skohrs

Day 8 - 3/25/2017

Day 7 - 3/24/2017

Day 6 - 3/23/2017

Day 5 - 3/22/2017

Day 4 - 3/21/2017

Day 3 - 3/20/2017

Day 2 - March 19, 2017

Day 1 - 3/18/2017

We just returned from Freedom of the Seas yesterday morning. We did not do the beverage package because I don't want the pressure of feeling like I need to drink a certain amount to "get me money's worth" each day. I feel like if I pay as I go, I would likely not go over the price of the drink package, even if I drink whenever I want without worrying about the cost; and even if I do go over, it wouldn't be by much. I certainly understand why others do buy the package and it works for them. Others in my cruise party did purchase the drink package and I am sure they got their money's worth.

My thoughts on the beverage package is not about whether it is worth the money or not. Obviously, that is a very individual thing. Rather, I wonder if anyone else has noticed what I did about beverage service since the drink packages have increased in popularity and are being pushed by RCCL. It seems to me like the beverage service has declined in quality since the drink packages have emerged. It used to be that while sitting by the pool, the beverage staff were always coming around asking if we needed any drinks. They also seemed to always be carrying around a tray full of the "drink of the day" to purchase. You never had to go to the bar to get a drink at the pool or at a show unless you wanted to do so (perhaps so you can see a bartender you have been tipping well to get a better pour). Now it seems like they are rarely circulating with drinks for sale on their tray while at the pool. They also do not really come up (at least not as often) to ask if you want a drink while at the pool or at a show. Don't get me wrong. It is not difficult to get a drink when you need one. There are bars everywhere, and there are still beverage servers circulating that you can wave down. It just seems like now that a large number of people who drink seem to have a beverage package, it is in RCCL's best financial interest to provide as few drinks as possible, so they don't push the beverage sales like they used to do. They still happily serve you and don't discourage you from using your beverage package, but they don't go that extra mile like they used to do.

I am sure that some people are happy with that change based on the number of complaints people on CC have with the constant selling of specialty restaurants, drink packages the first couple days, watches, art auctions, t-shirts, etc. Many would rather not be "bothered" while relaxing at the pool or at a show. I actually don't mind saying I'm not interested when I am not interested, and I enjoy the service being available if I do want to purchase a drink.

I also feel like the drinks for the most part were not as strong as they were before the drink packages, but that could just be my perception. It does make sense though. If someone prepaid for unlimited drinks and RCCL can serve them each just a little less alcohol per drink, it really adds up for them. They will still make them stronger for you using your drink package if you ask (my BIL always ordered a Patron Margarita with an extra shot of Patron and it was covered under his package), but if you don't have a drink package your drink will not be as strong as before unless you pay extra for an extra shot.

Has anyone else noticed these changes, or is it just me being a cynic?

I was just thinking I had seen every topic possible on this site...and I was just proven wrong! 🤣

 

 

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Thought I'd mix it up a little. A little bored with reading about shorts in the main dining room.

Just off Freedom, and my family and I loved the soft serve ice cream available all day at Sprinkles on Deck 11. It was deliciously creamy (not icy like the soft serve we had on the Disney Fantasy last year). It did leave me thinking though. Why is it called Sprinkles? It seems like an incredibly ironic name for an ice cream place without a single sprinkle to be found. I felt like I should search for a bar called Rum Runners that doesn't serve a drop of rum, and a vegan restaurant called Beef Eaters. :D:')

LIVE from The Quest.

Tip #1: Get there early. We were there only 10 minutes early, and the only seats available were these obstructed view seats.

I don't think I will be able to see anything that happens from here, but I will try.

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I'm in the dining room now and reception is okay here, so I will upload a few images.

A couple of our cruise director Michele

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I will finish this report when I get home. Too many issues with uploading photos on the Wi-Fi here. I get no Wi-Fi reception in my promenade cabin. I fail to see how one could "stream" using this service.

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A few more photos from Labadee

When I got back on the ship, I got showered and changed quickly to make it to the Crown and Anchor upper tier reception with Captain Toni. Super Mario was there and he was earning his 18th free cruise. He spoke for about 5 minutes about being "loyal to Royal" since 2000. How in the world does someone rack up 6,668 sea days in 17 years? If you are at sea every day for 10 years, that would only be 3,650 sea days (plus a couple for leap years). I guess double points for suites? Do you get quadruple points for a solo suite?

Dinner tonight is a quick windjammer dinner. No pictures or stories there, other than to say that the crepes were scrumptious. We then caught the early show. The Headliners were a singing group called "These Guys". I was not impressed. I thought they were not very good or entertaining (remember, I was a music major in college, so I am a bit judgmental). I wouldn't recommend seeing them to anyone else. While I am on the subject of subpar musical entertainment, the guy at the piano bar (I won't mention his name) is absolutely horrible. Not a good piano player, but compared to his singing, he is a piano virtuoso. The first time I heard him, I thought that there was karaoke going on. I couldn't believe it when I saw it was a paid performer. I really hope he doesn't read this, because I don't want to hurt his feelings, but doesn't anyone at RCCL audition these performers before they hire them? I know there are a lot of ships in the fleet to fill with entertainment, but it seems like they are reserving the better entertainment for the newer bigger ships. All of the music on Allure was top notch, and friends of mine who have cruised on the Oasis class ships have had nothing but good things to say about the music.

Bed time. Tonight was bunny night.

