theotherchad

25 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

 

Not a fan of the quantum class.

 

We have sailed on and enjoyed a number of ships and never had a bad cruise. However, I do have particular memories of two ships that were more special. The first was Rhapsody of the Seas. Our first 5 or 6 cruises were on this smaller, older ship. This ship sailed out of Galveston for several years running and there was just something special about the crew and cruise director staff. Our very first Cruise Director was Dan Whitney, better known as Dan Dan the Party Man. 

Then, after several sailings on that older Vision class ship, we had our first sailing on the Voyager of the Seas. That was special because this was the first sailing on a ship that had an indoor Grand Promenade! My wife loved the Vintages and I loved the pub and we both loved the Cafe' Promenade for early morning coffee and late night pizza. 

In May, we'll sail on our first Oasis Class ship, the Allure of the Seas. By the way, I noticed that several posters on this thread listed Allure as their fave, but the most recent reviews on Cruise Critic are very negative. Any thoughts on why this might be?

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

I find Don to be really annoying and uses click bait titles. La Lido is not as annoying but is not far behind. Gary Bembridge is pretty much the only cruise blogger that I can stand. 

I agree about Don, more about him being annoying than about click bait. I'll occasionally watch, but he just seems to complain more than inform. I find Tony on La Lido Loca pretty amusing. I get his sense of humor and I usually agree with his opinions. 

Bembridge is probably the most informative cruise vlogger, and his fellow Brit, Emma Cruises is also really informative. The only issues are that Emma spends too much screen time  on really cheap cruises based in the British Isles and Gary Bembridge focuses much more on the higher end super traditional cruise lines, so they  aren't as tuned in to what I am interested in. 

If you haven't watched Visit with Us, Rich and Helen are a couple of Brits who do videos on mostly very high end cruises, but I find his narration subtly hilarious. 

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Or some of those popular YouTube bloggers report it on their site. Don and Loco Loco. Maybe they already have. I have their channels blocked. 

Wait, what? You have Don and La Lido Loca blocked? Why? 

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

Allure has a very nice Diamond Lounge. Great place to get an espresso or cappuccino and take in the view of the Boardwalk.

I must admit, considering that this next cruise in May is our first in about 4 years (hello COVID and other complications), and that it will be our first cruise as Diamonds, I'm way more excited than a man in his late fifties should be. We're talking "six year old who just got a pony" excited. 

7 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Did someone indicate that they don't?

 It depends on the ship. The policies and availability, etc of various lounges differs. Still, to me, even if the Diamond lounges did completely disappear, it seems to me that the anytime anywhere drink vouchers that replace them are an upgrade, not a cut. 

I do feel like for some cruisers, there is a status thing where they like the idea of being in a "special" lounge more than they care about actual benefits. As a brand new diamond, about to go on a ship that does have a diamond lounge (Allure OTS), we might go to the lounge and we might not. But we will definitely take pleasure in the roughly $60-$100 per day that 4 free drinks each will save us as a couple instead of griping about not having a lounge to make us feel special. 

On 1/3/2023 at 12:06 PM, c-leg5 said:

Tomball.

I've never been there. if it's still there, I don't know about it. Sorry, I don't really live in Tomball, I just sleep there. 

Thanks for the responses. It's clear to me that the problems that the reviewers I mentioned had seem mostly due to their not taking advantage of the app and just not being as experienced with RCCL cruises. 

12 hours ago, dwHokie said:

 

@theotherchad I apologize, I should have also mentioned for this last cruise we also booked Izumi, Chops and Sabor well in advance on the Royal app with zero issues.  As well as our other my time MDR reservations which also went off without any hitch.

 Thank you! This falls into the category of "mystery solved." Basically, people who don't bother to download and use the app miss out and end up lost and confused. 

Thanks, that's reassuring. The reviews made it sound like you couldn't get a reservation for anything and that everything was bad. I know that can't be right. 

I may have more questions, but we don't sail 'til May. 

Any tips about reservations for specialty dining and shows? Which can you do on the app well in advance and which do you have to get after boarding. Any issues with this? We're sailing Allure in May of this year and I'm a bit rusty, after missing the whole COVID era of cruising. It has been nearly  4 years now for us. 

