a possible 6) were staffed. Once past security things went quickly. We took about 1 1/5 hours to get onboard. So yes it was a mess but not much of it was under the cruise line's control. The cruise itself was very nice. Very friendly staff made for a great time.

In the past something was offered for what was missed on the first day like lunch, early shows, sail away party … would be nice if people answered the question instead of being snarky😕 we have received two drink vouchers for fog delay - years ago.

Terminal 6?