Labadee was really nice. The only real complaint is the overly aggressive vendors. It makes you not even want to walk through to the last beach because you have to "walk the gauntlet", and there is no polite way to tell these people you are not interested. I know this is a very common complaint people have had for years, so I am not sure why Royal allows it. I mean, I would understand if they were trying to sell us specialty dining or drink packages, but they are selling chachkies. Other than that, it is a beautiful island. The food leaves something to be desired though. Friends of ours were in the private beach for suite guests, and they had shrimp skewers, ribs, and chicken breast. I really nice spread. The same food that Disney provides to all guests on Castaway Cay when you cruise with them. The food provided by Royal for those of us in steerage was not that great, so I just waited to get back on the ship to pick something up at Windjammer. I don't really like eating at the beach anyway. Here are some random photos from the island.

My daughter and her best friend in a postcard type photo.

My wife's toes. (I paid a lot of money for these, so they are going to be posted).

The obligatory feet and ocean shot.

Dragon's Breath Alpine Coaster

Video of the Dragon's Breath if anyone is interested in seeing it.

Day 3 - Labadee, Haiti

It was raining in the morning when we arrived at Labadee at 8am, but the Captain said it would pass within an hour and it would clear up for the rest of the day. It finally stopped raining at about 10am and cleared up nicely by 11am. Here are a couple photos from deck 11 before anyone got off the ship.

On our way down to get off the ship, by wife took these photos of me sitting in "MORGAN" until we were told that we couldn't sit in the car.

The next day, this was on the car.

We headed back to the cabin to retire for the night after giving the casino a little bit of our money. I took this photo on the way back and like it, so I thought I would post it.

When got got into our cabin, we found our first towel animal, an elephant.

Our cabin attendant, Arnold for the Philippines, is wonderful at towel animals and is the nicest and most attentive attendant we have ever had on any cruise. He even got some extra padding for our bed when he heard my wife talking about how hard the bed was. He gets an A+ and will be getting an additional tip at the end of the cruise. Day 3 coming up.

I ordered the filet mignon. I was a little hesitant after the the filet I had the night before at Chops, but I am so glad I ordered this. It was maybe the best filet I have ever eaten. So tender and tasty. Cooked perfectly mid-rare.

Finally was dessert. The choices were tiramisu, cannoli (2 types filled with a chocolate creme and a vanilla creme), and ... well, who cares what else. They had TIRAMISU and CANNOLI!!!!!! We have eaten a lot of tiramisu over the years, and the tiramisu at Giovanni's is by the far the best EVER! It was light and fluffy, and tasted so good.

We asked Leonardo if we could get a small amount of the tiramisu to take back to the cabin (I needed my sister who was also on this cruise with her family) to taste it. Leonardo said that was no problem and filled up a HUGE bowl with the tiramisu for us. I think my sister put it in her refrigerator in the cabin and ate it for two nights. What a terrific experience. Definitely worth the $15 per person it ended up costing us with the BOGO deal.

The venue is also very pretty.

Dinner at Giovanni's was next. This meal was amazing. The food and the service was far superior to the food and service at Chops. For starters, the food was all hot as you would expect in an expensive restaurant and the presentation was visually pleasing. The service I realize was related more to the servers we had than to the restaurants themselves, but my experience at a restaurant has a lot to do with how I feel about the restaurant as a whole. That being said, Leonardo was so attentive without being "hovering" and he was so nice and pleasant.

On to the food. The appetizers are served "family style" so we were encouraged to order a few different ones for the table. We ordered the scallop appetizer and expected there to be 3 scallops to share among the 4 of us (why do restaurants do that?), so we were shocked when they arrived and there were 8 full-sized scallops (not bay scallops). They were absolutely delicious. Cooked just right so they weren't tough and just melted in your mouth.

We also ordered the prosciutto and mozzarella with honey mustard on a flatbread or crostini (I can't remember which). What I do remember is these were also very tasty. There were 8 of these as well.

The Caprese Salad was also very good, but pretty standard fare at Italian restaurants and at my house.

When we were done with the appetizers we were already getting full, and we still had the pasta and entree courses to come ... and let's not forget about dessert. My wife and daughter both got the chicken dish and they loved it. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I am sure there are menus floating around here on Cruise Critic somewhere.

My daughter's best friend ordered the lamb. She said it was really good. I am really not a lamb fan (unless it is ground up into a paste with other meat and formed into a Gyro), but she eats lamb and said this was as good as any she has had. It looked pretty.

Day 2 (cont.)

We went to the early showing of the production show "Marquee: A Tribute to the Shows that Light Up Broadway" because we had 8PM reservations at Giovanni's. The show was pretty good. Not the same as seeing a full broadway show like on the Oasis class ships, but not necessarily worse. Here is why. This show covered many different Broadway shows, and just a few minutes of each. If you don't like a particular show, you only have to wait a few minutes for a different show. If you see a production show, and it is one you don't like, it can be a long 90 minutes. For example, I would rather have my teeth pulled without any painkillers than sit through a performance of Cats. I know some people like Cats (or it wouldn't have run for so long), but I find it to be one of the worst shows ever with no discernible plot. I am kind of a musical theater geek (I was a music major in college), but I cannot for the life of me figure out why this show was ever popular. Sorry for the rant, but just thinking about having to sit through that play one more time gets my blood boiling. At any rate, this performance of Marquee had songs from 42nd Street, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Phanton of the Opera, La Cage a Folles, Cabaret, Hair, and some others I cannot remember. Here are a few photos.

Any new compass at all those first ones great and adventure ocean!

 

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Day 5

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Any new compass at all those first ones great and adventure ocean!

 

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Day 4

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Any new compass at all those first ones great and adventure ocean!

 

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Day 3

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It's late (2:30am), so I'll post more tomorrow.