There are only two reviews posted thus far on the Allure since she started sailing Western Caribbean routes out of Galveston, TX. 

Both reviews were so horrendous that I question what exactly is going on. One described not being able to get reservations for all but one show and not being able to get even MDR seating. It sounds crazy to me. I've never had those problems in over a dozen RCCL sailings. 

Can anyone who has sailed on her over the last month or so shed some light on the situation regarding Specialty dining and show reservations? How difficult is it? How early do you need to make reservations to get them? 

3 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

@theotherchad  Off topic:  Is the BonFire Grill still around?   

I don't know. Is that a place in Majahual or in Tomball? 😁

There was a post on another thread saying that the Tropicante was charging $8 for beers, etc. Like really crazy prices. There is no way they could get that price, given the other competition. If it's true, that's just an idiot that doesn't understand how to run a business. 

I wonder if that was a rival beach restaurant trying to libel them? There are some pretty snaky people in that business. 

On 12/30/2022 at 1:51 PM, mona_canada said:

Just back from Tropicante.  They now charge for chairs & everything is VERY expensive. We were bombarded  by people selling stuff every 5 minutes. The massage ladies were there. $35 for 30 minutes & $45 for fully body.  Pina colada’s & rum punch were $16 each (seemed watered down), bucket of beer (XX) $30 or $6 each so no deals.  It was $151USD for us so we have to assume a small plate of nachos was $31… it was disappointing for us.  We will stay in the ship next time. 

Wow, that is insane. One of the greatest things about Mahahual and Tropicante was that the prices were always reasonable. Certainly cheaper than Cozumel or other more developed ports. I feel sure that there are more reasonable options on the beach at Mahahual. 

The thing is, cruising has been shut down for over a year. It doesn't surprise me at all that all the suites would be sold out almost immediately as soon as cruising opens back up. 

These aren't normal times. 

2 hours ago, Moltar said:

This one throws me for a loop in my 18 cruises on Royal I’ve never had slow service in the main dining room ever. Specialty restaurants are hands down at least double the length of time. 

Wow, I don't know if this is a perception issue or what.  I've never gotten out of the MDR in less than 1 and a half hours, and usually, it's more like two. As for the specialty restaurants, maybe the slow pace fits better with the less crowded environment so that we don't mind it as much. We're not ones to want to rush through a meal in general.  

It's weird for us. We used to love the MDR, but over the years and multiple cruises, the shine just wore off. When we get back to cruising, we are planning on the ultimate meal package, and do specialty dining every night. As to the specialty restaurants being "hands down" double the length of time, that has not been our experience at all. YMMV

14 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

Watch it.  Nicely put but you will be judged. 

Too late, it already happened. 

What's funny is that I don't know who bugs me more, the people who act as if shorts in the MDR is a sign of the apocalypse, or the ones who act as if dress codes are an unamerican commie plot to steal away their freedom to be as tacky as they wanna be. 

All in good fun! 😜

13 hours ago, billslowsky said:

I was considering packing a romper.  I can pull off the look.

I'd go for a festive print! 

2 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

 

Not about opinions.  It's about the published dress code.  Deal with it.

Alrighty then. It is a fact that they are not violating the rules. It is opinion that they are not being selfish. That sort of thing can't really be quantified. 

45 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

 

When the cruise line requires or forbids specific manners of dress - for example bathing suits - it should be enforced.  When the cruise line explicitly identifies manners of dress as suggestions,  people who dress more casually are not violating the dress code nor are they being selfish.   

 

They are enjoying their vacation.  

Your opinion is noted.  😀

19 hours ago, Ashland said:

With what's going on in the world today...don't assume that everyone is as judgemental as you are about what other's wear to dine. Don't sit with those that aren't up to your standards and if you find yourself in that situation you're free to move. But you might find there's more to a person than what their wearing...give them a chance.

Making judgments is not the same thing as being judgmental. Making judgments is also not the same thing as making assumptions.  Making judgments is how smart people get through life. Intelligent people make judgments, but they don't assume that their judgments are correct. 

Now, I don't attach a great deal of importance to what people wear in general, but in this particular context, the cruise line has set out some suggestions in order to achieve a specific goal. That goal is to create an elegant atmosphere. Many people enjoy being part of that atmosphere and it is definitely part of the reason that some people enjoy the cruise experience. 

Others don't care at all about those sorts of things. But the poster you were responding to simply noted that "people" do make judgments. Which is incontrovertibly true. And it is sad that some people do make negative and unfair judgments about others based on their clothes. They think, "look at those trashy, uncouth people." It's not fair, but those attitudes exist. 

Personally, I don't judge people in that way. I never assume that the outer appearance is a clear indicator of what kind of person someone is. I've lived too long and seen too many horrible people in suits and ball gowns and too many sweet, kind intelligent people in overalls and tee shirts and flip flops to think that people are anywhere near that easy to judge. 

But, in this particular context, when I see someone dressed sloppily or overly casually in the MDR, I do wonder (not judge or decide), I wonder, are they perhaps placing their own (perfectly reasonable) desire for comfort above the equally reasonable desire of others to have the pleasant, elegant experience that the cruise line is trying to engender. 

In other words, some folks in this argument may be indulging in snobbery, but some others may be indulging in selfishness. 

Just a thought. 

We had it booked for our last cruise which was cancelled by the big C19, and whenever we get to our next cruise, we'll definitely do it. 

No problem with the food in the MDR, or for that matter, the Windjammer, but for us, the more we cruise, the less patience we have with the MDR experience. It takes so long, and we are more interested in doing other things, but the specialty restaurants are, for us, a really enjoyable time. 

It's all about what you enjoy. 

Okay, here goes. One more breakdown of some of the top Cruise Vloggers and what I like (and dislike) about each of them. Note that I draw a distinction between what I think is just annoying about the vloggers themselves (too cheerful, too cranky, too boring) and what I dislike about the way they do their videos.

Tips for Travelers - Pleasant and very informative, especially if you are looking at UK based European or river cruises. I am not likely to take many of the cruises that he talks about, but I find his tips intrinsically interesting, and thus, at least mildly entertaining. 

Cruise Tips TV - Sherrie is unfailingly cheerful, but not in an annoying way. I think she is likely most valuable to newer cruisers, as she does lots of packing and planning based videos, but I also find her cruise vlogs engaging and informative. She seems just really, really nice! 

La Lido Loca - Especially through the pandemic, Tony has emerged as the most informative and even handed purveyor of news relating to pandemic related requirements, legal battles, specific cruise line policies, etc, and he does it in an really entertaining way. I've watched him back when he was mostly just doing cruise vlogs. He has really molded and refined his delivery to be witty, fair, high energy and engaging! Definitely my favorite when it comes to cruise industry news, but also enjoyable as a cruise trip chronicler. Tony makes me laugh out loud more often than any other cruise vlogger. 

EECC  Travels - I don't always enjoy their videos, mainly because they sometimes ramble and take a long time to get to the point, and they spend way too much time on reviewing food for my taste. I totally get that for some people, that's what they want to hear about, so that's just a matter of what you're looking for than more than whether they make good videos. That having been said, I think I would enjoy hanging out with them way more than I like the videos. They are friendly and appealing, and I do watch a lot of their videos, so don't get the impression that I hate their videos, I just have a couple of caveats. 

Griff and Allyssa - Ditto for almost everything I said about EECC. I must give Griff props for the high quality of his video. B roll and drone footage is way above the average. I find their personalities very appealing, but I often wish they would condense a 20 minute video into a 10 minute video. Again, I feel like they would be a lot of fun to hang out with, but sometimes the videos tire me out. 

Emma Cruises - Like Tips for Travelers, it's more applicable to UK based cruising, but Emma is immensely likeable and very informative. 

Don's Family Vacations - Don seems like such a nice guy, but he is a bit more prone to rants than I would prefer. He is very informative and I will continue to watch him regularly. 

There are more, but I'll have to save them for another post. 

1 hour ago, zekekelso said:

Which is why men should always wear socks with sandals. Preferably black dress socks, though fuzzy tie dye socks are also acceptable. 

I think the burning question for many is, Can I wear Crocs? Obviously, the formal black ones.